This review may contain spoilers
A short healing episode...
MDL put a page for the special episode here... so I watched that nearly a month ago... What I noticed, it was a rushed production, because they had a lot of Sasaengs following them and they nearly did not film this at all. This is a nice healing episode which heals both of them.It seems they had problems getting a free location, so they had tourists looking at them while filming, but I'm happy enough, that they at least finished this short episode. So at least it feels more real with people gawking at them, because oh my god, two men are kissing on the beach! 🤣
This is a nice finale, so if you have watched the series, you should not skip it.
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What a waste of potential
You cannot tell me that a professional production company was not able to find a small piece of private beach somewhere to get the scenes filmed. Even in Pattaya or Phuket there are places you can film without having white old Russian tourists in speedos walk through the frame or gawk at them.(On the other hand… with two God-like pale Asian males making out on a beach chair in the middle of day, they might have thought they’re shooting porn for all that they saw!)
And if so, then go have the set up at 5 am when noone can disturb or arrange a barricade of some sort. In one scene you can literally see one staff still with a script in her hand, run towards some tourists who were just minding their business walking along the beach, and frantically wave them into a different direction.
Such a waste of YunQi and HaoYirans talent, time and effort! They deserved so much more than a last minute sloppy homevideo production.
(If you tell me that this was not an actual Special Episode, but rather a video focusing on the sunscreen sponsor, I‘ll just sigh and take this back 😔)
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A Much-Needed Epilogue
I'm used to special episodes being completely plotless or just outright nonsensical, so I was very curious what a high-level production like To My Shore might end up coming up with. I was (mostly) pleasantly surprised!I'll start with the drawbacks: the kisses feel very restrained after what we've seen in the main series, and it's a bit awkward to see regular tourists gawking in every single scene. It's especially jarring at the very end, when Fan Xiao and You Shulang share such an important moment.
At the same time, these drawbacks can be actually explained by the plot, so I'm not as annoyed as I might have been otherwise. You Shulang is canonically restrained when it comes to public displays of affection, and if I saw two beautiful men making out on the beach, my eyes would probably linger, too.
Now, to the strong side, which is basically everything else. This special episode actually has vital bits of character development. They closed the chapter with Lu Zhen in a way I felt missing in the series, and they revisited Fan Xiao's trauma and gave him a way to take another healing step forward.
The way You Shulang reframed Fan Xiao's view of his trauma is incredibly beautiful. I was so moved I went speechless. My loved one has also become a part of the sea, and I used to feel like they embody it now. You Shulang put my half-baked thoughts into such clear concepts that I felt myself healing along with Fan Xiao. I could re-watch this moment endlessly.
Their final pre-wedding internal conversations with their Moms... Such a powerful, beautiful moment. A perfect epilogue that erased the "bitter" from the "bittersweet" I felt after E15.
And the overall character development was fantastic. We can see that Fan Xiao is still intensely jealous and insecure; we can see You Shulang being tolerant toward it and allowing him to act out, but only to a certain extent. He puts a stop to it when he feels it's too much, and Fan Xiao listens to him. It's a realistic reflection of the people they became after the end of the main series. I admit I laughed that Fan Xiao had to be reminded to be good twice within the first 10 minutes of the episode :D That psycho.
To My Shore is the very best dark romance I've ever watched, and this special episode is a blessing. I do wish it was longer. Now, we have 3 mini-episodes coming out on the 11th, 14th, and 17th; looking forward to them!
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