What an emotional ride, and one I was not expecting. Overall, a beautiful production and each scene was crafted with deep thought and precision. The colour contrasts of white and black and light and dark, tone of the past and present and specks of noticeable colour on a bland landscape. It was done very nicely and though seemed abrupt and blocky actually fell together quite seamlessly. The drama is definitely on the heavier and darker side. From episode 14, I started crying and couldn’t help the heartache, I felt the helplessness, doubt, guilt and shadow our male lead felt. I liked a lot of the drama and its strong start, but the ending few episodes from around 18 just fell apart. And I was left questioning: What are you trying to say? They just lost the plot and were trying to say too much for each story arc and we were just left with confusion.

STORY
The start for me was so great, from episode 1 I was captured by the scene playout and acting. The first episodes shift between past and present, so the audience could make the subtle comparisons between past and present and slowly piece together the love story. A lot of other people said it was difficult to tell apart past and present, but for me I thought it was very clear. Just watch for the tone and lighting. The past has a beautiful golden haze and rosy colour, full of sunlight. Whilst the present was done in a colder, darker almost blue tone and colouring. The interconnectedness of the past and present flowed together so nicely, I was eager to watch both sides e.g. how the youthful couple were going vs how the couple would restart their relationship.

THEN… then it just went pear shaped and I got so confused. After the climax, where we find out what happened with our male lead all those years ago, the female lead still wants to be with our male lead, so I was like great it’s all worked out. Let’s move on from this and start growing as a couple. But then the next episodes were a bunch of unnecessary filler and weird characterisation and behaviour. Without spoiling too much, I just felt the main couple lost its chemistry (after so much pining and longing) and they just started acting really awkwardly and out of character. I get the director was trying to portray that minute and in the moment decisions in our past greatly affect our future, and that we change with time and can’t go back to the past anymore. But the whole growing and changing with time message just fell short and was swept up in all the angst, emotion and back and forth between the two, I just wasn’t really sure what they were trying to say.

I appreciate the ending scene when they’re on the steps (you’ll get it when you get there), the scene placement was quite powerful and done nicely. But the message itself felt hollow and actually left me thinking, are you saying that because of time, they don’t need each other anymore? It was trying to say something, but left me thinking about something else.

ACTING/CAST
Kris Fan’s acting was on point, I commend him for his ability to transform into two completely different and polar opposite characters on the spot. His young self was immature, cheeky, fun loving and so light – he did it brilliantly, I felt myself drawn into to his character. Then on the flip slide, we’ve got someone carrying this great weight and struggling to find self-worth. By far, this is the most I’ve seen a male lead tear up and he did it so well, I was crying along with him. My only point was that you may find his older self slightly frustrating (but I think this is more due to the characterisation rather than his acting). His character often acted in confusing and contradicting ways that made it hard for me to understand what exactly he was thinking.

Cecilia Boey was an interesting choice for me. I just wasn’t able to vibe with her in her young self, she had a sullen and quite rigid expression and didn’t capture the youthfulness of first love for me. However, I grew to like her in her older self and felt her maturation. Again, her character actions were off and not consistent e.g. running away from the main lead but then initiating hugs.

MUSIC
Music was gorgeous, fell in love with the OST. The music was perfectly suited to each scene. My only critique would be why is the music on so loud that it covers the character’s dialogue and I struggled to hear the conversations. The music was very fitting and mood-setting, and captured the emotional heartache, angst and loss.

REWATCH VALUE
I can’t rate this too high because the ending fell apart for me. But I’d definitely rewatch the first 10ish episodes when we’re flitting between past and present and seeing first love develop between the two.

Overall, a beautiful drama that captured youth, first love, mistakes, dark shadows that haunt you, second chances and how each decision impacts you in unexpected ways. I would recommend giving it a go, I feel like you’ll be hooked from the start because it is a killer start. But just be warned about the ending few episodes, you may be put off, but keep going and power through to the end. I feel like everyone will get a different moral or message out of it, just depends on how you interpret it. But I think it’s a drama worth your time and who knows, might get you to think about your past, present and future self. Keen to hear your thoughts! xx