jwhites
Strong Female Lead! Women not talking about men!
I enjoyed this series because it strikes all the right notes for me -- no one is extra-super special, characters are generally realistic, situations are plausible, settings are appropriate, and, best of all, everyone acts like a real person - which is a joy after seeing so many canned plots.
It passes the Bechdel test with flying colors - also a delight - women talking to other women about things other than men -- their goals, dreams, supportive friendships - it was really top notch there. As an older woman, I often have trouble suspending disbelief when the female characters are two dimensional and/or disappointing stereotypes of what men THINK women talk about or do when they don't have any men around to flirt with.
FL was brilliant in her role, and played it with great skill. What was particularly noteworthy was how her persona held up and remained consistent within realistic boundaries. That's not an easy thing to do. Got a big kick out of ML, who I kept thinking of as "Pineapple Head" (from Meteor Garden) - he got to play a well-rounded, good hearted young man and did it well. Supporting female lead was, sadly, not a well-fleshed out character -- too much "ditz" for the job she presumably had, but I thought friend of ML had some good character development and a great young lion moment with his parents.
I had to revisit the portrayal of FL's mother in my mind a time or two - in many ways at first, I thought it was badly done, however, in the latter episodes, a chance remark makes the wild mood swings and other personality oddities much more understandable. I still think it was a speck over the top, but the chance remarks tamed it. Nice to see Mom do some growing up, too. Great green jacket on Mom!
There's also an element which I have now seen in several Chinese serial stories - comeuppance within realistic boundaries. I like this -- it doesn't happen as often as we'd like to think in real life, but when it does, it happens with doorbells, not trumpets, which is how that element worked out in this show.
I recommend it and encourage you to wait through the few places where it drags in order to see a glimpse of life played lovingly and believably.
It passes the Bechdel test with flying colors - also a delight - women talking to other women about things other than men -- their goals, dreams, supportive friendships - it was really top notch there. As an older woman, I often have trouble suspending disbelief when the female characters are two dimensional and/or disappointing stereotypes of what men THINK women talk about or do when they don't have any men around to flirt with.
FL was brilliant in her role, and played it with great skill. What was particularly noteworthy was how her persona held up and remained consistent within realistic boundaries. That's not an easy thing to do. Got a big kick out of ML, who I kept thinking of as "Pineapple Head" (from Meteor Garden) - he got to play a well-rounded, good hearted young man and did it well. Supporting female lead was, sadly, not a well-fleshed out character -- too much "ditz" for the job she presumably had, but I thought friend of ML had some good character development and a great young lion moment with his parents.
I had to revisit the portrayal of FL's mother in my mind a time or two - in many ways at first, I thought it was badly done, however, in the latter episodes, a chance remark makes the wild mood swings and other personality oddities much more understandable. I still think it was a speck over the top, but the chance remarks tamed it. Nice to see Mom do some growing up, too. Great green jacket on Mom!
There's also an element which I have now seen in several Chinese serial stories - comeuppance within realistic boundaries. I like this -- it doesn't happen as often as we'd like to think in real life, but when it does, it happens with doorbells, not trumpets, which is how that element worked out in this show.
I recommend it and encourage you to wait through the few places where it drags in order to see a glimpse of life played lovingly and believably.
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