Oh boy, strap yourselves in for this review.

It seems I’m starting to have a type for Cdramas: Modern Woman gets Chucked Into Chinese Ancient Times - A World Full of Hot Men.

Kinda crazy when you think about, imagine diving into your own fanfic (every girl’s dream)

However, this drama was the definition of a mess. On paper, the premise and plot sound interesting (it's what drew me to the show after all) but watching it was a whole other story. There are so many flaws I don't even know where to begin.

The biggest problem in this show is the female lead. Chen Qian Qian is so ditsy, I found myself cringing at her actions 90% of the time. She spends so much time trying to make the story go exactly the way she wrote it in the script. Always trying to play wingman for the male lead and her sister and referencing the original storyline she wrote. All I wanted was for her to finally have an epiphany like ‘Omg, things can go different from the original story!’ What a concept! She wasn't dealing with a Back to the Future situation where she had to fix the past - this is a FANFIC. A story can go in ANY DIRECTION and I wished that she would just go with the flow rather than constantly trying to make things go her way.

I was also surprised how quickly she adapted to feudal life, she literally went from 21st century norms to historical China (or a made up version of it at least) and she was like “oh this is what’s happening, okay”. The only thing that separated her from everybody else in this world was how she kept trying to keep the plot on track. Speaking of, I don't understand her reasoning behind this. She has this idea that by making the story come to its written end, it will just magically plop her right back where she left off in the real world like some bad dream. Where is her logic behind this???

But what I missed from her character is she never has any 'modern' moments. For example, her saying something contemporary only we would understand (but would sound like gibberish to everyone else). I guess what I’m trying to say is: apart from her awareness that she is in a fake world (that she wrote), you wouldn’t even know she was a modern woman. She never has any times where her modern (future) knowledge comes in handy. For e.g. in ‘Moon Lovers’, Hae Soo helped the crown prince who had eczema because she recognised the symptoms and knew what would help his condition. Or Xiao Tan from ‘The Eternal Love’. She made endless modern references, forged a scooter, had a Victoria’s Secret fashion show, did a fun public dance in the street - she was iconic. I guess I just consider it wasted potential for Qian Qian's character.

Speaking of wasted potential, I need to talk about the second female lead: Chu Chu. I was so upset that her character regressed into the typical bitchy second lead (to the extreme I might add). At the beginning of the drama I found it so refreshing for the 2nd FL to be nice! After such a kind sisterly relationship in the beginning, it was such a let down to see it turn sour (especially when a lot of it was related to stealing a man). It hurt to see Chu Chu totally embrace the dark side, she has some major insecurity issues when it comes to Qian Qian.

I should also add, can the writers stay true to what they've written please? This whole time the plot has been centred around which princess will become the Young City Master, the heir to the City Master position. We are led to believe the City Master is the one in control of Huanyuan. But after some major political changes as everything is falling apart, the audience's concept on who controls the city does a full 180. Wasn't the City Master the one who had all the power and made the rules? But apparently the Minister of Defence has the power to instil laws and make political moves as well?? Like, how does a Minister of Defence get to decide on the city’s dress code??

And can we take a look at the logistics of this whole world please. Is EVERYTHING in this world written by Chen Xian Qian? Every character? All the backstory and history? She’s only a scriptwriter, I swear the drama script she wrote wasn’t that detailed. So…does the world just fill in the blanks? Because I don’t understand how this entire world was written by her, yet she knows nothing. For e.g. she wrote traitor Su Zi Ying’s character right? Yet she had no clue how Qian Qian’s character treated him badly when they were kids. How can that be? Did she write that in the script or not? Or what about the gasoline that was discovered under the mines? Total shock to her. How much of this world DID she write? Or is this universe just making its own rules and history? So many questions

Now, onto the couple. We all know that it's practically inevitable for a couple to have one of those forced breakups. Especially the ones that involve telling hurtful lies, secretly for their partner's ‘own good’. What I've always hated about this trope (apart from the obvious) is they can achieve the SAME RESULT by communicating with their partner and saying what needs to happen. Qian Qian could have literally told Han Shuo: "hey can you go to a secret location for the time being? I have a feeling a storm is coming and I want you out of harm’s way." it's THAT simple.

Another thing in regards Han Shuo: his heart condition. I feel like I need to voice the words of Dan Oh: “I have heart disease, why am I coughing?”

Where do I even begin with Han Shuo. Look, I love him a lot and he has many great moments. He is a loyal partner and supports Qian Qian wholeheartedly. His devotion to her is true, I completely acknowledge that. BUT there is something that happened that I feel like everyone forgot about. BIG red flag here.

There is a scene where Qian Qian is under house arrest (under Han Shuo's order) and he tries to sexually assault her. He keeps going until she just bursts into tears, it’s so hard to watch. He stops and you know what he SAYS? “You ruined my mood” yikes, yikes, yikes

And then he comes out of the house to see Mr 2nd lead out who's out in the rain and says “Do Chen Qian Qian’s screams sound nice?” Is it possible for my skin to crawl even further?

(I do know he had his reasons behind it - but even if he wasn't planning on going through with it, does that make it okay??)

I also understand that they eventually heal their broken relationship afterwards, but it was such an impactful scene (in all the wrong ways) that I couldn't forget it.

Another thing about their relationship is how Han Shuo calls himself her husband, but it feels so weird because did they REALLY get married?? They skipped literally every tradition and ceremony and didn’t consummate, so what DID they do to earn their marital status exactly?? And especially considering it was a marriage of kidnapping, does it really count?

(( And did they have their first time in a jail cell of all places? Ouch ))

Okay I should talk about what I did like about the story though so it's not just a review of negativity lol

I loved the idea of these 2 cities which the story is focused around. Xuanhu: where men is the superior sex. And Huanyuan: the other where woman are superior. It’s interesting to see a world where the roles are reversed and the women are in control. I was entranced by the beginning where they showed Huanyuan's social norms and history (where it's a blessing if the baby is a girl and a disappointment if it is a boy. A city where only women could study, have important positions, be soldiers, be the head of the household, etc). There is SO much to unpack with this concept. Unfortunately we only scrape the surface for the majority of the drama and only in the final 3 episodes do we finally get to see Xuanhu city. It's only then when we start to get into some good stuff like gender equality and comparing the two cities. I wish there was more focus on this!!

(And along the way there's a reveal that Han Shuo is Mulan’s son??? Say what? What IS this universe lmao)

Honestly... why do I feel like my favourite thing in Tiger and Rose is the costume department? XD
Chen Qian Qian had the most gorgeous clothes!!! Everybody has exceptional clothing, did all the budget go towards this hahaha

On the whole: the premise for Tiger and Rose was intriguing. However, it needed to be properly executed for it to be a drama worth giving credit to