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I'm not sure I'll ever move on from Sang Yan's love for Yifan.
Best contemporary melodrama I've ever seen
==Breakdown==
Background plot - 35%
Romance - 50%
Misc comedy - 15%
Background plot - Interesting
Romantic chemistry - OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING
Misc comedy - Cute
Production value - Good
The story is about a girl who is naturally quiet, thoughtful, and reserved who experiences a period of intense trauma (outside of her control). About a year before this period of trauma, she meets a boy and they are smitten with each other, although not overtly. It has lovely first-love and young-love vibes throughout as their history unfolds through short flashbacks at the beginning of each episode.
The bulk of each episode takes place in present day, where the woman and man encounter each other 6 years after she abandons him and breaks his heart (her reasons are explained fully by the end of the drama and make total sense / feel very real and authentic).
The casting for both the FL and ML was perfection.
The FL character is ridiculously adorable. She's not "cutesy" at all. There's no baby voice (in fact, her voice is soft and deep) but she's so darn wholesome and adorable, I often wanted to put her in my pocket and protect her from the world. And that makes watching her ordeal all the more difficult.
The ML character is played by the lead actor to absolute perfection, balancing on the line of "I'm angry with you for breaking my heart" with "I care deeply about you and want you to be safe and well." I was impressed with his delivery. One second he's giving her the most heart fluttering look of pining and longing, and then in the next moment he's arrogantly insisting she finish his left over porridge because he hates to waste food.
Their story was so good because it was clear that Sang Yan truly loved Yifan and cared about her, regardless of whether they ended up together or she ever wanted to date him. He did things in secret in order to ensure she was taken care of and safe. He felt she deserved the best, even if she never chose him. This doesn't make him a push-over, these actions demonstrate how truly exceptional his character is.
The author cleverly introduces several other male characters who all show interest in Yifan, but are clearly more interested in dating her/what they can get from her than her well-being. They mansplain, they strut, they try to make their feelings her problem. Sang Yan never does this, but rather disguises his feelings by coming up with excuses for the kind things he does so as not to make her feel pressured.
I've enjoyed a few contemporary Cdrama romcoms, but haven't (hadn't) yet found an adult contemporary romantic melodrama that I could stomach. As an aside, I typically don't enjoy adult contemporary romantic C-melodramas. Usually, the plot suffers from the infusion of Chinese government propaganda and is centered around how great China is (because one of the show's main characters-- usually the guy-- has a job as a "selfless hero," like a firefighter, policeman, soldier, etc. all in service to the greater good that is China). But this one had absolutely none of that, thank God. I think it was a much better story overall because it lacked the propaganda rampant in the genre.
==Breakdown==
Background plot - 35%
Romance - 50%
Misc comedy - 15%
Background plot - Interesting
Romantic chemistry - OFF THE CHARTS AMAZING
Misc comedy - Cute
Production value - Good
The story is about a girl who is naturally quiet, thoughtful, and reserved who experiences a period of intense trauma (outside of her control). About a year before this period of trauma, she meets a boy and they are smitten with each other, although not overtly. It has lovely first-love and young-love vibes throughout as their history unfolds through short flashbacks at the beginning of each episode.
The bulk of each episode takes place in present day, where the woman and man encounter each other 6 years after she abandons him and breaks his heart (her reasons are explained fully by the end of the drama and make total sense / feel very real and authentic).
The casting for both the FL and ML was perfection.
The FL character is ridiculously adorable. She's not "cutesy" at all. There's no baby voice (in fact, her voice is soft and deep) but she's so darn wholesome and adorable, I often wanted to put her in my pocket and protect her from the world. And that makes watching her ordeal all the more difficult.
The ML character is played by the lead actor to absolute perfection, balancing on the line of "I'm angry with you for breaking my heart" with "I care deeply about you and want you to be safe and well." I was impressed with his delivery. One second he's giving her the most heart fluttering look of pining and longing, and then in the next moment he's arrogantly insisting she finish his left over porridge because he hates to waste food.
Their story was so good because it was clear that Sang Yan truly loved Yifan and cared about her, regardless of whether they ended up together or she ever wanted to date him. He did things in secret in order to ensure she was taken care of and safe. He felt she deserved the best, even if she never chose him. This doesn't make him a push-over, these actions demonstrate how truly exceptional his character is.
The author cleverly introduces several other male characters who all show interest in Yifan, but are clearly more interested in dating her/what they can get from her than her well-being. They mansplain, they strut, they try to make their feelings her problem. Sang Yan never does this, but rather disguises his feelings by coming up with excuses for the kind things he does so as not to make her feel pressured.
I've enjoyed a few contemporary Cdrama romcoms, but haven't (hadn't) yet found an adult contemporary romantic melodrama that I could stomach. As an aside, I typically don't enjoy adult contemporary romantic C-melodramas. Usually, the plot suffers from the infusion of Chinese government propaganda and is centered around how great China is (because one of the show's main characters-- usually the guy-- has a job as a "selfless hero," like a firefighter, policeman, soldier, etc. all in service to the greater good that is China). But this one had absolutely none of that, thank God. I think it was a much better story overall because it lacked the propaganda rampant in the genre.
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