The only Girl You Haven't Seen (S1 &2) (Mini): Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Title: | The Only Girl You Haven't Seen (2022) (Mini Drama) |
Platform: | Youtube (free) |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance/ Wuxia/ Rebirth |
Episode Count: | 32 total (18 eps per season, 10 mns per episode) |
Parental Guidance Rating: | TV-14: Minor violence, brief domestic violence (not leads), intimacy alluded to but not explicitly depicted. |
Staring: | Wang Zu Yi (The Vendetta of An) Wen Mo Yan (Reborn From the Ashes) Hou Dong (Forever Love) Sunny Jin (Fights Break Sphere) |
RBTS Rating: | 2.8/5 Stars (A mini drama with a killer FL and an ML living a double life that stands above the rest in terms of chemistry and characters, but is besot with the production quality pitfalls of the format. The rating may seem low, but it's pretty good for a mini.)  |
Synopsis:
A Qi, the daughter of the prime minister of Yan State, is framed by the third prince, He Lian Chen, and killed. However, she miraculously survives, only to find herself in the body and life of Leng Li, the daughter of General Leng Shao. Before fully recovering, she is married to He Lian Xuan, the fifth prince. Despite his seemingly mischievous nature, He Lian Xuan is kind and loyal, and their closeness deepens into love. As they face constant challenges, Leng Li uncovers the hidden side of He Lian Xuan. @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
The Only Girl You Haven't Seen is a surprisingly well done mini drama that manages to avoid many of the pitfalls of the format. The drama starts out with our assassin FL being betrayed and murdered by her lover to suddenly find herself reborn as a noble Gerneal's daughter freshly married to the childlike fifth prince, who uses his "innocence" to disguise his true abilities. The two spend time together and eventually fall in love, as she fights for revenge and aids the prince in establishing himself. While there were villainous siblings, competition for the throne, and zombies (lol), the couple was the heart of the show. The leads had excellent chemistry and the drama did a great job showing how important the two were to each other.
The majority of my praise goes to Wen Mo Yan as Leng Li (FL). Thank the heavens for a capable, mature female lead who held her own, fearlessly standing up for the ML and getting her revenge. She had a normal speaking voice and awareness for her age (miracles!), and was my favorite part of the show. Wang Zu Yi (ML Actor) did a good job playing with the duality of a more mellow Scarlet Pimpernel-esque character, but I'm not sure I loved where we landed with He Lian Xuan (ML). And while his white wig felt like cosplay, but it was kinda fun. It was the equivalent of Superman's glasses.
While the story was compelling, propelled by solid performances and great chemistry, it is still a mini drama. World order has not changed overnight, alas. The narrative is choppy with sudden starts and ends to arcs and scenes, jolting and disrupting the flow of the story. There are plot holes and gaps a plenty, bad costumes and fake looking wigs galore, you want morally questionable choices? It's got plenty. But who cares? No big deal? I want more.. well, now i'm just singing Part of Your World.
The drama is not a masterpiece, but for the time it had to tell the story, it tried to make the most of it. I didn't like Season 2 as much, and the FL made some... yikes decisions (Hello, Yun Ji), which compounded with the Male Lead being annoying at the end, made it a less enjoyable watch in comparison. But overall, a good time for a short time.
Story=3, Acting=3 (ML was truly doing the most with that fan), Production Quality=2 (good cinematography, but Halloween City wigs and costumes, home video worthy fight scenes), Rewatch Value=2.5 (Worse on rewatch), Ending=3 (She should have left him. I would have lol), Enjoyability= 3.5
Trailer:
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