Legally Romance

Cliche done right

I avoided this show for a while because when I read the description, I thought it would be a bit too out there for me to enjoy. I was quite pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this show from episode one and it wasn't quite as out there as I thought it would be. Obviously, it's not very realistic or anything however the plot they used is actually quite genius in some ways.

Overall positive review:

This show hooks you in from episode one with the cold boss and overworked and underpaid assistant who went to school together and are "enemies". Episode one has humor and drama that gets you invested in these three characters fairly quick. Then it immediately transports you to the "coma world" where the FL lead is rewriting her past. It's interesting because from the first episode you make some pretty quick judgements about the characters, specifically the two male leads, and it leads you to be biased in terms of not wanting to like them or thinking they are awful people. But as her past unfolds you end up seeing how everyone got to be where they are in reality and the people you were determined to not like you end up empathizing with and even find yourself somewhat rooting for.

Also, this drama is secretly really about the female lead healing while in the coma. There's an obvious pun there that I think most viewers missed out on. While she is "rewriting her past" in the coma she is also coming to grips with everything that has happened both in the past and in the present. She uses this coma world to come to grips with finally letting go of her ex-boyfriend she gave way too many years to. I think some people watching this were frustrated she wasn't meaner to him, but people forget when you spend so many years loving someone and by their side, it doesn't just go away in an instant. I thought this show did a great job at allowing her to accept that the relationship is over but also allowed her to want the best for him still and not be consumed by revenge and anger. Same goes for the relationship with her boss/rival. Her whole focus is on beating him and essentially stealing everything that deep down she feels like he took from her. You can tell she has a lot of regret and anger at herself for how she was in the past and the ML is simply just a misdirect of that internal disappointment. Obviously, the main thing she needed healing from was the loss of her father and she also gets to go back and have more time with him and truly come to grips with the reality of what happened and realizing that there are certain destinies we cannot change, and we cannot stop our life over things we have no control over. This show in a way that went over a lot of people's heads was quite masterful in using the coma time to heal her in more than one way. She truly woke up with a new look on life and ready to take back what she had been keeping from herself.

So, I really did love this story and all the themes it included in it. Obviously, there are many tiny details and moments that make you fall in love with the characters outside of the overall plot. This drama was much better than I thought it was going to be and Ill probably be rewatching some parts to notice things I didn't notice before and smile at the sweet moments.

However, it wasn't perfect. These are my critiques:

- The ending in terms of how they went from a lighthearted and fun college drama to a dangerous war between law firms was...kind of unnecessary. I think we could have gotten the happy ending and full closure to the story without the extreme circumstances that were happening at the end. Looking back it honestly is a bit silly with the whole near death stuff happening. Felt like we were watching a mafia drama at parts and it just was kind of random and extreme.

- Like a lot of people I did find myself a bit annoyed with the FL at multiple parts. For one thing while in the coma world shes just a little too zealous with her obsessions of fixing things and completely missing obvious things in front of her. It's like the show has her as this top law student who is crazy smart and a quick thinker but then it's like she has no common sense and can't put two and two together. Obviously she was working off what she knew from the past and had strong biases about things but it still got a bit annoying at parts and I wanted to scream please wake up (no pun intended). Also, she kind of woke up and just.... expected her and the ML to just...ride off into the sunset???? Like in reality he literally watched you love and only care about another man for 10 YEARS. I feel like the gravity of that just doesn't hit her at all and she needs to humble herself a bit. In reality I think the love story really isn't as cute as this drama is which is ironic to say. I think a man like the ML shouldn't be waiting around for someone for 10 years on the sideline. It would be different if he dated around or whatever but he didn't. From a realistic view (which is not how romance cdramas should be viewed lol) it actually made me pity his character a lot. And then the FL was trying to test him? She wanted to him to confess first and acted like he needs to be honest with her when he clearly always was obviously in love her and literally everyone knew it? It just kind of makes the FL look super ... entitled and also makes me pity the ML even more which takes away a bit from the love story to me.

- Tao did well here and actually surprised me a bit with his acting chops (though I agree that I think this character in some ways was very similar to himself) but the FL to me wasn't at her best. I found her expressions and whatnot really recycled. She went all out playing the girl determined on revenge and rewriting the past that it made her character... very one dimensional. Also she keeps saying how she is 28 but I felt like while reliving college as a 28 year old she was still very immature. The whole point is she is going back in time with maturity and insight but I felt like a lot of her actions were very childish. But then when she woke up from the coma, I felt like she was more mature but it didn't make sense because in the coma world she was 28 too.... just back in her 18 year old body. For me that was an oversight of the writers and directors. I understand being young and naive is part of the charm of the show but her antics got a little old at some points. You are intelligent and 28 and this is how you are acting? This isn't on her this is mainly on the writers and directors so don't take this as an attack on the actress, my issues is with the script for her character at some points during the period she is in the coma.

- I thought the leads had good chemistry and their bickering in the show came off very natural and almost like adlibs not scripted. However, when it came to the romantic, intimate parts I felt like the male lead was more into the female lead. He was way more into the kissing and whatnot and even when she fell in love with him and started dating him I just feel like her character still was very... anti touching or kissing. I do not enjoy dramas where it looks like the female isn't into the kissing or physical stuff.

- This is a personal thing and I know it'll get some hate from his fans but I really wish Tao would change his hair. He had many sexy moments in this drama don't get me wrong, especially with the suit and glasses, but I still did not like the hair. I also think the hair didn't fit the character very well either. Top law student and top lawyer with that style of hair? Despite the cocky attitude it still didn't match for me and didn't seem very professional or serious. I really wish it was at least shorter but this is a personal thing cause in real life I really wish he would switch his hair up since I don't think this haircut does his face justice. I get how you could argue the haircut was kind of carefree like the character but I just don't think it really matched.

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Such a good drama!

I enjoyed every single episode of this drama! It’s very hard to find a drama that you enjoy so much that you’re looking forward to each new episode anticipating and enjoying each one very slowly because they’re so good. It’s like reading a really really good book where you can hardly wait to turn the page. The chemistry between the ML & FL was so amazing. Every interaction between the two of them was just flowing naturally the body language the facial expressions you could just tell the ease in their actions. A lot of times in dramas like this people act kind of wooden or stiff but with this drama the arm around the shoulder or the interlocking arms hand holding always very natural appearing and seem to be something that a couple of which is normally do in every day life.

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A do-over done right

The first few episodes hint at nothing other than a typical office romance with the usual difficult boss (ML) and a suffering female assistant (FL). There is more hate than love and they are very combative. The FL was in a bad place both in her career as well as relationship fronts. Nothing cute nor sweet. Fairly standard stuff so far.

I’m glad that I hang in there until she has the accident and ended up in a coma. When she woke up, she is 18 again and back in law school with all the old classmates including the ML. Henceforth, the tone and feel of the show changed completely. It is now a fun, sweet rom-com and really uplifting. That change surprised me in a good way. Do-overs can get good but often it is just a one trick pony aka the ML wins the FL, again.

To the contrary, it is the FL who took charge of her “new” life and set about righting wrongs and starts to see things from a different perspective. In so doing, she archived a lot of growth, closures and changed the lives of those around her for the better.

Her (do-over) romance with the true ML was so sweet! The ML was the nicest guy and supported her 100% from the start but she misunderstood him in the real past and picked the wrong guy.

Of course, there are angsts and setbacks, but the writer handled them with a deft hand and gave each dark cloud a silver lining. Events are cross-referenced between the two realities. She could influence some key events but not all. Overall, her time in the dream-world is the most engaging and coherent do-over plot I have seen for a long time so kudos to our writer.

After she woke up from the coma, the show is still good, but the shady business subplot started to turn nasty. In fact, how that plotline is concluded is a bit contrived and overly dramatic. The scenes with the luxury cruiser and cars felt tagged on. It is a misstep in an otherwise coherent and well written script.

In terms of acting, there are the odd misfires amongst the big cast but the actors in key roles are all solid. I’m particularly impressed by the FL. She usually plays a bubbly/feisty girl, but it can get samey. She is still in a familiar role, but her acting seems better, more nuanced. There is no doubt that she is the main lead here. I also like the FL’s father. He really embodied a father’s love for his family. The ML did well but played second fiddle for a change. The 2OTP is a cute couple but interestingly, their love line in the dream-world was more organic and relatable than their real-world counterpart.

I started watching this show expecting very little, but I am pleasantly surprised. I’d have score it higher except for a few odd plot issues towards the end. I’ll have no problem re-watching most of it. BTW, don’t miss the epilogue after the final credit. It is sooo sweet! :) Enjoy!

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My Dec 2024 Recommendation Challenge

Long time heard about this one, but quite hesitate to watch it cause I don't too fond of Z-Tao. But I'm glad for the recommendation challange & MIMI who pick this drama for me...

Story about Qian Wei (QW), a girl who feel failure about her life. She graduate with law degree, but failed the bar exam made her no choice but to work as a paralegal & assistant for her classmates & rival in university, Lu Xun (LX).

One day buy miracle, QW back to her university days & had a change to restart every thing about her life. So with the knowledge of the future, QW start to 'fix' her life. QW start to take every opportunity that's been lost in her youth, the opportunity to be the lead, instead of her 'rival' LX.

But when QW start to experiencing all of it again, she start to notice all the thing she never noticing back in her youth. Like all the things LX did for her back in the days... Knowing all of it now, make all the impression & feeling QW had for LX all these years changing. And in the end they even began to be in a relationship.

And because MDL already told us, that QW is in comma & only having 'dream'. When all the thing start smoothly in QW favor, QW & LX relationship start to having problems. And that's when QW finally awake from her comma & dream.

In real life, QW who just been awake start to feel a blur between dream & reality. At first, she having mixed feelings & memory between her dream & her own past. But slowly her memory start to come back & she can differentiate more of between her dream & her own past.

But she soon realized all the things in her dream start to be the truth in her life too. Like, when Qian Chuan got a word of advice from their dad about his life after the incident, turn out to be the truth in real life (QW before didn't know about this fact, she knows in from her dream). Or like when Liu Shi Yun open the noodle shop.

With all of the event in her dream start to become reality, QW realized LX feeling for her also must be the same with her dream too... So QW start to challenging LX feeling for her, just to be slap with LX strong-willed to hide his feeling for QW. So... Who will win in the end...?? ^^

That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoiler. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+Z-Tao really good here. Really fit for LX. Haha... I really like his character here. Although LX kinda stupid and so d*mn stubborn to hide his feelong for QW. But I really like the scene when LX admit his feeling for QW.
+ I really like Song Zu Er too... I like how she can act differently between the youth QW and adult QW.
+ They give us a a little show about attorney job, but not really bore us with all the detail.
+ No stupid love rival. Oh they have stong love rival, QW's ex, Li Chong Wen (CW). But I really like how he knows his place & not becoming the evil and stupid EX. And the feeling of threaten that CW brought for LX is quite funny to watch.
+ The friendship. In the end, the friendship of QW, Mo Zi Xin & Liu Shi Yun is really one good friends till the end.

What I don't like:
- The stupid stubborn LX when he really try to hide his feeling for QW. Frustrated to see the writer stalling us for a few episode just to see how in the end LX give up and just confess.
- The stupid antagonist. I know she doesn't want to dirtied her own hand, but the action of her feel half-baked. I don’t kbow how to put it in words.

Overall this one fun drama to watch...

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I object...

I object to the casting of the female lead. She was not very likeable (especially for the ML to pine for over a decade) and even her "cute" moments were not that cute. She had word spaghetti (a lot!) and usually those ramblings were skipped over. The actress herself is mediocre (I'm one of the few who is not a fan of her previous work) and most scenes with her fell flat for me. Her kiss scenes were bland and I didn't believe any romantic feelings coming from her. She had a look that was a cross between being constipated and aggravated when she should have been love-y or romantic toward the ML.

The male lead is one of my favorites as an artist over all. His music stays on my play lists (some gems were added from this show) and he has really grown as an actor. There were several scenes where you could just feel the love radiating from his eyes. He's so natural and loveable, his kisses looked on point (he was stuck with a cold fish), and I have been trying to find one of his Young King Young Boss shirts LOL.

The side characters were okay, nothing too glamourous or exciting happening over there.
Some of their scenes dragged far too long for me.

The music was great. The intro was one I watched often, the music and art were very pleasing. There were a few songs of his that played throughout the show. I love seeing his growth as an artist (from all sides).

Overall it was okay, bearable. I would not re-watch this. Going back in time, comas, etc. are usually not a genre I watch and only watched this one b/c of ZTAO.

It was not a 10, 9, or even 8 if I am being completely honest. Those ratings are overly generous.

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Acting and Story Superb

I like it so much. I read the novel before. From my opinion this drama storyline more structured and fulfilling than the novel. Great storyline that pull you into the story.

Acting superb. all the actors have good acting. great lineup. perfect harmony between main characters. they totally have chemistry together.

Music not give me much impression. so i give 5 points.


rewatch value: totally gonna watch it again.


Side note: i cannot with ztao hairstyle and fashion in this drama. lawyer with that kind of hairstyle😂. i try to ignore it but his hairstyle and fashion does not shadowed his acting. very good chemistry with the female lead.

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MY LU XUN AND QIAN WEI WE LOVE U

I think I just had the pleasure of watching the best modern Cdrama (dare I say) of all time!

This drama tells the story of 28 year old Qian wei who isn't satisfied with the life she is living. Her 18 year old self had many plans for herself to accomplish as a lawyer but unfortunately couldn't because she never passed an important test that is needed to become a lawyer so she works as a paralegal under Lu Xun.(but its not a boss-assistant romance at all!!) Lu Xun was her rival in University and she would always end up second only to him, people never expected that she would work as his assistant one day, especially QW. One day she finds out that her BF has been using her for information on a case (as he is also a lawyer) and she is very upset by that and with the stresses of life she gets into an accident. when she is in the coma she travels back to her 18 year old self determinated to do everything right this time! She assists her friends and gets rid of their regrets along with hers. (avoids her ex-bf, tries to stop her dad from dying and this isn't really a spoiler....so on )Anyways she ends up seeing a side to Lu Xun she hasn't seen before as in the original timeline she was stuck to her BFs and BFFs side and ends up falling in love with him, what emerges is man funny moments between the two.

THE ACTING WAS TEW GOOD. I'd say if you haven't seen Huang Zitao in anything before this, you should take a chance with this drama. On the other hand if you have seen his dramas and didn't enjoy his characters/acting don't watch it for him, because Lu Xun is very Huang zitao, and you will get what I mean as you watch this drama. I personally love his acting and his personality so I enjoyed it. The attitude he adds is funny, but he also adds sincerity when needed. TAO IS ONE OF THE BEST IDOL-TURNED ACTORS. also I personally didn't mind his hair it grew on me so well.
Song Zuer was soo cute. I love the roles she picks. I've seen her in TFWY and loved her in that and so I was excited to see her, and boy did she not disappoint. She was perfect and very funny acting as an 28 year old in a 18 year old body. Also her emotional scenes were perfectly acted.
The chemistry was definitely there and I'd love to see Song Zuer and Huang Zitao reunited in a drama. They were a perfect Tom and Jerry CP.
Also the OSTs were soo good (I'm actually listening to the osts right now). Also 余生都是你 and 碎片 are going on my playlists right now!!!
I'll miss Lu Xun and Qian Wei so much and if you're complementing watching this drama you totally should 😁
Bottomline- It's about a boy's love for a girl who's been to stubborn and oblivious to know it but once she's back in 2022 the chase is on

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Wholesome, Adorable, serious at times

Everything was as close to perfect as it gets. From the MAGNIFICENT acting of the cast (especially the main couple's) to the amazing story and cinematography and of course the OST!!!! Don't let me start abou it, it was absolutely BEAUTIFUL and the vibes it gave to the scenes were so suitable, plus Z Tao's voice is heavenly. The cast's chemistry seemed really good. To me this drama screams "wholesome" and I Honesty didn't want it to end as it was
SUPER enjoyable. Needless to say I became a huge fan of the fl after seeing how exceptional she is in portraying her role. I already was a Z Tao fan but even if I wasn't I 100% would have become one now, after seeing his acting. I hope the main couple can work together again. Although I didn't expect it in the beginning, this drama was truly amazing!

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I will never get over this drama, it is AMAZING

This drama was a rollercoaster of emotions and yet it was still hilarious throughout because of the leads and their bickering.

PERFECT CAST with AMAZING CHEMISTRY between all the characters, especially the leads. I need Ztao and Zu Er to be the leads on another drama together. Their characters had a wonderful love/hate relationship for each other. Qian Wei genuinely disliked Lu Xun (reasonably so) but Lu Xun had been in love with her for 11 years.
The BEST thing about their relationship is the fact that despite the fact that he was always in love with her, he didn't treat her like a 'lover' like in one scene in episode 1 where she was about to fall into a pond (of sorts) with her bag that carried evidence, instead of helping her, he snatched the bag and watched her fall into the water. That scene is exactly how their relationship is throughout the drama. It's no wonder she never figured out that he liked her.

It had the BEST and consistent WRITING. It started uphill and stayed uphill throughout and it revealed every single detail of the plot, so there were NO potholes or open/unsatifying endings to any of the storylines.
The relationship between the leads never changes, they bickered all the time whether they were a couple, rivals at university or boss/employee. I loved their boss/employee relationship because it never seemed like he was her boss with the way she treats him but the way she talks about him makes it sound like he was a terrible boss to her, which we never actually see because as the audience we know that he is in love with her and is trying to help her by making her read so many cases and do so much work.

I LOVE that we got to see Qian Wei's dream of re-living the past (seeing things in a new light and discovering Lu Xun's crush on her in real life) and falling in love with the young Lu Xun.
We also got to see quite a lot of Qian Wei and Lu Xun's actual past together and why their relationship is the way it is in the present.
Unlike every other time travel/ alternate dimension/ dream world dramas Iv'e seen or heard of (I've seen a LOT), this is the ONLY drama I've seen where the plot focuses on both the dream work and real world. The drama doesn't end after the dream ends, we got at least 10 episodes set in the real work and we got to see the leads fall in love in the dream world and in real life

Lu Xun is like the typical second lead, which he actually was in Qian Wei's actual past whilst Chong Wen the actual second lead, lived the life of a main lead in Qian Wei's actual past and for the 11 years leading to the present. this drama really showed Lu Xun's turn around from second lead to main lead (in a drama world). I tend to get second lead syndrome a lot in dramas, especially because a lot of the time the second lead is better than the main lead in every way and this drama showed the perfect ending of the second lead becoming the main lead.

The meaning behind this drama is that you can't change the past. Qian Wei spends a lot of this drama trying to change her past thinking her dream is real and even then, she couldn't change her fathers death but she was able to accept it and sort of be at peace with it (because his death gave her so much trauma at first that she couldn't be a lawyer by passing the exam). Despite the dream not being real, she was able to turn her life around for the better after waking up. Her dream helped her get over the past and straighten out her reality in the present.

I LOVE Ztao's OST for this drama. I can't stop listening to it. I also recommend looking up the English lyrics to the song because it fits PERFECTLY to the plot of the drama, here is some of it (the only one I could find that made sense):
"You are the rest of my life
My love for you is more than a billion stars
Even if we live in other world
I'm still all about you

I got a crush on you bae
I can't hide all my feeling
Do I still need to prove it?
You Know how much I love you
All the rest of my life is about you"

Seriously, Lu Xun waited 11 years to be with Qian Wei, he had a crush on her for YEARS. Though I didn't feel bad about his wait as much as I thought I would because he was terrible at showing her he liked her. He was "mean" to her face and did so much for her behind her back and never wanted her to know about what he did. He dragged his confession for 11 years and was unwilling to confess to her altogether, it was his fault for not telling her he liked her from the start, a typical second lead (though he is the main lead).

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