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lotsoftimewasted

lotsoftimewasted

Plus & Minus taiwanese drama review
Completed
Plus & Minus
4 people found this review helpful
by lotsoftimewasted
Jun 24, 2022
12 of 12 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 7.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

Not perfect, but worth while


I watched this show weekly as it was coming out. While at first I wasn't that invested, I got really attached to the characters and was looking forward to watching them on screen.

!! very minor spoilers up ahead !!

The story is your typical friends to lovers. Fu Li Gong has been friends with Zheng Ze Shou since kindergarten. We don't really see much of how their relationship was like back then, excepts for a high school flashback. We get introduced to them when they are already adults, working alongside each other in a law firm. I applaud the show for making this about two adults. We have seen the high school and college romance, and them being working adults is something I haven't seen that often. But that also takes me to my biggest critique of the show.

The show establishes the comfortableness (I would argue Bro-ness) of Zheng Ze Shou wayyy too well. His change in behaviour towards Fu li Gong seemed abrupt and made it hard for me to believe their love. I personally am a sucker for a good slow burn. So I would have loved to see Zheng Ze Shou realize his feelings in a more subtle way. I mean, if he loved Fu Li Gong this much, why hasn't he realized it a little sooner? They went through High School and College together and even work together. That's 20+ yrs of knowing each other and 20+ yrs of Fu Li Gongs unrequited love. Why was Zheng Ze Shou trying to hit on girls with no regard to Fu Li Gong in the first episode and then suddenly is head over heels for him a few days later? I feel like the whole "Oh shi... do I LIKE like him?" part wasn't explored enough. Of course, this is a 12 episode show with each episode being around 20 mins. I can't expect the same depth and character development I am used to by bigger budget productions. I believe that if they would have spent less time on the second couple, they could've explored the main couples relationship a lot better.

After I got over that though, the couple had good chemistry, which is why I enjoyed the second half of this show a lot more than the first. The conflicts felt realistic, though a bit rushed. The love scenes are very well made, as expected of Taiwanese BLs. You'll get to see some good kisses, but not overdone.

I'll mention the second couple only briefly. They didn't do it for me. I felt no chemistry between them. The laundromats daughter was cute though and I wish them only happiness: But in my opinion, they didn't need their own storyline at the expense of the main couple. Their relationship contributed nothing to the main storyline and made it hard to follow along. It is
Zheng Qi Lei's first acting role though, so I don't want to bash him too much.

I have to say, despite the flaws, I really enjoyed the show. It's light and the characters are super likeable. The conflicts are resolved quickly and in the end, you are really rooting for their happiness. It's a quick watch, now that it's complete and definitely worth the while.
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