This review may contain spoilers
I may have cussed out Ouyang's entire family tree
Fuck this. I just wrote a whole review only for my stupid self to delete it.
I'm just going to sum up what my long review was GOING to say.
-I cried a TON at the SA parts
When she was shoving her nail into the butterfly tattoo, I didn't really understand what it meant until it hit me that the butterfly would still have its wings but never be the same again. Even if the pain subsided, the damage would still remain.
What hurt me the most was probably how accurate the depiction of the assault was. When Hsiao Tung Chiang looked at the comments, everyone knew her family, background, friends, and so on. The idea that everyone knows what happened to you is just so frightening, and it would make everything ten times harder. It made me genuinely want to get in touch with those who had suffered from sexual assault, to truly help and understand their pain (if I even could). Additionally, watching that girl, who she came with, being forced to lie that her friend didn't call for help, really twisted me. It showed how those with power have so much control, and all you can really do in the end is absolutely nothing.
-BUT what was really the cherry on top was watching Jen Li Yao get beaten up by fucking gangsters while he knew his girlfriend (yes, she does fall into that category) was being sexually assaulted. It goes along with one big theme in this story, about how little we can do in the end. I have this speech, one that I wrote for speech and debate about firefighters, and at one point I say, "Have you ever been incapable of saving someone you loved?". I don't think I could find better words to describe how it looked like Jen Li Yao must have felt after seeing the person he cared about the most become an absolute shell of herself because he was unable to help her. I would like to think that if she hadn't gone with Ouyang, then maybe this whole event wouldn't have happened, yet in the end, I have to accept that it's a show, and I can't change anything.
- I would also like to take a moment to just appreciate how good the cinematography was (yes, I did have to look up this word). I didn't really take in how much the scenes make you feel like you're really there with them. It also helped that I was watching the show late at night, but the concept of rainy days did really fit the theme. Though Jen Li Yao and Hsiao Tung Chiang had sooo many moments that I was super jealous of. I really like the dark theme (physically and mentally), because it really added to the whole story. Also, THE CASTING? I mean, I would like to say that the casting for Jen Li Yao, Hsiao Tung Chiang, and Ouyang was amazing.
Jen Li Yao, played by Jing-Hua Tseng- he played the role so well, no one can convince me that someone could have done a better job than him. His face displayed every word he couldn't say, and his little-to-no-word demeanor fit him perfectly. He was definitely a main reason why some people started this show, and his acting was some of the best I've seen (just for this type of role, though)
Hsiao Tung Chiang, played by Moon Lee, I really like how every reaction she had conveyed so much emotion, the complete opposite of Jen Li Yao. She wasn't afraid to believe in what she wanted, and adding that dance aspect made everything just come together perfectly.
Ouyang, played by Chih-Tian Shih- this is honestly one I just thought of, but it fits so well. The way he was able to play a scared little kid in front of his parents and other adults, but was such a horrible and disgusting person, when they weren't around, absolutely shocked me. I had really good hopes for him in the beginning, but I have never felt this disgusted by a character. In the scene where his dad was beating him, I was like "maybe he's finally learning his mistakes and feeling like shit," but no, IT WAS ALL A MASK??? This dude through me off so hard. Great acting, so props to him.
There are honestly more characters I could rave about, but I'm going to cut it short. There is so much more I could talk about, but I just want to get this done with because it's 12:00 AM lol. It may seem like I'm overhyping this, and to some, I probably am, but I honestly fell in love with it. I'm usually a person who gets easily bored if the story isn't fast enough (warning, I did kind of skip through the first two episodes, BUT I wasn't watching them on a TV, which makes things better, in my opinion), but this show has a chokehold on me. I don't know when or how I realized this, but it somehow drew me in. I'm really excited for part 2 to come out, even if it's so far away. I will be finding out more about Jua Hua Tseng because he definitely pulled me in. Reminder to myself, hate the character, not the actor.
I think that's all lol. Don't mind the bad spelling, please
I'm just going to sum up what my long review was GOING to say.
-I cried a TON at the SA parts
When she was shoving her nail into the butterfly tattoo, I didn't really understand what it meant until it hit me that the butterfly would still have its wings but never be the same again. Even if the pain subsided, the damage would still remain.
What hurt me the most was probably how accurate the depiction of the assault was. When Hsiao Tung Chiang looked at the comments, everyone knew her family, background, friends, and so on. The idea that everyone knows what happened to you is just so frightening, and it would make everything ten times harder. It made me genuinely want to get in touch with those who had suffered from sexual assault, to truly help and understand their pain (if I even could). Additionally, watching that girl, who she came with, being forced to lie that her friend didn't call for help, really twisted me. It showed how those with power have so much control, and all you can really do in the end is absolutely nothing.
-BUT what was really the cherry on top was watching Jen Li Yao get beaten up by fucking gangsters while he knew his girlfriend (yes, she does fall into that category) was being sexually assaulted. It goes along with one big theme in this story, about how little we can do in the end. I have this speech, one that I wrote for speech and debate about firefighters, and at one point I say, "Have you ever been incapable of saving someone you loved?". I don't think I could find better words to describe how it looked like Jen Li Yao must have felt after seeing the person he cared about the most become an absolute shell of herself because he was unable to help her. I would like to think that if she hadn't gone with Ouyang, then maybe this whole event wouldn't have happened, yet in the end, I have to accept that it's a show, and I can't change anything.
- I would also like to take a moment to just appreciate how good the cinematography was (yes, I did have to look up this word). I didn't really take in how much the scenes make you feel like you're really there with them. It also helped that I was watching the show late at night, but the concept of rainy days did really fit the theme. Though Jen Li Yao and Hsiao Tung Chiang had sooo many moments that I was super jealous of. I really like the dark theme (physically and mentally), because it really added to the whole story. Also, THE CASTING? I mean, I would like to say that the casting for Jen Li Yao, Hsiao Tung Chiang, and Ouyang was amazing.
Jen Li Yao, played by Jing-Hua Tseng- he played the role so well, no one can convince me that someone could have done a better job than him. His face displayed every word he couldn't say, and his little-to-no-word demeanor fit him perfectly. He was definitely a main reason why some people started this show, and his acting was some of the best I've seen (just for this type of role, though)
Hsiao Tung Chiang, played by Moon Lee, I really like how every reaction she had conveyed so much emotion, the complete opposite of Jen Li Yao. She wasn't afraid to believe in what she wanted, and adding that dance aspect made everything just come together perfectly.
Ouyang, played by Chih-Tian Shih- this is honestly one I just thought of, but it fits so well. The way he was able to play a scared little kid in front of his parents and other adults, but was such a horrible and disgusting person, when they weren't around, absolutely shocked me. I had really good hopes for him in the beginning, but I have never felt this disgusted by a character. In the scene where his dad was beating him, I was like "maybe he's finally learning his mistakes and feeling like shit," but no, IT WAS ALL A MASK??? This dude through me off so hard. Great acting, so props to him.
There are honestly more characters I could rave about, but I'm going to cut it short. There is so much more I could talk about, but I just want to get this done with because it's 12:00 AM lol. It may seem like I'm overhyping this, and to some, I probably am, but I honestly fell in love with it. I'm usually a person who gets easily bored if the story isn't fast enough (warning, I did kind of skip through the first two episodes, BUT I wasn't watching them on a TV, which makes things better, in my opinion), but this show has a chokehold on me. I don't know when or how I realized this, but it somehow drew me in. I'm really excited for part 2 to come out, even if it's so far away. I will be finding out more about Jua Hua Tseng because he definitely pulled me in. Reminder to myself, hate the character, not the actor.
I think that's all lol. Don't mind the bad spelling, please
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