Today’s review is about the historical Chinese drama, Kill Me Love Me starring Wu Jinyan and Liu Xueyi. The drama is available on Youku and YouTube with English subtitles. More info about the drama can be found here. Let’s start with the review.
Storyline
The storyline of Kill Me, Love Me isn’t bad nor is it great. It’s average, but it never got to a point where I lose connection with it. There are times where I got bored from some events but that’s normal. I can say it’s better than most dramas I have watched this year. There was a lot to look forward to in this drama. You know they’re so many possibilities in revenge dramas especially when it involves a woman. That’s what impressed me, I wanted to know what will happen and how writers will build layers around the story.
It was Mei Lin seeking revenge on Jinghe for her parents and QingZhou people. On the other side, it was Jinghe and the crown prince fighting for the throne. Then there’s this strange secret sect that trained Mei Lin and she was ordered to assassinate Jinghe. Not to forget the Xiyan prince, and his little sister who was married to the Emperor of Great Yan for peace. I was impressed by the story of the Yan Emperor and Consort Yan (Yue Qu’s little sister). Back in the days, marrying 19 year old as a 60 year old was normal so I had no weird feelings regarding it.
The most interesting thing about the story was the interaction between Mei Lin and Jinghe. This was a “enemies to lovers” type of story. Maybe I’m weird because I loved it when Mei Lin was doing her best to attack Jinghe while he played with her. One thing that was disappointing was this plot of Jinghe being the sect leader. Putting a hit on himself was crazy and I understood his reasons but it made the ‘assasination attempts’ a bit weak in terms of delivery. They were quick to expose his identity as the sect leader and also get him off the wheelchair.
Another interesting part of the story was the battle for the throne between Jinghe and the crown prince, Xuanli. A lot has happened on this battle, this also includes Xuanli framing Jinghe for the QingZhou massacre. Jinghe was on the mission to clear his name and expose Xuanli’s crimes but the crown prince obviously won’t sit and do nothing. I have two problems with this part of the story.
The first one is regarding Jinghe, I’ll explain it in the next section. Second problem was Xuanli’s end. I still don’t understand why you’d have a person commit all the crimes and hurt almost the entire cast but gets a light punishment at the end. There were other ways to catch Xuanli besides the one they chose in the drama. I just feel like he should’ve been beaten up before he got caught. I’ll explain more in the following section.
I just hate that after Xuanli was out of the picture, everything went downhill. Whatever happened with Xiyan and QingZhou was a waste of time. The story should’ve ended with Xuanli.
Characters and Cast
Jinghe
I want to discuss Jinghe first because there’s something bothering me about him. Jinghe was presented as someone who is intelligent, strategic and strong. He’s also good at martial arts, he’s a General of the strongest army. He has his reputation of being the best, but here’s the problem.
At the beginning, Jinghe was feared even when he was on the wheelchair. Even Mei Lin had to think twice before making a move on him. No one would dare get on his bad side. His character suddenly downgraded when he returned to the capital. At first, he was above the crown prince. Xuanli feared him and saw him as a real threat.
After some episodes, Jinghe got weak. The crown prince was toying with him like he was nothing. He was no longer the Jinghe we saw at first. They even forgot that he’s the leader of the secret sect. He was a general of a strong army, but he was weak.
Xuanli
Xuanli was protected all this time. This is why Jinghe downgraded when Xuanli got in the picture. In his last fight with Jinghe, Xuanli fought against Jinghe and his right hand man but he was invincible. They couldn’t do any damage to him despite outnumbering him. I’m not just talking about anyone, I’m talking about a general and his right hand man with years of war experience. The crown prince was in the palace the entire time.
Mei Lin
Don’t get me wrong when I say this. Mei Lin played by Wu Jinyan is no different from Jiang Ruoyu / Xue Li from The Double, just that Mei Lin knows martial arts. Mei Lin is actually Jinghe’s bodyguard if we can be honest. Jinghe was downgraded, this Mei Lin character was the strongest. Like Yue Qu said, Mei Lin doesn’t need Jinghe’s protection because he’s weak. Jinghe is the one who needed Mei Lin’s protection. She was independent and could survive most challenges she faced. Of course, Jinghe did sacrifice a lot for her and he did protect her at times.
Kill Me Love Me Ending
Kill Me Love Me has a sad ending. The last episode is an emotional episode so you have to prepare a box of tissues. I had a bad luck of watching sad dramas this month. It was Angels Fall Sometimes, now it’s Kill Me Love Me. I can’t complain much about the ending. I’m satisfied even if it’s a sad ending. It does make sense, I would’ve complained if they came up with something to change the fate of the leads.
Conclusion on Kill Me Love Me Review
As I mentioned in the beginning, this is an average revenge historical drama. Don’t expect something that’s on the level of The Double. All that said, I do recommend it, it’s not a bad drama. Revenge dramas are always the best. I loved the chemistry between the leads, Liu Xueyi can blend anywhere. Oh… They had nice OSTs, new music to my playlist.
