Editorials 
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LOST YOU FOREVER - ten stars
GOBSMACKED
I totally loved this drama. I won’t mention the beautiful cinematography and sets, the clever dialogue and mournful musical score–those have all been remarked on by others.
I’ll just say that in terms of sheer fun, entertainment, and originality this drama can’t be beat. It’s funny and poignant--filled with amazing encounters between the various characters and surprises when viewers least expect them.
I’m not blind to its faults. For example, when someone dies viewers have to ask–Is she seriously dead or is there a do over coming? And when someone’s been in a coma for 37 years, could they really get right up and walk around as if nothing had happened?
The sentimentality is over the top. While often excellent, the dialog is sometimes pure twaddle–and if not for the screechy violins repeating a haunting theme in the background, sooner or later you’ll be forced to face the sad trombone of reality, or the cold, hard cement of your daily life.
But this is, above all, a fantasy–and viewers can go with it or not as they choose.
I chose to go with it.
********************
All of the male suitors first meet the main character when he’s an energetic, kind, mischievous dude with a huge appetite and lousy table manners. Is he really a male? A female? It’s not clear and it doesn’t seem to matter–not to the other characters and not to the viewers--because Zi Yang is one of the few actors who can play an androgynous role like this and make it both appealing and convincing.
I’ve complained previously about the ho hum dates that couples go on–bicycling along the beach, watching a firework display, riding a ferris wheel, yada, yada.
But you never know what’s going to happen in this series. A menacing kidnapper swoops down on the back of a flying eagle. He and his victim end up floating under the ocean admiring the jellyfish, the sea anemones, and the mer-people. A certain suitor, trying to impress the object of his affection, juggles fireballs which suddenly explode in a cascade of sparks. Before the sparks dissipate, the lead (now a female) leans in and kisses someone she really cares for.
And then there are the details and subtexts that really sell the story. Whether it’s Chubby, the animated bird, stamping his foot in impatience–letting the main character know it’s time to GET GOING, or Xiang Liu trying to look scary but whose face melts for a second into a micro-expression of adoration when he gazes at the FL, or all the suitors overwhelmed with emotion when they first see Qing Shui transformed – the skillful acting and other elements combine to give viewers a multi-layered experience that’s truly gobsmacking.
Consider my gob officially smacked.
LOST YOU FOREVER - ten stars
GOBSMACKED
I totally loved this drama. I won’t mention the beautiful cinematography and sets, the clever dialogue and mournful musical score–those have all been remarked on by others.
I’ll just say that in terms of sheer fun, entertainment, and originality this drama can’t be beat. It’s funny and poignant--filled with amazing encounters between the various characters and surprises when viewers least expect them.
I’m not blind to its faults. For example, when someone dies viewers have to ask–Is she seriously dead or is there a do over coming? And when someone’s been in a coma for 37 years, could they really get right up and walk around as if nothing had happened?
The sentimentality is over the top. While often excellent, the dialog is sometimes pure twaddle–and if not for the screechy violins repeating a haunting theme in the background, sooner or later you’ll be forced to face the sad trombone of reality, or the cold, hard cement of your daily life.
But this is, above all, a fantasy–and viewers can go with it or not as they choose.
I chose to go with it.
********************
All of the male suitors first meet the main character when he’s an energetic, kind, mischievous dude with a huge appetite and lousy table manners. Is he really a male? A female? It’s not clear and it doesn’t seem to matter–not to the other characters and not to the viewers--because Zi Yang is one of the few actors who can play an androgynous role like this and make it both appealing and convincing.
I’ve complained previously about the ho hum dates that couples go on–bicycling along the beach, watching a firework display, riding a ferris wheel, yada, yada.
But you never know what’s going to happen in this series. A menacing kidnapper swoops down on the back of a flying eagle. He and his victim end up floating under the ocean admiring the jellyfish, the sea anemones, and the mer-people. A certain suitor, trying to impress the object of his affection, juggles fireballs which suddenly explode in a cascade of sparks. Before the sparks dissipate, the lead (now a female) leans in and kisses someone she really cares for.
And then there are the details and subtexts that really sell the story. Whether it’s Chubby, the animated bird, stamping his foot in impatience–letting the main character know it’s time to GET GOING, or Xiang Liu trying to look scary but whose face melts for a second into a micro-expression of adoration when he gazes at the FL, or all the suitors overwhelmed with emotion when they first see Qing Shui transformed – the skillful acting and other elements combine to give viewers a multi-layered experience that’s truly gobsmacking.
Consider my gob officially smacked.
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