Dear Leia

This drama was like a store-bought cupcake for me, the ones wrapped in plastic. It hits the itch for something sweet, but not quite what you were hoping for. It’s almost there, but slightly off in a way that’s hard to ignore.

For me, the chemistry felt lacking. I liked their banter as friends, but I never really felt a romantic pull between the characters.

The silver lining in this drama, however, was Ye Shilan. She felt three-dimensional. Alive in a way that is rare in fluffy romances. Her trauma felt deep-rooted. Every decision, every behavior came back to it. You could see how her experiences had shaped her. She is a character who carries her world on her own - one who had to grow up too fast. She doesn’t rely on anyone because she knows firsthand that they can disappear. It was refreshing to see how well-founded her character felt, and her character growth.

The male lead, Lu Zhaoxi, however, was flat as paper. Nothing was interesting about him. He had no struggles, no dreams, no aspirations. He was just a fluffy green flag, without any depth at all. Now, this isn’t necessarily a problem. I’ve watched lots of those characters, and I can even love those stories if the chemistry is there. But when it isn’t, the characters need to do more.

The secondary couple, though almost non-existent, had a lot more chemistry than the first.

I really liked the village setting in the beginning, and I wish more of the story had taken place there. That atmosphere felt like where the drama was at its strongest. Instead, we got an office romance, which wasn’t nearly as fun.

And even the OSTs followed the same pattern, almost there but not quite. They were a little repetitive, and perhaps we just needed one or two more songs to really carry it through.

That was Hi Venus for me. Sweet, but probably not something I would find myself craving again.