Behind Your Smile (2016)

My Instagram buddy and fellow Korean drama fanatic once asked me to listen to the title track of the drama she was watching. I checked out the song on YouTube and the video was a fan-made compilation of the best scenes on the show. As soon as I finished the short video I knew I had to watch the show because not only was the song catchy but also the show looked damn interesting. The show I am talking about is the Taiwanese drama, Behind Your Smile. This is a revenge drama and also a hate-love trope wherein the guy meets the girl to seek revenge from her but eventually falls for her. The drama plot is clichéd but the show is gripping and interesting.

Let’s weigh Behind Your Smile on our show beam balance to determine if the show is worth a try or no.
 
Good Weights
OST: The show’s opening theme is what got me to watch it in the first place. ‘He Isn’t Worth It’ by Shi Shi is hauntingly enchanting and suits the revenge plot of the drama.  ‘Lost on The Way’ by Shi Shi feat. Matzka is saved for the suspenseful moments where your mouth is agape watching something you did not expect to see. My favourite ‘Don’t Panic’ by Shi Shi is a delightful song that reminds me of all the funny moments Lei Xinyu has when she is with Zhao Yiting. Here is another fan vid featuring this peppy song that instantly brings a smile to my face. This video has all the cute moments that Yiting and Xinyu share on the show.

Eugenie Liu: Actress Eugenie Liu is tailor-made for the role of Lei Xinyu. She looks and plays the part to perfection. Xinyu is naïve, overly trusting and good natured and Eugenie Liu’s innocent face will make you forget that she is actually acting and may not be like that in real life. Her cuteness is palpable and she lights up the screen with her alluring smile. Xinyu’s ability to smile even in adversity makes her a typical drama character nonetheless she is a very endearing heroine.

Marcus Chang: Actor Marcus Chang plays the quintessential ‘khadus’ (rude) boss who is stingy with his smiles. His character Zhao Yiting has seen severe hardships in life and is determined to exact revenge on the people who destroyed his family. Chang may falter in some comical moments on the show but he manages to pull off the role effortlessly. He looks great for the role and his acting is smooth and consistent. He has an attractive persona and his eyes emote so much that you cannot help notice how attractive his face is.

Lead Couple Chemistry: This drama has a lot of light and sweet moments that are brought to life by Chang and Liu. These two actors look so good together that I am shipping this couple hard to date in real life too. Chang and Liu seem to share a good rapport off-screen too which is why they look so convincing as a couple in the drama. If you are a sucker for romance like me than this drama is perfect for you as this drama has plenty of romantic ‘accidents’.



Bad Weights
Draggy Affair: I have this complaint from most Taiwanese dramas. They stretch their episodes a little too much. Behind Your Smile was a weekly drama and each episode was 75 minutes long. It gets a little draggy after a point of time and I started to lose my patience. However, the drama was quite gripping so I will not say that it was boring but it could have been shorter.  
 
Overly Far-fetched Scenes: I know several dramas show scenes that are practically impossible to even imagine in real life but most of such scenes often do not bother me. It bothers me only when some scenes are too hard to believe or even watch. For instance, Yiting runs to rescue Xinyu when she meets with an accident. When he reaches the spot, he sees a young boy bleeding in the driver’s seat but he chooses to ignore the boy and looks out for Xinyu. The boy could have died, dude. Why did you ignore him like that? That scene I felt was too stupid to believe. I understand Yiting is worried for Xinyu but C’mon he leaves the boy bleeding only to avoid being spotted by his brother. In another scene, Yiting saves Xinyu from some goons and they hide in an abandoned shelter in the jungle. She then asks him to imagine that they are in an action movie and that she is trying to save his life by almost giving him a CPR. Kyaaaaaa….Who does that? I often found myself saying ‘arre yeh to kuch bhi tha’ (This was utter rubbish).    
 
Behind Your Smile weighs heavy with good weights which indicates that it is an engaging drama. Yes, it is flawed but it is never dull. I liked the cast, the story and the soundtrack and would certainly recommend it. This Taiwanese drama has suspense, revenge, love, hatred, Eugenie Liu and Marcus Chang so it is a must watch at any cost.

Originally posted on www.alphagirl.in
 

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Love. Love. Love.

It was my first taiwanese drama in ages and even tho the revenge plot is really common, i wanted to give it a try.
So, the storyline was nothing special - the good looking male main lead wants to take revenge for his family and gains the trust of an innocent but sweet woman who falls for him.

Lei Xin Yu the female lead, was really sweet and all i wanted to do was but her into bubble wrap and protect her from the world. Haha.
And the Soundtrack, especially the opening song is such a good one, i keep listening to it even month after finishing this drama! This Drama was beautifully done and written. Not many unnecessary side characters that just waste screen time and that you just get bored with. Although the episodes were pretty long, you just couldn't stop watching and the minutes would just pass by and suddenly you're on the next episode. It was a really refreshing drama, i have to say it's probably my favorite Taiwanese Drama for now. Binge watch potential!!

Marcus and Eugenie both did really good, you could really tell the chemistry they have on-screen. I really hope they'll do another project in the future!!

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This was my first Taiwanese drama after a long time. I was skeptical with this one, but the comments and poster intrigued me. There is a very misguided synopsis of this drama in many places, it's not about an immortal who has lost his emotions. This story is about a man who lost something very precious in his life and seeks revenge on those who made him lose his happiness. In the journey he loses more, his emotions, his family, his happiness until the daughter of the person who he seeks revenge upon enters his life and changes everything. No matter how much he tries to control himself, he just can't seem to with her and ends up deeply falling in love with her.

So I first started this drama, and like 7 min into it, I dropped it. I could not stand the ignorant experessions the female lead portrayed and pushed this drama aside assuming this Taiwanese drama was one with a lot of over reactions and crazy situations which I'm not fond of. I don't know what, but after finishing a Korean drama, I decided to give this a shot and just watch one episode before really giving it up. I am so glad I did. I have had a habit of dropping dramas the minute they go downhill, no matter how much I liked it before. With this one, once I got to know more of the story, I was constantly intrigued and wanted to continue. Marcus Chang, steals the show with his wonderful portrayal of the character (Zhao Yiting) he plays. The lead female although annoying initially, portrayed her character well enough. Their chemistry was especially good!! The script was well written, and tied up all the lose ends, to give the viewers and satisfying feeling in the end.

Final thoughts: became a fan of Marcus Chang. Will no longer think that big noses look bad. Behind your smile, will make you smile!!

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Behind Your Smiles is currently my 2nd favourite Taiwanese drama. Marcus Chang seems to portray the role of Zhao Yiting effortlessly. I loved how Eugenie Liu portrays this character she doesn't come across as annoying and appears to be very intelligent. The two actors have great chemistry on screen. From the very first episode I was instantly hooked. I was amazed by was the cinematography. It is not something that I would expect in a Taiwanese drama and the production quality was great. It lifted the bar of what people would now expect to see in Taiwanese dramas. You could tell that the plot / storyline was really well planned out with no plot holes from start to finish. The OST's / Soundtrack worked really well with the dramas especially the opening song He isn't worth it by Taiwanese- Korean singer Shi Shi. Overall I really enjoyed this drama and would definitely recommend people to watch this drama. I have the full version of my review on my blog.

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Not deep enough

My apologies for those who love this drama, but I found it boring.
The acting was fine but I think the FL's personality was too unrealistic. The love story part was weak, the love triangle went almost unnoticeable. I felt that the couple was depicted as high school students rather as adults thus their struggles didn't move me at all. Giggles, chuckles, hiding our face of embarrassment over nothing.. oh please..
The music was actually pretty good, I didn't mind listening to the same two lines over and over again.
I've seen more engaging Taiwanese dramas than this.

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Get ready for the skip button on this one. The only saving grace to the show were the leads; the source of my generous rating here. This drama is lacking in many things, namely a reasonable plot. The show places the heroine in the most ridiculous, humiliating circumstances to create conflict and for the hero to swoop in and save the day. Having said that, once we get to the parts where the leads interact, I ended up forgetting all the nonsense preceding it. So the overarching plot felt contrived but the scenes/dialogues between the leads felt real and thoughtful.

Though cold but not a total jerk, the hero is the mastermind behind many of the heroine's mishaps. It's complicated with him since he hates her mom and has been planning revenge for 12 years. While staying close to the heroine to mete out his revenge, he remains elusive emotionally. She is perceptive to that and tries to reach out to him earnestly. She doesn't doubt his intentions, it is more that she understands he is just a lonely soul who needs warmth. We can see from her efforts that she is kind and pure. I liked watching his internal struggles to deny his feelings and failing every time. Their moments together, whether sweet or angst filled, are well-done (waltzing, biking, dinner by the piano were especially memorable). I could see clearly how and why they fell for each other; her in simple ways, him in layers of complexities. I found myself smiling watching them.

So the show does reward you for sticking with it, with the cute leads, but there was nothing else to offer. Or maybe I just didn't care for all the side stories about the tragedy behind the revenge, the families, and how it all got resolved. In any case, if you're having a long day and just want to shut off your brain and escape into the world of dramaland, you can enjoy this by skipping around.

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Ruined Ending

It was a bittersweet melodrama which made me shed tons of tears. for the first 18 episodes that is. Then they had to add the last episode and turned it into a comedy of sorts! The kidnapping and chase scenes were soo soo bad, it was hilarious! It's like the writers and directors quit last minute and the interns that prepare coffee for the staff took over! Why, why why???!!! They ruined the whole show to be honest.
Having said that, I would still recommend anyone who reads this to watch the show. The personal growth of the heroine from a helpless, naive girl to a strong and self assured woman without discarding her trust in humanity is endearing. Personally, I felt the male leads growth was not complete though, he was still emotionally constipated till the end. Chemistry between the leads was on fire during the first half but then it gradually fizzled out towards the end due to too many things happening at the same time..
And if you do watch it and anytime you feel like dropping it for whatever reason. I highly suggest you watch the kidnapping/chase scenes at the last episode. Purely for its entertainment value! And for the two extras that played the bumbling cops in those scenes, I give you my utmost respect and admiration!

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Not even mediocre

My apologies for rating this 1, but there was no redeeming factor in this drama.
Personally I find taiwanese dramas finer made than Chinese and was really looking forward to seeing the ML again after True Romance.
But this drama takes you on a spin which is boring, mediocre, with barely any romance and lower than zero chemistry.

I only watch romance genre and even through that only prefer romcoms.
So bearing in mind that this review only compares with other dramas in this genre, and after having worthlessly wasted hours on this nonsense, please forgive me T drama team for scaling this drama down.

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A Slow Paced Revenge Melodrama

As a revenge melodrama, I found the direction pretty slow paced. The plot in itself was not anything out of the ordinary, so I did not feel a sense of anxiousness watching this drama.

As for the main leads, I could not feel the chemistry from the two of them, even though there were a few good kissing scenes. I think perhaps, the FL acting is too calculated and feels too young. However, there is no denying that Marcus Chang has been acting for a while and he played his ML role well. First time I am seeing Marcus Chang and look forward to his other work.

The only character that had a lot to work on and did a pretty good job is Esther Yang who played Jian Xiao Yue, good friend of FL, Eugenie Liu who played Xin Yu. I liked her role who is on survival mode and has a direct attitude. I felt all her emotions and even as a second lead, she had lots to act right until the last episode. Good for her.

All in all, this drama is not a disaster. However, in my opinion, one could give this drama a miss, unless you are running out of Chinese drama to watch or you want to check out the hot and handsome Marcus Chang. Even the second lead Sean Lee is also pretty cool!

Cheers!

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