I have been casually lurking on this website for a year; now I have finally made an account because I want to write a review JUST for this show. This is a spoiler-free review! I will provide some assurances here and there in case there are things that might otherwise turn you away, but I do not count these as spoilers because I give absolutely no specifics.

tl;dr - Skip to the Overall Rating section at the bottom for a basic recommendation.

---Story: 8.5/10

The tone of the show was consistent; it knew what it wanted to be. From the first episode to the last, it was dramatic (comes with the genre), but it had a good balance of humor and romance and knew when to lighten up. After all, it is a generally feel-good kind of show, one that I would classify as a comedy in the original sense of the term. It never felt dark or gritty; just serious and sometimes perilous at times, and then would relax a bit with something cute and/or cheesy and make me smile like crazy.

The synopsis might sound spoilery to some but it just basically gives you an idea of what happens in the first episode. Yes, everything is set up in the FIRST episode, even one plot thread that is left hanging until episode 17 before it is nicely tied off by the very end of the show. So basically you are in for a ride to know exactly HOW this sweet, innocent woman who has never been part of the “underworld” has to adjust and fool everyone into thinking she’s her sister, the Female Star Killer boss of Yi Ching Group. And how the other characters with their own conflicts and secrets achieve their goals and react to each other. It’s quite entertaining.

It takes a little while for the romance to develop but that just makes it feel more natural, and any other way would be too rushed. After all, there are secrets and misunderstandings that keep the characters apart at first. At the beginning of the series when the characters are getting to know each other, I sensed that spark between the two main couples and it definitely was all paying off between episodes 7-15 with plenty of cute and romantic moments to keep you feeling warm and fuzzy. Things get dark by episode 16 but this is building up to the climax and the storm will pass soon—don’t give up hope.

Oh yeah, big plus here for me: NO LOVE TRIANGLES. HALLELUJAH! I was expecting the first male lead (Le Jun) and first female lead (Ping Fan) to get hijacked by some stupid love triangle shenanigans with the second male lead (Tian Xing) but AMAZINGLY this never happened! Because Le Jun and Ping Fan have eyes only for each other.  Meanwhile, Tian Xing becomes enamored with the unexpected second female lead (Jing Xuan) who is a nurse at a hospital that these characters end up frequenting because they are in the mafia and always getting into fights, of course. Now there was a bit of concern with another character who tries to court Jing Xuan but in the end I didn’t have to worry about it. So if you are like me and can’t stand those silly love triangles, this is probably a good show for you! (=^w^=)

The plot features a lot of tropes and cliches, but rather than being annoyed by them, I felt like they were used in ways that made sense, were set up logically/plausibly (as much as you can in a fictional story), and propelled the story along. That is to say, I got the impression they were not included for their own sake, but to create a sense of a greater picture that simply involves some elements that we're familiar with. Or even if they WERE just included because the writers thought they had to, at least there was a REASON for it and it was explained in the show to make you believe it. Honestly, we are watching a romantic drama, what do you expect? We're HERE to see Ping Fan bandage up a wound on Le Jun's muscular, swoon-worthy shoulder and to see Tian Xing woo Jing Xuan ineffectively by showering her with flowers and gifts because he thinks that’s what girls want. :P We drama fans signed up for this stuff, this is what we expect and they deliver on every occasion.

Still, I think I should mention that some parts are kind of cringy. Some more than others. Most of the time the cringe is light and I was expecting it so it didn’t bother me, but oh man, there was only one big offender that stands out in my mind. Somewhere between episode 12-14 (I think, I don’t quite remember which episode exactly) was a Certain Scene (no spoilers… you’ll know when you get there) that was so cringy I almost couldn’t watch it… I thought it was going to be a dream sequence because it was so absurd but it was real. Sigh. I am impressed that somehow I survived the cringe and the writers still managed to make it relevant to the plot and move the story forward so it all worked out.

The pacing and editing was great! I admit I'm no expert when it comes to this kind of thing, but I thought the scenes flowed from one to the next naturally, spending a bit of time with different characters and letting the story unfold in a way that was engaging and kept me hooked. Even the introductory 1-2 minute recap sequence at the beginning of each episode was fresh and fast-paced to remind you what happened in the last episode (in case you go a few days or weeks between episodes) and I found myself watching them even when I was binging 3 episodes at a time. None of the episodes dragged or felt like filler—19 is the perfect number for the story they were trying to tell and they used their time wisely to wrap up all the plot points and address everything that I had questions about. As far as I was concerned, the writers had the whole story planned out and knew exactly what they were doing.

They also left themselves enough room to squeeze in quite a few kissing scenes by the end of the show, but that’s what you came for, right? Gotta watch ‘em smooch. Ain’t no romance drama without the smooching!

Last note: WHAT A CUTE INTRO! The opening theme is catchy, cute, and fresh. I liked the style they used with the cartoony animated effects overlaid on… well, it’s hard to describe, but the way the characters are presented in the intro is kind of an exaggeration of their roles in the story? In a good way… it felt appropriate for the opening. Everything about it sets you up to expect a comedic, yet dramatic, romantic story featuring two main couples. I was slightly disappointed that they always show Ping Fan with long hair in the opening and in the commercial break scenes, when she has short hair in the rest of the show (except the first episode, obviously), but that’s just a nitpick. I’m about to fangirl again thinking about it. \(>3<)/

---Acting/Cast: 9/10

I loved all the casting choices they made for each character! Personally I was captivated by the performance of each of the mains. Especially the actress who played Ping Fan/Ping An! She was amazing! She put on this whole different persona for each sister, she has a completely different vibe and way of moving/making facial expressions depending on which sister she is acting at the time. And she is ADORABLE! Oh my god, that cute grin she makes is enough to make my heart melt. Oh, Gu Le Jun, you never stood a chance against that smile. The girl who plays Jing Xuan is also adorable with those little curls at the tips of her hair and she has such a cute voice. The actor for Le Jun makes a convincing bodyguard type and has a winning smile that he shows on rare occasions (mainly after episode 6). Tian Xing is quite fetching in his black suits and styled hair, especially when he goes making puppy eyes at Jing Xuan. Oh goodness.

They all played their parts well. There may have been a bit of over-acting for the supporting characters but it was for comedic effect and felt purposeful, not like it was bad acting or anything. You will care about all these characters and want to know how their story ends.

An interesting note: Each character had their own wardrobe or personal style, wearing particular kinds of clothing, which I think helped not only to differentiate them from each other but also to tell a little about their profession/character. For instance, the strawberry-loving Xiao Zhi always wears a dapper patterned vest that doesn't quite match the “black mafia” theme the rest of his peers have. Ping An wears a lot of leather and tight pants while Ping Fan has a more casual, light, and cutesy style. Le Jun has no-nonsense rugged wardrobe in neutral/earthy colors. I also noticed that Jing Xuan is always wearing light colors (like white, beige, and blue), while Tian Xing wears dark colors-- a sort of visual contrast between the "white" and "black" professions they represent. This was very consistent throughout the entire show, though it took me a while to notice it. I just like this kind of attention to detail. Great visual cues to support the overarching themes. Whoever was in charge of costumes deserves some recognition!

---Music: 6.5/10

I would have given it a higher score but there is just one problem with the way they presented the music in this show. And only one flaw, really… Whenever anything vaguely dramatic/surprising happened, the SAME SONG kept playing at the SAME PART of the chorus and it got kind of old after the second episode. But they will keep playing the SAME SONG about 4 times per episode right up until the last minute of the last episode, so it’s better if you just get used to it. The song is “I’m Burning” by Ian Chen and it’s a great song, I actually like it… it just gets old when they play it so much. I would have preferred if they saved it for the MOST DRAMATIC moments and not just as a cue for each commercial break. Man, that chorus “I’m burning…” is going to haunt my dreams from now on. (;=__=)

All the other songs were fine, though nothing really stood out to me. Could be because I only watch these shows when I wear headphones and I keep the volume down to preserve my hearing, so I couldn’t hear the music so clearly all the time. But the other music choices were fitting to the mood of the scenes and I have no complaints. Would have gotten a higher rating here if not for the “I’m Burning” repetition that I mentioned above.

---Rewatch Value: 6.5/10

I’m not the kind of person who rewatches shows so I gave this a lower rating. But this one was quite a journey! It would be interesting to see it again, knowing in advance all the background information that is slowly revealed with each episode. It puts the characters into a different light and makes you say “Ah, that’s why that happened!” If you do rewatch, maybe watch it with a sister/close relative or friend who likes chick flicks or dramas.  I personally would not watch it again but that’s just because I already have so many other dramas on my list to get to. (<u<;) Watch at least the first 2 episodes before dropping it. And remember that when things start to get rough, it will be resolved within 1 or 2 episodes!

---Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Everything in this show was part and parcel of the genre, plot, and tone they were aiming for and I think it worked great! No drama is perfect, but for what they did here I will heartily give them a round of applause and recommend The Masked Lover to people who are looking for some adorable, suspenseful, emotional, and sometimes cheesy comedic romance with a structured, well-planned plot.

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This is an honest, spoiler-free review.

Looking for the next drama to spend my time on is no easy feat when there are so many to choose from. However, this one caught my eye because of all the positive reviews. Let me tell you, anyone who says this is their favorite drama must be a masochist at heart because no one said it would be so PAINFUL. That is the best word I can use to describe it. Things keep going so horribly wrong in every consecutive episode that it feels more like an unfolding nightmare descending into ever-increasing fractal chaos than a drama. This show is INTERESTING, I’ll give it that-- like watching a high speed car collision in slow motion, or maybe like seeing the Hindenburg burn to the ground and crash in a blaze of glorious horror. Somehow I couldn’t turn my eyes away from the disaster I was witnessing. From episode 1 to 20 I was hooked and unable to tear myself away from this source of my frustrations and insomnia for the past two weeks.

---Story: 9/10

The writers did an incredible job. The pacing and cinematography were excellent and everything was awfully believable. I use the word “awfully” because these writers do not paint the world with an idealistic or rosy hue. Even the people we are supposed to root for are flawed and foolish and sometimes corrupted. The world is a harsh setting of hostility and suspicions and misunderstandings, all of which are far too believable. One of the characters even states outright that justice does not exist, only power and money. So as far as realism goes, they certainly appeal to my inner cynic and go straight to the worst possible outcomes and intentions. This is actually what I consider to be one of the greatest strengths of the show.

The plot is engaging and well-structured and it felt like they knew where they were going with it from the beginning. My criticisms of this show are not related to all that, as much as it is about the HEART and the feeling that I’m left with at the end of each episode. It’s a feeling of surprise and frustration mixed up with corrosive curiosity to know what happens next because HOW can they possibly save the situation NOW? (I had a hard time going to sleep these last two weeks because my brain kept running around in circles… sigh.) It’s a sign of good storytelling I think, but also a bad sign because there was really too much frustration going on.

Personally, there was one critical area where I feel they let the ball drop. One thing that kept this show from being stellar in my eyes. I just can’t get over the fact that from the first episode they consistently pit the main characters against each other rather than letting them get along. There’s a psychological fact that for every bad/hurtful thing a person does/says to someone, it takes around 5 good/positive things to make up for it in people’s minds. The truth is, our brains are hardwired to remember the bad things and it takes a LOT to outweigh those so you remember mostly the good. But this show did NOT do that. I kept feeling like there were too many nasty things the characters were saying/doing to each other and not enough good things to keep any positive sentiment afloat. The moments where it seems they have forgiven each other come after too few reassurances, after too many insults and slights. And not just for the main leads, though they were the top offenders—most of the side characters had these moments as well and not enough attention was given to the actions they did that put them in people’s good graces again. It left a bad taste in my mouth and that is why I docked a point.

From the very beginning they are shown to be basically incompatible, completely different in every way from their background to their personality and values. From the first few interactions they have in the first and second episodes I could tell that this relationship was doomed from the start and my intuition was proved right OVER and OVER again with each insult and deception. They had maybe 6 positive interactions in the entire training period and now I'm supposed to believe that… they’re suddenly in love? Ahahaha NO. Let’s just say that these two are NOT my OTP. There’s way too much bickering, arguing, and crying about what they’ve said to each other and not enough fluff and good feelings to hold it together convincingly.

The main leads are ridiculously foolish and terrible at communicating (in spite of being generally smart and competent adults) and I can't tell you how many times I was yelling at them in the first 6 episodes like "NO YOU FOOL, HE'S A LYING JERK" or "NO YOU FOOL, SHE'S TELLING THE TRUTH!" I really just wanted them to sit down with a marriage counselor and learn how to discuss their feelings and differences without shooting themselves in the metaphorical foot every single time.

Speaking of which, I lost track of how many horrible things they said to each other. From episode 2 and onward I kept yelling at the screen, “Oh no! Tell you me you didn’t just SAY that. Tell me this is all just a nightmare and you’ll wake up soon. OH MY GOD IT WAS REAL! HOW DO YOU RECOVER FROM THAT?!” I can't see how you can repair a relationship that has gone through SO MANY deceptions and heartbreaks in only the course of less than two months. Maybe my heart is softer than theirs and cannot withstand that level of purposeful jabbing and backstabbing. I know if I was in Hang Ah’s shoes I would have cut off all thoughts of EVER being in a relationship with Jae Ha after the very first time he insulted her (in episode 2 or 3, if my memory can be trusted). That was already too far, at least in my opinion. But then there wouldn’t be a show, would there?

In spite of all that Hang Ah goes through (and boy does she go through a lot), I think it's Jae Ha who gets the short end of the stick in this story. Yes, he starts off as a manipulative, lying, selfish, arrogant jerk who likes to laugh at other's expense, but the writers really put him through the wringer and kept turning his world upside down in literally every other episode. I can't quite bring myself to feel TOO sorry for him though because at least half of those things are what he brings on himself through his own foolishness and arrogance. Yet somehow I've become attached to all these conflicted, petty, contradictory, REAL characters and I wanted to see how it would end. There is certainly plenty of room for them to grow and change.

---Cast and Acting: 10/10

Amazing performances from everyone! They all got their characters spot-on, especially the main protagonists and the villain. Perfect performances all around, no complaints here. They did amazing with what they were supposed to do. Even that creepy gothic assassin lady. :P
Just one tiny nitpick that I’m not even going to take half a point off for… the “Westerners” or foreigners in the show had a few lines that sometimes made me question the choice of wording (perhaps those parts of the script weren’t written by a native English speaker?) but for most part they did a convincing enough job. Those are probably what I would consider the only weak links of the casting department, and I’m not sure if it was entirely their fault, so like I said before: nitpick.

---Music: 7/10

Nothing really stuck out to me here, which is a good thing. Normally I notice the music only when it is really inappropriate to the mood or just strange. So the music was fine to me! It fits with the tone of the show.

---Rewatch Value: 6/10

As I’ve mentioned in a previous review, I don’t rewatch because I have too many new shows to watch and not enough time to spend looking back on what I’ve already seen. Ain’t nobody got time fo’ dat. However, I recognize that there is a lot of rewatch value with this drama because you will notice little details and see the foreshadowing for later events that were set up in the first few episodes. The pacing is good enough that rewatching won’t feel boring, I think. I do think there are better things to do with your time than rewatch this, though. If you want to relive the pain, go for it.

---Overall: 7/10

Even though there are so many other reviews, I felt like adding my own two cents because I don’t feel very positive about this drama. What can I say? I didn’t like this show and I can’t add it to my list of favorites. It wasn’t really to my taste—which, admittedly, is more toward cute/happy/fluffy romcoms and King2Hearts was NONE of those things. However, I am glad I went outside my comfort zone for once and I highly appreciate the work and craftsmanship and depth that went into its creation. It’s not the perfect show but it exceeded my expectations in most areas and was certainly entertaining. In spite of all I have said here, the story truly did keep me riveted from start to finish. If not for the things I mentioned previously, this would have been a 9/10 for me.

If you are looking for a VERY dramatic and emotional show that will make you chuckle and weep and regularly grind your teeth in helpless frustration, this is the drama for you. I got something out of this and I think you will too if you give it a chance.

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