Si Jin feels like it’s written by scriptwriters who decided to have a brainstorming session at a bar where they downed a dozen shots of Tequila Sunrise and wrote the script on the back of paper napkins.
On the way out of the bar, they bumped into each other, and their napkins fell into a heap. They then take ten more shots of vodka for liquid courage, and pieced the tattered pieces into what looks like a plot and hoped for the best.
Honestly, it’s one of those dramas that I’d just abandon half way out of sheer irritation, but for some reason I watched it to the bitter end.
Okay, let’s get to the basics:
The story
Jiang Si (Jing Tian), the fourth lady of Dongping Bo Mansion, is reborn after dying at the hands of her lover, Yu Jin (Zhang Wanyi). Determined to rewrite her fate, she breaks off the engagement that would ruin her life and set out to prevent the tragedy that will destroy her family.
Yet, fate has other ideas. Yu Jin, finds her and still seemed determined to be around her.
What I liked
Gorgeous production
The drama is visually stunning, with lavish costumes and sets that suggest a high production budget.
Zhang Wanyi is more charismatic than usual, or maybe for once he looked different from his other roles (the ponytail look is a highlight!). But, to be honest, compared to actors like Liu Xueyi, who has at least one amazing or innovative performance in every drama, I feel like Zhang Wanyi doesn’t stretch his acting muscles very much.
Da Huang! This lady “Chinese rural” dog star is just an adorable addition.
Some engaging side arcs
The subplot involving the curing the princess’ blindness and her romance with Minister Zheng was really sweet and had more chemistry than the main couple.
One villain’s ultimate send off was satisfying: Call me blood thirsty but I really enjoyed seeing them suffer lol.
The liberation of the sisters from their abusive husbands was satisfying to watch too.
What I didn’t like
Illogical plot twists and very, very weak writing
Characters act inconsistently or unrealistically for the time (e.g., Jiang Si insulting the Crown Prince with no consequences).
Major plot holes and nonsensical resolutions, like a dead body disappearing without explanation or Yu Qi ignoring Jiang Si’s suspicious actions. Who needs plots to make sense, amirite? As long as we have unexpected twists and turns of a short drama. That’s what the Tiktok generation wants, right?
The adaptation has simplified and dumbed-down the novel The drama either cut or softened many of the novel’s darker, more intricate political schemes, making the story feel shallow and almost cartoonish. For example, the emperor has been weakened from a cunning strategist to an inept ruler.
Lack of chemistry in the main romance
Compared to Jing Tian’s pairing with Xu Kai in Wonderland of Love, her dynamic with Zhang Wanyi feels less convincing. There were forced conflicts, and an unconvincing pathway to love.
Bad story structure
It’s a rebirth story. So you’d need to know how her previous life was like. For some inexplicable reason, the writers chose to only show a few seconds of her former life before she was reborn. Throughout the series, we are shown flashbacks of what happened, which resulted in disjointed storytelling.
Writer, it ain’t hard. For us viewers to be invested in the character’s story, we’d need to know how she suffered in her first life so that we’re invested in her second life! And you need to set that as a foundation right at the beggining.
Final Verdict: 7
Si Jin is beautiful but illogical. Its only redeeming qualities are the visuals, Zhang Wanyi’s performance and some interesting side stories, but it massively fails in logic, and the main romance, which lacked both chemistry and addictiveness.
I suppose If you can ignore plot holes and just enjoy the aesthetics, it’s watchable—but don’t expect anything beyond pretty brainless TV candy.
