any_anka
This review may contain spoilers
So entertaining! With laughs and cries along the road
Loved it!
It wasn't flawless, some plot lines felt as if they were completely abandoned halfway through (sometimes it felt ok, as they only served to show the character development of main protagonists, but sometimes they were begging for at least a single scene of closure). Still, as a whole, this drama was incredibly entertaining, providing both laughs and cries in almost every episode.
Acting-wise, it was really good. Hsieh Ying Xuan was fantastic! I feel compelled now to check her other stuff out. Other highlights were Chloe Lin and Cheryl Yang, but frankly - everyone did a really good job.
Characters were so vivid, so real, multilayered and complex. Weather I liked them, or not, I could understand where they were coming from and see underlying reasons for their behaviours: from self-sabotage of Chou Fan to Ai-Ma's actions while she tried to navigate a competitive world of showbusiness while chasing her dream and alienating everyone who ever cared for her, to Hsueh's husband (whom I really, really didn't like 😋) and his inferiority complex and insecurities.
What was fantastic about this drama was that with so much variety in people's personalities, the show never feels preachy or tries telling the audience what's the correct way to act. I dislike preachy shows just as much as I dislike exposition dumps in storytelling and one dimensional characters. Well, this show had none of that, and I appreciated it tremendously.
While a drama providing a glimpse into the lives of celebrities, Born for the Spotlight is foremost a story about human relationships. We have a difficult mother-daughter relationship, complicated love triangles, and a friendships that endures everything.
Watching Born for the Spotlight, I couldn't help but remember how OG Sex and the City used to feel back in the day. Only with more warmth and an overwhelming feeling of... wholesomeness, I guess? This show actually had me go "awww" with tears forming in my eyes more times than I could count (I mean, I could, but it would be way too troublesome due to its frequency).
Also, how frigging adorable are Chou Fan and Rogue? My goodness, I couldn't stop smiling every time these two were on screen (minus the sad parts, that is). I loved their dynamics, including the final confession scene (and I'm not a fan of public confessions, but that one was just as chaotic and goofy as their entire relationship).
All in all, if I were to be more level-headed about rating this drama, I'd probably go with 8/10 stars. It's a really decent work, with some cracks here and there, that don't affect the final experience much. However, from time to time, there are certain dramas that resonate with me so well, I am willing to go a bit "extreme", disregarding a more objective approach. Born for the Spotlight is one of them. 9/10.
It wasn't flawless, some plot lines felt as if they were completely abandoned halfway through (sometimes it felt ok, as they only served to show the character development of main protagonists, but sometimes they were begging for at least a single scene of closure). Still, as a whole, this drama was incredibly entertaining, providing both laughs and cries in almost every episode.
Acting-wise, it was really good. Hsieh Ying Xuan was fantastic! I feel compelled now to check her other stuff out. Other highlights were Chloe Lin and Cheryl Yang, but frankly - everyone did a really good job.
Characters were so vivid, so real, multilayered and complex. Weather I liked them, or not, I could understand where they were coming from and see underlying reasons for their behaviours: from self-sabotage of Chou Fan to Ai-Ma's actions while she tried to navigate a competitive world of showbusiness while chasing her dream and alienating everyone who ever cared for her, to Hsueh's husband (whom I really, really didn't like 😋) and his inferiority complex and insecurities.
What was fantastic about this drama was that with so much variety in people's personalities, the show never feels preachy or tries telling the audience what's the correct way to act. I dislike preachy shows just as much as I dislike exposition dumps in storytelling and one dimensional characters. Well, this show had none of that, and I appreciated it tremendously.
While a drama providing a glimpse into the lives of celebrities, Born for the Spotlight is foremost a story about human relationships. We have a difficult mother-daughter relationship, complicated love triangles, and a friendships that endures everything.
Watching Born for the Spotlight, I couldn't help but remember how OG Sex and the City used to feel back in the day. Only with more warmth and an overwhelming feeling of... wholesomeness, I guess? This show actually had me go "awww" with tears forming in my eyes more times than I could count (I mean, I could, but it would be way too troublesome due to its frequency).
Also, how frigging adorable are Chou Fan and Rogue? My goodness, I couldn't stop smiling every time these two were on screen (minus the sad parts, that is). I loved their dynamics, including the final confession scene (and I'm not a fan of public confessions, but that one was just as chaotic and goofy as their entire relationship).
All in all, if I were to be more level-headed about rating this drama, I'd probably go with 8/10 stars. It's a really decent work, with some cracks here and there, that don't affect the final experience much. However, from time to time, there are certain dramas that resonate with me so well, I am willing to go a bit "extreme", disregarding a more objective approach. Born for the Spotlight is one of them. 9/10.
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