To @agdr03

Here’s another Chinese drama I can watch hassle-free, Dr. Cutie. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. 🙂

It seems like I pick my Chinese dramas for a different reason from my Kdramas. While I often choose kdramas for the novelty factor, I like the one-dimensional issues of the characters in Cdramas. Their conflicts are easier to understand and far less nuanced than in kdramas. Invariably, the female lead has the moxie to overcome all obstacles, especially the hero’s jealous ex-girlfriend, mother, sister, cousin, dead wife, childhood friend, work colleague, or name for evil feminine archenemy.

Why I’m watching this:

The Superficial reason #1:

Because the actress Sun Qian reminds me of an actress in another cross-dressing drama called Love in the Moonlight.

Beauty ranking (because I know this is 100% relevant to our discussion):
Kim Yoo Jung >>> Sun Qian

And while I’m at it, I might as well rate the male leads. lol. I know what the director of Dr. Cutie was trying to do here.

Beauty ranking (this is a no-brainer but it still has to be said):
Park Bo Gum >>> Huang Jun Jie

Now, that’s my superficial reason for watching this Cdrama. Here’s my serious reason.

Not-so-superficial reason #1:

Because the story’s concept of luck appeals to me. I like a hero who doesn’t believe in superstitions, old wives’ tales, and bad luck.

Sun Qian plays Tian Qi, a gifted doctor who could have been promoted to serve the Emperor, but she bluffed her way out of the prestigious job. She started a rumor that she was bad luck to her patients. She’d cure their illness only to see them die shortly afterwards from an accidental death. So to spare the Emperor from an unplanned demise, she dared not serve him.

Later on, it’d be revealed that Tian Qi had an ulterior motive for rejecting the imperial position. She wanted to solve the mystery behind her parents’ murders, and she believed that murderer lived in the Ji family manor.

She wanted to gain employment at the Ji Manor so she could investigate her parents’ death without arousing suspicion. With this plan in mind, she volunteered herself as the medical doctor of the princess engaged to be married to the head of the Ji family.

Huang Jun Jie plays Ji Heng, the head of the Ji family and the Emperor’s general. He’d come home from the war to marry the princess the Emperor had chosen for him. But before he could marry her, she was poisoned. When he had Tian Qi investigated in connection to his fiancée’s murder, he was told that Tian Qi had brought bad luck upon his fiancée and cursed her to death.

He answered, “I remember when father was alive, there was also someone who told my father that my life is doomed to be lonely, unlucky, and am a curse to my family. They spoke so seriously that in the future I would kill my father to steal his power. Rumors are just that. From now on, these baseless rumors, don’t let me hear of them again.”

I don’t know whether the screenwriter planned this or not (because I don’t know yet how this writer thinks) but I liked how the hero immediately put an end to this talk of bad luck because he himself had been the subject of such rumors. On top of that, I liked it that he prevented the rumors – which Tian Qi started herself – from backfiring on her. I consider his command as one of many “life-saving” acts he would do for her.

Superficial reason #2:

The mystery guy gonna mystify

I’m watching this kdrama till I find out who this evil guy is. I hope he isn’t Ji Heng’s younger brother in disguise. From all appearances, his younger brother, who’s named Ji Zheng, is loyal to him so it must be a new character.

Not-so-superficial reason #2:

I’m watching this show because I want to see where the story’s going with the theme of loyalty. In case it was missed, there were two instances in the first couple of episodes where the subject of loyalty was brought up.

The first time (Ep 1 at 30:02):

Tian Qi mistook Heng’s robe for her tissue and blew her nose on it. He asked her why she alone was crying in front of the princess’ casket. Where were the princess’ other maids? (Remember at this point, Heng still doesn’t know that Tian Qi is a female doctor.)

For a second, Tian Qi was at a loss for words. Heng’s attendant told her that she could be beheaded for not responding immediately. Thinking on her feet, she bluffed again about her close relationship with the dead princess. She begged Heng, “Commander, for the sake of Princess Shuncheng, please spare my life.”

He answered, “You’re very loyal. It’s fine. The death sentence can be spared but you cannot go unpunished.”

He left his attendant to deal with her punishment. The attendant scolded TQ:

Man: You’re really good. You easily articulated the loyalty you had for Princess Shuncheng in just a few words. You also led the commander to walk towards Princess Shuncheng’s coffin. You made the commander unable to bear killing her own servant in front of her grave. You really are…shameless.

This scene told me three things: One, he admired loyalty in those serving their master. Two, he strived to be loyal too. He felt an obligation to his dead fiancée, so he spared her servant Tian Qi.

And three, Tian Qi acquired an important insight into Heng’s character. You see, later, in Episode 8, Heng ordered the loyal servant of his bad stepmother (long story…) kill. Tian Qi knew that this was just his scare tactics, and told him so.

The second time (Ep 2 at 17:02):

Heng asked his younger brother to stay by his side to help him restore peace to his people. He said, “You should know that you are the person I trust the most in this world.” When he said that, Zheng looked down. I’m not sure if Zheng looked away out of modesty or out of guilt. I hope it’s the former.

So yes, I’d to know where the writer is going with this “loyalty” question. Is this something Ji Heng would demand Tian Qi to prove to him, too, later in the story?

Superficial Reason #3:

Did I tell you that Tian Qi cute?

Our heroine tells white lies to get out of scrapes. For instance, when Heng commanded her, “Tell me, why are you crying in front of the Princess’ memorial by yourself this late at night?” she could hardly admit that a) she was upset that she had to leave the Ji Manor without accomplishing her mission, since her employer, the Princess, died, and that b) she felt guilty for trying to steal a jewelry from the Princess’ casket to pay off the debt she incurred to work at Ji Manor. lol.

As the Heng’s attendant said, she was shameless.

However, far from annoying me, Tian Qi’s antics reminded me of a cat’s “righting reflex.” You do know what a “righting reflex” is, right? It’s NOT an urban myth that cats always land on their feet. It’s true. They are able to orient themselves as they’re falling in space, so they end up landing on their feet. They can quickly figure out which was is up and then they rotate their head accordingly, and their bodies follow suit.

Anyway, Tian Qi had this cat’s reflex, too. She had great survival instinct, and she could contort the truth to save herself. Thus, despite many close calls, she managed to escape trouble, none the worse for wear.

Not-so-superficial reason #3:

And I like it that she could hoodwink Ji Heng. Of course, he sensed that she was lying. He knew that she hadn’t been upfront with him.

But it was entertaining to watch that even when he thought he got the better of her, he was only really skimming the surface of her lies.

He hadn’t begun to suspect that she was cross-dressing as a male doctor.

And because he was totally oblivious to her real sex, he couldn’t possibly know that she was the girl he’d been looking, his childhood friend who disappeared on him after her parents died.

And I love the irony of it all. This is my real reason for wanting to watch this show till the end.

You see, within the first ten minutes of the show, it was pretty obvious that Ji Heng wanted Tian Qi dead. I told you that she blew her nose on his robe and he was disgusted.

Tian Qi said so herself.  “This moment is the first time I faced Ji Heng, the favored commander of the emperor. It’s the first time I saw his face clearly. It’s also the first time that I’ve had this phrase pop into my head: Tian Qi, 19 years old. Dead.”

In the following episodes, Tian Qi’s first impression of Heng’s was proven correct. Ji Heng had no qualms threatening to kill her and risking her life to solve the princess’ murder. Tian Qi often begged him to spare her life.

From Episode 1:

From Episode 2:

He scared her to confess by shooting the arrow at the bullseye behind her.

From Episode 3:

He threatened to make her join her dead mistress in the afterlife…

and to kill her when the azaleas withered, if she didn’t speedily discover who poisoned the princess.

She begged for her life then…and the azaleas’ life. (Sorry, but this was a hilarious scene.)

He “mansplained” to his brother that Tian Qi’s sacrifice was necessary…

and offered to give her a glorious funeral for dying for his cause.

It wasn’t fate that had conspired against him. It was the screenwriter. The writer is setting this up so he’d eat his words and grovel.

He was so clueless that this Dr. Tian Qi whose life he was ruthlessly discarding is the little girl in his nightmare whom he desperately wanted to protect.

Don’t you just love the drama? But I’m positively drooling with excitement because it’s a romantic comedy. It should be fun.