Summer Rose (2025)

Aesthetically beautiful and good acting but what a frustrating romance story

I am a massive fan of Guo Yu Xin. I have only started exploring Liu Xiao Xu's dramas and so far I enjoy his acting. This drama was released after My National Husband so I expected Summer Rose to be as good as My National Husband. However I was disappointed once I finished the drama.

What I liked:
1. Framing - Beautifully shot drama that reminds me of a small but well-written indie film I used to watch. Directors certainly knew how to capture scene that are aesthetically memorable.
2. ML characterisation - It was endearing to see a stuffy ML who wasn't able to articulate his feelings. His personal struggle is different from other CEO MLs I have seen.
3. Acting - Both LXX and GYX employed a lot of "restraint" in their performances for this drama. They had magnetic chemistry which was more evident in the behind the scenes clip.
4. FL characterisation - I liked that her personality contrasted with ML's personality. She expressed most of her feelings including desire freely.
5. Supporting characters - I liked ML's grandmother and guest characters played by He Jian Qi and Wang Ge Ge.
6. Styling - What a gorgeous pairing of LXX and GYX. Beautiful outfits worn by both FL & ML. I am a fan of pyjamas and I loved the pair worn by GYX.

What I disliked:
1. FL's actions - She was stringing two men along when she broke off the engagement and pursued other man. I didn't like her at this point.
2. Writing - There was too much time spent to tell this story. I'm sorry to say some parts are draggy and boring and I struggled in the final hour of the drama. I must say that the writer and director wasted the talents of LXX & GYX.
3. Romance - Unfortunately I didn't buy their romance. There was too much push and lack of honest conversations. By the time they got together I already lost interest in this drama but just pushed through to mark this drama as complete.

Favourite scene
When FL seduced ML and succeeded.

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Late blooming flowers

So I finally watched this year's inescapable, much raved-about, monster vertical hit Summer Rose. I had heard of it even when I was paying no attention to verticals, back when I was convinced I would never get addicted on those (sigh). I was not very convinced by the synopsis as I don't like stories about a cold marriage slowly turning sweet that much (I need BIG DRAMA, the more angst the better) but I did love the cast, and was curious to see what all the hype was about. Is it worth the fuss ? Yes, Oh My God, yes. I was entranced, didn't see the 3:20 hours go. Guo Yu Xin is her luminous self, the direction is enhancing her lovely, youthful feautures, Liu Xiao Xu (who is still quite young !!) gives off the perfect "uncle" vibes for the role. This is made by Stable production, a very promising studio. They went all-in for this drama : the soundtrack is great (it's not ripping off My Demon or When The Phone Rings for once), there is no stupid, childish sound effects (if you are familiar with verticals you know exactly what I'm talking about), the costumes and sets are horizontal drama level of quality, the camera work, lighting and sound design show some real industry workmanship, it feels like the vertical genre is no longer restrained by its origin as formated soap for a short attention span audience.

The writing is impressive, on the surface not much is going on (it's an arranged marriage, they give it a chance, they fall in love fast which freaks her out) but it's all in the rich details, the way they dance around each other, the way he slowly breaks her barriers, the way they both evolve as individuals and as a couple through it all. He's very introverted and believes more in actions than big talk, she's outgoing, and has internalized the sad idea that love is a weakness after what happened to her mother. The drama was very mature about its theme : the heroïne didn't use her mother's tragic fate to go on a vengeful rampage, she was able to forgive her father without forgetting, she just had to understand that she wasn't doomed to repeat her parents' story. Writing wise the only thing that bothered me was that she's supposed to be bipolar : there was no sign of it in the whole drama, she's a bit impulsive and reckless at times and has depressive bouts, that's it (not the first time I've watched a drama dropping names of very serious life-altering medical conditions while writing their characters with very basic neurosis, oh well). For romance enjoyers I'd say it's a mandatory watch, it was incredibly romantic, and gave me vibes of golden era HK romances.

For those interested there is a spin-off promoted during the drama about his little brother and his wife played by He Jian Qi and Wang Ge Ge, I'd like to check it out.

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