I recently rewatched this drama, and I decided to use the opportunity to write a review. Iron Ladies is a 2018 Taiwanese series that stars Aviis Zhong and Ben Wu as leads.

Synopsis: Zhou Kai Ting is the youngest vice president of sales for the online shopping mall, Ai U Web. She turns to Su Can, a café barista, to resolve a work crisis and helps him discover a talent he didn’t know he had. Ma Li Sha, Ai U Web’s General Manager, has raised an 18-year-old son on her own and is jaded by love. On the other hand, Wang Qing Qing has always had everything in life go her way. Can the three women deal with their respective relationship woes, marriage issues and family problems as well as they do their jobs? (source – Viki)

(warning – spoilers ahead)

Review:

Even from my first time watching this drama, it gave off a similar vibe to the Korean series – I Need Romance. I love such stories, hence why I was excited to give it a shot when it first released. One thing I genuinely enjoyed about Iron Ladies was the chemistry between all the main characters, both friends and couples. I will say that showcases excellent acting. This drama also gave me a strong and intelligent female lead. There were times when Zhou Kai Ting made mistakes, but overall, she was a very rationale and understanding lady. I appreciate shows that portray assertive women because a girl needs such a confidence boost once in a while. I also love the soundtrack for this series. My two favourite OSTs are “Unachievable Future” by Ben Wu – and “Almost” by Shi Shi –

Iron Ladies is a good drama, but the story development and pacing did lose some of its appeal towards the end. The ending also felt rushed. To explain more, let me discuss the three main arcs of this series in detail. Starting with the main couple:

– Su Can and Zhou Kai Ting

Right off the bat, their chemistry was solid. I could also tell that Kai Ting and her fiance were not going to end well. The eight-years relationship had lost all flavour, and he went ahead to cheat. For me, that closed the chapter because it’s challenging to build the same level of trust again. Plus, Kai Ting’s heart was now longing for someone else. An important message this drama brought to the table was that marriage should not be a do or die affair. Everyone has the right to be happy and not merely settle for the bare minimum. Consequently, cheating leads the betrayed partner to question their self-worth, which is sad and frustrating. One of my favourite scenes in this drama was when Kai Ting and Qing Qing discussed the effect their partner’s infidelity had on them – 

Moving back to Su Can and Zhou Kai Ting. All round, they were a good pair, but their main issue was financial inequality. Thankfully they were usually direct with each other and never dragged out arguments or misunderstandings. Another thing that disturbed their relationship was how they both lied by omission to protect each other, but all the same, I loved seeing them together. Yes, the ending felt a bit rushed, but the happy ending made me feel okay.

– Ma Li Sha and David

These two were a case study in their own right. At first, their interactions were funny, but their arc development towards the end was such a cliche. I fully believed in the agenda that she was scared of committing to a serious relationship and that her son was scared of losing his mom to someone else. However, what I couldn’t swim along with was when Ma Li Sha starting using childish tactics to keep David away. And to top it off, they decided to use the cliche near-to-death accident to make her realize her love for David. They were still fun together, but I did not enjoy how their story was handled.

– Wang Qing Qing’s Marriage

This was an intriguing arc to sit through. I felt rage, sadness and a whole lot of emotions whenever Qing Qing’s story came up. Her relationship was pure toxicity, and it led her to anxiety and panic attacks. I found her husband to be very disrespectful and pathetic. Excuse my choice of words, but I need to be this raw for you all to get how pained I was for this lady. Take away from the emotional pain, Qing Qing also had to condone mental abuse. After seeing all she went through, I could understand why she continued to sell herself short or believed that things could become better if she pleased her husband. However, where she lost me was when she took a break, came back strong and still fell for the husband’s tears to stay and fix their marriage. Like seriously? This man is a chronic cheater. You’re fully aware that he doesn’t care for you. What are you still holding on to? Thankfully through the grace of whatever, she came to her senses by the close of the series.

Overall, I still enjoyed this drama because it got me to look at situations through the lens of different thinkers than myself. It’s honestly not easy when love and the heart come into play because rationality goes missing during such times. Zhou Kai Ting, Ma Li Sha and Wang Qing Qing were women with real and relatable relationship issues. They battled and came out triumphant, so what’s not to love about these three iron ladies.

With all that said, my rating for Iron Ladies is 8/10. To get a better understanding of how I rate each movie or drama, click 👉🏼Drama|Movie Rating Guide. All English subbed episodes of this series are available with this link 👉🏼Iron Ladies on Viki.

If you have seen Iron Ladies, what do you think of the series?