THE BANTER IS GONE!
I went into this drama with high expectations because I loved the original novel. As someone who read and thoroughly enjoyed the source material, I was genuinely excited to see it adapted for the screen. Unfortunately, despite trying to keep an open mind, this drama left me somewhat disappointed in certain areas.
You know when you read a novel and you can visualize the characters from the authors words? Like you can realistically imagine their appearances and personality from the way they’re introduced? Well I think this drama adaptation changed too much of the aspects I personally enjoyed that was originally prevalent in the novel.
To be fair, I understand that no adaptation can be completely faithful to its source material. Some changes are inevitable and even necessary. For example, I completely understand why they partially changed the female lead’s career. In the novel, she’s a manhua artist who draws somewhat risqué comics, which obviously wouldn’t pass censorship. In the drama, she becomes a more standard manhua artist which still allows her to make a story inspired by snowboarding just like she did in the novel. That change made perfect sense and even improved the logicality of the plot. While I did miss some of the comedic situations tied to her original profession, I saw this as a perfectly reasonable change.
The bigger issue is that so many other changes accumulated that the story no longer felt like the same work. The characters only retained surface-level similarities to their novel counterparts, while their personalities, relationships, dialogue, and dynamics were all significantly altered. At times, it felt like I was watching entirely different people.
The female lead is one example. In the novel, she’s undeniably adorable, slightly ditzy, and clumsy, but way more straightforward and feisty. She’s clever in her own way, hardworking, and genuinely grows to love snowboarding. Even if her initial motivations aren’t entirely pure or selfless, she wants to improve and gradually finds her own path in snowboarding. In the drama, however, we barely get to see her develop through that learning process which allowed her to fall in love with the ml. I do like that they kept her storyline about wanting to make her own choices and stand up to her mother. I also appreciate that, in the drama, she retained her kindness and compassion towards those around her. Her career plot line is much more developed than it is in the novel and greatly adds to the modern day relevance and connection to snowboarding.
The male lead, on the other hand, lost much of what made him compelling. In the novel he’s stoic, sarcastic, and occasionally sharp-tongued, but underneath that reserved exterior is someone genuinely kind, dependable, and caring. His personality also makes sense when you consider everything he’s been through. When they first meet, she’s just his new slightly silly student, and their evolving relationship is what makes the story so engaging.
Their banter is my favorite part of the novel and the main reason I fell in love with it. It’s especially hilarious in the original Chinese. The female lead isn’t intimidated by him despite his reputation as an elite snowboarder and coach. She argues with him, teases him, and talks back whenever she thinks he’s being unreasonable. Meanwhile, he’s constantly caught off guard because despite his authority and status, he doesn’t know how to deal with someone who refuses to completely obey him as his student. He can’t be harsh with her, nor does he want to be, which creates this subtle… almost helpless dynamic whenever she’s around, despite his arrogance that stems from confidence in his snowboarding skills. His sarcasm and sharp tongue doesn’t seem to deter her. Their conversations are witty, playful, and full of chemistry. It almost feels like they liked each other from the beginning. They just hadn’t realized it yet. The romance develops naturally through small everyday interactions rather than dramatic or forced moments.
Unfortunately, the drama changes this dynamic almost entirely. Both characters are softened significantly and the male lead, in particular, loses that “burnt out” nuance or “emotionally in hibernation” quality to his personality as someone who had essentially given up competing in the sport that defined his life. It’s almost like, in his retreat from the competition stage, he put himself in standby mode. That layer of depth is barely visible in the drama. As a result, their personalities feel different, their conversations lose their playful edge, and the romance no longer develops with the same natural progression.
The changes weren’t limited to the main couple either. Many supporting characters were also rewritten. Some were only slightly altered, but others were changed so much that they barely resembled their novel versions.
The clearest example is the second male lead who is originally the female lead’s arranged fiancé in the novel. In the drama not only was his name changed, but his personality and role were almost completely rewritten. (I think they decided to merge two different characters from the novel into one?) In the novel he’s arrogant, highly confident, somewhat aloof, and carries himself with an unmistakable air of superiority. Its obvious how self-assured he is, which the author did an excellent job of subtlety portraying through his speech, mannerisms, and attitude toward the fl even when it was him chasing her. And it made sense given he was born into wealth along with naturally superior looks and smarts.
Instead of the proud, confident man from the novel, he’s rewritten into someone whose entire personality revolves around pursuing the female lead. Despite being portrayed in both versions as a highly respected and skilled surgeon, the drama has him constantly following her around, ignoring her boundaries, inserting himself into situations where he isn’t wanted, and repeatedly invading her privacy despite her discomfort. He becomes overly clingy and emotionally dependent on her, which made his scenes more cringey than endearing.
Why did they changed him so drastically when his original characterization was already strong and served the story well even with the changes made for the adaptation? He represents the oppression and lifestyle her mom keeps trying to force onto her, which she finds the courage to resist. If anything, his original personality is much better suited to differentiate from the freedom and strength provided by the male lead. In the novel, he appears polite and refined but is actually quietly possessive. He even says to her that he “let her be” all this time as he assumed her reserved rejection was just her childish rebellion and she needed time to adjust. Conversely, the ml is initially more unapproachable and defensive, but is the one who shows her true consideration and acceptance despite being somewhat openly critical of the suggestive content of her manhuas. This in turn allows her to be more confidently expressive instead of secretive of her works.
That same pattern repeats throughout the adaptation. From appearances to personalities, many characters no longer resemble the people I came to know in the novel. I don’t expect actors to look exactly like descriptions on the page, but I do expect the essence of the characters to remain intact.
I also want to emphasize that none of this is directed at the actors. I think they did a good job with the material they were given. Many conversations were rewritten, character dynamics were changed, and the script fundamentally altered the characters. The actors can only work with what they’re given. They aren’t responsible for those creative decisions. My disappointment is with parts of the adaptation itself. (Although I still wish Lin Yi acted a bit more tsundere and Esther Yu more rebellious)
Ultimately, it felt like a drama that borrowed the same premise, setting, and characters, but along with the changes made to the storyline, lost the essence of the characters I originally loved.
Take this with a grain of salt. I know people will still enjoy this drama on its own and I admit it’s a solid watch with pretty snow scenery and lots of fluff. I guess I arrived with more expectations as someone who first read the novel.
You know when you read a novel and you can visualize the characters from the authors words? Like you can realistically imagine their appearances and personality from the way they’re introduced? Well I think this drama adaptation changed too much of the aspects I personally enjoyed that was originally prevalent in the novel.
To be fair, I understand that no adaptation can be completely faithful to its source material. Some changes are inevitable and even necessary. For example, I completely understand why they partially changed the female lead’s career. In the novel, she’s a manhua artist who draws somewhat risqué comics, which obviously wouldn’t pass censorship. In the drama, she becomes a more standard manhua artist which still allows her to make a story inspired by snowboarding just like she did in the novel. That change made perfect sense and even improved the logicality of the plot. While I did miss some of the comedic situations tied to her original profession, I saw this as a perfectly reasonable change.
The bigger issue is that so many other changes accumulated that the story no longer felt like the same work. The characters only retained surface-level similarities to their novel counterparts, while their personalities, relationships, dialogue, and dynamics were all significantly altered. At times, it felt like I was watching entirely different people.
The female lead is one example. In the novel, she’s undeniably adorable, slightly ditzy, and clumsy, but way more straightforward and feisty. She’s clever in her own way, hardworking, and genuinely grows to love snowboarding. Even if her initial motivations aren’t entirely pure or selfless, she wants to improve and gradually finds her own path in snowboarding. In the drama, however, we barely get to see her develop through that learning process which allowed her to fall in love with the ml. I do like that they kept her storyline about wanting to make her own choices and stand up to her mother. I also appreciate that, in the drama, she retained her kindness and compassion towards those around her. Her career plot line is much more developed than it is in the novel and greatly adds to the modern day relevance and connection to snowboarding.
The male lead, on the other hand, lost much of what made him compelling. In the novel he’s stoic, sarcastic, and occasionally sharp-tongued, but underneath that reserved exterior is someone genuinely kind, dependable, and caring. His personality also makes sense when you consider everything he’s been through. When they first meet, she’s just his new slightly silly student, and their evolving relationship is what makes the story so engaging.
Their banter is my favorite part of the novel and the main reason I fell in love with it. It’s especially hilarious in the original Chinese. The female lead isn’t intimidated by him despite his reputation as an elite snowboarder and coach. She argues with him, teases him, and talks back whenever she thinks he’s being unreasonable. Meanwhile, he’s constantly caught off guard because despite his authority and status, he doesn’t know how to deal with someone who refuses to completely obey him as his student. He can’t be harsh with her, nor does he want to be, which creates this subtle… almost helpless dynamic whenever she’s around, despite his arrogance that stems from confidence in his snowboarding skills. His sarcasm and sharp tongue doesn’t seem to deter her. Their conversations are witty, playful, and full of chemistry. It almost feels like they liked each other from the beginning. They just hadn’t realized it yet. The romance develops naturally through small everyday interactions rather than dramatic or forced moments.
Unfortunately, the drama changes this dynamic almost entirely. Both characters are softened significantly and the male lead, in particular, loses that “burnt out” nuance or “emotionally in hibernation” quality to his personality as someone who had essentially given up competing in the sport that defined his life. It’s almost like, in his retreat from the competition stage, he put himself in standby mode. That layer of depth is barely visible in the drama. As a result, their personalities feel different, their conversations lose their playful edge, and the romance no longer develops with the same natural progression.
The changes weren’t limited to the main couple either. Many supporting characters were also rewritten. Some were only slightly altered, but others were changed so much that they barely resembled their novel versions.
The clearest example is the second male lead who is originally the female lead’s arranged fiancé in the novel. In the drama not only was his name changed, but his personality and role were almost completely rewritten. (I think they decided to merge two different characters from the novel into one?) In the novel he’s arrogant, highly confident, somewhat aloof, and carries himself with an unmistakable air of superiority. Its obvious how self-assured he is, which the author did an excellent job of subtlety portraying through his speech, mannerisms, and attitude toward the fl even when it was him chasing her. And it made sense given he was born into wealth along with naturally superior looks and smarts.
Instead of the proud, confident man from the novel, he’s rewritten into someone whose entire personality revolves around pursuing the female lead. Despite being portrayed in both versions as a highly respected and skilled surgeon, the drama has him constantly following her around, ignoring her boundaries, inserting himself into situations where he isn’t wanted, and repeatedly invading her privacy despite her discomfort. He becomes overly clingy and emotionally dependent on her, which made his scenes more cringey than endearing.
Why did they changed him so drastically when his original characterization was already strong and served the story well even with the changes made for the adaptation? He represents the oppression and lifestyle her mom keeps trying to force onto her, which she finds the courage to resist. If anything, his original personality is much better suited to differentiate from the freedom and strength provided by the male lead. In the novel, he appears polite and refined but is actually quietly possessive. He even says to her that he “let her be” all this time as he assumed her reserved rejection was just her childish rebellion and she needed time to adjust. Conversely, the ml is initially more unapproachable and defensive, but is the one who shows her true consideration and acceptance despite being somewhat openly critical of the suggestive content of her manhuas. This in turn allows her to be more confidently expressive instead of secretive of her works.
That same pattern repeats throughout the adaptation. From appearances to personalities, many characters no longer resemble the people I came to know in the novel. I don’t expect actors to look exactly like descriptions on the page, but I do expect the essence of the characters to remain intact.
I also want to emphasize that none of this is directed at the actors. I think they did a good job with the material they were given. Many conversations were rewritten, character dynamics were changed, and the script fundamentally altered the characters. The actors can only work with what they’re given. They aren’t responsible for those creative decisions. My disappointment is with parts of the adaptation itself. (Although I still wish Lin Yi acted a bit more tsundere and Esther Yu more rebellious)
Ultimately, it felt like a drama that borrowed the same premise, setting, and characters, but along with the changes made to the storyline, lost the essence of the characters I originally loved.
Take this with a grain of salt. I know people will still enjoy this drama on its own and I admit it’s a solid watch with pretty snow scenery and lots of fluff. I guess I arrived with more expectations as someone who first read the novel.
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