Such a Good Love

Such a Gaslight love

What initially seemed like a beautiful love story between two young people who were still trying to find their place in the world, is becoming more and more a realistic demonstration of what a toxic relationship can do to the other. My God, what a bad person the female protagonist is.

Episode after episode, she sucks all and any vitality out of the male protagonist. From a dreamy and fun boy, all that's left is melancholy from such an uneven and selfish relationship.

Of course, he's not perfect, far from it. But many, if not all, of the problems stem from her need to control him and dictate what he should want, when he wants it and how he wants it. Hell, she even manages to find a way to blame him for the fact that her mother is horrible.
Here at home, the only thing we could hope for was that for the love of God, he wouldn't end up with her in the end.

But even though it's terrible to watch her destroy everything he wanted to be, the show is great, very well filmed (especially the first half), and demonstrates in a very raw way how the concrete jungle of the big city and the adult world can destroy dreams, relationships and, consequently, mold us into people very different from who we imagined we would be.

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A tale of youth, love and a self-exploration

Let me first say that this may not be your cup of tea and I feel it is probably easier to resonate with the character and the storyline for a more mature age group. You may not get it right now but maybe a few years later down the road, you’ll be surprised at how you may interpret the whole drama very differently. If you enjoy it, it sure lingers with you for sometime.
If you are into a less commercial kind of drama, slice of life with an artistic vibe and feel, this may be your gem. Music, cinematography, frames positioning, symbolism, pace, color tone are very well executed it feels like watching a movie at times. And of course the actors performance plays no less importance in keeping us engaged. I am not fan of both Wang Anyu and Wang Yu wen but their performances here and their choice to take part in this drama itself makes me reconsider my initial impression of them. They surely did deliver such powerful and convincing character here I can’t ask for more.
The story itself is not particularly heartbreaking or very dramatic but realistic while idealistic and romantic at its core.
It starts with both fl and ml falling in love when they have nothing at all but youth. They made promises and tried their best to survive when supporting each other during the hardest time. It is when their heart are the purest even when reality keeps cornering them. Their passion and devotion was big; their despair and pain felt so real and so cruel. So their first breakup was the hardest for both and for me as viewers as we can’t help but feel for their bravery yet helplessness, the bittersweet of the youth. It surely reminded us of a time when we were fearless and carefree.
And then they reunited but I feel that rather than being persuaded by ml, the fl was running away form the so-called secured and tedious life of a common housewives, to embark on her journey of exploring self-worth where she finds her calling. Sadly their love at this phase seems more cautious and suppressed. With their gradual adaptation to city life came the burden of expectations and traditions where women are expected to be married at certain age and men are expected to be responsible for buying a house for marriage. Even with all the struggles, doubts, compromises and efforts to stick together, they were disillusioned, and evaded feeling their love has drained and left them for good. Devastated by a broken promise they chose to end their 10yrs relationship but each still buried their regrets deep down. So the 2000s born couple was brought in to validate their reunion at the end of the drama.
Straight to my interpretation of the ending, I feel that they have made peace and forgave each other after a long time. You can see the fl already defended the ml when the 2000s born girl tried to blame him for their breakup. And they will reunite in my opinion since 1. they have not forgotten and loved each other throughout even when they thought their love was gone but it seems to be reignited upon reunion 2. Their current friend (partner, the jelly lady and the Zhang guy) are ready to let them go and wish them all the best w their true love 3. If you can recall, after their first breakup, the ml came to the fm hometown and told her that he is also from 2025 and he knew that they will not breakup for real and will start over again, so I think it can be interpreted as a hint that they will actually start over again 4. The ml sent the video to the fl, so they have their contact again and the fl turns to look at him while he was leaving the crossroad 5. Since the writer is probably idealistic and romantic at core but it would feel too forced if they suddenly turned lovey dovey after their love-hate relationship all this time.
The characters are certainly flawed; they were wild and free, then they struggle, compromise and fail but that’s all the more charming and interesting they are. All their shortcomings and failure makes them realistic and humanistic; just as the fl said on the last ep, human makes mistakes and evolves; we can’t calculate each gain or loss for each of our devotion…
Overall I really enjoyed how the story unfolds and how each characters evolve. The fl from having no aspiration to finding her calling through her journey with the ml. The ml was no less carefree but he came to understand the weight of responsibility, the price comes with each choices he made. The secondary couple had it much darker as she sought revenge and stake her life at it. The story surely will linger with me for a while.
So what are you waiting for? Please give it a try by all means. I am curious if my interpretation won’t change on my second view some time later:)

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what !!!!

at least they are both single ,, they should have ended up together , ,, and the female lead is really something ,,, doesn't she have her own dream ,, why choose to walk in the dream of a man you couldn't even have at the end ....
she kept living in the past ,, i think she is definitely asking for too much...the male lead deserves someone understanding and who would have her personal dreams too...
as you grow, human and relationships tends to grow too, because you fel in love cause of wanting to fulfill a dream ,, she wants it to be like that forever which is impossible ,, look at how she ended up alone ....no man , no children....

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This show is worth it of love

I felt compelled to write a review for this drama to defend it for the people that did not get it.

If you're looking for fluffy, feel good drama, then get out of here, run for the hills. But if you like flawed characters and a realistic plot, a show that could make you feel so many emotions, then this show is for you.

First, I want to praise Wang Anyu and Wang Yuwen for their performance. They have brought these characters to life. They feel so fleshed out that you can sense every emotion they want to convey. The chemistry is overflowing—you can honestly feel for them. It’s so believable that they have been a couple who went through a lot together over the years. Even a simple tap on the shoulder or a glance conveys that feeling. Confrontations and heart-shattering scenes are well executed. You can feel the deep love they have for each other even when they are at each other’s throats.

This show is a roller-coaster of emotions. This drama so well-written. I'd say this is more character driven than plot driven. The shift of their circumstances rely heavily on the characters and their choices. I also love that I could feel the passage of time as the characters evolve. I love how they show that the characters are molded by their experiences through out the years. How their choices and ideals change over time, because reality sneaks up on you. From the earlier episodes you can feel the energy of being in their early 20's to the calmer, more resigned-to-life energy in their late 20's. Dramas rarely made me really feel that it's been years and characters stay static through out. Most dramas just do time jumps and abrupt character change to show how the years went by.

The characters are messy. You’ll love them, laugh with them, and root for them. At other times, you’ll be frustrated, angry, or even cry for them. You’ll really feel for them. The characters are so dynamic. I really love shows when sometimes I don't understand the characters and their decisions at all. Because in real life, all of us are not as logical as we would like to be, and are mostly driven by our emotions and our desires.

For the couple's dynamic, I could honestly feel that Zhou Shui is more invested in progressing the relationship more while Da Ji is more invested in the potential and the idea of Zhou Shui. I could also see that they have exchanged dreams and goals over the years without even realizing it.

*Spoilers ahead*

Zhou Shui's dream was to become a film director and eventually release a movie; however if you analyze his decisions, he would set aside his ambitions just for his love for Dai Ji and for them to eventually end up together. In the beginning when they are struggling to make ends meet, he swallowed his pride to do wedding videos to help her out, especially during her cancer scare when he begged Reverb to give him his old job back. The decision to invest their savings was out of his desire to provide a better life for her. When they first broke up, he chased her to her hometown and have decided that he would just settle down there and be a teacher just so they would be together. His decision to chose the ad over the movie was so he could eventually buy a house, fulfill his promise to her mother and for them to get married. And when he choose to oblige her decision to chose the movie instead, it was out of his desire to earn back her admiration and love and fulfill her need to get their spark back and be the version of him she was once in love with.

Dai Ji's dream was to feel deeply in love and she did but more so on the idea of him. She fell in love with his dreams, his vision, and his artistry. But when he fell short of being this ideal man and succumbed to life’s realities, her admiration faded, and the image of him in her head shattered. She romanticizes life and love, and when they got older and more stabler, she wants them to be as passionate as they once were, not just with each other but she wants him to be as passionate with his dream as he was when they were younger. But in reality, when life is tough on you, you'll lose that ideals of life, which was what happened to him. She did not realize it but his dreams of becoming a filmmaker becomes hers as well. Right in the beginning, when she bears the responsibility of being a breadwinner, it was more because she wants him to film and for the film to be made. I could honestly feel for her when she get into his shadows especially since both of them worked hard for their projects. I wish she had been more transparent to him about this, as he is willing to share credits with her. But she was scared with the thought that he might think she is stealing his dream.

In the last year of their relationship, while they were filming that movie, Zhou Shui became uncompromising. He wanted freedom for creative expression and was frustrated at being sidelined in the project he was supposed to direct. He also wanted to stay true to their source material, which was their real story. Da Ji, on the other hand, was more compromising with the producers and the rest of the crew just for this project to push through. However that meeting with the executive producers triggered a shift of perspective for the both of them. The story of the executive producer and her husband spooked them both. Zhou Shui feared his dream of releasing a movie would not be realized, so he stayed. But when he chose to stay, I felt that Dai Ji grew scared he would lose his artistry and end up compromising all the time, losing the spark that once made her fall in love with him. But after the premier of the movie, Zhou Shui did not feel fulfilled with realizing his goal and realized that losing Dai Ji was not worth it. Da Ji is more persistent on her creative pursuits and pushed for their story to be told, even if its just a low budget, fulfilling the goal they once shared but no longer waiting for him for that to happen. In the end, Zhou Shui gave up his career in film making, heartbroken that his dream made him lose the love of his life.

What lead to the demise of the relationship was that they no longer have a shared goal. I wish they were more honest with themselves and with each other. Zhou Shui's real goal was to end up with Da Ji, but it will never be unless he becomes his once passionate self. Da Ji's goal was to see the spark back in Zhou Shui's dream but with expectations of marital roles, societal expectations and life's burden, his once shimmering self was dimmed. In the last episode, they mentioned that if the novel get's aired, audiences would pick a side on who's more worthy of the love. I caught myself picking a side, as obvious with this review, I honestly feel more for Zhou Shui just because he's more adamant with holding on to the relationship, especially with the decisions he's made and I wish Da Ji was more appreciative of him, of how much willing to go through just for them to be together.

I honestly love the last episode. From their reunion and the meeting itself, fleshing out their thoughts in the guise of the characters in the novel. I also love how vague yet reflective it was, and how it shows that the emotions for each other are still there. I could still feel the yearning for each other but I honestly loved how they were not abrupt with getting back together, or maybe because there were implied misunderstandings (her being engaged, him being married and having a family) that they were holding themselves back. I love the open ending, I honestly feel like if they've shown that they got back together immediately, it would be rushed. I feel like they need to internalize more their issues before getting back together.

*End of spoiler*

Give this show a chance of you're in the mood for realistic, emotional roller coaster slice of life dramas.

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while realism is fine, we turn to dramas for catharsis — for a sense of emotional reward, justice, or even fantasy. Such a Good Love was too grounded, too heavy in its realism, and didn’t offer that payoff. It added weight when we were looking to feel lighter — or at least, hopeful.I feel like she gave up a lot for him, though older she was much more mature but at the same time innocent.. in the beginning her lack of social knowledge was a bit annoying but I guess thats where she grows... On the contrary he was also much mature at the beginning it almost felt like he never grew from it! That's what made me abandon the drama... It's realistic but isn't it the point of dramas to be more not realistic? I mean we watch it escape the maze not to add to it. That's just my perspective.
This drama felt more like a chore than just a drama( not in a good way!)

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Beautifully sad slight

Wow this drama was the most gut wrenching drama i have ever watched
i am a person who feels emotional to dramas but this made me cry multiple times.
The development between the main leads was beautiful to watch it really showed the hardships of life and was extremely realistic to the point where i wanted it not to be realistic because my heart couldn’t take it anymore.
The reason why the rewatch value is so low is not because this is bad but because it’s so sad i don’t want to put myself through that sadness again overall if you are looking for a good engaging but sad drama to watch this is the one for you

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I can't get over of their chemistry, they're too good together

Drama yang bagus tapi gabisa bilang bagus banget gatau kenapa. Tapi jujur semuanya emang udah perfect, dari ceritanya yang realistis, aku merasa proporsinya udah oke karena ini cerita realistis bukan cerita drama dengan karakter sempurna dan unrealistic. Aktingnya udah pasti bagus banget, chemistry nya juara, bikin gamau pisah ama mereka. Cinematografi juga oke banget. Nonton drama ini roller coaster, karena di eps awal² pasti kita benci dengan kebodohan karakternya, tapi ternyata ada character development dan story development juga. Jujur cerita yang sadis, bikin kita sering tersayat sama beberapa plotnya:'(((

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A realistic take on life, poverty and relationships.

The complexity of the story and the characters can sometimes be too much for some people, but I found it amazing and compelling.
Through the 26 episodes we met Dai Daji and Zhou Shui, but do we really know them?
I’d say it’s the same as knowing people for a long time, we may know a lot about them, but what really makes them take some decision or act a certain way, we’ll never know.
Their relationship is raw, at times toxic, but they’re two flawed people trying to make it work through poverty while relying on their dreams and love in a promising city, Beijing. China’s capital plays a major role here.
I wouldn’t say it’s exactly beautiful because it isn’t. It’s so real it makes you wonder which of your decisions would’ve lead you somewhere else. Somewhere the life you planned and believed it was possible while you were young would have really happened.

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