When your FL is a toddler
Oof. Look, for 2/3rds of this show, this 20 year old woman talks in a baby voice, wheedles like a child, and actually MOVES like a toddler at times. Like, running and dancing with that awkward toddler-like physicality where they aren’t quite sure where their limbs go. She does that exaggerated blinky thing that you really only see in humans under 5, or humans with other developmental stuff going on. A friend offers her a coke, and she pouts and baby-talks she wants a coke fetched by the ML - this in front of his friends, who are working adults! This is actually disturbing to see in a 20 year old. And when you layer on top of that the fact that she believed the ML was her biological older brother for at least the first 10 years of her life - what the hell is going on here?! With her, AND with him!?
Story: goofy and outlandish as hell, but within the boundaries of the world described, few showstopping plot holes. (You know, other than everyone in the family losing their minds that two kids who were raised as biological siblings are obviously dating.) Unfortunately this drama is also two shows: 2/3 is a weird Fast & Furious & VC Andrews mashup, and 1/3 is an actually kind of interesting reunion-with-complications story. I wish those ratios had been reversed. Also if you are not a car person, prepare to fast forward the vroomy bits, of which there are many. And if you’re a person who has any sort of auditory sensitivity - lots of tires squealing, so enjoy the mute button.
Direction: based on costuming, scripting, makeup and casting, I have to assume the director WANTED that childlike performance out of Esther. Which is deranged, but also very much on him. Ick, sir. I know a lot of people enjoy the kissing scenes here, but honestly all credit goes to the actors, the way it’s shot isn’t particularly creative. The cinematography is quite nice though, good color palette.
Acting: Here is where the caveat for Esther comes in, because she’s hired to do a job, and I think she actually did do the job she was hired for - if you hire an actress known for a baby voice and manga expressions, put her in frilly ankle socks and barrettes and pigtails, and then make her say daft things like “he’s my guardian” when she is a whole big 20 years of age and applying to universities internationally… Well, she fulfilled the objective. Which is a damn shame, because a more organic and less cartoony FL in the first section would have made the second section way more meaningful. “Love for You” just did this FL transformation and it’s miles better.
Enough about the FL. Onto the ML: I did not expect to be impressed with He Yu. Was not on the radar at all, was pretty generic bad-boy-with-pure-heart in the first piece, smolders like a monster but again that’s not a rare trait. And then the second part of the show rolls around, and I am surprised how much he transformed that character and managed to tether the character to an entirely different core while keeping consistency. Most time jumps are the same character with better hair and clothes - this isn’t. It’s easy to strip away silly youthful stereotype
behaviors and pretend that’s maturity (FL), but He Yu actually changed all sorts of things about his performance that communicated years of change. Posture, movement, confidence, communication. I would have enjoyed a show entirely focused on him and that arc. Was not expecting that, and will definitely look for him in other dramas.
But not this one! Which I give zero rewatch value.
Story: goofy and outlandish as hell, but within the boundaries of the world described, few showstopping plot holes. (You know, other than everyone in the family losing their minds that two kids who were raised as biological siblings are obviously dating.) Unfortunately this drama is also two shows: 2/3 is a weird Fast & Furious & VC Andrews mashup, and 1/3 is an actually kind of interesting reunion-with-complications story. I wish those ratios had been reversed. Also if you are not a car person, prepare to fast forward the vroomy bits, of which there are many. And if you’re a person who has any sort of auditory sensitivity - lots of tires squealing, so enjoy the mute button.
Direction: based on costuming, scripting, makeup and casting, I have to assume the director WANTED that childlike performance out of Esther. Which is deranged, but also very much on him. Ick, sir. I know a lot of people enjoy the kissing scenes here, but honestly all credit goes to the actors, the way it’s shot isn’t particularly creative. The cinematography is quite nice though, good color palette.
Acting: Here is where the caveat for Esther comes in, because she’s hired to do a job, and I think she actually did do the job she was hired for - if you hire an actress known for a baby voice and manga expressions, put her in frilly ankle socks and barrettes and pigtails, and then make her say daft things like “he’s my guardian” when she is a whole big 20 years of age and applying to universities internationally… Well, she fulfilled the objective. Which is a damn shame, because a more organic and less cartoony FL in the first section would have made the second section way more meaningful. “Love for You” just did this FL transformation and it’s miles better.
Enough about the FL. Onto the ML: I did not expect to be impressed with He Yu. Was not on the radar at all, was pretty generic bad-boy-with-pure-heart in the first piece, smolders like a monster but again that’s not a rare trait. And then the second part of the show rolls around, and I am surprised how much he transformed that character and managed to tether the character to an entirely different core while keeping consistency. Most time jumps are the same character with better hair and clothes - this isn’t. It’s easy to strip away silly youthful stereotype
behaviors and pretend that’s maturity (FL), but He Yu actually changed all sorts of things about his performance that communicated years of change. Posture, movement, confidence, communication. I would have enjoyed a show entirely focused on him and that arc. Was not expecting that, and will definitely look for him in other dramas.
But not this one! Which I give zero rewatch value.
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