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littlepearl

Canada

littlepearl

Canada
A River Runs Through It chinese drama review
Completed
A River Runs Through It
1 people found this review helpful
by littlepearl
May 5, 2022
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.5
Story 8.5
Acting/Cast 10.0
Music 8.0
Rewatch Value 9.0
This review may contain spoilers

Perfect--except for the ending . . .

This would be my top Cdrama of all time if it had a better ending! I loved it so much. The acting was great, most of the characters and storylines were relatable and touching. The only people that were meh to me were CL and LY, seemed like neither had any personality. But LS in particular really shined as a character. I loved watching him grow and I think the actor did an amazing job.

At times I felt like I wasn't watching a drama, I was watching a documentary. A lot of people watch dramas to escape so they don't want it to be like real life and don't care how far-fetched it is; however, I watch them because that's exactly what I'm looking for. I feel like these characters were the first people I've "met" that feel the way I have felt. I want characters and circumstances to be real and this drama hit the mark better than anything else I have watched. It wasn't afraid to show the ugliness of life and that everything is going to be okay in the end, you can get through it.

I especially liked how things developed between LS and XJ post-confession for the sheer fact LS had a much different reaction than normal, instead of becoming defeated he doubled down--and I truly believe that is the best course of action you can take for someone like XJ. Some might see it as pushy but I think there are times when you need to persist because it's not that the other person is resisting because they are not interested, but because they are scared. It was refreshing to see a character who did not fall into despair because someone didn't accept them right away, instead they stood by their feelings AND their own value.

It was a great show . . . until the last two episodes. It was like they planned for 50 episodes but got to episode 34 and learned they could only produce two more. The storylines were rushed, they didn't really make sense, and frankly it was hard to connect with the wedding for example because it was so disconnected and out of nowhere that you had no emotional attachment to the couple in question. Then imagine the one you love leaves without telling you, you don't see or hear from them for FIVE YEARS, and they just show up and end up proposing after messing around with your feelings for two or three days. Like it was so jarring and disappointing, the pacing wasn't the same as the rest of the series and we never really got to see the main leads in a relationship or resolving the issues between them. It was a lot of buildup to something amazing and then it just crashed and burned.

I consider it a great tragedy how this show ended, it deserved better. I would honestly be okay if there was a season two and they were just like "Yeah those last two episodes were just a dream, let's get back to the REAL story." But I just finished it yesterday however and I already want to start again! So I'd still recommend it.
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