Sammy's Children's Day

A Strong Story Undercut by Dubbing Problems and a Finale That Withholds Too Much

Sammy’s Children’s Day ended up being a drama I liked quite a bit, even though I had some significant problems with the production and was ultimately underwhelmed by the finale.

The story was the strongest part for me. What initially looks like a relatively straightforward gangster-meets-college-student setup becomes much more layered very quickly. Liu Yi and Chu San come from completely different worlds, but the drama does a good job of showing why they become important to one another.

I especially liked how their relationship developed before either character was ready to call it romantic. Liu Yi had already noticed Chu San before their supposed “first meeting,” while Chu San’s initial attraction was considerably more physical. From there, their bond grows through protection, friendship, trust, and eventually love.

Some of my favorite moments were actually the quieter ones. Liu Yi realizing that Chu San’s home is somewhere he feels safe, falling asleep there when he has been unable to sleep elsewhere, publicly making sure the people around him understand that Chu San is important to him, and later telling his dead family that he has found a friend—not a subordinate, not a brother, but a friend—gave their relationship real emotional weight.

The gang storyline was also much more interesting than I expected. Liu Yi’s history with Azure Dragon and his sister added tragedy and complexity to his character, and the mystery surrounding Azure Dragon’s death kept the story moving well beyond the romance.

Unfortunately, the dubbing was a major distraction, especially early on.

The actors appear to be speaking Mandarin while the finished audio is Cantonese, so the lip movements frequently do not match what we are hearing. There is obviously no way to perfectly synchronize two different spoken languages, and eventually I adjusted enough that I stopped noticing the mismatch most of the time. However, the synchronization problems sometimes extended beyond dialogue to things like physical sounds and reactions, which was much harder to excuse.

The Cantonese voice used for Liu Yi was also difficult for me. It felt exaggerated and did not match the character’s appearance or physical presence, so I had to mentally adjust to a noticeable disconnect between the actor I was watching and the voice I was hearing.

The music was inconsistent for me as well. Some pieces—especially early in the drama—felt oddly matched to the emotional tone of the scenes. However, this improved as the series continued, and some of the music was absolutely beautiful. There is one recurring song in particular that I now need to hunt down because I loved it.

As for Liu Yi and Chu San’s chemistry: it was good. They were believable together, they had several very sweet scenes, and I enjoyed watching their relationship develop. But I personally did not find the chemistry extraordinary or overwhelmingly intense. After seeing how passionately the actors are shipped online, I expected something more explosive onscreen. Instead, I thought their chemistry was perfectly solid without reaching that rare level where even a glance across a room feels electrically charged.

That is not about the relative lack of intimate scenes. A drama does not need NC scenes to create extraordinary chemistry. For me, it simply was not quite at that level.

My biggest disappointment was the finale.

Too many plot threads were left hanging, and the emotional payoff felt surprisingly muted after everything the drama had built. Liu Yi finally finds Chu San, kisses him, and is immediately taken away by the police. His final instruction is essentially for Chu San to go home, recover, and wait for him. Meanwhile, we are told that Liu Yi will be released if he is innocent, but we are not given any real resolution.

Other mysteries remain unresolved as well, including questions surrounding the older generation, the investigator’s father, and the mysterious Old Shopkeeper figure.

The final scene focuses not on Liu Yi and Chu San but on the investigator visiting the man, also an investigator, with whom he previously had a one-night stand—after discovering that this man is the brother of his brutally murdered former lover. That storyline is only beginning to open just as the drama ends.

Because of all of that, the finale feels less like the conclusion of a story and more like the end of Part One.

I genuinely hope that means a second season is planned, because the ending is positioned in a way that would make a continuation completely natural. If there is a Season 2, some of what currently feels frustratingly unfinished may eventually make much more sense.

But judged only as the ending of this season, it withheld too much payoff for me.

Overall, I am glad I watched Sammy’s Children’s Day. The story carried me through production issues that initially bothered me, and there were many moments and character beats I genuinely enjoyed.

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I have to see the premiere of season 2 to believe that this series will have a season 2

Disclaimer

What I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that. Please also note that there will be spoilers in this review from the series – IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SPOILERS, THEN DON'T READ THIS REVIEW!!!

I fell in love with getting to know the world of He Chu San and Xia Liu Yi. Their relationship didn't start off as your typical love story, as Xia Liu Yi saw He Chu San as his underling. But as time progressed, so did their relationship. It was truly a slow burn, and I got truly wrapped up in this series even down to the last episode. The actors did a wonderful job in bringing these characters alive to the screen for us viewers. I will also say that I wasn't expecting much, so I am really surprised with the outcome.

Now, while this series was entertaining, it has left us wanting more. The ending is not truly satisfying, as the main couple are not fully together as yet. Also, the secondary couple kind of left us wanting more, as it seems that their storyline needs to be dealt with, as it has been left unfinished. Now, here's the thing – there are talks about a second season. But I have become sceptical of this as I have suffered many, many burns of promises of second seasons that do not come true (The On1y One is the most recent one that is coming to my mind). As such, I have to see the premiere of season 2 to believe that we will get a season 2 and that's why I am giving this series an 8.

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Slow burn. Chemistry. Questions. Open ended

If rewatch, only the last 2 ep.

The build up, the focus, the people . The chemistry. The wanting each other. The desperate to not lose the other

Could be unpopular opinion but i feel like the police was a bit redundant . The 2nd lead couple other than a 1st night that was calculated approach for the high position cop to do revenge. There was only tension and blackmail and schemes.

They also destroy the happy moment at the end.

Slow burn
Genuine between the 1st lead pair.
Went thru alot and both ML had a deep history as to why they behave certain way.
Emotions high at fear in losing a loved one.
Reunited and happy tears.
Seperated again for a setup and frame.
Watch but basically many questions.

The only reasons i liked it :
*chusan and jiayi finally got the happiness and was honest with each other although it was fear of losing the other so seize the chance
*the brotherhood amongst liuyi gang really shows how good the leaders are
*both were honest at the end.
*liuyi understood how impt chusan is , more than the hall .chips n breakfast stuff shohld b okay

Why i dont like [cause it reduces the 2 ML time and interaction]
* too much focus on gang politics
*police was useless and only cause more trouble and drama
* bribery corruption connection climbing fake lies
*the ending is open ended... the fat fang.q the dad . The maybe new mum. Liuyi reunite with chusan . Hows the gang.
* they really lost the ancesteal hall??
*hate when the good ones die like bro n sis
* the whole series liuyi is basically accused for different people murder

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GIVE ME ANOTHER SEASON!!

THIS WAS SO GOOD!

the story of a university nerd and a gangster falling in love with each other in the 1980’s lawless Hong Kong . pretty simple, but executed so beautifully.

the acting of both main leads was so good. and THE CHEMISTRY was INSANE! not to mention how incredibly good looking they both are🥹
i love how it breaks the sterotypes about the couple’s dynamics, and the cutie nerd is the one dominating the gangster here 😂

the cinematography was amazing! i loved seeing the 1980’s Hong Kong setting. and the color grading was so beautiful 🥹 the osts were so beautiful too. I fell in love with the drama from the opening song alone! and then i found out that the actor Yan Zhao sang jt himself?? that made me love him and the song even more🥹

the only thing I didn’t like was the dubbing. the super fake noises and out of sync dialogues was pretty off putting to me. but I understand that they had their limitations, and weren’t able to provide the best dubbing.

that ending though…THEY BETTER GIVE US A SEASON 2 😭😭

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Unexpectedly Hooked

It’s been a very long time since I last watched a Hong Kong BL series. Honestly, I don’t even remember what the last one was. 🤔

It took me about two episodes to really get into this one, but once it pulled me in, it pulled me in hard. I ended up getting really invested in both characters and especially loved their interactions. There’s just something about the chemistry between them that kept me watching, even when I wasn’t completely sure where the story was going.

And let me talk about the soundtrack for a second. At the very beginning, I honestly hated it. I was like, “Why does this sound like this?” But then, I don’t even remember which episode it was, one of the songs suddenly got stuck in my head and would not leave. Next thing I knew, I was looking for it on Spotify and adding it to my playlist. So I guess the soundtrack won in the end. 😭

The one thing that kept me from giving this more stars, though, was the ending. I was actually prepared for a sad ending. Like, emotionally prepared. I could’ve accepted it. But the way they wrapped everything up just wasn’t really my cup of tea. It felt like they were trying to give us something satisfying, but for me, it didn’t completely land.

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Slow burn if i ever did see a slow burn

I hate slow burns as I am impatient but this one was easy to watch but now I am sitting here eagerly waiting for more sweating, anxious, screaming, crying, throwing up. At least they are now on the same page about liking each other. 9 episodes and they only kiss AGGHHH. I just finished 4minutes and kinnporshe so this is like a teen drama when you compare the romance between the main characters lol.

I really like the story though so I'm glad that it does not just ride off of the relationship between the mcs it actually builds a world and other characters and a decent plot and I'm interested in it all. Please season 2 come soon T.T

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Slowest burn ever

Liuyi is a gang leader and he falls for Chusan a top student.

What I Like
I love the action, I love that they tried to do a historical drama and I love the acting. I especially loved that the top/bottom dynamic wasn’t what you’d expect. I like that this show has mystery, twists, tense moments and Chusan taking care of Liuyi.

What I Don’t Like
It takes wayyy too long for them to get together… after watching for 9 hours I was impatient and it was just a brief kiss. I understand slow burn but the way they did it isn’t rewarding for a romance series. This show also loves to kill off a character that’s a threat then show there’s a bigger threat. This show also ended with plenty of unsolved questions, which I hope they tackle in a season 2, but if it never happens I’ll be annoyed.

Nitpick (lol)
Even though I like that they tried to do a historical drama the setting is completely wrong (there’s no sunlight in the walled city), inaccurate (no gangs in the 80s). Also shouldn’t he be getting nicotine withdrawals from quitting smoking so suddenly?

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Química e potencial.

Eu posso facilmente dizer que esse drama tem um potencial a ser explorado.
Essa série é cheia de tramas e subtramas, as histórias do casal principal e secundário poderiam facilmente ser dramas separados, porque são ambas bem complexas. Existe uma variedade de coisas possíveis para ser serem abordadas em uma possível segunda e terceira temporada.
Por ter tanta coisa, senti o casal secundário colocado de escanteio a temporada toda, o que é uma pena, eu gostei muito da dinâmica deles.
Acredito que algumas possam ter achado que o Qing Long ocupou muito tempo de tela, mas eu gostei bastante dele, achei um personagem bem interessante e gostaria de ter visto mais sobre ele (mais da perspectiva dele como líder e o que ele planejava para o Liu Yu), além disso, ele deixou um mistério em aberto relacionado a causa da sua morte. Além de tudo, acho que os sentimentos dele direcionado ao Liu Yi ficaram sem um objetivo.
O assassinato em série que foi apresentado pelo casal secundário foi adionado muito de repente, nos episódios anteriores não tiveram menções sobre casos semelhantes e o irmão do Guang Ming nunca tinha sido mencionado. Acredito que o que poderia ter sido uma conexão entre tudo isso seria se o Qing Long também tivesse sido morto por ele, o que até onde sabemos, não foi caso.
Ambos os casais tem uma quimica incrível, espero que façam uma segunda temporada.

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