W Series: The Way You Shine Episode 1

The beginning of a roller coaster.

When you read the synopsis, you know what you sign up for. There's no such thing as a series with a rich man poor woman trope without the existence of overbearing in-laws, annoying side characters, and nasty thugs collecting massive debts. I watched the first episode with low expectations, and it ticked all the boxes that come with the trope. We’re introduced to our main character, Zhou Xinxing. She’s the daughter of Mr Zhou, a merchant who faced and hid financial difficulties from his family. Xinxing and Mr Zhou had a healthy father-daughter relationship, and she’s the apple of her father’s eye. On the second day of her honeymoon, she had to say goodbye to her father after he was found drowning in the ocean. He lost his life and left a mountain of debts worth millions to his wife and newly wedded Xingxing. She married a conniving coward, Huang Weiting, a dermatologist that once was a caring man, but his lack of stance turned him into a douchebag. Oh well, he was already an asshole before he found out about the Zhou family’s financial situation. He’s a disgusting man who has to face jail time for recording their sexual intercourse on their first night in Bali without Xingxing’s consent. Put that aside, I have a reason to believe that Weiting cared about Xingxing despite his repulsive behaviour and pusillanimity. He protected her from the loan sharks, initially defended Mr Zhou when his death was disrespected by his mother’s abhorrent remarks, and he stood by her side. Was he merely fulfilling his duty as her husband? Perhaps yes, perhaps no. That’s totally up to your interpretation, and in my case, I saw the act of caring when Weiting risked getting beaten by the thugs. Care, not love, because what loving husband will record his first night with his wife without her consent? Honestly, what he did was the bare minimum. I might change my mind as more episodes will further unravel his character and true colours. The turning point of Weiting’s doubtful love for Xingxing happened when he met his parents after getting beaten up by the thugs. His mother is the epitome of an irritating, demanding in-law that is present in every melodrama ever. She bears no sympathy and condolences for the Zhou family and accused Xinxing of tricking her son into a marriage. Weiting became a total git after his mother planted her delusional idea against Xinxing and her family in his head. I don’t want to blame Ms Du (Weiting’s mother), because Weiting is a grown-ass man. He can make decisions of his own and for himself. That’s what he did initially when the thugs came to threaten and hurt Xingxing, but not anymore, because he has always been a coward. He’s just like his timid father, Mr Huang. This father and son duo have no backbone whatsoever. Xingxing deserves better, and I need her to find out about the video he took on their first night ASAP. Ms Du’s hatred towards Xingxing made it easier for Xingxing to get out of an upcoming toxic marriage, and I’m happy about that. They will likely get divorced in the next episode. Our main characters briefly met when Xinxing went to the hospital to visit her father who was in a critical state. How did it happen? The typical misunderstanding that happens in a romance drama, where the character accidentally made their future lover mad for something they didn’t mean to do. In this scenario, Xinxing accidentally ripped Male Lead’s plush keychain from his bag. His name is Xia Tianyu, and he’s the rich guy in this series who apparently ‘seems cold and uncaring’. Quote-unquote because he’s everything except seeming cold and uncaring. Not even the way he acted when Xinxing took his Taxi or when he scolded her for taking and ruining his plush keychain. At least in this episode. Maybe he’ll start acting to appear like he’s cold and uncaring in the next episode. I don’t know which country he studied in, but he went back to Taiwan after graduating and spending some time in Japan. He had a flashback from when Xinxing and her mother cried in misery over Mr Zhou’s death, to the day when he experienced the same event; the death of his father when he was barely a teenager. Nobody knows the real reason behind Tianyu’s father’s death because Tianyu, the other passenger in the car, couldn’t recollect any memories about it. But I tell you what, he's definitely lying. If you watch the scene where Grandpa Xie (Xie Tianyu’s grandfather) asked little Tianyu what happened in the car, Tianyu was looking at the woman behind Grandpa Xie. That woman is likely to be Tianyu’s mother, Ms Shen, who he doesn’t have a good Mother-Son relationship with. I wouldn't call their relationship bad though. It’s too early to say whether Tianyu has a bad relationship with his mother, but the awkwardness lingering on the air is evident that they have something to be mended. For sure, they have trouble communicating and understanding each other. I don’t have a lot of expectations or hope for this series, except for Xinxing and Tianyu finding happiness. I’m a sucker for end-game, but I don’t mind if they are happy on their own and not as a couple because they’ve been hurt and they deserve to be happy. For now, I will continue watching this series with the idea that Mr Zhou has been murdered by somebody or a certain group of people, and his murderer is trying so hard to make his death looks like suicide for a reason. A reason that risks the revelation of something sinister, maybe? I can’t wait to watch the second episode.

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