Stay with Me (2016)

Boring drama, bad plot

I watched every episode until #20, but the erratic mood swings of Wei Wei and Yi Du, made me feel restless and listless. I switched to watching every five episodes until I reached the end of the line.

Story:
A love story/amnesia/revenge plot!  Too much, too little, too boring! Wei Wei acted like a childish teenager, as she kept pursuing Yi Du, even though he treated her shabbily. Yi Du was so trusting of his friend, who was his mortal enemy, yet he distrusted Wei Wei frequently, that I wanted to slap his head.  Mo Fan pursued a distorted revenge plot. Huao Xiao, Wei Wei's best friend, became needy and manipulative.

Acting/Cast
The cast did a good acting job with the bad script.  Joe Chen and Wang Kai looked very attractive as Wei Wei and Yi Du respectively, but their characters were not endearing. Zhang Duo is handsome as the snake friend, Mo Fan. Derek Chang was my favorite cast member. His character, Leo, seemed the most rational, although he chased Tiffany like a puppy.

Music:
Music outpaced the drama.

Overall score:
At best, this drama should have been 24 episodes long. The plot would not have been so burdensome to the viewers and the actors.

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Stay With Me is a rom-com slash light-hearted romantic melo about too many second chances, obsessive love and a fairly weak case of revenge by proxy. The story has some ridiculous, rather makjang-like elements and is full of plot-holes but at the same time is addictively funny and heartwarming.



Wang Kai is sizzling hot playing a romantic lead, a genre that is somewhat new for him and I have to say he does not disappoint. Joe Chen’s already a proven actress and gotta give it to her pulling off a character that on some less capable actresses may come off as annoying and silly. But in the hands of Joe Chen, she gives Wei Wei an edge and a backbone but at the same time gives us the comic relief that is part and parcel of this character. Their natural chemistry is one of the highlight of this show.



The draw of Wang Kai may have enticed me to watch this drama and it did have enough content to keep me glued. I almost wanted to drop it at 30+ episodes when our lovely OTP keeps going back and forth breaking up and making up - one too many times. Characters don’t seem to have a constancy about them, changing colors too frequently - forgiving and forgetting seem to be the mantra of the day. The second and third OTPs are decent and deserve the screen time, giving the show an added notch of flair. But the uncle and sidekick pair got under my skin. I find these two serving very little purpose other than screen fillers and agitating the heck out of everyone.



The production set is very chic and modern. Whether it is the offices, the residences, restaurants or even the hospital, you see a very rich and slick Shanghai. Granted, it is about high fashion and the characters are all wealthy. Something I’ve noticed lately with many of the contemporary cdramas. Product placement is also front and center. Quite blatant and after 30+ episodes it can get a bit in your face.



The OST is catchy and worth downloading.



Leave your brains at home, just soak it in for pure entertainment and enjoy this perfectly imperfect show.

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