K-Drama 
This review may contain spoilers
Things no one mentioned...
Saw this on Amazon Prime and apparently they "purchased" or "leased" it from Tencent...because in the final 6 episodes, including one that lasts 106 minutes, 4 of the episodes have utterly shit Machine Ai English translations. Horrible. I was outraged that my wonderful C-Drama was now unintelligble. I suffered through it simply because I had invested so much time already, but there's no excuse for this kind of thing. F you Tencent, and F You Amazon Prime for not checking the product before you bought it and then advertised it for us.
Anyways, this is a good drama. I won't say it's a masterpiece because much of it doesn't land, as the saying goes. For one thing, the last 2 episodes it suddenly goes "Wacky". SPOILER...you didn't need Gong Bao to win the lottery and then comically plunge to his death. over a small bridge. (He for sure would have survived, btw) And Wang Xiang finds a baby abandoned by the tracks (Aka Wnag Bei) I mean come on. Both these devices are heavy handed. And was Wang Xiang raising another boy because he lost his own son, really important to the series? Sure you could argue...oooh, it kept him alive having a new baby to take care of after the death of his wife and son. Yeah, fine, but let's be honest...the way that Wang Bei was incorporated into the series made us ALL think he was a ghost, not real for a few episodes;that Wang Xiang had made him up to take the place of his own son. Okay maybe some never thought this, but I sure as hell did...and it wasn't until a few episodes in that I was like, okay, so he's really his 2nd "son"? Got it. But then we don't even know if he's another baby BORN AFTER Wang Yang's death or whatever. I mean there's enough mystery happening that to have this kid introduced as well was just kinda meh. Especially since Wang Xiang didn't seem to be as doting and involved and clingy with the kid as we expected. I didn't like having to winder for probably 10 of the 12 episodes how this Wang Bei came into his life.
Gong Bao was definitely insufferable. Great actor, everyone loves the actor, but his character is definiely an a-hole. Not someone I'd want to be around. Not a decent guy and just cause he's funny and embarassing doesn't make him - for me - someone to root for. And Wang Xiang was a shit to his wife, a bully really, barking orders and being master to slave. I don't care if the guy's cuddly and cute and a lovable actor...I saw the character not the actor, and the character was a typical shitheel to his wife, and I didn't like seeing that. And of course was a dick to his son as well - and yadda yadda yadda - he suffered for his actions all those years after his son died, we know, but you don't get my sympathy. Be respectful and loving to your wife!! And try to understand your son, not bully him. Consistency is relationships dude. A hug every now and then doesn't make up for all the times you were a jerk.
The series also short changes Shen Mo. They made the old guys the main protagonists but nothing happens without Shen Mo's story. She's the catalyst.. And her story is far more tragic than wang xiang's. Far more. She spends her youth without her deaf brother because her frantic and unsettled aunt sends him away, and then she has to endure being sexually assaulted - raped to put it bluntly - by her Uncle for years. Then a so-called friend drugs her and hands her over to LU who rapes her.
Ya know what...I totally understand why she killed LU. And the friend that drugged her she killed too. An example of why they short changed - or were afraid of having us really ROOT for Shen Mo's actions - is that they didn't flashback to her killing that son of a bitch Uncle. All series long I was waiting to see her get her revenge, to see in his eyes how she got pay back, but they never showed that. I don't know if it's a censor thing or an artistic choice, but sorry...my allegiance the whole drama was to Shen Mo. She was my main storyline and the fact they didn't show her killing that asshole of an uncle, makes me think the creators didn't realize her impact and that our sympathies could very well have been with her. Watching the montage of characters at the end of the series, they hardly key in on Shen Mo and that was wrong. Her story affected me way more than Wang Xiang's.
Another thing that wasn't done well was that it sure as hell seemed like there were 2 or even 3 dismembered bodies. They made it seem like it was a serial killer case...only who were the other ones? Yong Hi, the female friend was the only one dismembered. LU was incinerated in a 1000 degree fire. The Uncle was found in their apartment. So tell me, series creators, who were the other bodies that were dismembered? Why make it seem like there was a serial killer...if there wasn't?
Lastly...Those thugs who kept coming back to beat up the deaf brother and his friend, should really have been beaten up for good. I didn't like that they got away with beating the crap out of those 2. I wanted to see their cowardly "leader" get his once and for all. And by the way...sorry Series director...but in that huge fight scene you stupidly have that gang leave their expensive helmets behind in the video hall. There's no way 6 or 7 thugs will do that. They'd pick up their expensive helmets and take them with them.
So I liked the series, but I had problems with it....as you can tell.
Anyways, this is a good drama. I won't say it's a masterpiece because much of it doesn't land, as the saying goes. For one thing, the last 2 episodes it suddenly goes "Wacky". SPOILER...you didn't need Gong Bao to win the lottery and then comically plunge to his death. over a small bridge. (He for sure would have survived, btw) And Wang Xiang finds a baby abandoned by the tracks (Aka Wnag Bei) I mean come on. Both these devices are heavy handed. And was Wang Xiang raising another boy because he lost his own son, really important to the series? Sure you could argue...oooh, it kept him alive having a new baby to take care of after the death of his wife and son. Yeah, fine, but let's be honest...the way that Wang Bei was incorporated into the series made us ALL think he was a ghost, not real for a few episodes;that Wang Xiang had made him up to take the place of his own son. Okay maybe some never thought this, but I sure as hell did...and it wasn't until a few episodes in that I was like, okay, so he's really his 2nd "son"? Got it. But then we don't even know if he's another baby BORN AFTER Wang Yang's death or whatever. I mean there's enough mystery happening that to have this kid introduced as well was just kinda meh. Especially since Wang Xiang didn't seem to be as doting and involved and clingy with the kid as we expected. I didn't like having to winder for probably 10 of the 12 episodes how this Wang Bei came into his life.
Gong Bao was definitely insufferable. Great actor, everyone loves the actor, but his character is definiely an a-hole. Not someone I'd want to be around. Not a decent guy and just cause he's funny and embarassing doesn't make him - for me - someone to root for. And Wang Xiang was a shit to his wife, a bully really, barking orders and being master to slave. I don't care if the guy's cuddly and cute and a lovable actor...I saw the character not the actor, and the character was a typical shitheel to his wife, and I didn't like seeing that. And of course was a dick to his son as well - and yadda yadda yadda - he suffered for his actions all those years after his son died, we know, but you don't get my sympathy. Be respectful and loving to your wife!! And try to understand your son, not bully him. Consistency is relationships dude. A hug every now and then doesn't make up for all the times you were a jerk.
The series also short changes Shen Mo. They made the old guys the main protagonists but nothing happens without Shen Mo's story. She's the catalyst.. And her story is far more tragic than wang xiang's. Far more. She spends her youth without her deaf brother because her frantic and unsettled aunt sends him away, and then she has to endure being sexually assaulted - raped to put it bluntly - by her Uncle for years. Then a so-called friend drugs her and hands her over to LU who rapes her.
Ya know what...I totally understand why she killed LU. And the friend that drugged her she killed too. An example of why they short changed - or were afraid of having us really ROOT for Shen Mo's actions - is that they didn't flashback to her killing that son of a bitch Uncle. All series long I was waiting to see her get her revenge, to see in his eyes how she got pay back, but they never showed that. I don't know if it's a censor thing or an artistic choice, but sorry...my allegiance the whole drama was to Shen Mo. She was my main storyline and the fact they didn't show her killing that asshole of an uncle, makes me think the creators didn't realize her impact and that our sympathies could very well have been with her. Watching the montage of characters at the end of the series, they hardly key in on Shen Mo and that was wrong. Her story affected me way more than Wang Xiang's.
Another thing that wasn't done well was that it sure as hell seemed like there were 2 or even 3 dismembered bodies. They made it seem like it was a serial killer case...only who were the other ones? Yong Hi, the female friend was the only one dismembered. LU was incinerated in a 1000 degree fire. The Uncle was found in their apartment. So tell me, series creators, who were the other bodies that were dismembered? Why make it seem like there was a serial killer...if there wasn't?
Lastly...Those thugs who kept coming back to beat up the deaf brother and his friend, should really have been beaten up for good. I didn't like that they got away with beating the crap out of those 2. I wanted to see their cowardly "leader" get his once and for all. And by the way...sorry Series director...but in that huge fight scene you stupidly have that gang leave their expensive helmets behind in the video hall. There's no way 6 or 7 thugs will do that. They'd pick up their expensive helmets and take them with them.
So I liked the series, but I had problems with it....as you can tell.
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