Fun, warm, enjoyable drama with lovely characters and scenery

This is my first time writing a review on MDL but this drama deserves that I make this effort (I say that because english is not my first language, so please excuse the mistakes I’ll make writing this review).

You might see the ratings and think : « Hmm, I’ll pass ». And you’ll miss an opportunity to watch a great drama.

Why ? It’s a charming, enjoyable and fun light rom-com. It was shot somewhere in a place located near the Laos and Thailand’s border, where the Dai people live (from what someone told me). So visually, the drama is stunning : the scenery is very green, luxuriant, the landscapes are beautiful, and so are the houses, streets, buildings. It’s really a beautiful architecture.

The characters, after a rough (and in my opinion, funny) beginning, shine. We have less than ordinary main leads for a rom-com : instead of having a cold CEO and an innocent young FL who freeze every time they touch each other’s hands, we have an ex-CEO who was a playboy who decides to go back to his mother’s village to plant tea and to live a more monk like life.

We have a FL who is a young entrepreneur struggling to get her company off the ground. She ends up being brave, adorable and kind. The kind of lovely FL who is joyful without ending up being a childish Pollyanna. She will end up living the village life to the fullest.

Both ML and FL are affectionate and tactile with each other, which I loved seeing. There are misunderstandings and problems standing in their way but they manage to do something rare : they talk about their problems and solve them quickly.

There are antagonists, down to earth twists (without being a slice of life, too realistic and dreary drama to watch) SML and SFL on the way (but they are more on the funny side, although sometimes annoying) a bit of mystery and most of all, the villagers who are definitely an important part of the drama.

So in the end, it might be on the cheap side, and with less dramatic twists than people are used to but the end result is a charming, warm, lovely drama that certainly doesn’t deserve the 7.8 ratings it has as I’m writing this review.

But then, I started watching this drama before the ratings came in and I’m sad thinking that had I waited a few weeks to watch it, the ratings would have definitely prevented me from watching it. And now I’m wondering how many great dramas I skipped because I trusted the below 8 ratings on MDL.

So if you’re in for a fun, charming, light rom-com with main leads who act their age and solve their problems by talking, then this is the drama for you.

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Lovely drama

I’ll start with saying that this drama is lovely. It’s not the drama of the year, but it’s one that leaves a quiet and lasting impression, at least for me.

First, it’s a low budget drama with actors with a short resume. That might repulse some people who would automatically catalogue this drama into the lame one. But there are very expensive dramas which aren’t good so money is not necessarely the winning factor.

Second, I think the actors played very well, all of them. A bit on the exaggerated side, like in sitcoms (but still, less than in american sitcoms !). I had seen the ML in a short drama where he was not nice at all and arrogant and here, he plays a sweet, old fashion man very naturally so I find him quite good for someone with so little acting experience. The FL was fine, I hadn’t seen her in anything else but she was doing well, here. Especially when she was playing scenes with her best friend, I have to say.

The summary on MDL is not quite exact when it comes to who and what the ML is but I’m not going to spoil it for you, just know that it’s more complicated and original than a simple « ghost story ».

This drama has this serene elegance, due to who the ML is, the music, the ambiance of the drama. There are some fun moments, some angst, some mystery and in episodes 11 and 12, real sadness. Be prepared for it if you are living through the same thing in RL, it can be a bit tough, at least for me, it rang true. The drama has more depth than the ratings would let you believe. Life, death, longevity, loss, going on with life despite being bereft of love and affection…

It’s a paranormal/love story drama so of course, you have to be willing to, what’s the english word ? Suspend disbelief ? But « fantasy » is in the tags for this drama.

I’ll end up by saying that yes, there is quite a height difference between the ML and the FL. I’m starting to wonder if writers and directors don’t have a fondness for this situation because it’s not the first time that I watch a drama with such a height difference (Hello « My little happiness » and « Put your head on my shoulder »). I can’t help thinking that it must be uncomfortable for both actors to shoot a drama for months with such a difference.

But apart from that, I really loved this drama. If you love old fashion MLs and old fashion eerie feeling hovering over a drama (while still remaining modern), then you can give this drama a chance.

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