This review may contain spoilers
Did I have a great time watching this drama? YES. Would I watch it again? YES. Do I recommend it? YES — but only to people who enjoy turning their brains off and aren’t bothered by flaws. Very often while watching it, I felt like I was watching premium ReelShorts. The acting from everyone (except Dai Gao Zheng) was, at times, overly exaggerated — which may be the script’s fault — but combined with the occasionally over-the-top action, it created exactly that kind of vibe. Personally, it didn’t bother me.
When it comes to the relationship of the main couple — Bu Yan & He Yu Chen — I think one trigger warning is crucial. At one point, the male lead, in a fit of anger, attempts to se*ually assault her. He does come to his senses and nothing happens, but the very fact alone means this is not a show for everyone. There are also forced kisses, and although her later reaction to a similar attempt by another man suggests that she did want them with He Yu Chen, simply watching those scenes may trigger negative emotions for some viewers. For that reason, I would classify their relationship as dark romance, and personally, I liked it. Both of them would burn the world down to protect each other. Their chemistry was amazing, and their love was clearly visible.
Personally, I like the trope of the “bad,” wounded boy who still has a good heart — and that’s exactly who He Yu Chen was. In my opinion, despite his wrongdoings, he was the most interesting and best-written character. I also liked the fighting storyline itself and was glad that, after many years, he legally returned to it. However, I still wonder about the exact reason why they deliberately destroyed his career in the past, because it was never fully explained (or maybe I just forgot?). Another “premium ReelShorts” element appears in the fight scenes. The color of the blood looked so unrealistic that all the wounds seemed like there was no budget for a makeup artist and a child painted them with watercolors. At least later, during the healing process, they looked natural. On top of that, some fight scenes were highly unrealistic — for example, a guy was beating him with brass knuckles, and he ended up with nothing more than minor wounds and scratches.
On the positive side, their children were adorable. I didn’t check whether the illness and its treatment were medically accurate, but I think the storyline was handled well. That said, we never learned how He Yu Chen managed to find bone marrow for his son when no one else had been able to do so for years.
Regarding the storyline involving her father (Bu Hong Hui), I think the theme of his friendship with He Yu Chen’s father and his “involvement” in his death was handled very shallowly. Technically everything was explained, but to me it felt superficial. The coma storyline itself and everything surrounding it was interesting, but again, there were several “premium ReelShorts” flaws. First, her father’s employee knew perfectly well that he planned to break off his daughter’s engagement to Tang Ze — they literally discussed the consequences while signing the share transfer. Yet later, when he talked to her during her father’s coma, he claimed that her father told him nothing beyond the share transfer. Did he suddenly forget? Especially since he wasn’t a bad character. Second, I was genuinely amused by the fact that they talked about her father waking up any moment, and then suddenly we get a two-month time skip, and only then does he wake up. We heard nothing about any complications during that time, so I’m filing this under my category. Third — what happened to his wife? He Yu Chen kicked her out of the house while the man was in a coma, and we never saw her again. The father went to sleep with a wife, woke up without one, and didn’t care at all. XD
A personal complaint from a different category: the male lead was never even slightly angry that she initially accused him of being involved in what happened to her father. She didn’t even apologize after learning the truth — we just moved on. And who was the female lead’s mother, and what happened to her? Maybe it was mentioned and I forgot?
I’ll dedicate the final segment to annoying characters:
-> Tang Ze — my “favorite,” because no one else raised my blood pressure like he did. A disgusting man who clearly had something wrong with his head. I won’t dwell on it — he was just a psycho with connections. What deserves special mention is his ending, straight from the “premium ReelShorts” category: we see him watching the main couple’s wedding from a distance, then we get white text on a black screen informing us about his fate (he went to prison for many years). I found it comical, but apparently there was no budget to show a police/court/prison scene.
-> Chen Wen Li (Xia Chang Yin?) — ironically, she was the only one in whom I saw any genuine goodness, though it didn’t change my opinion of her, because she annoyed me endlessly from start to finish. For contrast, we see her contact the police herself, but we never learn what happens to her afterward.
-> Bu Jing Yang — finally, we know absolutely nothing. He simply vanished into thin air along with his mother.
When it comes to the relationship of the main couple — Bu Yan & He Yu Chen — I think one trigger warning is crucial. At one point, the male lead, in a fit of anger, attempts to se*ually assault her. He does come to his senses and nothing happens, but the very fact alone means this is not a show for everyone. There are also forced kisses, and although her later reaction to a similar attempt by another man suggests that she did want them with He Yu Chen, simply watching those scenes may trigger negative emotions for some viewers. For that reason, I would classify their relationship as dark romance, and personally, I liked it. Both of them would burn the world down to protect each other. Their chemistry was amazing, and their love was clearly visible.
Personally, I like the trope of the “bad,” wounded boy who still has a good heart — and that’s exactly who He Yu Chen was. In my opinion, despite his wrongdoings, he was the most interesting and best-written character. I also liked the fighting storyline itself and was glad that, after many years, he legally returned to it. However, I still wonder about the exact reason why they deliberately destroyed his career in the past, because it was never fully explained (or maybe I just forgot?). Another “premium ReelShorts” element appears in the fight scenes. The color of the blood looked so unrealistic that all the wounds seemed like there was no budget for a makeup artist and a child painted them with watercolors. At least later, during the healing process, they looked natural. On top of that, some fight scenes were highly unrealistic — for example, a guy was beating him with brass knuckles, and he ended up with nothing more than minor wounds and scratches.
On the positive side, their children were adorable. I didn’t check whether the illness and its treatment were medically accurate, but I think the storyline was handled well. That said, we never learned how He Yu Chen managed to find bone marrow for his son when no one else had been able to do so for years.
Regarding the storyline involving her father (Bu Hong Hui), I think the theme of his friendship with He Yu Chen’s father and his “involvement” in his death was handled very shallowly. Technically everything was explained, but to me it felt superficial. The coma storyline itself and everything surrounding it was interesting, but again, there were several “premium ReelShorts” flaws. First, her father’s employee knew perfectly well that he planned to break off his daughter’s engagement to Tang Ze — they literally discussed the consequences while signing the share transfer. Yet later, when he talked to her during her father’s coma, he claimed that her father told him nothing beyond the share transfer. Did he suddenly forget? Especially since he wasn’t a bad character. Second, I was genuinely amused by the fact that they talked about her father waking up any moment, and then suddenly we get a two-month time skip, and only then does he wake up. We heard nothing about any complications during that time, so I’m filing this under my category. Third — what happened to his wife? He Yu Chen kicked her out of the house while the man was in a coma, and we never saw her again. The father went to sleep with a wife, woke up without one, and didn’t care at all. XD
A personal complaint from a different category: the male lead was never even slightly angry that she initially accused him of being involved in what happened to her father. She didn’t even apologize after learning the truth — we just moved on. And who was the female lead’s mother, and what happened to her? Maybe it was mentioned and I forgot?
I’ll dedicate the final segment to annoying characters:
-> Tang Ze — my “favorite,” because no one else raised my blood pressure like he did. A disgusting man who clearly had something wrong with his head. I won’t dwell on it — he was just a psycho with connections. What deserves special mention is his ending, straight from the “premium ReelShorts” category: we see him watching the main couple’s wedding from a distance, then we get white text on a black screen informing us about his fate (he went to prison for many years). I found it comical, but apparently there was no budget to show a police/court/prison scene.
-> Chen Wen Li (Xia Chang Yin?) — ironically, she was the only one in whom I saw any genuine goodness, though it didn’t change my opinion of her, because she annoyed me endlessly from start to finish. For contrast, we see her contact the police herself, but we never learn what happens to her afterward.
-> Bu Jing Yang — finally, we know absolutely nothing. He simply vanished into thin air along with his mother.
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