Plant Goddess (2018)

It's hard to review this drama overall because it almost felt like two seasons of the same series. Yun Hai's villagers & the Taipei cast led the bubbly first half of the season, while dramatic plot led the second half. That being said, this Taiwanese drama did a great job on developing its characters and portraying realistic conflict in rural Taiwan. I think it's a bit of a shame where the second half of the plot went, as the first half set up so much potential either in taking time to develop characters or explore alternative plot points.

With that being said about the plot, I really appreciated the entire cast in this drama. Liu Yi Hao and Annie Chen had good chemistry. The Yun Hai villagers all made really realistic characters I cared about - the village chief, the police officer, and the Mi family wife are stand outs. I really really enjoyed Xie Ying Xuen's acting (who doesn't) and REALLY wish there was more - but honestly, she was probably too busy filming other shows/movies.

The music, though, was really the best part about the series. And honestly what made me watch it. They had their theme songs by Waa Wei and Kowen, an OST by Crispy, and original songs for Nana Lee, Jake Hsu, and Liu Yi Hao. I'm still waiting for an official release of Nana Lee and Jake Hsu's duet. pls.

All in all, I did enjoy watching this drama fully. And even though some plot lines were more dramatic than others, I still enjoyed (most of) them because I cared about the characters. It's a hopeful sign that Taiwanese dramas are improving in quality, from the writing to the directing to the acting.

But maybe best of all, as a Liu Yi Hao fan, I can finally say he can act in dramas. LOL

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a drama that could have done without the drama

THE GOOD
The first half was decently cute and I liked the 'Little Forest'-esque vibes with the rural setting and the different dishes they presented throughout the show. Jasper and Annie make a cute pair, and the villagers are quite an endearing bunch. I also loved the last song they play at the end of every episode (and the original songs they play throughout the show are also quite charming)! It's definitely a pleasant change of scenery.

THE BAD
That being said, I wish it didn't have so much unnecessary drama. Many of the characters with "issues" had a glaring lack of character development or even depth to begin with, which led me to skimming over half of the scenes. Even the righteous main characters had a hard time winning my sympathy at certain points. So. Much. Pointless. Moping.

CONCLUSION
I mostly finished it out of curiosity, but in the end I'm not too sure what I watched.

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