A girl is looking for her birth mother but somehow becomes a mother of a child who's abused by her family.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Zhou Xun: Lin Xu Zhi
Chen Si Nuo: Mu Lian Sheng / Lin Xiao Ou
Kara Hui: Yuan Ling
Angie Chiu: Zhong Hui
不完美的她
Imperfect Her
[Ep1] Lin Xu Zhi is a woman who's looking for her birth mother and her past. Both of which she has no memory of. She meets the little girl, Mu Lian Sheng. This little girl has a beautiful and bright smile. Her arms are covered with bruises which she discreetly hides. Not a lot of words are spoken between the two but an unspeakable bond has already formed.
Mu Lian Sheng's life at home is awful. Treacherous. Goosebumps run down my arm as I see her put on bright smile whenever she "plays" with her mother's boyfriend. Sometimes she plays being shot dead by a gun or hide and seek where she's taped inside a box. It's frightening but every time she's smiling. This mature little girl is ensuring her mother can have an easier life with her boyfriend. How can her mom love this psychotic boyfriend?
Mu Jing takes Mu Lian Sheng to the hospital because she has a fever but backs out on admitting her because she's afraid her boyfriend wouldn't like her spending money at the hospital. My poor baby Mu Lian Sheng smilingly comforts her mom (while she is sick!) that she doesn't need to go to the hospital but softly pleads mom if they can not return to hell home.
[Ep2] There are a lot more other moms in this drama. Lin Xu Zhi's mom is secretly preventing her from finding her real birth mother. The mom, Yuan Ling, is in contact with the birth mother, Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui and Yuan Ling have a pact to not reveal the truth to Lin Xu Zhi. It's still a mystery what has happened between these three women but it seems like both these moms love Lin Xu Zhi.
Mu Jing gives her daughter, Mu Lian Sheng money. She tells her to go buy food. However, MLS knows what accepting that money means to leave. She doesn't want the money but her mom is adamant on leaving her. She cries watching her mother's back get smaller and smaller. Oh my poor baby, you're breaking my heart but I think leaving is the best thing your mom can do for you. MLS runs into Lin Xu Zhi again. Now I understand their bond: they're both abandoned or once was. However, Mu Lian Sheng doesn't reach out for help instead she returns home. WHY.
On another note, there's this super creepy clown man who keeps appearing. I hate clowns. He seems to know Lin Xu Zhi is afraid of fire and purposely taunts her with it.
[Ep3] Creepy things don't end there. Lin Xu Zhi receives a dead bird as a present.
And awful things keep revealing. The psychotic man dresses Mu Lian Sheng up in a pretty white dress and puts lipstick on her. So sickening. Even Mu Jing knows how disgusting this is. When Mu Lian Sheng meets Lin Xu Zhi again she reaches out for help, asking LXZ if she would be in trouble if she helped her. Is that why she didn't ask for help earlier? She was afraid of bringing trouble to LXZ. However Mu Jing takes her back. Lin Xu Zhi is not one to turn away from a little girl's cry of help and follows her all the way home. The psychotic boyfriend threatens little Mu Lian Sheng demanding to know who Lin Xu Zhi is.
[Ep4] Mu Lian Sheng is locked up inside the house. If Lin Xu Zhi had not broken into her house in time, she would have died in the fire. The boyfriend had planned it all to kill MLS in the fire. I'm hoping Mu Jing is truly unaware of his plans to kill her own daughter. Otherwise these two deserve a very special, special place in hell. I hope they both rot there.
[Ep5] The newly formed mother and daughter hit the road and I finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, it won't be smooth sailing from here as the police are after her for kidnapping Lian Sheng. They even have her composite drawn.
Meanwhile it seems like Lin Xu Zhi's birth mom, Zhong Hui, knows the scary clown man. I learned two things: Clown man claims to be the dad of MLS and Zhong Hui has been in prison before.
[Ep6] Zhong Hui and Lin Xu Zhi finally meet. After Mu Lian Sheng (who is now Lin Xiao Ou) runs away, Zhong Hui helps LXZ find her "daughter". While they wait for Lin Xiao Ou to wake up, Lin Xu Zhi tells Zhong Hui about how her birth mother had abandoned her. Zhong Hui's heart breaks as she's listening to her own daughter talk about her sorrowful experience but is unable to reveal herself. Later when Lin Xu Zhi reaches out to touch her hand, Zhong Hui quickly retracts afraid she might recognize her. LXZ had told her that even if she doesn't remember her mother's appearance, she can't forget the touch of her birth mother's hand.
[Ep7] MLS's mom knew. That thing who calls herself a mother only wants to find her daughter so their abusive crime can remain hidden. That night at the hospital when MLS pleaded to not go home, Mu Jing took her to the top of the building. She wanted to throw her daughter off the building? I assume. She didn't do it but still awful. So glad Mu Lian Sheng is with Lin Xu Zhi now.
[Ep8] I like LXZ as mom. She's a rookie but she's trying to teach Mu Lian Sheng how to survive: ask for help when she needs it but also to be independent. However, it's getting more and more difficult to maintain their mother-daughter relationship when people are recognizing the child or when Yuan Ling wants to help her new granddaughter start school.
Tian Fang also seems to be a love interest for LXZ. Or I might be imagining things. I am positive though he knows about LXZ and MLS. Not only that, but he's also got a trail on LXZ's past.
[Ep9] LXZ officially asks Tian Fang for his help to give justice to MLS. They need to catch those two rotten pieces of terrestrial trash who orchestrated the fire to kill MLS.
[Ep10] Now those two trashes have disappeared under the police's eye because of the clown man's hint that the police are investigating child abuse claims. Why this clown man is trying to sabotage LXZ traces back to the fire incident. He's trying to hide something and hopes LXZ never recovers her memory. Meanwhile, LXZ has confirmed who her birth mother is: Zhong Hui. Lin Xu Zhi freaks out and takes MLS away from under her care.
On another note, the fact that the psychotic boyfriend isn't telling Mu Jing he's found Mu Lian Sheng is scaring me. He was interested in the child all along.
[Ep11] LXZ gathers up her courage and confronts Zhong Hui why she abandoned her but ZH doesn't tell her the truth nor does she confess she only has a month to live.
Drama veers to a lighter turn of events when Tian Fang follows LXZ to a psychiatrist appointment. She brought MLS there to consult about her psychological fears from being abused. Tian Fang who wants to know what the appointment was about lies to the doctor that he's the father of MLS but he's divorced with LXZ. Initially he complains about her hot-headedness but when the doctor is suspicious of LXZ abusing MLS, he takes a 180 degree turn to vouch for his "ex-wife". The doctor notes that it's a pity they're divorced when he still loves her. Heh.
[Ep12] Tian Fang reveals everything to LXZ's family. He also visits Zhong Hui and learns of her cancer diagnosis. What a nosy reporter. Of course. Now I have an ominous feeling Mu Lian Sheng is planning to run away to not drag down the mom she has grown to love so much.
Also some evil vileness is brewing between the psychotic boyfriend and the clown man. What a pair. It's their first time meeting but without much of a word the boyfriend knows to give the spiked drink the clown man prepared to Mu Jing to make her pass out.
[Ep13] The clown man tells the psychotic boyfriend that he doesn't understand the true joy of child abuse. The utmost satisfaction comes from the unknown, scaring the child with the unknown. The psychotic boyfriend's physical abuse is only child's play to the clown man. Man, typing this is disgusting. As foreshadowed, Xiao Ou (Mu Lian Sheng) runs away to protect the mom she loves so much. However, she's kidnapped. Lin Xu Zhi, Tian Fang, and Zhong Hui receive a message to not call the police. The message was behind the photo that the clown man and psychotic man were developing in the dark room. It's a picture of Lin Xi Zhi when she was a child. The whole kidnap was orchestrated by the clown man and psychotic boyfriend. Now Xiao Ou's whereabouts are unknown. This was such a sad and creepy episode. Sad because of the letter my pretty Xiao Ou wrote to her mom. Creepy for obvious reasons.
[Ep14] Mu Jing has found her way to the Lin family to demand her daughter back. The family comes together to protect Lin Xu Zhi. LXZ overhears this and comes out to challenge Mu Qing and expose her boyfriend's dark crimes against her daughter. But Mu Qing is in denial. Elsewhere Clown man (Li Ze) is threatening Zhong Hui to expose the truth about the fire in 1998 in exchange for Xiao Ou's safety.
[Ep15] Li Ze forces Zhong Hui to expose that it was actually her daughter, Lin Xu Zhi, who set the fire to kill him. Zhong Hui took the blame for her daughter's crime. If it's not obvious by now, Lin Xu Zhi was abused just like Xiao Ou.
[Ep16] With a little bit of help from Tian Fang, LXZ saves Xiao Ou and Zhong Hui. LXZ releases a public video telling the kidnappers she's going to take Xiao Ou to a place they'll never find them. Zhong Hui begs LXZ to take her along. Adopted mom, Yuan Ling, observes this from afar and cries that the daughter she raised for thirty years still chose to return to her real mother. I'm a bit confused why Yuan Ling loves LXZ so much more than her own daughters.
[Ep17] Xiao Ou and Zhong Hui celebrate Lin Xu Zhi's birthday. It's the first time LXZ knew her real birthday. Zhong Hui gifts LXZ a seagull stuff animal which she had sewn a past photo of LXZ inside. LXZ had always loved seagulls when she was a child, which is a nice connection to Xiao Ou who also likes them. The "Ou" in XO's name comes from seagull. Xiao Ou is a smart kiddie. She plays "cupid" to Zhong Hui and LXZ to rekindle their mother-daughter relationship.
The psychotic boyfriend reveals his inner desires to the clown man. He ravishes the torturing of Xiao Ou because of Mu Jing's reactions. But once she had become apathetic towards the abuse to her daughter, he's grown tired of it. Until Lin Xu Zhi appeared. Mu Jing hears the entirety of their horrid conversation.
[Ep18] Mu Jing finally comes to her senses and gives Tian Fang the passport that Lin Xu Zhi requested. Lin Xu Zhi plans to leave the country with Xiao Ou but before that she still has to convince Zhong Hui to accept medical help for her terminal cancer. Meanwhile Zhong Hui is also trying to help her daughter make up with her adopted mother Yuan Ling. All this motherly-daughterly-love.
[Ep19] I'm a little confused as to how this romantic development went from zero to overload. Tian Fang tells Lin Xu Zhi he loves her but she doesn't know what love is. Lin Xu Zhi has a lot of people who love her but she herself doesn't know how to love at all.
[Ep20] Lin Xu Zhi weaves an almost perfect web to capture the clown man. That move also included using Tian Fang. Aw. Lin Xu Zhi also turns herself in. Her interrogation makes me tear up. Lin Xu Zhi confesses that everything she did was to become Xiao Ou's mother. Her desire is the same whether it's in the past, present or future. The moms are doing everything to protect Xiao Ou just like the moms (and sisters) are doing everything to protect Lin Xu Zhi.
Xiao Ou is brought in to to visit Mu Jing who's currently in jail. Mom apologizes to Mu Lian Sheng but Xiao Ou tells her, she's no longer Mu Lian Sheng and her mother is no longer Mu Jing. Xiao Ou's mother is Lin Xu Zhi. I'd feel so guilty if I were Xiao Ou. Two moms went to jail for her. Maybe not so much for the first mom though. But still.
We also find out the truth about the fire in 1998. It was all a coincidence with Lin Xu Zhi's urge to burn the photos and Li Ze's (clown) carelessness. The fault should have never been on Lin Xu Zhi and Zhong Hui should have never took the blame for it. The clown man just wanted to torture the two people who are closest to him. This psychopath.
[Ep21] There's another psychopath on the loose. Shang Wu, the psychotic boyfriend has kidnapped Lin Xu Zhi's younger sister, Guo Zi.
[Ep22] LXZ and Guo Zi's boyfriend comes and saves Guo Zi. Shang Wu is finally captured. A celebration ensues and the family is finally complete. However, Xiao Ou had actually ran away from her foster care. LXZ's likelihood of being able to adopt Xiao Ou is slim but she promises Xiao Ou they will reunite.
Some time has passed. Inspired by Xiao Ou, LXZ sets up a charity for orphans. At one of the events, she sincerely thanks Tian Fang for the first time. It's not for the event, it's for everything he's done for her. He tells her, shyly, "Lin Xu Zhi, I love you." That's also the first time Tian Fang has ever said those words. The drama ends with the three of them looking like one happy family.
[First Impression (Ep1-8)] I didn't watch any of the remakes. I'm not usually in the mood for dark dramas. I heard of how dark and riveting the Japanese version (Mother) was but I wasn't ready to let my heart be ripped apart there. To be honest, I'm watching this Chinese version hoping it's actually lighter and doesn't have the same emotional turmoil on me. Despite being on the fence about this drama, I do find myself being sucked in. I'm rooting for Mu Lian Sheng/Lin Xiao Ou to have something that's truly worth smiling about.
[Episode 12] I'm just about halfway there but I'm already anticipating for this scene (it's the last scene from the ending song).
[Review] I think I'll still stick to Jdramas if I wanted something truly dark. Imperfect Love isn't as dark and riveting as it could be. I'm not looking for more awful things to happen, I just want the pacing to be more gripping and suspenseful. It just wasn't able to take me where I wanted to be. When the two psychopaths got together I was expecting a climax but their union was so fruitless. Nothing happened except them getting caught. I guess that's how the story goes in all the other versions...
Other than it not being dark enough for a dark drama, the rest of it I really did like. The first four episodes were the sinker and I wasn't even in the mood for a dark drama. The actresses' performances, especially Xiao Ou's, grappled my attention and from that point on I just had to complete the drama to see my happy ending.
Rating: 3/5
Notable Actors/Actresses
Zhou Xun: Lin Xu Zhi
Chen Si Nuo: Mu Lian Sheng / Lin Xiao Ou
Kara Hui: Yuan Ling
Angie Chiu: Zhong Hui
Producer:
Chinese Title不完美的她
Imperfect Her
Mini Recaps
[Ep2] There are a lot more other moms in this drama. Lin Xu Zhi's mom is secretly preventing her from finding her real birth mother. The mom, Yuan Ling, is in contact with the birth mother, Zhong Hui. Zhong Hui and Yuan Ling have a pact to not reveal the truth to Lin Xu Zhi. It's still a mystery what has happened between these three women but it seems like both these moms love Lin Xu Zhi.
[Ep3] Creepy things don't end there. Lin Xu Zhi receives a dead bird as a present.
And awful things keep revealing. The psychotic man dresses Mu Lian Sheng up in a pretty white dress and puts lipstick on her. So sickening. Even Mu Jing knows how disgusting this is. When Mu Lian Sheng meets Lin Xu Zhi again she reaches out for help, asking LXZ if she would be in trouble if she helped her. Is that why she didn't ask for help earlier? She was afraid of bringing trouble to LXZ. However Mu Jing takes her back. Lin Xu Zhi is not one to turn away from a little girl's cry of help and follows her all the way home. The psychotic boyfriend threatens little Mu Lian Sheng demanding to know who Lin Xu Zhi is.
[Ep5] The newly formed mother and daughter hit the road and I finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, it won't be smooth sailing from here as the police are after her for kidnapping Lian Sheng. They even have her composite drawn.
[Ep7] MLS's mom knew. That thing who calls herself a mother only wants to find her daughter so their abusive crime can remain hidden. That night at the hospital when MLS pleaded to not go home, Mu Jing took her to the top of the building. She wanted to throw her daughter off the building? I assume. She didn't do it but still awful. So glad Mu Lian Sheng is with Lin Xu Zhi now.
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| Mu Lian Sheng protecting her mom from her fear of fire |
Tian Fang also seems to be a love interest for LXZ. Or I might be imagining things. I am positive though he knows about LXZ and MLS. Not only that, but he's also got a trail on LXZ's past.
[Ep9] LXZ officially asks Tian Fang for his help to give justice to MLS. They need to catch those two rotten pieces of terrestrial trash who orchestrated the fire to kill MLS.
[Ep10] Now those two trashes have disappeared under the police's eye because of the clown man's hint that the police are investigating child abuse claims. Why this clown man is trying to sabotage LXZ traces back to the fire incident. He's trying to hide something and hopes LXZ never recovers her memory. Meanwhile, LXZ has confirmed who her birth mother is: Zhong Hui. Lin Xu Zhi freaks out and takes MLS away from under her care.
On another note, the fact that the psychotic boyfriend isn't telling Mu Jing he's found Mu Lian Sheng is scaring me. He was interested in the child all along.
Drama veers to a lighter turn of events when Tian Fang follows LXZ to a psychiatrist appointment. She brought MLS there to consult about her psychological fears from being abused. Tian Fang who wants to know what the appointment was about lies to the doctor that he's the father of MLS but he's divorced with LXZ. Initially he complains about her hot-headedness but when the doctor is suspicious of LXZ abusing MLS, he takes a 180 degree turn to vouch for his "ex-wife". The doctor notes that it's a pity they're divorced when he still loves her. Heh.
[Ep12] Tian Fang reveals everything to LXZ's family. He also visits Zhong Hui and learns of her cancer diagnosis. What a nosy reporter. Of course. Now I have an ominous feeling Mu Lian Sheng is planning to run away to not drag down the mom she has grown to love so much.
Also some evil vileness is brewing between the psychotic boyfriend and the clown man. What a pair. It's their first time meeting but without much of a word the boyfriend knows to give the spiked drink the clown man prepared to Mu Jing to make her pass out.
[Ep14] Mu Jing has found her way to the Lin family to demand her daughter back. The family comes together to protect Lin Xu Zhi. LXZ overhears this and comes out to challenge Mu Qing and expose her boyfriend's dark crimes against her daughter. But Mu Qing is in denial. Elsewhere Clown man (Li Ze) is threatening Zhong Hui to expose the truth about the fire in 1998 in exchange for Xiao Ou's safety.
[Ep15] Li Ze forces Zhong Hui to expose that it was actually her daughter, Lin Xu Zhi, who set the fire to kill him. Zhong Hui took the blame for her daughter's crime. If it's not obvious by now, Lin Xu Zhi was abused just like Xiao Ou.
[Ep17] Xiao Ou and Zhong Hui celebrate Lin Xu Zhi's birthday. It's the first time LXZ knew her real birthday. Zhong Hui gifts LXZ a seagull stuff animal which she had sewn a past photo of LXZ inside. LXZ had always loved seagulls when she was a child, which is a nice connection to Xiao Ou who also likes them. The "Ou" in XO's name comes from seagull. Xiao Ou is a smart kiddie. She plays "cupid" to Zhong Hui and LXZ to rekindle their mother-daughter relationship.
[Ep18] Mu Jing finally comes to her senses and gives Tian Fang the passport that Lin Xu Zhi requested. Lin Xu Zhi plans to leave the country with Xiao Ou but before that she still has to convince Zhong Hui to accept medical help for her terminal cancer. Meanwhile Zhong Hui is also trying to help her daughter make up with her adopted mother Yuan Ling. All this motherly-daughterly-love.
[Ep20] Lin Xu Zhi weaves an almost perfect web to capture the clown man. That move also included using Tian Fang. Aw. Lin Xu Zhi also turns herself in. Her interrogation makes me tear up. Lin Xu Zhi confesses that everything she did was to become Xiao Ou's mother. Her desire is the same whether it's in the past, present or future. The moms are doing everything to protect Xiao Ou just like the moms (and sisters) are doing everything to protect Lin Xu Zhi.
Xiao Ou is brought in to to visit Mu Jing who's currently in jail. Mom apologizes to Mu Lian Sheng but Xiao Ou tells her, she's no longer Mu Lian Sheng and her mother is no longer Mu Jing. Xiao Ou's mother is Lin Xu Zhi. I'd feel so guilty if I were Xiao Ou. Two moms went to jail for her. Maybe not so much for the first mom though. But still.
We also find out the truth about the fire in 1998. It was all a coincidence with Lin Xu Zhi's urge to burn the photos and Li Ze's (clown) carelessness. The fault should have never been on Lin Xu Zhi and Zhong Hui should have never took the blame for it. The clown man just wanted to torture the two people who are closest to him. This psychopath.
[Ep21] There's another psychopath on the loose. Shang Wu, the psychotic boyfriend has kidnapped Lin Xu Zhi's younger sister, Guo Zi.
Remarks
[First Impression (Ep1-8)] I didn't watch any of the remakes. I'm not usually in the mood for dark dramas. I heard of how dark and riveting the Japanese version (Mother) was but I wasn't ready to let my heart be ripped apart there. To be honest, I'm watching this Chinese version hoping it's actually lighter and doesn't have the same emotional turmoil on me. Despite being on the fence about this drama, I do find myself being sucked in. I'm rooting for Mu Lian Sheng/Lin Xiao Ou to have something that's truly worth smiling about.
[Review] I think I'll still stick to Jdramas if I wanted something truly dark. Imperfect Love isn't as dark and riveting as it could be. I'm not looking for more awful things to happen, I just want the pacing to be more gripping and suspenseful. It just wasn't able to take me where I wanted to be. When the two psychopaths got together I was expecting a climax but their union was so fruitless. Nothing happened except them getting caught. I guess that's how the story goes in all the other versions...
Other than it not being dark enough for a dark drama, the rest of it I really did like. The first four episodes were the sinker and I wasn't even in the mood for a dark drama. The actresses' performances, especially Xiao Ou's, grappled my attention and from that point on I just had to complete the drama to see my happy ending.
Rating: 3/5
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