Negotiator (2018)

Went in with super low expectations and came out pleasantly surprised. I think this is one of those dramas to watch for its parts rather than its whole. I tend to have a preference for cool, calm and collected female lead types, so I liked Yang Mi's character. To those that prefer more lively female leads, she would probably come off as bland but to me she was refreshingly mature. I liked how she didn't show her love through romantic gestures, but pragmatic actions. I loved all of her outfits. I really enjoyed her sismance with Shan Shan too. It's always nice to see strong female bonds and this drama has them in aplenty with her superiors and subordinates.

The male lead was fine. He was somewhat childishly self-centered but just like how you can't get mad at a child, you can really never hate him. I didn't really see them as a couple at first, but maybe as the actor started to get more comfortable behind the camera/with the actress, they started to get super cute.

It's been a while since I've seen a older female/younger male played so straight, so I enjoyed it for what it was. Dramas almost always make the male lead more capable/competent and the female lead more naive, no matter who is older. Here, true to their age, the female lead was more mature and stable and was like a rock for the male lead, who depended on her quite a bit. Obs, this kind of romance would be tiring in real life, but it was cute on screen. If you hate older female/younger male, stay away.

The pacing is horrible. It starts fine, when crawls so slowly that despite all the cute couple moments you wonder where this is going then accelerates so a rushed ending. The plotholes can be pretty annoying too, if you let them be.

The music is pretty good--it gives everything a lighter, zippy feel. The "this is a funny scene" music was pretty good too.

It's clearly not the best drama but for someone who can't seem to finish them recently, I managed to watch this one straight through. I was debating between a 7.5 and 8 for this one (if I could, it'd be a 7.8), but since I enjoyed it for what is was, I'll stick to 8.

Read More

Good but not exceptional

To be honest, I came to this drama is only for Nikita Mao. I didn't get any spectacular thing of this series on early episodes. I just continued watching with boring mood, until episode 19 till the end. If I can rate, episode 1-18 is 6. And maybe from 19 and the rest I can give either 7 to 8,5. What is meaningful I found from this series is about family and friendship. As firstly thought, the last episode shows happy ending for most audience.

At the beginning, I don't like Xiao Fei's act, But later, he proved me wrong. I can say all of the casts portrayed their role well, though not very special. The notable characters beside Xiao Fei are Tong Wei (of course, she is main role), Shan Shan (played my favorite actress :D), Tian Tian, and Bi Chen.

I like both opening and ending music, but I didn't get emotion with the score music. Not bad, but just not touchy.

Read More