This review may contain spoilers
Sweet and fluffy
May 11, 2023The Love You Give Me just hits the spot for 2023 fluffy Chinese Rom-com drama. I have dropped so many Cdramas and only this one I have kept up with. Just because it’s so good, I love this troupe so much.
The lovers to strangers to coparenting to lovers again. It's so good, I think for this specific troupe, The Love You Give Me, might be my favourite one along with Begin Again.
The main couple, Min Hui and Xin Qi, their chemistry is fantastic. From what I saw from other watchers, this is apparently their 3rd or 4th Cdrama that they were in as a couple. And since I am in such a big rabbit hole with them right now, I think I will be watching their previous works as well.
QuanQuan is so cute, he is like the cutest child. I really love how he was able to give such interesting flavour to the plot and the drama. His side commentaries are hilarious and it is sometimes a representation of what the viewers might say between the petty fights or misunderstanding of Min Hui and Xin Qi. "Adults always tell us to say the truth, but they can't do it themselves." I think this is how the line goes or something. Anyway, it is not exactly this, but when QuanQuan said this in that one episode. It is very factual. I love him so much.
As for the other leads as well, they are so cute and lovely. Some scenes were a bit too much for me, so I had to skip... Moving on, the ending was just right. Like obviously the generic ending was given, but for some reason, I really love it.
Anyhow, I wish you all can give Love You Give Me a chance! Just like how Min Hui gave Xin Qi a chance.
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Worth your time!
The series is still on-going but I’ll just drop my two cents here. I love this cdrama! I don’t know but I like this kind of trope. It’s cute, fresh and lovely to watch.Plot is well written- no unnecessary jump in the story. Cringey - sometimes but I guess.. that’s how cdrama is.
Actors, Yu Wen and Zi Qi’s chemistry is *chef’s kiss*. Loved that this is already their 2nd drama as couple! I love how this is kinda continuation with Once we get married- cos they literally have a son here.
Highly recommended to my fellow c-drama lovers out there! Worth your time! ❤️
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A light hearted Romcom, with lots of comedy . Just the right mix
Watching a drama and loving it are two very different things and not always a drama hits the right spot.I loved it .
It was funny, cute, interesting, sometimes, somethings did get boring, but they sort of resolved it kinda well. This being a cdrama with 28 episodes, some cliché stuff did happen, which could have been bypassed, had this been a kdrama. For a 28 episode long drama, sometimes , it did feel like they stretched the story, but the best part is , that they managed it really well.
The story is not an entirely new concept, but the way it was portrayed was kind of really really sweet. The thing that really surprised me was this drama had 3 couples. Ive seen dramas mostly with 2 couples, but the way theybalanced everone onscreen was just awesome. Ive seen dramas, where the support lead couples have a pretty boring story , to the point where one can totally skip them, but this one's so very different, in that aspect. No couple other than the lead was not worth watching, each of them had their own story and the way it was perfectly blended was justamazing. At no point it felt that thesupport couples were stealing main couple's screen time and it was just perfect. There were times when it got a little repetitive. Iwont lie, i did skip few scenes of support couples, because all of them had a common thing that was "fight and then reunite", which did felt a little boring , but all three couples have their very different stories going on at different pace & different problems to deal with (The lead couple had a kid and a past traumatic history, another couple, where the female didnt want to get married, and another one where the doctor guy played hard to get, but eventually, had to pursue, the love of his life in the end). Anyhow, things turned out well.
I absolutely loved the family interactions (main couple). .
Coming to acting and chemistry. The lead couple was mind blowing. Imean, they had such a good chemistry, a lot of scenes gave me butterflies ?, it was brilliant , even the 2nd couple (cao mu x chen) were pretty good as well. Acting wise, everyone did a good job, but for obvious reasons, Quanquan stole everyone's ❤️ (i guess). He's been phenomenal. His dialogues, acting, expressions, everything's been amazing. It was just so cute seeing Quanquan and his papa play . My heart went Awwww.... seening how cute and sweet they were. Even support characters like Hardy &Cindy were pretty cool, nobody felt boring or overdoing. Oh yes ! How can i forget, the conversations between the lead couple. They were so sweet , them talking about their work, life , future, the lovey-dovey talks. Beautiful. the FL is so pretty. LOVED every bit of the drama.
Music was pretty fine. Cinematography was great too. And yes I loved God of Wealth's house (it was awesome) .
Overall, its a really good drama , where emotions, comedy, love, business, everything's pretty well balanced. If you're looking for a light Romcom (that could give you ? butterflies ) , you're at the right place .
Watch it . Its good.
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The Cute Kid Carried 2/3rds of the Show w/Help from the Leads
I have seen some of the cast in various shows before but this just looked like a rom-com that I may have enjoyed. To be honest though, it was very underwhelming. The reason it got the score it did was because of how messy the script was and that I essentially had to ffw most of the 28 episodes. The child actor was the best thing out of the entire show and he was smarter than his parents and all of the adults combined. He legit carried 2/3rds of the series with help from the leads.Pros: Not too many of those here sadly. As I mentioned the kid actor would probably be favorite because he would be the voice of reason for his parents and their constant quarrels. The leads had a great chemistry when they were together and there was decent comedy. The supporting cast was actually good (save for gorilla glue) when they were by themselves. But when the script started throwing them together at random, it went down the drain. The story had a lot of potential from the past to the present and growing and understanding, it just threw too many monkey wrenches into the mix which will be discussed below. I liked the flashbacks at the end of each episode as it explained what happened 5 years ago in detail.
Cons: So much potential in this script but it was wasted. The past and present at first, it was understandable why both leads would be at odds but then once things started to become clear we still had an FL that refused to let go of her narrow-mindedness and it would just be this constant 1 step forward, 2 steps back. The amount of times something needed to be said or a kiss happen and they were interrupted went from silly to tropey and boring. Felt like their second chance start being interrupted by CJJ and back to the bus accident we went was more of a filler then anything else because it brought the leads to odds again and it either shouldn't have happened or placed earlier so it was more cohesive. It was so mismatched and out of place that it seemed like they ran out of how to move onto a proper reconciliation and needed to throw something in there that was already over with and understood.
Both support couples getting together was so confusing and ridiculous. One ran over her younger dude with a car and then turned into a cougar ravenous after her prey and the other happened like a very bad whiplash. One moment SML is finally going to confess to the FL after 4 years of hoping she'd randomly like him, the next he really likes gorilla glue, baby voiced, stalker chick and is ready to turn himself into a pretzel to show his affection when he couldn't utter two words towards FL. It was so out of any realm of understanding and just beyond confusing. I didn't feel chemistry between either couple. They were literal fillers when they--sans one--could have just been great friends and support systems to the leads. This was essentially two very forced romances on the audience that didn't need it.
What in the what was up with the villain? He wasn't even on anyone's radar other then being a lewd and womanizing bastard and then in the last literally 6 episodes they turned him into a viper of a monster that was ready to sexually assault, run over, beat up, harass, extort people, kill dogs, and lord knows what else. That Ding dude was a more believable villain than CQR because from his first appearance until his arrest, he was a predator. But they didn't do that to CQR, who didn't even appear in a half a dozen episodes. There was no evolution to his character, so to go from like 0 or maybe a 3 to infinity in antagonist land in literally under 10 episodes was ridiculous and a disservice for a person playing a supposedly important antagonist character. There were many other plot holes like this.
The literal flip of FL from "we're not meant for each other" to "yep, we're together", was too spastic and sudden. It could have been done way smoother. ML had promised her a zillion times already that he'd take care of her but only when he spoke for her to CQR after she'd beaten him up, then she was like "ok I'm yours." It needed a much smoother transition. No wonder in the last two episodes ML's heart started to give him problems again. She was so busy with her own life and world that it never even dawned on her that he was in trouble, even when his sister told her that he would hide things so not to worry others. Like that angered me because everyone was feeling bad for the FL but in this case, the man has gone above and beyond and you supposedly love him so much but you can't tell that he's not being honest with you? And you know so much about the heart and whatnot? It was quite unbelievable.
Would I recommend it? Only if you like messy plots. But personally only reason it got this score is because of the adorable kid. And I'm not rewatching this again. A lot of folks liked it and more power to them but it's not for everyone.
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The Cringe You Give Me
This is a story about a bunch of women who at first try to come off as independent, smart and in no need of a man what so ever, and the men who are there to prove them wrong.As it starts off all women can do it but quickly turns in to women can't do it... just to go back to woman should be able to do it but most men suck, society sucks and it is damn hard to be a women so while they do not want a knight they will need a soldier to do the legwork... Or something like that. Some of this was good, some of this was made so bad I felt like throwing a bunch of books at the writers and other parts where just meeh. As they do make an honest attempt to show the struggles many women (especially single mothers) face, but ends up becoming a celebration of the nuclear family... So if you are in to that stuff this drama is great.
The characters in this drama are pretty interesting, those who are supposed to be lovable are lovable those who are supposed to be despicable are indeed easy to hate. All have good moments, but most lovable characters also have moments of adolescent, nonsensical inconsistent annoyance except for our female lead and the kid who both are a lot more mature than the rest of the characters.
The main couple also share a bunch of bickering fun moments as well as good chemistry and great kisses. No dead fish in sight which is indeed lovely but can get to be too much at times.
The interactions with the kid are just so cute they will make you cringe. But the kid is indeed lovable and the father- son moments/outfits are some of the best in all of dramaland. The kid actually got to have a scar after his surgery unlike his father who has this AMAZING healing ability, not a scar in sight 5 years post surgery.
There is a great glass shattering scene, not very necessary but indeed lovely to watch.
Part of me loves the fact that two of the leads have an hereditary heart condition yet are portrayed as more than just a condition... competent, lovable... but the conversation and way things around the heart condition where handled brought out my inner anger, making me want to visit the glass shattering space shown in the drama.
So what can I say there is some good, a lot of bad and a whole lot of cringe... but the acting is decent, chemistry good and the story it self could have been better.
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I'm telling you, you need this drama in your life
The drama gathers all kinds of plots, it's the perfect match for people who are trying to heal from their past or their previous relationshipsYou will get valuable life lessons thought the whole show, I highly recommend watching it, it worths your time and energy, you will even get addicted to it
The essential dose of romance and comedy are there , the leads portrait , the actors, the plot, everything is just in perfect balance.
Every single episode is interesting, we can clearly tell that they put their emotion in their acting, everything felt genuine
I really enjoyed watching it and I'm looking forward for a second season
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This review may contain spoilers
Love is a many-splendored thing. This show is not.
Our OTP first worked together in Once We Get Married and it is a very good pairing. The romance was sweet, and their chemistry was undeniable. I was really looking forward to this show to see if we can recapture some of that magic.Let’s be frank, the plot of this show is paper thin. Our OTP met and fell in love 5 years ago and broke up due to some misunderstanding. She was pregnant, but she kept it a secret from him. They met up in the present and things develops from there. The obvious question is whether they will get back together. The writer has the same idea and within the first dozen episodes the show already has the HEA ending in sight. However, the writer threw a curve ball and the relationship hit the rocks in ep.13. The plot then went around the mulberry bush several times before hitting another roadblock a few episodes later. This reset all the relationships including the 2CP’s. We then moped around some unproductive side plots that padded out the episode count.
The OTP are back on track by ep.23 but we have gone through many silly dating tropes that would have been amusing if it was done at the start of the show. It just feels tiresome when it pops up at ep.20. It goes to show that they added so many fillers between ep.13-22.
Stretching a thin plot is nothing new to c-drama when episode count can reach 40+ but you still need a solid foundation to support the flimsy subplots. Unfortunately, this show is structured somewhat back to front. The initial spark of a new romance happened 5 years ago. We only see glimpses of it in flashbacks at the end of each episode. Otherwise, the OTP behaves more like bickering parents that is stuck in limbo between reconciliation and divorce. There are precious few resolutions but repeated setbacks.
In terms of characterisations, the ML is supposed to be some kind of investment wunderkind, but we hardly ever see him do a day’s work and he ended up being an immature proto-dad and a pest to the FL. On the other hand, the FL is hardworking and pulls double duty as a tech visionary and a super mum. However, she is one confused lady when it comes to the ML. She alternates between pushing him away (unconvincingly) and pulling him in (irresistibly). I hate to say this but the plots involving the leads are insipid and their characters are tropey and beige.
Thus, it should come as no surprise that the role of providing titillations falls on the shoulders of the 2CP. They certainly give that a good go but the pairing of a beautiful sexy noona with a naïve inexperience hunk is a no-brainer. If the 2nd side couple lacks originality, the third is definitely the odd couple but not in a good way. The young 3FL is all gung-ho with the love at first sight trope but then she decided to be a martyr to his unrequited love of the FL. It was not helped by the 3ML being totally insensitive to her feelings until it is too late. Of course, this means their relationship bounces around with all kinds of exaggerated set pieces and tropey dating mishaps. Honestly, it is as if the show is overcompensating for the lack lustre central plot and double down on the side couples so that they can generate the heat and craziness that is MIA from the OTP for the first 2/3 of the show.
BTW, I don’t get to say this often, but this show is redeemed by the young child actor. He is so cute, and wise beyond his age. Time and again, he is voicing our thoughts/frustrations about the futile antics of his parents. For this, we give thanks. He does get in the way of their romantic pursuits once in a while but that’s a small price to pay.
As I mentioned before, the last few episodes are pure fan service and lead us directly to the HEA ending we have to have. The strong chemistry of our leads made this watchable. The show knows this and dials up the skinship and swoon-y moments. I can’t complain even if they are shoehorned in at every opportunity. While this is going on, the screen time of the child actor is greatly reduced. No siree, none of that mood killing third wheel, tyvm. This is a shame.
The show also tries to build up some tension with shenanigans from the antagonists. Unfortunately, most of this is quite transparent and are used to set up the eventual downfall of the antagonists rather than to threaten the leads.
I still ship our OTP unreservedly but this is also why I'm disappointed with the show. It has the right actors and it ticked all the boxes, but it also feels insipid and lazy. The extra fan service and sugar hits towards the end, while appreciated, is not a substitute for quality. Dare I call it a cynical exercise to milk the popular pairing of the leads and maximise return on investment? Peace out.
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How to date the mother of your son, again
Children can bring stress to some couples’ relationships, but they can also mend relationships. In this story, it is the child that brings a pair of estranged lovers back together again and rekindles their love for each other. The storyline is not new, but the acting of the whole cast, and the chemistry of the couple and child are amazingly wholesome and endearing. The love for a child can motivate any parents to seek courage and perseverance.Min Hui (Wang Yuwen) is a single mom with a child who has a congenital heart disease. She is also a talented artificial intelligence developer, leading a team in the development of software for use in hospitals for heart disease patients, a project that is very close to her heart. Her company is seeking finance to bring the product to market. As a foreign venture capitalist, Xin Qi (Wang Ziqi) returns to his hometown to seek for worthy ventures to invest in, and they meet.
Turns out, Min Hui and Xin Qi were lovers five years ago. They separated because Min Hui had lied to Xin Qi about her identity, and when she confessed, Xin Qi could not forgive her and left. After they meet again in present day, Xin Qi is still bitter with Min Hui. When he sees her with other men, he is even more bitter, thinking she is a slut. Somehow, he cannot let go of her because he is still in love with her, and she him. Like Min Hui’s son, Xin Qi also suffers from a congenital heart disease. When he finds out that he is her child’s biological father, he is elated, and moves into her apartment with an excuse of making up lost time with his son.
Their son, Min Quan Quan (Cui Yixin), is the most adorable child. Intelligent and cooperative, he has been longing for a father, and now that he has one, he loses no time in bringing the parents together; he is always there to defuse any rows between the adults.
Everyone has acted very convincingly here. The child actor Cui Yixin produces some amazing acting for a kid of such a young age. His Quan Quan character is so cute that viewers just fall in love with the child. I love how he interacts with his screen father Wang Ziqi as if they are real father and son. They hug each other like a sandwich in bed, doing everything just like real father and son do. I wish in real life, all fathers get to be so intimate with their sons.
Wang Ziqi’s Xin Qi is funny and very lovable. In the initial episodes, Xin Qi is bitter and cold, then later, he becomes relaxed, funny, playful and protective. Wang Ziqi’s portrayal is perfect. Likewise with Wang Yuwen’s portrayal of Min Hui – strong and levelheaded but can be vulnerable when her child’s wellbeing is being threatened. She is believable with good acting.
This drama produces 2 very sweet side couples and a pair of egregious antagonists. The backstory runs in the last few minutes of each episode, giving viewers the background story of Xin Qi’s and Min Hui’s relationship five years ago. The official soundtracks are beautiful and memorable.
My Verdict
This is a wholesome and sweet rom-com revolving around a very cute and delightful child, adding more love and fun to the story. A wonderful watch for the whole family. Don’t miss it. Recommended!
Bravo!
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LIGHT AND HEART-FLUTTERING
This is the best 2023 cdrama that I've watched so far. It is a light and refreshing drama so don't expect to have a crazy plot twist. The scenes were realistic so some might be annoyed by some actions of the characters. The character development of the leads were only subtle, after they co-parented Quanquan.It was refreshing to see a CEO ML that is not that domineering and FL that is strong yet not that bubbly. Most of the CEO dramas that I've watched always have this cold and domineering while the FL is bubbly.
Quanquan was so adorable! Probably he is the best child actor that I've seen. It makes me proud that this child is wise which reflected the good parenting Min Hui did.
The OSTs were top tier! I even added it on my Spotify playlist. The cinematography also gives us the refreshing vibe of the series. All characters did well on portraying their roles. Definitely, this is the best drama of Wang Ziqi and Wang Yuwen.
Overall, I love the writer for including lines/scenes that call out misogynistic acts of males. I also applaud the director for it didn't include unnecessary scenes/dramas just to make the series longer.
I can't find any loopholes/bad things in this series. This is worth to watch over and over again.
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Had to watch at x2 speed because of the script
This show was very hard to get through, even at x2 speed. The acting isn't bad and the cast did good in their roles, it's just the script that is so lacking. When it comes down to it, the show is basically just three guys simping after the girls the entire show, while the girls just keep them wrapped around their fingers with the help from the clearly biased writers. 95% of the show consists of some form of misunderstanding or unnecessary drama that causes the female characters to become upset with the male characters, only to have the male characters try and chase after them and win them over for the next 3 episodes, and then it just repeats. You get maybe a few minutes of brief happiness and cute moments in their relationships, only to have another misunderstanding and lack of communication happen that causes the girls to become upset again. If you can get past the 95% of conflict in every relationship in this show (especially the two leads), then I guess the remaining 5% is somewhat enjoyable. Unfortunately, the conflict and drama lasts up until the very last few episodes, so at that point you basically have to suffer through the FL being mad at the ML for the entire show.I think part of it is that the show is definitely catered more towards a specific audience that just enjoys seeing handsome guys chase after the girls in a show, and care less about a good script or balanced characters. Most of the male characters in this show are written so poorly, while others are just evil, corrupt, sexist, or harassers. The ML, Xin Qi, was especially done dirty by the writers. His character had barely any character outside of his heart condition and simping for the FL. Even his heart condition was put on the backburner in order to focus more on the "jealous" boyfriend moments and making him act like a child for the majority of the show in order to win over the FL. I swear I barely ever saw him actually working, he was just pursuing the FL the entire time, whether it was to get with her or to see his child. I can't even count how many times the writers pulled the "jealous" boyfriend card and had Xin Qi following the FL as she met up with countless guys that were only written in to create these jealous BF moments. And yet there is no 2FL or love rival to Min Hui (unless you count the childhood friend who died, but she's only in the show through flashbacks). I wish they had given Xin Qi more to his role besides pursuing Min Hui.
The side characters aren't much better either. Some of the conflicts were written so poorly that I cringed. Cao Mu wanting to break up with Jia Jun just because he was planning on proposing to her made very little sense. If she truly cared for him, why wouldn't she try talking it out first and working things out? Why immediately try breaking things off? At one point, Min Hui got so upset with Xin Qi because he "didn't trust her", even though he told her that he just wanted to find out the truth about what happened to his childhood friend. This happened literally in the same scene where he finally confessed to her and it looked like they were going to finally get together, all because of the cliche "plot-twist" connecting all the leads together (I'm trying not to spoil too much, so forgive the generalizations). Min Hui then proceeds to stay mad at Xin Qi for multiple episodes, all while Xin Qi spends the entire time trying to apologize and make it up to her, even though he's not entirely in the wrong either. If anything, Min Hui also didn't trust Xin Qi enough to tell him about his child or the events that happened in the past, and she also lied to him about pretending to be his dead childhood friend. She also treats him like dirt for the majority of the show, and the writers also seem to use Xin Qi as sort of a "punching bag" when it came to embarrassing himself, acting like a child, being constantly rejected but still pursuing, and always being in the wrong even when he wasn't.
To sum it all up, Xin Qi was too childish and there was no push and pull to the lead relationship because he was just simping the entire time, Min Hui was too angry the majority of the show and didn't let anyone explain themselves (only leading to further misunderstandings). There were so many moments when she would eavesdrop on others talking about her and would only hear the negative things said, and then walk away right when they start talking about the positive things about her, leading to yet another misunderstanding that isn't even resolved well. Cao Mu and Chen Jia Jun were admittingly cute together despite the age gap, and it was refreshing to see them together when there was so much conflict between the ML & FL, however Cao Mu did not treat Jia Jun very nicely at times, and Jia Jun was just another Xin Qi in that his whole world revolved around his love and nothing else mattered. The love triangle with Zhou Ru Ji was unnecessary and just made misunderstandings even more painful to watch, and his relationship with Zi Zhu was not very interesting or cute. Of course, the "evil" characters are obviously evil, so I don't need to talk about disliking them because they were meant to be disliked (just obvious sexists and harassers). I did really like the kid who played the son (Quan Quan). He was a good actor for his age and did well in his role, although he was that stereotypical kid role that you see in many of these dramas, where he's just way too smart for his age. I will say that the character Cindy was one of the only characters that I didn't really have a problem with. She was just fun and had a good personality.
Started off watching at normal speed, then bumped it up to 1.5x, and then found myself watching at x2 speed nearing the end because it was so repetitive. Maybe if you don't care for well thought out scripts or balanced characters, then you'll enjoy the show. Maybe if you just want to watch handsome guys simp after the girls for 28 episodes then you'll like it. I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks for reading to the end if you made it this far!
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Enjoyable Drama But It Does Have Its Frustrating Moments
When writing reviews, I like to write what I enjoy and what I had problems with. While the top reviews for this drama may be a 10, this wasn't as close to that score for me, as that would usually mean I would be able to watch it without fast forwarding certain scenes and/or not getting frustrated with characters, whether main or support. That both didn't happen.So what did I enjoyed about this drama?
* The little boy Quan Quan stole the show for me. His childhood smartness, clever remarks, and the glue that brings together his mom and dad were the reason this show ended up being enjoyable for me.
* FL's character was a strong character overall
* Great friendship of Min Hui & Cao Mu. Even Xin Qi began to have a better relationship with the other 2 guys (2ML & 3ML)
* Xin Qi's assistant Hardy is the true MVP. Love his personality.
* The jealously scenes from Xin Qi were funny to me. Love this actor's expression when it came to those scenes.
* The scenes Quan Quan had with everybody, whether it was family time, or with his uncles & aunts. All of these scenes were cute & enjoyable.
* A very happy ending
What was missing for me/What I didn't like:
* As I mentioned in the pros about this drama, I love watching Quan Quan, so the fact that all of the sudden he disappeared after our leads officially get back together (Ep 23) for a good 3 or 4 episodes were disappointing to me. He was the star of the show and the fact that the writers couldn't come up with anything, I wasn't a fan of that story writing.
* Too slow of a progression for our lead couple: This is a 1 step forward, 3 step back relationship. Just when things start to get better, something always happen, deterring that progression on resolving their relationship.
* In the beginning, both Min Hui and Xin Qi had come to terms to move on from the past hurt and forgiving each other, but what happens? Another 15 to 20 episodes of these 2 still stuck on their past hurts and not learning how to move on from it. One couldn't learn about the meaning of fully trusting someone while the other one didn't want to deal with it and run away from their problems by ignoring the other. This made this drama so draggy.
* I loved the 2nd & 3rd couple but the writing for them is not great. 2nd couple is more of a love at first sight but they had a small story that could've been dealt with about marriage in the future. The writers presented a problem for this couple but just brush it aside as it was nothing. 3rd couple was more of a she chase him first and then he chase her back. I just needed more scenes to see the building of their feelings for each other and that didn't really happen.
* The bad guy was mostly non-existent in this drama, that it was kind of annoying that all of the sudden he appeared in the last few episodes and being the one that had the upper hand. Even the take down of him was sort of anti-climatic.
Overall, despite all of its problems, I still like this drama. It may not be one I would consider as the best for 2023, but it'll still give you a good time should you decide to watch it.
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Adorable Kid and Family but not perfect
“The Love You Give Me” is an easy-to-watch light drama about family, second-chance romance (and other romances) with a small business plot. Wang Yu Wen and Wang Zi Qi teamed up together again after the success of “Once We Get Married” in 2021. It’s evident that they have a great working relationship and feel very at ease with each other. Their chemistry is good.What I Like:
Quan Quan - Adorable child actor, Cui Yin Xin, is the star of the show. Playing the role of Quan Quan (QQ), he is integral in reuniting his parents together. He is sooooo cute and smart. You never get bored of his scenes and at times, he acts more mature than his parents. I believe this little guy dubbed his own lines post-production (unless DramaWiki is wrong). I can’t believe he is one of the very few actors who uses his own voice, not even his parents did that! Quan Quan's adorableness rivals that of Xiao Bao in “Unforgettable Love”.
The Family - All the scenes of the family together are gold. QQ is such a sweet and caring boy and I love the interaction he has both individually with each of his parents, and also together as a family. I think the scene of QQ with Xin Qi (ML) together with their hair tied with little rubber bands is the cutest scene ever! What a lovely way to bond and introduce us to many more cute scenes of this father/son duo.
Main Chemistry - I enjoy the bickering of Min Hui (FL) and Xin Qi (ML) quite a bit in the first half of the drama. The chemistry between them is great. There’s quite a bit of natural skinship towards the end of the drama. Many kisses, hugs and hand/arm holding. The kisses are OK and for some reason, I thought they would be better. The drama actually gives us a lot of kisses in the last few episodes, and makes me feel like they are fanservice. I also enjoy the storytelling of their romance 5 years ago, via epilogues at the end of each episode. It’s a good way to use flashbacks yet not disrupting the flow of the present-day timeline.
Main leads acting - I enjoy Wang Yu Wen and Wang Zi Qi’s performance. I think working together for the second time and being familiar with each other helps. Though their characters are the usual rom-com role, they performed to my expectations. I am actually surprised they did a pretty good job with the emotional scenes, especially for Wang Zi Qi in the last episode.
What I have Mixed Feelings and Don’t Like:
2nd Romance - I initially found the Cao Mu/Chen Jia Jun romance kinda cute. I appreciate that the drama does not go into the whole older woman/younger man discussion and criticisms. However, there’s not a whole lot of substance to their story. In the beginning, it was adorable how they both tried to find ways to see each other more. Both were shy but wanted more. But once they got together, Chen Jia Jun became an accessory. He doesn’t do anything aside from following Cao Mu around. I got bored watching them. Moreover, how come Cao Mu changes her thoughts of wedding all of a sudden in the last episode?
3nd Romance - This one is even more head-scratching. I can’t see how Zhou Ru Ji, a highly respected cardiac surgeon would fall for a spoiled princess. How can his taste change so much from liking a mature, independent single mother for 4 years, to a clingy and stalkerish little girl? Zhou Ru Ji and Yao Zi Zhu’s scenes are cringey and definitely not cute and fluffy. I would have a little more respect for Zhou Ru Ji if she was portrayed as a serious ballerina and the drama develops her character more than a lovesick, stalkerish puppy.
Plot/Pacing - The pacing of the first half is really good. In a blink of an eye, I was halfway done. But then, it slows down with unnecessary side plots of the rehashing of the accident 4 years ago and the leads’ misunderstanding. The drama spent too much time in Xin Qi pursuing Min Hui again and trying to prove his love for her in a childish way. And then, the transition of Min Hui accepting Xin Qi again is abrupt after she puts up a big fight. Furthermore, the last few episodes are business heavy and I miss the scenes of the adorable QQ. I also miss the CEO character of Xin Qi in the second half. He showed up in the end, but for most of the second half, I don’t see the cool, somewhat mean and powerful CEO. As much as I enjoy his sweet scenes with his son, I hate to see a cool guy turn into a fluffy mess after he’s in love.
Dubbing - I am quite disappointed that for a 2023 modern C-drama, most of the actors are dubbed. *sigh*
Overall, I had a good time watching “The Love You Give Me”. I was craving for a romantic comedy and this satisfies my need + Quan Quan is too cute. Thus, I am giving this an 8.0 rating.
Completed: 10/2/2023 - Review #361
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