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This review may contain spoilers
A tale of two halves
There aren't specific spoilers in this but it does talk about the entire lakorn in broad strokes. If you haven't started it or are in the early stages, keep watching and come back to this later if you want.
If you've gotten stuck half way through and are trying to make sense of your reactions, this should be safe enough to read. It was well worth finishing and a couple of days off before continuing helped. I ended up loving both halves for very different reasons.
The first eight episodes are my favourite of the Channel 3 lakorns I've seen. Full of tropes but underpinned by strong statements on sexism, prejudice (Chinese against Thai, Thai against Chinese), privilege and how these affect people's lives. Excellent pacing between the happy friends and tense families. The what is age anyway casting was a bit odd, but I'm used to that and Baifern especially has the playfulness to make it work. And Nine's Tian is so kind and caring you'd forgive everything, not that there's all that much to forgive.
One of the things I've learned from watching lakorns is that the most far-fetched plot will still work if there's internal consistency around key elements and if the core emotions ring true. Getting the "why they can't be together yet" right is crucial to this.
They didn't do this in the rather abrupt shift between the halves. There was some attempt to build in internal consistency leading up to it and a wee bit after, but the emotional truth was compromised. The earlier balance was also lost and the story became mired in stress and tension for a few episodes.
The second half though is more ambitious in scope and because of that at times more awkward. It is also deeper and richer. Looking back, I can see how the first half magnifies the emotions of the second and is necessary to the overall story. I have mixed feelings about the abruptness of the shift - if they had written in greater internal emotional consistency in the first half, the experience would have been different. Not necessarily less, but different. I'm not sure I want to give up those first eight episodes as they are. So I've come round to accepting the abrupt shift while still being critical of it.
In the end, through all its movements - young love, discrimination and prejudice, the damage wealth and privilege brought to a family, it's ultimately about the dignity and strength of women.
If you're not sure about continuing, in my opinion it's certainly worth the time.
If you've gotten stuck half way through and are trying to make sense of your reactions, this should be safe enough to read. It was well worth finishing and a couple of days off before continuing helped. I ended up loving both halves for very different reasons.
The first eight episodes are my favourite of the Channel 3 lakorns I've seen. Full of tropes but underpinned by strong statements on sexism, prejudice (Chinese against Thai, Thai against Chinese), privilege and how these affect people's lives. Excellent pacing between the happy friends and tense families. The what is age anyway casting was a bit odd, but I'm used to that and Baifern especially has the playfulness to make it work. And Nine's Tian is so kind and caring you'd forgive everything, not that there's all that much to forgive.
One of the things I've learned from watching lakorns is that the most far-fetched plot will still work if there's internal consistency around key elements and if the core emotions ring true. Getting the "why they can't be together yet" right is crucial to this.
They didn't do this in the rather abrupt shift between the halves. There was some attempt to build in internal consistency leading up to it and a wee bit after, but the emotional truth was compromised. The earlier balance was also lost and the story became mired in stress and tension for a few episodes.
The second half though is more ambitious in scope and because of that at times more awkward. It is also deeper and richer. Looking back, I can see how the first half magnifies the emotions of the second and is necessary to the overall story. I have mixed feelings about the abruptness of the shift - if they had written in greater internal emotional consistency in the first half, the experience would have been different. Not necessarily less, but different. I'm not sure I want to give up those first eight episodes as they are. So I've come round to accepting the abrupt shift while still being critical of it.
In the end, through all its movements - young love, discrimination and prejudice, the damage wealth and privilege brought to a family, it's ultimately about the dignity and strength of women.
If you're not sure about continuing, in my opinion it's certainly worth the time.
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