A simple yet comforting spring romance
The best way that I would describe this series is that it's a perfect slice-of-life drama with a heavy romance sub plot.
I didn't expect this drama to be so well made and well received. But after watching it, I understood why people love this. The biggest strength of this drama lies in it's predictability. The casual viewer can just relax and chill for an hour knowing that nothing angsty is going to happen.
Some of the pros of this drama are:
1. Gorgeous Cinematography- The drama overall had such a beautiful setting from the herb gardens to the flowers in each shot. Everything was shot like a commercial and the coloring was just gorgeous. They even used some angles and compositions that are rarely used in romance.
2. The mature acting- Cdramas are notorious for dramatic characters but I could rarely find a scene that was exaggerated in this series. The characters acted like their age and even the humor wasn't overdone. This ended up making the characters more likeable and relatable.
3. The cozy romance- The romance between the main characters was the star of the show. Though the chemistry wasn't sparking or passionate all the time, seeing the main couple felt comforting because of their stability and maturity. They were just big green flags so they felt reliable.
4. Realistic storyline- The big plot points in the story were realistic and relatable. From the heroine's fears because of her former abusive relationship to the question of chasing your dreams while sacrificing love, it was something that everyone could/has gone through. I liked that they didn't rush through it either.
So here are some cons that I noticed:
1. The slow pacing- I'm a binge watcher and I must say that I lost my patience after the mid way point. I can see this working for people who watch everyday but this wasn't exciting enough for me to binge it in one sitting. I got bored after 20 episodes and kept fast forwarding.
2. Numerous mentions of TCM- I get that TCM is a big concept in the story but after numerous mentions and all the characters adapting TCM in their life, it made me wonder if the whole point of this drama was to boost China's TCM market. Because at the end, all the characters' life now include TCM in a big way in their life.
Overall, I know this drama is meant to be comforting and healing in a cozy mundane way and this hit the mark if you want that. It's a well made drama but this just wasn't the best I've seen. 7.5/10.
I didn't expect this drama to be so well made and well received. But after watching it, I understood why people love this. The biggest strength of this drama lies in it's predictability. The casual viewer can just relax and chill for an hour knowing that nothing angsty is going to happen.
Some of the pros of this drama are:
1. Gorgeous Cinematography- The drama overall had such a beautiful setting from the herb gardens to the flowers in each shot. Everything was shot like a commercial and the coloring was just gorgeous. They even used some angles and compositions that are rarely used in romance.
2. The mature acting- Cdramas are notorious for dramatic characters but I could rarely find a scene that was exaggerated in this series. The characters acted like their age and even the humor wasn't overdone. This ended up making the characters more likeable and relatable.
3. The cozy romance- The romance between the main characters was the star of the show. Though the chemistry wasn't sparking or passionate all the time, seeing the main couple felt comforting because of their stability and maturity. They were just big green flags so they felt reliable.
4. Realistic storyline- The big plot points in the story were realistic and relatable. From the heroine's fears because of her former abusive relationship to the question of chasing your dreams while sacrificing love, it was something that everyone could/has gone through. I liked that they didn't rush through it either.
So here are some cons that I noticed:
1. The slow pacing- I'm a binge watcher and I must say that I lost my patience after the mid way point. I can see this working for people who watch everyday but this wasn't exciting enough for me to binge it in one sitting. I got bored after 20 episodes and kept fast forwarding.
2. Numerous mentions of TCM- I get that TCM is a big concept in the story but after numerous mentions and all the characters adapting TCM in their life, it made me wonder if the whole point of this drama was to boost China's TCM market. Because at the end, all the characters' life now include TCM in a big way in their life.
Overall, I know this drama is meant to be comforting and healing in a cozy mundane way and this hit the mark if you want that. It's a well made drama but this just wasn't the best I've seen. 7.5/10.
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