Reviews

Bullies everywhere

Yi Bo gets his daughter home where he steals her earnings, steals the class fund, and beats her. She has had enough. She writes her gma an apology letter which she puts in red mailbox. She bows an apology and steps out with determination to find her father and end things. She takes a knife to the local gambling place where she has every intention of killing her father and then herself. She is stopped by the new kid , Xun, and really resents it. He calms her down and gets her home to discover Bao’s guys have already been there. He takes her to his place instead. He buys her some essentials and food and goes off to billiard place where he teases Hao about crush. Hao leaves to get her some noodles and more of Bao’s guys are there mocking the lame girl. He should have just left, but they goaded him into a fight where he is badly beaten and his noodles wasted on jerk’s head. The police now think Tang is a mental case because that was the easiest story for her father to spin. I am glad he was asked questions about frequenting mahjong place😝 There is a montage of the three suffering from various wounds and the sweet girl that changes movies smiling over his snack. In the present Yu Nian is still looking for her father, Yu Zhi Hong. This time when she sees the security guard he has a suicide letter that a;peared in the red mailbox. He thinks the mailbox is cursed and she knows her father was waiting for the letter. She stuffs it in her pocket and goes home but her father has removed everything in house that would identify him. All the meds were gone and nothing identifying him was there. At the police station she runs a check with her ID. But here is where gets strange. The man that comes up as her father died in prison 20 years ago. She has no explanation and the only discovery she has made is a bunch of train tickets to a place she has never heard of and a postcard that has the same signature as the letter in her pocket.

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Red mailbox / red cat

The story begins with an older man waiting by a red mailbox. There is a red cat close by. It wakes up the security guard. The old man is kicked out but insists on sending letters from here. He ends up missing and the daughter has a chat with the security guard. He says that after her father put the letter in the mailbox he just disappeared. She doesn’t believe him. A young girl with a knife is apologizing to her gma in a letter that is put in that box. There is also a group of three debt collectors that get involved because Ye Yibo did not pay gambling debt. It is the 7th day of mourning for her gma so they take her gma’s money and call it a day. She has words with one of them. Contrary to the job he just did, he helps an old man with his cart that includes a red cat. They do not like the gang boss over them and are very close to having the money they need for a boat. This is their primary objective. The three want out of the ‘collecting’ business and want a legitimate job. The girl works in a stationary/ postcard shop and is asked to do a campaign for them. She titles it writing to yourself in the future. The same old man and cart walk by her and asks for some boxes. She helps him and pets the cat. His cart has the red mailbox on it. The next day the red mailbox is parked outside the shop with a letter for her inside. Her teacher turns out to be related to one of the debt collectors that is now in her home room class. They have words where she wants her gma’s money back and he tells her that her father should pay his gambling debts. The letter inside the red mailbox was a love letter of sorts from the new guy in class. Her debt collector. It is read aloud and a fight breaks out. They both find themselves in the office with her dad. The teacher isn’t aware that the father is scum, but the daughter and new student well aware. He acts like he is a concerned father, but her looks and cringing says it all. The boy rescues the crumbled letter from the mailbox and begins to read when the episode ends. The music is very good. I especially liked the Jiu Lian Zhen Ren song ‘Don’t bully the youngsters’. There is a time gap with the letters from 1991 when the girl writes to 2026 when the old man writes. Interestingly, the cat is in both times along with the mailbox.

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A Beautiful and Painful Journey of Acceptance in Episode 11

Family honor, expectations, and shame linger in every corner of life. For many of us, coming out is not about freedom but about risking everything, even the love of the people who raised us. In Asian culture, where family expectations run so deep, it can feel almost impossible to be honest about who you are.That is why I loved this episode so much. Seeing Kanade Shinichiro’s mum and sister be so supportive, welcoming, and happy for him was truly moving. Their acceptance felt like a rare light in a world where rejection is often the first fear.So many people were angry at the dad in the last episode, but if you put yourself in his place, it makes sense. He caught his son kissing another man, and it was a shock. Instead of explaining, Kanade Shinichiro reacted with anger and shouted at his dad. It was painful, but also very human. That is why I am so glad that in this episode they finally had a proper conversation while walking together. The words, the honesty, and the way it tied in with the childhood flashback broke me. It was raw, emotional, and painfully real.Episode 11 was beautiful in its realism. It showed both the struggle and the hope of being accepted. Now I am looking forward to the final episode next week, though my heart is still heavy from this one.

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Stillbirth and accepting possible defects

This was such an emotional journey this episode. Two mothers are on bed rest for duration of time remaining in pregnancy. One has two other children and the other is her first. Dr Konotori was hit with unexplained tragedy. The mother had done everything right and all prior checkups were normal. With no warning or reason little Akari died in utero. It was so sad to see her deliver a stillborn, but so beautiful how the staff embraced her and gave dignity to their family. It was heart wrenching and beautiful at the same time. She was their first child and will always hold a special place. The other mother was heartbroken for her roommate when she found out. She was also given a gift from her. There was such beauty and grace in how these families were presented. Another family had to have an emergency c-section. The boy had heart problems that needed surgery but the dad was not inclined. He openly stated that no surgery to save his life was needed. Dr Shaniya was shaken with this development because she later realized that by focusing on the babt]y, she had disregarded the parents’ wishes. She wrote a letter to apologize and the mom came to NICU.she let the doctor know they did not blame her for her decision and were ready to discuss the needed surgery. I was bawling my eyes out this episode, but in spite of the tragedy, there is so much love and hope. The music as always lovingly embellished the story.

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Natural birth vs c-section

This episode featured the mom that had a c-section and for second child wants to try natural. She is struggling as a new parent because she has mentally decided that the level of pain in childbirth equates to level of love for child. The child is stubborn and willful so she is unhappy with how she and daughter get along. Even the father noticed when he paid attention.😝 Her disposition was much better just thinking about it. Ultimately, since they could not induce when she stalled progressing, she finally accepted that a c-section is ok. This was first episode they did not say which gender newborn was. 😝 The chief of NICU is struggling due to lack of staff. The new kid is getting ready to move from ob/gyn to there and hopefully will be more interested. The Iron Lady did not return, but the new one from last season is doing a good job picking up the slack. So the question is which is better, to lack staff but have dedicated personnel, or have the right number of personnel needed but they are lackluster in job performance?

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Post partum depression and believing silly myths

This episode had flashbacks to a young mother that committed suicide. Dr Konotori still has much guilt about her. The career mom was showing same symptoms. Dr Komatsu was frustrated because she wanted to get the woman help and didn’t care about protocol. The husband and mother 😝they could not have been more thoughtless. 🤬 He’s getting pats on the back about what a wonderful dad he is but he’s never home. His wife is losing herself. Her career has been put on hold and they moved on with her project with new people. Her hair is falling out and she feels completely isolated. Her baby is growing well and the hole in her heart is healing. Things should be happy but they aren’t. Dr Shinomiya talks her down from the ledge. He tells her she is suffering from depression, but she can heal with proper assistance. The staff embrace her cause and talk with her. She is encouraged to join a new moms group. Her husband gets a chat about his lack of help and he promises to be more hands on with the baby. I hope he comes through. There is another young couple where the wife has a heart condition. Special arrangements are made for the birth to be as calm and painless as possible. She comes in ever week with some silliness about how she should dress or eat based on silly myths and nonsense. She is finally talked down and has the baby. She also admits the myths were nonsense. These two are very young but hopefully will use brains better once baby is home. The episode ends with an emergency birth due to high blood pressure. The new staff member didn’t bring it to the attention of the doctors and was flippant about it. Dr Shimoya slapped him across the face and we all were with her. He deserved it. 😝

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Cervical cancer and post partum depression

This episode has a young couple expecting. The mother felt baby move for first time and they are very excited. She learned she had cervical cancer and had to decide how long to keep baby in womb or even if continue pregnancy. The treatment required a radical hysterectomy so this would be their only chance for a pregnancy. Dr Konotori knows his mother passed because she refused treatment for her cancer. His third orphanage mom reminded him that his mother really wanted to raise him with her own two hands. He decided 28 weeks would give mother and child best chance. Their daughter is very tiny in NICU, but the mother’s test came back negative after the surgery. Dr Shinomiya declares them both lucky. He always chooses to play devil’s advocate, and he brings up reasonable arguments. But he also smiled when they couldn’t see him. The career mom from last season is answering fine to all questions but something is off. Dr Komatsu had her fill out a survey about difficulties as a new mom and encourages her to come to them for guidance and assistance. The end of the episode shows her severely depressed and on roof ledge at hospital. The episode pushed hpv vaccines. Vaccinations are important, but some must weigh the risks to the benefits.

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