Sealed with a Kiss (2011)

I can't quite remember what made me want to watch this particular drama, despite it being quite lengthy, but what I so vividly recall was the feeling that lingered for awhile after having watched the drama. I still remember the pain of being misunderstood. What this drama made me realize was that sometimes we realize things once they're gone, and that truth is powerful. The importance of saying what's on one's mind and just being true, and how scary a person becomes when one chooses not to let go because of utter fear. The lack of courage, now that I'm typing about it, is what this drama emphasizes.

What I liked about the drama is that it was refreshing and very scandalous, dark, unlike the usual mainstream dramas. It got me hooked because it was dark, realistically dark, the chemistry of the main leads was awesome, and no matter what the guy did I could never seem to hate him too much to stop watching it. The Love was twisted, at certain angles pure, but truly deep. Heartbreaking but amazing!

I know a lot might resist watching it because certainly one would have to cry and get attached but that's the beauty of this drama. That is what makes it so good, the journey that both the characters had to go through, and the complicated misunderstanding, one after another, that when we're left to uncover each one, we get to see the real characters, why they acted the way they did.

So I dare you to take leap of Faith and try this drama.

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I have watch this several months ago. It's totally different from the usual drama be it Korean, Japanese, Taiwanese or Thai, that I have watched(and believe me I've watched a lot). Some may find it offending but when you give yourself get accustomed to it, you'll get into the whirlwind of unusual love. First of all, Hawick Lau is one of the most handsome man I've seen and Ying Er is so cute that she is perfect for this role. They are so good in getting into their characters and kudos also to the supporting roles.
This couple grows into you that you can't stop watching till the end.
One of the best.
Highly recommended.

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What did I just watch? The story line is basically a revenge drama which is one of my favorite genres, but then there is mental and physical abuse that I just hate. This was a guilt watch. I hate the idea that boarder line abuse is okay if the guy "really loves" the girl. Are you kidding me? That kind of thinking sets back human kind to the dark ages.

So, why do I find Lau Hawick as Shaoquin so attractive? He is the only reason I watched this entire drama. His character is horrible and pitiful all wrapped in this attractive package. I honestly don't understand myself. His character is usually the kind I hate. The female lead character is just too self-sacrificing and naive/stupid for me. Plus, Ying Er isn't that great of an actress to me. I felt almost nothing for her character. I just wanted to shake her. So, maybe it wasn't so much the acting as the character. The crazy "wife" was fun to watch. Also, Zhen Fai played by Zhao Chu Lun was also a great character. The rest do not matter.

The music started to get on my nerves.

I will never rewatch this.

I don't recommend this drama.

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Wow.. Mind blown. The ending, though sad, made sense. She knew that he loved him but I wish he also knew how much she loved him instead of a lie. I am hoping the last moments in the house she was decorating for Professor Chen was a testament to her true feeling; I hope. His last act made sense because how else to protect her from herself? Tong Xua just believed everyone and tried to protect everyone. This last time I wanted to slap her silly. So glad I watched this. Lau Hawick has gained a lifelong fan! Can you believe it? My first experience and it was a remarkable one.

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Revenge always has unintended consequences

If you enjoy tortured and angsty love/hate stories then this is the drama for you. Before and whilst watching this drama, I read a lot of blog posts, reviews and comments about it and fully expected to hate it because the common consensus was that it was distastefully rapey with an incredibly unsatisfying ending. I actually concede both points with the exception that although the ending is unsatisfying (who doesn't want to see a happily ever after all tied up with a huge cheerful bow?) it was entirely suitable for the story, it was a logical conclusion to the trajectory of the drama.
The story of Shao Qian and Tong Xue is very complicated and quite uncomfortable to watch especially in the first half. It's quite easy to find Shao Qian repulsive ( as much as Hawick Lau can appear repulsive) at first, but in my opinion as the story unfolded I understood him better and was able to see his motivation and where he was coming from; this in no way excuses his methods of avenging his father but illustrates how he coped with the grief in his personal capacity. I believe that dramas tell us a story and we should't really try to translate such scenarios into real life situations because clearly there's an element of fantasy, make believe, entertainment and general "acting" in a drama; we should rather learn the lessons or take away any useful nuggets of wisdom that are highlighted. In this regard I took away the following life lessons:
1. Don't hurt another person in order to assuage your own pain, this will inevitably backfire
2. You can't make a person love you merely by willing it so
3. You can't manipulate someone into loving you, if they're not inclined to do so
4. You can't really decide who to fall in love with, it just happens
5. Revenge is ultimately a cold and unappetising dish period.

The acting was very good. Hawick Lau as Mo Shao Qian was sublime, he embodied the role being fierce yet vulnerable, unfeeling yet yearning, ruthless yet compassionate; he was such a complicated paradox, a very well written and very well acted role.
Ying Er as Tong Xue was suitably naive, vulnerable and a bit dim at times; flailing helplessly in the fiery pit which is Shao Qian's world; in the end though she became braver as she realised that she actually loves Shao Qian, it was special to observe the little nuances of her burgeoning love for him, all the more significant because in this drama the main couple never actually openly profess their love for each other, it's all done with subtle gestures and actions, this made it so poignant for me.
Mu Yong Fei was diabolical, the very definition of an obsessed lover, except her love story with Mo Shao Qian was one sided from day one, she is the saddest character as she exhibits no growth throughout the drama.
Her brother Zhen Fei was such a darling, so rational and fair it was mind boggling to see the family he came from. he is the peacemaker the one person who actually saw the situation from everybody's point of view and attributed accurate rationale for everyone's actions.

The music was wonderfully evocative, Hawick Lau's "a thousand mountains" is beautiful and there's some great piano pieces which were employed at just the right moments. Although there aren't a lot of musical pieces in this drama, the ones which are there are used very well; so music is a 10.

Overall rating 8.5. I think the criticism of this drama is in my opinion exaggerated, the scriptwriter achieved a well balanced story, it's definitely not a fairy tale so the ending is appropriate. There's an analogy that Shao Qian' mother tells him about hyacinths, that in order for them to come up with new blooms you have to cut off the old bloom. this explains the relationship between Shao Qian and Tong Xue perfectly; in order for them to have any hope for a future together, they first have to cut off their connection because it was founded on anger and hatred, they have to reboot and hopefully come together in the future to start afresh; this is a very hopeful ending indeed.

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Cliche story, but good characterisations

Well, this was an interesting series that was ultimately ruined by what I call "catering to the masses" - or Disney-fication, if you want. The original novel which I read until chapter 9, is a nasty, difficult book not for the faint of heart, and while they did retain some of the originals' feel, they dumbed down and whitewashed so much stuff that it lost it's original taste, and became a mish-mash that would not satisfy lovers of dark romance (like me), but is definitely too hard core for lovers of fluffier, easier romance.
PLOT: Anybody who has ever read at least one Harlequin romance knows that the "Monte Christo plot" is everywhere - a man trying to get revenge on a woman for something her father/brother/husband did by making her submit to him. I myself read at least 10 of those books and they always have the same trajectory. Some stories are more violent, some are less violent.
Sealed with a kiss is no different. The story is one large revenge cliche, just done the typical Chinese way. So, if you want some quality storytelling, this is not the drama for that. Go watch Nirvana in Fire or something similar. All the typical stuff is here - crazy wives, never forgotten first love, scheming business associates...
ACTORS: This is where this series shines. Hawick Lau is top class! Incredible int he role. His micro expressions are priceless! Ying Er is a point of intense discussion,. Most people dislike her, but the problem is not the actress per se but the character - Tong Xue, a great sarcastic character in the novel was made into a weak willed, docile, fragile girl in the drama. While her passivity is often mentioned and is even a pint of criticism to the viewers, I think much has been lost in this transition. If they decided to make her so meek, there is one way to do it properly - to make it a cautionary tale about being an unnecessary martyr and the consequences that go with it. But they in fact often try and paint her as a incredible woman sought after by so many men because of her feminine elegance. WHAT! And I have to say that Ying Er even does this right is many regards. She's silly and annoying as heck and you want to slap her, but that's how she was envisioned and it's not Ying Er's fault. She's not a top actress, but pulls it of okay.

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BETTER be a drama

I mean i read the novel on which this drama based so I would say the drama seriously captures the core of the novel and the actors did a pretty good job portraying the characters. However, the drama is super frustrating to watch if you really take time and effort to penetrate the minds of the characters and to understand them. And if you want a moral lesson, this drama would not give you a proper one since behind all the romantic veils, it's just a sad story of a blind man who was too coward to admit how impotent he was and to confess his feelings for whom he loves. And a woman with mild Stockholm syndrome who falls in love with the man abusing and torturing her and at the end actually falling for him?!!! I know it's hard for MSQ to kinda get out of the marriage since it intertwines with business benefits but does it not sound ridiculous when he doesn't accept the fact that he accepts to marry his wife to save his father's business and then loathes his wife for that? If he hates her about that, he should refuse her from the first place and have the dignity to rebuild his father's business without her help. He doesn't "dare" to show his tempers to the wife's family and puts out that toxic attitude on TX, which is even more ridiculous to me. I think it would be better to end with TX understands his feelings for her but she would move on to start a new life and would not actually end up falling in love with him. It's just not worth it. I mean it would be a serious mental problem in real life if you still choose to live with somebody who just knows only how to hurt you. Very frustrating and exhausting.

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This is the drama that made me fall in love with Hawick Lau's acting. He was able to portray sadness with just his eyes. There were a lot of the scenes in the drama where the character has to hide his true feelings and Hawick Lau definitely nailed it. This is the drama that makes you want to keep watching and every scene is important because there are hidden messages in them. The first time I saw this drama I was disappointed with how the drama ended because it left me wondering about the story for days then weeks then months. I actually got so frustrated (in a good way) that I rewatched this just to understand the drama and the character better. The soundtrack is actually sung by the main actor himself and it's so hauntingly beautiful that I can't stop listening to it. I definitely recommend watching this drama. For those that don't understand Mandarin like I do, you can get the videos from youtube and for subtitle from subscene but you'd have to sync the sub with subfix or other app out there.

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Misunderstood Drama

I think this drama is very much misunderstood. For anyone expecting or wondering if they should watch for the romance, I say NO, you should skip/pass/ignore and stay far away as possible from this drama. Yes, there was some form of romantic love between the leads but be warned this is not actually a romance drama. In my opinion this drama is classic makjang/revenge with offensive dark undertones. Once you are open to the nature of this drama then you might appreciate the story and the roller-coaster of emotions that go along with it. Although the story is not original I found it quite interesting. Hawick Lau did a stellar performance showing multiple facets of his acting ability in portraying the complex ML character who is despicable, cunning and wretched somehow making us feel sorry and rooting for him at times. There were scenes where I was holding my breath in suspense as to how the ML would react to a situation or person. Sadly the FL character rendition was subpar for my taste wherein some scenes the FF button came in handy. The supporting cast and production quality was okay. I actually liked the open ending because it would make no sense for the leads to easily just have a happy ending. It's good that the FL was going away giving her time to realize if she truly loves him or get over Stockholm syndrome and that the ML is paying for his crime. It would have been better if the writers showed that the ML acknowledged that he needed mental therapy. I enjoyed watching this drama but on the fence recommending this as a watch.

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Obsessive, Possessive, Controlling Love - crikey!

A man set on revenging the death of his father. Sadistically keeps the daughter of the man who betrayed his father, as his mistress. Girl is innocent, gullible and ignorant to matters of almost everything. Really un-comfortable drama for me to watch and worse, has an ending left much to despair and one's own imagination.

The only reason I watched is Hawick Lau. His acting is always on point and makes his character so believable as Shao Qian. Unfortunately, he has to be that man who loves the girl to the point of obsessiveness and can only express love through act of anger, control and jealousy. The female lead Ying Er (acted as Tong Xue) was only 22 years old at that time of this drama and lacked experience in portraying such a complicated character. A girl who is confused between being in love or being victimized.

If you enjoy watching possessive, obsessive love where a man paws at the woman he loves at every chance when he is riddled by anger and jealousy, this is one drama you should not miss, especially when it is acted out so well by the handsome Hawick Lau. If not, you can also give this drama a miss.

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