This review may contain spoilers
As soapy as they come
Summary (VERY dramatic): While there were some interesting elements of mystery, action, and tear-jerkers, the first half of the show reeked of American soap opera, in which the main characters were getting targeted every few seconds by an overwhelming number of villains and circumstances felt intense all the time. The scenes were just missing the dissonant organ music. Lol. I do appreciate the overarching theme of water (and how it tied into the plot), the short episode length, the redemption of certain villains, and the subtle address of Asian oppression by umm certain other races. The story also keeps the audience guessing who the real culprit is.
The first few and last few episodes had lots of interesting story and character development. However, the nonsense in between could have been removed. There were too many contradictory elements thrown together. Many scenes were overly dramatic in the beginning with multiple slow motion replays, which took away from the story. The plot twists felt unbelievable to me, crossing professional and personal lines in all sorts of ways, and possibly entertaining inbred(?) romance. Not sure how the guy got over the fact that she had nearly the exact same face as his sister.
The female lead was portrayed as timid, needy, and naive; whereas, the male lead seemed so put together, always coming to the rescue. Also, some of the supporting characters were a bit annoying. I got sick of the juvenile dialogue and immature character behavior by Episode 9 and nearly dropped the show by Episode 16 when some weird scenarios were introduced.
I ended up pushing past Episode 16 to finish the show but feel the episode count could have been condensed to 3/4 the amount. I personally wouldn’t re-watch this show.
Details: The international espionage scenario in the beginning got my attention but unrealistic scenarios made me want to stop watching. It was strange that everyone, including the competitor company, was watching Shen Man Ning like a hawk because they already believed she was a fake? Also, HOW MANY TIMES does Yan Xing Cheng have to rescue/pick up Shen Man Ning and carry her??? I was starting to feel bad for the guy. Lol.
The main characters were really smart in some ways and really stupid in other ways. Considering that Yan Xing Cheng had several years to perfect his revenge, he somehow missed a lot of details in preparing the unfortunate Shen Man Ning for her new identity, which often led to their peril. I wonder what would have been Yan Xing Cheng’s original plan with his blood sister for getting back into the Zhuang family. Still pretend they were engaged?
One contradictory and disturbing scenario was how they tried to play it off as romantic that a woman was getting choked by a guy who looked like he was about to kiss her as well. If he was a true gentleman, he wouldn’t have laid hands on her no matter how much he hated her.
It felt unfair that Shen Man Ning was portrayed as timid and naive, about to fall apart at any moment, while everyone else around her (including her own family) seemed so strong and domineering. On top of that, she was also getting threatened by Yan Xing Cheng when she wasn’t getting bullied by her new frenemies. It’s also strange that all she could think about was her romance after getting kidnapped three times and not to bǎohù zìjǐ (like when they were looking for the brooch). They did a lot of staring and hugging and kissing in time sensitive situations, which could have been spent figuring out the truth.
As far as the supporting characters, I could barely stand the selfish, immature, and idiotic bff Rao Mei Na whose rude and loud behavior seemed out of sync with the movie. Why would you NOT be concerned that your childhood friend hasn’t gotten back to you in such a long period of time? Most sensible people would check with others on the missing person’s whereabouts, then report it to the police if they couldn’t find them. When she does finally see her friend, she totally loses all her manners and ignores professional etiquette in front of everyone. She was also super mean to her friend, seeking apology, instead of finding out what exactly happened to her, how she went missing.
Zhuang Jia Kai and Tang Lin were also annoying to watch (although Tang Lin was better towards the end). Also, why did the female supporting characters keep harassing and throwing themselves at men they barely know, who also thwarted their advances? Reeks of raging teenage hormone type stuff.
Towards the end, the story finally started to get interesting and make sense in relation to their past. However, they threw in some last minute plot twists and left little room for Yan Xing Cheng to have a meaningful conversation with his beloved relative as well as provide more backstory. And since Shen Man Ning kept talking about being together forever, they could have thrown in a wedding scene at the end rather than fill up the time with more staring and cuddling.
Side Notes:
- What’s with all the candles in a lot of the scenes? In the company office, in the garden, etc.
- The constant hair changes of the male lead (professional vs. casual) is so much like K-drama; one of my pet peeves. Lol.
- Why did Shen Man Ning bite Yan Xing Cheng’s hand? That part makes absolutely no sense and adds nothing to the story.
- How it took 10 years (or was it 17 years?) for EVERYONE to seek/find Zhuang Xin Yan; considering their access to technology and an abundance of henchmen, it seems it should have taken much less time than that
- How the female lead’s best friend Rao Mei Na got a job at the same jewelry designer even though she majored in animation(???); one would think that they’d be more qualified to work at a gaming company rather than a high-end jeweler
- Liu Group having power to barge in LH Star’s office, set up meetings with any employee, and force a collaboration contract; how were they able to get past the security gates in the lobby in the first place??
- I realize there’s only three of them but it seems like Yan Xing Cheng’s henchmen were a bit clueless when it came to convert operations (like getting bitten by a dog, or getting spotted easily in front of a restaurant or inside a parking garage); they often seemed unprepared…
The first few and last few episodes had lots of interesting story and character development. However, the nonsense in between could have been removed. There were too many contradictory elements thrown together. Many scenes were overly dramatic in the beginning with multiple slow motion replays, which took away from the story. The plot twists felt unbelievable to me, crossing professional and personal lines in all sorts of ways, and possibly entertaining inbred(?) romance. Not sure how the guy got over the fact that she had nearly the exact same face as his sister.
The female lead was portrayed as timid, needy, and naive; whereas, the male lead seemed so put together, always coming to the rescue. Also, some of the supporting characters were a bit annoying. I got sick of the juvenile dialogue and immature character behavior by Episode 9 and nearly dropped the show by Episode 16 when some weird scenarios were introduced.
I ended up pushing past Episode 16 to finish the show but feel the episode count could have been condensed to 3/4 the amount. I personally wouldn’t re-watch this show.
Details: The international espionage scenario in the beginning got my attention but unrealistic scenarios made me want to stop watching. It was strange that everyone, including the competitor company, was watching Shen Man Ning like a hawk because they already believed she was a fake? Also, HOW MANY TIMES does Yan Xing Cheng have to rescue/pick up Shen Man Ning and carry her??? I was starting to feel bad for the guy. Lol.
The main characters were really smart in some ways and really stupid in other ways. Considering that Yan Xing Cheng had several years to perfect his revenge, he somehow missed a lot of details in preparing the unfortunate Shen Man Ning for her new identity, which often led to their peril. I wonder what would have been Yan Xing Cheng’s original plan with his blood sister for getting back into the Zhuang family. Still pretend they were engaged?
One contradictory and disturbing scenario was how they tried to play it off as romantic that a woman was getting choked by a guy who looked like he was about to kiss her as well. If he was a true gentleman, he wouldn’t have laid hands on her no matter how much he hated her.
It felt unfair that Shen Man Ning was portrayed as timid and naive, about to fall apart at any moment, while everyone else around her (including her own family) seemed so strong and domineering. On top of that, she was also getting threatened by Yan Xing Cheng when she wasn’t getting bullied by her new frenemies. It’s also strange that all she could think about was her romance after getting kidnapped three times and not to bǎohù zìjǐ (like when they were looking for the brooch). They did a lot of staring and hugging and kissing in time sensitive situations, which could have been spent figuring out the truth.
As far as the supporting characters, I could barely stand the selfish, immature, and idiotic bff Rao Mei Na whose rude and loud behavior seemed out of sync with the movie. Why would you NOT be concerned that your childhood friend hasn’t gotten back to you in such a long period of time? Most sensible people would check with others on the missing person’s whereabouts, then report it to the police if they couldn’t find them. When she does finally see her friend, she totally loses all her manners and ignores professional etiquette in front of everyone. She was also super mean to her friend, seeking apology, instead of finding out what exactly happened to her, how she went missing.
Zhuang Jia Kai and Tang Lin were also annoying to watch (although Tang Lin was better towards the end). Also, why did the female supporting characters keep harassing and throwing themselves at men they barely know, who also thwarted their advances? Reeks of raging teenage hormone type stuff.
Towards the end, the story finally started to get interesting and make sense in relation to their past. However, they threw in some last minute plot twists and left little room for Yan Xing Cheng to have a meaningful conversation with his beloved relative as well as provide more backstory. And since Shen Man Ning kept talking about being together forever, they could have thrown in a wedding scene at the end rather than fill up the time with more staring and cuddling.
Side Notes:
- What’s with all the candles in a lot of the scenes? In the company office, in the garden, etc.
- The constant hair changes of the male lead (professional vs. casual) is so much like K-drama; one of my pet peeves. Lol.
- Why did Shen Man Ning bite Yan Xing Cheng’s hand? That part makes absolutely no sense and adds nothing to the story.
- How it took 10 years (or was it 17 years?) for EVERYONE to seek/find Zhuang Xin Yan; considering their access to technology and an abundance of henchmen, it seems it should have taken much less time than that
- How the female lead’s best friend Rao Mei Na got a job at the same jewelry designer even though she majored in animation(???); one would think that they’d be more qualified to work at a gaming company rather than a high-end jeweler
- Liu Group having power to barge in LH Star’s office, set up meetings with any employee, and force a collaboration contract; how were they able to get past the security gates in the lobby in the first place??
- I realize there’s only three of them but it seems like Yan Xing Cheng’s henchmen were a bit clueless when it came to convert operations (like getting bitten by a dog, or getting spotted easily in front of a restaurant or inside a parking garage); they often seemed unprepared…
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