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This review may contain spoilers
A story about moving on which failed in leaving impact....
This story revolves around Chia yi and He mainly. One after seeing first few ep will think that this is supposed to be a love story but it's completely different. This story from the start was focusing on moving on and letting go.
Chia yi who has already lost his parents and his uncle was on the surface very much happy person but deep inside a part of his soul still fears of that black day. He is still learning to survive loss. He despite being the carefree and a person who is working in lot of part time jobs just to bring more money to his house to support his own aunt who is also dealing with loss and the responsibility of handling chia yi alone were both tired and never fully healed from what really happened. And when he finally found someone who promised that he will never let him go and will find him in crowd, he again lost Yen Kai to the accident in front of him. He was always dealing with the loss and still moving on with the life. His coping mechanisms that "death is more painful than missing" was always challenged when he clearly has to live on with missing a person whom he truly loved.
Then we have Yen Kai who had brain tumor and has always ques his right to love as his time is limited. He always was seeking a love which he always find beside him but he never got the same from his parents as his father was always out of town due to work and his mother don't give him the love in the form he wants. So when he found chia yi he made sure he keep him beside him. But his journey to love was never about getting a person and more about learning to let go. He learned how even after loosing his cat who was his light he can still keep Galu's memory and yet bid bye. Then when he died he was always wanting to come back just to tell Chia yi that he taught him love and his love has given him his happiest moment of life. That closure was necessary for both chia yi and yen kai to resolve unsaid feelings and finally let go of each other as his father has taught him " love is not about tie down ur loved one but to be a person one can always return to"( here happiest version of themselves).
Then we have Diao chin, a person who has loved chia yi since childhood. But he instead of pursuing has always waited for chia yi, he despite seeing chia yi falling in love with Yen Kai never got jealous when he himself was dealing with loneliness, he has always supported and has taken care of Chia Yi when he was grieving a loss and was helping him in journey of moving on to become a person Chia yi can always come back to. His love was always waiting and letting go of Chia Yi for his betterment.
Despite having good plot and character depth, the story lacks in delivering emotional impact this series has promised of. Part of this goes to the confusing storytelling.The drama spent almost half its runtime making viewers emotionally invest in Chia Yi and Yen Kai.Then it expected viewers to accept Chia Yi's healing journey within a comparatively short span.That imbalance made the emotional transition feel rushed. Plus even in that the execution of storytelling and acting haven't done in a way so as to make one feel it's max impact. For eg- Chia yi was having hard time dealing with the acceptance of truth that Yen Kai is dead and then when Yen Kai's cousin and his father disclosed what Yen Kai felt towards him and then when he was walking on the same road where accident happened he was having panick attack. That was such emotional scene but it didn't move me as much as expecting. Maybe it was acting. Most of the time I felt I was crying because story was heavy and not because I was feeling the drama.
Major fault of this drama lies in the fact that script and screenwriter has invested 70percent of the story in telling about his first love then rest 30 percent with healing and starting new love story.This led to viewers attached to first love interest more and hard time in accepting new relationship dynamics. When they could have chose another route of investing 30 percent in Yen Kai's arc and then rest 70 percent in healing and selling new love story and that could still serve the synopsis and more acceptance towards Diao chin.
What I appreciate most is that despite all storytelling imbalances and acting miss the drama never abandoned its central theme of grief, acceptance, and letting go. It remained consistent with what it wanted to tell
Another highlight of this drama is the title itself "Smile after tears". Here smile is not the romantic smile. But instead the smile that comes with the acceptance after the tears and grief of loosing ur beloved. The story is not about finding love and happiness but acknowledgement that whole loss can't be undone we can always carry that person memory and without replacing them, we can still continue living our lives.It's a story that while crossing same path and when someone says same dialogue which one has told u, it's ok to miss and cry for them. It's ok to once again open ur heart to another love it doesn't mean u are removing ur first love or lost love but it's accepting that both present and future love can co exist in one's heart despite moving on. Afterall moving on is not about forgetting.It's ok to acknowledge that they were once and forever will be beautiful part of ur life while u move forward.
Chia yi who has already lost his parents and his uncle was on the surface very much happy person but deep inside a part of his soul still fears of that black day. He is still learning to survive loss. He despite being the carefree and a person who is working in lot of part time jobs just to bring more money to his house to support his own aunt who is also dealing with loss and the responsibility of handling chia yi alone were both tired and never fully healed from what really happened. And when he finally found someone who promised that he will never let him go and will find him in crowd, he again lost Yen Kai to the accident in front of him. He was always dealing with the loss and still moving on with the life. His coping mechanisms that "death is more painful than missing" was always challenged when he clearly has to live on with missing a person whom he truly loved.
Then we have Yen Kai who had brain tumor and has always ques his right to love as his time is limited. He always was seeking a love which he always find beside him but he never got the same from his parents as his father was always out of town due to work and his mother don't give him the love in the form he wants. So when he found chia yi he made sure he keep him beside him. But his journey to love was never about getting a person and more about learning to let go. He learned how even after loosing his cat who was his light he can still keep Galu's memory and yet bid bye. Then when he died he was always wanting to come back just to tell Chia yi that he taught him love and his love has given him his happiest moment of life. That closure was necessary for both chia yi and yen kai to resolve unsaid feelings and finally let go of each other as his father has taught him " love is not about tie down ur loved one but to be a person one can always return to"( here happiest version of themselves).
Then we have Diao chin, a person who has loved chia yi since childhood. But he instead of pursuing has always waited for chia yi, he despite seeing chia yi falling in love with Yen Kai never got jealous when he himself was dealing with loneliness, he has always supported and has taken care of Chia Yi when he was grieving a loss and was helping him in journey of moving on to become a person Chia yi can always come back to. His love was always waiting and letting go of Chia Yi for his betterment.
Despite having good plot and character depth, the story lacks in delivering emotional impact this series has promised of. Part of this goes to the confusing storytelling.The drama spent almost half its runtime making viewers emotionally invest in Chia Yi and Yen Kai.Then it expected viewers to accept Chia Yi's healing journey within a comparatively short span.That imbalance made the emotional transition feel rushed. Plus even in that the execution of storytelling and acting haven't done in a way so as to make one feel it's max impact. For eg- Chia yi was having hard time dealing with the acceptance of truth that Yen Kai is dead and then when Yen Kai's cousin and his father disclosed what Yen Kai felt towards him and then when he was walking on the same road where accident happened he was having panick attack. That was such emotional scene but it didn't move me as much as expecting. Maybe it was acting. Most of the time I felt I was crying because story was heavy and not because I was feeling the drama.
Major fault of this drama lies in the fact that script and screenwriter has invested 70percent of the story in telling about his first love then rest 30 percent with healing and starting new love story.This led to viewers attached to first love interest more and hard time in accepting new relationship dynamics. When they could have chose another route of investing 30 percent in Yen Kai's arc and then rest 70 percent in healing and selling new love story and that could still serve the synopsis and more acceptance towards Diao chin.
What I appreciate most is that despite all storytelling imbalances and acting miss the drama never abandoned its central theme of grief, acceptance, and letting go. It remained consistent with what it wanted to tell
Another highlight of this drama is the title itself "Smile after tears". Here smile is not the romantic smile. But instead the smile that comes with the acceptance after the tears and grief of loosing ur beloved. The story is not about finding love and happiness but acknowledgement that whole loss can't be undone we can always carry that person memory and without replacing them, we can still continue living our lives.It's a story that while crossing same path and when someone says same dialogue which one has told u, it's ok to miss and cry for them. It's ok to once again open ur heart to another love it doesn't mean u are removing ur first love or lost love but it's accepting that both present and future love can co exist in one's heart despite moving on. Afterall moving on is not about forgetting.It's ok to acknowledge that they were once and forever will be beautiful part of ur life while u move forward.
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