231
466
15
1
5
10
21
1
28
3
18
6
1
9
49
1
15
4
3
10
9
4
9
26
18
35
37
Can soulmates survive shaky writing ? Here they did but barely!
The premise and the whole idea of fate, reincarnation and love across generations was fresh and bold, but the execution was messy. The plot starts with 69-year-old Xia Cha waking up in the body of his grandson Xia Zefang. And somehow, he becomes the love interest of Ye Haiyuan (Zefang's love(?) interest too)
If I have to describe my experience of this drama, it would be -
Episodes 1-3: Awkward doesn't even begin to cover it.
Ep 4-9: Okay... we are heading somewhere.
EP 10-12: What… okay then. Not exactly good, not exactly bad...just kind of there.
The starting episodes are chaotic and a whole lot of awkward. I kept questioning myself as to what I was even watching. But then the randomness became entertaining. Xia Chia's adjustment as a teenager was the most fun part. He was dramatic, contradictory and a total hypocrite. One moment, he is protesting and reminding Haiyuan of boundaries, and the next moment cuddling. He was genuinely funny and without trying too hard.
Ye Haiyuan's character development wasn’t exactly great. The more we see of him, the more he just seems immature and have temper issues. I get that he is only 20, so I am not expecting him to be wise, but come on, he could at least try to read the situation better. Honestly, his relationship with Xia Cha was already pretty complicated and fragile from the get-go and his choices just made everything more chaotic. It felt like he had way too many expectations all the time without taking everything into account, especially Xia Cha's emotions. I kind of want to cut him some slack since his intentions were good, but he could be really annoying to watch at times.
Their love story somehow elevated the middle portion of the drama. I enjoyed their chemistry and their bickering. But to me, it doesn't seem like a healthy romance. There was tension and passion but also a whole lot of sudden possessiveness and impulsive outbursts. But once they settle down, it was pretty evident that care and concern was mutual.
Coming to the last arc, I think they missed an opportunity by not explicitly showing Haiyuan tied to Xia Cha's past. I mean, it's really hard to ignore the whole "grandfather in grandson's body" thing, it would have been easier to buy into the romance if Haiyuan was shown as a reincarnation too. That extra layer would have softened the absurdity and made the premise land better.
And the whole red thread theory kind of diluted the romance because at times, it felt like Xia Cha was only with him because of that.
Another thing that bothered me was Xia Zefang's arc. It just felt incomplete and the whole thing about growth, healing and closure felt rushed because we didn't witness majority of it on screen. Riqing as his love interest surprised me and kind of grew on me. I really feel for him because he actually liked Zefang for who he was. Maybe a spin-off for them? I would definitely watch it.
Last, the second couple was cute, but that's about it. I don't think they got enough screentime to have a fleshed-out story. I wouldn't have minded if they were friends with the main leads.
Acting-wise, Martin Wong as Xia Cha / Zenfang was really good. I found his portrait convincing both as a 69-year-old man and as a college-going brat. Also, his hair colour was iconic. The rest of them were decent. Not bad, but no one else stood out. Visually, all the cast were good-looking looking especially the leads.
Overall, it was definitely entertaining but with too many missed opportunities. I mean, if you have fate, reincarnation as a primary plot device, the storytelling was pretty weak. And also, the realisations could have a better impact. It felt very superficial with the whole past life connection not properly explained and used.
Will I recommend it? For the entertainment... maybe. But for the actual plot and storytelling, no.
The review may look like a rant, but I surprisingly don't dislike it.
7.25/10
If I have to describe my experience of this drama, it would be -
Episodes 1-3: Awkward doesn't even begin to cover it.
Ep 4-9: Okay... we are heading somewhere.
EP 10-12: What… okay then. Not exactly good, not exactly bad...just kind of there.
The starting episodes are chaotic and a whole lot of awkward. I kept questioning myself as to what I was even watching. But then the randomness became entertaining. Xia Chia's adjustment as a teenager was the most fun part. He was dramatic, contradictory and a total hypocrite. One moment, he is protesting and reminding Haiyuan of boundaries, and the next moment cuddling. He was genuinely funny and without trying too hard.
Ye Haiyuan's character development wasn’t exactly great. The more we see of him, the more he just seems immature and have temper issues. I get that he is only 20, so I am not expecting him to be wise, but come on, he could at least try to read the situation better. Honestly, his relationship with Xia Cha was already pretty complicated and fragile from the get-go and his choices just made everything more chaotic. It felt like he had way too many expectations all the time without taking everything into account, especially Xia Cha's emotions. I kind of want to cut him some slack since his intentions were good, but he could be really annoying to watch at times.
Their love story somehow elevated the middle portion of the drama. I enjoyed their chemistry and their bickering. But to me, it doesn't seem like a healthy romance. There was tension and passion but also a whole lot of sudden possessiveness and impulsive outbursts. But once they settle down, it was pretty evident that care and concern was mutual.
Coming to the last arc, I think they missed an opportunity by not explicitly showing Haiyuan tied to Xia Cha's past. I mean, it's really hard to ignore the whole "grandfather in grandson's body" thing, it would have been easier to buy into the romance if Haiyuan was shown as a reincarnation too. That extra layer would have softened the absurdity and made the premise land better.
And the whole red thread theory kind of diluted the romance because at times, it felt like Xia Cha was only with him because of that.
Another thing that bothered me was Xia Zefang's arc. It just felt incomplete and the whole thing about growth, healing and closure felt rushed because we didn't witness majority of it on screen. Riqing as his love interest surprised me and kind of grew on me. I really feel for him because he actually liked Zefang for who he was. Maybe a spin-off for them? I would definitely watch it.
Last, the second couple was cute, but that's about it. I don't think they got enough screentime to have a fleshed-out story. I wouldn't have minded if they were friends with the main leads.
Acting-wise, Martin Wong as Xia Cha / Zenfang was really good. I found his portrait convincing both as a 69-year-old man and as a college-going brat. Also, his hair colour was iconic. The rest of them were decent. Not bad, but no one else stood out. Visually, all the cast were good-looking looking especially the leads.
Overall, it was definitely entertaining but with too many missed opportunities. I mean, if you have fate, reincarnation as a primary plot device, the storytelling was pretty weak. And also, the realisations could have a better impact. It felt very superficial with the whole past life connection not properly explained and used.
Will I recommend it? For the entertainment... maybe. But for the actual plot and storytelling, no.
The review may look like a rant, but I surprisingly don't dislike it.
7.25/10
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