Breeze by the Sea (2024)

Despite a very common plot, there are many touching moments

Subjective Gut Rating: 8.25

I am reviewing “Breeze by the Sea” as a standalone drama, and not an adaptation of the Korean drama, “Top Star Yoo Baek”. Hey, this drama is directed by Peter Ho and got a small cameo and was quite funny. And he lost weight as he proclaimed!

“Breeze by the Sea” has a very common plot that we’ve seen in many other slice-of-life dramas before, about a city person moving or spending time in a rural area/village/island. You see the foreigner, in this case, superstar Bai Yin Mo, escaped to the island of Kinmen after a series of scandals and a botched reputation. Even though nothing is unique, there are many touching moments and I have shed quite a few tears.

Bai Yin Mo has a difficult personality and was coined by our female lead as a sea urchin: a spiky personality yet mushy and caring inside. Whether intentional or not, Bai Yin Mo becomes the catalyst and the main driving force in helping these islanders mend their broken relationships. While helping others and with the support of our strong and resilient starfish female lead, Li Hai Nuo, Yin Mo slowly put down his spikes and relaxed his difficult personality.

In dramas like this, there's a 50-50 chance that you will encounter villagers/islanders that might annoy the heck out of me because they are too loud or annoying. I’m glad we got a lovely bunch here. They were a little much in the first couple episodes, but toned down and became a found family for our ML. They actually aren’t that loud, which was a great relief for me. Their stories are touching and realistic, though not unique. The acting of the supporting cast is good, especially the veterans.

Speaking of veterans, we have a lovely grandmother! Each time there’s such an adorable, caring and perfect grandmother, I pray to the drama gods that they don’t kill her off (not saying this as a spoiler or not, just a general comment and wish). I love her relationship with her granddaughter Hai Nuo, but even more so is the precious friendship/found familial bond with Bai Yin Mo. She provides the family warmth that Yin Mo never had. I love the scenes of the three of them together.

We do have a love triangle here, but it’s not a bad one. It’s nice to have a second male lead who is genuinely a good guy and even become ‘bros’ with ML. It was hilarious at first when they were drunk and called each other ‘bros forever’ but afterwards, it’s just cringey when I heard the word ‘bro’ again and again.

Even though there’s a love triangle, romance is not a focus in this drama. Bai Yin Mo and Li Hai Nuo have many scenes together and they are fun with great chemistry. Their relationship is slow burn but developed naturally from disliking each other, to friends, to lovers. They support each other during tough times. Unfortunately, we only got two cute and fluffy scenes before life happens and derails them. I am especially disappointed in the last episode which I feel is a very rushed ending to their romance. I felt cheated like we skipped some scenes and they just showed us the conclusion. As much as I love all the cute illustrations (and they are SUPER cute), it feels like I am missing a full episode. Therefore, I docked 0.25-0.5 points from this drama. Arghhh….

Another negative surprise is the amount of product placement. I don’t think I’ve seen so many in a non-BL Taiwanese drama before, especially in the last quarter of the drama. Maybe they really need a lot of money to bring the whole cast to Kinmen to shoot this drama.

I would recommend this drama if you are a fan of and are craving island slice-of-life dramas. There are many touching and realistic moments that I love, but nothing you’ve never been before. “Breeze by the Sea” has solid acting, a nice small town feel of Kinmen and beautiful seaside shots. It’s heartwarming and healing.


Completed: 2/9/2025 - Review #542

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Comfort zone ≠ safe space

It is a small space t-dramas occupy nowadays. They can't compete with mainland China for sheer volume of drama output nor their varieties. They don't have the hype/star power of the Hallyu Wave. They can’t compete with J-dramas for sheer quirkiness. T-dramas just don't have the clout to muscle into the global market so the few shows they produce each year are mostly for local consumption.

This can lead to a kind of creative stagnation. There are telltales, for instance, over reliance on certain tropes and settings. To wit, this series is set in a coastal village with its own cadre of aging villagers and urban refugees. As a counterpoint, we have the taciturn top star being exiled to the sleepy village to escape prying eyes after yet another damaging scandal.

If I am being honest, there is nothing new to the A-plot. There are minor variations, but it is a well-thumbed playbook. We knew who are the OTP and the second leads right from the start. The ML is the agent of change and the growth of the various relationships is the raison d'etre. Totally serviceable but hardly thinking outside the box.

The senior villagers are played by veteran actors, and they earned their keeps. Particularly the FL's grandmother. She is the rock that anchors the show. Everything is as it should be, and it is a solid production that made good use of their limited resources. Some of the scenic shots are picture perfect.

Puff Kuo is in her element. In fact, she has been doing similar roles for some time. Maybe she decided to leave the glam idol roles to rising starlets as she approaches middle age. Her portrayals of earnest FL's are finely honed and resonate with her audiences. The OTP has good chemistry, and we can ship them with ease.

However, I am a little disappointed with the tepid ending. When it should have been confident strides to the finish line, it felt more like a series of awkward little stumbles. We got there in the end, but it is baffling. This is particularly true for the 2CP. Every sign points to a done deal and yet they failed to launch, at least officially.

As I mentioned before, I have watched several recent t-dramas which are quite similar, and I can sense that they are in their comfort zone. They know their audiences and their preferences. What can go wrong?

That is a core issue with some t-dramas at present. They are decent shows. Well-acted by and large and skilfully made (within a limited budget) but they can feel quite introspective and hemmed in. If it is not Taipei-centric urban/business tales, it will be set in a quaint village that feels more like a travel vlog with a hefty dose of nostalgia. They are watchable, but also forgettable.

I can understand why some t-dramas have retreated to this comfort zone, but it is not a safe space. Death by a thousand cuts is still a slow death in the end. One time watch for me. Peace.

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