This review may contain spoilers
Between Realism and Clichés
Since this drama clearly tries to take a realistic approach from the start, I’ll also give my review in a realistic way.
The good:
The show is quite detailed in setting up props that match the characters and their economic background.
The acting is solid and emotional.
The cinematography is also good.
The bad:
I feel like the drama doesn’t want to focus too much on romance and tries to highlight personal growth instead, but somehow every character’s main issue still ends up revolving around romance—as if people can only grow after finding or losing romantic love.
I also feel the messages are delivered way too directly. I’ve only watched 6 episodes, but there are already lots of cliché scenes that, based on my own college experience, don’t feel realistic at all.
For example, those intense personal talks with a thesis advisor. From my perspective, that feels unrealistic. An advisor isn’t the same as a homeroom teacher or school counselor. At least in my country (or maybe just at my university), professors only really care about GPA and their students’ courses.
This is actually the first drama I’ve seen where characters have non-academic interactions with their advisor, and honestly it feels awkward. Also, why is the professor always on campus? Apart from the head of department, I rarely see professors hanging around that much.
Lang Lang’s character growth also seems to come mainly from her advisor’s advice, which (to me) undermines her independence. At the end of the day, that’s still just personal opinion, but because it’s coming from a professor, it clouds her logic. That’s not the kind of development I’d expect in this genre.
The “tomboy girl” trope—no makeup, no dresses—feels pretty stale. At first I liked her strong personality, but little by little she’s made more dependent on her advisor, which I didn’t enjoy.
Then there’s the whole T-shirt distribution scene to stop campus gossip, and everyone just agrees to wear them. It looks like a “cool” plot idea, but it’s not realistic. In college, people usually don’t bother clarifying gossip—they just watch from the sidelines. Just because someone initiates something doesn’t mean the majority would instantly agree, especially since the drama never explains why they’d agree to wear the shirts.
Another example is Fan Xiao Yu. She was supposedly “cut off” financially by her dad and forced to live independently, but she still lives like she’s getting allowance every month. There’s no real struggle. Yes, she sells her belongings, but her lifestyle doesn’t match what she’s selling. And eventually, selling personal stuff will hit a wall—you can’t just keep selling forever.
And one scene that really bothered me was during the military training. Ma Yiran pulled Lang Lang’s zipper down to “show her how not to overheat,” then zipped it back up. To me, that’s problematic—it’s harassment, not romance, and it shouldn’t be romanticized.
I’ve only seen 6 episodes, but honestly it feels like watching a webinar where the speaker keeps making sure I catch the “lesson.” It’s too on-the-nose for my taste. But maybe other viewers can still enjoy it more than I did.
The good:
The show is quite detailed in setting up props that match the characters and their economic background.
The acting is solid and emotional.
The cinematography is also good.
The bad:
I feel like the drama doesn’t want to focus too much on romance and tries to highlight personal growth instead, but somehow every character’s main issue still ends up revolving around romance—as if people can only grow after finding or losing romantic love.
I also feel the messages are delivered way too directly. I’ve only watched 6 episodes, but there are already lots of cliché scenes that, based on my own college experience, don’t feel realistic at all.
For example, those intense personal talks with a thesis advisor. From my perspective, that feels unrealistic. An advisor isn’t the same as a homeroom teacher or school counselor. At least in my country (or maybe just at my university), professors only really care about GPA and their students’ courses.
This is actually the first drama I’ve seen where characters have non-academic interactions with their advisor, and honestly it feels awkward. Also, why is the professor always on campus? Apart from the head of department, I rarely see professors hanging around that much.
Lang Lang’s character growth also seems to come mainly from her advisor’s advice, which (to me) undermines her independence. At the end of the day, that’s still just personal opinion, but because it’s coming from a professor, it clouds her logic. That’s not the kind of development I’d expect in this genre.
The “tomboy girl” trope—no makeup, no dresses—feels pretty stale. At first I liked her strong personality, but little by little she’s made more dependent on her advisor, which I didn’t enjoy.
Then there’s the whole T-shirt distribution scene to stop campus gossip, and everyone just agrees to wear them. It looks like a “cool” plot idea, but it’s not realistic. In college, people usually don’t bother clarifying gossip—they just watch from the sidelines. Just because someone initiates something doesn’t mean the majority would instantly agree, especially since the drama never explains why they’d agree to wear the shirts.
Another example is Fan Xiao Yu. She was supposedly “cut off” financially by her dad and forced to live independently, but she still lives like she’s getting allowance every month. There’s no real struggle. Yes, she sells her belongings, but her lifestyle doesn’t match what she’s selling. And eventually, selling personal stuff will hit a wall—you can’t just keep selling forever.
And one scene that really bothered me was during the military training. Ma Yiran pulled Lang Lang’s zipper down to “show her how not to overheat,” then zipped it back up. To me, that’s problematic—it’s harassment, not romance, and it shouldn’t be romanticized.
I’ve only seen 6 episodes, but honestly it feels like watching a webinar where the speaker keeps making sure I catch the “lesson.” It’s too on-the-nose for my taste. But maybe other viewers can still enjoy it more than I did.
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