This review may contain spoilers
So much potential, and yet...
I really wanted to like this show. I've seen a few dramas with Esther Yu, and although I agree her voice and childish acting can be a little awkward to watch, I generally have positive feelings for her characters. Not too familiar with He Yu, but he definitely fits the role of ML. Unfortunately have to drop this one though, as there are just too many things that frustrate me to justify wasting time finishing it.
As I always say, the cast do well with their roles (no disrespect or hate towards any of them). It's almost always the writing and execution that gets to me. The plot is rather boring and inconsistent. There isn't enough chemistry and scenes between the FL & ML to make up for the inconsistencies in the story and progression. The ML barely has any lines. He's your typical handsome ML who's always bruting, moody, angry, rarely smiles, treats most people coldly other than the FL and their social circle, and barely shows any emotion other than anger and moodiness. Most other characters get somewhat realistic personalities (maybe debatable when looking at the childish personality of the FL), so I just wish we could get more MLs that have more personality than just the bruting, overly-capable MLs like this one. It hurts the chemistry with the FL, and most of their scenes just felt awkward to watch given the FL's child-like personality and the ML's quiet angry demeanor.
I'm sure He Yu is a great actor, but I didn't get to see much of his range. Maybe it gets better later on, but up to episode 10 I feel like he didn't have as many scenes as I would normally expect for a ML. In fact, I feel like they gave way too many scenes to the 2ML. I'm an avid disliker of love triangles, so I really didn't like how the writers kept forcing scenes between the FL and the 2ML instead of focusing on developing the relationship between her and the ML. There is a 2FL, but so far she's barely in the show, has a frustrating personality, and the ML acts so coldly towards her I wouldn't even count it as competition for the FL. And yet, the 2ML is given a likeable charismatic personality and is in almost every other scene, including with the FL, whereas the ML pops in every now and then (still moody) and has forced "tension" scenes with the FL that feels awkward given the sibling dynamic the writers keep pushing for.
On the topic of sibling dynamic, I am used to dramas going the route of "not technically siblings" when it comes to romance, but I definitely agree with other reviews that think the whole non-biological sibling dynamic is a bit strange. There are times when the leads are acknowledged by others and themselves as being brother and sister, and other times when characters conveniently disregard that fact and see them as a couple. Not to mention the FL's childish personality compared to the ML's authority-like personality makes it feel even more weird at times. Don't get me wrong, there are heart-fluttering moments and tension, but most of the time it feels forced and awkward.
The racing and action sequences are cool I suppose, but sometimes feels out of place with the other scenes. The high speed racing and dangerous driving doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense given that no one seems to get pulled over by the police or stopped at any point. The FL also doesn't make a lot of sense as she's technically capable and knowledgeable in many things but still plays the defenseless FL that needs saving.
I could already tell the direction the romance was going in very early on. Likely many episodes of frustrating back and forth & push and pull between the leads before making any meaningful progress in their relationship. Likely many jealous ML moments to come given the fact that there's already three men who seem to be interested in the FL. I suppose I'm just not the target demographic for these types of shows. Still very frustrating for a romance drama lover.
I don't know, maybe the show gets better in the later episodes, especially given the high ratings. But I couldn't shake the obvious "fanfiction" romance and plot progression. Maybe if you're into this sort of thing you'll enjoy it, but I wouldn't expect too much in terms of realistic romance and a logical plot, just mainly fanfiction-like fluff.
As I always say, the cast do well with their roles (no disrespect or hate towards any of them). It's almost always the writing and execution that gets to me. The plot is rather boring and inconsistent. There isn't enough chemistry and scenes between the FL & ML to make up for the inconsistencies in the story and progression. The ML barely has any lines. He's your typical handsome ML who's always bruting, moody, angry, rarely smiles, treats most people coldly other than the FL and their social circle, and barely shows any emotion other than anger and moodiness. Most other characters get somewhat realistic personalities (maybe debatable when looking at the childish personality of the FL), so I just wish we could get more MLs that have more personality than just the bruting, overly-capable MLs like this one. It hurts the chemistry with the FL, and most of their scenes just felt awkward to watch given the FL's child-like personality and the ML's quiet angry demeanor.
I'm sure He Yu is a great actor, but I didn't get to see much of his range. Maybe it gets better later on, but up to episode 10 I feel like he didn't have as many scenes as I would normally expect for a ML. In fact, I feel like they gave way too many scenes to the 2ML. I'm an avid disliker of love triangles, so I really didn't like how the writers kept forcing scenes between the FL and the 2ML instead of focusing on developing the relationship between her and the ML. There is a 2FL, but so far she's barely in the show, has a frustrating personality, and the ML acts so coldly towards her I wouldn't even count it as competition for the FL. And yet, the 2ML is given a likeable charismatic personality and is in almost every other scene, including with the FL, whereas the ML pops in every now and then (still moody) and has forced "tension" scenes with the FL that feels awkward given the sibling dynamic the writers keep pushing for.
On the topic of sibling dynamic, I am used to dramas going the route of "not technically siblings" when it comes to romance, but I definitely agree with other reviews that think the whole non-biological sibling dynamic is a bit strange. There are times when the leads are acknowledged by others and themselves as being brother and sister, and other times when characters conveniently disregard that fact and see them as a couple. Not to mention the FL's childish personality compared to the ML's authority-like personality makes it feel even more weird at times. Don't get me wrong, there are heart-fluttering moments and tension, but most of the time it feels forced and awkward.
The racing and action sequences are cool I suppose, but sometimes feels out of place with the other scenes. The high speed racing and dangerous driving doesn't make a whole lot of logical sense given that no one seems to get pulled over by the police or stopped at any point. The FL also doesn't make a lot of sense as she's technically capable and knowledgeable in many things but still plays the defenseless FL that needs saving.
I could already tell the direction the romance was going in very early on. Likely many episodes of frustrating back and forth & push and pull between the leads before making any meaningful progress in their relationship. Likely many jealous ML moments to come given the fact that there's already three men who seem to be interested in the FL. I suppose I'm just not the target demographic for these types of shows. Still very frustrating for a romance drama lover.
I don't know, maybe the show gets better in the later episodes, especially given the high ratings. But I couldn't shake the obvious "fanfiction" romance and plot progression. Maybe if you're into this sort of thing you'll enjoy it, but I wouldn't expect too much in terms of realistic romance and a logical plot, just mainly fanfiction-like fluff.
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