canoe

An imperfect story about an imperfect family

Honestly, I almost didn’t finish this one. It started off as a regular, slapstick comedy as we get introduced to the honest to a fault and people pleaser, Peilan, her arrogant and somewhat selfish oldest sister, Jinrong, the strict and law-abiding, Banxia, and their righteous but mischievous youngest sister, Keling. Their mother, Ruyu, is tough on her kids, but desperately trying to marry off her daughters. The comedy in the first few episodes is…embarrassing. It’s embarrassing for the characters, it’s embarrassing for me to watch, everything is just…embarrassing. I’m going to be honest and say that I skipped through most of the first half of the show. We also get to know Lu Buping, who the show introduced as having the heart of a hero but not the skills of one, and Guo Zhensheng (or ShiShu), who is easy to take advantage of because of his long time feelings for Ruyu.

Towards the middle and end of the show, our ensemble expands to include the Shizi (who I don’t think actually has a name???), the son of Ling Wang, A-Si (the fourth prince), and briefly Shen Wanying (I think, I actually don’t quite remember his full name). There are some other supporting characters like Li Tengyun and Dong Xiaoxiao but they show up occasionally, and their scenes don’t inspire me much.

Now, the middle and end of the show is where things get good. After all the misunderstandings between characters get figured out (like Shizi mistaking Jinrong as A-Si’s love interest, and Jinrong thinking that Shizi really loves her… ok well mainly this misunderstanding made me cringe quite a bit), we start to get more into the relationships between the sisters and their mother. I think the big change for me happened in the episode where Peilan is celebrating her birthday. She works so hard for the family, but goes thankless usually. It hits harder for her specifically on her special day. Buping is upset on her behalf (I love this actor’s little lisp, I think it makes this character come to life) and here is also where we see their relationship start to blossom. All of a sudden, people start to acknowledge her birthday, but we find out that her party is actually an excuse for her family (mainly her mother) to invite and network with all their neighbors and richer families in the area. As I read through the bullet comments in this section, they were all angry at Ruyu (for a good reason), but at the end, we slowly see her reasoning. Ruyu is trying her best to fit into a place where she feels like her family doesn’t belong. Peilan is someone who doesn’t complain even when she gets mistreated, and although her mother took advantage of that slightly, you can understand where she’s coming from. We see that they’re not perfect, she’s just trying her best to keep her family going.

I think that’s where this show strikes gold for me. Each subsequent arc focuses on a sister. Jinrong’s is about her relationship with Shizi and her feeling of inadequacy. Banxia’s is about accidentally setting their house on fire and accepting her guilt for her mistake. Keling’s addresses her childishness and ultimately her growth into maturity. Each one of these arcs dive deeper into each sister’s character and motivations, and characters that I found annoying at first, each were given their own depth and storylines.

I also want to address my favorite characters. Lu Buping I love you so much you are so fucking funny. He’s so girl failure it’s amazing, and the patience that he has with Peilan’s people pleasing is so amazing to see. He’s there to support and stand up for her, and it really is the little things he does that make him so likeable. I also really liked Shishu as a character. He is also incredibly funny and his scenes with Ruyu always make me laugh. Banxia also has my heart. Her growth from reporting her family to the government to learning how to be flexible is such a good arc. I love the episode of her wanting to take charge of the family, but ultimately learning how difficult it actually is for her mother. I also could never forget Ruyu. I love this actress and all her projects are amazing. But I truly think she did amazing in this role, and reminds me somewhat of my own mother. Although not mentioned, I do believe that this show could not be what it is without all the other actors and actresses, but these are just some of my favorites. Shoutout to the vegetable seller in the beginning episodes, the way she switched from yelling at someone to going back to singing about her stock made me laugh every time.

I want to commend the writers for really pulling their shit together towards the end. I never expected a family comedy to bring me to tears nearly every episode. It was funny, witty, silly, but also sentimental, tear-jerking, and bittersweet. You were watching a show about imperfect people who love each other fiercely, deal with the situations that life throws at them. And I think that’s beautiful 8.5/10.

Also is it just me, but is Perfect Match on Netflix almost a carbon copy of this show? Ok, maybe not a carbon copy, but the premise is the same right?

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