This review may contain spoilers
I screamed when I saw this - one of my all-time favourite Chinese novel finally got turned into a drama and I didn't know about it until 3-4 days ago! I was super excited but at the same time nervous starting out since I didn't want to have this huge expectation and have to fall so low if it turns out bad. I have watched the movie version of Never Gone when it first became available but it fell short of my expectation. It was good but didn’t get me as excited as this drama version did lol. Once I finished the first episode, my heart soared and was overjoyed and excited that it had a strong start. I pretty much binged watch the entire drama and man, it flowed so smooth for me lol.The actors and actresses fit the YJ, CZ and the side characters in my mind to a T! The young actress and actor for the main characters during their high school times were spot on too - I'm not sure if I'm just so excited that I'm making it up in my head and seeing things but I swear Landy Li and Hu Xian Xu looks totally believable as the younger version of Yang Zi Shan and Elvis Han. It just flows so well! And their acting, I must applaud - so cute, lovable, easy on the eyes and totally, exactly like the characters they are portraying lol - the continuity of the characters' personality were amazing. Granted, the transition from high school to college over one summer showing the change over of the actors/actresses was a bit…unbelievable but that can be easily overlooked :P
***The rest of the comment MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS so please read at your own discretion!!!***
Now moving onto the drama itself vs the novel. There definitely were some changes. Some changes I appreciated yet some, I did not (hence I rated this drama 9.5/10 as opposed to 10/10). The character of SYJ was pretty much the same, frustrating but that was just who she was as a character so that was well portrayed. I love how persistent and one-track mind CZ is for SYJ. The character of CZ was more likeable in the drama though. That’s not to say I didn’t like him in the novel (which obviously I did but he had major flaws which made him even more human if that makes sense...). CZ in the drama was more like a….straight "pure" character - yes he had his immature side and acted like a big (albeit lovable) kid, but in the novel, the character of CZ made more mistakes and did certain actions that were more “dark” and inexcusable than the drama portrayed. I suppose I already sort of expected them not to show certain actions in the drama as it was described in the book but still, some significant scenes and events did not happen as well (i.e. in the book, they got together sooner - after the SARS event since she felt touched that CZ was there when she felt all scared and alone or that she had an abortion alone and it was during that time she bonded with Xu Zhi Heng and got closer to him). Of course, there were changes that I liked too. I liked how we got to know more about Shen Jun An and Zhang Yue. I also liked the addition of Jing Zi though as much as I wanted Mo Yu Hua to have a happy ending that she did not get from the novel, I didn’t like how she ended up with Zhou Zi Yi the way they did. I wish it was done differently or not at all. I may be the only one who feels that lol.
I have read the author’s other novel 許我向你看 (translates to "Let Me Look At You"?) and loved it as well and the whole time I watched Never Gone, I kept thinking how perfect Yang Zi Shan would be for the main female character and Elvis Han as the main male character if they ever make a drama for her other novel - but one novel at a time! What really got me excited was the inclusion of Chen Jie Jie and a tiny peek of her side story through Zhou Zi Yi in their mini trip arch as CJJ was a second female lead in 許我向你看 so it gave me hope that there would be a drama for that novel soon too in the future. I have read that there will be a movie version in 2020 but we’ll see!
One last thing I want to point out: the music. What great choices of music. Absolutely loved the background music and how a male re-sang Fish Leong's "Courage". Super fitting!
As much as I’ve discussed about this drama, I must admit it’s not for everyone as the female lead can make you want to bang your head against the wall and want to scream at her like CZ did regarding her inability to voice and express herself. However, if you can come to understand that, that was just how her character was written (that her personality is just this stoic, internalize everything kind of character), it would make sense. They can’t all be those happy bright character or outspoken female lead right? One of the reasons I loved the novel were the flaws in all the characters so I wasn’t as bothered by the portrayal of SYJ. I would recommend reading the novel first before watching the drama to avoid some of the frustrations lol - it may help or not but just a recommendation!
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This review may contain spoilers
Frustrating
Hmmm what to say abt this show >_<First off I really wasn’t sure what the writers were thinking creating such unusual characters & then putting them together in a love story.
Let just say the guy is certainly cute, I love the potential there but they wrote him too intense, immature and a bit obnoxious to the point of rude sometimes.
Female lead they wrote her out just plain bland!
Her character gave me a few wrinkles watching her.
It got me questioning how unrealistic male lead’s love was cause it certainly feels like he was wasting his energy on a tree sometimes!
Him constantly chasing & her rejecting him yet writers never really gave a good excuse as to why except she don’t like rich kids spending their parents money??
Ain’t that a laugh...made her look like a judgemental person who never care for his real personality even though he was always there for her.
Only semi normal couple here was the cousin Yue!
But hey all the couples miraculously paired up on the same day after seperating for so many years!!
Talk abt writers dragging the drama then rushed it on the last episode..
Why even bother with the romance for the best friends?Although I liked ML’s best friend’s character but their love felt too forced in the end!
So all and all, I would not recommend this drama...Frustration Effect is strong in this one :-/
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The series revolves around a group of friends. And it covers their lives from high school, through college and apparently into adulthood. It is presented in a different sense. It starts out in the present and during episode one it takes you back into the past. 95% of the series revolves around their past and the last few episodes takes you back to the present. So it’s kinda like telling the story in reverse or catching you up to speed on how they got where they are.
The 2 Leads really seem to have a genuine chemistry when they were around each other however it was often offset by the FL character or script which was an individual that really did not appear to have any passion or display any type of emotion. One hand you have a male that was very passionate, often displaying immature behavior and some controlling tendencies. Then on the other hand we had an emotionless FL who seemed to maintain the same facial expression the entire time, who never yells, who never gets excited, her voice stays the same the entire time. I believe throughout the series she smiled twice. So the only emotion that we saw from her was a mellow, neutral face and one that was sad. It was kind of bland for a romance series. To sum up her character she is like that daughter-in-law of a rich family that stays sweet to the end. Sheepish.
I know that this show has a high rating but for me it was somewhat depressing. It was definitely a slow paced drama, one that is for mature people in terms of communication and relationships. Let me be clear I don’t need bubbly and romantic comedies but for a romantic series I definitely expected something a little more than this. The first 21 episode consisted of the ML pursuing the FL, genuinely, openly, with everything out on his sleeves while our FL treated him like a nuisance, disregarded him and often looked down on him. In essence, if a girl says she doesn’t like you just leave her alone but of course that didn’t happen here. For me it was a little hard to watch because you know someone really loves the other person but that person is not interested in them and seriously treats them like they have wronged them in some sort of way. But as a viewer we know it didn’t happen so it’s even harder to watch. To correct myself, as youth the male lead was attentive, friendly, helpful and supportive. Then the female changed.
What I like most about the series was the scenery and the music. What I dislike was the lack of emotion and the FL character. It’s never really explained why she what is the way she is and it was just kind of boring. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a show to watch in between something great. I would also recommend this to someone that is a long suffering romantic but not my hopeless romantic or anyone that loves a great worthy romance. You’d be greatly disappointed looking for that here.
overall I gave it a seven because it wasn’t terrible but I really did feel that it was lacking the necessary emotion from one of the main characters. Also it took 22 episodes for the leads to actually get together only to face conflict a few episodes later and then guess, time skip, fairy dust and happily ever after. The conflict and pursuit was saturated in this series, while I felt deprived of the enjoyment of the loving relationship, the growth of their relationship and the cute moments. They had very few of them although the ending was not terrible.
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Stalker behavior misrepresented as love
The high school interaction between the leads was cute. But once they went to college the ML essentially stalked the FL until she finally gave him a chance. Also, when the high school actors were switched out for actors playing their older college selves, the actors looked way too old to be college students.Once in college the ML had no respect for the FL’s thoughts and feelings. He ruined her first day with the one guy she dated in college. And repeatedly called her, showed up at places where he knew she would be and followed her when she went home to visit family during her college breaks, even though she told him numerous times to get lost. She wasn’t even telling him this jokingly or encouraging his pursuit at all. Each time she told him to leave her alone she was very firm. But he continued to stalk her until she finally requited his “love”.
The FL lead’s BFF pathetically continued to be at the beckon call of the ML’s BFF because she liked him. Problem was she’d confessed to him in high school but he rejected her and continued to ignore her feelings when they got to college by asking her to help him pursue her class mates. He was extremely insensitive to her feelings for him and showed no interest in her until she started to open herself to other prospects. Something she should’ve done after he rejected her. At this point, I stopped watching. All of the romantic relationships were manipulative and toxic. I couldn’t root for any of them which is a shame because I actually thought the ML/FL’s relationship in high school had the potential to be interesting and romantic.
The only thing I really enjoyed about this series was the relationship between the FL and her BFF. They were true friends throughout high school and college. I enjoyed their interactions. I also thought the boyfriend the FL had in college was great. Their relationship has potential but of course was destroyed by the need to hook her up with the ML. The series as a whole had potential but was problematic due to the way the romances were presented.
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This review may contain spoilers
The Good The Bad The Ugly AND the EXCELLENT
*** SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER RIDDLED***You will ONLY relate to the following IF you have JUST watched the SHOW .. OR remember the SHOW.
Honestly, this Drama evoked many different thoughts and feelings.
I'll first get the UGLY and the BAD out of the way.
# Shu Yin Jin #
------------------
The CASTING of the FL (Yang Zi Shan) Su Yun Jin (SYJ) didn't sit well with me.
The show started off SO well and she came across as an interesting character ... Not ditzy or given to unnecessary facial expressions as many actresses are.
Her calm demeanour in Ep 1, when the Xu-Wife (now we know she was an ex-wife probably) threw coffee at her and yet she kept her composure and wrapped up her scheduled office meeting unfazed.. She shot up my respect AND curiosity scale.
She had me on her side, at get go, wondering what happened and what preceded this?
Then Drama went pretty much wholesale into flashback mode and hooked me in for almost 12 episodes.
I LOVED the young Su Yin Jin (Landy Li) actress. She played SYJ young to the T.
Beautiful, grave, reserved, mature, sensitive; she KNEW how to say NO firmly.
(IDEALLY Landy Li should have played the ADULT also.
I mean it was JUST a few years later that they were in college .. right?
They took the College entrance exams and morphed? New set of Actors???)
And then came the college dorm years .. and SYJ was already on a slide for me. I had NO view into her inner self.
The script - director - actress steadily ERODED any sense of empathy and connect I had at the beginning for the character.
Her face and demeanour began to chafe and irk AND AGE.
Her naso-labial crease became SO prominent that she looked not like a young college kid in her twenties but someone who could be cast as a mid-forties, mother of a teenager.
A "cold FL role" need not also be CAST using an actress whose visuals are ALSO stiff / dour / dismal with a perpetual surly expression.
Her pinched, thin lips (she adds to it by constantly sucking it in making it thinner) are more suited to "the witch" who curses the baby princess when not invited by the king to the christening party.
The "cold" needs to be enacted .. not 'looked' like. (Landy Li does the COLD also but we FEEL her)
A 'cold' role needs to be condignly presented to the audience; requires a view into her true, vulnerable heart, her lack of self confidence around moneyed people from the upper classes, around high achievers; her weakness, her despair and her bottled up suffering (Landy Li does it SO effectively).
NOT once is she shown harbouring ANY warmth for the ML. (except when LAndy Li acts. Her ONE HUG speaks VOLUMES .. while grown up SYJ's hugs leave the audience feeling a freeze.
By the time ML Cheng Zheng (Elvis Han) and her have gotten together (beyond the midway point of Drama) the viewer cannot care less or be bothered with the couple.
In fact; was SO SHOCKED at my OWN response to DRAMA's OTP romance.
For the FIRST TIME in the 250 plus Drama viewings, did I FFWD ALL the hug and kiss and intimate scenes of the OTP.
It was pissing me off to see her puckering up - not only I FELT NO CHEMISTRY AT ALL, I ACTUALLY HIT the FFD HARD to not have to see her.
Elvis Han was DOING ALL the work!!! And that was SUCH TORTURE!!
She was made to play 'little Miss Prissy' - a FRIGID woman almost .. a adult woman who would NOT 'sleep with her guy' and made 'disgusted' expressions when CZ got passionate. Viewer would imagine 'she was faking' herself into a couple relationship. One HAD to agree and NOD vigorously when CZ laid it out to her; that she is a FRIGID "Beyotch" who had NO real emotions for him .. Her palm actually "DID NOT sweat" (MHY's explanation of what 'sparks' felt like) and she never showed ANY sparky reaction to him. Robot was not a wrong description of her by CZ.
The directors had JUST let SYJ devolve into a 'hated' character by the time she was 'supposed' to have achieved her 'changed' feelings and persona. There had been NO arc. The viewer FELT NO connect .. the opposite .. they managed make her a "DISLIKED" character.
She was made to go from morose-gruff to "smiling" in one leap. (smiling in quotes because it was bereft of any warmth).
Nothing softened her face, joy did not reach her eyes - inspite of the blurry lighting and camera.
She even had these HARD lines like double brackets next to her lips (visible in some lighting shots). So when drama kept having other characters repeatedly calling her 'pretty' / 'good looking' viewer was left even more aghast!!
Cummon!!! Zhang Hue was stunningly BEAUTIFUL .. Mo Yu Hua (MYH) glowed, so lovely to look at (and she played the "plain" looker??!!! REALLY??)
At that point I was HAVING serious doubts about the CASTING director being the same person because some of the characters FIT so well.
Thus SYJ's visual further emphasised her "HARD" heart. Her spartan adherence to principles began to sound SO PREACHY!! Gaunt-drawn faced, Nun-like Matron at a Girl's Boarding School.
She seemed to be 'working at loving him' .. Not exactly what drama intended for the story outcome for sure!!
Yet in the last episodes we are expected (via her SPEECH) to BUY that SHE always had 'feelings' for him.
YEAH .. sure .. it came across as double FAKE; similar to the other ML character's wide smiley expressions - Shen Ju An - played by the excellent Toby Lee.
Now Toby pulls of the complex character of grey tones so convincingly .. one could have easily 'HATED' him in the role .. but one never stopped feeling deeply sorry for him and his frailty .. even understood and worried about him as he foolishly pursued his misguided notions of how to be "successful"; as he got more and more lost, one grew anxious for him losing everything, especially his compass.
Drama could have cast a less 'pleasant face' for him, to take the easy way out and make him a detestable character rather than the dubious sorry figure he was whose final redemption therefore is well earned and something we can root for and support. In the last few scenes his earlier "hyper-smiles" had dropped .. he didn't need them any more. He had found his grounding core.
# Second LEAD Romance - Relationship - Friendship #
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The development towards the relationship endgame of Dr Mo Yu Hua (MYH) and Footballer Zhou Zi Yi (ZZY) was dropped like a hot brick!!
Until close to the end it was a finely balanced, growing house of cards, delicately put together, which we couldn't take our eyes off.
It was Tan Jian Ci's stellar portrayal, so convincingly played. An easy, carefree, external silliness, an extrovert self that hid a LOST soul, an anger and pain. Coming from a broken home, he had nurtured a deep, complex parental resentment.
He is the classic Attachment-Avoidant (AA) Personality TYPE.
(google description)
"You value your independence and freedom to the point where you can feel uncomfortable with, even stifled by, intimacy and closeness in a romantic relationship."
This description accurately pins his attitude towards MYH (who he is of course drawn to).
Suddenly the rug was pulled from under us, that arc collapsed .. the House of Cards crashed.
No, worse!! VANISHED without trace, loped off.
ALL the time that was INVESTED on working on the complex dependancy on MYH (as well as on his childhood buddy CZ) - his blindness - his denial; careful build up of arc of MYH, actress's (Su Qing) beautifully and soulfully captured suffering, enduring loyalty and patience, was discarded.
Suddenly at the FINAL PARTY we are told that "they were together" - like WHEN DID THAT golf ball fall into the hole???
I felt CHEATED out of the RELEASE and CLOSURE; A PASSIONATE KISS (CUMMON) for THAT couple ..
Waited for it way more than the OTP's closure.
By the time I was deeply into the Drama, ZZY-MYH were FAR more engrossing to follow than any other thread.
(Caveat : Tian Ci Jian is on my list to check out in other dramas - he's excellent in the range he can cover .. from comic goofball to tortured and deep)
*** REST of REVIEW on DISCUSSION THREAD of this DRAMA has a 10000 character Limit :-(
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Wasted my time!
I watched all 36 episodes, waiting for a redeeming feature but did not get any, unfortunately!!!The story just did not add up. The ML and FL's love story, as well as the others, just frustrated me to no end! It was so unrealistic! To the point of not being enjoyable.
I feel like I wasted my time watching this because I got no joy out of it - no entertainment value, but, I find it difficult to drop dramas once I start.
The actors did a decent job, which is probably why I have such strong feelings towards this story/drama but no matter how I slice or dice it, it didn't work for me.
Different strokes for different people so you might like it but I didn't.
It took 36 episodes and possibly 12 - 15 years to hear 'I love you' - go figure!
Needless to say I will not be rewatching any part of it and won't recommend it - I could have watched two decent 16 episode dramas in the place of this.
Best part - I got to write his review!
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WASTED TALENT WITH WORST SCREENPLAY
This drama had potential.But it's irrational.
By the time the character development happens, it's almost over.
This is by far the only drama, that too coming of age in which the characters are so complex and indecisive, especially the FML
She's mundane.
Absolute low-crushing spirit throughout.
The MC is a m0r0n , who keeps going on and on after her.
The whole friend group is a cross-loving quad-entangled web.
I would say many of us watch dramas due to the script involving interesting characters.
This drama could be liked by those who can accept human irrationality to the point of zero expectation.
Coz one way to look at it, more than 50% of such people do exist.
It's an ordinary script.
Think of the most non chalant way of interaction b/w your day to day peers , zero spark , tons of foolish emotions only to be wasted at the end.
All the characters are hypocrites except the MC .
And the FMC is the biggest hypocrite of them all.
Man, I'm so disappointed coz I only watched this due to MC', since his script selection has been credible.
Avoid this one .
It's nothing but a pain in the a3se to watch .
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There is not any healthy relationship there , not even one. All male leads are assholes.
Well to keep it short. I had some good expectations. And I got a big hot mess in return. The ML were really psycho and the Fl were doormats. The main ML was a stalker in the beginning and an asshole in the end. He was selfish and spoiled manchild. When she turned him down he started to act creepy. When he did something bad and hurt the FL , he just cried like a little bitch. He expected everything from her and did not offer anything in return. I dont even know how can people in the comments still considere his actions cute and lovely. He was a creep who thought he can own the female lead. Is this behavior normal in Asia ? As a man from Europe I cant comprehend this.Was this review helpful to you?
A very childish and unrealistic drama!! ML is the most childish person in the whole drama.
The drama is popular just because of its mediocre story and a good FL. Pacing of the story is good for the 36 episodes, I looked forward to every next episode up to the finale. Cinematography was awesome, everything and everyone looked good! Part of the story was shot in Shaoxing, a lovely water town, it's interesting to see all these different cities in China from an outsider's point of view. The supporting characters provided a nice side story. The main characters have strong and willful personalities at the opposite extremes but in the end they grow up, so the rollercoaster of emotions as the story moved along is all worth it in the end. The soundtrack is also good.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Honestly i say this drama was quite boring, its not Attractive to me..I dont like if the drama was like on the ep 1 they showing they already growing up but sudden they showing back the past, its kinda like wasting time..alot of chinese drama was like that, and u feddup on this..The movie was quite better, with simple plot.. 2) why I don't like was, the male lead looks so 30age+ not even look like teenager entering University,..The EndddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddEndddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddEndddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddEndddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddEnddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd Was this review helpful to you?
Haste un favor psicológico, no la veas
Empece a ver esta serie siguiendo a los actores, pero poco a poco me di cuenta que nos hicieron ver como algo normal todas las relaciones tóxicas. Creo que ver esto y creer que el final feliz es normal en estas situaciones, es terrible.Si a ustedes le parece normal como se relacionan estos personajes, necesitan terapia.
La seguí viendo porque creí que al final iba a ver la maduración de los personajes. Reconozco que la hubo, pero a pesar de eso no me convencio el modo que lo hicieron.
No pierdan su tiempo, esta serie realmente no vale la pena.
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