catherine
This review may contain spoilers
Made me cry like a baby
Damn. I really didn't expect to love this so damn much, because I've had a bad rap with Taiwanese dramas, but this was actually so close to perfect, and it made me SOB.
The friends-to-lovers trope is probably my favorite trope ever, and this show did a damn good job of portraying it. As cliche as the "don't want to ruin our friendship" excuse is, it was easy to see how big of a deal it was and why our main characters would choose to keep their mouths shut, even though Da-Ren acted so much like a second lead and broke my heart every single episode. This show is SO good at displaying the little subtleties in their relationship and emotions, especially through the flashbacks. There were definitely some extended flashbacks, but they were paralleled and done so well that I wanted to see more.
The beginning was honestly a little offputting, with the female lead running away from a gorilla looking creature meant to symbolize time. Thankfully this wasn't a long-lasting metaphor, and as the drama progressed, I started to really appreciate the cinematography a lot more, from the (day)dreams that the characters had (which broke my heart too) to the phone calls that brought them closer.
Something about the main female lead, You-Qing, is so damn relatable. She's the sort of everyday badass that stands up for herself, and doesn't need to resort to punches to do so. She can be a little arrogant at times, but that comes with the territory. And even though she's so straightforward and domineering in every aspect of her life, when it came to love, everything became so confusing and scary that she found herself away from it. SO. DAMN. RELATABLE. And when she finally grew from it at the end—it was so refreshing yet heartbreaking that I couldn't help but sob along with her.
That scene where she was apologizing to her parents and didn't want to embarrass them by calling off the wedding, but all they cared about was her happiness...honestly hit me hard, and it exemplified everything I loved about their family. The same could be said for Da-Ren's family, but something about the more subtle way it was shown in You-Qing's family was more effective.
Even though friendship wasn't a HUGE part of the story, I really really loved the high school gang, especially when they were at the bachelorette party and basically collectively knew that Da-Ren had been in love with You-Qing since high school. (Sidenote: Jasper Liu is hella fine)
I also can't remember the last time I cared so much about a side ship. Maybe because it was ALSO friends-to-lovers with one side unrequited, but Ping An and Ling Kai were adorable, and I honestly also love that they played out realistically and it wasn't a random happily ever after.
A few things that I didn't like as much:
1. Something about the time jump in the last episode where we saw You-Qing go traveling was very unsatisfying to me. I'm all about the FINALE where the characters finally reveal everything and are honest with each other, and I never really got to see that. I'm okay with the concept of You-Qing needing time to find herself through traveling, but...What did she say to Da-Ren? What was his reaction when he found out his unrequited love wasn't unrequited? These questions are going to kill me.
2. I kind of wish they didn't make Ding Li-Wei a cheating scumbag at the end. Even though it might be realistic, I liked the idea that he changed his ways and You-Qing had to repent completely for leading on a guy she didn't love. Making him cheat felt like an attempt at justifying You-Qing's actions by basically saying "hey, we both did bad things to each other."
3. A minor last thing: it's true that the drama dragged a little longer than I thought it would because You-Qing didn't speak up, and I hated that especially because I hated Ding Li-Wei that chauvinistic controlling pig with a burning passion, but at the same time—and I'm also saying this for everyone saying that she was horrible for leading him on, crying about being 30, and getting so far as getting engaged—it's easy to see how a thirty-year-old woman in Taiwan would be STRESSED out about still being single at that age, considering how women in their late twenties are already treated like garbage (ex: "leftover women" in China). Add the fact that Ding Li-Wei was an ex who she still had lingering feelings for and it's honestly harder to break up with someone than it sounds...what might've been an annoying character became heartbreakingly realistic and relatable for me.
LAST SIDENOTE: Why does Ding Li-Wei randomly burst into lines of English? Even though his English is good, it still makes me cringe.
The friends-to-lovers trope is probably my favorite trope ever, and this show did a damn good job of portraying it. As cliche as the "don't want to ruin our friendship" excuse is, it was easy to see how big of a deal it was and why our main characters would choose to keep their mouths shut, even though Da-Ren acted so much like a second lead and broke my heart every single episode. This show is SO good at displaying the little subtleties in their relationship and emotions, especially through the flashbacks. There were definitely some extended flashbacks, but they were paralleled and done so well that I wanted to see more.
The beginning was honestly a little offputting, with the female lead running away from a gorilla looking creature meant to symbolize time. Thankfully this wasn't a long-lasting metaphor, and as the drama progressed, I started to really appreciate the cinematography a lot more, from the (day)dreams that the characters had (which broke my heart too) to the phone calls that brought them closer.
Something about the main female lead, You-Qing, is so damn relatable. She's the sort of everyday badass that stands up for herself, and doesn't need to resort to punches to do so. She can be a little arrogant at times, but that comes with the territory. And even though she's so straightforward and domineering in every aspect of her life, when it came to love, everything became so confusing and scary that she found herself away from it. SO. DAMN. RELATABLE. And when she finally grew from it at the end—it was so refreshing yet heartbreaking that I couldn't help but sob along with her.
That scene where she was apologizing to her parents and didn't want to embarrass them by calling off the wedding, but all they cared about was her happiness...honestly hit me hard, and it exemplified everything I loved about their family. The same could be said for Da-Ren's family, but something about the more subtle way it was shown in You-Qing's family was more effective.
Even though friendship wasn't a HUGE part of the story, I really really loved the high school gang, especially when they were at the bachelorette party and basically collectively knew that Da-Ren had been in love with You-Qing since high school. (Sidenote: Jasper Liu is hella fine)
I also can't remember the last time I cared so much about a side ship. Maybe because it was ALSO friends-to-lovers with one side unrequited, but Ping An and Ling Kai were adorable, and I honestly also love that they played out realistically and it wasn't a random happily ever after.
A few things that I didn't like as much:
1. Something about the time jump in the last episode where we saw You-Qing go traveling was very unsatisfying to me. I'm all about the FINALE where the characters finally reveal everything and are honest with each other, and I never really got to see that. I'm okay with the concept of You-Qing needing time to find herself through traveling, but...What did she say to Da-Ren? What was his reaction when he found out his unrequited love wasn't unrequited? These questions are going to kill me.
2. I kind of wish they didn't make Ding Li-Wei a cheating scumbag at the end. Even though it might be realistic, I liked the idea that he changed his ways and You-Qing had to repent completely for leading on a guy she didn't love. Making him cheat felt like an attempt at justifying You-Qing's actions by basically saying "hey, we both did bad things to each other."
3. A minor last thing: it's true that the drama dragged a little longer than I thought it would because You-Qing didn't speak up, and I hated that especially because I hated Ding Li-Wei that chauvinistic controlling pig with a burning passion, but at the same time—and I'm also saying this for everyone saying that she was horrible for leading him on, crying about being 30, and getting so far as getting engaged—it's easy to see how a thirty-year-old woman in Taiwan would be STRESSED out about still being single at that age, considering how women in their late twenties are already treated like garbage (ex: "leftover women" in China). Add the fact that Ding Li-Wei was an ex who she still had lingering feelings for and it's honestly harder to break up with someone than it sounds...what might've been an annoying character became heartbreakingly realistic and relatable for me.
LAST SIDENOTE: Why does Ding Li-Wei randomly burst into lines of English? Even though his English is good, it still makes me cringe.
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