When love becomes a healing power
I watched this drama for Zhang Ruonan, the leading actress. It catches my attention that she repeatedly starred in a drama in which she plays a wounded character, such as in Love is Panacea (she played a young woman who suffered from a terminal illness) and Date with the Future (her character is a survivor of a natural disaster). This drama is no exception but has led her to a new height. She played Wen Yifan's character, who suffered trauma, abuse, neglect, and sexual harassment so well. The way she portrayed the suffering and the strength of a powerless young woman who tried to survive in the harsh world is empathizing and touching. She delivered the character seamlessly.
The story itself is unexpectedly good. First, it takes human psychology seriously. The scenes involving responses to heartbreak, defense mechanisms, and trauma responses were executed naturally. It has strong sentimental nuances but doesn't fall into a melodrama. The cries and tears are controlled (suppressed and released) timely. Second, it respects the theme of love as a healing power. Love transforms people into a better version of themselves with understanding, forgiveness, unconditional positive regard, and genuine care. The villains are effectively portrayed as the antithesis of love, so we can compare and contrast things with minimum ambiguity. I like that they didn't try to "humanize" the evil people by giving them a troubled past and making them grey characters. Most evildoers deserve punishment, which should be the story's moral. Third, the relationship is burning slowly but simultaneously, full of tension and anticipation. From the first episode, we learn and know exactly about Wen Yifan and Sang Yan's love story. They just don't admit it and play along with the situation as mere roommates. The moment they realize their love, it is so monumental. The scenes of recognition were written poetically with some parallelism. Everything becomes well-rounded in the end.
It also gave us a strong message about social justice, women empowerment, and equality among people in society. This drama is packed with social criticism and reminders.
The story itself is unexpectedly good. First, it takes human psychology seriously. The scenes involving responses to heartbreak, defense mechanisms, and trauma responses were executed naturally. It has strong sentimental nuances but doesn't fall into a melodrama. The cries and tears are controlled (suppressed and released) timely. Second, it respects the theme of love as a healing power. Love transforms people into a better version of themselves with understanding, forgiveness, unconditional positive regard, and genuine care. The villains are effectively portrayed as the antithesis of love, so we can compare and contrast things with minimum ambiguity. I like that they didn't try to "humanize" the evil people by giving them a troubled past and making them grey characters. Most evildoers deserve punishment, which should be the story's moral. Third, the relationship is burning slowly but simultaneously, full of tension and anticipation. From the first episode, we learn and know exactly about Wen Yifan and Sang Yan's love story. They just don't admit it and play along with the situation as mere roommates. The moment they realize their love, it is so monumental. The scenes of recognition were written poetically with some parallelism. Everything becomes well-rounded in the end.
It also gave us a strong message about social justice, women empowerment, and equality among people in society. This drama is packed with social criticism and reminders.
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