Ok, I am a sucker for feel-good Taiwanese dramas that center around the joys and challenges of family reunions. Yong Jiu offers rich storytelling in its explorations of city v. country life, the building of community, and the impacts of generational trauma. This drama delivers with amazing writing, beautiful cinematography, the perfect soundtrack, and a cast that really made me believe in and root for each of the characters. Its storyline is based off a comic of the same name.

This series has a slightly episodic format, with each episode (sort of) spotlighting one family/one individual. I enjoyed seeing the parallels and the contrasts between different generations and different families - helping me to reflect on my own personal life. By the midway point of the series, I really felt like a part of the community. Their depiction of Taiwan as well is fantastic - as actors easily flow between Taiwanese and Mandarin, and the script acknowledges current issues in the country (racism/xenophobia, gentrification, aging population).

However, the ensemble cast in multiple generations also becomes a downfall - early on and even later in the series, it can be easily to lose track of who is whose younger counterpart. For a 10 episode series, there was a lot packed in. Secondly, the pacing felt a little uneven. While the first 5 episodes are very slice-of-life, the next 5 episodes are much more drama heavy-hitters. Even then, I personally was there for the ride and did not mind the change in pace.

And without giving anything away - I was blown away by Roy Chiu's presence in this drama and would love to see a season 2!