This review may contain spoilers
Good actors with average script, direction and a 'be' climax. Zero rewatch value
Disclaimer !!! Personal opinion. Please watch the show and evaluate yourself. I am writing this review to express my disappointment other than rating which I usually do.Warning: Consider your mental health before watching this drama!!!
First things first. I started watching this drama because of my interest in journalism and mental health theme.This drama isn’t about healing—it’s about wounds that never healed. Life is already miserable, and choosing to watch something even more painful and traumatic was my mistake. I never abandon what I start, and that, too, is my fault.
Whenever people see something emotional, they tend to call it great—that’s exactly what’s happening with this drama. It’s emotionally draining, with an abrupt and heartbreaking ending. Aside from Zheyuan's acting, nothing truly stands out. However, it does have the power to leave viewers emotionally shattered due to its intense depiction of physical abuse. If you enjoy watching such content, this drama might be for you. But as someone who can't tolerate violence, I ended up skipping a lot.
Here’s what didn’t work for me:
1. Filters – The visuals are overly whitewashed. A warzone setting with these filters just doesn’t work.
2. Slow Motion – I found myself hitting fast forward. It feels like the director is stuck in the last century.
3. Editing – Feels disjointed at times, making scenes look out of place.
4. Female Lead’s Character – As a war correspondent, her character is poorly written. Being introverted doesn’t mean being shy and blushing all the time—I can confirm this as an introvert myself.
5. Forced Emotions – The emotional scenes often feel unnatural.
6. PTSD Treatment – No doctor would handle PTSD like this. It’s far from realistic. Exposure therapy is adviced in safe environments. Not like throwing the patient under the bus.
7. Romance – If two people are in love, they should communicate. Acting like strangers even after sleeping together feels frustrating. CZY had insane chemisty in Our Secret, Mr Bad and HL. They had good chemisty but not insane like CZY's previous works.
8.Song Ran’s crying – She cries in almost every episode. Honestly, any actress could pull this off the same way. There’s nothing special about it, at least for me. Her charecter was poorly written as a war correspondent who is supposed to be brave and logical, no matter what.
9.The last thing I want to address is the ending. It’s an open ending, but no matter how you interpret it, it remains deeply tragic. Personally, I like to think of it as *** making a sudden escape. The alternative—that they eloped to the countryside—feels less convincing. Avoiding triggers without proper treatment only worsens PTSD, and in the novel, Song Ran could only offer love and care, not the professional help he truly needed.Judging by the way their spirits appear together at the end of the show, it seems they ultimately chose to end their suffering after ten years—the time it takes for a white olive tree to bloom. To me, the first interpretation makes more sense, as elopement seems unlikely given the immense support they received from their families.
The male lead's performance was outstanding, and the female lead, along with the supporting cast, delivered remarkable performances as well. However, the storyline is frustratingly cruel, an endless cycle of hardship without resolution. Don't waste your precious tears on a fiction that feels underdeveloped and incomplete.
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