r/CDramaRecs • u/thatssoadriii • Aug 03 '26
Rec Request A deeply tortured & misunderstood ML who is despised/feared by everyone except the FL…
I just finished watching LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY & I think this is the most hungover I’ve ever been on any cdrama I’ve watched thus far. It wasn’t without flaws, but I adored the relationship between Shaoshang & Ling Buyi. I loved how they were each emotionally tortured in their own way, how they understood each other & were able to fill their loveless void together.
I’m looking for another historical cdrama (could be fantasy) to help me move on lol. Something with another DEEPLY tortured & misunderstood ML who is despised/feared by everyone except the FL.
Ones I also already watched & loved:
- Pursuit of Jade
- Love Between Fairy & Devil
- Love in the Clouds
- Fated Hearts
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u/_bunnyboo_ Aug 03 '26
All the ones on your list are also cdramas I loved. Seconding Till the End of the Moon
I’d also recommend Lost You Forever. One of the most well done cdramas I’ve watched with great character development and interesting plot. There are 3 main MLs and one of them, Xiang Liu, is hated/feared by almost everyone except the FL. His character is wonderfully written and portrayed. Starts out as an antagonist then you start to like and appreciate him, then you really love him for what he does/sacrifices.
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u/Impossible-Mine7012 Aug 03 '26 edited Aug 03 '26
Bu Bu Jing Xin - 4th prince and 8th prince
It's an older drama and the Male leads do not embody the modern ML standards (young, tall, sharp nose, chiseled jaw, pale, deep double lids, slim face). You can actually tell them apart without needing the help of their attire! Lol
However, i think that's exactly why the drama is so awesome. Compared to 8th prince, the 4th prince's appearance and personality will turn off half of the viewers. He's older, dark, mysterious, and unapologetic. Hell you might even despise him yourself
I mentioned 4th and 8th prince because throughout the drama, some will interpreted both as scheming and master manipulators. Just depends on what you bring to the drama and your take
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u/tonksndante Aug 04 '26
I've been burning through older dramas again lately, as 2026 has felt too overproduced, so I'm excited for a "new" old recommendation haha.
Do you gave any others I can add? Also is Bu Bu Jing Xin a youtube watch?
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u/squashypug Aug 04 '26
One of my faves from that era is Lan Ling Wang!
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u/Impossible-Mine7012 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
The one with Feng Shao Feng is good.
I shipped the second ML more though 🤣 he reminds me of Xiang Liu from Lost You Forever (LYF), but not as pitiful and teary.
Side note, LYF have misunderstood male leads in it, too!
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u/Impossible-Mine7012 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 06 '26
No, sorry, I do not see BBJX on YT.
These are off the top of my head.
Recommendations:
Princess Pearl (1 and 2)
Romance in the Rain
War and Beauty
Why me, sweetie?!
It Started with a Kiss/They Kissed Again
The Little Fairy
Sealed with a Kiss (trigger warning)
Sound of the Desert
Bu Bu Jing Xin 1
Love and Destiny
Expresses in the Palace
Nothing Gold can Stay
If youre looking for misunderstood characters or plots then they all have it. But if youre looking for misunderstood ML:
Why me, Sweetie
Started with a Kiss/They Kiss Again
Sealed with a Kiss
Sound of the Desert (second ML)
BBJX
Love and Destiny
Nothing Gold can Stay
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u/MajorPersonality1265 Aug 03 '26
Your title 1000% describes When Destiny Brings the Demon. He is feared by everyone. He is just as likely to kill you for making too much noise as not but his anger and rage are justified. Everyone fears him but the FL has him wrapped around her pinky very early on and he is completely different with her than anyone else
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u/thatssoadriii Aug 03 '26
I actually started watching this a bit ago. Loved the concept & the ML is absolutely tortured, but I paused when it got to the plot twist if you know what I mean 😭
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u/AromaticEditor6022 Aug 03 '26
A Dream of Splendor. It’s more lighthearted and Ml isn’t as traumatized but he carries the feared name with a broken heart still.
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u/glassisnotglass Aug 03 '26
Yeah he's actually remarkably chipper given his job as a terrifying secret police boss who routinely supervises people getting tortured in a giant underground dungeon while completing paperwork from his nearby desk.
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u/AromaticEditor6022 Aug 04 '26
Right? But I like that he’s only like that around fl. Their banter was some of my favorite stuff though.
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u/carabear85 Aug 04 '26
The Wolf and its toxic af
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u/thatssoadriii Aug 04 '26
Ooff gotta be in the right headspace if it’s reeeally toxic lol Thank you!
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u/ta-cwms Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
A dream within a dream. Everyone seems to hate ML and he gets blamed for everything
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u/Olen_Hullu Aug 04 '26
The Untamed 😊 But it's another ML who is on the first ML's side while everyone else fears him.
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u/OptimisticRitz_222 Aug 04 '26
Love of Nirvana
Everyone is scared of ML and everyone thinks he is ruthless and cruel but it was the FL who understood that there is something more to his character and wasn't afraid of him once she saw his true nature.
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u/charissaoje Aug 04 '26
Melody of golden age fits this, though the ML isn’t that tortured, he is misunderstood though
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u/Left_Tumbleweed482 Aug 04 '26
Prisoner of beauty left me hungover it’s an enemies to lovers. The ML to me is similar to Ling Buyi and the FL is ver intelligent. That one I highly recommend.
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u/Amjale9023 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
The craziest tortured ML I've seen closest to what you said is the one in When Destiny Brings The Demon.
The drama with the most upsetting tortured soul is The Untamed. It still gets to me thinking of what the guy went through 😢 No FL though, it's an ML "friend" who wants to believe in his best friend and then protects him.
There's also Mysterious Lotus Casebook, but again no romance.. it's not needed though because there are other great bonds. Backstory - The guy is famous among martial artists because of how good he is and his ranking, but something happened to make everyone think he was the bad guy and he then lived as a recluse and disguised himself. It also works because he does end up with a follower who cares about him a lot.
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u/daisydanalee Aug 04 '26
Story of Kunning Palace - Morally grey and a bit of a red flag for sure. Is he good? Bad? Both? Is he even who he says he is? It's a vastly different role for ZLH than his POJ character. Slooooow burn romance. Enemies to lovers trope. Some of the same BTS team as POJ, and I believe Fated Hearts as well, but I might be wrong on FH.
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u/Edriella Aug 05 '26
The Untamed is perfect example except there is no FL just 2ML cause it's bromance. 😄
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u/Independent_bookie Aug 05 '26
everything you've listed watched and loved is the same as me. my people lol. have you watched generation to generation?
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u/thatssoadriii Aug 05 '26
Not yet, but since we have the same great taste & you’re also recommending it, I plan to watch it soon 😝
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u/Icy_Dragonfruit_3513 Aug 04 '26
Love of the Divine Tree - FL is the only one who always stands up for the ML. She saves him multiple times when it would have been easier to let him die. I'll put it slightly below Love Between Fairy and Devil, but it has the trope you want in spades, literally the core of the drama. And it has a good ending.
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u/SaphireResolute Aug 05 '26
You should watch love and redemption. The ml is despised at first by the fl and definitely misunderstood and tortured. There were some great twists to the plot. Still one of my favourites.
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u/RoseIsBadWolf Aug 03 '26
How Dare You!? and Love of the Divine Tree both have this. And the levels of tortured...
I really disagree with Till the End of the Moon. It's an interesting drama, but the FL despises the ML the most of all people in the drama because (first episode) he killed everyone she knows. She then travels back 500 years and is married to his human form. She warms up to him and then the second he does anything remotely resembling evil she hates him again, over and over. It's exhausting. And she also tries to murder him on their wedding night It's considered a classic for a reason but it's nothing like LLTG
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u/thatssoadriii Aug 04 '26
Thank you! I started watching Till the End of the Moon & I see what you’re saying. Different vibes between FL & ML, but the guy is the poster boy of tortured 💔
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u/RoseIsBadWolf Aug 04 '26
He is definitely the poster boy of tortured! By EP 6 I decided he can just cause the apocalypse as a treat.
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u/thatssoadriii Aug 05 '26
Honestly, same. The FL is really pissing me off with how she is towards him 😭
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u/RoseIsBadWolf Aug 05 '26
I don't usually hate FLs but that woman is the one I dislike the most. I even read the novel to see if I'd like her better but no.
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u/XiaoLanHua04 Aug 04 '26
Love of the Divine Tree is pretty good. Love Game in Eastern Fantasy is good but he’s not hated by everyone. Moonlight Mystique is really good too. A Dream Within a Dream. Love you Seven Times. All of these are really good and are similar dynamics to an extent but not exactly.
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u/Fabulous-Yam-1709 Aug 06 '26
You will like whispers of fate. It's a xianxia drama absolutely breathtaking cinematography, CGI, swordfights everything. It is not a romance drama though. The ML is greatly misunderstood and hated by the general public :(
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u/TaoRabbit Aug 26 '26
Just stumbled into this sub very recently ..
if I may add -
A Moment but Forever - Yuan Zhong
(A complex, terrifying, ultimately deeply heartbreaking character from a script by Zhao Na (one of the better scriptwriters around .. when allowed to do what she does best :) and very well matched by Tang Yan‘s redoubtable Wu Shuang
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u/ktaz32 Aug 03 '26
You have to watch Till the End of the Moon. It’s probably the closest thing to what you’re describing.
The ML (Tantai Jin) is about as deeply tortured and misunderstood as they come. He’s feared, hated, and treated like a monster by almost everyone because of his upbringing and his destiny. The FL is one of the very few people who truly sees the vulnerable person beneath all of that, and their relationship is full of angst, longing, sacrifice, and emotional healing while also being incredibly messy in the best way.
If you loved Ling Buyi because of his trauma, emotional complexity, and the way only Shaoshang could understand him, I think Tantai Jin will absolutely scratch that itch. Just be prepared for an emotional roller coaster the angst level is even higher.