What a well-written, powerful, and fully satisfying show. I am the target demographic of this drama, and I relate so strongly to all of these characters despite not having gone through their exact experiences. Even if you're not the main target demo, I'd hope the main message of, "Know yourself, and do what you think is best for you, whatever that is, whenever that is" still resonate. and 30 really is just a convenient milestone used to discuss this idea. If these women were 35, 40, 45, I could still see the message resonate the same way.

What I love most is the character growth in this show, for almost everyone. Well, for XHS you can say it's reverse growth? Some dramas hook you by the plot, some by the OTP, and some, like this one, with its characters and their journey. I've never been this invested in characters' life since Ming Lan. They grow like real people - as in, they don't change 180. They're still themselves, just more/less [something], as the consequence of the journey that they went through. It's the journey that got me invested as a viewer, and it's the growth that made me feel rewarded for my investment. Even the supposed "perfect" character, Gu Jia, had her growth, even though she paid dearly for it. I love how her existing capabilities helped her through her crisis, but she also realized it was her focus on her capabilities that made her blind to the troubling change in her husband (not an excuse for him in any way; I just agree with her own reflection about her part in the end of her marriage: with or without LYY, they would have suffered conflict, and what she learned was she cannot and shouldn't solve problems for everyone).

What I really appreciate is how all the men in the show are extremely, extremely flawed - some redeemable, some not. There's no prince charming on a white horse anywhere, no "overbearing CEO" hot guy who's actually really perfect inside. Just men, with their personal and socialized burdens they put on women :)

What I wanted more of was how they becamethis ride-of-die trio. I know we had all those crossed paths that brought Manni together with XiaoQin and Gu Jia, and I LOVE their friendship chemistry. But if we think about their personalities, lifestyle, and hobbies, there's not a lot of overlap. Maybe that's the point - they just like one another for who they are :) I do find it hard to believe though that someone as kind as Manni didn't make any other close friends in her 8 years in Shanghai.

My favorite quote (among many), was, "Our marriage didn't fail. It just ended." (Gu Jia)