Callie
Let’s hear it for the immortal foxes in collaboration. Both leads have played rulers of the immortal fox tribe in different productions. Coincidence? I think…. Well, ok, probably.
What it has going for it:
1. Dilraba. Gone are the vapid expressions and cheese (Sweet Dreams) or dull, lifeless characterizations (Flame’s Daughter). She has blossomed into the epitome of elegance and grace in this. Well done, lady, I knew you had it in you.
2. The funny moments. For instance, the SFL calling the SML a misogynist. Let’s be honest, how many times have we wanted to hear a girl just say it???? (As an aside, there is only a token love triangle in this, so tbh I consider the SFL/ SML to be the MFL’s bff and her boyfriend. They really didn’t need a love triangle at all, but if they can interject a cliche, well goddammit you just know they’re going to.) Johnny’s woebegone expression when he’s ostracized during dinner. There are a few, those are just my two favorites.
3. It’s just ….watchable. So far there’s only one cringy “I can’t look at the tv right now” moment so far. Which brings me to...
What it does not have going for it:
4. The choices.
From the ringtone that absolutely everyone has on their phones (what the actual eff?), which gets monotonous to the point of wanting to throw all their cells to the ground and destroy them in a stomping fit of agonized rage.
To my cringe moment: the first kiss. Which had me run the gamut from being avidly interested in seeing how this romance would hit its flashpoint, to desperately wanting a literary, cinematographic and directorial do-over. It was so. Very. Horrifying.
5. Now I realize I have to take culture into account. After 50+ Asian dramas, that’s just a given. And really, Asia seems only 50 or so years behind in the women's equality movement, which just goes a a snail's pace anywhere. However. It seems glaringly obvious in this particular show that Chinese women are being actively encouraged to think of little more than clothing, jewelry, kids and their love lives. For instance, reading between the not so subtle lines, it seems it’s ok for a woman to be rich, but only if it's left to you by your parents... and you’re not particularly good at business anyway. It’s better for you to be more concerned with getting a worthy boyfriend, or taking care of the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a confident, alpha male kind of man. But I want to see one that can handle having an equally capable woman at his side without demeaning her. I will say that I noticed the writing seemed to change periodically. It’s as if it was written in a committee, and there was one lone frustrated woman determinedly trying to write a semblance of independent feminine spirit into the otherwise male-dominated script. It comes, and then it goes.
Otherwise, this is a fun, cheerful and easy to watch show as long as you don’t get sucked into the subliminal messages, or are having fun analytically observing them.
Edit: Taking this down a star for the increasingly obnoxious and excessive product placement. It starts to become one long advertisement after a while :(
What it has going for it:
1. Dilraba. Gone are the vapid expressions and cheese (Sweet Dreams) or dull, lifeless characterizations (Flame’s Daughter). She has blossomed into the epitome of elegance and grace in this. Well done, lady, I knew you had it in you.
2. The funny moments. For instance, the SFL calling the SML a misogynist. Let’s be honest, how many times have we wanted to hear a girl just say it???? (As an aside, there is only a token love triangle in this, so tbh I consider the SFL/ SML to be the MFL’s bff and her boyfriend. They really didn’t need a love triangle at all, but if they can interject a cliche, well goddammit you just know they’re going to.) Johnny’s woebegone expression when he’s ostracized during dinner. There are a few, those are just my two favorites.
3. It’s just ….watchable. So far there’s only one cringy “I can’t look at the tv right now” moment so far. Which brings me to...
What it does not have going for it:
4. The choices.
From the ringtone that absolutely everyone has on their phones (what the actual eff?), which gets monotonous to the point of wanting to throw all their cells to the ground and destroy them in a stomping fit of agonized rage.
To my cringe moment: the first kiss. Which had me run the gamut from being avidly interested in seeing how this romance would hit its flashpoint, to desperately wanting a literary, cinematographic and directorial do-over. It was so. Very. Horrifying.
5. Now I realize I have to take culture into account. After 50+ Asian dramas, that’s just a given. And really, Asia seems only 50 or so years behind in the women's equality movement, which just goes a a snail's pace anywhere. However. It seems glaringly obvious in this particular show that Chinese women are being actively encouraged to think of little more than clothing, jewelry, kids and their love lives. For instance, reading between the not so subtle lines, it seems it’s ok for a woman to be rich, but only if it's left to you by your parents... and you’re not particularly good at business anyway. It’s better for you to be more concerned with getting a worthy boyfriend, or taking care of the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a confident, alpha male kind of man. But I want to see one that can handle having an equally capable woman at his side without demeaning her. I will say that I noticed the writing seemed to change periodically. It’s as if it was written in a committee, and there was one lone frustrated woman determinedly trying to write a semblance of independent feminine spirit into the otherwise male-dominated script. It comes, and then it goes.
Otherwise, this is a fun, cheerful and easy to watch show as long as you don’t get sucked into the subliminal messages, or are having fun analytically observing them.
Edit: Taking this down a star for the increasingly obnoxious and excessive product placement. It starts to become one long advertisement after a while :(
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