Introduction
At first, when I saw the drama poster with a man sitting with three women around him, it looks there was a harem trope (a trope that involves a “harem” of at least 3 (but usually more) girls sharing a common interest in a male protagonist. I dislike the harem (as well as reverse-harem) trope, but I have seen the leading actor and actress’s dramas before and their acting is pretty good. After I watched The Best Man, it’s not what I thought, so I would like to share why I recommend this drama to binge.
Drama Info
Drama title: The Best Man (Native title: 乘龙赘婿 )
Genres: Thriller, Romance, Drama
Aired: Dec 16, 2024 - Jan 1, 2025
Episodes: 24 | Duration: 13 minutes
Director: Zhou Mu Han ( 周暮寒 )
Screenwriter: Sun Yan Li ( 孙艳黎 )
Where to watch: WeTV
Trailer:
Synopsis
Heir Chen Zhuo goes undercover as a security guard at Xu Mei Ying’s hotel to uncover the truth behind his mother’s death, only to unexpectedly become her live-in matrimonial husband. Meanwhile, his ambitious twin brother, Chen Yue, impersonates him to secure the family inheritance. Under mounting family pressure, he faces challenges that lead him to confront deception and seek a fresh start (source: corrected from TMDb)
Characters
Main Characters
Leo Yang ( 杨业明 ) as twin brothers Chen Zhuo and Chen Yue.
Li Huan ( 李欢 ) as Xu Mei Ying.
Supporting Characters
Review
Story
Mystery Plot
First of all, I must clarify Xu Mei Ying’s role in Chen Zhuo’s mission to reveal his mother’s death. She is not a possible suspect but a witness. However, she appeared either not to remember the incident or avoided acknowledging that she knew anything about the incident. That’s what Chen Zhuo is investigating about.
The mystery plot seems simple and straightforward, but there are some plot twists, especially towards the end. The mystery plot is also mixed with romance. I guessed the ratio between the mystery and the romance plots is 50:50.
Romance Plot
How did Chen Zhuo become Xu Mei Ying’s matrimonial husband? Initially, Xu Mei Ying hired Chen Zhuo, the hotel security guard, as her bodyguard after he saved her a few times. Soon, she hired him as her boyfriend and fiancee, because of the pesky suitor Lin Jia Qi who wanted to marry her. To convince her adoptive parents, who had already given the green light to Lin Jia Qi, she brought in Chen Zhuo to live with her.
Their relationship from teamwork to romance is mature and healthy with respect from Chen Zhuo’s side and trust from Xu Mei Ying’s side. Although initially, she is suspicious of Chen Zhuo’s actions, especially once she doubts him as a mere hotel security guard, once she puts trust in him she can even sense the difference between the real Chen Zhuo and Chen Yue’s impersonating her lover.
How about Chen Zhuo’s relationships with the other women? Read the spoilers below if you, like me, are bothered by a ‘harem’ situation or simply curious about their relationships.
Huang Yu Huan
She is a young heiress from Huang Group. Chen Zhuo knew her grandfather. She had a one-sided crush on Chen Zhuo, but he only regarded her as a little sister.
Yin Mu Zi
Yin Mu Zi is a childhood friend of both Chen Zhuo and Chen Yue. She was also close to Grandma Chen, the head of Chen family, so normally the grandmother wants her to marry Chen Zhuo. She was ex Chen Yue’s girlfriend.
Character and Acting
Chen Zhuo and Chen Yue/Leo Yang
I have watched Leo Yang’s dramas for a while, the first being in The Emergence of First Love back in 2019. Here in The Best Man, he did a great job acting as twin brothers with opposite personalities. Chen Zhuo is kind and easygoing. Chen Yue is cruel and ambitious. At some point, the twins pretend to be the other brother, which not only confuses Xu Mei Ying, but also the audience. Hence the title of this article: Which one is the good brother? Which one is the evil brother?
Xu Mei Ying/Li Huan
This is the second time I watched her drama. Not that impressed with that first drama In the Wake of Shadow, she did better here, possibly because Leo Yang was a good acting partner so they had a great collaboration that resulted in a sizzling onscreen chemistry between Xu Mei Ying and Chen Zhuo. Xu Mei Ling appears cold and snotty, but she actually a hard work CEO full of determination to grow her hotels with the help of her staff. Many romance dramas have CEO characters who do not show that they work! They only walk with their entourage and sign documents. In such a short drama we can see Xu Mei Ying dealing with issues in her hotel, including customer complaints and financial problems.
The Visuals
Cinematography
Not only did Leo Yang do a great job acting two characters with different personalities, but the filming crew did a marvelous job in directing, filming, and editing scenes with both Chen Zhuo and Chen Yue in them. For example, in this fighting scene in Episode 14, I paused several times to see if there was any filming mistake that showed a double actor who doesn’t look like Leo Yang. The fighting scene is longer than what was shown in the GIF below, but I couldn’t tell if there is a double actor than what looks like twin brothers in action!
Costumes
The costume is quite classy for a short drama, especially since all key characters are from high social statuses. The professional clothes worn by the staff are quite nice, too. If one wants to nitpick the costumes, there are two minor costume blunders: Xu Mei Ying wearing the dangling heart earrings quite often (possibly from a jewelry sponsor or ad) as shown in all pictures of her in this article, and Huang Yu Huan’s oversize clothes.
Setting
One filming location that stands out is the hotel and surroundings where Xu Mei Ying’s Wanlong Hotel Group is set. It’s beautiful by the oceanside, but I couldn’t find the name of the hotel or the exact location on the ending credit.
Conclusion
This is a short mystery and thriller drama adorned with a sweet romance between the protagonists that you can binge in 5 hours and 20 minutes. What happened to the twin brothers and the ladies who are spoiled below?
Spoilers
Ending
Happy Ending
Detailed ending of the key characters
Chen Yue was stabbed by Yin Mu Zi, fell off the staircase and later was arrested by the police and charged with murder and kidnapping. Xu Mei Ying’s hotel is saved financially and while she is celebrating with her staff, Chen Zhuo appears wearing a security guard uniform and they kiss while her staff cheers on them.
