This review may contain spoilers
Why am I so late to the party!!!!!!
Till date I have watched a number of dramas, more Korean than Chinese. Being relatively new to this genre I feel I don't really have the stamina to watch 40 episodes of something and invest myself in it. I have given up on a lot of Chinese dramas for this particular reason. It's too much of an investment of time for me. I went into Speed and Love with similar expectations. When I started watching Speed and Love I stopped at the first episode because I couldn't understand it at all. I couldn't understand Mumu's longing for Zhao. Nothing stood out, there was no hook, no catch and I think that is what the genius lies in, to not force the viewer to fall in love with it because they know they'll end up blown away anyways. I however forced myself to go on and boy was I unprepared for the havoc it wreaked on my mind and soul. I fell head over heels in love with He Yu's (Jin Zhao).
I think the most important aspect of this drama is the gradual pace at which the characters and the emotions develop. So much has been written about the brother sister bond that I feel it has been blown out of proportion. To be honest whether he fed her milk bottles or changed her diapers doesn't matter to me personally considering they never had a blood bond. Yes people might stone me to death for this but the fact of the matter remains that Jin Zhao was never related to Jiang Mu by blood, it was always societal/familial. They did not share a birth mother or father hence in my mind they were not related apart from emotional connections. The fact that he had been born to Jiang Mu's father's best friend really made it quite stark for me.
The boy had been forced to be a caretaker to Mu Mu since a very young age because he had no choice at first and later simply because he loved her. He considered her the only anchor to his life that didn't regard him unwanted, a financial burden or an eyesore. A lot of what children end up doing is basically what they are taught to do and Jin Zhao had no choice but to step up as a parent to Mu Mu in the absence of her parents emotional unavailability. People might argue that her mother was always attentive and loving towards her but in reality she struggled through an unhappy marriage, spousal incompatibility and a deep lack of trust and understanding which made her bitter towards Jin Zhao ( someone she saw affiliated solely to Jin Qiang) and over protective of Jiang Mu. Thus there was always a lack of emotional stability for both Zhao and Mu. The only solution to this for them was to find stability, strength and love in each other.
I found Jin Zhao to be the most rational, level headed and understanding protagonist of any drama to date. Yes you see men caring, loving and ready to go the extra mile for their lady love but the idea that he dedicated his entire life to her is unthinkable. He remembered and provided everything she ever needed be it food, love, strength, academic knowledge, adolescent coming of terms or quiet companionship. He definitely was the north star to her ship regardless of wherever she floated. He remembered his promises to her and kept them. Her safety and happiness were paramount to him regardless of his own feelings in the matter. It takes a lot to sacrifice one's entire life for someone else's happiness that too willingly and Jin Zhao did it because he didn't want to be "The Bastard" who would make her suffer. To him she was already a living breathing miracle, her life alone was the biggest gift that he had received in his life. I am blown away by this kind of selfless, caring and giving love that too for a single entity. I loved Jin Zhao's love for her.
I found Mu Mu to be the perfect companion for Jin Zhao. She was the only one who kept him grounded, made him feel he mattered and loved. The tears she shed for him "Left him Defenseless" in his own words. I realized how deep her love for him ran when she broke down completely after his accident. That single scene encapsulated her entire being for me, her sorrowful cries and her struggle to crawl to find him despite being mentally broken left me speechless. Esther did such a fabulous job portraying MuMu's angst, her darkest fears turning to reality culminating in the deepest sorrow she could ever bear, not knowing whether the man she loved was dead or alive. I cried so hard with her. When Mu Mu found him again I was more angry at him than her. How dare he push her away, make choices for her and break her heart. She had every right to know what happened to him yet those years were robbed from her. When she says "Anything from him would suffice even an emoji" it broke my heart to pieces. She deemed him heartless and rightfully so. However MuMu turned out to be a more magnanimous person than I could ever be. She kept going back to him till she broke all his defenses, flattened the barriers he had erected around himself under the false guise of protecting her. Shout out to MuMu to loving Jin Zhao with equal intensity , equal depth and understanding. She kept calling him back from his self dug grave. She in my opinion deserves the highest honor for having such patience in the face of endless silence. She deserved every bit of Jin Zhao's love, his heart, body and soul she had earned every inch of him dedicating herself to him as he had to her.
There is so much good in this drama that words fail me. The casting, the direction, lighting, wardrobe, locations, makeup, the supporting cast, the extras. The cars and races were so exhilarating that I was pleasantly surprised. Not to meantion the scores oh my God am I hooked to Away or what! Everyone of them helped weave this beautiful tapestry of a drama.
Shout out to He Yu for making me understand what longing actually means and to have someone yet still show restraint in the face of such intense desires. That man can emote all these motions with such finesse.
The two most important scenes for me were
a. When he confesses that a lot of people have come and gone in his life but he was never serious about anyone so once she entered his life he wouldn't give her a chance to back out. The coffee that was sweet just for her. The way he stares at her eye level before asking her how she would like to taste him , the intense gaze, the breath he dared not draw, the desire that traveled down his throat to his entire body just gave me shivers, how just how could someone be so good at emoting such complex layers of emotions so deeply and excellently. That scene was just the entire drama for me. He Yu should go down in the annals of Chinese drama history for this one single scene. The kiss that followed was the cherry on top. That man could kiss a fish and turn it to a mermaid. I seriously love him for his kisses alone.
b. The second scene was when MuMu is at Jin Zhao's home in Nanjing during the mid autumn festival. She hugs him from behind and asks him to not ask him to let go of him. She confesses that even after all this time apart he is the only one she has always truly loved. That scene stood out to me because when she says that would he say nothing to her the defeat was visible in her eyes. That it was the end of the rope for her, she had laid herself bare to him and had still not received a response from him. That she had lost the battle between her dignity and her heart and that her heart body and soul yearned for him. The way her eyes pleaded to him and her tears dropped from them it just shattered my perception of love so bad. The idea of any sort of pride in love was so foolish because all her dignity, pride and self esteem had been steam rolled in that confession. I loved her, I loved her love for Jin Zhao. Love essentially is a very humbling experience.
All in all an excellent watch. I do wish the second half had been shortened and the first half extended, my heart is still wandering in the garage in Thailand where a man living on the edge has vowed to win everything in a single race. Love, love, love you Jin Zhao!!!!
I think the most important aspect of this drama is the gradual pace at which the characters and the emotions develop. So much has been written about the brother sister bond that I feel it has been blown out of proportion. To be honest whether he fed her milk bottles or changed her diapers doesn't matter to me personally considering they never had a blood bond. Yes people might stone me to death for this but the fact of the matter remains that Jin Zhao was never related to Jiang Mu by blood, it was always societal/familial. They did not share a birth mother or father hence in my mind they were not related apart from emotional connections. The fact that he had been born to Jiang Mu's father's best friend really made it quite stark for me.
The boy had been forced to be a caretaker to Mu Mu since a very young age because he had no choice at first and later simply because he loved her. He considered her the only anchor to his life that didn't regard him unwanted, a financial burden or an eyesore. A lot of what children end up doing is basically what they are taught to do and Jin Zhao had no choice but to step up as a parent to Mu Mu in the absence of her parents emotional unavailability. People might argue that her mother was always attentive and loving towards her but in reality she struggled through an unhappy marriage, spousal incompatibility and a deep lack of trust and understanding which made her bitter towards Jin Zhao ( someone she saw affiliated solely to Jin Qiang) and over protective of Jiang Mu. Thus there was always a lack of emotional stability for both Zhao and Mu. The only solution to this for them was to find stability, strength and love in each other.
I found Jin Zhao to be the most rational, level headed and understanding protagonist of any drama to date. Yes you see men caring, loving and ready to go the extra mile for their lady love but the idea that he dedicated his entire life to her is unthinkable. He remembered and provided everything she ever needed be it food, love, strength, academic knowledge, adolescent coming of terms or quiet companionship. He definitely was the north star to her ship regardless of wherever she floated. He remembered his promises to her and kept them. Her safety and happiness were paramount to him regardless of his own feelings in the matter. It takes a lot to sacrifice one's entire life for someone else's happiness that too willingly and Jin Zhao did it because he didn't want to be "The Bastard" who would make her suffer. To him she was already a living breathing miracle, her life alone was the biggest gift that he had received in his life. I am blown away by this kind of selfless, caring and giving love that too for a single entity. I loved Jin Zhao's love for her.
I found Mu Mu to be the perfect companion for Jin Zhao. She was the only one who kept him grounded, made him feel he mattered and loved. The tears she shed for him "Left him Defenseless" in his own words. I realized how deep her love for him ran when she broke down completely after his accident. That single scene encapsulated her entire being for me, her sorrowful cries and her struggle to crawl to find him despite being mentally broken left me speechless. Esther did such a fabulous job portraying MuMu's angst, her darkest fears turning to reality culminating in the deepest sorrow she could ever bear, not knowing whether the man she loved was dead or alive. I cried so hard with her. When Mu Mu found him again I was more angry at him than her. How dare he push her away, make choices for her and break her heart. She had every right to know what happened to him yet those years were robbed from her. When she says "Anything from him would suffice even an emoji" it broke my heart to pieces. She deemed him heartless and rightfully so. However MuMu turned out to be a more magnanimous person than I could ever be. She kept going back to him till she broke all his defenses, flattened the barriers he had erected around himself under the false guise of protecting her. Shout out to MuMu to loving Jin Zhao with equal intensity , equal depth and understanding. She kept calling him back from his self dug grave. She in my opinion deserves the highest honor for having such patience in the face of endless silence. She deserved every bit of Jin Zhao's love, his heart, body and soul she had earned every inch of him dedicating herself to him as he had to her.
There is so much good in this drama that words fail me. The casting, the direction, lighting, wardrobe, locations, makeup, the supporting cast, the extras. The cars and races were so exhilarating that I was pleasantly surprised. Not to meantion the scores oh my God am I hooked to Away or what! Everyone of them helped weave this beautiful tapestry of a drama.
Shout out to He Yu for making me understand what longing actually means and to have someone yet still show restraint in the face of such intense desires. That man can emote all these motions with such finesse.
The two most important scenes for me were
a. When he confesses that a lot of people have come and gone in his life but he was never serious about anyone so once she entered his life he wouldn't give her a chance to back out. The coffee that was sweet just for her. The way he stares at her eye level before asking her how she would like to taste him , the intense gaze, the breath he dared not draw, the desire that traveled down his throat to his entire body just gave me shivers, how just how could someone be so good at emoting such complex layers of emotions so deeply and excellently. That scene was just the entire drama for me. He Yu should go down in the annals of Chinese drama history for this one single scene. The kiss that followed was the cherry on top. That man could kiss a fish and turn it to a mermaid. I seriously love him for his kisses alone.
b. The second scene was when MuMu is at Jin Zhao's home in Nanjing during the mid autumn festival. She hugs him from behind and asks him to not ask him to let go of him. She confesses that even after all this time apart he is the only one she has always truly loved. That scene stood out to me because when she says that would he say nothing to her the defeat was visible in her eyes. That it was the end of the rope for her, she had laid herself bare to him and had still not received a response from him. That she had lost the battle between her dignity and her heart and that her heart body and soul yearned for him. The way her eyes pleaded to him and her tears dropped from them it just shattered my perception of love so bad. The idea of any sort of pride in love was so foolish because all her dignity, pride and self esteem had been steam rolled in that confession. I loved her, I loved her love for Jin Zhao. Love essentially is a very humbling experience.
All in all an excellent watch. I do wish the second half had been shortened and the first half extended, my heart is still wandering in the garage in Thailand where a man living on the edge has vowed to win everything in a single race. Love, love, love you Jin Zhao!!!!
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