Schizophrenic
I watched this drama to the end. Many viewers will probably like it, but for me it was too contrived – with a unpalatable mixture of silly hijinks, gratuitous violence, sadism, ridiculous wishes, and bogus profundity. It had a convoluted plot with too many secondary characters, and a lot of elements that just didn’t come together in a cohesive whole.In the beginning, the ML is a a big goof ball of a genie who can do anything with a snap of his fingers. Somehow he’s also Satan. He can put out a raging fire or catch someone who’s fallen off a tall building, He can appear and disappear and travel through time. He can fly, burst through the walls of buildings, and deflect bullets. No problemo.
As for the FL, she just doesn’t give two figs about anything because she’s a psychopath (or maybe not). She’s trying to be decent, but she has the soul of a killer. Why should the viewers care about either of these absurd characters? There’s nothing at stake. Neither of them want anything–-or anything substantive–-either from the world or from each other.
As the story progresses, wishes are granted, wishes are postponed, unforeseen circumstances arise. When a romance develops, it seems completely unmotivated.
When are the good people at Netflix going to hire writers who can actually construct a story with heart and nuance–one that doesn’t rely on gimmicks?
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An inspiring story
I’ve just finished Episode 14 of THE EPOCH OF MIYU. This series starts out as a cautionary tale of duplicity and betrayal, but gradually turns into--something else.On her 10th wedding anniversary, the FL who seemingly has it all–a successful, loving husband, a beautiful home, and financial security--discovers that in reality, she has nothing.
She’s been betrayed and duped. Her husband has been having a long term affair with a woman who’s now pregnant and determined to replace her as his wife.
What follows is a saga of humiliation and loss. In one area after another, the FL is forced to give up her illusions and start over at the bottom of the ladder.
What to do in such a situation?
At this point, some Asian dramas--not all of them of course, but still quite a few--like to imply that if the female lead (it’s always the female) grits her teeth, endures her burdens with grace and fortitude, all will turn out for the best. A whiff of didacticism can be detected.
After a quickie divorce--with no work history to fall back on and loan sharks beating down her door--the FL is forced to take an entry-level housekeeping job at the Purong Hotel, where she’s subject to daily indignities, mild bullying, and other unfair treatment. One of the themes of this series is how the lower level employees of the hotel are held responsible for everything that goes wrong, whether they had anything to do with it or not.
But the FL is determined to find happiness in her new life. Little by little she earns the respect of her co-workers and begins to turn things around.
The story isn’t as one-sided as I’ve just made it sound. The FL DOES find genuine friends and allies. She DOES begin to chart a new path. She joins forces with the mysterious Feng Ji, General Manager of the hotel. And the two gradually develop feelings for each other, although he’s not above lecturing her about her moral failings.
Starting around Episode 9, tension mounts. The success of the hotel is hanging by a thread. Everything depends on–wait for it--SHEETS! Will a certain hygiene problem be solved? Or will the hotel’s dirty laundry be exposed for all to see? OK, maybe it’s not the most world-shattering of conflicts–maybe it’s even a little silly, not exactly “epochal.” But it does the job.
While versions of this story have been told before, the pacing is exceptionally well done here. (Except for one thing. Someone needs to build a fire under the ML, who seems to have ice water in his veins. The dude can’t seem to rev up his engine for his gorgeous and intelligent co-worker.)
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the main rule of storytelling is: keep the viewer engaged.
And I’m still engaged.
That is, I’ve enjoyed every episode. And I’ll update this review as time goes on.
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I fell asleep three times
I tried to like this series–but I just didn’t–mostly because of the FL. During the first few episodes, she had a never-ending bored smirk on her face, as if she could hardly take this production seriously. If you want to see a top-notch Arthur Chen drama, I suggest you watch LOVE STORY IN THE 1970s–one of the best of the year.Was this review helpful to you?
Life's too short...
This one's not for me. Let me give you the low-lights. In episode one, the ML, who's a doctor, keeps sneaking furtive glances at the FL. She wonders what he looks like without his surgical mask. Other people comment on her beauty and his good looks. She brings a friend to her next appointment, so the friend can evaluate Dr. McDreamy. But he isn't there. Instead there's an older doctor substituting for the younger guy. Horrors! A betrayal. She sees McDreamy on the street and lashes out at him for "standing her up!" As if the whole medical thing is some kind of a dating service. He seems to buy into it. (Oh, and why does she care anyway? She already has a boyfriend--supposedly.)It's true that a lot of series don't catch fire until the second or third episodes. But I'm just not curious about either of these people. I need something more substantial to keep me watching-the hint of a mystery, some depth of character, an intriguing plot device.
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Slow to start...
People have told me that LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY is a fantastic drama. I believe those people. I read the reviews, and they all said the same thing.In Episode 1, we meet the cast of characters, a large, unpleasant, bickering family. A war’s raging on the border, and Mom and Dad are just back from the frontlines. They haven’t seen their daughter Cheng Shao Shang for ten years--nor have they made any real attempt to contact her. Why?
It’s not clear. We’re told that Chen Shao Shang has been cared for by neglectful relatives. She’s been starved, mistreated, and deprived of an education. The poor girl’s health is supposedly precarious.
But with a couple of winks, the girl lets the audience know that she’s faking it. Also, the actress in question looks particularly well-fed–so, not to worry.
We hear over and over about the travails of Old Madame Cheng–the blubbering, melodramatic grandma. I counted twelve(!) different speeches made by this woman in the first two episodes. She whines and complains incessantly. There’s also a thoroughly wretched uncle who’s been embezzling armaments–and a stone-faced general who comes to investigate the crime. Everyone argues about who’s filial and who isn’t.
There’s no hook, nothing to convince me to keep watching this series.
In addition, this entire series is 56 episodes long! Judging by the first two episodes the pacing is going to be sloooowww. I'm sorry. I can only go by what I’ve seen so far. Your mileage may differ.
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