Clement CJ Lim
This review may contain spoilers
Disgusting 3rd party and draggy ending
The last 10 episodes destroyed the show for me. What I hate most are 3rd parties who use underhanded methods to get what she wants. Fighting for love in the open or creating challenges for the leads - are acceptable to me and can actually be interesting to watch. But when underhanded means are used to deceive the leads and they don't even find out, thus creating a severe fracture in the relationship due to a fundamental misunderstanding (which cannot be resolved) - that is just pure disgusting and painful to watch.In this case, a prenuptial agreement (for the benefit of the FL) was swapped by the pure evil and disgusting 3rd party, Anna with a divorce agreement - causing the FL to misunderstand the ML and break up with him, and separation for 3 whole years. During this time, Anna tried to get together with the ML, but it is so clear that the ML never loved her, yet she never felt any sense of guilt.
I only felt anger and disgust when in the 2nd/3rd last episode, the ML got together with Anna and the FL got together with Anna's brother. This kind of relationship is very disgusting because there is no love and happiness involved; and it only came about due to the thick-skinned Anna, without any conscience or sense of shame.
It was only in the last 30minutes of the last episode that Anna's brother realised what happened and told the truth to the ML. This ending to me is very rushed and unsatisfactory. I was looking forward to some good moments of the FL and ML together - and this is robbed away from me.
What makes it even worse is that this problem can actually be resolved with some proper communication. The FL's best friend is aware of the prenuptial agreement. She tried to explain but the FL cut her off. Or the ML and FL could properly talk it over - there was even a scene 3 years later where the ML tried to explain, but it is clear the FL wasn't listening properly and had no intention of trying to understand what was going on. Totally childish of the FL. Dragged on a conflict for 10 episodes that can be easily resolved in 2-3 episodes. 10 episodes of such push and pull is too draggy.
Terrible and disgusting ending.
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This review may contain spoilers
Didn't really like Zhang Yu Jian character in this show. He was too immature and like a child. Yes, there was a gradual improvement in character, but it was very very little. Even till the very end, I did not see a big improvement. That decision to disappear for 2 years at the end without a word to You You was just plain immature. I admit that the decision to leave the entertainment scene and let the online vitriol calm down was acceptable, but that does not mean you leave the girl you like in the lurch, without any word whatsoever. Love is about facing the ups and downs of life together （有难同当）. The mature thing to do is the talk to You You and discuss with her what he intends to do and see how they can overcome the adversity together.
I much prefer the character Zhang Yu Jian played in LCDF (Yan Mo), where he is much more mature and responsible. Seeing this 360deg change in the character he plays here makes me irritated.
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He Yu pretended to be in a relationship with Xing Yun so that Xia Ke will allow Xing Yun to leave - that I can still grudgingly accept. But what I cannot accept is when despite seeing the state of the company and how Xia Ke is hurting (even Xing Yun wasn't happy at all), he still opted to hide the truth from Xia Ke and Xing Yun. He was perfectly happy to watch at the sidelines and let his best friend fall into darkness and his best friend's company fail, all so that he is able to get a girl he likes (but who obviously isn't happy being with him at all). If I have a friend like He Yu, I would have broken up the friendship in a heartbeat. This is pure betrayal and selfishness. This is the prime example of the kind of friend we MUST NEVER EVER keep. I wonder why Xia Ke still kept him as a good friend after this whole debacle. Totally unbelievable
Was irked by Yao Qing's actions at the beginning, but she redeemed herself by deciding to tell the truth to Xing Yun (and ask her to look at the company's application). Yao Qing's intervention allowed Xing Yun to understand what is going on - and as a result, saved Xia Ke and his company. At least, she still has some shred of human decency left - and is still a good friend, who is able to put the friend at the forefront. Furthermore, she did this despite the opposition of He Yu who was too selfish all the time.
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This review may contain spoilers
Initially interesting, but got draggy and angsty nearing the end
The show started on a good note. It was funny, light-hearted and the bickering between the characters is amusing. However, it started to go downhill at the last 10+ episodes of the show. It started becoming draggy.It is quite annoying how (as rightly stated by Gu Yao) there is no change/improvement in Cheng Hao's character even after 7 years since graduation. Cheng Hao is still the timid guy on the inside, trying to avoid conflict at all cost, and even avoiding the problem. I disagree with his decision to offer $5mil in compensation to the "victim" so as to avoid conflict. Offering compensation is acceptable and the right thing to do, but there is a difference between reasonable compensation and extortion. Paying some money for "pain and suffering" is ok, but $5mil for that "suffering" is way too much. The fact that Cheng Hao even decided to sell his house for that just annoyed me. This shows me that Cheng Hao has no guts/spineless and is unable to fight for his own rights and benefits. Caring for others is good, but it should not be at the expense of himself.
Another thing that annoyed me is his inability to open up. He always take on his own problems himself and keep everything to himself. It is understandable if he is alone, but the fact is that he is not alone. He has Luo Yue and Zhang Mingyang who are always by his side. Being open and frank is a key tenet of a relationship (both between friends and lovers). Cheng Hao's decision to always lie and avoid the question is therefore very annoying.
Cheng Hao's lack of guts to just confess and make the relationship official is very irritating. He should have learnt his lesson from 7 years ago, but he has not. He still dare not have the guts to do so. This makes it very irritating, esp since he is supposed to be the "relationship expert". He should know that Luo Yue likes him (it is quite obvious tbh), and he should just make things official. Yet, things were kept murky and complicated - more than friends, yet not lovers... This happened throughout the show until the very end.
I felt that the main story arch between Cheng Hao and Luo Yue was not resolved satisfactorily. Yes, Cheng Hao eventually went to Milan and they hugged. But Luo Yue is there on a long-term basis, while Cheng Hao is on a visitor pass (because he is still boss of his clinic in China). So what are they? Are they together or just friends? If they are together, how are they going to manage a long distance relationship?
On a separate note, what I disliked the most is that the story arch between Qiao Yilin and Zhou Beiye is not properly developed. I find Zou Beiye the most endearing character - earnest and honest. But he is not properly developed. Qiao Yilin and Zou Beiye are very different in character, appearance, background and career choice. How they get together will be very interesting to explore. But this is totally not touched on at all. We never see a proper date between the two of them, or how they interact with each other on a daily basis. Hence, in the last 5min, when we saw Qiao Yilin pregnant - I was surprised - as we never see how they got together eventually.
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Feel that the wife is really quite an ideal gf/wife - being so forgiving despite the busy schedule of the guy (that he often even neglect to text her at the beginning of the relationship/ or that he is rarely at home, leaving her to single-handedly take care of the young kid after marriage). Hence, I am quite glad that by the end of the show, the guy has learnt to balance work and family - and to put the wife as his priority.
The wife also suffered a lot - giving up her wealth and comfortable lifestyle, to suffer with the guy and to tough out the few years of financial hardship together.
Feel that Zheng Shuang had played her part especially well.
The close familial relationship between the family members (Cang Gong & Qiao Qiao & Li Ning Feng & Parents); and "extended" family (the "brothers" Han Cong and Xiao Shan) - is really admirable and makes me jealous.
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This review may contain spoilers
Great fast-moving plot with memorable characters
Storyline is not draggy with every mini conflict resolved in 2-3 episodes. Many funny moments which provides for comedic relief and a light-hearted drama. While the main couple had arguments and even ignored each other once, they never really broke up. This makes the story more realistic, as the show does not easily wield the "break-up" card for the sake of drama - which in real life is something of last resort.Couple had great chemistry. Lots of skin contact as well. They look lovely together.
Character development for most characters are quite realistic. For example, Li Zhe's motivation is multi-faceted, which provides some complexity, while also making his character very interesting. On one hand, he is driven by the desire for revenge/ hatred towards Zhiyou's father; while on the other, he still deeply cares for Zhiyou - considering him a good friend.
My favourite character is undoubtedly the little sister. I wished that there were more scenes involving her. She is so adorable, sharp, smart and mature. It is amusing how the person giving the most thoughtful relationship advice is actually a primary school aged girl. While she might seem disrespectful at times, we can see that she is driven by a strong moral compass - and is able to stand up for herself and those around her. Hence, it was memorable seeing how she dealt with Yiren's aunt.
The worst characters are probably Yiren's cousin and aunt - they had no development at all. Always the evil persons who never learnt. It was left unclear what happened to them in the end, but it was alluded to in the 2nd last episode that the uncle divorced the aunt. If so, then at least they had their just deserts.
One last point - i would prefer if they showed more development for Gu Bo and his relationship with Xia Di. Gu Bo has shown to have grown to be more mature towards the end - but I thought he could be more so. That 2nd relationship could be better developed. It started as a elder sister protecting younger brother kind of relationship. Towards the end, this dynamic is only slightly improved. It would be better if there is more development - and we can see this relationship become more equal in nature nearing the end.
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However, my biggest gripe with this drama is with the ending. Even though the final episode is close to 2hours long, and the main story arc, of finding the true killer - is resolved, there are many other unresolved points (even though minor). For example, it is unclear how Mo Seok-Hee managed to maintain control of MC Group after everyone went to prison. After all, based on inheritance, her own shares are only slightly above 20% - and the total shares of her other family members would total to much more than 20%. After they are released from prison, Seok-Hee's position in MC Group is precarious. The other members could team-up and go against her with their combined shares.
It is also unclear if the "father" (Mo Chul-Hee) woke up from his coma. If so, did the "father" finally accept Seok-Hee into the family? Or does he still treat her with contempt. It is also unclear what the "father" would do with his own shares in MC Group.
What happened after 2 years when the stepmother and half-brother are released from prison? After all, before being arrested, the stepmother swore that she would never forgive Seok-Hee and that she would not be defeated so easily. Do they take revenge against Seok-Hee? Also, do they still stay in the family mansion? What is the relationship like between Seok-Hee and the stepmother and half-brother?
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This review may contain spoilers
Fast moving drama with good chemistry
Like the chemistry between the couple - very sweet together. Good that the drama is fast-moving with little draggy scenes. So conflicts and misunderstandings do not drag long and are resolved either within the same episode or at the longest the next episode.What I didn't really like was the fact that the FL and ML did not really change in her character. Both did not improve their communication skills or anger management. Many conflicts arise because one party just jumped into conclusion based on whatever that he has heard (which is often not the complete story or just a snippet of the full convo) - without bothering to find out more. At the beginning, I could understand because of the fundamental mistrust the girl has of the guy. But it was disappointing that nearing the end, the trust level was only slightly better. The guy has so little faith that the girl likes him and was overly jealous. But I could understand this slightly given the fundamental mistrust the girl had in him for so long - and his insecurity due to his childhood trauma.
This is aggravated by them saying thinks they do not mean in anger...
But I think the FL is more at fault in this case. She is never very communicative of her thoughts. She is not understanding of the guy, who has seriously done too much for her. She knows of the fundamental mistrust the ML has with the guy chasing the FL and she done nothing to try to understand why or to even accommodate the guy. I think a relationship is about give and take, except in this case it is the ML doing all the giving and the FL all the taking - and in the process of her taking, she did not even consider the feelings and insecurities for the ML and refuses to compromise for him on some matters.
But nonetheless like the show because of the sweet scenes, and good chemistry and that conflicts are resolved quickly.
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This review may contain spoilers
Low angst show with nice cooking scenes but with minor loose ends
Plot has low angst, with misunderstandings resolved relatively quickly within 1-2 episodes - so not unnecessarily draggy. Good that the female characters are all strong in their own way- there is no damsel in distress. All the female characters can stand on their own. Some of them are quite smart and able to resolve their own problems themselves, which is good.3 small unresolved plots though.
1. Show spent some time exploring Yun'er crush on the "failed" scholar turned accounts guy in the restaurant; and Da-sheng's crush on Yun'er. However, there was no resolution as to who eventually Yun'er prefer. So we ended with an open love triangle. - But at least they are all minor characters so this gap didn't bother me that much.
Also, the "solution" with Yun'er's father isn't convincing. Yes, the father agreed to not sell Yun'er but it was an interim solution. There was no fundamental solution to change her father's irresponsible and abusive behavior.
2. At the end, Manager Song was humiliated at the cooking competition but there was no repercussion for her repeated underhanded actions. Hence, she could continue these actions again.
Also, the guy Manager of the other restaurant who also targeted Hua's Restaurant did not get his just deserts.
With these 2 wrongdoers not punished, Hua Restaurant will continually face such underhanded threats.
3. What happen to Chef Wang's hand? Can he still cook?
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