Misleading Trailer but Decent Show Nonetheless
"Love in the Clouds" is advertised as a dark, angsty enemies-to-lovers romance in the trailer.
However, the drama itself is much more a fluffy, light-hearted fantasy romance than anything angsty. While there is a healthy dose of both trauma and lies in the leads' interactions, the love story itself is incredibly pure; there is no true hatred or vengeance despite the hurt both characters experience. For those who enjoy watching intimacy, there's a surprising amount of those scenes that somehow passed the CCP's censorship. The chemistry between the ML and FL elevated the romance significantly and may have "carried" the show a little.
Regardless, I would say, overall, that this show was enjoyable. The abundance of comedic sound effects and one liners (cue 27) combined with the beautiful visuals give the show a distinct, charming quality. This lighthearted charm helps the show balance poignancy, reality (well, as much as a fantasy can afford), and romance without spiraling into the C-drama "tragedy and angst" rabbit-holes where emotion is singlehandedly delivered through crying scenes, betrayals, and blood-vomiting.
Additionally, I found the use of "strong FL" tropes to be well-executed in this show. Both the FL and the 2FL are imperfect but resilient in different ways, and they genuinely have personalities that are likable and extend beyond being symbols for the feminist empowerment movement (this year, many C-dramas seem to be set on the strong FL trend and as a result create characters that are a little too obviously manufactured to fit a certain mold).
My only and main gripe with the show is its one-dimensional antagonists. While the protagonists all undergo reasonable character development and have mostly flushed out character arcs, the villains are underdeveloped and carry underwhelming/simple motivations. The lack of complexity in the antagonists sadly flattens a lot of otherwise dramatic climaxes in the show and makes some episodes/arcs feel slower pacing-wise.
All in all, I found "Love in the Clouds" to be a cute show that's honestly worth a watch!
However, the drama itself is much more a fluffy, light-hearted fantasy romance than anything angsty. While there is a healthy dose of both trauma and lies in the leads' interactions, the love story itself is incredibly pure; there is no true hatred or vengeance despite the hurt both characters experience. For those who enjoy watching intimacy, there's a surprising amount of those scenes that somehow passed the CCP's censorship. The chemistry between the ML and FL elevated the romance significantly and may have "carried" the show a little.
Regardless, I would say, overall, that this show was enjoyable. The abundance of comedic sound effects and one liners (cue 27) combined with the beautiful visuals give the show a distinct, charming quality. This lighthearted charm helps the show balance poignancy, reality (well, as much as a fantasy can afford), and romance without spiraling into the C-drama "tragedy and angst" rabbit-holes where emotion is singlehandedly delivered through crying scenes, betrayals, and blood-vomiting.
Additionally, I found the use of "strong FL" tropes to be well-executed in this show. Both the FL and the 2FL are imperfect but resilient in different ways, and they genuinely have personalities that are likable and extend beyond being symbols for the feminist empowerment movement (this year, many C-dramas seem to be set on the strong FL trend and as a result create characters that are a little too obviously manufactured to fit a certain mold).
My only and main gripe with the show is its one-dimensional antagonists. While the protagonists all undergo reasonable character development and have mostly flushed out character arcs, the villains are underdeveloped and carry underwhelming/simple motivations. The lack of complexity in the antagonists sadly flattens a lot of otherwise dramatic climaxes in the show and makes some episodes/arcs feel slower pacing-wise.
All in all, I found "Love in the Clouds" to be a cute show that's honestly worth a watch!
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