Perfect Match (2025) - Synopsis

 

Drama info:

Title:                      Perfect Match 

Chinese title:         五福臨門 / 五福临门 

                              (Eng translation: "Five blessings come to this house")

Episodes:               36

Genre:                    Family, slice of life, romance, multiple couples

Original network:  Mango TV

Release date:        25 Jan 2025

Airing schedule:    25 Jan 2025 - 11 Feb 2025

Synopsis:

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a mother in possession of five unmarried daughters must be in want of five good son in laws. 

  

Scent of Time (2023) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Scent of Time (2023) - A suspense-laden reverie on regret, redress, and redemption

This is 8.5/10 stars ✮✮✮✮✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         8.5 Stars Plot:                       8 Stars Acting/cast:            8 Stars Couple chemistry:   7 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      8 Stars Enjoyment factor:   8.5 Stars

Scent of Time (2023) poses the tantalising question of what, if anything, one can do to redress past wrongs and to change fate if given a second chance. 

I didn't realise it at first, but the twist in the tale is obliquely hinted at in the Chinese title of the drama, 《爲有暗香來》/Because of the Subtle Fragrance, which is derived from a poem by Song Dynasty poet and statesman Wang An Shi王安石. Elsewhere, the twist is also foreshadowed throughout the drama, which makes it difficult to miss.

Despite this, the way the drama unfolds skilfully dials up the suspense - it is almost impossible not to root for Zhou Ye's Hua Qian in her high stakes quest to atone for and rewrite the past. The hook is in what choices she makes, what actions she takes, and the unintended fallout of those decisions.   

Viewers who are watching this drama for the romance may well be disappointed - it is protagonist rather than romance focused. Three potential love interests are presented, but Scent of Time (2023) is one of the rare dramas in which I truly did not care who, if anyone, the endgame would be.  I just wanted Hua Qian to be living her best life.  Although some of the scriptwriting in the later episodes was noticeably weaker, I stayed until the very end to find out how Hua Qian's story would conclude...

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Scent of Time (2023) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Scent of Time

Chinese title:   為有暗香來 / 为有暗香来  (Eng translation: "Because of the Subtle Fragrance") 

Episodes: 30 (+ short animated clip)

Genre: Suspense, romance, historical  

Original network:  Youku

Release date:        13 Oct  2023

Airing schedule:    13 Oct 2023 - 1 Nov 2023

Synopsis:

What happens when you have taken one wrong step after another? Hua Qian, who has used the most unscrupulous of means to arrive at her ends, finds out that the consequences are deadly. As she lies dying, she is offered a second chance at life...

  

Rebirth for You (2021) - Final Review

Final review/rating: Rebirth for You (2021) - An exercise in exasperation

This is 4/10 stars ✮✮✮✮ from Pandafan🐼

Overall rating:         4 Stars Plot:                       3 Stars Acting/cast:            5 Stars Couple chemistry:   7 stars Music:                    7 Stars Re-watch value:      0 Stars Enjoyment factor:   3 Stars

Rebirth for You (2021) is, to put it mildly, an exercise in exasperation.  

It's a complete waste of potential, given what they had to work with in terms of the source material and two attractive and charming leads in Ju Jing Yi and Zeng Shun Xi.  Only for die hard fans of the leads, and even then, I would recommend judicious use of the fast forward button or perhaps skipping everything after episode 12 and resuming at episode 39.  Or episode 40.  Or not at all. 

*Sigh 😩

SPOILERS AHEADS

  

Rebirth for You (2021) - Synopsis

Drama info:

Title:  Rebirth for You 

Chinese title: 嘉南传 / 嘉南傳 (Translation: "The Story of Jia Nan") 

Episodes:  40

Genre: Historical, political, romance 

Original network: iQiyi

Release date:      17 Oct 2021

Airing schedule:  17 Oct 2021 - 22 Nov 2021

Synopsis:

Commandery princess of Jia Nan, Princess Jiang Bao Ning grew up in the palace and is beloved by her Grandmother, the Dowager Empress.  She is also loved by Emperor Zhao Yi, but she does not return his affection.  While Bao Ning is a bird in the gilded cage of the palace, she is intelligent and resourceful, and she successfully resists becoming a puppet in the palace schemes of others. 

Bao Ning meets the intriguing imperial army guard Li Qian in one of her expeditions out of the palace.  Li Qian has secrets of his own and strives for higher office in order to investigate a cold case close to his heart. The two fall in love but must strive against the machinations of others to create their own destiny, for the love of a lifetime.