Peridot83
Let's Talk About Chu
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An admirable effort to make the modern case for love and relationships . . .Men - they can be worth it maybe? This series following the Chu parents and their 3 children as they navigate modern love and romance. All 4 relationships are given roughly equivalent screentime. The majority of the episodes are devoted to establishing all the ways relationships in our era go wrong and all the ways we can engage (or not engage) in sex. Just as you are about to despair that all the relationships are trash, the series turns a corner; it's worth watching all the way through.
Note: The cheating, abuse etc. all turn out to be 'misunderstandings.' I though that was a cheap resolution. The abuse storyline, especially should not have been 'don't judge what you don't understand.' Surely the child of an abusive relationship has some insight on to whether or not his father treats his mother appropriately beyond walking in on them one time?
The acting is great to the point where you feel like you are watching a documentary instead of a fictional series. I also thought a lot of the sex scenes were well done. The music was excellent and set the tones/moods of each episode. Cinematically and production wise it was competent with a few sublime moments.
All in all, I'm glad I watched this. It's very different from your normal drama fare, but I wish the payoff was a bit better towards the end.
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Dr. Cutie sticks to a simple romantic story. It has two endearing main leads and a few supporting characters.
Sun Quian excels as Tian Xi - she makes her role better than the script. She's bright and sunny despite having lived through extraordinary difficulties. She excels both at portraying her sadness/trauma as well as the sunny, silly resilient parts.
Huang Jun Jie as Ji Heng is a great match as a lonely, precocious young man who took on responsibility too early. Grumpy and unable to sleep, he slowly loosens up and rediscovers the joy of life. The only times he failed as an actor was as a military general. He did better with the more playful action elements (running along roofs, practicing fighting with his brother).
Together they had a ton of chemistry, good at ease moments between the two etc.
The music was fine and went with the mood of the show. There were cute moments to rewatch and I was 100% addicted.
I grade on other criteria as well.
Complex Themes - 5
There isn't so much themes as a point being made. That you deserve happiness and joy - and that if you fight for it you can have it. A grim childhood and a life of difficulties does not doom you forever.
Character Growth - 8
Tian Xi needs to reconcile herself to the past, but otherwise is presented as someone who knows how to live a happy life. Ji Heng however does go through a lot of growth to becoming a more humble and joyous person. You feel like they have lived a lot and learned a lot over the years.
Complex Women/Interaction between Women - 5
Tian Xi is an excellent doctor. Her aunt is also an excellent doctor who has survived and come to terms with living in a brothel. But, Tian Xi does not have strong female friendships, and her relationship with her aunt is more of a plot device than anything else. Ji Heng's mother, while decently acted is a typical stereotype as is his female cousin.
Production design/values - 8
Given the clearly small budget, this is far better done than many shows with 3x the budget. Clothing materials are in colors that flatter the characters and tell a story. Sets are bright and airy and well lit. Fighting scenes are well done with the small budget and no attempt at bad CGI. As it is a shorter series, I didn't even get tired of the fact that there were only 3 or 4 sets and no real out in the world scenes.
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Nirvana in Fire 2: The Wind Blows in Chang Lin
3 oamenii au considerat această recenzie utilă
The plot of Nirvana in Fire 2 suffered from two main problems 1) Lots of wasted time on an evil exaggerated caricature in the first half (I had to start watching sped up) 2) the characters in the second half show very little character growth.
The acting/cast was uneven as well. I truly enjoyed all the scenes that featured the Xiao family and Lin Xi, and I was super curious about how it would all resolve for them. But, the other characters such as the Emperor, officials/advisors, concubines, I found overacted and boring. I have gone back and watched bits and pieces that I liked.
Music was well done.
I have other criteria I score by:
Complex Themes - 8
(The series does not jump from random plot element to plot element, but actually builds on concepts regarding sacrifices for the greater good, fate vs. individual action, the ups and downs of power, recognising ones limits and the harm of long-held grudges)
Character Growth - 7
(Characters do not change as much as one would hope or think. They will change or grow a bit, but then get 'stuck' either due to limited acting range or limited script)
Nuanced Women - 5
(Like Nirvana in Fire, there are some great nuanced female characters (esp. Meng Qian Xue - the older brother's wife), but unlike Nirvana in Fire there's a lot of simplistic one note female characters as well (esp. in the inner palace).
Cinematography/Production Values - 10
(Beautifully filmed compared to Nirvana in Fire, lots of outdoor scenes, sweeping vistas, huge, choreographed fight scenes).
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Our main female lead is out for revenge against the selfish, deluded and truly evil. Much of the screentime goes to these terrible people to the point of frustration. Just as you can't handle one more cruel or petty scene, Jiang Li appears and takes them down. Jiang Li's plots are not overly complicated there isn't tons of intrigue, there's not a lot of gray areas. Frustratingly, also, most of the evil characters are women.
If you were hoping for a romance centric story, the romance is strung out for one or two scenes per episode, with our Duke Su always the puppet master, and never losing his composure or risking anything.
The costumes and production values are a bit low budget and do not make-up for the handicaps of this story. My frustration levels were high, and the rewards too delayed. I'm dropping.
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A perfect angsty, protective hero romance . . . until the propaganda ruined itOn one hand we have an angsty, forbidden secret childhood romance, and a silent, gruff protective hero who thinks the world of the heroine:everything I like in romance in one place. If you like the Jane Austen novel Persuasion, you will love the first 20 episodes of this.
On the other hand, this is a propaganda pitch for dangerous frontline work to men, and the propaganda wins out for 10 slow dragging episodes.
Our main male character 100% will always pick his job first. The female lead is just so grateful to be in a relationship with him, and she will never make the mistake of putting herself first again! Even his alcoholic waste of a father, and his snobby father in law come around to accepting he is a hero whose needs and priorities come first, and they need to stop making trouble.
So there you have it. A great premise, excellent chemistry and acting all ruined by its simplistic propaganda theme: become a hero of the state, and you'll get the girl and the home and the life you always wanted. Everyone will just be so grateful.
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Short and fast paced limits the typical repeatedness.
Here, a lot of the 'hero' formulas are flipped on their head. On one hand, there are highly toxic ideas of what can make a good person and what can inspire change in a person. On the other hand an important lesson for all: that true, genuine sacrificial love - honoring what the other person needs and not what you desire - will always win.
The acting and chemistry here is decent between the main characters, Dylan Wang is excellent when he is brooding and quite adorably childlike cute whilst in love, the melding of the two personas never really settles in properly. Yu Shu Xin is bubbly and earnest but the plot keeps her smart and with agency - not a fool.
Music is fairly good, not sure I'd rewatch.
Themes: 8.0
True, genuine love where you see each other and respect each other, flaws and all is transformative. With shared values, old rules about who you fight for and who you love go out the window. Ego and the desire to deaden your own humanity may allow you to dominate and win as an individual, but will never be the answer to saving your community. Never forget that there is usually a larger common enemy stirring the pot of discord and divide.
Character Growth: 7.5
Dong Fang Qing Cang jumps around between a cynical, deadened soul and a boy who never grew up - while this is an excellent way to portray him at the beginning, and is justified based on his origin story, the final integration never really satisfyingly takes place. Xiao Lan Hua / Xi Yun is not allowed the same time to integrate and is bubbly and earnest 90% of her screen time.
Complex Women/Interactions Between Women: 7.5
There are plenty of women characters but the desire to pair each of them off with a man leaves them with little meaningful interaction. The friendship of Xiao Lan Hua and Jie Li is the exception, but even that relationship it's unclear what bonds them as friends besides Xiao Lan Hua's open heart and gullibility.
Production Values/Cinematography: 9.0
Compared to the CGI in previous XianXia, this is much more flattering. The sets are well-done and I didn't mind that they replicated Little Orchid's home over and over in order to re-use that set. The color palette, costumes, jewelry and make-up are all very pretty - this is true in all the 'realms'/worlds. Action scenes are very simple, but are pulled off well instead of being complicated and clearly fake.
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What if a modern man landed straight in the middle of your standard Joseon era plot, but into the body of the queen instead of the king?
The actress here (Shin Hye Sun) is really amazing, and plays all the bodily quirks, humor and slapstick in a truly wonderful way. The first 10 episodes sail along on her sheer acting ability plus some love triangle intrigue. The male actors that form the love triangle are a bit one note, but they show good connection with the actress.
It quickly became clear that no one knew how to end the plot, and the writers just stuck to the same themes and gimmicks of the first 10 episodes. The rest of the actors and plot devices are somewhat mediocre, and so everytime the main actress is off screen it was hard to pay attention.
By episode 17, I was skipping rapidly (I did finish it). Music was fine, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes: 6
Love can come in unexpected ways. Embracing what life throws at you with sincerity can be rewarding. The gender and body dynamics are not explored much at all.
Character Growth: 7.5
The male chef in Kim So Yong's body goes from being dismissive and treating it all as a game, to sincerely wanting to help the people he encounters, and feeling more open to emotions. It was an expected transformation, but still decently done.
Complex Women/Relationships Between Women: 7
There's lots of women characters but besides the main character, they are all somewhat caricatures with very thin backstories. Kim So Yong's rival was the only other female character that had a bit of depth.
Cinematography/Production Budget: 7
Competent, in the way most modern dramas are. But, the sets, costumes etc. all feel like you've seen them twenty times before. The fight scenes are fairly uninspired.
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In this realistic slow burn romance, Sang Zhi carries the show with her playfulness paired with a fiery stubbornness. She is willing to defer and let Duan Ji Xu lead but only to a point - determined and opinionated she doesn't hesitate to push if necessary. The suspense and tension comes from a few different places - their age difference, Duan Ji Xu's complex family and financial situation. In terms of ethics, their relationship matures with Sang Zhi's age with plenty of time skips. The plot hints at the forbidden without crossing the line.
The plot is simple and it's really the acting and chemistry that sets this apart. You, the audience, can feel and know the longing and hesitation from both sides. As they get older, the awareness that they are physically attracted to each other builds due to excellent acting.
The music is fine, production values bit low. I ended up dropping this before the end as once the central tensions were resolved, I started losing interest.
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The Lighter and the Princess' Gown
4 oamenii au considerat această recenzie utilă
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Who doesn't love a bad boy/good girl romance? With all the thrills and problems it implies . . . *Discussion of Red Flags at the end*
This modern romance has the life/death feel of a historical drama set in the present day. Li Xun is your black sheep general or heir, highly strategic, intelligent, competent and cold as ice. Zhu Yun is your earnest and bubbly sheltered daughter of a palace adviser who has a hidden righteous fury. Li Xun could conquer the world in one step, if not for his weaknesses which are the family and friends around him especially Zhu Yun. Their journey to happiness takes years of twists and turns, revenge plots and separations.
The beginning creates a lot of suspense by jumping back and forward in time. The end is touching and perfect acknowledging the years that have passed. In the perfect last flip of perspective, Li Xun never says it, but we get to see that Zhu Yun was the best thing that ever happened to him.
Chen Fei Yu as Li Xun excels at a smirky teenage cool. Zhang Jing Yi as Zhu Yun excels at a straight-forward eagerness and stubbornness. They have excellent chemistry together, but limited range. Even as the years pass, you do not get a sense of any time passing for their characters. There's no large moments of self-doubt, no hidden flaws or temperaments that only come out later on. What you see is what you get. Zhao Zhi Wei as Gao does a much better of job of changing into a more bitter, muddle headed adult.
Music is fine, and I wouldn't really rewatch.
I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes: 9.0
Men who have chips on their shoulder, jealous, unscrupulous and thirsty to succeed can indeed be bad partners. But, these men can come from any economic class. It's wrong to assume that ambitious men who grow up in poorer circumstances will have bad values compared to those from other wealthier backgrounds. Upfront, straight-forward, reliable people of whatever background are worth a dozen schemers.
Complex Characters/Character Growth: 5.5
Gao changes a lot and it’s a very believable change, that he was unable to accept his own limitations, and had unhealthy level of grudges and aggression that grew with time. Li Xun and Zhu Yun stay very consistent throughout.
Complex Women/Complex Relationships Between Women: 7.5
Zhu Yun and her mother have a very complicated and contentious relationship. With her mother unable to see her potential, and so sure that her daughter is the same as her. So, some points there. Otherwise, there are women friendships and characters but they are drawn a bit thin.
Production Value/Cinematography: 5.0
This is filmed very straight on with not too much creativity to clothes or sets let alone camera angles. There’s a camera choice for the very end where it switches to Li Xun that is powerful, but otherwise this category did not stand out to me at all.
*RED FLAGS*
Both Li Xun and Gao display numerous red flags including: smirking in the face of distress, not showing vulnerability, taking away people’s choices, defensiveness, feeling like you are ‘above the rules’ or ‘above the law,’ a lack of friend/familial relationships, uncomfortable feelings, dreams outsized to current reality, quick to sacrifice other people’s feelings to meet your goals etc.
The highly problematic myth of the bad boy/good girl romance is that the love of a good woman can ‘tame’ or soften a bad boy and these traits, and that myth is highly on display here.
What’s worse is that Zhu Yun shows all the signs of someone in the thrall of limerence/obsession running after Li Xun and getting crumbs for 95% of the show. She declares at the end that she knows he will soften/ripen like a peach, but we the viewers see little indication that that’s the case.
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Lost You Forever
2 oamenii au considerat această recenzie utilă
*Warning* Part 1 ends in the middle, abruptly. You may want to wait to watch the whole thing together
After a lifetime of betrayal, how should you pick your romantic partners? What does it mean to live a good life and how much are you willing to sacrifice to secure it?
The pitfalls of picking romantic partners here are realistic and addictive, and show the pros and cons of your typical love interests. Each gets a somewhat equal chance, and there isn't an 'obvious winner' as there is in other harem type scenarios. There are four here:
1) The ambitious childhood friend, 2) The kind, soft man inspired by a fierce woman 3) the ruthless and callous lover born out of years of trauma and fighting 4) the golden child, talented and fun with seemingly no darker pasts or sides
Add to that above standard music, and well done investment in cinematography and special effects, and this all came together well. Whether this rises to one of my favorites really depends on how pt 2 shakes out . . .
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A thrilling, epic historical romance. Well worth a watch . . . Some caveats on the portrayal of the 'barbarians' at the end:
Lee Jang Hyun is a familiar character, a world-weary ex spy or military man who hides his skills and history behind a joking, frivolous womanizing mask. What is unique, is that he meets Yoo Gil Chae an entitled, determined and crafty 'fox' of her village and falls head over heels for her because of these qualities, not in spite of them. Here, though young and immature, is a woman who has the resilience to survive. As these characters get tossed to and fro, partially due to being in the middle of a tragic and gory war, and partially due to their own inability to be vulnerable, you very much cheer on their survival and happiness.
Towards the end, the miscommunications and missed connections stretch into the absurd. It is understandable that both characters would prioritize their country, community or family over their romantic love - laudable even. It's also understandable that both misunderstand each other - assuming that their love was weak instead of that their duty called on them to act differently. This does not forgive the lack of letter writing and direct communication of the last episode. The lack of communication during war is forgivable - during peacetime less so, and so some points were knocked off for that.
The acting here is believable and top notch, not for one moment from the main characters to the supporting characters, was I ever taken out of the story. Namkoong Min does an excellent job in the early episodes of hinting at the cold competent nature that hides behind the mask. Ahn Eun Jin has the difficult job of portraying a character with many unlikeable flaws and making her come alive and be endearing and she does just that.
The music was sweeping and epic, and some scenes will definitely linger, even if the show isn't really set up for rewatching. I grade on other criteria as well:
Themes: 10
In difficult times, the clear headed, determined will to survive at any cost will triumph over ideological purity. You can find someone that loves you for your difficult qualities not in spite of them. Beware parting with angry words or things left unsaid, you could end up living a life of regret. Be skeptical of titles and power. Look to people's actions not their words in determining where there values and priorities are. Romantic love is not always what to prioritize there is our responsibility to our country, community and family to consider.
Complex characters/Character development: 8.5
All the characters even the secondary ones, have different sides to them and I appreciated this. I was mildly annoyed that instead of having a bigger time skip and allowing Yoo Gil Chae to fully mature, the plot kept them reuniting piecemeal and didn't let the mark of war and trauma full settle on to her.
Complex Women/Strong connections with Women. 9.0
The friendship between Gil Chae and Eun Ae was a complex and enjoyable one. Both having a deeper connection, than their reputations as the 'bad girl' and 'good girl' of the village would imply. Eun Ae, like Jang Hyun, respects Gil Chae for what would be considered 'bad qualities' in a woman.
Cinematography/Production Values: 9.0
Really beautiful, with plentiful use of outdoor sets, well-done costumes, and excellent fight scenes. Nothing new or innovative, but a pleasure to watch.
Note on the 'Barbarians':
The portrayal of the Mongolian and Jin/Qin people is primitive and dehumanizing. It was not 100% this way. I did like that even Jang Hyun underestimates them at times, assuming they will greedily go for the money or gold, only for them to catch him in his plots. I also liked how it shows how Jang Hyun can trade and live amongst them: he understands and respects their practical drive to survive and conquer over the scholars of his own country upholding ideological purity even if it led to defeat. But, I'd be curious for those more knowledgable or from those heritages how they found the portrayal.
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A cinematic sports romance full of golden moments . . . This nostalgic (set pre-covid), golden lit romance has a very relaxed, lived in feel. Here is a couple who slowly builds intimacy through jokes, and hugs, and small touches and long looks, until you have a very physical, sensual romance that is believable and in good taste. The forbidden romance elements of the romance, plus the 'against all odds' plot points of the sports create an addictive quality, and the length is perfect at 26 episodes.
*A discussion of red flags and age differences at the end*
Wang An Yu is a believable athlete and can portray a strong range of emotion, Gina Jin does well as a women assistant coach protecting her softer qualities with a matter of fact and gruff outer shell. They both create a very believable relationship together, and they look very comfortable together on screen. The rest of the actors and plots are entertaining but fall far below the main couple.
The music, especially the opening credits, add to the nostalgia - taking place in the pre Covid years, the music and 'vibe' is very peak millennial (in a good way). Golden and sundrenched and wistful. The romantic moments are strong enough to be worth a rewatch.
I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes: 6.5
Doing well for the people you love can be an excellent motivator for some. Age is just a number. If you are mature and responsible, why not? Taking the long view on career ambitions is not necessarily the best strategy - some options in life (trying to go pro as an athlete) are only available to the young. Many people in places of authority and 'experts' in the field can make the wrong decisions - you should fight for what you deserve.
Character Development: 8.5
Both of them change over the course of the three years of the show, they become more like each other, start to compliment each others strengths and weakness, they grow complexity and it's just really great to watch.
Relationships Between Women/Complex Women: 4.5
The show really falls down on this point especially for 2022. Luo Na has no women friends, none of the directors or coaches are women, and Luo Na does not directly work with any of the women athletes. Luo Na herself is complex a mix of silly and fierce, naive and world wise, but not so complex or unique to makeup for the dearth of other women characters.
Production Values/Cinematography: 9.0
There is a big effort into 1) creating credible sports scenes and 2) playing with angles and light to convey the emotion of falling in love. While clothes, sets, etc. are not particularly noteworthy, the effort put into the cinematography, music 'vibe' of the show, was a wonderful surprise and greatly appreciated.
*RED FLAGS*
Succeeding where so many other shows have failed, the age and power differential provides a bit of forbidden romance but nothing that made me turn it off: the characters meet when they are 18 and 26. Luo Na is in a position of power as an assistant coach who can help Duan Yu Cheng succeed, but she doesn't have the power to cut him from the team or add him to the team. But, Most Importantly, the romantic part of their relationship especially the physical elements do not happen until two years later, and after Duan Yu Cheng has a new head coach and Luo Na is only providing some minimal support. Also Duan Yu Cheng, the younger and the one with less systemic power, is the one pursuing.
HOWEVER, Duan Yu Cheng's characterization occasionally tips over into red flag disturbing. He's constantly calling and texting due to jealousy (26 times in a row), he jumps off a bridge after Luo Na is harsh with him, his emotions jump around wildly, and he's shown that he can lose his head and beat someone far past what is necessary for self defense. He also presurizes Luo Na a fair amount in pursuit of her - exposing things in public that she may not want, such as showy displays of public affection. It wasn't terrible terrible, but it did give me a bit of a pause.
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Bian Liang Meng Hua Tu
2 oamenii au considerat această recenzie utilă
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A beautiful, action filled story of second chances at love and life . . . truly transcends its budgetThis story has a strong point of view as it follows three women from their more rural hometown into the capital city. All have lost, but they come together to remake themselves on the backs of their considerable talent. There's plenty of romance, but the romance does fade to a secondary plot as it wears on. Technically, many plot lines are just dropped, but I enjoyed the plots that remained so much I hardly noticed.
The three 'sisters' are all strong, endearing actors and show some pure brilliance. The male leads are less strong. But, the main couple have a fun compatibility as they slide from dislike, to teasing, to him falling clearly and deeply first. In the second half, however, Chen Xiao's storylines start disappearing, and he literally spends strings of episodes off screen or in a coma and truly becomes a bit of a wooden blockhead.
One piece of ornamental music was very haunting: slowing the pace of the show down so that Zhao Pan Er seems suspended in time. Also, when Song Yinzhang first plays the pippa revenge song, it was so striking and cinematic, that I started looking up pippa music, and that music was such a well-done turning point for the character.
A few scenes really stand out to rewatch: there's these moments where the joy of being alive, even in very difficult times shines through, and in the end I was really sorry to leave this universe behind.
I grade on other criteria:
Complex Themes: 10
We all deserve second chances and the chance to thrive throughout our lives- women just as much as anyone else. Living a life without regret, requires staring reality in the face. Suffering comes from an inability to accept and adapt to reality. Bad luck can strike more than once in a lifetime. Found families can provide comfort where biological families are gone or lacking. Always prepare for the worst and be careful of those who makes easy promises.
Character Growth/Complex Characters: 8.5
Song Yinzhang displays the most character growth going from someone who is timid and looking for a rescuer, to standing firmly on her own two feet. Zhao Pan Er more gains complexity with time then truly transforms, and credit to the writers all of the top 10 featured characters to do grow quite a bit. A point off for a cartoonish villain and the half baked court adviser villains.
Complex Female Characters/Relationships:9.5
It's a true joy to see fully fleshed out women in their complexity pursuing ambition and friendship and the good life together. It was perhaps a tad too idyllic, but I didn't mind.
Cinematography/Production Values: 8.5
Really punches above its weight. There was very beautiful cinematic work in scenes that really stick with you changes in pacing and lighting and moving from wide angles to close ups. More creative than shows with double the budget.
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The story/plot here is daytime soap level bad. Love triangles, coincidences, misunderstandings and missed connections, plus unnecessary violence and self-sabotaging behavior (very non sexy though for otherwise having such bad b-movie plotting!)
I wouldn't, however, IMHO say it was particularly red flag worthy or triggering anymore than any other drama. You have your classical deception followed by regret plot (see cyrano de bergerac or taming of the shrew). Violence breaks out in two fights where the less powerful character explodes at what he sees as bullying by powerful people.
Plus, Nam Do -San genuinely finds Seo Dal-mi inspiring and respects that she has many of the qualities he lacks. He doesn't put his fantasy of who she is on a pedestal only to debase her when she turns out to be a real woman. When he finally apologises for the deception, he doesn't try to minimize what he did or make light of it.
The actors here are good, and while there is a lot of crying, I am all for normalizing men crying! I also liked that both romantic male leads genuinely were cheering on the female lead professionally. Also, that the women bond over career and interests and family more than they do about men. I liked the at ease puppy love of the younger couple and the suspense of whether that could mature into something lasting.
The music kept with the modern, pops of color of the show. There is nothing here to rewatch.
I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes: 6.5
Family is who shows up not just who provides blood or money. The show had an excellent theme going about pure hearted enthusiasm of youth v a jaded cynicism of older age, but transitioned it to a lack lustre theme instead of sell-out for a few years, and you too can be a commercial success! All the weird insistence that they were doing something inspiring and changing the world with a self-driving car start-up was a bit bizarre.
Character Growth: 7.5
The older sister ends up having the most interesting career trajectory. I truly enjoyed her slow transition and switch from living her adopted father's values to her own. The others don't have so much growth as time brings experience, money and power behind them.
Complex women/relationships between women: 8.5
This was truly one of the genuinely great aspects of the show. The older sister has no love interest! There's an older female investor mentor. Multiple women are genuinely interested and passionate about career growth. There is a great subplot between the grandmother and her daughter in law, and the older women have a lot of scenes and character development that you usually don't see.
Production values/cinematography: 8
I really feel like this team got let down by the script and director. Every single time the show could have had a sublime moment, it would instead go with the worst possible literal take ever. As a result, it's very prettily filmed, wealthy characters feel decently wealthy etc., but you rarely got that eerie, transported feeling.
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The humour and bonding between the main leads is highly entertaining to watch. Zheng Xiao En (FL) was especially witty, endearing and self-aware. As others have said, the plot is a romance novel within a romance novel - neither really takes place in the 'real world.' Plus, the evil siblings/corporate infighting storylines were a good lesson in destructive personality disorders but otherwise a huge waste of time.
All the main characters created distinctive personalities for themselves and interacted 'naturalistically' with growing physical and emotional ease over the episodes. I much much prefer this to dramas where the characters still act stilted and uncomfortable with each other.
The music was modern and well-suited to the themes of the show, much of the tension is around how the romance will survive one world to the next, so no real reason to re-watch.
I grade based on other criteria:
Complex themes: 5.0
There is a strong secondary theme about how narcissistic traits will destroy you and everyone around you. The main couple, however, just go from plot point to plot point.
Character growth/development: 6.5
Zheng Xiao En grows a sense of responsibility and starts seeing how her actions effect others. He Tian Huang learns how to integrate the different parts of his persona/identiy and his inner self.
Strong/complex relationships between women: 6.5
There are strong female friendships featured. They are , however, all of the same generation, roughly same power, and they spend most of their time fixated on the male leads. Zheng Xiao En while smart and self-aware seems to have no particular hobbies, interests and concerns beyond romance and the male leads.
Production/Cinematography: 7.0
Everything is competently shot, and enough thought and money was put into the designs, costuming etc. that it never distracts from the plot. I also liked how the costuming and shooting made the whole show feel a bit like it was in a romance novel. There was a bit of hazy filter, and distinct clothing and makeup types for the different characters.
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