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This review may contain spoilers
Super entertaining, visually stunning and insanely addictive (second season when?)
Where do I even start writing a review for a drama that completely stole my heart and is so far the strongest contender to being my favourite show of this year. It got me, an adult woman with a job stressful enough to have better reasons to look forward to Fridays, looking forward to them because they were "SCD days".
I had no expectations and almost no prior knowledge when I started watching SCD. I haven’t read the novel, the only cast member I was familiar with was Matthew Han and I only remembered him as that cute cop from that somewhat cute Taiwanese BL. When I started watching the show, one of the first things that hit me was… the dubbing that didn’t fit the lip movement ;) I am happy it didn’t deter me from watching, because what followed was glorious.
First of all, the cinematography – by far my favourite aspect of this drama. SCD is absolutely gorgeous. The use of light and shadow, the colours chosen for specific scenes, the symbolism hidden behind the shots – this is a true art of film making which nowadays is often absent from modern productions that feel too sanitized, too clean, too bright, too… flat. SCD imagery has this magical depth present in the older movies.
I mean, how do I not gash over those scenes when Chusan stands illuminated by light, while – juxtaposed – Liuyi is covered by darkness, emphasizing them coming from two different worlds? Or by that shot with red background when Liuyi enters the warehouse to absolutely annihilate anyone who might’ve hurt Chusan. How do I not appreciate that Chusan’s room (Liuyi’s safe space) is almost always busked in gentle sunlight (minus that night when Liuyi has nightmares) and subtle pastele tones of blue and yellow? Or isn’t it so cool that the camera focuses on Hua washing his hands simply after talking with Guangming, as if to emphasize himself distancing from something that could taint him? There are honestly so many such scenes throughout the entire show and they really make me excited for a re-watch.
Secondly, the cast. Producers struck gold, there’s no other way to put it. Just like many others, I was completely drawn in by the chemistry between the main leads. But it wasn’t just the chemistry between them, but also their individual performances, for which they deserve to be applauded. He Yanzhao to me is like a diamond in a rough – maybe still lacking experience, but with absolutely crazy potential to become a phenomenal actor. I read this was his first major role in a drama – I guess when you have "it", you just have "it", after all. He’s incredibly expressive and has amazing ability to switch from looking cute/innocent/clueless/docile to dangerous/violent/domineering and borderline crazy. And none of these looks feel forced. On the contrary – his acting has this raw quality to it that makes it feel very authentic.
It took me some more time to warm up to He Changxi’s acting (not that I felt it was particularly bad at any time, but I was just too taken by his co-actor). However, ultimately I became a fan of his micro-expressions and, probably the thing I liked the most about him, his eye-acting.
Canto dubbing over Mandarin-speaking actors does mess with the final impression of actor’s performance to some extent, but there’s plenty of facial expressions and body language left to appreciate.
Thirdly, the characters themselves. They’re just all either very likeable or entertaining/intriguing. Both Chusan and Liuyi have their unique stories and personality that develop over time as we accompany them on their journey. Which, in turn, makes them more alive. Chusan is my absolute favourite of the entire show. I actually felt moved by his quiet determination and perseverance (and enjoyed his manipulative side too ;)). Liuyi is a perfect blend of cool and lame somehow coexisting within one person. He is also an interesting case of more complex emotions (I love the scene when he sees Chusan for the first time during people celebrating him getting to university – you can clearly see there’s a certain longing after a simpler, peaceful life in that moment within him; and of course the whole arc of why it bothered him so much when "Jason" spoke English and called Chusan "Sam").
But it doesn’t end with them either. I enjoyed virtually everyone who appeared on screen: from Qing Long and the longing after Liuyi always present in his eyes, to a pure delight that Xiao Ma (bless his heart) was, to absolute wholesomeness of Chusan’s dad and his girlfriend (?), to cooler than anyone else Dong Dong, or finally – my second favourite – Lu Guangming, with all his charisma, intensity and smugness :P
It’s all accompanied by a really pleasant soundtrack, with songs sang by the cast (which is an additional bonus for me). Spotify had already let me know that "Shi Ni Ai Le Wo" by He Changxi was my most listened to song in the recent weeks. So there’s that.
Ok, now on to the final thing I wanna address, which is the pacing of the story. Up until the very last episode I would confidently say it was impeccable. The story clearly spans over a few months if not more than a year (two years maybe?), but the narration deals with all time jumps and transitions very smoothly. Events that are not shown on screen (whatever the reason) can be still inferred from what’s actually shown or told, there’s no dragging, no impression of things being disjointed (which I find quite common in cdramas actually), everything flows very seamlessly.
This does change in the finale. I don’t necessarily agree with claims that it was completely scattered and crazily rushed. As a season finale, it was a rather successful one: provided big epic climax on the romance part, continued previously opened plot points while accelerating them and turning into an intriguing cliff hanger. If we do get a second season, I don’t think there was anything gravely bad about it.
Having said that, I do believe that the narration felt less fluent in the final episode, here and there I had a feeling that we needed one more scene to connect things better, while some scenes, on the other hand, felt redundant.
Still, as a whole (if I didn’t make it obvious already) I adored the drama. It had everything I could wish for in a show: great chemistry, convincing development of a romantic relationship, interesting protagonists, good acting, beautiful cinematography, a very satisfying blend of serious elements, (at times ridiculous) comedy and a tiny bit of action. I eagerly await the second season.
I had no expectations and almost no prior knowledge when I started watching SCD. I haven’t read the novel, the only cast member I was familiar with was Matthew Han and I only remembered him as that cute cop from that somewhat cute Taiwanese BL. When I started watching the show, one of the first things that hit me was… the dubbing that didn’t fit the lip movement ;) I am happy it didn’t deter me from watching, because what followed was glorious.
First of all, the cinematography – by far my favourite aspect of this drama. SCD is absolutely gorgeous. The use of light and shadow, the colours chosen for specific scenes, the symbolism hidden behind the shots – this is a true art of film making which nowadays is often absent from modern productions that feel too sanitized, too clean, too bright, too… flat. SCD imagery has this magical depth present in the older movies.
I mean, how do I not gash over those scenes when Chusan stands illuminated by light, while – juxtaposed – Liuyi is covered by darkness, emphasizing them coming from two different worlds? Or by that shot with red background when Liuyi enters the warehouse to absolutely annihilate anyone who might’ve hurt Chusan. How do I not appreciate that Chusan’s room (Liuyi’s safe space) is almost always busked in gentle sunlight (minus that night when Liuyi has nightmares) and subtle pastele tones of blue and yellow? Or isn’t it so cool that the camera focuses on Hua washing his hands simply after talking with Guangming, as if to emphasize himself distancing from something that could taint him? There are honestly so many such scenes throughout the entire show and they really make me excited for a re-watch.
Secondly, the cast. Producers struck gold, there’s no other way to put it. Just like many others, I was completely drawn in by the chemistry between the main leads. But it wasn’t just the chemistry between them, but also their individual performances, for which they deserve to be applauded. He Yanzhao to me is like a diamond in a rough – maybe still lacking experience, but with absolutely crazy potential to become a phenomenal actor. I read this was his first major role in a drama – I guess when you have "it", you just have "it", after all. He’s incredibly expressive and has amazing ability to switch from looking cute/innocent/clueless/docile to dangerous/violent/domineering and borderline crazy. And none of these looks feel forced. On the contrary – his acting has this raw quality to it that makes it feel very authentic.
It took me some more time to warm up to He Changxi’s acting (not that I felt it was particularly bad at any time, but I was just too taken by his co-actor). However, ultimately I became a fan of his micro-expressions and, probably the thing I liked the most about him, his eye-acting.
Canto dubbing over Mandarin-speaking actors does mess with the final impression of actor’s performance to some extent, but there’s plenty of facial expressions and body language left to appreciate.
Thirdly, the characters themselves. They’re just all either very likeable or entertaining/intriguing. Both Chusan and Liuyi have their unique stories and personality that develop over time as we accompany them on their journey. Which, in turn, makes them more alive. Chusan is my absolute favourite of the entire show. I actually felt moved by his quiet determination and perseverance (and enjoyed his manipulative side too ;)). Liuyi is a perfect blend of cool and lame somehow coexisting within one person. He is also an interesting case of more complex emotions (I love the scene when he sees Chusan for the first time during people celebrating him getting to university – you can clearly see there’s a certain longing after a simpler, peaceful life in that moment within him; and of course the whole arc of why it bothered him so much when "Jason" spoke English and called Chusan "Sam").
But it doesn’t end with them either. I enjoyed virtually everyone who appeared on screen: from Qing Long and the longing after Liuyi always present in his eyes, to a pure delight that Xiao Ma (bless his heart) was, to absolute wholesomeness of Chusan’s dad and his girlfriend (?), to cooler than anyone else Dong Dong, or finally – my second favourite – Lu Guangming, with all his charisma, intensity and smugness :P
It’s all accompanied by a really pleasant soundtrack, with songs sang by the cast (which is an additional bonus for me). Spotify had already let me know that "Shi Ni Ai Le Wo" by He Changxi was my most listened to song in the recent weeks. So there’s that.
Ok, now on to the final thing I wanna address, which is the pacing of the story. Up until the very last episode I would confidently say it was impeccable. The story clearly spans over a few months if not more than a year (two years maybe?), but the narration deals with all time jumps and transitions very smoothly. Events that are not shown on screen (whatever the reason) can be still inferred from what’s actually shown or told, there’s no dragging, no impression of things being disjointed (which I find quite common in cdramas actually), everything flows very seamlessly.
This does change in the finale. I don’t necessarily agree with claims that it was completely scattered and crazily rushed. As a season finale, it was a rather successful one: provided big epic climax on the romance part, continued previously opened plot points while accelerating them and turning into an intriguing cliff hanger. If we do get a second season, I don’t think there was anything gravely bad about it.
Having said that, I do believe that the narration felt less fluent in the final episode, here and there I had a feeling that we needed one more scene to connect things better, while some scenes, on the other hand, felt redundant.
Still, as a whole (if I didn’t make it obvious already) I adored the drama. It had everything I could wish for in a show: great chemistry, convincing development of a romantic relationship, interesting protagonists, good acting, beautiful cinematography, a very satisfying blend of serious elements, (at times ridiculous) comedy and a tiny bit of action. I eagerly await the second season.
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