Maiden Holmes (2020)

Top 3 in my Cdrama list! A definite must watch!! :)

I would rate this the top 3 in my C- drama list!! Follow my Instagram acc Cykodramaqueen for snippets.

Storyline is excellent! It was paced well, every episode was interesting. Another reviewer said it was 60% romance, 30% crime solving and 10% political intrigue. I would say the romance and love story is underlying throughout the whole drama. From how they met, finding out each other’s secrets, going through difficulties and falling in love- the development was fantastic, sincere and their chemistry was pretty good! Quite a few kissing scenes and lots of sweet touching moments<3 There are also some funny moments- second couple were cute. It’s Zhang Linghe’s first drama, and his voice was dubbed by another actor, so I would say not bad for his first work. I do like the voice actor’s voice though... it sounded like the same voice for A Girl Like Me :3

The crime solving plots and the political struggle for power are somewhat connected, together with both the leads’ past history. She’s basically like a woman Sherlock Holmes (thus the title) and her friend Rushuang is like a poison specialist, pretty much like CSI :) They will seek evidence and clues to solve the crime and determine who is the culprit.

I thought this was better than The Romance of Tiger and Rose (although I do like the actors in that drama. But the storyline and development in this is way better). All in all, I really enjoyed this, especially the last few episodes which was intense! A definite recommended watch <3<3<3

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Calm watch! Nothing too exciting

an easy and cute watch! there was something so calming about this drama. all characters were lovable and misunderstandings were solved quickly. there was no stupid headless chicken running around instead of communication between the leads. the kisses were STEAMY (other cdrama actors need to take note hehe).

the acting was incredible from the whole cast, esp considering it was the ML’s first drama?! he did so well. i wouldn’t mind another drama with sebrina and ZLH as the leads again (or even the secondary couple being leads) ;) they all have such great chemistry.

there were some minor plot holes, like how SC just forgets that Prince Qi saved her but it’s a not a big deal and doesn’t ruin the drama. it is also a little bit slow paced, but not draggy. i felt there was a good balance between mystery and romance, but romance does overtake a little so if you like romance then this is very much for you. overall, i highly recommend!!

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Comforting, well-executed with no surprises

There is no tension in this drama. The main couple always do the right thing, and a lot of the teasing and tension of the first 10 episodes disappears. What kept me watching was the fun chemistry of the second couple, sweet and full of hijinks all the way through.

The music is decent with a wistful hint. There is no reason to rewatch.

I grade by other criteria:

Complex Themes - 3
I have nothing except stick to the righteous path. Friends are important.

Character Development - 5
Characters are roughy the same at the beginning as the end, though our 'Maiden Holmes' becomes a little lighter hearted and at ease.

Complex roles/relationships for women - 7
There were two female roles here, who were genuine friends, competent and professional. They did not just talk about their romantic relationships with men.

Production Design/Budget - 8
For being on the lower budget side, this is well put together with flattering costumes and sets and a decent amount of outdoor shots.

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Lovable Cast & Amazing Group Dynamics

This cross-dressing and hidden concept is not new and sometimes executed poorly.
I will like to commend on how it was portrayed by both the FL and ML respectively. It was extremely well paced in terms of how and when they discover each other gender/identity. Some dramas just drag this aspect which can cause audiences like myself to get a little frustrated.

The group dynamics of them 5 characters whom bring different skill sets to the table and distinctive personality types made the show memorable. Somewhat similar vibes to “Ancient Detective“.

To me, I find the cases pretty well thought of even though the focus of the show is more on the romance of the two leads.

Lastly, I gotta say the OST and the instrumentals in the show were amazing. Especially the ending credits duet which warmed my heart every time it played along with an ending credits scene.
*Please ensure to watch the ending credits of every episode as it includes heartwarming/removed scenes from the drama that create more depth in the overall series.*

If you are into female strong lead, relationships that are supportive, and not overly done humor, be sure to catch this drama. :)

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This was pretty decent. I loved the storyline. No competition on who gets who... I think this is more about avenging than anything else. The costumes, set, visuals, and martial arts were all there, so that is a good thing. I would re-watch it again but not right away. A lot of fighting in this one but not like a war type of fighting... The main lead actor/actress was awesome. I just love how loyalty plays a lot historically. I'm saying that sarcastically! I thank the whole team for this drama. I hope to see the two main leads in another drama.

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Common setup with fresh element

This drama has a generic setup in wuxia, romance genres - Su Ci, a high-level investigator who disguises as a man, and Prince Qi, a military prince who disguises as a wealthy aristocrats as Pei Zhao meets on a chance encounter. Together with friends of different skillsets (a medic, a swordsman, and an all-in-one attendant), they form a fast friendship and great investigation team. Each case, though seemingly distinct, somehow leads them to getting tangled with the present brewing court struggles as well as to uncovering clues to redressing past injustices.

It may be an overused plot, but this drama interestingly strips away the angsts and misunderstandings between the main leads that tend to run a couple of episodes in other dramas. Su Ci is observant, collected and upright, Pei Zhao is strategic, patient and decisive. From their first encounter, we know that fate will bound them together and make them fall for each other, hard, despite the disguises and troubled pasts. It's pleasant to watch Su Ci and Pei Zhao budding and growing relationship - Pei Zhao is unwavering and unbashful in expressing his adoration towards Su Ci, Su Ci is supportive and honest with her feelings (most of the time) towards Pei Zhao. Any "rival" arcs introduced in the stories - if they are considered as rivals at all - are resolved rather quickly. In fact, I personally rather like the princess from Bei Rong, who is outspoken with her thoughts. Love this healthy dynamics and matured approach to relationship. ^^

And of course, the steamy and sweet moments between Su Ci and Pei Zhao are not to be missed. The actor and actress really do make you believe that they love each other - after the main leads confirm their relationship for each other in the later parts of the drama, Su Ci and Pei Zhao are generally never more than 2 steps apart if they are in the same frame! Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little, but point is, the main couple has great and lovely chemistry together. The second couple's story is fun to watch as well.

Apart from the main leads, Pei Zhao's good relationship with his brother, the emperor, is also a fresh of breathe air. And also, who would forget our adorable Fei Yuan? He is definitely more than an attendant to Pei Zhao, and contributes to many comedic moments in the show, along with our Xie daxia.

Fans of detective stories, however, may prefer to check out other series instead. This drama focuses more on the relationship dynamics between the main leads and the eventual showdown with the main villain. Crime solving is only part of the plots that move the story along - they are not weak on its own, but nothing too tricky or memorable about them either.

All in all, I enjoyed myself - if you are looking for an uncomplicated drama which brings some fresh elements to a common plot and great dynamics between the main casts, do give this show a chance.

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Light and sweet

When temptation turns to obsession even the heart filled with parental love can be tampered with. Greed of power has never received a happy ending. This drama portrayed this well. The chemistry of the characters and the pace each love story unfolded. It wasn't over the top kind of plot. This drama had a well blended plot line. A story with smart female leads and warm hearted male leads that are supportive are beloved plot to all. Given the fact that they were newly introduced actors, there wasn't the newbie awkwardness among the leads. The time spent waiting for it was worth it all.

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I chanced upon this drama as I was looking for something to watch and I'm glad I did.

STORY:
Crime solving in a historical drama? yes. Gender Bender? YES. Squad? Count me in.
Maiden Holmes is not that mind blowing drama and it definitely is not that serious crime solving drama we expect it to BUT it is entertaining enough to devote your time to. Suci (Sebrina Chen) is an officer in the historical times who disguises as male in order to work under the radar while solving her clan's murder. She is smart, tough, and observant all the values of a strong, independent woman. She then meets Xiao Yan Zhi (Zhang Ling He) who is undercover while on a mission in another part of the kingdom. Their story begins there. Yan Zhi eventually finds out that she is female and develops feelings for her. What I liked about the story is that there is no unnecessary conflict between Yan Zhi and his brother the emperor. In fact, the ministers of the court are most of the brother's enemies. It was refreshing to see brothers trusting each other in a historical drama. What made me laugh out loud is the fact that the person Suci considers as her hero is actually Yan Zhi. Imagine saying good things only to be be heard by the person you're admiring. I love their squad. They all have equal parts of the story.

ACTING/CAST:
The leads definitely have chemistry and it is surprising to find out that this is Zhang Ling He's debut. He acts naturally and isn't awkward with his scenes with Sebrina Chen. Actually, he really reminds me of a young Lee Min Ho but better. I don't know, I have a love-hate relationship with LMH's acting lol. Even the other casts in the squad are okay. They had this synergy which I appreciate very much.

MUSIC:
I love the opening song of this drama. It is rare for me to recall an OST of a Chinese drama compared to KDramas.

REWATCH VALUE:
Yes.

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a cute feel good show 85% of the time!!

my friends and i have been talking about smth we would like to describe as the 'rare minimum.' as in this is the bare minimum bar is on the ground expectation for quality, and yet it happens so rarely that we are still surprised by it. this show is kind of it for light hearted romcoms! while not exactly a particularly smart show, it doesn't fall into senseless stupidity. all i ask is that the female lead be written with enough care and consideration that allows her to stand on her own, and isn't held down by the usual misogynistic tropes, and that she and the male lead can have a relationship that isn't plagued by stupid miscommunications and misunderstandings.... or worse the male lead being sweet and then suddenly becoming a raging abuser to 'protect her' or some shit which is the trope that sends me towards an early death.

the only real time su ci has issues w pei zhao/qi wang is when she becomes suddenly triggered and flies into trauma lizard brain for an episode but it's easily forgivable and understandable considering what she's been through, and the way that the couple actually communicate makes up for it, with them becoming stronger by the end. there's also a part where pei zhao has to marry a princess to save su ci, and she doesn't lose her head and devolve into 'he's betraying me' she ultimately still trusts him and knows that he did it for good reasons, but the narrative still allows her to be rightfully angry, which is nice. they have such a straightforward progression of becoming close, inspiring each other, being vulnerable with each other, and supporting each other that is just refreshing and comfortable to watch. i don't feel like im constantly under attack like how i feel having seen so many romantic dramas, where there is just toxic behavior that isn't developed or worked through and angst over misunderstandings.

the group dynamic/scooby gang investigating generally low stakes mysteries is so the vibe that i was looking for! every member of the friend group is so cute and each person has their chance to shine and offer their skills to the mystery at hand. well, maybe xie beiming a little less, but he's so lovable and supportive and important just for his presence alone! it's just nice to watch a show about a whole friend group too, which also feels like something of a rarity. usually the b couple is off having a whole separate plot. the secondary couple in this show is also.... really cute..... they really get me.... the supportive himbo king x smart/capable spunky girl ALWAYS gets me.... giving me guo jing x huang rong from condor heroes vibes. that said while they were super cute for most of the series i was disappointed in how their relationship arc went by the end, they really established that xie beiming was the overprotective will-just-hide-the-truth-from-his-girl type, which is fine as long as he grows from it and he never does?? pei zhao is literally like u should trust and believe in ur smart and strong gf and he still doesnt learn?? he literally goes into the finale still having not told her his past and she has to learn due to circumstance. very disappointed, he could have had a really fulfilling character arc in which he learns how to actually respect rushuang, and women in general by extension, by trusting and believing in her strength, and willing to be share himself and his troubles with her as a partner. sighhhhhh..

other problems w the show include the absolute flagrant and violent transphobia of the first episode and also sprinkled throughout the rest of the show. it's like reeeallly bad and reeeaaally gross. there's also some tropes in the beginning that are quite shitty, such as the aphrodisiac shit, the threat of sexual violence, it's all p upsetting and is what knocks the score down for me. i kno she's not trans by any means, but there's just something really violent about a gender nonconforming person getting drugged, and non consensually stuffed into the clothing and make up of their assigned gender, and then put under the threat of sexual violence, and then having to be saved by the male love interest.... and this happens TWICE.

but OTHERWISE, i've seen many a 'strong female character' but usually they are girl bosses because they are royalty or just powerful in social status, or they're exceptional fighters/warriors/generals.... it felt nice to watch su ci be accepted and respected based on her ability as a detective. also a lot of the characters come under the assumption that pei zhao and su ci are gay because she was dressed as a man for a lot of the series.... for a show with no gay leads or gay relationships, it somehow still felt like the kindest treatment of lgb people i've seen in a c-drama?? pei zhao is clearly interested and kisses su ci before he finds out she's a girl, and even afterwards every time someone is like u guys are gay, he is super accepting and goes along with it, he doesn't protest even a little, being gay just isn't treated like it's shameful.... which is more than i can say for some literal bl novels/shows. based on this i'm willing to just go ahead w my bi king headcanon. himbo king xie meiming is also super supportive when he thinks they're gay, he doesn't 'out' them at any point and is just generally caring?? the only one who is mad about it is pei zhao's clearly gay servant kid who also wrote their names together in a marriage wish so i'm willing to chalk it up to him being young and suffering from internalized homophobia.

another note why are we STILL under the yoke of the ten miles peach blossoms styling chokehold.... su ci resembles bai qian in her styling very much, very sick of the light near white robes with the middle parted hair that softly curls around the head and the drop earrings.... even when dressed as a guy she looks like bai qian's young cross dressing form. come on c dramas let's move onnnNNN!!!

ultimately, this is a great feel good comfort show! lighthearted but still engaging, with a lot of simple plots and storytelling, nothing new exactly, but it doesn't aspire to ever be more than it is. just comforting, safe, and cute.

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IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE FACT ABOUT THIS DRAMA.

First, I would like to apologise if my grammar is not that good.
CONSISTENCY OF THE CHARACTER or the personality of the character in the drama plays a very important role in connecting the drama itself to the viewers. AT FIRST 10 EPISODES, I would say this drama in undoutbtedly good. The characters are good and the story can be felt but the viewers or I personally. HERE ARE THE REASONS WHY I STARTED TO DISCONNECT MYSELF FROM THE DRAMA.
* The female lead is a crossdresser, she was a detective and disguised herself as a man because she wanted to clear the name of her family which is a good idea. Then the ML pretended to be a common guys which in reality he is a prince. So ok, then everybody knows that the ML is a prince aside from the FL. What the F*ck, how can she (FL) not know the real identity of the ML if she(FL) considered to be the best young detective. Moreover, the FL was a big fan of the prince, she even read books everything about the prince yet she cannot recognize the prince, what a shame, just imagine the situation. She over praise the prince and always says something good in front of the ML about the prince, she is just fooling herself. (THE ML KNEW THAT THE DETECTIVE OR THE FL WAS A FEMALE AT THE VERY BEGGINING. Then the story goes and they overpass many problems. 'Till in ep 13, the FL finally discovered that the boy or the ML she knew was the Prince, then she got just angry, just a few second in the drama and then it's just like that. Then just the story continues.

MY POINY IS THAT, HOW CAN A FAMOUS DETECTIVE BE FOOLED WITHOUT KNOWING THE REAL IDENTITY OF THE ML, IT IS JUST DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. JUST IMAGINE, THEIR FIRST ENCOUNTER WAS IN A HOTEL OR IN A BAR IN MODERN DAYS WHERE THE ML IS FLIRTING WITH MANY GIRLS. THE CONSISTENCY OF THE CHARACTER WERE SO UNTRUE KAYA NAKAKAWALANG GANA. NAGOATULOY ANG ROMANCE PARANG HINDI NA AKO NAKA CONNECT SA STORY.

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Not my cup of tea

Sorry if I didn't like this drama. Umm it started out well. Like the female and male lead is intelligent and they solve cases then they made two friends. All is well until I find the Female lead too troublesome and the male lead always sacrificing or saving the FL. She isn't the strong, intelligent, independent woman she is supposed to be (they introduce her like that). Also too draggy on the romance part of the leads. Their story is boring. Fl is also irrational sometimes and oa. It is not the Maiden Holmes I exepcted.

I can't continue watching it.
Thats just my point of view though. If you're not picky, I can say this drama isn't bad at all

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