This review may contain spoilers
A sweet mixture of angst, intense romance and fluff
Everyday I browse through cdramaland and kdramaland hoping for a fulfilling drop of water in the desert that is the GL landscape.
Lo and behold, this series dropped out of nowhere. YouTube's algorithm clearly did the Lord's work for me, surfacing it into my feed.
Finally, sapphics, we get ourselves a proper Chinese GL that is well made, well acted with a gorgeous cast, and amazing chemistry. And did I mention it's a HE? Believe it or not all these factors are pretty rare, especially that last one.
When I say this is a proper GL, I mean it. It's two girls that actually say I love you. They are intimate. They share physical affection. They kiss in well lit spaces! There is no dancing around censors to recategorize it as sismance or friendship despite everything onscreen showing us otherwise. We don't need to perform mental gymnastics to understand the depth of their relationship.
The story is straightforward and well told. The flashbacks are just frequent enough to fill in the gaps. I do wish that this was a longer series and we got even more of their interactions in the flashback. The short length, which I'm attributing to a small budget, really does a disservice to building up their gradual attraction. As a result, I feel like we only ever get the "highlights" but never anything in between.
The side characters are not intrusive and are there to service the two main leads. The sister is a gem and seriously one of the best sisters you could ask for in a cdrama.
Zoe Chen (Gu Qingshui) probably gives one of my favorite performances. Her subtle facial expressions really communicate the weight of Qingshui's emotional depth that she tries very hard to suppress around others. She pulls off the cold beauty thawed by love archetype so well.
Celia Liu (Shen Fang) delivers a very anguishing performance. Her heartbreak is clearly felt and the joyous moments in between when she lets down her guard to be swept up by Qingshui again are so endearing.
They both have amazing chemistry together and the success of the drama is due to the amazing commitment they've both put into these roles.
I will be on pins and needles waiting for their next collaboration.
P.S. There is a hair drying scene. IYKYK.
Lo and behold, this series dropped out of nowhere. YouTube's algorithm clearly did the Lord's work for me, surfacing it into my feed.
Finally, sapphics, we get ourselves a proper Chinese GL that is well made, well acted with a gorgeous cast, and amazing chemistry. And did I mention it's a HE? Believe it or not all these factors are pretty rare, especially that last one.
When I say this is a proper GL, I mean it. It's two girls that actually say I love you. They are intimate. They share physical affection. They kiss in well lit spaces! There is no dancing around censors to recategorize it as sismance or friendship despite everything onscreen showing us otherwise. We don't need to perform mental gymnastics to understand the depth of their relationship.
The story is straightforward and well told. The flashbacks are just frequent enough to fill in the gaps. I do wish that this was a longer series and we got even more of their interactions in the flashback. The short length, which I'm attributing to a small budget, really does a disservice to building up their gradual attraction. As a result, I feel like we only ever get the "highlights" but never anything in between.
The side characters are not intrusive and are there to service the two main leads. The sister is a gem and seriously one of the best sisters you could ask for in a cdrama.
Zoe Chen (Gu Qingshui) probably gives one of my favorite performances. Her subtle facial expressions really communicate the weight of Qingshui's emotional depth that she tries very hard to suppress around others. She pulls off the cold beauty thawed by love archetype so well.
Celia Liu (Shen Fang) delivers a very anguishing performance. Her heartbreak is clearly felt and the joyous moments in between when she lets down her guard to be swept up by Qingshui again are so endearing.
They both have amazing chemistry together and the success of the drama is due to the amazing commitment they've both put into these roles.
I will be on pins and needles waiting for their next collaboration.
P.S. There is a hair drying scene. IYKYK.
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