Luo Yao Knew What He Meant (2023)

"Becoming better together is the coolest thing"

There are so many high school dramas about a bubbly, extroverted girl crushing on a quiet, aloof smart boy. Usually, the girl in these dramas are portrayed as quite dumb and needs tutoring or something from the guy. "When I Fly Towards You" does not stray too far from that. However, Zai Zai has has a good head on her shoulder and actually not dumb when it comes to the important things. Everyone has something they are good at and weak at, and this series shows that realistically. She's not someone who will gamble her life to pursue a guy and I absolutely loved that. I also adore the friends in this series. Every character has their own story and their own struggles and I enjoyed the friends being there for one another. Lots of fun and cute moments.

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● SHORT REVIEW
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LIKES:
-- Love the dynamics of the friends and how they cared for each other
-- Female lead has her strength academically and not some low ranking student. She also planned her future carefully and not just around her boyfriend
-- Misunderstandings are not dragged out and female is quick to clear things up when she realizes there may be something up
-- I enjoy the little clips at the end of each episode where she is documenting her life


DISLIKES:
-- Strict mom who puts pressure on Lu Rang to be perfect academically
-- Issue with mom mostly resolved off-screen and just brushed off
-- Would've love to spend more time in their life during college and after.
-- Jealous girl in high school and a devious female character in college trying to create misunderstanding for the couple (whereas the male character who was interested in Zai Zai was respectful and gave up as soon as he realizes she had a girlfriend.)

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● IN-DEPT REVIEW
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[ --STORY/PLOT-- ]

I've seen quite a few high dramas about a cute girl chasing after a smart guy, and this series is not all that different. But honestly, I don't watch high school dramas for a unique take. The important part is how well they do the characters and how natural the story progresses. And also, the friendships. I think this series does all that pretty well. I will talk more in-dept about each of the main characters later, but I loved that I ended up caring about all the characters and their stories. There really isn't much for me to say about the plot/story as it's a very slice of life high school drama. If there was something I could change, it would just be that we spend a little less time in high school. I would have loved to see more time spent in their university life and even their lives after.

[ --THOUGHTS ON CHARACTERS-- ]

Su Zai Zai - In these kind of dramas, the female is usually portray as very clingy, Zai Zai is very social and straight forward, which I feel can make some viewers see her as clingy/stalkerish at times in the beginning but I never really felt that way about her. I'm not sure exactly but if I had to guess, it would be because our lead Lu Rang never seemed to mind her presense. To me, I feel like she would've left him alone if she felt like she wasn't welcomed. In fact, there was a part where she misunderstood that he was annoyed with her and stopped following/talking to him. So if he had set boundaries, I think she would have left him alone. Mostly, she was just trying to get to know him and I think that's fine.

I think one thing that is most definitely different from some of the other series I've seen is that Su Zai Zai is shown to have strengths of her own compared to our male lead Lu Rang. I loved that she wasn't one of the girls who is at the bottom of her class in rank. She has stuff she is good at like English and stuff that she is bad at like Math/Physics. That's realistic. And likewise, Lu Rang wasn't perfect. He needed tutoring in English and Zai Zai was able to help him with that. Another thing I loved about her is that she tries to make things clear when she realizes there are misunderstandings. She is good at communicating compared to our male lead. The example that pop to mind is when he misunderstood that she wrote a love letter to someone else. Another example was when she realized another boy was interested in her so she make it known she has a boyfriend. She doesn't let things drag on. She is very aware of the people around her. There is a lot of good qualities about her that I like. She's brave, she tries to take initiatives to do things, and most importantly, she takes her future seriously. Episode 18 was one of episode that stood out to me because she told Lu Rang she is making backup plans in case she doesn't end up at the same school as him. She was carefully planning her future and not just blindly following some guy. And I loved that.

Zhang Lu Rang - Our male lead is smart and quiet, nothing new there. He is living in the shadow of his younger brother Zhang Lu Li, who is an academic prodigy. And because of that, their mother puts a lot of pressure on Lu Rang to be more like Lu Li. And I hated that, but it's such a relatable and realistic thing for a parent to compare one kid to another, especially in an academic household. I felt so bad for Lu Rang. Even his brother Lu Li felt bad that their mom is always comparing them. Due to always being compared and pressured, I can understand why Lu Rang is reserved and somewhat distant. And I like that I could understand because it shows that the character isn't just some arrogant, cold guy who thinks he's too cool for others. In fact, I never felt like Lu Rang was ever annoyed by our female lead Zai Zai who just kind of forced her friendship on him. Maybe there was a bit of tolerating at first, but he becomes amused by her energy and presence. People grow on you and Su Zai Zai's personality complements his introverted nature.

Lu Rang is also shown to care about the people around him. Sometimes, when you grew in a household where people only take about accomplishments and not emotions, it's hard to show affection. However, simple little actions can say a lot. Like visiting your friend while they are sick and keeping them company. Lu Rang could be cozy in his own bed but instead, spends the night on the floor cramped up with his guy friends. He comforts his friend Gu Ran when Gu Ran is feeling neglected by his parents. There are lots of moments like this amongst the friend group that I adore. Also, very cute that he rubs his neck whenever he lies. And love that Zai Zai teases him about it whenever he tries to lie.

Gu Ran - One of Lu Rang's best friends and often shown to be carefree, proud, playful, and just your stereotypical boy. As the series goes on, we start to see how selfless and caring he is also. None of the characters in this series are one dimensional and there is some depth to them. Gu Ran's character development was one I enjoyed. We get a glimpse into his home life where his parents are occasionally away due to being doctors. He plays it off and doesn't seem to complain to his parents as he understands that what they do is important. And it's not even that he doesn't get love. His parents love him and we can see that. However, it's still natural to feel lonely and neglected sometimes, especially during the holidays. Gu Ran however just silently endures it instead of voicing his sadness. This is a trait we see again when it comes to his love interest Jiang Jia, the female lead's best friend. He grows to like her but never works up the courage to tell her. In fact, he even helps her pursue her crush. He is shown to be someone who loves selflessly, whether it comes to his family or romantic interest.

Jiang Jia - The female's best friend and love interest of Gu Ran. She, however, for most of the series, crushes on and pursues a senior at their school. For the most part, she was very oblivious to Gu Ran's feelings for her, which was a little frustrating to watch since Gu Ran was shown to do little things for her. She does eventually start noticing him in a romantic way, but by then, he was already planning to leave to study abroad. I think the most memorable moment for me was when she took care of Gu Ran when he was sick. Another moment was trying to confess to her crush. However, in the end, she decided not to. These moments vulnerability and softness in her character who is normally very fierce, bold, and brave.

Guan Fang - Guan Fang is probably my favorite character in the series. He takes care of the people around him. A former troubled kid, he turned his life around for the sake of his grandma. Very chill and friendly. A lot of Guan Fang's story revolve around his relationship with his grandma. He is be very upbeat and tries to avoid conflict to avoid making her worry. Aside from taking care of her, he also takes care of his friends. When Guan Fang was unable to reach Gu Ran due to the latter being sick, he goes to check on his friend, even calling Jiang Jia for help. When he finds out Gu Ran is alone, he takes his friend back to his place so he could be taken care of. I love the moment where he was tucking his friends in, making sure they are covered. I like that he was always included in a lot of their activities even though he was not paired with anyone. Not everyone finds their love in high school and it's realistic that Guan Fang didn't end up with anyone. However, I do kind of wish we got to see more into his life outside of grandma and his friend group. He's not a bad looking guy, so I wonder if he was dating or seeing anyone at any point. This is where I wished we saw more of life in university and after for everyone besides the main couple.


[ --FINAL THOUGHTS -- ]

It's hard to find good friends, especially as we grow older. So I'm happy that Lu Rang has several good friends to help him through high school. Building a relationship is hard and it's harder to maintain. So having people who are very extroverted like Su Zai Zai around can help. Her straightforward personality definitely helped Lu Rang come out of his shell and grow as a person. And while this is nothing new in term of high school romance drama, it's the dynamics and moments between the friends during the journey that makes each story unique and fun to watch.


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● NOTE
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I'll always conclude my review by saying that ratings and reviews are not really a indicator of whether you may enjoy something. We all have different criteria and standards. Don't let a bad rating, review, or comment discourage you from watching something. My advice will always be to give something a chance if the premise interests you, and only use the ratings/reviews to determine priority if you have a list, or if you're deciding if you want to continue it due to time limitations.

♥ Thanks for reading my review! Feel free to comment or hit me up if you want to discuss anything ♥

Citeste mai mult

VERY GOOD HIGHSCHOOL DRAMA

I watched this since it is the talk of the internet along with Hidden Love

Immediately after episode 1 I was hooked and my god the FL was soooo cute. At first, it's all about FL wanting the attention of his crush and trying to get him, but as you progress through the story they slowly expand to the other cast and deep dive into their lives, while maintaining the dynamic of FL and ML, and I like it since the other characters are really interesting.

Slowly you see the development of each character little by little, you'll notice it from the way they act and their facial expressions, then the moment you realize it you're already in love with all the characters.

The way they do the interactions of FL and ML tho, ITS SOOO GOOD. it's sooo five head since they make sure, it's not for the sake of "they need to interact" like they always build it and you won't notice it building up to an interaction

I love how good the writer is at limiting the characters to a certain number, so you won't get overwhelmed by who is who, like why don't we explore this person and this person, there's none of that. Like the intention is very clear, they only want you to focus on the main characters and their friends. The way they did it was so tasteful like they only give the small parts to the extra side characters that don't ruin the flow of the dynamic and story.

Something took me off of my immersion with this drama though and that was when I thought "will this get dragged on?" because around ep 18-19 they're still in the high school side, but you can already see they're trying to build it up to the pay off that you've been waiting, and yeah long and behold it was worth it, nothing grand, nothing special, but still great♥

After all of the high school shenanigans, now we're finally on to the college side of things and this is where the story gets fast paced, like a little fast paced. I was kinda amazed how they are rushing the story, while also maintaining the key points that they want to show on the college side and even on the adult side of things. I get it, I think the story already ended in the payoff, but I guess they still wanna show the audience, what's beyond.. and I realized that this is the closest to real life couple, like how a couple would act that I've ever seen. you look at 1st Couple and they're so grounded. Like the adult side of the story, I watched it and they're so similar to couples that I've seen in real life.

Very good cdrama i love it♥

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Sweet show, mostly feelgood

This is a really sweet show around growing up, friendship, family, and love.

A bit slowpaced, without big conflicts or "villains", mostly feelgood.
There are some very heartwarming scenes, like between Guang Feng (?) and his grandma, and the small gestures from Rangrang showing us how he cares about her.

The ML's role is kind of similar to that in "You are desire" and the same of his friend (Gu Ran). I like both of their acting - suitable roles.
FL is very sweet, although I do find the female characters in Cdramas often to be a bit overly childish.

I can see myself recommending this as something to watch for a mum (/parents) and teenage (daughter) together.

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When I Fly Towards You (Appreciation Review)

If you’ll ask me what youth-centered friendship, high school setting with nostalgic trip on the side, does have a beautiful ending and of course well-written CDrama that I can recommend, l’ll say When I Fly Towards You in a heartbeat.

I started watching CDramas again after so many years and surprisingly I encountered my favorites this time. (Meet Yourself, Wifty, and The Love You Give Me).

When I Fly Towards You really encapsulates what I want on stories. Aside from having a fun set of friends that met during their youth that supports each other and treat everyone as their own family, I admire how everyone was so well written. From our lovely 5, to their classmates, parents, and precious grandma.

I was quite shock to encounter a FL that really speaks what’s on her mind and can communicate properly. She chase her ML earnestly and sometimes it’s cringey but that’s how teenage love moves — clumsy yet beautiful.

Su Zaizai is so well written that I always cry whenever she assures Zhang Lurang and protects her friends whenever. I read somewhere that if you’ll strip away the affection of FL/MLs to their counterparts, what would be their personality? Can they stand alone or just be a character that would revolve around his/her partner?

And I saw that Zai can stand alone and make her story regardless of having Rang. She has dreams of her own and stands for herself. There was this scene that they were preparing for college exam and they promised to be on the same university. But Zai assured him that it’s fine if they wouldn’t pass and be separated because they can make arrangements for their relationship.

I know it’s only 25 episodes and couldn’t show much conflict but they handled the jealousy, separation, and some problems beautifully. Rang doesn’t talk really much but he protects Zai and do whatever she wants as long as they would be happy. His acts of service with her words of affirmation really tops all of it.

I really also love how they incorporated the videos because the nostalgia sucks you up. Youth dramas are so beautiful as stand alone but having well-written characters is rare. I laugh and cried with them.

Also how can I forgot the beautiful conversations and well-thought lines. From grandma’s being fireflies or streetlight, Zai saying that Rang is 101%, it’s okay to be a second placer, or one’s existence can be meaningful to Rang saying that he unconsciously wait for her to look at him and became greedy along the way so he wants to be with her and ending it saying that Zai’s glance was a hint that his light was coming.

This is a brainrot because I don’t know if I can encounter again this kind of drama. I just kept on rewatching again everything because I love them.

FL really mastermind her way to ML and she succeed flying towards him.

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A smoldering ember of nostalgia

I really loved this drama, I had a great time watching it.
Let me start by highlighting its strengths: - the characters are incredibly endearing, especially the secondary couple.
- The atmosphere is immersive, offering a true rejuvenating experience and palpable nostalgia.
- As for the story, although simplistic, it captivates with its evolution, especially in the romance where slow burn and pure romance prevail.
-It's not a show for expecting suggestive scenes, but the tender moments are numerous and unforgettable.
-The ost are beautiful, especially one in particular that evokes a wave of nostalgia with each listen.

However, there are a few negatives to mention:
- the relationship of the secondary couple, while adorable, deserved more development before being concluded so quickly.
- Additionally, some issues are raised but not truly resolved, such as the family tensions of some characters, leaving a feeling of incompleteness. Similarly, the incident of sexual touching of a certain character deserved a deeper exploration instead of being quickly ignored.

- Despite these minor flaws, the overall quality of the drama is undeniable, which leads me to give it a rating of 9 out of 10 and highly recommend it ?

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A Cute and Fun Series!

Coming on the heals of “Hidden Love,” I decided to do another Chinese drama (my second one). “When I Fly Towards You” is actually a very light and delightful series, although it lacks the depth and heart of the previously mentioned series. It’s a series that doesn’t really take any chances or risks. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I felt that there were missed opportunities, and thus, this series, while very good, is very “vanilla.”

While the series is about a quiet, shy boy and a perky, vivacious young 16-year-old girl, the series could have almost been called, “School Friends” or something to that effect. I’d say that a good 40-45% of the series is focused on the five friends in their high school days, and the rest is on the two protagonists who should have been the focus and had more screen time.

Su Zai Zai is a very upbeat young girl, who always has a smile on her face, and certainly isn’t shy at all. If you’re looking for the doe-eyed girl who bats her eyes and waits for the boy to make his move, Zai Zai is not that girl. She is tenacious in the pursuit of her dreams and goals, and she makes no apologies for her direct and abrupt manner. Her target is the very quiet, shy boy, Zhang Lu Rang.

Zhang Lu Rang is a boy who barely cracks a smile. He quietly goes about his days, even when girls are lining up to have a chance with the handsome and brilliant Lu Rang. However, he gives none of them even a glance…that is, until he runs into Zai Zai at a small corner store. Her first reaction is to call him “an idiot” for walking to the store without an umbrella. She quickly regrets her reaction, and as soon as she sees him again at their military training, she’s quickly in hot pursuit. She teases him, playfully needles him, and showers him with cute remarks. Anything to bring this quiet boy out of his shell. At first, he tries to shrug her off, but Zai Zai’s charm and quick wit soon begin to melt the “ice king.”

We soon discover the reason behind Lu Rang’s shyness, which we realize is a result of very low self-esteem. His parents are both tiger parents, some of the most monstrous forms of child abusers there are. Only westerners with their indifference toward their children would give tiger parents a run. I know first-hand because I am an ESL teacher and have seen some of the most horrifying things from tiger parents and how they abuse their own children. Lu Rang is constantly berated by his parents, especially his mother who believes that he is a failure, despite his exemplary grades. His younger brother is the golden child of the family, who outshines even Lu Rang academically. There are no warm words of encouragement or comfort from Lu Rang’s cold mother during their exchanges, and it’s quite clear that Lu Rang’s brother is the favorite.

Zai Zai uses her charm and love for Lu Rang to let him know that he’s none of the things that his parents believe him to be. She becomes a ray of hope for him, as he very slowly begins to grow in confidence. Zai Zai simply won’t give up on him, nor will she allow him to sulk alone. Bubbly and perky, Zai Zai always finds a way to get the smallest crack of a smile out of Lu Rang.

The series ran into a crossroads. Focus on Zai Zai and Lu Rang or focus on the group of friends. Rather than picking one road, it tried to do both. The focus of the series should have been on Zai Zai and Lu Rang. I wanted more scenes with them. I wanted to find out how Lu Rang is able to resolve his problems with his parents—if at all. Instead, his parents all but disappear from the series from about the 12th episode. This is an area that could have, and should have been, explored in more depth as well as come up with more ways of showing the transformation of friendship between Zai Zai and Lu Rang into romance. Unfortunately, when you try to give the same attention to two stories, you end up coming up short in both. The old Native American saying of, “If you chase two rabbits, you’ll lose them both.”

“Hidden Love” dared to delve deeply into the characters of its two protagonists, and the payoff was well worth it. We felt close to these characters, caring about how they were going to overcome their obstacles. In this series, there really isn’t ever any real conflict or problems that Zai Zai and Lu Rang must deal with. For Zai Zai, it’s dealing with her boss acting like a pimp with her. For Lu Rang, it’s talking things out and resolving things with his brother.

It's the charm and performance of the cast that really makes the series work, despite not having the courage to delve more deeply below the surface. There are many funny and cute moments that still make this series more than watchable, but I just couldn’t help feeling that it was also a missed opportunity.

We still get those really awkward and silly intimate moments where college-aged kids act like 13-year-olds whenever a kiss, a hug, or even holding hands might occur. They make too big of a deal out it, which also flies in the face of logic and reality, even in China. They react as though they are about to commit a crime.

Zhang Miao Yi (Zai Zai) is a cute performer. With those eyes and dazzling smile, we can see why so many are captivated by the amount of charm that she brings to the table. She’s a bit inconsistent with her romantic scenes, however, especially her kissing scenes. Many of them felt wooden and forced. If you’re an actress who doesn’t like doing these kinds of roles, then you simply shouldn’t do them. There were times when she was very believable with Zhou Yi Ran (Lu Rang) and others when she almost looked out-of-place.

Zhou Yi Ran was good too, but he needed to find a way to make Lu Rang likable and charming, despite his shyness and low self-esteem. Too often, he came across as stiff. It’s a tough task to balance these traits, and yet, that is another reason why the series should have allowed him to do more had they put him front and center rather than being a peripheral character too often.

Because of the imbalance between the two plots, the series also suffers from pacing issues. We’d get an episode to update us on Zai Zai and Lu Rang, and then we’d get one that scarcely showed them at all, which leads us to a warp-speed ending in the last two episodes where we constantly jump years ahead within the space of a few minutes. It felt as if the director said, “Okay, we’ve got to hurry and wrap this up!” It didn’t have the natural feeling of an organic ending like “Hidden Love” had.

If you’re looking for something very light and fun without much else, then you’re likely to enjoy this series!

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A clear story that brings both comfort and fondness

This really brought me so much comfort. It was cozy, like a hot chocolate during winter. The story was well written and it was executed amazingly.
It was just really amazing to see a realistic teenage high school drama for once. The absence of miscomunications and love triangles was like a breath of fresh air.

It's a story where you get to witness the strong bond among people that grow closer little by little and become such close friend. You get to see growing love as well as the many hardships that teens often experience. The creation of meaningful relationships and everything else were things that I was really happy to see and that really made me emphatise with the characters. Of course it may seem a bit cheesy at times but that's what I really loved about it. I felt like a little kid daydreaming about love and wondering about my future.

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Heartwarming.

This c-drama was quite heartwarming, I was going through a block in terms of watching series but I gave it a chance and enjoyed it a lot.
To some people it may seem that in the end its pacing was rushed as the story focuses more on school time, and I agree with that in part.
Also, something that is notorious and that I don't quite understand is the need for the characters to continue having such childish behaviors when they are already adults and that they are also surprised or embarrassed to kiss each other or have gestures of affection when they have been in a relationship for many years and even lived together, but hey.
I must say that I liked the story itself, it was fun, light-hearted, romantic, wholesome and with a very calm pace. Perhaps many people didn't like the latter because the group of friends had to face very few difficulties and got everything they wanted, and we know that in many cases in real life this doesn't happen that way, personally I don't think that this detracted from the story, it was just what I wanted to see, a quiet story without so much drama.
I really liked seeing how our male protagonist was letting the female protagonist more and more into his world and how his change was becoming noticeable. I would have liked to see more of the relationship between the secondary couple, they were a lot of fun to watch.
Without further ado, I would recommend it, it's not heavy to watch and if you're looking for a simple, quiet love story with little nuances this one is adequate.

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Let me introduce you to the best youth drama I have ever watched...

Now I am not one at all to rate dramas 10 stars I am so strict especially when it comes to casting and soundtracks. This drama has managed to enter my heart as one of the best pieces of media I've ever digested. Where to start...

A nostalgic trip? The aesthetic of the show is pleasing, especially the incorporation of these old video camera diary entries which gives it more of this personal rustic feel. If anyone is a sucker for charming media this one is definitely something you should study ;)

I think everyone's main fear for female main characters is their cringe acting. Su zaizai has this amazing ability to be this cute character while also being strong? She's a teenage girl of cause who is scared of the most silliest things but she's also incredibly smart. I think this mix is what makes her so likeable. Some one said she was "stupid, cringe and needs help" which I completely disagree with. In fact, she's a perfect lead for a show. Her character's contrast with the problems she overcomes and the security she has with Lurang are something only other female leads could wish for.

Although this story hasn't got much plot due to it being a youth drama it works so well with telling the story. The way that each episode is made perfectly encapsulates what they're trying to portray. They balance the stories between all the characters so well, which gives the show a nice flow helping audiences relax and take in what they're watching.
I actually love how their remind the audience that these characters are teenagers. They're just kids who are maturing and make stupid decisions. When these characters believe silly myths, it really reinforces that message and its nice to see. Especially because modern media is full of adults (including this cast) portraying teens. The story encapsulates the minds of these teenagers and shows them in their most original form- warts and all.
I think the side stories are probably the most striking stories- especially Guran's and Guan Fang's. They're these two teenage boys who have to deal with problems that force them to grow up faster. They hide these sides from their friends and their characters slowly develop into being vulnerable and sharing their insecurities with their friends.

When I say the casting has to be some of the best I've seen in this industry I'm not joking. To begin with our two main characters portrayed by Zhou Yiran and Zhang Miaoyi. They did such a beautiful job. Miaoyi's version of su zaizai was amazing to experience. Like i mentioned before, she was able to show us this girl who otherwise would be seen as annoying and "cringe" but for some reason i was infatuated with her. She makes you want to root for her from the first moment you meet her and the way she blends perfectly with Yiran's Lurang- their chemistry is otherworldly.
The rest of the main characters also have such a perfect fit to their characters I couldn't have imagined them as anyone else. The acting was surprisingly really good especially since for a few of them this is one of their 5th or 6th works. They helped tell the story so well and there wasn't a moment where i had questioned the acting.

Who allowed them to have a soundtrack this good...? Half the time I don't care about soundtracks...but this one has such a warm and sombre vibe that I added a few of the songs to my playlist. It really tightens the idea of this being a feel good watch. Though it didn't give me as big as of impression as the rest of the show I am now obsessed with the white coast.

Overall, if this happens to be your first drama, you are going to enjoy it. Go into it with an open mind. This might be bias because I've already re-watched it (literally within the week I finished it)...But it stuck with me so much in more than just a "it was a good show" sense. I think the characters and the story were told magnificently. The downside to this show is you are going to severely miss them when it ends.

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