403. The Ghost Bride 彼岸之嫁 (2020) Taiwanese-Malaysian

Huang Pei Jia, Wu Kang Jen, Ludi Lin, Kuang Tian

Drama Rating: 8/10     Neck Score: A+

I binge watched this over the weekend, because it's fun and only 6 episodes. But, like all Netflix shows, I'm not actually sure if this is the first season, or if this was the whole show. I feels like the whole story is over, but they left the ending open just enough that I wouldn't put it passed them to add another "season" based on the show's success. I'd watch it if another season came out, not going to lie (I'd watch anything for more Chris Wu) but the story is clearly over. It would have to be a whole new story and adventure, resolving only that one moment that made the ending open enough to justify it. But like I said, it doesn't need it, the story arc with the whole ghost bride thing is done.

I started it based off of the trailers and story line, which looked interesting. It definitely lived up to that. Then we met Chris Wu's character and I got excited (I didn't know he was in it when I started- happy bonus!) and I would have finished it no matter what, so I'm glad it was awesome. My biggest complaint about the show is: what the heck did they do to Ludi Lin's eyebrows? It's like they filled them in way too aggressively, which makes it look like he's wearing fake press on eyebrows, like those fake fur type mustaches. It was incredibly distracting and dropped him to third place in the hotness list- the fact that his character was pretty lame too doesn't help. To be honest, as much as I love Chris Wu and think he's super handsome (he ranks high on my top sexy neck's list), the villain was probably the hottest in terms of pure physical good looks. He's another one of those "hot and evil" types, as the T-list would say. Character-wise though, I'm still 100% team heavenly guard Chris Wu. He's my style. Good and mischievous with a little bit of arrogance. But to be fair, hot and evil is also one of my types. Wishy washy childhood friends with fake eyebrows are not my style.

I guess I should talk about the story too. I loved it. It was interesting, fun, and also surprising. I didn't fully know what to expect, so the twists were nice. It's also a good balance between comedy, fantasy, and horror. It's obviously a ghost story, but it's also a murder mystery and afterlife crime story. Li Lan's father's business was ruined and his health is deteriorating. Then some old friends- a still wealthy family proposes a deal that can save them through her marriage to their son, who just recently died. Making her a ghost bride to appease the son who died too young and unmarried isn't exactly a way to treat old friends. As she is is trying to figure out the best option, she begins to be haunted by her proposed husband, and finds there is more to his death, and the family in general, than meets the eye. But then you have actual time spent in the underworld, plots, scheming, and trickery. Basically, it's a really fun story. They did rush the mystery part of the ending a bit, but since that's just one of the plots, it was fine. But I literally just ordered the book it's based on through my library, because I liked it that much. It's well worth the watch.