Difficult to Touch (2024)

This tragic romance made me cry 3 times!

Edit: As pointed out by Jwells, there are 2 versions of a story using same actor, same actress, characters & premise. This review is for the original story which is longer version (2 hours 23 min) and the remake (referring to this page) is about 1 hour 45 min. Apologies for the possible confusion.

This is the first time I watched Huang Bo and Xu Si Qi 's performance on screen. The story of yin yang & one person being "antidote" to another grabbed my attention. I must say I was very surprised by this drama because I cried THREE times!

What I liked:
1. Huang Bo - Damn, he gave a sublime performance in this drama as I felt different types of emotions: anger, sadness, hopeful, fearful. His acting & masculinity reminded me of Hollywood actor Michael Fassbender. Anyway I became a fan of Huang Bo because of this drama.
2. ML characterisation - His character growth was fascinating. He started as as a person who focused a lot on himself then slowly he was more concerned about others than himself.
3. FL characterisation - I too liked how her character developed. She was too nice at first but then grew wary and put her and daughter's needs first. I cried when she received the bad news. I think she made the right decision to care for her daughter. Xu Si Qi was great at expressing different emotions of her character.
4. Romance - Tragic romance. ML & FL were together 3 times, which I think they were not meant for each other. He fell harder for her while FL seemed to like him at the start & perhaps at the end of their coupling.
5. Supporting character - I liked the kid but computer whiz thing was a bit too much. I also liked ML's grandpa who was concerned for FL's wellbeing after ML & FL got together the second time. Dr Jin was a good character too.
6. Ending - I interpreted it as bittersweet & tragic.

What I disliked:
1. Sex - I felt consent was dubious. That scene was uncomfortable for me to watch.

Favourite scene
When ML saw FL right after her surgery

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Unique storyline like a fairy tale

In over 22 years that I've been watching Asian dramas, I found this to be a unique storyline, more like a fairy tale.

I really like the concept of pure yin and pure yang, that despite all of our human flaws and failures, something still exists that is pure. I think that down deep, we all seek pure love, but somehow such chances are rare. For me, that was the appeal of the plot. Our own humanity's errors get in the way of finding a pure love as revealed in this mini-drama.

I watched the short version then the longer, original one for my unanswered questions. I wish I had watched the longer one first, then the second shorter version. For those who don't understand the ending, he donates his heart's blood, which I have also seen in a historical drama. It's not a heart transplant, but AI translations don't make total sense in English. She sees him in the ending, and now it's her turn to find him all over again. Therefore, I interpret it as a hopeful ending for their happiness, as she has learned the truth.

I would class this as a fake relationship that becomes real love. By the time the main couple consummate their marriage, he has come to love her, and she sincerely desires his health and well-being. He truly has been deceived to believe it won't harm her, for he has reached the point that he would never do it for her sake, but because he desperately wants to live, he proceeds thinking she won't be harmed.

The female lead misunderstands because she overheard his earlier words, when he didn't know her and cared only about living. I guess there is no other plot device to use but misunderstanding; otherwise, she would cure him unselfishly, and the plot's tension would be lost.

The character growth in him is that he was willing to die rather than cause her death. This alone is very heartfelt. She matures a lot from a naive country bumpkin to a mother. The little girl stole the show with her sweet pleadings and heroic efforts for her mother. This could be a longer drama with deep angst, but I doubt my feelings could take it!

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