The Heart of Genius (2022)

Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.

At twenty-three, Lin Zhaoxi lives a life of quiet desperation. She grows up in the shadow of two natural math geniuses - her father Lin Zhaosheng and his mentee and love of her life, Pei Zhi. Despite her passion, her aptitude for math is not intuitive and falls short of true genius. Discouraged, she majors in philosophy and is resigned to a mundane existence. She also loses touch with Pei Zhi after he leaves to further his studies in Germany. Her world unravels further when she discovers her father Old Lin has early onset Alzheimer's. Then out of the blue, she is whisked away to cheese world, a parallel world with a childhood classmate Ji Jiang. In order to return to their world or strawberry world, they must win Math Olympics. This was a challenge she failed as a child. It was arguably the great inflection point that put her on a less satisfactory life path, one that is lacking passion.

Don't be put off by the math aspects of this drama; the writer does a good job making abstruse concepts and theorems quite approachable and avoids getting bogged down into the weeds. The storytelling indulges in almost ten episodes of sheer childhood delight as the young Lin Zhaoxi, Ji Jiang and Pei Zhi try out for Math Olympics. The child actors led by Wang Shengdi, Fu Bohan and Lin Zeyi blew me away with their natural and uninhibited articulation of joie de vivre that conquers all. The young cast steals the show with their empowering message that genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. The Harry Potter allusions were brilliant - it just cracked me up that no one wanted to be Harry! It also pays proper homage to Snape, one of the most complex, fascinating and moving fictional characters ever written. This is indisputably the strongest, best arc of the drama.

The middling arc is a struggle by comparison as both Zhang Xincheng and Zhang Zifeng take time to get in character and are not that convincing as lovers. It is not a bad arc at all, in fact the father daughter dynamics are very enjoyable and touching. It is just that the first arc is just too good. Initially, Zhang Zifeng seems mis-cast because unlike Ji Jiang and Pei Zhi, I could barely see any vestiges of the child that was Lin Zhaoxi. But upon reflection, it is intended that all of that youthful optimism and sense of invincibility is extinguished. The actress really redeems herself in the latter episodes, especially in her chilling encounter with her doppelganger. Oddly it is Zhang Xincheng's performance that doesn't hit all the right notes in this. I think he is much less comfortable taking on grey or flawed roles. I didn't like Pei Zhi for most of the drama and only empathised with him after his heart to heart with his father Pei Donglai in cheese world. Both the young and grown Ji Jiang is far more charismatic and is seamless portrayed by both actors. As always the veteran actors Lei Jiayin, Wang Xiao (Zhang Shuping) and Geng Le (Pei Donglai) are the ones that save the day by extracting the best performances from the younger actors. In this one, even they are outclassed by the amazing kids. Ni Ni's brief stint as an omnipresent and unforgettable character is both delightful and heartbreaking. The drama picks up pace and comes together in the final act. It finishes strongly with a few good mind blowing twists and reveals to end in a good way. Some may not like how it was all wrapped up but I did and I explain why in a spoiler in the comment section of this review.

The Heart of Genius is a well-crafted and intriguing story about life, love and friendship that is comical, inspiring and heartbreaking. Everyone makes mistakes and has regrets; Lin Zhaoxi didn't try hard enough, Pei Zhi lost his father too soon; Lin Zhaosheng didn't fight to clear his name; Zhang Shuping did the wrong thing... This drama tantalises with the impossible fantasy of re-writing history, to have a chance at a do-over of the big what-if moments in life. It proves that even though assholes are still assholes in each world, the grass is not necessarily greener in cheese world; that there are always consequences and trade-offs that are of unknown, unknowable value. Thus we must be consoled by the wisdom that life is not a fairy tale and who we are and who we love are the sum total of our shared experiences good and bad. To live in the moment and to accept what we can't change. It is a very engaging and thought provoking drama that does not seem to get the appreciation it deserves. It is one of the most enjoyable dramas I watched recently and am happy to rate this an 8.5 overall.

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If you could travel to a parallel world, what would you change about your life?

Lin Zhaoxi (LZX) is a graduate of philosophy from a prestigious university who is seemingly overshowed by her genius father Lin Zhaosheng (LZS) and equally brilliant love interest Pei Zhi (PZ). She and superstar classmate Ji Jiang (JJ) find themselves in a parallel world and must figure out how to return home. Honestly, this drama was an absolute joy to watch.

Story wise, this drama was fantastic and despite being about parallel universe, the story managed to remain grounded in the things that mattered. The Parallel universe was a way to help Strawberry Lin Zhaoxi grow in character and confidence, and Pei Zhi to be able to come to terms with his father's death. I have to say given that Strawberry world PZ and Cheese world Pei Zhi both were so stubborn about wanting to stay in the others' world, I think they are both similar in their selfishness. I do wish the story had showed us more of Cheese world's PZ after he returned but the story just ended there. Also, I have to say that the naming of the worlds, Strawberry and Cheese was so simplistic but it worked so well in helping to tell which world they were referring to.

I also have to commend LZS the father because he was an awesome dad to LZX! He put in 200% into his daughter and while he was unconventional, he loved his daughter more than anything or anyone including himself. I loved watching him grow to accept LZX as his daughter in the Cheese world. I also found it funny how he basically switched jobs just to follow her wherever she went. It was so touching.

I also like Snape (I don't recall his name) but I think he was a fantastic character in that he resembled LZX in a big way. LZX was overshadowed by her dad and PZ all her life and Snape more than anyone could relate to that. That's why I loved their little talk in the hospital.

I also must talk about PZ's biggest fan, Zhang Liang because he was fantastic. I liked that they didn't make him hate PZ out of jealousy because that would have been pretty one-dimensional. He admired and wanted to be friends with PZ more than anyone and I loved his adult version even more. It was also funny how he hated and was lowkey jealous of LZX because she had PZ's attention and love which he thought was wasted on her. He genuinely liked math as well and that was nice to see even though younger him was a little brat.

One thing I disliked was the love triangle they tried to force with Ji Jiang because it was never hinted at till they return to their world. It was completely unnecessary and could have been avoided. But I guess they had to give a reason for JJ to remain around LZX so they just went with that.

Acting wise, I have to praise the child actors for this drama because honestly, they were all fantastic and really hard-carried. Young LZX was an absolute unit second only to the cheeky but adorable child actor playing JJ. Then we also had young PZ who was able to emulate the character of a young, doe eyed genius who comes across LZX and was completely taken by her. It was precisely because of the young PZ that I was able to understand the reasoning behind Cheese world PZ setting everything in motion just to be with the LZX he knew and loved. I don't blame him too much because I also felt a strong bond to their younger characters that I was super sad to see them go. Unfortunately the chemistry between the adult versions of the characters wasn't as strong but that's okay. Their performance was still okay.

Music was the bomb!! I'm still looking for one of the OST's. I hope I find it.

Overall, an excellent drama. Reminds me of reset which is odd because they have little in common. But I have to say, China really rocks at this genre. The ability to combine simple everyday stories with time travel/parallel worlds is an art.

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Entertaining

It's a well rounded story about parallel universes, and if you like these light sci-fi kind of drama (like Someday or One Day and First Love Again) you might like this one as well. The problem here is that the characters lacked emotion. The best one is the female lead's father, but the rest didn't get me attached to them. When the actors changed from child to adults I couldn't feel the connection between them either.

So, if you're looking for a romance to get emotional and root for the leads, I don't think you'll find it here. And I don't believe it's just the actors fault, the script didn't make them close either.. it felt like they didn't really care about each other. At the same time, it's nice to have a romance without it being over the top, I guess you need some balance and for me this wasn't enough.

Despite everything, it's the kind of drama that makes you want to talk about it (hence this review) cause it leaves you thinking and it's pretty interesting.

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Une tranche de vie à travers les maths, unique!

Un monde parallèle. Des maths. Des protagonistes aux caractères bien trempés. Une pincée de romance. Une philosophie de la vie.
Mélangez le tout et vous obtenez un drama unique, un drama dont l'essence tourne essentiellement sur notre courage d'embrasser la vie et nos choix, quelques qu'ils soient.

Ne vous y trompez pas, loin d'être un drama cristallisant son scénario autour de ce monde parallèle, nous découvrons au fur et à mesure que tout ceci n'est qu'un décor servant à faire vivre des personnages haut en couleur!
Lin Zhao Sheng est le personnage central de ce drama. Selon moi, il gagne haut la main la palme du "meilleur père" de tous les temps. Son humour caustique nous a fait rire plus d'une fois et a côtoyé sans difficulté une philosophie de la vie étonnante faite d'humilité et de compréhension. J'ai totalement adoré les deux Zao Sheng . Sa relation avec Lin Zhao Xi est de celle que je cataloguerai d'épique. Oui, une relation père et fille, le moteur de ce drama.
L'intelligence et la compréhension des choses de Lin Zhao Xi furent remarquables. Ses réflexions pertinentes ont su trouver un écho en nous. J'ai adoré sa façon d'aborder la vie et d'en sortir gagnante. Si j'ai adoré sa relation avec son père, j'ai moins accroché à sa romance avec Pei Zi. Leur relation est saine et forte, d'où leur réussite dans "Cheese World". Je n'ai pourtant pas trouvé que leur alchimie ait été à la hauteur de Zhao Sheng/Zhao Xi. Je pense qu'ici, c'est un ressenti personnel. Mais j'aurai peut-être aimé un peu plus de complicité, de passion, d'intensité. Comme dans "Love like the Galaxy" ou "Love Between Fairy and Devil"....Mais cela reste, en toute honnêteté, une jolie relation dont la solidité peut agréablement étonner (au vu de leur choix à faire).

J'ai totalement adoré la partie avec les enfants! C'est d'ailleurs celle que je préfère. Avec une ambiance qui rappelle fortement le drama "Hikaru No Go", nous suivons avec bonheur les péripéties des enfants dans la course à la première place et surtout, applaudissons le jeu incroyables de ces enfants acteurs. Je leur tire mon chapeau, selon moi, ils ont volé la vedette aux adultes! Rien que pour eux, courrez voir ce drama!!

Ne vous attendez pas à un scénario classique sur le voyage d'un monde à un autre. Ici, il est plus question de résoudre des équations, les équations d'une relation, d'un choix, d'une responsabilité. Et c'est rafraichissant. Nous restons suspendus à tout ce suspense jusqu'au bout. Et le drama réussit à nous tenir en haleine jusqu'à la dernière minute. Les deux derniers épisodes clôturent magistralement la série, satisfaisant ainsi pleinement notre curiosité.

Emouvant et drôle, l'humanité qui s'en dégage, où rien n'est tout blanc, ni tout noir, où le pardon est source de satisfaction, où l'humilité côtoie les plus grands, tout cela est le signe d'un grand drama qui a su nous transmettre des valeurs qui s'oublient parfois au quotidien. Un must to see....

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Even great for non math lovers!

Yes all that math goes over my head but the story is genuinely heart warming with so many likeable characters.

Best part for me is the Dad in both worlds (with or with out that rock star hair) & if you love father daughter relationships this will definitely be a must watch.
Ep 1-9 were most people's favorite episodes because the kid actors are so good & darling, worth rewatching.
Ep 28-34 picked up at the end for a nice ending and a hint of romance

Few flaws:
After EP 10:
Adult Lin Zhao Xi didn't have the same tenacity other than a few scenes.
Cheese world Pei Zhi wasn't happy as his father described so definitely they should've matched the characters a bit better.

Overall a great drama out of the ordinary and might help you reflect on life & relationships.

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Academic Drama with Minimal Romance

First of all this story is more focus about maths solely, it’s quite academic story even the conflict some of it relate w/ knowledge. The game they played used brain as well. However the current world is show more about the harsh reality that we have lived and the main character didn't get anything much till the end but everything is change during they travel to parallel world. In parallel aka cheese world the character make a change to return and quite dreamy. The strawberry world is their wake up “this is reality that you need to face it”.

I like the romance, isn't too excessive nor too bland, heart warming and they love each other so much that everyone know but i know they lived depressed life especially the male lead while the female lead always felt she is not good in maths but after graduate she strive harder for her passion, maths like his father. They complete each other and support each other... Though some people may doesn't see much their chemistry but too me is enough since the romance is minimal, I kinda like it. Their relationship was damn awesome during high school, aaaaa cat and dog but able to be together again suddenly ><

The best character goes to her father! He is the core of the story! Though I'm not too satisfy how they addressed his plagiarism issues because basically he endure the pain for 20 years! Lin father deserve better, but he still strive hard for his hard work - thesis despite his illness.

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A drama that would have made Lockhart proud.

This drama accurately captures what it means to be a mathematician. Partway in the drama, there is a scene where one of the main cast gives a monologue to a group of math olympiad students around a campfire, and it captured the essence, and what it means to be a mathematician, and I believe Lockhart would have been proud.

It doesn't matter if you don't get the brainy mathematics shown throughout the series. I have a math background and even I don't even bother thinking about these problems that the show presents to us. Mathematics can be thought of as the work of geniuses, but the truth is that anyone can be a mathematician, so long as you appreciate the heart that these giants put into discovering their theorems.

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Father and Daughter Love

I am a big fan of Fantasy dramas like Time travel, Parallel Universe.
When I saw the trailer I thought it must be fun to watch.
⅓ of the all episodes are starring Child actors/actresses and they amazed me by their acting skills.
They made me believe that they are an adult in a child’s body.
When young Lin Zhao Xi tried to prove that Lin Zhao Sheng is her father is so cute. She call him “爸 (Bà means Father) all the time.
The most touching scene for me is the scene where Lin Zhao Sheng sat on the road and apologized to young Lin Zhao Xi (from strawberries world) that he was sorry for not raising her since baby. And then when he introduces himself as her father and he will take care of her from now on, that makes me cry. To be honest I like the cheese world’s father rather than the strawberry world’s father even though he found his kid after more than 10 years. He is so warm, kind and talks with Lin Zhao Xi like a friend.
I love how he changes jobs every time his daughter moves school.
From the 10th episode I don’t think young Lin Zhao Xi & Pei Zhi and adult Lin Zhao Xi & Pei Zhi are the same person because I cannot feel the connection between each character. The personalities are very different even though I know that when growing up personalities can be changed.
Now I’m watching until the 27th episode. After that, I will revise this review again.

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If you are contemplating to watch this drama, go for it.

This drama revolves around parallel universe and mathematics. I am a sucker for time travel, parallel universe, time loop kind of drama so of course I am gonna give it a try.

The early part of the drama shows about the leads training for mathematics olympiad, which is one of the reason I was hooked, as this is such a novel experience to watch in a drama. As someone who used to join such olympiad in my school days, this is really intriguing.

What I like about this drama:

1) LZX's character
Be it in strawberry world, or cheese world, I really like both of them. Watching this makes me wanna root for her success, and I am glad she got it in the end.

2) Lao Lin
In both worlds, he is indeed a good father who truly cares about his daughter (s). Gotta love the father-daughter relationship in this drama.

3) Perfectly wrapped up
Censorship aside (which I recently learned about), this story wrapped up quite well and everything falls at their respective place.

What I don't like:

1) Some inconsistencies here and there
As I said, I really like our FL (strawberry LZX) but I found some parts in which she doesn't seem like the LZX I know. It feels kinda out of character, just like how I found cheese PZ. In the story, his father said that Cheese PZ is a happy and bright person, however at the end, it doesn't seem like it.

2) Last two episodes
The last two episodes are mainly explaining the whole concept, what happened in this world etc etc but rather than explaining, I found it more confusing than ever. It intends to cover up the loopholes, but I found myself thinking more and finding even bigger loophole.

3) Why? When? Who?
We don't know what, when, who, how this whole loop is started. Yeah true that loops are continuous so it doesn't have a start or end but, like I said, the more you think about how it explained in the end, the more you found it illogical. That ruined my experience with this drama. Thus, if you watch this, don't think and just enjoy your ride.

This is a decent time loop / parallel world drama, but is far from perfection. It is flawed yet still beautiful, you can still enjoy it until the end although I think it gets kinda draggy in the middle. 20s should be enough for this drama, rather than 34 episodes. Will I rewatch this? Definitely no. It is not good enough for me to rewatch. Should you watch this drama? Sure, give it a try.

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This drama really need more recognition. The story, acting, music everything is on point. Don't miss it...

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A type of story that can make you sad and happy at the same time.

{I have not finished this drama yet (i am on the 14th episode). I will update the review after i have finished watching this.}

the first 8-9 episodes were very fun to watch. It showed us how childhood is different from adulthood, the growing pains, expectations, friendship, love goals and many more.
I was surprised at the child actors who conveyed or portrayed their character very well. their acting seen natural especially the child actor playing the character of child ver. of Lin ZhaoXi.
this story seems different from the type of Chinese drama's (time travel or parallel world concept) I have watched so far.

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