See you later…Maybe if you allow yourself to take a second chance at life.
Hilarious in its tragedy and surrealistic in its cynical realism, See You Later…Maybe is a disco ball that reflects the vices of modern times, creating a sparkling and vivid light display for you to dance to or stare at once the quiet finds you. Manufactured idols, fake, inflated numbers, money, money, money, sacrifices made for a fabricated 15 minutes of fame in the internet bubble that barely means anything in the world outside of it, and betrayal of oneself, all neatly packed into a comedy that you can chuckle at until you realise the bubbling sounds escaping your throat come from reality of life wrapping around your neck.Fang Haowen, spectacularly portrayed by Jia Bing, is a solid foundation of the story. He is quite frankly an asshole. Blinded by the successes he believes his writing genius is entitled to, stubbornly refusing to see the small successes he already has (a lover, a friend, a job that pays bills, a simple and content life, really), he attempts to climb to the top of publishing world, and when he betrays himself over and over and over again, at the peak of it all, he’s nothing but a naked king with starlight stabbing his too thin skin and too big ego. The descend is inevitable, you either die at the top, gracefully climb back down or you’re brutally pulled down, crashing against the cold hard surface.
Tian Jiarui’s character, Bie Fan, is the heart and soul of the story. The only sincerity among lies and schemes and fake ideals. He’s an antithesis to everything that Fang Haowen is. Intellectual disability, loss of his loved ones, his life is hindered by uncontrollable forces, and yet he never loses resolve, kindness, and bright eyes capable of seeing the light in the darkness. Fang Haowen’s book helped him through the hardest times, and he’s willing to help his favourite writer in return. When Fang Haowen declared war against himself and the forces were unequal, Bie Fan was a hand reaching out for him.
The creators of the show bring those two worlds together to tell a story of second chances. The cinematography and artistic choices made add to the storytelling in the most compelling and unexpected ways (especially want to point out the long, uninterrupted shots used when the story touched upon livestreaming) Exceptional actors breathe life into characters, they never ridicule them or treat them like caricatures to make fun of or lecture you about. Rather through ridiculousness and absurdity, they paint a simple yet touching picture. Success lies in human connections, love, understanding, and support. The rope they offer is not one to hang yourself with, but one to use to climb back up.
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How to Numb Your Brain (or a love story that meets its viewers nowhere)
If you want a brainless, shallow romance drama made for 12 year olds, whose idea of love was shaped by self-inserting into Wattpad fanfiction about a Mary Sue and her cold boyfriend, Harry Styles, who she can "fix", then this drama is for you. It’s something to watch after a long day of work to switch off your brain. In fact, it’s very important that you don’t use your brain. I’m warning you: do not use it. Otherwise, the moment you lock in and start trying to make sense of things, everything falls apart faster than the USSR did in good old 1991.Under no circumstances should you get attached to characters or relationships that have substance and potential, because they will be sidelined or entirely ignored to push a female lead with no motivation or goals, along with her boyfriend (an incredibly fascinating character, I might add) who is butchered, robbed of his identity and turned into a vibrating tool the female lead can use or put in a drawer however she likes. Their romance offers nothing but cheap tropes stitched together. If you’re looking for that, though, you will thoroughly enjoy it.
If you’re looking for a drama with a coherent plot, developed character arcs, meaningful relationships, suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and satisfying payoffs, run and find something else to watch. This drama is a textbook example of idol drama slop, with rare moments of sincerity between characters that the story actively tries to ignore in order to satisfy a very specific audience, leaving it with essentially no heart. Pure vibes, no substance. As Tian Jiarui’s initial reaction to reading the final version of the script went: "That’s it?"
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