Love is Science normalizes all types of love and is romantic!!!


~~ STORY ~~

Love is Science really came running for gold. The drama focuses on Love is Science, a match-making company. At a glance, the story seems clique. The rich CEO of the company falls for a poor, good-looking, younger man. However, when you start analyzing the characters, their backgrounds, and everything in between, you find that everything is not as it seems. All of the characters and couples, are not the norm in romantic dramas.

Since Love is Science has quite a few couples running different plots at all times, I decided to talk about each couple and their plot separately.


YAN FEI x HSUAN YU

They are the main characters of the drama, and have the most screen time.

At a glance, Yan Fei is beautiful and rich. She is the CEO if Love is Science, and she seems to be one of those women who have everything they want in life... But in reality, Yan Fei is divorced and in her mid-30s. According to her statistics, she is considered part of the undesirable percentage of single women.

Hsuan Yu is a 26 year old hair stylist. He hasn't been able to pass his apprenticeship at the hair salon he works at to become a full-fledged hair stylist. That being said, his is popular with the women and all of his customers keep coming back to have their hair but by him. At a glance, he seems to be desirable by all the women out there, but he has never been able to get the attention of the one girl he likes the most because he has trouble saying his true feelings. He also has a secret... He used to be fat when he was younger.

As a couple, Yan Fei and Hsuan Yu are a match made in heaven. They click with each other since the first time they appeared on screen together. They each have their flaws, but the compliment each other. The have major communication issues, but they both know that they need to start communicating more with each other. With each episode, they grow closer together and it's great to watch such a positive couple on screen.

The real issue with this couple is that they have so much unnecessary drama. Between Yan Fei's mother and both Yan Fei's ex and Hsuan Yu's ex, there is so much to unpack. Yan Fei's mother only wants what's best for Yan Fei, but she comes off as annoying every time she is on screen. She lives in her own fantasy world and doesn't even listen to a word Yan Fei says. Whether it's supporting her ex or cheering on Hsuan Yu, we don't know that team her mother is even cheering for since she's giving off mixed signals all the time. As for Yan Fei's ex, he shows up half-way through the drama to give some competition for Hsuan Yu... We don't need that. He already divorced Yan Fei, so he should never have shown up. He was painted as a cold-hearted man that only cares for his image, so bringing him back in Yan Fei's life just to suddenly be "caring" and love Yan Fei again was so left field. I honestly skipped most of his scenes.

Now to the most problematic and unnecessary drama... Hsuan Yu's girlfriend... err... ex? According to this drama, Hsuan Yu had a girlfriend the entire time he was pinning after Yan Fei for 5 episodes... I just don't see it in Hsuan Yu's personality to be unfaithful to his girlfriend the entire time. Also, his family not mentioning her to Yan Fei is odd too. Not to mention how they treat Yan Fei badly after his girlfriend starts accusing him of cheating on her with Yan Fei. Wasn't the older brother Yan Fei's classmate? Why are they treating her so badly just because the ex is psycho? Even after Hsuan Yu breaks up with the girl, they still treat Yan Fei like shit... She wasn't even dating Hsuan Yu too! Hsuan Yu clearly made the decision to cut his ex out of his life and keep Yan Fei, so the family should just stop. Yan Fei didn't even treat them bad. She just treated them like normal.

Anyways, this couple had a lot of unnecessary drama. The two clicked together right from the beginning that we spent most of the series shouting at the two to just date already. Maybe if the couple didn't get along so well some of the drama wouldn't have been unnecessary, but oh well.


OWEN x MARK (x QIAO AN NA)

Owen and Mark are the secondary protagonist and probably the most interesting couple.

Owen is a proud and confident gay man who works under Yan Fei at Love is Science. There he works as a love consultant and matchmaker. Owen meets Mark at a cafe while matchmaking. Mark is Hsuan Yu's friend and he is also a hairstylist. He is a player that gets around quite a lot, but when he finds the right girl, he is very devoted and loyal. Mark is also has a little homophobia. When Mark and Owen meet for the second time, Owen announces he is gay leading Mark to get visibly uncomfortable. Mark doesn't do anything extreme or straight out attack Owen for being gay, but he does take a few jabs at Owen since he is jealous of how manly and cool Owen is for a gay guy.

As a couple, Owen and Mark are couple goals. They never do anything to hurt each other and they are always communicating. We get to watch them grow from complete strangers into a loving couple.

Now to the drama... Qiao An Na.

Qiao An Na isn't a terrible character. She is a great character and the drama she brings to Owen and Mark is really good drama to watch. The only issue I have with her is that the drama she brings to Owen and Mark is something that I would like to have seen in a separate drama. In this series, Owen and Mark are not the main couple. They are a side couple and don't get as much screen time. With Qiao An Na and the drama she brings to his couple, I would like to have seen it in a separate series with Owen and Mark as the main character. Qiao An Na's drama is very interesting and makes a really powerful statement to the LBGTQ community and to the world. Giving it to the side couple is really a waste of a good plot because we don't get the full story to the drama and we are left curious as to what is happening. Also, when the Qiao An Na drama hits, Owen and Mark end up taking the spotlight off Yan Fei and Hsuan Yu, which doesn't make them look good as the main characters.

Overall, I just wish Owen, Mark, and Qiao An Na get their own spin-off because I like the drama the trio had and I would like to see it as a stand alone series. I think the series would be a good point of discussion in the LGBTQ community and send a message to the world about normalizing gay love.


YOU FU x NAI HUI

You Fu and Nai Hui are the third and final couple of the series. They have the least amount of screen time out of all the couples, but make an impact.

You Fu and Nai Hui are two clients of Love is Science. Nai Hui is a bank director with lots of money and high credentials. She is in her late-40s and is considered part of the undesirable single women according to the Love is Science statistics. Nai Hui is highly educated and has very specific aspects she desires in men, like men needing to have a PhD, leaving her choices of men limited. She accidentally meets You Fu when You Fu's date tries to stand him up and makes him wait 3 hours. Seeing the young women treat You Fu with disrespect, she stands up for him and scolds the young woman. You Fu notices Nai Hui's injured foot and buys her band aids, leading her to become interested in him. You Fu is a poor farmer with no college aducation. He is the opposite of Nai Hui in all aspects. When Nai Hui asks Love is Science to match her with You Fu, only Owen thinks their love with go well despite statistics saying they have a low love matching score.

While Nai Hui and You Fu have limited screen time, it is fun to watch them get to know each other. Both Nai Hui and You Fu learn to understand each other and each other's background. It's great to watch an independent woman like Nai Hui learn to depend on You Fu. Similarly is nice to see You Fu gain some self-esteem through Nai Hui.

Overall, this couple is great because it's rare to see an elder couple fall in love on screen. Usually it's teens or young adults falling in love, so seeing Nai Hui and You Fu, who are clearly adults slightly past their prime fall in love is refreshing. I also liked how Nai Hui was such an independent and confident woman. She is someone that all women should aspire to be.


~~ CHARACTERS ~~

Love is Science has the best combination of characters I've ever seen. Almost all the characters have a beautiful love story and there is no real "bad guy." In Love is Science, from the minor characters to the major characters, everyone is desirable despite their flaws.

Representation wise, here is the breakdown.

Straight: Hsuan Yu
Masculine Gay: Owen
Bi/ Player: Mark
Lesbian: Sheng Ying
Divorced: Yan Fei
Player: Qiao An
Educated/Independent Women: Nai Hui
Uneducated/Unconfident Man/Over 50s: You Fu

When looking at the characters and thinking about the common Asian ideals of who not to marry, all of the characters fit the list. However, Love is Science fights the stereo types and gives everyone a happily ever after.


~~ OVERALL ~~

Love is Science is an amazing series that normalizes all types of romance. I think that there needs to be more series like this that normalizes different love without making a spectacle about it. It's not the best series out there in terms of plot, but it is interesting to watch and normalizes all types of love.

Don't sleep on this series and watch it now!!!