rosea.
A Pure, True Romance in it's finest form.
Hidden Love is a Romance that actually seems to know it's a Romance. This is much rarer than you may think, and one only needs to look at it's contemporaries to understand why. Where Hidden Love excels is in it's simplicity: from the beginning of the story it's obvious that the couple will face a challenge with respect to their age gap and we also know that to some extent the ML has ghosts of the past that haunt his present. The Drama does not seek to extensively shock us in any capacity - there are twists but they are all largely foreshadowed and never feel entirely unexpected, however the predictability is also not cliche or grotesque, the hints slowly merge together to create a final, synergistic image that will surely leave even the most casual romance-enjoyers or c-drama watchers with butterflies.
This Drama has murder, mystery and social commentary, but it recognises that these are simply elements of the larger, romantic storyline. It never wades too far away from the love story, nor does it have to. It's fine that the plot is focused around the relationship of the two central characters because it never feels like their actions only affect themselves; other dramas consistently fail in this regard, either dedicating too much time to the main couple and leaving the side characters to the wayside or prioritising the plot and overall story while not focusing enough on the romance. Hidden Love merges the two together. Each decision Sang Zhi makes very obviously has consequences for people other than herself, and Jiaxu's relationship with her is the same. Because we care about the supporting cast we are able to understand what implications the relationship of the main couple will have on them, and so their own stories seamlessly merge with those of the male and female lead without ever distracting from the story being a Romance. The plot and the genre work in harmony rather than against each other, and it is beautifully done.
TLDR - Poesy aside this is a wonderful drama, and if you'd like 25 episodes of heart racing romance, then look no further.
This Drama has murder, mystery and social commentary, but it recognises that these are simply elements of the larger, romantic storyline. It never wades too far away from the love story, nor does it have to. It's fine that the plot is focused around the relationship of the two central characters because it never feels like their actions only affect themselves; other dramas consistently fail in this regard, either dedicating too much time to the main couple and leaving the side characters to the wayside or prioritising the plot and overall story while not focusing enough on the romance. Hidden Love merges the two together. Each decision Sang Zhi makes very obviously has consequences for people other than herself, and Jiaxu's relationship with her is the same. Because we care about the supporting cast we are able to understand what implications the relationship of the main couple will have on them, and so their own stories seamlessly merge with those of the male and female lead without ever distracting from the story being a Romance. The plot and the genre work in harmony rather than against each other, and it is beautifully done.
TLDR - Poesy aside this is a wonderful drama, and if you'd like 25 episodes of heart racing romance, then look no further.
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