1
greenteaberry
A fantasy melodrama that will have you bingeing in one go
I put off this drama for the longest time because I heard it's very heartbreaking and I was not ready for heartbreak. However, once I started I just couldn't stop, and finished the whole thing in two days.
Story and execution:
Due to the time travel nature of the story, its timeline jumps around a bit, but don't worry because the team makes it very clear *who* it is and *when* in time they are at, through the characters' hairstyles/outfits, microexpressions, as well as more obvious plot clues. They also put a lot of effort into symbolism and major motif recalls, making the whole watching experience like peeling an onion... there's always more if you go one layer deeper, and you cry.
I want to say Chen Yun-ru probably had the biggest character development line, and the conversations she has with Huang Yu-hsuan are really quotable. The ending also wrapped up the story really nicely, and if it's not satisfying enough, do check out the extra scene they quickly put together as a thank-you to the viewers. That warmed my heart.
Bonus points to the cultural references, relatable for every 90's or 80's kid. Like Wretch.cc, the blog website everyone went on in the 2000's, or the highly-masked SARS times at one point, etc.
Acting:
We have 35-year-old Alice Ke playing a 17-year-old high school student, and there is 0 weirdness to it. When she acts Chen Yun-ru, she looks Chen Yun-ru. For this I gotta applaud her acting skills and the makeup artists/stylists' efforts. This is also Greg Hsu's first male lead role, and he managed to play 17-year-old Li Zi Wei to someone in his near-40's perfectly. Patrick Shih was a great acting find as well. Also, the villain here actually creeps me out.
OST:
We'll all get Wu Bai's Last Dance stuck in our heads after this LOL
I'm not a huge fan of the opening song, but the ending song's lyrics hit me hard every time. It was really made for this drama.
Also, the insert songs are apparently super character-specific, like Mayday's Hug, or Nine Chen's I Hear Your Voice... if you pay attention to where they were played, you'd know they really put an effort into making a good OST for this drama.
TL;DR: A literary masterpiece. Must watch.
Story and execution:
Due to the time travel nature of the story, its timeline jumps around a bit, but don't worry because the team makes it very clear *who* it is and *when* in time they are at, through the characters' hairstyles/outfits, microexpressions, as well as more obvious plot clues. They also put a lot of effort into symbolism and major motif recalls, making the whole watching experience like peeling an onion... there's always more if you go one layer deeper, and you cry.
I want to say Chen Yun-ru probably had the biggest character development line, and the conversations she has with Huang Yu-hsuan are really quotable. The ending also wrapped up the story really nicely, and if it's not satisfying enough, do check out the extra scene they quickly put together as a thank-you to the viewers. That warmed my heart.
Bonus points to the cultural references, relatable for every 90's or 80's kid. Like Wretch.cc, the blog website everyone went on in the 2000's, or the highly-masked SARS times at one point, etc.
Acting:
We have 35-year-old Alice Ke playing a 17-year-old high school student, and there is 0 weirdness to it. When she acts Chen Yun-ru, she looks Chen Yun-ru. For this I gotta applaud her acting skills and the makeup artists/stylists' efforts. This is also Greg Hsu's first male lead role, and he managed to play 17-year-old Li Zi Wei to someone in his near-40's perfectly. Patrick Shih was a great acting find as well. Also, the villain here actually creeps me out.
OST:
We'll all get Wu Bai's Last Dance stuck in our heads after this LOL
I'm not a huge fan of the opening song, but the ending song's lyrics hit me hard every time. It was really made for this drama.
Also, the insert songs are apparently super character-specific, like Mayday's Hug, or Nine Chen's I Hear Your Voice... if you pay attention to where they were played, you'd know they really put an effort into making a good OST for this drama.
TL;DR: A literary masterpiece. Must watch.
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