Maiden Holmes Review

I decided to watch Maiden Holmes (少女大人) after catching Sebrina Chen in My Unicorn Girl. While I like her performance there, historical dramas would be more challenging compared to modern college romance stories. With a relatively inexperienced male lead, I was actually a bit skeptical if they would be able to pull it off to convince viewers to watch the drama all the way to the end. But after completing it, I have to say that my initial skepticism is misplaced. However, the drama isn’t entirely perfect. Check out my Maiden Holmes review below for more details.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 32
Type: Crime, Romance
Aired: August 2020
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of Maiden Holmes

• Sebrina Chen Yao as Su Ci / Bai Yi An
• Zhang Ling He as Prince Qi / Pei Zhao / Xiao Yan Zhi
• Zhang Jia Ding as Brother Xie / Xie Bei Ming
• Wang Yi Zhe as Dong Ru Shuang
• Huang Yi as Fei Yuan
• Zhu Min Xin as Jiang Xi Wen
• Li Jin Rong as Prince Yun / Royal Uncle
• Andy Huang Xing Yuan as Emperor
• Jerry Chang Cheng as Liu Xuan

Main Characters

Su Ci / Bai Yi An

Su Ci is a talented detective working in the Ming Jing Office which is the royal investigative bureau. She is in charge of solving crimes and has a keen eye for details with the brains to go with it. However, she has to disguise herself as a man to serve as a government official. Su Ci also hides a past that relates to the extermination of her family. She loves to read books relating to Prince Qi and is his fan.

Prince Qi / Pei Zhao / Xiao Yan Zhi

Prince Qi is the elder half-brother of the Emperor and a well-known military commander. He has just returned from a war and given up his army to lead a seemingly idle life as an ordinary citizen called Pei Zhao. But he is quietly investigating an enemy within. Prince Qi is an upright and principled man.

Brother Xie / Xie Bei Ming

Brother Xie is an admirer of Prince Qi. He comes from a rich family with various business interests and networks. Brother Xie has good martial art skills. He is also a loyal friend to Prince Qi and Su Ci as he helps them in their crime investigations. Brother Xie has feelings for Ru Shuang.

Dong Ru Shuang

Ru Shuang is an expert in toxicology. She has talent in poison research and coming up with effective antidotes. Ru Shuang becomes good friends with Su Ci, Prince Qi, and Brother Xie to become part of an investigation team. She has a crush on Su Ci initially as she thinks she is a man.

Supporting Cast

Fei Yuan

Fei Yuan is Prince Qi’s loyal personal assistant. He is in charge of Prince Qi’s daily needs and a great cook.

Jiang Xi Wen

Xi Wen is Prince Qi’s subordinate. He served under Prince Qi in the war and is a loyal soldier.

Prince Yun / Royal Uncle

Prince Yun is the uncle to the Emperor. He is an ambitious man who covets the throne and would stop at nothing to achieve his goal.

Emperor

The Emperor is a young man who is forced to listen to Prince Yun at times to appear as a fair ruler. He has a good relationship with Prince Qi who is his elder half-brother.

Liu Xuan

Liu Xuan is the head of the Ming Jing Office and Su Ci’s superior. He is supportive of Su Ci and seems to be a fair and respectable government official.

Synopsis

Su Ci disguises herself as a man to work as a government official. She is a crimes investigator and her ultimate aim is to investigate the Bai Liang Clan case. Su Ci is the daughter of the clan leader. When she was young, her whole clan was killed including her parents after being accused of treason. She escaped death as her mother hid her in a well.

Prince Qi returned from war with many of his soldiers dead after reinforcements failed to arrive. He gives up his army command and leads his life as Pei Zhao while investigating a case of missing disaster funds relief. This puts him and Su Ci on the same path and the pair begins to investigate cases together with the help of Brother Xie and Ru Shuang.

As more cases turn up, it leads to a powerful enemy behind the scenes. Su Ci’s disguise is at risk of being exposed while her identity as a member of the Bai Liang Clan also threatens her trust in Prince Qi.

Maiden Holmes Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

After sitting through 32 episodes, you can be assured that Maiden Holmes has a happy ending. In the last scene, the 4 of them comprising of Prince Qi, Su Ci, Brother Xie, and Ru Shuang together with Fei Yuan reunite to investigate another case a year later. Prince Qi and Su Ci are already married. Su Ci is still working at the Ming Jing Office and training new detectives. Brother Xie and Ru Shuang are traveling around and write to Prince Qi about the new case that they have come across. So, they decide to meet up and investigate the case together just like the old times.

Is There A Wedding For Prince Qi And Su Ci?

No, there is no wedding scene in Maiden Holmes in the last episode. However, Prince Qi did ask Su Ci to be his wife. He reminded her of the 3 wishes she promised she would fulfill when he agreed to keep her gender a secret early on in the drama. He had already used up 2 of the wishes. The first one was to get her to move to his mansion for her safety and the second was to allow him to investigate the Bai Liang Clan case together with her to prove his innocence in the killing of her clan. So, he used the third wish to ask her to marry him. Su Ci agreed.

When Su Ci’s Identity As A Woman Is Exposed

Prince Qi found out about Su Ci’s real gender very early on in the drama. He got his confirmation within the first 3 to 4 episodes. Ru Shuang and Fei Yuan found out about it in Episode 12 when Su Ci needed medical treatment. Brother Xie who always thought Prince Qi and Su Ci was a gay couple learned the truth in Episode 14 when Su Ci finally appeared in a dress in front of her friends. Her gender became public knowledge in Episode 16 when she admitted it to protect Prince Qi from being dragged into the mess.

On the other hand, Su Ci and Ru Shuang learned that Pei Zhao is Prince Qi in Episode 13.

Why Su Ci’s Clan Was Exterminated

The Bai Liang Clan supplied the late Emperor’s silk clothes. Prince Yun framed them for murdering the Emperor as their silk was proven to be poisonous. Hence, the whole clan was ordered to be killed. Prince Yun got a palace maid to launder the clothes in poisonous water. However, the poison is not sufficient to kill the Emperor immediately. It only made him weaker to avoid suspicion. However, once the poison reacted to the tonic that he had been taking to strengthen his health, it became fatal.

Once the Emperor died, the Bai Liang Clan had to take the blame. Together with a forged letter that was purportedly written by the clan leader and Su Ci’s father as evidence, the whole clan was exterminated.

Did Prince Yun Die?

Yes, he did. All the crimes that Su Ci and Prince Qi were investigating are linked to Prince Yun one way or another. He killed the previous Emperor by framing the Bai Liang Clan and thought he could be the successor. But the late Emperor passed the army command to Prince Qi before he died which prevented Prince Yun from grabbing the throne. So, he needed to take down Prince Qi to achieve his aim.

Prince Yun then got his men to prevent reinforcements from arriving to help Prince Qi in a battle. But Prince Qi survived and returned to the capital. Hence, Prince Yun had to resort to various means to undermine Prince Qi. As Prince Qi got closer to the truth, he outwitted Prince Yun by trapping him at his own game. Prince Yun’s intention was unmasked in the royal hall. He refused to give up and was killed by the imperial soldiers when he tried to reach the throne.

Brother Xie And Ru Shuang

Brother Xie and Ru Shuang ended up together after earlier misunderstandings. He felt guilty when he found out that his foster father is actually Prince Yun. His parents died when he was young and it was Prince Yun who brought him up. However, Brother Xie was not told of Prince Yun’s actual title and position in the royal family.

Prince Qi convinced Brother Xie to be righteous and stop his foster father from committing more mistakes. So, Brother Xie helped to lay the trap to unmask Prince Yun and prevented a rebellion. In the end, he used his body to shield Prince Yun from being pierced with a sword to repay his gratitude during the final confrontation in the royal hall. Brother Xie was in a coma for some time before recovering through Ru Shuang’s efforts. Ru Shuang also finally understood why Brother Xie was behaving strangely and wanted a breakup earlier.

Liu Xuan’s Surprise

Liu Xuan turned up to be another member of the Bai Liang Clan. He had been sent away to be brought up by another family when he was a kid. Hence, nobody knew his real identity. Liu Xuan ended up being part of the plot to kill the current Emperor as revenge for the death of his clan members. He committed suicide in front of everyone in the royal hall when Su Ci exposed his crimes. She wasn’t aware that he belonged to the Bai Liang Clan until he said so before he died.

Maiden Holmes Review – Crime Plus Romance

Maiden Holmes is a drama that combines crime and romance. It shares a similar vibe to Under The Power but Maiden Holmes is much shorter and the romance also has more skinship. The couple in Maiden Holmes is definitely more amorous as they are very forthcoming with their affections for one another. Hence, if you need a heavier dose of romance in your dramas, this would be a better choice than Under The Power which has a more innocent feel overall.

Maturity Of The Main Couple

Maiden Holmes is one of the few dramas whereby the couple actually communicate with each other and talk things over. Hence, misunderstandings get resolved pretty quickly rather than get dragged out which is very different from dramas like Love And Redemption. At the very least, you don’t have to put up with silly tantrums. Prince Qi is very supportive of Su Ci and makes his intentions known. There is no wishy-washy kind of feeling of not knowing what the other is thinking.

Hence, there is a certain level of maturity in the main couple à la Love Designer. I like it because it means there is no exaggerated drama in their interactions. If you are tired of the more juvenile antics in youthful romance dramas, Maiden Holmes would offer a change.

A Strong Female Character

Su Ci is a courageous and smart woman who is determined to clear the name of her clan. While there are occasions whereby she did need Prince Qi to save her, she is the brains behind the solving of the crimes. She has been surviving on her own just like those heroines in Dance Of The Phoenix and The Twin Flower Legend through her talent and wits. So, Maiden Holmes is no princess drama but one that is built on the capability of the female character.

Acting

Zhang Ling He is a new face and deserves credit for a good performance for someone who is just starting out. He portrays a down-to-earth prince quite well. He knows how to look stern in the royal court and softens his expressions when he is assuming the role of an ordinary citizen. What he lacks though is the aura of a battle-hardened military commander. For that you would need to watch Zheng Ye Cheng in The Sleepless Princess.

Therefore, there is a bit of weakness in Zhang Ling He’s Prince Qi who is supposed to have just returned from war. But the actor’s portrayal of an idle and flirtatious prince is on point and this is the side that viewers get to see for most of the drama.

Sebrina Chen is more seasoned in acting with quite a few dramas already under her belt prior to Maiden Holmes. Coincidentally, she is also a cross-dresser in My Unicorn Girl although that is a college romance drama. She plays the role of Su Ci pretty well in Maiden Holmes and you can see the contrast when she switches between her male disguise and real female persona. The male Su Ci is no-nonsense and serious while as a female, she has a softer and more tender demeanor. More importantly, the switch looks natural and effortless to the viewer.

Plot

If there is one obvious weakness for Maiden Holmes, it would have to be the plot. The story line is nothing original. The bad guy is obvious from the beginning and there is a lack of suspense for the cases put forward. You can say that all the cases lead to the ultimate schemer who is after the throne. So, if you are looking for a good crime drama, this would be a disappointment.

The criminal cases throw Prince Qi and Su Ci together. Thus, the romance ends up stealing the spotlight from the crimes. To me, it is better this way because the cases is nothing exciting. If more screen time had been spent on dragging out the investigative parts of the story, the drama really runs a high risk of being a big bore. As it is, it gives romance drama fans something to hold on to to complete watching all the 32 episodes.

My Verdict

Personally, Maiden Holmes is nothing great because the criminal cases are disappointing. I think some may even find this drama boring as there is a lack of action for a crime drama and it is heavy in conversations just like And The Winner Is Love. There are also plot holes and the defeat of the bad guy is anti-climatic. It feels rushed and forced without much details laid out.

However, if you like good chemistry in a romantic couple, then this becomes watchable. There are a number of kisses and hugs to excite fans and it is obvious that both the leads are comfortable with each other. I wouldn’t dare say that their chemistry reaches the heights of couples in epic dramas like Eternal Love Of Dream but they do have their charm with their open affections for one another.

Basically, this is more for romance than crime drama fans. If you go in to watch the romance and can overlook the mediocre criminal cases put forward, then you would enjoy it. But if you expect more detective work and suspense, it is advisable to drop it. For this Maiden Holmes review, I would give it a score of 7/10. I like the acting and chemistry as well as the main couple’s type of supportive relationship. But it is definitely not a drama that I would watch if I want an exciting plot.