This review may contain spoilers
Fighting with HERself
"Her" tells the story of Liu Yan, abandoned by her mother as a child and who literally struggles to survive the conditions she was placed in from a young age until she became an adult. From a boxer with little success, mainly due to the mischief of others, her life begins to change when she receives information about her "missing" mother, embarking on a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, love, and overcoming.
What I really liked about this series was the main character. Strong on the outside and fragile on the inside, she gradually opens up and allows different people into her life, even though through these relationships, many of her weaknesses end up being highlighted, especially the trauma of fear of abandonment she has due to her mother. This trauma shapes much of her personality, preventing the development of close and healthy relationships with those around her.
See, she's not mean or treats others badly (sometimes) because she wants, but rather because of the distorted sense of love she developed with her mother, a gambling addict. The way their relationship is portrayed in the series is quite realistic, reflecting the manipulative, sociopathic nature of a person with a gambling disorder, with family members suffering the most.
Another crucial character is Lu Tianchi, the "lawyer." A sort of "good" Saul Goodman, Lu is an older man who initially helps Liu Yan find her mother and everything else she needs. From this point on, their relationship gradually seems to be moving toward something more.
The story is told quite dynamically for the most part, becoming a bit sluggish during the episodes surrounding Liu Yan's mother's official return, which ends up being quite detrimental to the overall series, as this was perhaps the story's greatest aspect and expectation.
The place where they live (is it a country?) is also very little explored. It seems like a made-up place, filmed in Macau (notable for its plaques and tombs with Portuguese writing), but nothing made much sense or felt necessary to invent a location.
The highlight of the series is definitely the restaurant's dynamic and her rise as a chef, while in parallel her social life also improved, especially strengthening her relationship with Tianchi, her brother and the restaurant's boss.
All of her friend's Tang stories are completely unnecessary, with the last one being a complete waste of time while dealing with a very serious topic.
In the end, I found "the event" a bit exaggerated. It seemed more shock value than an organic result of everything unfolding in the series. The final black-and-white episode made me question for a long time whether it was really happening or a dream, until almost halfway through the episode, the tragedy of the previous episode was confirmed and the whole journey of overcoming that she had to go through, and was going through, in the last part of the last episode, leaving that taste that life will go on, fighting and eating when she is at rock bottom.
What I really liked about this series was the main character. Strong on the outside and fragile on the inside, she gradually opens up and allows different people into her life, even though through these relationships, many of her weaknesses end up being highlighted, especially the trauma of fear of abandonment she has due to her mother. This trauma shapes much of her personality, preventing the development of close and healthy relationships with those around her.
See, she's not mean or treats others badly (sometimes) because she wants, but rather because of the distorted sense of love she developed with her mother, a gambling addict. The way their relationship is portrayed in the series is quite realistic, reflecting the manipulative, sociopathic nature of a person with a gambling disorder, with family members suffering the most.
Another crucial character is Lu Tianchi, the "lawyer." A sort of "good" Saul Goodman, Lu is an older man who initially helps Liu Yan find her mother and everything else she needs. From this point on, their relationship gradually seems to be moving toward something more.
The story is told quite dynamically for the most part, becoming a bit sluggish during the episodes surrounding Liu Yan's mother's official return, which ends up being quite detrimental to the overall series, as this was perhaps the story's greatest aspect and expectation.
The place where they live (is it a country?) is also very little explored. It seems like a made-up place, filmed in Macau (notable for its plaques and tombs with Portuguese writing), but nothing made much sense or felt necessary to invent a location.
The highlight of the series is definitely the restaurant's dynamic and her rise as a chef, while in parallel her social life also improved, especially strengthening her relationship with Tianchi, her brother and the restaurant's boss.
All of her friend's Tang stories are completely unnecessary, with the last one being a complete waste of time while dealing with a very serious topic.
In the end, I found "the event" a bit exaggerated. It seemed more shock value than an organic result of everything unfolding in the series. The final black-and-white episode made me question for a long time whether it was really happening or a dream, until almost halfway through the episode, the tragedy of the previous episode was confirmed and the whole journey of overcoming that she had to go through, and was going through, in the last part of the last episode, leaving that taste that life will go on, fighting and eating when she is at rock bottom.
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