As Beautiful as You (2024) Tan Song YUn ..... this is one of my very favorite actresses. Her early work was roles that had the crazy Chinese slapping....and were very hard to watch as this overwhelmed her storyline dialogue...BUT...now that the "slapping roles" are well behind her....she just shines in each role.
The scripts have been excellent, the ML pairings were well chosen (way to go casting director) and her performances are exceptional. There are several current Chinese actors that you can count on the quality of the viewing experience and they are both offered and accepting the full high-quality package that makes for dramas that will hold the test of time in their viewing value generating long-term re-watch value.
This drama is but one example of her role. The full plotline evolves at a pace that is realistic with a hint of what is unfolding without overt actions/reactions. Subtle is always more powerful than overt nonsense that fills so many dramas. The pairing of the ML/FL, although surprising at first, turned out to be well-chosen with the relationship evolution of the same "unseen dynamic" that Jane Austin introduced centuries ago in Pride and Prejudice between Lizzy and Darcy.
Watching this drama was a wonderful investment of time (which is rare in most being rushed to market). Happy watching....Cheers, Hope
I have an iq several standard deviations above mensa level requirements, I majored in english lit, and yet nothing…
The beauty of drama reviews is the different lenses of perspective/interpretation individuals have both during the drama and in reflection after the drama is completed. As your review of mine seems to have raised many questions for you, perhaps my perspectives are different from yours.....which is part of the difference each viewer experiences during and after watching the drama.
To specifically answer questions...China is known as the "mistress culture" thus this theme tends to permeate their dramas (although this is not unique to Chinese dramas alone). When a personality is split or exaggerated that is a psychosis of sorts that distorts the personality actions of an individual. The result is a fragmented personality versus a whole.
Most innovative drama scripts of this type have layers of meaning.....thus something for everyone in some way. An excellent marketing approach for the studios. I am unclear what a major in English Lit has to do with the review, but as a psychologist and researcher, my approach to writing reviews is not based on literary meaning but the intersection of a variety of interrelated themes. Rarely would I write in a 3D "right/wrong" style but in a holistic conceptual perspective.
In this review version, I shared two (although there were others not covered), elements of transhumanism and AI as those, to me, were more novel aspects of this script. Happy Viewing....Hope
Hi from 3 months later, no her didn't cheat, the lady's a nutjob. I dunno if the link below would work, but here's…
Its all cool. There are often dramas with plots identical or very similar. One might think there is a shortage of ideas in the industry but my guess is they follow the recipe that sells. Cheers Hope
anyone watching this?? so he really cheated her or not??
Yes the CEO cheated. The wife catches the Best Friend and the husband in her bedroom. She gets in her car, has an accident. Goes missing for 6 years. Shows back up as the CEO's new secretary. Her intent is to get DNA from him to save her "son" so she was pregnant when the accident happened but the now 5 year old boy is ill.
The script for this drama is one of the best done on this topic to date. No doubt this is a view of what is to come in dramas. Initially, it is unclear whether this is AI-induced or if is it simply opening a portal for parallel concurrent "men" to pull their other selves. For most of the viewing audience, this is probably not a concept they are familiar with. As a link to the use of AI, it is based on the idea that an AI can be controlled ie pulled from a mirror.
Advanced AI takes on an independent persona and quickly exceeds what the "inventor" intends which is one of the issues in having no laws governing the use of AI in limitations....a topic for another day. AI has been around since the early 1950s so most applications to date have been invisible but all are tied to the "transhumanism movement".
In this drama, only a portion of the personality is captured in the eAI model....which implies that your personality is segmented within a person versus a set of integrated characteristics. Also a topic for another time.
My very favorite part is the exploding mirror images toward the end. As it was dolled out over weeks, going back to watch the full series in one sitting allows you to catch the details we miss in this choppy viewing model. In part, it takes a few episodes to figure out what is happening. Of course in true Asian drama style....it is all about men changing new ways to continue the archaic practice of following their "tiny tim" into the lives of a host of women....except for their wives of course......so for this to be a Chinese drama....well all who are researchers in Chinese culture know that this is a centuries-old male clown act driven by a sense of entitlement to thousands of women from the concubines/consorts of dynasty times to the 21st-century mistresses and Erani (second wives).
The women characters are the real stars of this drama as they are the investigators, the group that holds up the morality in the saga (well except for the off-the-shelf typical Chinese MIL character). They work together without striking one another and embody the large millions of professional Chinese women globally of today. Overall it was very well done for the first time.
All the problems resolved by Episode 29, Highly recommend people who dropped it to come back and watch
lolol--resolved?? The resolution is for him to go abroad or maybe take an assignment on Mars and for the FL to look for a man not a manchild. the maturity level of this supposed doctor is astoundly absent throughout the entire drama. He lies about something in every episode he is in.
Is it like an open ending or completely sad ending?
It is a nothing ending.....which fits the storyline of no adult action/reaction. Think of the biggest drama you had in Junior High and how it ended. That was the ending of this drama.
After the first 4 episodes, I kept thinking "Surely this is going to get better"....but I was wrong. When a ML/FL rarely touches or has screen time together, that should be a clue that the script is missing key elements. The dead girlfriend's sister turns out to be the center of the entire storyline. She drives all the actions and reactions along with more screen time with the ML than the FL.
The attraction of the ML to either of these women must be tied to his pheromones because it is not tied to his actions or romantic skills (which were invisible). Young doctors making medical decisions based on schemes would land these doctors in jail or at minimum suspensions.
The "adults" in the drama are the senior doctors who do all the real medical work while the younger generations with their low EQs/IQs are busy paying homage to a dead sister who must be turned over in her grave at their antics.
The best thing about this drama was the "Glass House".
The year 2023 is turning out to be a "blockbuster" year for excellent scripts, realistic acting, and beautiful production locations. The diversity of storylines from powerful women in Alliance to first love memories in Hidden Love on to the journey of friendship, survival laces with sadness, conflict, forgiveness, and loyalty minus the typical drama nonsense Miles to Go..
I sat down with a glass of excellent wine to relax from a long day and found this drama to be much more than I expected. So many highlights, but the death of the husband was one of the true tragedies mirroring the unexpected we have all experienced in our lifetimes. No crazy MILs, no childlike women, no focus on cheating men. Excellent casting and acting topped off a time well spent on a chilly autumn evening.
when did they officially become a couple, did I miss something?
It was a long evolutionary process that becomes more and more understood with actions of care, support, honesty, and consistency of all these. Body language changes, expanded touching, with only 3 short sentences showing the shift. Without the help of the first mistress who was the best female character in the drama, through her discussions with each one about the other in a "match maker" role it is hard to say if either of these individuals would have moved into a full on marriage/family. As a plotine, it was superbly done.
HopeDiamond, do you mind telling us what the 3 other dramas were?
The Outsider; Stand or Fall; Hidden Love---The first two are similar to the Alliance with business scenarios tied to roles and various combinations of relationships. Hidden Love for completely different reasons. It is a coming of age romance with exceptional family dynamics both functional /supporting and the flip side type family which is the ultimate in dysfunction and faultless victimization parents in Chinese culture thrust onto their children for no valid reason except pride and ego.
The FL has an inner strength and set of values that reflect her families strong sense of caring/compassion conversation, children's independence based on the clear boundaries all through discussion and role modeling.
The ML has an unfortunate family dynamic that haunts him well into his early career. The bond between the two is established from her childhood in a mentoring type of second brother role which blossoms into romance during her college years. This was an excellent example of how a functional loving relationship can be established based on each partner being focused/balance on self/career and partner's needs/success. They are 2 halves of the same whole....2 individuals in 1 committed relationship. Is it at time a bit "co-dependent"....yes, but so are most relationships of depth as both parties have complete trust in one another.
Rare? Absolutely. Impossible to develop? No but it takes a level of self-awareness and maturity which was rare given the age of both parties. If you take the long view of their relationship leading up to the engagement, it is years of caring and supporting one another. Even though the ML is 5 years older than her....he is emotionally developing slowly due to family disasters which built in him a strong sense of responsibility. He has cared for her as a protector long before dating was ever thought of as an option.
NOTE: this third one was not a movie for everyone, but when I analyze a drama, it is for other purposes and uses in our private practice and teachable moments.
Finished watching this drama this morning and posted my review. It is not often I find the time spent watching a drama "time well spent", but I did in this and 3 other 2023 dramas. When a drama is exceptional, it has more reality than sensationalism. As we begin to roll out our 2024 workshop series, there are aspects of this drama we will include in the overall case study analysis of certain behaviors and relationships in the drama. Cheers, Hope
I am sure you're not novice to c-dramas; I bet you are aware that c-dramas have to pass reviews/etc in order to…
The research on this topic is plentiful by culture, country, race, gender, age, and economic levels to name a few of the demographics covered in the research.
The scripts have been excellent, the ML pairings were well chosen (way to go casting director) and her performances are exceptional. There are several current Chinese actors that you can count on the quality of the viewing experience and they are both offered and accepting the full high-quality package that makes for dramas that will hold the test of time in their viewing value generating long-term re-watch value.
This drama is but one example of her role. The full plotline evolves at a pace that is realistic with a hint of what is unfolding without overt actions/reactions. Subtle is always more powerful than overt nonsense that fills so many dramas. The pairing of the ML/FL, although surprising at first, turned out to be well-chosen with the relationship evolution of the same "unseen dynamic" that Jane Austin introduced centuries ago in Pride and Prejudice between Lizzy and Darcy.
Watching this drama was a wonderful investment of time (which is rare in most being rushed to market). Happy watching....Cheers, Hope
To specifically answer questions...China is known as the "mistress culture" thus this theme tends to permeate their dramas (although this is not unique to Chinese dramas alone). When a personality is split or exaggerated that is a psychosis of sorts that distorts the personality actions of an individual. The result is a fragmented personality versus a whole.
Most innovative drama scripts of this type have layers of meaning.....thus something for everyone in some way. An excellent marketing approach for the studios. I am unclear what a major in English Lit has to do with the review, but as a psychologist and researcher, my approach to writing reviews is not based on literary meaning but the intersection of a variety of interrelated themes. Rarely would I write in a 3D "right/wrong" style but in a holistic conceptual perspective.
In this review version, I shared two (although there were others not covered), elements of transhumanism and AI as those, to me, were more novel aspects of this script. Happy Viewing....Hope
Advanced AI takes on an independent persona and quickly exceeds what the "inventor" intends which is one of the issues in having no laws governing the use of AI in limitations....a topic for another day. AI has been around since the early 1950s so most applications to date have been invisible but all are tied to the "transhumanism movement".
In this drama, only a portion of the personality is captured in the eAI model....which implies that your personality is segmented within a person versus a set of integrated characteristics. Also a topic for another time.
My very favorite part is the exploding mirror images toward the end. As it was dolled out over weeks, going back to watch the full series in one sitting allows you to catch the details we miss in this choppy viewing model. In part, it takes a few episodes to figure out what is happening. Of course in true Asian drama style....it is all about men changing new ways to continue the archaic practice of following their "tiny tim" into the lives of a host of women....except for their wives of course......so for this to be a Chinese drama....well all who are researchers in Chinese culture know that this is a centuries-old male clown act driven by a sense of entitlement to thousands of women from the concubines/consorts of dynasty times to the 21st-century mistresses and Erani (second wives).
The women characters are the real stars of this drama as they are the investigators, the group that holds up the morality in the saga (well except for the off-the-shelf typical Chinese MIL character). They work together without striking one another and embody the large millions of professional Chinese women globally of today. Overall it was very well done for the first time.
The attraction of the ML to either of these women must be tied to his pheromones because it is not tied to his actions or romantic skills (which were invisible). Young doctors making medical decisions based on schemes would land these doctors in jail or at minimum suspensions.
The "adults" in the drama are the senior doctors who do all the real medical work while the younger generations with their low EQs/IQs are busy paying homage to a dead sister who must be turned over in her grave at their antics.
The best thing about this drama was the "Glass House".
I sat down with a glass of excellent wine to relax from a long day and found this drama to be much more than I expected. So many highlights, but the death of the husband was one of the true tragedies mirroring the unexpected we have all experienced in our lifetimes. No crazy MILs, no childlike women, no focus on cheating men. Excellent casting and acting topped off a time well spent on a chilly autumn evening.
The FL has an inner strength and set of values that reflect her families strong sense of caring/compassion conversation, children's independence based on the clear boundaries all through discussion and role modeling.
The ML has an unfortunate family dynamic that haunts him well into his early career. The bond between the two is established from her childhood in a mentoring type of second brother role which blossoms into romance during her college years. This was an excellent example of how a functional loving relationship can be established based on each partner being focused/balance on self/career and partner's needs/success. They are 2 halves of the same whole....2 individuals in 1 committed relationship. Is it at time a bit "co-dependent"....yes, but so are most relationships of depth as both parties have complete trust in one another.
Rare? Absolutely. Impossible to develop? No but it takes a level of self-awareness and maturity which was rare given the age of both parties. If you take the long view of their relationship leading up to the engagement, it is years of caring and supporting one another. Even though the ML is 5 years older than her....he is emotionally developing slowly due to family disasters which built in him a strong sense of responsibility. He has cared for her as a protector long before dating was ever thought of as an option.
NOTE: this third one was not a movie for everyone, but when I analyze a drama, it is for other purposes and uses in our private practice and teachable moments.