The Nine (2023)

Some Things Never Change

It took me a while to get through this drama. I started months ago, and watched with interest the first few episodes, and then it became harder to digest. This scenario is not a new one, and it has not changed nor improved with time. I think the thing that really bothered me the most was the misplaced righteousness, justice, sensitivity, and regard for the rights of victims. There is no one way to handle injustice. So, the story itself held more than a few flaws for me; some loose ends and plot holes, and that 'what if' episode at the end was thrown in there as if to appease those of us who were hoping for a neater ending that made sense of some of the relationships in the story.

The shining star of this series is the ensemble cast. The actors did a superb job of bringing the characters to life. While I found the two FLs more unrealistic than I like my heroines to be, they put their all into these characters. The supporting group were also very believable and endearing - every one of them told their stories and drew the viewer in. And perhaps the most masterful performance of all was the villain Wu Lian. What a great piece of acting! It was easy to despise him, but then to feel a modicum of pity for the circumstances which brought him to his unfortunate situation.

I was not a fan of jumping back and forth in time - it got a little confusing for me if I wasn't paying attention. I was not happy with the demise of two of my favourite characters - the story could have been just as compelling without their needless deaths. The characters deserved for their stories to have a better conclusion than they did. In the end, it didn't feel like anything other than revenge was achieved. And as usual, that revenge came at a bitter cost. I think the heroine in this piece lost sight of the harm that her efforts to avenge her friend did to other victims. In the end, it begs the question, did she do more harm than good? Whatever one's personal opinion is in that regard, this was not an easy drama to watch - and for me, once was enough.

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The Group the World Forgot

Each episode of this drama gives you a glimpse 7 years ago into the people who crossed paths with Lin Rulan and were drawn into her battle as helpless witnesses to her injustice

The experience negatively impacted each of them, with them feeling the brunt of corruption and set them all on a course to gain control of their own lives.

Now 7 years later, after her death, they all return, intent on seeing the justice she couldn’t achieve done on her behalf.

Meng Wan was a force to be reckoned with. A silent and incredibly patient storm.

When we meet her, it’s clear that her temperament is very different from rulan’s. She’s very calm, and quiet. Where Rulan was a free spirit, Meng wan carried the burden of a girl forced to grow up too quickly.

Rulan was her safe space. The bright and shiny girl who pulled her out of her misery, if only momentarily.

But that too was stolen from her as she watched as bit by bit, Wu Lian and their community drained the light from Rulan’s eyes until there was nothing left and so she set off in a course for justice… or vengeance.

Waiting, watching and biding her time.

This was an incredibly heavy story about a woman’s fruitless attempts to gain justice for her rape in a society where a woman’s morality is tied to her “purity” (not unlike our own).

Rulan fought and lost.

Meng Wan fought and won.

But it was clear that this win isn’t because society changed but because they were unable to look away.

She forced the world to see the ugly so that they wouldn’t be able to sweep it under the rug any longer.

It also highlighted different aspects of their society’s impact on the lives of women and how limited they felt their choices were as a result.

From the woman who remains in an abusive marriage to a drunk because she doesn’t know what she’d be in their society without a husband, to the woman who sacrificed others to gain respect and maintain relevance after her husband’s death because without him, she cannot stand on her own and finally the woman who sold her soul to have a place to stand in this world because she believes that the loss of her virginity renders her unclean and underserving of a proper place in this world without the mercy of a man.

It was gripping from start to finish.

Solid writing, no distractions and very few problems.

This was a really good use of episodic storytelling. Every episode served the characters and the plot.

My only issue was how lenient the story was with his accomplices.

They somehow made it seem like he was the only wrongdoer in the end and everyone who assisted him were simply led astray or victims themselves

While it is true that one can be both a victim and a perpetrator, that does NOT mean absolution.

She told the wife that from the beginning to end, nothing was her fault, and I shit you not, bile rose in my throat.

She had fault. She fed him new victims every year. Women who trusted her. Whose families trusted her. Her family and her reputation were his access to a steady supply of these girls and she knew it, knew what was happening and was still complicit.

Madam Ning sacrificed these girls and many other people that Wu Lian harmed in order to maintain her fickle relevance in society and Meng Wan didn’t consider her a villain. She was the reason he was able to get away with his crimes for as long as he was but all we asked of her is that she stop assisting him??

Prefect Chen’s ending also wasn’t all that satisfying.

The only people I could kinda understand were the servants because they aren’t servants but slaves. They didn’t have a choice and even then, I still blame them. Years of helping this man rape the young women in your care, covering up for it and not one of them strayed or attempted to help until it was convenient for them.

He was the bad guy. He was the rapist.

I agree wholeheartedly.

But he didn’t do this alone and pretending that because the women who assisted him in his deviancy were prisoners of their society counts as “time served” is despicable. They are guilty and hateful and should’ve been punished accordingly-or atleast there should’ve been a proper acknowledgment of their guilt and complicity instead of absolution.

I do want to point out an appreciation for the realism of the story as it relates to his victims-their willingness and their hesitancy. As well as how it highlights that rape isn’t always something done through force-sometimes it CAN be that nuanced and not as clear cut but that doesn’t make it any less rape…but this seems like a good place to stop no?

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The Injustice of Justice

Finished binge-watching this drama this weekend and on Monday and as I watched each episode the more I became invested in the final outcome. This is not a "heavy" analysis of the drama - just a recommendation that this is one that you watch soon or put on your playlist as a MUST-watch.

The Story; A story of a serial rapist who avoids the consequences of his actions because of several things: The worth of a woman in historical times; the influence of power, positions, and profits; the public condemnations of crowds in an open forum; and the lack of evidence because of fear of other victims to come forward.

The Director and the writer do a good job of interweaving the story with a background history of the lives of the many characters that are portrayed. There is not a replay of any old scenes to fill up the filming, but genuine investment in character development and storytelling of the past lives of some of the characters.

I rate this drama at a 9.5 because it starts with truths from the past and truths we can apply in the 21st century. It continues with the truth (although distorted at times) and it highlights the perseverance and value of unwavering friendships. There were so many life lessons that can be drawn from the past and applied to current-day living. I watched the drama asking myself -- Do we judge others too harshly without knowing the truth? Or are we crowdpleasers throwing mud from the sidelines? How often do we victimize the victim publicly or in our hearts without knowing all the facts?

The conclusion of this drama is something you must judge as Justice or Injustice? What is the ultimate cost of justice? But it truly challenges your personal assessment of how we judge victims and how we treat those who are the perpetrators of crime against victims.

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Healing the heart with Episode 25

Episode 25 is not a continuation of this drama but a wonderful alternative scenario of what ifs. What if he didn’t learn embroidery? What if he didn’t become a policeman? What if she got a divorce? What if she didn’t become a courtesan? What if she didn’t learn embroidery? It was an episode which I was happy to watch to heal my heart from the sad story.

One of the better produced dramas with realistic sets and costumes, this drama was also well written to have a more realistic feel. There wasn’t a fake super climax where the FL pulls everything together and the villain is punished. Instead, she suffers setbacks and plans accordingly.

The story goes back and forth between present time and 7 years ago as well as even earlier to the villain’s childhood. An interesting format that was well done and gives us so much detail into what Rulan had to go through as she tried repeatedly to seek justice and what led to her demise. The relationship between her and the FL was beautifully explored and fleshed out.

A reasonably good drama that would have been great had it fleshed out the villain’s motivations better. Was him being cheated out of a normal bride the reason for him preying on countless girls?

Random note: perhaps something got lost in translation as I am not clear about the analogy of the plum blossoms where the villain is said to prefer the fallen flowers compared to the blossoms still on the branches. All his embroideries of the plum blossoms look like they are still on branches to me…

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This story brought tears to my eyes . I enjoyed it .

This drama basically tells a story of how powerful men do evil things and get away with this . This is basically the reality some people face even in this current century .
We are introduced to Wu Liam a famous embroider who owns an embroidery shop and school and how he sleeps with his teenage students ,some of them commit suicide and some have kept quiet about this . Meng Wan is the best friend of another girl there who kills herself . Meng swears to take revenge and this happens over a period of 7 years .
In the drama, we get to see what happens before and after the seven years , the sacrifices made ,the lives lost and finally the retribution . I fell in love with this drama . The acting was great ,the song was good .

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Too Boring, and Janice Wu is better in modern drama than historical one.

Faithful is a historical Cdrama about revenge starting Janice Wu. I like Janice Wu, but lately, her projects were not been interesting. This is the first historical drama that I watched from her. I think she acts better in modern drama than in historical costume.

The Synopsis: A young woman named Ru Lan, who put her reputation on the line to air her grievances, dies in vain. Seven years later, nine people inextricably linked to the Ru Lan case get together for different reasons, thus beginning a story of revenge. Disregarding her good friend Meng Wan's objections, the young Lin Ru Lan risked her reputation to sue Wu Lian, the master of Xiu Liu. After many unsuccessful attempts, Ru Lan, who finds no place to hear her grievances, finally commits suicide to prove her innocence. Meng Wan bides her time for seven years and assembles nine people to seek justice for her friend. In the process, the struggles of a young girl buried in time gradually emerge.

This drama is so slow and boring that I barely passed 5 episodes. I am dropping it because it didn't intrigue me. I give it a 5.0 rating.

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