Drama Tea

# Some background on the drama

The creative team spent nearly three years preparing for this show. They visited over 10 colleges, and interviewed more than 300 teachers and students.

"Tsingbei": The characters mention this work a lot. Think "Ivy League" or "Oxbridge". Tsingbei refers to Tsinghua and Peking Universities, China's two most prestigious institutions. Only about 5 in 10,000 gaokao candidates (0.05%) get into either school (so says Chatgpt, do tell me if that's wrong). A degree from these universities is seen as a fast track into a prosperous future as an elite member of society. Yup, it's China's imperial exams all over again, but modern version and everyone has to do it.

Educational inequality: The Hope mentions how despite the lauded "meritocratic" gaokao, there exists deep inequalities still. The rich has access to better educational resources, the poor had to often do without. Interestingly, The Hope aired after the Chinese govt tried to deal with this issue. In 2021, Beijing launched the "Double Reduction" policy which devastated the $100-120 billion private tutoring sector that employed over 10 million people. However, wealthy families simply shifted to expensive private tutors while poorer families lost access to affordable help, actually widening the education gap. Alas.

# What I liked

The young actors are fantastic! They're not whiny or bratty but the complete opposite. I find the individual students' stories compelling and want them to succeed badly.

I also appreciated the nuanced picture of the intense pressure Chinese students face. (It brought me back to my schooling days where the pressure was also intense, though I'm pretty sure my country's version of gaokao is 50% less pressure than China's!) Even though the gaokao is considered a meritocratic examination, it's really not because not everyone starts at the same point. Some people are ahead due to life's privileges. Despite the nuance, some parts of The Hope is very idealistic and probably will never happen in an actual school in China.

The nuanced view of academic success. Just because you get into Tsingbei doesn't mean your life will be successful. Life is what you make of it. Good results give you a leg up but don't guarantee a good life.

# What I didn't like

To be honest, it could have been 20 episodes instead of 30. I used the fast-forward button a lot with this drama.

There were a few instances where Sang Xia's tactics would have gotten her barred from working as a psychologist. I couldn't believe her character did those things!
# Thoughts about the ending

The ending is satisfying but odd. On one hand, it ends as expected with Class 11 graduating from top universities and leading successful lives. It's satisfying to watch them rise from the bottom to the very top.

However, I would have been happier if they did without the strange romantic subplots the writers wrote for them.

The worst part is that their love stories were left hanging unresolved or happens off screen.

They tease us with these characters romantic plot lines, but it's a tease that never ends, basically. If you're into romance plots, this would probably exasperate you.

Perhaps they wanted to show that life is like that - you don't always get everything you want? I don't know, but I wished they'd removed the subplots altogether. Does it serve the story? Not really. Does it derail the story? Not really either.

But human beings want closure in their entertainment, so creating an open loop towards the end of the drama is baffling unless they're aiming for a second season. (Which I don't see happening.)

Still, this is a good drama overall. Although some parts were heartbreaking, it was deeply satisfying watching these underdogs overcome obstacles and become Tsingbei graduates.

## Final verdict: 8