This review may contain spoilers
A scenic slice-of-life that slowly loses its soul
What I Liked
- This was my first Liu Yi Fei drama, so I had no prior performances to compare it to, but I really liked her portrayal of Xu Hong Dou. The nuances she brought to the character, even in the way she spoke, felt incredibly fitting and natural.
- Similarly, I appreciated Li Xian’s interpretation of his role. I don’t have much to reference since the only other drama I’ve seen him in was Go Go Squid! (2019), which I unfortunately dropped. Still, it’s clear he’s a good actor.
- The early episodes captured slowness, stillness, and simplicity beautifully. There were moments when the scenery took center stage—no background music, just the sound of wind rustling through leaves or birds chirping. It grounded the viewer in the moment.
- Emotional scenes weren’t overacted. Instead, they were quiet and restrained, letting raw, adult emotions speak for themselves, often paired with a well-chosen OST.
- The story began with the female lead navigating burnout and grief, but it didn’t stop there. It gave emotional depth to the supporting characters and villagers too. You don’t just root for the leads, you end up caring about the entire community.
- The romance was paced well and felt realistic. Both leads acted their age, transitioning from acquaintances to friends to romantic partners in a way that made sense. I also appreciated how healthy their relationship was. They didn’t hold each other back and respected each other’s priorities.
What I Didn’t Like
- The slow pacing worked—at first. It’s a slice-of-life drama, so that’s expected. But as the series went on, it felt like the writers got complacent. The slowness became a crutch, and the story started to feel aimless. Side plots lacked weight, and character development—especially for the leads—stalled, which was disappointing given the show’s premise.
- The storytelling began to feel a bit too on-the-nose. Characters often sounded preachy, delivering monologues about life and its meaning in moments where natural dialogue would’ve been more effective. It felt like the show was forcing moral lessons onto the audience, rather than letting the characters learn and grow into them.
- The drama also leaned heavily into tourism promotion—clearly aiming to showcase Yunnan, which, to be fair, it did beautifully. The villagers’ stories, especially around improving the local economy to keep the younger generation from leaving, were compelling. But I wish it hadn’t been packaged so overtly as a tourism campaign. The story was already strong on its own.
- After the leads got together, the narrative lost momentum. With no further character development, it felt like the show had nothing left to say, which was frustrating, considering how promising it started.
Honestly, this could’ve been a tight 30-episode series. Instead, it dragged. The emotional weight and quiet power of the early episodes slowly faded, until I eventually couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
- This was my first Liu Yi Fei drama, so I had no prior performances to compare it to, but I really liked her portrayal of Xu Hong Dou. The nuances she brought to the character, even in the way she spoke, felt incredibly fitting and natural.
- Similarly, I appreciated Li Xian’s interpretation of his role. I don’t have much to reference since the only other drama I’ve seen him in was Go Go Squid! (2019), which I unfortunately dropped. Still, it’s clear he’s a good actor.
- The early episodes captured slowness, stillness, and simplicity beautifully. There were moments when the scenery took center stage—no background music, just the sound of wind rustling through leaves or birds chirping. It grounded the viewer in the moment.
- Emotional scenes weren’t overacted. Instead, they were quiet and restrained, letting raw, adult emotions speak for themselves, often paired with a well-chosen OST.
- The story began with the female lead navigating burnout and grief, but it didn’t stop there. It gave emotional depth to the supporting characters and villagers too. You don’t just root for the leads, you end up caring about the entire community.
- The romance was paced well and felt realistic. Both leads acted their age, transitioning from acquaintances to friends to romantic partners in a way that made sense. I also appreciated how healthy their relationship was. They didn’t hold each other back and respected each other’s priorities.
What I Didn’t Like
- The slow pacing worked—at first. It’s a slice-of-life drama, so that’s expected. But as the series went on, it felt like the writers got complacent. The slowness became a crutch, and the story started to feel aimless. Side plots lacked weight, and character development—especially for the leads—stalled, which was disappointing given the show’s premise.
- The storytelling began to feel a bit too on-the-nose. Characters often sounded preachy, delivering monologues about life and its meaning in moments where natural dialogue would’ve been more effective. It felt like the show was forcing moral lessons onto the audience, rather than letting the characters learn and grow into them.
- The drama also leaned heavily into tourism promotion—clearly aiming to showcase Yunnan, which, to be fair, it did beautifully. The villagers’ stories, especially around improving the local economy to keep the younger generation from leaving, were compelling. But I wish it hadn’t been packaged so overtly as a tourism campaign. The story was already strong on its own.
- After the leads got together, the narrative lost momentum. With no further character development, it felt like the show had nothing left to say, which was frustrating, considering how promising it started.
Honestly, this could’ve been a tight 30-episode series. Instead, it dragged. The emotional weight and quiet power of the early episodes slowly faded, until I eventually couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
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