1Nothing is perfect, nor are we
At a first glance this drama looks simple : a love triangle trope meant to examine the choices of the leads- what people chose to do? why? which are their lingering regrets & to what their insecurities leads to.What is different is that this drama was not afraid to explore very realistic and complicated women. Nothing is shallow in it and sometimes only a complicated woman can truly understand another one.
The dialogue is one of most thought provoking I' ve ever seen ,even if sometimes funny it just hits home and it hits hard.
" Sometimes we think what we are chasing is happiness, but perhaps what we truly love is pain."
On top of the great writing , acting & music were splendid! Everything was perfectly connected from title, to OSTs lyrics and placement in the episodes.
10/1O ❤️
Ps: I do recommend this one to a mature audience because it hits the right spots if you are able to understand through experience the career or family relations of the leads.
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"Everyone is lonely. Maybe it's because loneliness is necessary…
It allows you to face yourself."A journey of imperfect people throughout their imperfect lives, dealing with daily struggles in an imperfect manner. The journey of mundane humanity that puts a mirror to our faces and shows us the side we would rather ignore.
It’s easy to criticize the characters and the choices they made while also thinking you would act more holy than Jesus himself in the same situation. I did it, everyone I know did it. And so will you. That’s just part of our nature. It’s far easier to judge others' mistakes than to face our own flaws and I feel like the drama does a great job highlighting that.
Both female leads are complex and lost women, drowning in problems they themselves created, problems they cannot let go. Depending on your personal history you’ll relate more to one over the other, but hopefully by the end of the show, you’ll be able to appreciate how much depth both of them had.
It’s a story about resentment, anger, rejection, doubt, fear, depression, obsession and never ending regret. It’s about making choices and dealing with consequences. It’s about love, loyalty, company, It’s a tale of life.
I want to be perfectly clear - it’s not a drama you want to enjoy, feel good. It’s not a positive slice of life that will leave you hopeful for better tomorrow, inspired to work hard for your dreams. It’s a harsh reality wrapped into 8 impactful episodes.
The performances were stellar. While I for sure related far more to Rebecca, I did enjoy Ariel Lin’s portrayal of honestly low-key unhinged Chien Ching Fen far more. I honestly disliked the character, but I was greatly fascinated in her, her behavior, her motivations. She was the one that made the neurons in my brain fire.
Visually speaking - great. There was a level of simplicity in the way they shot the show which was a perfect contrast to the turmoils the characters were going through. I did have some issues in terms of the storytelling and how non-linear some parts of the story were told, but by the end of the show, it did not impact my viewing experience much.
Overall, it’s a gloomy show. One that will make you feel annoyed and frustrated more often than happy and joyful. But it’s worth it. Some shows are there to make you think. Some shows are there to make you evaluate. Some are there to make you face the ugly - the one that surrounds you and the one that hides inside you.
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Heavy, but thought provoking and brilliant acting
I was really excited about seeing Ariel Lin on Taiwanese drama again after so many years and this did not disappoint. As always, Ariel Lin never fails to delivery, this time as a lonely and repressed housewife. But the other casts were also brilliant like Ann Hsu, who I felt so much pity for her character that she is portraying. Mike He and Kai Ko were brilliant too.The next part is a spoiler:
I know there are some people who hate the ending, saying why the writer/director has to kill Ann Hsu’s character with cancer when she is already so pitiful as she lose her bf to a third party and being lonely for much of her age until she seemingly found a guy that loves her but lost again due to her illness. I feel like this cruelty is in line with the tone of the drama which is for audience to reflect on their life. I have read so many young adults, at their prime, and career-headed but in the end neglected health or hit by cancer suddenly. I think Rebecca’s death is a good reminder for us to reflect our relationship with work.
Next, there are people who hate Ariel Lin’s character because she is so annoying and she is finding trouble for herself by always being jealous to Rebecca. But to be fair, her character is really not likable but there are also people who are like her as she has really bad imposter syndrome. I have some myself and I find myself so annoying when the syndrome hits. But I think it’s refreshing that a writer is daring enough to write such a not likable character as the FL.
The music is amazing in this show. The soundtrack is fully created by award winning songwriter Tanya Chua and the way she wrote the soundtrack was so different. She had four different songs in the soundtrack that she wrote for the four leads and she described them as writing from the perspective of God where the songs serves as a form of good wishes for the characters like Love you for you is a song that hopes Rebecca can love herself more while Equatorial is a song for Jian Qingfen that wishes she can find that inner equilibrium. And the background music are all offshoot from the six songs with lyrics, making this soundtrack very interesting and refreshing for a drama.
I think the only problem I have with the show is while the script is really good, I think the writer has struggles making certain directorial choices. While the drama is mostly realist in nature, it tries to incorporate surrealist moments like the reconciliation between the two FL in the end felt more like a surrealist dream where both find ways to cure their inner demons. But realistically, it’s hard to imagine two enemies able to spend so much vulnerable time like this. The surrealist tone felt very off from the realism it tries to go for as a whole. And also, the first time the FLs meet after so long felt like a theatrical speech rather than drama. It’s so unnatural and again not consistent with the overall realism.
Overall, there’s so many thought provoking and reflective moments. But it can be preachy for some and it’s better to watch this when you are not busy because I would imagine a stressful person would want something lighter to watch. But I think it’s a really good show as a whole!
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Mature, Gloomy, Thought-Provoking
“Imperfect Us” is a mature, gloomy and thought-provoking drama. I wasn’t really expecting it to be so depressing. I don’t resonate with these characters, but I feel their pain, anger, frustration, and regret. One paper, this is a story about a love triangle - two women with the same birthday (not year), working in the same company and falling in love with the same man.But “Imperfect Us” is so much more than that. Each character is imperfect and they make choices that make it easy for viewers to point their fingers at them and criticize. I have to be honest, I do not like Chien Ching Fen (played by Ariel Lin) very much in the first couple episodes. I find her pushy, calculating and annoying. I don’t like how she forces herself into Ho Re Chich’s life and schemes herself to be the favorite daughter-in-law.
As I follow Ching Fen’s obsession with Rebecca, the trio's background story slowly unveils. A wife who is unsure and not confident that her husband really loves her, drives herself insane with jealousy by prying into her the private life of her ‘enemy’ via social media posts. The grass always seems to be greener on the other side, from both female leads’ perspectives. But since I, as a viewer, isn’t really quite certain if the husband’s love for her wife is gratitude + responsibility or real love, I don’t really blame her for being paranoid and obsessed.
Poor Rebecca seems to be the unluckiest of all. Is she really enjoying her carefree, single lifestyle? Was her decision to leave based on selfish reasons, or selfless reasons? Episode 7 breaks my heart. It’s the most impactful episode to me. How desperate is she to lower herself and ask to be loved despite her flaws? How hopeless is she to bare it all and be vulnerable? Or is this all a selfish act so that the decision is made by someone else, and she can be pitiful and blame others?
All their complicated relationships are exposed in the last episode when the two female leads go head-to-head in chess playing. At first, I thought this episode was a filler episode because they really didn’t do much. But once you pay attention to what they are saying, you discover their conversations are full of hidden meanings, and each is trying to bait the others to reveal more.
Each move is calculating and setting up for the next turn.
I would only recommend this for those who like flawed characters with mature storylines. This is not a happy drama but one full of real life difficult decisions. It did take me a couple episodes to get into the groove, but the second half really hooked me in. The acting of the small cast is great, and each of the characters hit you differently. Actually, Ariel Lin just won the best leading actress award at the Asian film festival for her role in “Imperfect Us”.
Completed: 10/9/2024 - Review #497
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One's Insecurity & Lack of Self-Esteem Leads to One's Downfall
I decided to watch this because (i) there are only 8 episodes which means it's quite easy to finish this drama and (ii) the cast is top-notch.What I Found Good:
- The acting is top-notch (I reiterate). I think Mike He's transformation to tired working class husband is very convincing. I think he acted the best in this drama.
- The plot deals with very real issues like relationships problems between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, dementia, care-giving and its burdens, the duality of life - Jian Qing Fen wanted her MIL dead as caring for her was so hard but when she finally died, she missed her presence, the challenges of being a working parent, the frustration with the mundaneness of day to day life, the dissatisfaction of simply just living day to day without anything much that's exciting... ...
- Thought-provoking dialogue.
- The child actor who acted as Jian Qing Fen's son was quite endearing. He seemed sweet and was not a troublesome kind of kid.
What I Did Not Find So Great:
- The segue from present to past, past to present was at times, very confusing for me. I tried to make sense and tried to join the parts together. At times, I found the segue to be frustrating.
- The young Rebecca had kind of weird make-up and behaviours. She acted very oddly like a diffident teenager with autism. It was strange to watch. The present day Rebecca was very much more normal.
On the whole, this drama is on the heavy side so if you are looking for a light-hearted and humorous drama, this isn't your cup of tea. However, if you are looking for a drama with good acting, good cast and is quite short, you may want to consider this drama. :o)
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Imperfect Perfection
This was the 39th TW Drama I've completed since my first 10 years ago, and the first I've scored as 10/10. There was NOTHING wrong with this amazing show.First of all, the cast: LIN YI CHEN - be still my beating heart! She's been my TW bias for a decade and she was outstanding in this role. A billion light years from any of her cute, sweet Candy style FLs of the ISWAK era, she played a terrible person, and did a brilliant job.
Tiffany Hsu Wei-ning was every bit her equal too, as was necessary for a Drama all about two 'entangled particles'. And having Mike Ho as the male lead/McGuffin was a nice nod to the past, reminding me of Love Contract.
The writing was outstanding too. Being dependent on subs, when THEY wow me, I know the original must be awesome. Building the leads' relationship around analogies and hypotheses from quantum mechanics was an inspired decision. It meant that while neither of the leads was a NICE person, and Lin Yi Chen's character was by her own admission a terrible person, they were still understandable and relatable.
I knew going in to the final episode that it was emotionally impactful. But to be bawling like a baby DESPITE the absence of any twee, maudlin 'quick fix' between the two enemies was a remaarkable testimony to the power of the writing and the performances from the actors who delivered it.
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Realidade Avassaladora Muito Bem Contata
Uau! Que drama bem-feito!Imperfect Us é um drama extremamente realista, nada de historinha fantasiosa sobre a vida. Aqui você terá uma alta dose de realidade em todos os episódios.
O enredo é bastante atraente, muito envolvente, nada cansativo e excepcionalmente único. A forma como o ponto de vista das protagonistas é mostrado ao longo da trama não é nada além de brilhante!
A transição de tempo entre presente e passado é clara e objetiva, já ganha vários pontos só por esse detalhe. Muitos dramas têm problemas com essas transições de tempo, vários deles são confusos e rebuscados demais para acompanhar.
A história começa depois do casamento de uma das protagonistas o que poucos dramas se aventuram em apresentar, a maioria termina no tão sonhado casamento e presumimos que tudo em diante será felicidade eterna... Na vida real, o casamento é construído dia-a-dia e a convivência não é fácil e exige muito dos dois lados.
Outro ponto incrivelmente bem apresentado nesse drama são os pensamentos dos personagens, como cada um acredita ser a vida do outro, maravilhosa execução! Não posso deixar de destacar as ótimas atuações e a bela fotografia.
Altamente recomendável se você é uma dessas pessoas que assim como eu gostam de dramas realistas.
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Realistically beautful
First of all, this drama is not for everyone. When I say "not for everyone," I mean it. If I had watched this 3 or 5 years ago, I probably would have dropped it after the first episode. This show could be a masterpiece if you can relate to the characters. If not, it might just come across as a piece of toxic drama with messy characters.Beware that the following contains spoilers:
The female lead, Qing Fen, is not a likable character; she even admits to herself that she’s a terrible person. However, I strongly believe that she didn’t actually hate Rebecca. She’s just lonely because she’s lost in her life and needed an "imaginary" enemy to make her life more exciting. Unfortunately, that enemy is Rebecca. At first, I was also annoyed with her, but I didn’t completely hate her. In fact, there’s no one in this drama that I completely hate. Qing Fen made me cry multiple times. I didn’t expect to cry while watching this drama. I also appreciated that the drama showed the reality of ending up with someone who loved someone else before you. For me, Qing Fen deserved it because of her past actions, but I couldn’t blame her for being so paranoid about her husband’s ex. After all, Rebecca is his greatest love.
Rebecca deserves everything in the world—endless love and support. However, unlike others, I believe her life wasn’t as bad as it might seem. She was happy and enjoyed her life, but the pain she experienced overshadowed her happiness. It might sound odd, but I’m glad she didn’t end up with the other character. Had she done so, her life might have been less fulfilling and she would have ended up like Qing Fen.
Rui Zhi, the man behind everything. I strongly believe that if he were not in the picture, the two women might have been friends or at least had a different relationship. I’m not sure what to say about him, but I did appreciate that he didn’t get involved with Rebecca.
The younger guy, Hsiang Li. I couldn’t hate him. In fact, I understand his pain. It’s not easy to accept the possibility that someone you love dearly might be gone.
To describe this drama, the title is self-explanatory. It is indeed "Imperfect Us." You will judge the characters and their life decisions. That’s why this drama is not for kids or for those who cannot handle messy characters with messy decisions. It’s for mature audiences. I strongly recommend it if you’re looking for something realistically beautiful. I cried many times. It’s rare for a drama to portray a female lead who is flawed from head to toe. However, I loved it. I enjoyed it. It was a good ride. This drama doesn’t focus on doing the right thing; it focuses on presenting reality.
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