Finding one's purpose and family

I am not a great fan of medical dramas, but this one initially caught my attention for two reasons: Zhao Lusi and the topic of TCM (traditional Chinese medicine). My overall impression of the drama is quite good. Still, there are some issues which I disliked.

On the one hand, Lusi’s character Tou Tou enabled me to experience a variety of emotions. I enjoyed her mischief, admired her resilience despite much adversity, hoped to see her find the family she deserves and create a sense of purpose for her life. Tou Tou’s journey from survival to thriving was beautiful to see and it is one of the key reasons I looked forward to each episode. Learning with her about TCM was interesting too.

Another highlight for me was the relationship with her mentor Ren Xin Zheng and later that with his son Tian Zhen. There is an affinity between Tou Tou and her teacher that shifts into a father-daughter bond, which is very heart-warming to watch. All the older members of the Ren family are relatable, with qualities and flaws and made me reflect on their views and actions. As expected, the veteran actors brought convincingly these characters to life.

Tian Zhen’s character was more controversial for me. Early on I considered him arrogant, entitled, even irresponsible and at one point firmly believed he would not be able to redeem himself in my eyes. Yet Tian Zhen proved me wrong. He is probably the one who experienced the most growth throughout the drama. Luo Yi Zhou acted well a wide range of situations and emotional states. His gaze and facial expressions conveyed much more meaning than his words.

I know everyone has been curious about the romance, bearing in mind it is not the story’s main focus. My advice is be patient because it’s worth it. Tou Tou and Tian Zhen gradually become friends and then like each other romantically. Their scenes together made me giddy, laugh and just feel good in general. The shift in their interactions is subtle but beautiful to see. There is an iconic scene of Tian Zhen confessing his love, which I will remember for a long time.

On the other hand, this drama also has a key problem in my opinion - the script writing is inconsistent and featured some dubious choices. I was disappointed by the plot around Meng Meng’s character, which turned out to be very problematic, illogical and dragged for too long. The script writers created an ambiguous relationship between her and Tian Zhen, which caused misunderstandings and confusion. While I felt sorry for Meng Meng, what bothered me most was that Tian Zhen was never professionally trained to help her.

Moreover, in the last episodes, questions and challenges were raised building up to the climax, which affected particularly our adorable couple. Instead of dealing with those challenges and tying up loose ends, the drama showed many filler scenes and often pointless discussions that went on for several episodes. So the ending was rushed, some questions were left unanswered or glossed over, but it was a happy one.

All in all, I would recommend giving this drama a try. You may enjoy it more than anticipated, as I did.

Read More

Friends and relationships - the good, bad and everything in between

To me, this drama is primarily about the complicated nature of friendship and how old patterns are hard to break even years later. I liked the second chance at love, although the lack of clear background story made the first 10 episodes rather confusing.

The highlight for me was the parallel between the trio of friends - past and present. The FL took on a job in a remote place, very different from her high school dreams, but also found 2 co-workers with whom she formed a beautiful bond of mutual support. They were very close friends, always there for each other, without overstepping the boundaries necessary for personal growth.

Enter ML, with whom she had had a long friendship marked by unrequited love and then separation. They were also part of a friendship trio in school, with the ML chasing and protecting his crush (who was in an abusive home environment) and FL always being supportive. This created an unhealthy dynamic where the ML became the perpetual knight in shining armour, his crush a damsel in distress who had to manipulate others for survival and the FL stuck in the middle.

Unfortunately, the cycle continued as adults. The ML tried to distance himself from the former crush and her manipulations, yet old habits are hard to break. It led to many tensions in his relationship with the FL and in the end a series of uninspired choices and negative consequences that impacted his whole life.

I was glad to see the FL take a firm stand and disengage from the codependent cycle, making her needs and well being a priority, regardless of the ML's actions. There are subtle tones of emotional depth and maturity throughout the varied relationships portrayed by the drama - friendship, family, romance etc.

All in all, a quiet slice of life that made me ponder about relationships, with a solid happy ending for everyone.

Read More

Engaging romance and charismatic anti-hero

The title Love Better than Immortality sums up the heroine's sacrifice for the dream of experiencing true love. Even so, she is quite naive and has some preconceived notions that make her quest for love more difficult than necessary.

What I truly like about this drama is the gradual development of romance between Chun Hua (CH) and Qiu Yue (QY). Here the leads portrayed well in depth characterizations, ranging from lighthearted comedy to emotionally charged scenes. They subtly grew due to their experiences and I was glad to see them enjoy a happy ending.

QY has been very interesting to me as the manipulative anti-hero, who stays true to his values, yet at the end is the only one willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for love. QY slowly opens up to CH, who shows him care and acceptance, revealing a painful past and his strong wish to grant a place in the martial world for his sect. His way is covert and scheming, marked by shadows and moonlight.

By contrast, Xiao Bai (XB) is the acknowledged hero who walks in the sunlight. He is driven by deeply held beliefs that were instilled by his father. Their sect holds the monopoly on right and wrong, while also having double standards in the stuggle for power within the martial world. I dislike XB's very rigid attitude and that he never really evolved throughout the story.

CH was fixated on XB as love interest for quite some time, and painfully grew out of her naivety. It took a series of tragic events for her to realize that, though XB loves her, he will always sacrifice anything and anyone to what he considers to be the greatest good.

What did not work for me was the often long winded plot, particularly when focused on XB and his entourage's investigations. The dubbing is often problematic as well, but the leads' chemistry far surpassed these issues in my opinion.

Read More

Lonely King and hero Princess

Having consumed this drama very quickly, I can safely say it has gripped my attention and pleasantly surprised me in more ways than one. There may be slight spoilers in my review, so bear that in mind if you choose to continue reading.

First of all, what seems to be a common type of story actually reveals profound characterizations that have been brought to life by gifted actors. The drama starts in the present and introduces the key characters who share a complicated and painful past. Then the flashback occurs and we see what led to the current circumstances.

The male protagonist Li Xun (LX) is an IT prodigy focused solely on his work and devoid of social skills. Or he can't be bothered to play the games of society, in this case university life. LX is a pioneer and thus attracts equal amounts of admiration and envy from peers. He gradually builds a circle of IT enthusiasts around him, but has uneasy relationships with most of them. Why? Because he is like an absolute ruler or king and the general approach is his way or the highway.

As the story unfolds, we understand why LX is emotionally closed off and that a series of traumatic and unfortunate events have deeply scarred him. He had to survive and then give himself a new start in life, based solely on his efforts and with no support from others. All these experiences are symbolized by the lighter often seen in his hands.

The one person LX seems to indulge is the female lead Zhu Yun (ZY), or 'princess' as he sometimes calls her. At first glance, ZY is a nice, intelligent and hard-working girl from a wealthy but loving family. Unfortunately, her rather domineering mother has charted ZY's life course, leaving her little free will and unaware of what she actually enjoys doing.

That is one reason why ZY is inevitably drawn to LX. Although they are fundamentally different and often bicker, she admires and respects his IT genius and slightly envies his devil-may-care attitude. ZY chooses to be inspired by LX and in the process discovers her passion for programming.

The romance/ coming of age background story in university is light with some substance. LX and ZY make a cute couple. My concern with LX's behaviour is that he is impulsive and tends to take things to the extreme, regardless of consequences. After LX starts his company, another series of tragic events renders him determined to push ZY away and deeply hurt her.

Fastforward a few years, the two meet again. LX has revenge in mind against those who betrayed him and ZY wants to help him. His development was derailed by time in prison, while she became a very successful professional. She goes above and beyond to support him, since his quest for justice is important to her as well.

Here for a while LX portrays someone very difficult for me to like or respect. I have compassion for his traumatic past, but that does not entitle him to use ZY as emotional punching bag. LX intentionally hurts her again and again, particularly when feelings of insecurity come up within him.

There seemed to be a dark side to his character cropping up when he deals with women who are emotionally vulnerable to him. There was a scene with Xu Li Na as well, which left me with the impression that LX enjoys the power trip of having the emotional upperhand. Unfortunately, these issues with both women were glossed over with a brief apology.

Meanwhile, I was very fond of ZY's character. Her success abroad hides many emotional wounds and her long time struggle with mental health. She has lingering feelings for LX, but it is her sense of responsibility to help right what went wrong which makes her stay, despite his very hurtful attitude. In the end, they know each other better than anyone, with good, bad and everything in between.

Gao - the former friend turned foe - is also a complex character. His poor choices, torment and obssessions were very convincingly interpreted.

All in all, a solid and engaging drama that was definitely worth my time.

Read More

Whim turned into first love

Who would have thought that a whim would bring me to my all time favourite drama? Certainly not I...

LLTG part 1 took me completely by surprise. It had aired until episode 12 (still one of the best) when I started watching out of curiosity. The result was me devouring all episodes and meeting my first love in terms of drama. Part 1 focuses on the heroine Cheng Shao Shang, explores her family relationships and lays the foundation for a slow burn romance.

I want to start with the fact that LLTG deals with some serious themes disguised under humour. Cheng Shao Shang is the victim of systematic abuse at the hands of her grandmother and aunt. We're talking control through food deprivation and being left to die of illness. She has grown up without most of her basic survival needs being met.

As a result, Cheng Shao Shang has learnt the hard way that she can only rely on herself since other people, including family members, do not necessarily have her best interests at heart. Her choices and behaviour are not due to immaturity, but rather a consequence of the lack of physical and emotional security she has lived through for 15 years.

Zhao Lu Si's portrayal strikes a perfect balance between a Cheng Shao Shang who is alternatively cunning, stubborn, vengeful, at the same time yearning for affection and approval. Her complex acting has brought a flawed yet very lovable character to life, making me emotionally invested in this coming of age story. The heroine makes mistakes and grows gradually, as she goes through challenging life experiences.

LLTG is very much a character-driven drama. Part 1 highlights family dynamics underpinned by child neglect and discrimination, power struggles and hypocritical values. The beauty of it lies in that all characters have been performed in a strikingly memorable way. At least for one scene, every supporting character shines as if they were the protagonist.

Cheng Shao Shang develops a complicated relationship with her mother and hopes to escape the family environment through marriage. Early on, she meets 3 suitors, who each have advantages and drawbacks as potential husbands. All 3 also have complicated family backgrounds, which have shaped their views on love and marriage.

The suitor that stands out is clearly Ling Bu Yi, a quite dark character whose softer side only comes out in the presence of Cheng Shao Shang. Wu Lei shows a compelling performance which improved with every episode and also looked very competent in action scenes. His eyes are so expressive and they seem to effortlessly convey a myriad of emotions.

What I love about LLTG is that all characters are layered and their dialogues contain many nuances. One can watch episodes again and again and still find new details or an interpretation which was missed before. Cinematography is impressive as well and rendered key scenes even more impactful.

LLTG part 1 is a perfect 10 in my book, the first one I have ever granted to a drama.

Read More

Heartwrenching cycle of love and betrayal ended with poetic justice

The first time I watched this series it was such an emotional rollercoaster. Having watched it a second time, I am able to have a more detached perspective.

The acting delivered here, particularly by the protagonists, was trully impressive to me. It was the reason I continued watching the drama in the first place, despite its emotionally draining tone. The story has some lighthearted moments, but overall it is a sad and tragic account of choices and their consequences and how destiny repeats itself.

XF is a sheltered princess used and sacrificed by two men she trust and loved, all in the struggle for power. Could they have done things differently? Maybe, maybe not. Both men had heavy burdens influencing their choices and thus decided that the end justified the means.

Even after what was supposed to be a fresh start, XF's journey is filled with heartbreak. She cannot escape the karmic relationship with LCY and falls once more in love with him, while LCY hurts and uses her as a pawn in his quest for ultimate power. LCY is also in love with her, yet his love is very selfish and all consuming.

I do not like tragic endings, but here I found it very fitting for the story and the characters' journey. XF was finally able to find peace and LCY was forced to live a long life without her.

Read More

Unfulfilled potential, lukewarm romance

This had the potential to be a solid drama, but left me feeling very disappointed. The world building was interesting and some of the plot devices held appeal, but the execution remained chaotic and lacking in coherent purpose. I cannot fault the acting, since everyone worked with the characterizations given in the script.

The most perplexing to me was the lukewarm romance between the leads. I have seen them together in a previous drama, where their story and chemistry redeemed a weak and boring plot. Here that was not the case. It did not help that the ML was very cavalier in his attitude, stringing along the FL's so-called best friend who was obsessed with him.

His inability to draw clear boundaries led to an ambiguous relationship with the best friend, causing a lot of tension and misunderstandings. Then the FL was guilt tripped by both fiance and her best friend for misinterpreting the obvious.

Unfortunately, not even Zhao Lu Si's acting could soothe my disapointment.

Read More

Dashing ML and a complicated romance

I was drawn to this drama mostly because of the cast and I was curious how the romance would unfold, since the protagonists have such different personalities and they clash from the very beginning. The military plot was not particularly interesting to me, but I stayed for the relationships and characters' development. The Chinese opera elements were also a highlight throughout the story.

The romance is complicated, fraught with lack of trust and communication, lots of misunderstandings, jealousy - overall not a pretty picture. ML's feelings bordered on obsession and controlling the woman he desperately loved. The FL fell in love with him at some point, but it was not shown how her feelings changed from reluctant acceptance of their marriage.

Shawn Dou was very charismatic in his role and the life long friendship between the 3 ''brothers'' was well portrayed. The acting in general was pleasant and immersive. I found the plot more engaging in the second half, after both leads experienced life changing events and substantial growth. I had also hoped for a clearer happy ending, but it was at least a tentative and hopeful one.

Read More