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The right love will shine brightly
If you like dramas that are low on angst, big on character development, with great acting and a sweet romance, you’ll love this drama. The storyline is pretty original with both leads coming from well off families, so there’s no rich man poor girl or vice versa. It starts in college then moves into an office setting but mostly deals with interpersonal relationship issues and focuses on that. I appreciate that it has a cohesive underlying message that comes through loud and clear too. It isn’t all fluff and romance. It’s got a good storyline.
Acting
The acting is quite good, the villains made me hate them and the good characters made me love them. The main leads were especially good in their emotional scenes. I really felt their pain. They took you along on an emotional journey with both tears and joys that felt real. I have no complaints about the acting at all, it was way above average.
Storyline
The storyline seems a bit cliche at first with two male leads fighting over one girl, but it turned out to be very original with its underlying message. It explores the three main characters different views on love. Each character had a different perspective on what love is and how relationships should work. The second male lead thought being of equal status in life was essential for a relationship to work. So he coldly pushed the female lead away many times, (hurting her terribly), until he was ready. But timing is everything and by the time he was ready to be with her it was too late. And he had tons of opportunities to be with her since he was her one sided crush for many years, but he took her feelings for granted and lost out. The main male lead liked the female lead since the day he met her and immediately started pursuing her. He knew what he wanted and worked hard to gain her affection. He didn’t take anything for granted and treated the female lead with love and respect. He knew that love is fragile and must be nurtured to survive. His hard work, patience and loyalty paid off. The female lead thought love was invincible and that even if it’s one sided it would never change. She realized that love needs to be mutual for it to thrive and grow. And if it’s not shared it can fade away. I really like the depth of the storyline and the uniqueness of the job they did too. I don’t think I’ve seen a storyline built around solar powered energy before. The workplace scenes were fun and interesting.
Characters
The characters had depth and were well fleshed out. You get to know all of the main characters families and their back stories. Just about everyone had lots of character growth, except a few villains, but they never learn do they? I enjoyed seeing the female lead find herself and realize what she wanted to do with her life career wise. And when the second male lead tried to gaslight her into thinking she was at fault for their failed romance, I love how sassy she got. She grew a backbone and told him off and I was literally clapping out loud when she did it. It was satisfying to watch the male lead let go of his painful past and find his path in life. I really liked all of the characters and found their stories to be very interesting.
Romance
I like that this wasn’t insta love and that the main leads relationship grew organically over time. And once they’re together there’s lots of skinship. The main leads kiss, cuddle, hold hands, etc quite a lot. And you get to see them dating and together for a good while throughout the last few episodes, which is really nice. I hate dramas where they get together right at the end with no time spent together as a couple. I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this drama, it was perfect.
Underlying message
The underlying message of how, when you’re with the right person, it’s like having a bright light shining brilliantly in the darkness and lighting up your whole life. You both become better people because you’re helping each other become the best version of themselves that they can be. The title “Shine On Me” was perfect for this drama. It’s a great drama I would recommend watching. My only complaint is that it’s a bit slow in the middle of drama and things don’t progress as quickly as I would have liked. But I loved the romance, I loved the underlying message, the character growth was great and the acting was really good. It’s not perfect but it’s a really good drama you definitely should watch.
Acting
The acting is quite good, the villains made me hate them and the good characters made me love them. The main leads were especially good in their emotional scenes. I really felt their pain. They took you along on an emotional journey with both tears and joys that felt real. I have no complaints about the acting at all, it was way above average.
Storyline
The storyline seems a bit cliche at first with two male leads fighting over one girl, but it turned out to be very original with its underlying message. It explores the three main characters different views on love. Each character had a different perspective on what love is and how relationships should work. The second male lead thought being of equal status in life was essential for a relationship to work. So he coldly pushed the female lead away many times, (hurting her terribly), until he was ready. But timing is everything and by the time he was ready to be with her it was too late. And he had tons of opportunities to be with her since he was her one sided crush for many years, but he took her feelings for granted and lost out. The main male lead liked the female lead since the day he met her and immediately started pursuing her. He knew what he wanted and worked hard to gain her affection. He didn’t take anything for granted and treated the female lead with love and respect. He knew that love is fragile and must be nurtured to survive. His hard work, patience and loyalty paid off. The female lead thought love was invincible and that even if it’s one sided it would never change. She realized that love needs to be mutual for it to thrive and grow. And if it’s not shared it can fade away. I really like the depth of the storyline and the uniqueness of the job they did too. I don’t think I’ve seen a storyline built around solar powered energy before. The workplace scenes were fun and interesting.
Characters
The characters had depth and were well fleshed out. You get to know all of the main characters families and their back stories. Just about everyone had lots of character growth, except a few villains, but they never learn do they? I enjoyed seeing the female lead find herself and realize what she wanted to do with her life career wise. And when the second male lead tried to gaslight her into thinking she was at fault for their failed romance, I love how sassy she got. She grew a backbone and told him off and I was literally clapping out loud when she did it. It was satisfying to watch the male lead let go of his painful past and find his path in life. I really liked all of the characters and found their stories to be very interesting.
Romance
I like that this wasn’t insta love and that the main leads relationship grew organically over time. And once they’re together there’s lots of skinship. The main leads kiss, cuddle, hold hands, etc quite a lot. And you get to see them dating and together for a good while throughout the last few episodes, which is really nice. I hate dramas where they get together right at the end with no time spent together as a couple. I really enjoyed the romance aspect of this drama, it was perfect.
Underlying message
The underlying message of how, when you’re with the right person, it’s like having a bright light shining brilliantly in the darkness and lighting up your whole life. You both become better people because you’re helping each other become the best version of themselves that they can be. The title “Shine On Me” was perfect for this drama. It’s a great drama I would recommend watching. My only complaint is that it’s a bit slow in the middle of drama and things don’t progress as quickly as I would have liked. But I loved the romance, I loved the underlying message, the character growth was great and the acting was really good. It’s not perfect but it’s a really good drama you definitely should watch.
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