This review may contain spoilers
Captivating, beautiful and tragic story. Beautifully acted.
I was really looking forward to this drama, especially as a huge fan of Chen Zheyuan. I knew how invested he was in the project, and it was clear that he adored his character and was genuinely excited about the drama.
The first six episodes were a slight disappointment because Chen Zheyuan was barely in them, and his character didn’t feel fully fleshed out. However, I really started to enjoy the drama when the two leads returned to China after the cataclysmic event. The romance building up between them, along with the scenes involving Li Zan’s dad and Ran Ran’s mum, were particularly touching. I also liked Li Zan's strange engineering boss.
When they returned to East Country, I felt the direction and pacing improved significantly—I’m not sure why. Was it a different director? The bromance/BL subplot between Ben and Sasin, however, felt a bit forced. I wish they had kept it as light, jokey humor, like in the early scenes where Ben was getting stitches from Dr. Pei and being scared of needles. The thinly disguised BL element felt contrived and boring, especially since I heard it wasn’t in the original novel. The "felt star" thing also wore thin for me after a while. I wish we had more scenes with Li zan's dad instead!
That said, the acting was absolutely top-tier. Chen Zheyuan is my favorite actor, and his crying scenes were so believable and heart-wrenching. Unlike other actors where you can see the effort to squeeze out tears, Chen Zheyuan’s performances felt raw and real, as if he were truly immersed in emotional pain. His crying varied depending on the emotion—sadness, trauma, fear, regret—and each felt distinct and powerful. His last two scenes, where he was a shadow of his former self due to his mental health struggles, were particularly accurate, haunting, and heartbreaking.
Liang Jie was phenomenal too. I don’t think Chen Zheyuan could have delivered such a flawless performance without her, as they both acted from a very deep, emotional place. They were both truly brilliant, and it’s such a shame that other aspects of the drama let it down and prevented it from becoming a mega-hit.
Many of us knew the story would take a traumatic turn, and towards the end, it almost felt like a horror movie. Because we all knew that events would go bad and quickly! We were sharing the lightness and celebration with the two characters who were about to embark on a beautiful new life together, and when things went horribly wrong, it was as devastating as expected! I thought the fact that Li zan experienced such irreversible mental damage and trauma, it almost felt like he would have been better off dying in the battle field because he was subjected to such damaging abuse which stayed with him. For the final scene, I noticed they were at the tree in his father’s yard, dressed in their wedding outfits. The way they spoke made it feel like they had committed suicide after eloping but returned as spirits to check on the tree which had grown. That was maybe a way to keep it ambiguous but it was heartbreaking.
Negatives: The editing and shots were overly sentimental and dated, which was a bit distracting. The English dialogue from the extras were jarring and cringey—sorry! It felt like they just recruited any foreigners to play extras. That said, the guy who played Ran Ran’s driver was very good, so shoutout to him!While the drama was flawed due to elements beyond the actors’ control (production, direction, and screenwriting), this drama definitely left me pondering and thinking about the tragic effects of war and how poor Li Zan and Ran Ran were so close to happiness. Most viewers couldn’t help but feel affected by it.
All in all, this drama had such high expectations, and it’s frustrating because it was almost there—you could feel it. But too many things conspired against it becoming a mega-hit. That said, I know the drama has done pretty well overseas, and reading comments on Douyin and Weibo, it’s clear that this story has deeply affected many people. I'm certainly still dwelling it on. I will defintely rewatch because I loved the quality of acting from the main leads.
The first six episodes were a slight disappointment because Chen Zheyuan was barely in them, and his character didn’t feel fully fleshed out. However, I really started to enjoy the drama when the two leads returned to China after the cataclysmic event. The romance building up between them, along with the scenes involving Li Zan’s dad and Ran Ran’s mum, were particularly touching. I also liked Li Zan's strange engineering boss.
When they returned to East Country, I felt the direction and pacing improved significantly—I’m not sure why. Was it a different director? The bromance/BL subplot between Ben and Sasin, however, felt a bit forced. I wish they had kept it as light, jokey humor, like in the early scenes where Ben was getting stitches from Dr. Pei and being scared of needles. The thinly disguised BL element felt contrived and boring, especially since I heard it wasn’t in the original novel. The "felt star" thing also wore thin for me after a while. I wish we had more scenes with Li zan's dad instead!
That said, the acting was absolutely top-tier. Chen Zheyuan is my favorite actor, and his crying scenes were so believable and heart-wrenching. Unlike other actors where you can see the effort to squeeze out tears, Chen Zheyuan’s performances felt raw and real, as if he were truly immersed in emotional pain. His crying varied depending on the emotion—sadness, trauma, fear, regret—and each felt distinct and powerful. His last two scenes, where he was a shadow of his former self due to his mental health struggles, were particularly accurate, haunting, and heartbreaking.
Liang Jie was phenomenal too. I don’t think Chen Zheyuan could have delivered such a flawless performance without her, as they both acted from a very deep, emotional place. They were both truly brilliant, and it’s such a shame that other aspects of the drama let it down and prevented it from becoming a mega-hit.
Many of us knew the story would take a traumatic turn, and towards the end, it almost felt like a horror movie. Because we all knew that events would go bad and quickly! We were sharing the lightness and celebration with the two characters who were about to embark on a beautiful new life together, and when things went horribly wrong, it was as devastating as expected! I thought the fact that Li zan experienced such irreversible mental damage and trauma, it almost felt like he would have been better off dying in the battle field because he was subjected to such damaging abuse which stayed with him. For the final scene, I noticed they were at the tree in his father’s yard, dressed in their wedding outfits. The way they spoke made it feel like they had committed suicide after eloping but returned as spirits to check on the tree which had grown. That was maybe a way to keep it ambiguous but it was heartbreaking.
Negatives: The editing and shots were overly sentimental and dated, which was a bit distracting. The English dialogue from the extras were jarring and cringey—sorry! It felt like they just recruited any foreigners to play extras. That said, the guy who played Ran Ran’s driver was very good, so shoutout to him!While the drama was flawed due to elements beyond the actors’ control (production, direction, and screenwriting), this drama definitely left me pondering and thinking about the tragic effects of war and how poor Li Zan and Ran Ran were so close to happiness. Most viewers couldn’t help but feel affected by it.
All in all, this drama had such high expectations, and it’s frustrating because it was almost there—you could feel it. But too many things conspired against it becoming a mega-hit. That said, I know the drama has done pretty well overseas, and reading comments on Douyin and Weibo, it’s clear that this story has deeply affected many people. I'm certainly still dwelling it on. I will defintely rewatch because I loved the quality of acting from the main leads.
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