A silent love amidst a turbulent time

Allen Ren and Bai Lu give us their best performances yet!

Shiyi is subject to a political chess game when she is sent to be the disciple of the Jr. Nanchen Prince who is a threat to the throne of his nephew emperor. In her time with him, she grew into herself and fell in love with a great man.

Jr Nanchen Prince Zhousheng Chen is an unambitious but kind leader. Yes a leader. This is what he embodies to a T. I wrote somewhere else that if I was a subject at that time, I would want him to be my emperor but me as a viewer loves him so much and understands that being emperor would be a lonelier journey that the one he is currently experiencing. The Nanchen prince understand his duty, and loves his duty as well. He understands what his existence means for people (peace) but also what it means to the Palace (a threat) and he struggles to balance the two. With his sheer intellect and military power, he could be a force to be reckoned with but his weakness is his kindness. He wants peace and is willing to be the sacrificial lamb to make this happen.

Shiyi, in some ways, is like this as well. She understands her role more than anyone and I am happy with her characterization. Very often in dramas, the girl who supposedly should understand the duties she was born into, flouts her responsibility without caring about the consequences to others around her. But not Shiyi. She gets it and never once even complains about them. She is unhappy by her constraints but knows she must follow the rules for hers and her clans sake. Her strength becomes more apparent after she falls in love with the Nanchen Prince. She loves him but still understands her duty.

I saw someone mention that the feelings they have for one another is not exactly love and more of a familial bond and I want to agree but also disagree. Love, for me, is not deep enough to explain the feeling they have for one another. That might be because the word is so basic and I'm desensitized to it. But their feeling is deeper. What is love? You like the person that you want to stay near them, be with them and accompany them and that's what Shiyi feels for him. But if you asked Shiyi if she wants to marry the Nanchen Prince and have his kids, she would say yes as well. So its more than just a familial bond for her. Same for Nanchen. It might seem like he is too married to his responsibility but given a situation where her life was in danger, he would give up his life for her. They are often times one in thought, and seem to be so in tune with one another.

Their chemistry is palpable. Every look and action showed their feeling for one another. Its so well done that I could sense the moments it started to change from master-disciple relationship to romantic. That's how good their chemistry and synergy is. No one words are spoken at times but you feel the joy, sadness, elation and sorrow in their expressions. Like when Shiyi sees the Nanchen Prince again after he returns from battle. I'll give props to the Director for that moment as well. I could see how happy she was to see him again but I could also tell how glad he was to see she was doing well. That's why I'm not bothered that Allen Ren might not be comfortable doing kissing scenes. In fact, this drama I think does not require kissing. Its already complete.

On that note, I just want to commend Allen Ren's performance as the Jr. Nanchen Prince. He embodies a prince and every action of his tells me that he was born and raised a prince and is not just some actor who they put clothes on and was told to act. Every single action of his harkens back to the fact he is a noble character. His best performance yet and I look forward to more of his works.

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If you could travel to a parallel world, what would you change about your life?

Lin Zhaoxi (LZX) is a graduate of philosophy from a prestigious university who is seemingly overshowed by her genius father Lin Zhaosheng (LZS) and equally brilliant love interest Pei Zhi (PZ). She and superstar classmate Ji Jiang (JJ) find themselves in a parallel world and must figure out how to return home. Honestly, this drama was an absolute joy to watch.

Story wise, this drama was fantastic and despite being about parallel universe, the story managed to remain grounded in the things that mattered. The Parallel universe was a way to help Strawberry Lin Zhaoxi grow in character and confidence, and Pei Zhi to be able to come to terms with his father's death. I have to say given that Strawberry world PZ and Cheese world Pei Zhi both were so stubborn about wanting to stay in the others' world, I think they are both similar in their selfishness. I do wish the story had showed us more of Cheese world's PZ after he returned but the story just ended there. Also, I have to say that the naming of the worlds, Strawberry and Cheese was so simplistic but it worked so well in helping to tell which world they were referring to.

I also have to commend LZS the father because he was an awesome dad to LZX! He put in 200% into his daughter and while he was unconventional, he loved his daughter more than anything or anyone including himself. I loved watching him grow to accept LZX as his daughter in the Cheese world. I also found it funny how he basically switched jobs just to follow her wherever she went. It was so touching.

I also like Snape (I don't recall his name) but I think he was a fantastic character in that he resembled LZX in a big way. LZX was overshadowed by her dad and PZ all her life and Snape more than anyone could relate to that. That's why I loved their little talk in the hospital.

I also must talk about PZ's biggest fan, Zhang Liang because he was fantastic. I liked that they didn't make him hate PZ out of jealousy because that would have been pretty one-dimensional. He admired and wanted to be friends with PZ more than anyone and I loved his adult version even more. It was also funny how he hated and was lowkey jealous of LZX because she had PZ's attention and love which he thought was wasted on her. He genuinely liked math as well and that was nice to see even though younger him was a little brat.

One thing I disliked was the love triangle they tried to force with Ji Jiang because it was never hinted at till they return to their world. It was completely unnecessary and could have been avoided. But I guess they had to give a reason for JJ to remain around LZX so they just went with that.

Acting wise, I have to praise the child actors for this drama because honestly, they were all fantastic and really hard-carried. Young LZX was an absolute unit second only to the cheeky but adorable child actor playing JJ. Then we also had young PZ who was able to emulate the character of a young, doe eyed genius who comes across LZX and was completely taken by her. It was precisely because of the young PZ that I was able to understand the reasoning behind Cheese world PZ setting everything in motion just to be with the LZX he knew and loved. I don't blame him too much because I also felt a strong bond to their younger characters that I was super sad to see them go. Unfortunately the chemistry between the adult versions of the characters wasn't as strong but that's okay. Their performance was still okay.

Music was the bomb!! I'm still looking for one of the OST's. I hope I find it.

Overall, an excellent drama. Reminds me of reset which is odd because they have little in common. But I have to say, China really rocks at this genre. The ability to combine simple everyday stories with time travel/parallel worlds is an art.

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What lengths would you go through to fulfill your dreams?

This drama really came out of nowhere for me. There's been little marketing for it, and to be honest, I clicked on it by mistake. But WOW, what a show. I thought I knew what this drama would be about but I was so wrong. It completely went above my expectations. I expected caricature characters, an obvious love triangle and an annoying main character. I guess the cover kinda gave me teen idol drama writing like heirs, cinderella and four knights kind of vibes. I was so wrong.

Acting/Cast:
I'll start with our characters, and specifically Kim Jenna, our protagonist. I refrain from calling her the female lead because that would mean she needs a male lead to complete the drama but not Kim Jenna. She's a force all on her own. She is the leader of the failed group Cotton Candy. And this is truly her characterization. She is, in the truest form, a leader. She is the glue that holds the team together. Without her, the group would be nothing a long time ago. All the members care for her mainly because they can see, through her endless actions, that she cares for them as well. Even Hyunji, who comes off as the brat (love her though) treats Jenna like her big sister and will do anything for her. Jenna is a no nonsense girl who will fight, bite, claw her way through anyone and anything to make sure Cotton Candy is successful. She is also the only person who is unwilling to give up on Cotton Candy. Even other members have their moments. But not Jenna. Never Jenna. She knows what each and everyone had to do to get to where they were and she is unwilling to let things end badly for them. Hani has a fantastic crying face. She portrays Jenna well.

If Jenna is the glue of Cotton Candy, then Stella, the Visual of the group, is her rock. She is the emotional support for Jenna and has very similar views to Jenna. But unlike Jenna, she is quite weak hearted as we see with her mental health issues. She is not one for confrontation but she makes sure Jenna is never alone, and is in some way, Jenna's big sister.

Hyunji. Oh my fiesty, lacking-a-filter Hyunji. The Maknae of the group. She is very hateful at the beginning because of her troublemaking character but also becomes my favorite, again because of her character. She will insult everyone and anybody. She will insult the CEO, her members, her manager, her fans, inanimate objects. Basically anything that crosses her eyes. But this is why we love her. She is honest to a fault and she sometimes says what I wish I could say to some characters. Bbyong, I'm looking at you, you piece of trash. She is the baby of the group and often times, other members try to restrain her character.

Elle, the Main vocalist. She is the reason I love this drama. I love stories where the conflict is justifiable, and we see that in Elle. She has spent sooo long wishing to succeed that she is desperate. So desperate, and I feel that desperation. She loves her members without a doubt but wishes to succeed even more. I also like that she isnt perfect. She is very selfish. She left KillA when they were unsuccessful for a long time and then moved to Cotton Candy. Very selfish of her. But yet I ask myself, as an indecisive person, would I make a different choice if I were her? She cant know the future. We only say she is selfish because we see KillA succeed at the end. But what if they hadn't? She couldn't afford such an unclear future. I really feel for her but I know she will find her way back to the group.

ChaeA, the sub vocalist and sub dancer. Usually when you have an ensemble cast, there's always that one you dont quite know so well or relate to. But not in this drama. We all know of a ChaeA in every kpop group. That one member who is just average at everything. Not really excelling in one thing but good enough to complete the formation the company is looking for. This is ChaeA. She's not the prettiest, not the best dancer, doesn't have the most sparkling personality or voice. And ChaeA knows it. And she works hard to make sure she does not fall behind. I love her for that.

The brilliance of the writers of this drama is that they are able to give everyone their moment. Troy is another character I enjoy often. If you introduce a character halfway through a drama, viewers might not relate well with the character. But not Troy. I can feel the friendship he had with Cotton Candy through his emotions. He hates them but also cares for them. I also love his relationship with Elle. When he watches Jenna and Elle perform as backup dancers, you can see the anguish in his eyes. I love him.

Ceo Ma and the Manager were two characters I also love. Ceo Ma had a real dilemma a lot of company Ceo face, which is, what do you do with a group that's bombing. His idea of keeping Jenna also makes sense, if you look at the trend with in real-life groups that are like Cotton Candy. They will usually keep one or a few and make them solo, or turn them into actors or variety stars while the rest are just left to rot. Which Jenna picks up on when she calls him out. Nevertheless, Ceo Ma also has a strong bond with the girls as they are his first group and that makes them special to him. He is unable to treat them too badly.

The Manager is also very lovely. His bond with Hyunji was enviable and perhaps his passing served as the turning point in her behavior.

Ceo Cha is nice. I saw his change coming because Jenna can be pretty inspiring.

Mars member Ji Han is the least interesting character for me, oddly enough. By the comments section, he is well liked and yes, dont get me wrong, he is likeable but not interesting. Amongst the slew of complex characters, he is a little bland. And that's ok. This drama needs that. His character serves almost as a stress relief for us the viewers and for Jenna as well.

All the other characters add something to the drama as well and dont come off as caricatures. even Bbyong and his over inflated ego makes sense. Director Yoon is also hilarious comic relief though I sense Cotton Candy really is stressing him out. His dynamic with Hyunji is hilarious to watch.

Story: One of the most realistic conflict and conflict resolution I've seen in a drama so far. The writer knows what she's doing.

Music: Some of the best music I've heard in 2021. Every song is a hit. Every song sets the tone of the drama properly. All very catchy. I have a few in my Spotify playlist already.

Rewatch Value: 10. I've already rewatched several episodes multiple times. Its quite addicting.

Overall a fantastic drama so far. So underrated though. JTBC should've marketed it more.

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