I felt a tinge of regret that the conflict between Ye Guang and his parents was not fully resolved (given all that the extreme anger, shouting, scolding, punishments, that has happened in Episode 7, i wonder how his parents, especially his father, would react if their precious only son was dating a boy !!!!; and by their standards, a 'strange' boy 'not up to their standards [again, see Episode 7).
The characters were played beautifully. I saw now a lovely detail i missed in Episode 6; When Ye Guang cried, Xu Qi Zhang wiped his tears after saying "stop crying". In my very humble view, that detail was extremely important.
Ray (still in school) and Ah Jian (older, working adult) really, really, really wanted it. Every one of their scenes was done to almost perfection. I found their scenes thoroughly enjoyable and believable. For all it is, they could be mistaken as the 'main couple', but fair to say that all 4 of them contributed equally as excellent main actors.
The final scene between Ye Guang and Xu Qi Zhang was of saccharine sweetness. Very, very nice 'first kiss'. And Xu Qi Zhang was so stylish, classy, and a gentleman with that phrase: "..........you may choose someone else, but i will choose only you". Such a generous, open heart! :-)
Episodes 5+6 were refreshingly beautiful. In particular, the relationship between Ray and Ah Jian was portrayed so poignantly.
1. Ray was already smoldering and moody. Clearly, he has feelings to sort out. 2. That kiss with Ah Jian was very nice. From what i saw on screen, it was consensual, both wanted it, and both enjoyed it. The suddenness of the impromptu kiss made me hold my breath for a while. 3. Almost immediately after the kiss, Ray appeared to panic, and ran away. He continued to avoid Ah Jian for some time thereafter. 4. Ah Jian persists with the relationship, trying to contact Ray (to no avail). He even hand-crafted a pendant for Ray. As he could not pass the pendant to Ray personally, he asked Xu Qi Zhang (bandmate and friend) to pass it to Ray. The interaction between Qi Zhang and Ray during the passing of the pendant was nice as well, with beautiful attention to detail. 5. Undeterred, Ah Jian sleeps in his car, parked just outside where Ray lives, just to be able to see Ray and to pass him a brown-bag breakfast. When Ah Jian says: "Can you give me a chance to be nice to you?", i think the sincerity, simplicity, and sharpness of the moment was beautiful. So sharp that Ray stopped, slowly turned around, and accepted the brown-bag from Ah Jian. He mumbled ("I'll call you after school").
Now i am so curious, waiting for the last 2 episodes to see if Ray did call Ah Jian after school :-)
The progress between Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang was less 'dramatic', more fluffy and 'cute'. One potentially big defining moment was in Episode 6 when both of them met outside at night with Ye Guang under pressure from his family. They had a minor argument, and Ye Guang started to cry. Qi Zhang tried to comfort him, but the camera pulls away and the shot was attenuated. I was slightly disappointed that the film-makers did not allow us to see how this "moment of growth" play out between them.
Minor point: Ye Guang's relationship with his father is extremely challenging and difficult. I wonder how would this be resolved in the last 2 episodes.
This drama is potentially interesting and refreshing. The unfolding story between Ray and Ah Jian is very nice, is unexpected (given their backgrounds), but not improbable (the band leader of Xu Qi Zhang falling in love with Ye Guang's friend). The characters of Ray and Ah Jian were beautifully acted from what i have seen so far, and i am enjoying it (Ray was brave enough to dress as a woman on a date with another man, and this adds a level of complexity to his character. It will be interesting to see how this is resolved). Ah Jian's profession working in a restaurant as well as a band leader also invites curiosity and interest in its further development.
The actor playing Xu Qi Zhang is incredibly compelling. Despite his youth, the smile he portrays, his eyes, his body language, is extremely natural (see Episode 4, when he and Ye Guang were going to his band practice, when he easily puts his hand on Ye Guang's back, motioning for him to walk on). When he introduced Ah Jian to Ye Guang afterwards, i thought again, that was really natural and pleasing. My only challenge is with how Ye Guang is portrayed. Actor Li Zhen Hao is tall and very handsome (extremely attractive), but i found his facial expressions, smile, and eye expressions to be flat. I can tell he is trying his best, but he can't match up to his partner, and this disappointed me a bit. Even in Episode 1, where he cried after a litany of misfortunes befell him on his birthday, i remained unconvinced. When Xu Qi Zhang was in tears however, that was completely different!
We are halfway through; i hope i will be pleasantly surprised in the incoming episodes :-)
This 'flatness' was shown again in episode 4 when Ye Guang and Ray were having a conversation over lunch about where did Ye Guang spend the previous night. Ray was really compelling with every inflection on point. Ye Guang was trying to be a bit shy, a bit reserved about revealing where he slept the previous night, but it came off as flat; it was the same blank face and smile.
Allow me to begin by suggesting that the idea to hold the wedding at the bar (where Kato worked with Nikita) was a stroke of brilliant genius. I think it tied everything and everyone together very well.
I watched Episode 12 carefully, very much hoping for a beautiful breakthrough finish. Alas! it was not to be for me. Episode 12 made me cringe. Something i have not done when watching series / films over the past 20 years.
I find actors Max (playing Zheng Ze Shou) and Hao (playing Fu Li Gong) cute and nice looking. But from what i can see on screen suggested that they really did not believe in their characters. For starters, i could not really tell the difference when Li Gong was happy, scared, or sad. His expression is strangely flat. Likewise, i sometimes could not tell the difference whether Ze Shou was joking or being serious. Here are some final observations for Episode 12:
1. At the base-ball pitch, at the start: When Li Gong said "sorry", i don't feel it from the character. Eyes, face, expression was flat. At such a momentous reconciliation moment, i thought i might see something more.
2. Also at the base-ball pitch: after making up and kissing, they were standing at really awkward angles facing one another. It suggested perhaps lack of closeness between the characters.
3. These observations recur to me throughout the rest of the episode; for the bed scene, they were both going through the motions, but the eyes and the expressions suggested something else. Perhaps the director noticed this, and hence, by modifying the angles at which the scenes were shot, i do not get to see the non-verbal cues between the characters.
4. Most humbly, i cannot help bringing in a reference comparison to History #3, Make our Days count, episode 6 (the actors Wayne [playing Xiang Hao Ting] and Chun Chih [playing Yu Xi Gu] made a cameo appearance here in this last episode). When i re-examined the sofa scene where Hao Ting really wanted to kiss Xi Gu, and Xi Gu surprisingly initiated the kiss, i looked again at Xi Gu's smile and his eyes. That was magical. It was so simple; Chun Chih appeared to believe in the character he was playing, and it showed. That smile showed his vulnerability as Yu Xi Gu. His eyes showed that he really wanted the kiss. And perhaps because the scene was so good, the director closed in as far as possible with the camera to capture every minute detail of their expressions.
In contrast (in my humble view), Li Gong and Ze Shou were portrayed rather stiffly. Something appeared to be holding the actors back from fully relaxing and getting deeply into the characters that they were playing.
I agree with many of the preceding comments and reviews, and would like to add these observations as well:
1. The trailer / abstract summary was very well edited and put together. This led to me being interested to watch further. It appeared to me that they picked the very best shots for the trailer.
2. Going through Episodes 1 to 9, I started to gradually feel that the main actors themselves may not have been (fully) believing in the charactors that they are playing. I humbly acknowledge that they have tried their sincere best. However, the flatness of the acting was quite clear to me. Here are some examples :
a) Episode 6, when Fu Li Gong was "brotherzoned" by Zheng Ze Shou. Li Gong looked down throughout the whole time when he was brotherzoned, after mustering so much courage to kiss Ze Shou. His expression after being ever so gently pushed away by Ze Shou was quite flat. I could not see his eye expression / other things because he looked down. I felt as though whatever emotion / feeling that the character might have felt at such a momentous moment in the show was not conveyed.
b) Episode 7, when they became boyfriends at the baseball batting center. When Ze Shou leaned in to kiss Li Gong, there was a smirk on his face. And his expression was quite flat as well. Again, for such a momentous moment, the Actors did not help me believe that what they were feeling for their characters was credible.
c) To be fair, there were some rare moments (for example, first breakfast as boyfriends, etc) where i could see that Ze Shou's eye and facial expressions were credible. Perhaps i am missing something, but Li Gong's eyes appear to be quite flat despite the intensity of the moments.
d) Episode 6, near the end, reconciliation of the 2 clients who initially wanted to divorce. In my extremely humble opinion, the short cameo by the 2 clients (likely guest appearances) was significantly more compelling than the four main characters based on what i saw from Episodes 1-9.
Perhaps the last 3 Episodes could surprise me on the upside.
The characters were played beautifully. I saw now a lovely detail i missed in Episode 6; When Ye Guang cried, Xu Qi Zhang wiped his tears after saying "stop crying". In my very humble view, that detail was extremely important.
Ray (still in school) and Ah Jian (older, working adult) really, really, really wanted it. Every one of their scenes was done to almost perfection. I found their scenes thoroughly enjoyable and believable. For all it is, they could be mistaken as the 'main couple', but fair to say that all 4 of them contributed equally as excellent main actors.
The final scene between Ye Guang and Xu Qi Zhang was of saccharine sweetness. Very, very nice 'first kiss'. And Xu Qi Zhang was so stylish, classy, and a gentleman with that phrase: "..........you may choose someone else, but i will choose only you". Such a generous, open heart! :-)
1. Ray was already smoldering and moody. Clearly, he has feelings to sort out.
2. That kiss with Ah Jian was very nice. From what i saw on screen, it was consensual, both wanted it, and both enjoyed it. The suddenness of the impromptu kiss made me hold my breath for a while.
3. Almost immediately after the kiss, Ray appeared to panic, and ran away. He continued to avoid Ah Jian for some time thereafter.
4. Ah Jian persists with the relationship, trying to contact Ray (to no avail). He even hand-crafted a pendant for Ray. As he could not pass the pendant to Ray personally, he asked Xu Qi Zhang (bandmate and friend) to pass it to Ray. The interaction between Qi Zhang and Ray during the passing of the pendant was nice as well, with beautiful attention to detail.
5. Undeterred, Ah Jian sleeps in his car, parked just outside where Ray lives, just to be able to see Ray and to pass him a brown-bag breakfast. When Ah Jian says: "Can you give me a chance to be nice to you?", i think the sincerity, simplicity, and sharpness of the moment was beautiful. So sharp that Ray stopped, slowly turned around, and accepted the brown-bag from Ah Jian. He mumbled ("I'll call you after school").
Now i am so curious, waiting for the last 2 episodes to see if Ray did call Ah Jian after school :-)
The progress between Xu Qi Zhang and Ye Guang was less 'dramatic', more fluffy and 'cute'. One potentially big defining moment was in Episode 6 when both of them met outside at night with Ye Guang under pressure from his family. They had a minor argument, and Ye Guang started to cry. Qi Zhang tried to comfort him, but the camera pulls away and the shot was attenuated. I was slightly disappointed that the film-makers did not allow us to see how this "moment of growth" play out between them.
Minor point:
Ye Guang's relationship with his father is extremely challenging and difficult. I wonder how would this be resolved in the last 2 episodes.
The actor playing Xu Qi Zhang is incredibly compelling. Despite his youth, the smile he portrays, his eyes, his body language, is extremely natural (see Episode 4, when he and Ye Guang were going to his band practice, when he easily puts his hand on Ye Guang's back, motioning for him to walk on). When he introduced Ah Jian to Ye Guang afterwards, i thought again, that was really natural and pleasing.
My only challenge is with how Ye Guang is portrayed. Actor Li Zhen Hao is tall and very handsome (extremely attractive), but i found his facial expressions, smile, and eye expressions to be flat. I can tell he is trying his best, but he can't match up to his partner, and this disappointed me a bit. Even in Episode 1, where he cried after a litany of misfortunes befell him on his birthday, i remained unconvinced. When Xu Qi Zhang was in tears however, that was completely different!
We are halfway through; i hope i will be pleasantly surprised in the incoming episodes :-)
This 'flatness' was shown again in episode 4 when Ye Guang and Ray were having a conversation over lunch about where did Ye Guang spend the previous night. Ray was really compelling with every inflection on point. Ye Guang was trying to be a bit shy, a bit reserved about revealing where he slept the previous night, but it came off as flat; it was the same blank face and smile.
I watched Episode 12 carefully, very much hoping for a beautiful breakthrough finish. Alas! it was not to be for me. Episode 12 made me cringe. Something i have not done when watching series / films over the past 20 years.
I find actors Max (playing Zheng Ze Shou) and Hao (playing Fu Li Gong) cute and nice looking. But from what i can see on screen suggested that they really did not believe in their characters. For starters, i could not really tell the difference when Li Gong was happy, scared, or sad. His expression is strangely flat. Likewise, i sometimes could not tell the difference whether Ze Shou was joking or being serious. Here are some final observations for Episode 12:
1. At the base-ball pitch, at the start: When Li Gong said "sorry", i don't feel it from the character. Eyes, face, expression was flat. At such a momentous reconciliation moment, i thought i might see something more.
2. Also at the base-ball pitch: after making up and kissing, they were standing at really awkward angles facing one another. It suggested perhaps lack of closeness between the characters.
3. These observations recur to me throughout the rest of the episode; for the bed scene, they were both going through the motions, but the eyes and the expressions suggested something else. Perhaps the director noticed this, and hence, by modifying the angles at which the scenes were shot, i do not get to see the non-verbal cues between the characters.
4. Most humbly, i cannot help bringing in a reference comparison to History #3, Make our Days count, episode 6 (the actors Wayne [playing Xiang Hao Ting] and Chun Chih [playing Yu Xi Gu] made a cameo appearance here in this last episode). When i re-examined the sofa scene where Hao Ting really wanted to kiss Xi Gu, and Xi Gu surprisingly initiated the kiss, i looked again at Xi Gu's smile and his eyes. That was magical. It was so simple; Chun Chih appeared to believe in the character he was playing, and it showed. That smile showed his vulnerability as Yu Xi Gu. His eyes showed that he really wanted the kiss. And perhaps because the scene was so good, the director closed in as far as possible with the camera to capture every minute detail of their expressions.
In contrast (in my humble view), Li Gong and Ze Shou were portrayed rather stiffly. Something appeared to be holding the actors back from fully relaxing and getting deeply into the characters that they were playing.
1. The trailer / abstract summary was very well edited and put together. This led to me being interested to watch further. It appeared to me that they picked the very best shots for the trailer.
2. Going through Episodes 1 to 9, I started to gradually feel that the main actors themselves may not have been (fully) believing in the charactors that they are playing. I humbly acknowledge that they have tried their sincere best. However, the flatness of the acting was quite clear to me. Here are some examples :
a) Episode 6, when Fu Li Gong was "brotherzoned" by Zheng Ze Shou. Li Gong looked down throughout the whole time when he was brotherzoned, after mustering so much courage to kiss Ze Shou. His expression after being ever so gently pushed away by Ze Shou was quite flat. I could not see his eye expression / other things because he looked down. I felt as though whatever emotion / feeling that the character might have felt at such a momentous moment in the show was not conveyed.
b) Episode 7, when they became boyfriends at the baseball batting center. When Ze Shou leaned in to kiss Li Gong, there was a smirk on his face. And his expression was quite flat as well. Again, for such a momentous moment, the Actors did not help me believe that what they were feeling for their characters was credible.
c) To be fair, there were some rare moments (for example, first breakfast as boyfriends, etc) where i could see that Ze Shou's eye and facial expressions were credible. Perhaps i am missing something, but Li Gong's eyes appear to be quite flat despite the intensity of the moments.
d) Episode 6, near the end, reconciliation of the 2 clients who initially wanted to divorce. In my extremely humble opinion, the short cameo by the 2 clients (likely guest appearances) was significantly more compelling than the four main characters based on what i saw from Episodes 1-9.
Perhaps the last 3 Episodes could surprise me on the upside.