A calm and chaotic web of unfaithful “love”.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Zhou Yu Tong: Han Su
Director
Screenwriter
Wu Nan (Author: Liu Cui Hu)
Chinese Title
Half Cooked Male and Female
Network: Youku
Cast
 |
 |
| Tian Xi Wei: He Zhi Nan |
Zhou Yu Tong: Han Su |
 |
 |
| Zeng Meng Xue: Sun Han Han |
Dong Jie: Ceng Cheng |
 |
 |
| Xin Yun Lai: Qu Yi Peng |
Zhang Zhe Hua: Gao Peng |
 |
 |
| Yuan Wen Kang: Zhou Bin |
Hou Wen Yuan: Wang Zi Lu |
 |
Others: Ma Bo Qian Ren You Lun |
| Chen Hao Sen: Luo Ma |
Review
Preamble: Excuse me as I ramble about this delightfully messed up drama about love and relationships.
I savoured every episode and all the introspections. I highly recommend this if you enjoy exploring perspectives. I couldn't stop thinking about the characters after each and every episode –why do they do the things they do and why do I relate to this mess. There aren't just 2 characters, but at least 6 with fully fleshed out personalities, each with complex emotions. I love how all of them devolve and evolve and grow while staying true to who they are.
Yours truly was a crazy lady yapping to her screen. This isn't a thriller, but I was still on edge, yelling, "Run, girls, run!" And honestly, freaking out was half the fun, haha.
 |
| Heck of a scary scene, yo. |
Discussion
The main characters are unlikable FLs you don't want to be labeled as. Nan Nan is a hopeless "戀愛腦 (love-obsessed)" who pours everything into her relationship, falling hard every time. Han Han is a "Seductress", chases wealth, and attracts the wrong guys because she dreams of marrying rich. It’s intriguing that despite their opposite relationship standards – Nan Nan prioritizing love over luxury (e.g. fuerdai bf), Han Han seeking luxury over love – they're close friends. Neither approaches are wrong. As the show progresses, their labels no longer – or never – define them. Nan Nan's heart will break but she has no regrets because for every relationship she gave her best, and she will fearlessly continue to do so. Meanwhile, Han Han hustles just as hard in her career. She simply wants it all without taking advantage of anyone, and there’s no fault in that.
The truest of loves: Nan Nan and Su Su. Su Su may attract all the guys, but Nan Nan attracts all the girls, even Su Su. While Nan Nan has no regrets in her relationships, Han Su regrets nearly everything. But something clicked at the right time because this girl changed and knew how to keep Nan Nan in her life. Our Su Su really loves Nan Nan <3.
But they started out like this: 😥 Phew.
Han Su had these guys too (and more actually), but no one beats Nan Nan:
Qi Yu Peng – first time I've seen a jerk like this and I'm sad for him. Every episode we get of him, there’s more to learn. Whew. He's undoubtedly unlikable, but his weaknesses hit close to home: he refuses to admit his inadequacies are the root of his problems. Who wants to admit we suck and that we're inferior? At work, he blames his boss for his failures, and after his breakup, he pins it all on Han Su. Instead of confronting his own insecurities, he projects them onto others, accusing women of looking down on him when it's really his obsession with status and success that haunts him. Rather than improving himself through effort, he wants shortcuts, wanting the rewards without the grind. I get it, though – the frustration of being told to "work harder" when you’re already running on empty is too real. His lows resonate, but his mindset is a path I hope I never find myself on. Qi Yu Peng is simply tragically human.
Qi Yu Peng and Han Su are so complicated. It's slightly fascinating that they share the same pessimistic, dark vibe. I never truly believed in Qi Yu Peng's love for Han Su until the very end. I had thought they were out of love, but Han Su's tears for his struggles and his genuine concern for her opinion about him revealed the depth of their past connection.
This man has deep embedded insecurities that transformed him into the worst version of himself for Han Su, and he became incredibly calculative. One subtle yet telling moment was when he commented that Han Su was a poor cook. Han Su (and I) accepted this as truth—until Nan Nan pointed out that her cooking was actually fine! Cooking was the only thing Qi Yu Peng could do better, and he exploited that to undermine her. Damn.
First loves: Gao Peng and Nan Nan. Their relationship at the end is adorable! First loves like theirs are rare because it's rooted in their innocent, pure, and childlike nature. I love that Show doesn't transform them, but they change according to who they are. I love that Show doesn't try to transform them; instead, they evolve naturally, staying true to who they are. Every once and while, they'll have moments that evoke a sweet nostalgia about first loves. Gao Peng constantly made me waver because he's truly a good guy, just unfortunately not a good boyfriend to Nan Nan.
That is Tian Xi Wei's pursed lips, spitting out the bone LOL
Soulmates: Wang Zi Lu and Nan Nan. One scene sold me they were soulmates: when he caught her talking to her conscience. At that moment, Nan Nan was completely transparent and panicked. Instead of judging her though, he admired it, normalizing what would have been strange to anyone else. In front of him, she didn't need to conceal her other self. She found someone who understands and embraces her just as she embraces his "childish dreams". (I also like how there was a fateful connection with her neighbour (him being North and her being South), but she dismissed it because she no longer needs that kind of superficial love.)
I love how she revisits this corner 👆 like how she bravely loves again and again.
Novel title is better: There is no 善男信女 in here. 善男信女 means “kind men and women” but usually used in negative sentences like this title. Indeed, no one here is simple. Drama title is Half-Ripe Men and Women, which actually complements the English title. Our characters are between right and wrong, mature and immature, a state of change.
The skits for each episode:
Ep1 → Half Cooked Wo/men 半熟男女. The girls talk about crayfish. Nan Nan likes them hot (spicy). Su Su likes them cold. Han Han doesn't eat them except the ones men peel for her. Then they talk about "picking up" their boyfriends, but Han Han questions the girls why they "pick up". It's not like they're litter – they are. The trash wronged them, but the girls also confess that they're at no loss either.
Ep2 → At a Far Away Place 在遠方. Han Su and Qi Yu Peng are close and yet so far. Han Su is the deer 🦌 who passed by in this relationship. That's an immediate cue to AccuseFive's "Somewhere in Time" (愛人錯過), which this drama used as its OST. The lyrics: ♪ 走過路 (🦌) 過沒遇過回頭轉頭還是錯 = Walked by, passed (🦌) by , never met. Turned around, changed directions and still wrong ♪
Ep3 → Lovers Who Missed (Their Chance) 愛人錯過. There's a reason why these two (Nan Nan and Gao Peng) broke up. Lack of utter communication.
Ep4 → The Lies and the Acting in Love 愛情裡的謊言與演技. Han Han interviews for a role and shows off that she scammed 8 men. Qi Yu Peng interviews as well, but says he didn't scam them. He put his heart into every relationship. Now that's a true actor, embodying the role.*Chills* Qi Yu Peng gets the role. The interviewer says that when it comes to love, men are better actors than women.
Ep5 → The Secrets of the CBO的秘密. "Don't overestimate the directors and don't underestimate the secretaries." The Prey With the Hunter 獵物與獵手. Han Han thinks she hunted Zhou Bin, but she was his prey all along.
Ep6 → A Hand Full of Good Cards [And You Played It All Wrong] 一手好牌. In the game of cards (life), Nan Nan loses to Gao Peng, and Qi Yu Peng loses to Han Su. When it's Han Han's turn, she doesn't know how to play her hand full of good cards. She threw it all away. The rules are that she "cannot play all her 'attractiveness cards'". That's suicide.
Ep7 → End the Nightmares 終極噩夢. The episode I truly felt the men were nightmares. (The girls have a "bed scene" and so does Nan Nan and Qu Yi Peng this episode. A nightmare).
Ep8 → Full From Food and Water 有糧飲水飽. When love kills your (Han Han's) heart, you can still survive on food and water. Word hard and earn that money.
Ep9 → Ideal Type 理想型. Qi Yu Peng's "ideal" type is really ideal: money is his "true love".
Ep10 → Frog Prince 青蛙皇子. I love this perspective on Frog Prince. Qi Yu Peng was given options to turn into a prince: 1) fight a dragon to save a sleeping princess or 2) call seven bros and mine together. He complains 1 is too dangerous and 2 is too much work. He goes for the 3rd option: wait in a well for a princess to kiss him. In the end he stayed a dog because she (Nan Nan) isn't a real princess. I appreciate the continuity of this skit. The frog, Qi Yu Peng, is in the audience and excuses himself to find the real princess.
Ep11 → Love-Brained 戀愛腦 = Nan Nan. She wants love and can't see all her men are frogs.
Ep13 → The Love of Work-Slaves 社畜愛情. Essentially, there is no love life for wage-slaves (like Han Han in this skit). Even when fate is right in front of her eyes, she has no time. 社畜 is a borrowed term from Japanese's "shachiku", which means "being subservient to work, and never complaining about overwork". Interestingly (to me) 社畜 (shechu) kind of sounds like 失去 (shiqu), and 失去愛情 would make the title: "To Lose Love".
Ep14 → Buying and Selling Romance 愛情買賣. Two girls find True Love too expensive to buy. A Love Reseller offers Love at 90% discount. One girl buys it, and the other girl refuses. She doesn't want to make compromises. She'll wait until she can afford it at the regular price. 2) The Person Who Loves Me 愛我的人. Nan Nan rejects her insistent pursuer, Gao Peng. One day (like 3 days later, lol) Gao Peng finally gives up. Nan Nan celebrates....for 1 second and realizes that in this world there's one less person who loves her. She's a little sad.
Ep15 → Let's Divorce 我們離婚吧. Zhou Bin tells himself this all the time that as long as he says Let's Divorce, what's waiting for him is only light.
Ep16 → Do I Look Pretty? 我好看嗎? Gao Peng never answers Nan Nan properly whenever she asks if she's pretty. She would sulk over this all the time. When they break up, she still asks the same question. Gao Peng finally tells her that she's very pretty. But why does she ask him? Does she not know if she's pretty or not? The interpretation: the basis of his love was never about her appearance, but her obsession with it and her low self-worth caused the wedge in their relationship. Girls, don't ask others if you're beautiful. Walk out there, act like you are, and you will be prettier.
Ep17 → Weapon 武器. Han Su's lipstick isn't just for vanity (and for kissing O₂, lol). She can use it to protect girls too. (THM: Anything can be our weapons?).
Ep18 → "Wise and Kind" Women 賢慧女人. Han Han asks Ceng Cheng for advice to attract a CEO boyfriend. Ceng Cheng teaches her to be 賢慧 (xianhui), which although means wise and kind, it is an insult to women because it is negging. It frames and limits women that to be complimented, they have to be perfect in her traditional roles.
Ep20 → Life's Steering Wheel 人生方向盤. When Nan Nan was a kid, her dad controlled her. When Nan Nan grew up, her boyfriend controls her. Don't let that happen. The secret to happiness is taking control of our own life.
Ep21 → Stop the Labels 禁止貼貼. As we're labeling others (e.g. green tea b*tches), we're also labeled. Stop the cycle.
Ep22 → Boyfriend and Bestie 男友和閨蜜. Tian Xi Wei isn't afraid of her no-makeup selfie being exposed because she says she's pretty still. This is true xD. Tian Xi Wei does go on variety shows with no makeup on.
Ep23 → Small and Humble Figurine 小可人兒. Nan Nan didn't like it when people called her cute because that means she isn't pretty. She ditched her rich and faithful boyfriend for a handsome face. But it's all okay now. She won't hide her heart or soothe her wrongdoings. She wants to face herself with honesty. If she has to make the same choice the next time, she'll fall into the hole again. Wang Zi Lu is in the audience. He's teary and happy for Nan Nan. (小可人兒 is also their female lead, and our FL).
Ep24 → The King's Final Wishes 國王的遺願. The Frog Prince became the King! But he is dying, old, and lonely. His crown is made of women's tears and their broken hearts. He doesn't regret anything, but he will always dream of Han Su who never finishes listening to him. When he wakes up, he tells us the truth. His crown is made of his unhappiness. This isn't a crown, it's his curse => "a band tightening spell for controlling the user" (Ref: Monkey King). In the audience, Han Su is teary. Nan Nan isn't. She comforts Han Su.
Ep26 → Love Investment Market 愛情投資市場. Qu Yi Peng is a short term investment, only good for flings. Wang Zi Lu is for long-term. But once he becomes successful, he's obnoxious too!! The girls don't want him anymore. Wait, what's the message here D: That money change the best of us? It's true, but......
Ep27 → Ending Chapter 終章. He Zhi Nan is our author.
The crew behind the drama are urban-vibe experts. Zhang Xiao Bo is a reputable director in the industry as his works include Nothing but Thirty, The Heart (producer), Nobody Knows, Under the Skin (producer), and many more. Liu Cui Hu is the original author who also wrote Fake It Till You Make It. Wu Nan, one of the screenwriters, wrote City of the City, Born to Run, etc.
The actor I'm keeping: Zhang Zhe Hua. (FYI, I've already kept a Tian Xi Wei and Zhou Yu Tong in my pocket.)
Rating: 4/5 ♥
Recommendations
| Ladies | Ladies | Self |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment