Right off the bat, I chose this drama for Yang Yang. Despite some of the nasty remarks and reviews I read; I think he did a very good job with this character. The hesitation to trust, holding himself back, his sincerity. I loved Song Yan more than any other character. Yes, the camera has a love affair with Yang Yang, but he is talented in his own right - and we are the recipients of his good looks and his talents.

The ensemble was great. There was such chemistry between the firefighters - there was such chemistry between the family members - even the dysfunctional ones. Xu Qin's parents and her brother gave compelling performances. I don't think there was one character who wasn't convincing, and I loved the side couples a lot too.

The story itself was ok - the writers and the director scored pretty much on their telling of the bravery and commitment of these first responders and gave them all very human sides. Even the bystanders and general public were both as heroic and sometimes as disgusting as people can be in real life. I think there could have been a tad less action and more interaction between the individuals to develop their connections - but I appreciated the moments of sentiment and emotion. The most touching part for me was Dapeng's parents reading his letter. There was not a dry eye in the house (or mine either) - the raw emotion of every firefighter in that room was real and raw.

Wang Chu Ran scored as Xu Qin. Her character, in my opinion, was the most flawed of all. She managed to bring all of that dysfunction and insecurity to life. Xu Qin was an indulged, insecure, protected woman who understandably was so impacted by her upbringing and her own personality. She finally managed to stand on her own two feet and appreciate the love she had in Song Yan. It sure took her long enough! Best scene for me? When Zhai Miao dropped the bomb on what Xu Qin's mother had done to ruin Song Yan's career efforts and reality bit. Hard!

Some reviews said there wasn't any chemistry between the ML & FL. I don't agree. Although Xu Qin's feelings for Song Yan were a little conditional at first, Song Yan's love for Xu Qin was always obvious in his touch, tenderness and the way he looked at her. As their relationship grew and Xu Qin began to realize the true wealth of his love, her own feelings blossomed. It was an understated but intense love portrayed so well by these two actors. (On a purely superficial note, I do hope they are a couple in real life).

I didn't need a wedding to wrap the ending up - but we didn't need a crisis either. It would have been more satisfying to spend the time to wrap up the side-couples' stories a little better.

Rewatch? I'd gladly sit through 40 episodes again for Yang Yang.