{year}=2025{episode}=EP.01{type}=TV{ongoing}
Plot Summary
Rebirth For You really starts off well as the viewer is told that the male lead is quietly investigating the murder of his mother. But when we start to think that this could be a detective romance, it takes a different turn and the obsession and jealousy of the third party becomes the main focus. In general, it’s tiring to watch endless schemes by these jealous people trying to break up the main couple.
The problem with this script is that you don’t have 1 or 2 romantic rivals who are very passionate. You have 4 people trying to stop Bao Ning and Li Qian from being together. Emperor Zhao Yi and Zhao Xiao are in love with Bao Ning and they are very jealous of Li Qian. Tong Xin is in love with Emperor Zhao Yi, which is why she has an axe to grind with Bao Ning since the man she loves is very passionate about our princess instead. To add to the jealousy in the story, Miao Rong loves Li Qian very much and hates Bao Ning for taking her man away.
Well, from the brief synopsis above, you should have an idea of what to expect from this story. 4 jealous people, sure, enough to make a 40-episode drama, but the question is, do you really want to sit through the endless effort to create problems for the couple?
Needs a better script
As mentioned, the story starts with Li Qian searching for answers to her mother’s death. That’s the broad plot that the audience was given in the first 2 episodes, which could have been developed into something better, like Maiden Holmes, etc. But for the next 30 episodes, the plot is gone. It’s replaced by the jealousy of the jealous antagonist. In fact, the director gave these people direct denials several times, but they just couldn’t take the answer.
Li Qian’s mother’s case only resurfaces in the last 8 episodes, and it’s also mixed in with other plots to harm the main couple. No doubt, toxic love rivals are a common theme in historical romances. You can find one in A Female Student Arrives At The Imperial College as well as One And Only. But Rebirth For You takes it to the extreme, giving too much attention to the schemes of these villains, where love takes a back seat when it’s supposed to be a love story.
As such, the story suffers from poor writing that strikes a balance between romance, investigation, and jealousy to make for an enjoyable viewing experience. To me, if you want to make a drama almost entirely about jealous love rivals, you need to delve deeper into these people’s stories. As it is, their stories are rather dull, as the focus is on their schemes and obsessions.
Romance is lacking
Bao Ning and Li Qian are portrayed as a couple who are deeply in love with each other in this story. You know they love each other very much, but the love doesn’t have the intensity and passion to make it more memorable. Sometimes they are sweet, but that’s about it. I don’t know if the passionate kissing scenes help to enhance the romance, but they are definitely missing from Rebirth For You. So what you get is a simple trick
Personally, I would have preferred a more mature and solid love story because it would be consistent with the fact that they are a couple who love each other deeply. Some stories don’t need scenes like that and still make the audience feel deeply, like The Long Ballad, etc., but Rebirth For You doesn’t have the same quality that can be done without more passion in the romance. As a result, the love of the main couple becomes more subdued due to the constant attacks from jealous rivals.
Chemistry Leads
While the lack of drama doesn’t mean that this couple lacks chemistry. I can say that Ju Jing Yi and Joseph Zeng have good chemistry between them and they are easy to watch as a couple on screen. Their sweet scenes are probably the highlight of the show among all the toxic characters, but they are too few to make an impact. They also don’t stick in your mind when the episode is over.
I know Ju Jing Yi doesn’t do a lot of kissing scenes, which makes me wonder if they did the right thing given the script in hand. I guess she has the bad looks needed for this role. She played more or less the same type of adventure character in Legend Of Yun Xi and The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion and Bao Ning in Rebirth For You seems to be another one.
My Verdict - Find Something Better
I just wish Ju Jing Yi and Joseph Zeng would choose better scripts to showcase their talent and looks. They couldn't keep this drama going even though they were popular. I guess you don't want to sit through the endless bad stories of the crazy characters, you can watch the first 12 episodes and skip to the last 4. But what do you watch when you've skipped more than half of the story, right?
The ending was a bit rushed though. The producers tried to cram too much into the end.
