This review may contain spoilers
great cinematography but the story falls a bit flat for me
I'll start this off by saying that I have not finished this show (very close to dropping as well..) but I do plan on getting through it since it was very recommended. I'll maybe updates this review when I've finished.
Overall, so far at least, I really enjoy the cinematography and it being set in Thailand for sure adds to the aesthetic elements. The scenes are pleasing to look at and they have this vibe that is pretty calming?? I'm not entirely sure how to describe it but it's easy to watch and you don't have to overthinking it much.
However what my main cons are with this show is how the romance between the FL and ML are almost overly romanticized at a point?? Like before they got together those moments were cute and had lots of tension but after it just became flat and repetitive. I suppose if you're really into those type of "hot" scenes then you'll really enjoy the show. But for me personally, these scenes get redundant and lack the emotional essence that cdramas usually have.
(01/04/2026 update)
So I finally finished the drama and will say it turned out better than I expected during my previous check in. One thing I didn't really like though was how everyone just pretty much FL in the dark during the 8 years they were apart?? Like not a single person around ML thought like hey maybe this isn't what FL wants.. Idk, I'm just generally not a fan of these "I'm not good enough for them/they deserve better" tropes when clearly like VERY clearly the FL is not the type of person to want to be left in the dark over something like this. Also wish they showed a bit more emotional depth in the resolution part cause it feels a bit rushed almost?? like they showed their moments apart and the sad moments + "explanations" but I feel like FL got over being lied to for a whole 8 years WAY too quickly. (Maybe it's just cuz I would've been a bit more salty if I was her..)
I do appreciate how MuMu has a more mature/grown vibe in the second half of the show. While I did enjoy her younger personality in the first half it did feel a bit awkward watching her in certain scenes... (just personally not my taste) so I'm glad they were able to show a bit more of a mature side of her (but I mean she also is a lot older so it's kinda expected).
Honestly though, I'm reading my old review and not much has changed. There were less eyecandy moments in the second half than I thought there'd be (and I'm also lowkey thankful for.. don't shoot me), but as soon as they got together again it also go boring again... like they're cute but it feels more like I'm third wheeling (and not in a good way if yk what I mean ;-;). I personally love emotionally heavy and deep stories so though this show was romantic, it was pretty surface level to me and lacked a lot of depth that I find interesting and resonating to watch. But then again, if this is your time of thing, I'm not here to judge you.
Also, right after the car accident, I feel like the plot started to get really confusing?? Though it felt more like an editing/post production error rather than the story itself (since I mean the story is pretty obvious and like you can expect what happens). But a lot of the clips felt really choppy and they'd have the "1 month later" clip but then it just made no sense?? Idk I feel like a lot of the scenes were jumbled there and I even had to rewatch them to make sure I wasn't missing anything so.. Ig if anyone can explain why MuMu was still in thailand after the 1 month later clip even though she said she was going to head back to visit her mom asap? and like did Jin Zhao just magically heal in the one month since I thought he was struggling to even stand properly, let alone meet up with her at some balcony cafe thing (I lowkey thought it was a dream at first too since it like showed a clip of him sleeping and it like zoomed out of his head so I was like oh maybe he was just dreaming about letting her go since she kept texting him even in canada but like if they "broke up" idk if girl would be doing that?? like cuz i swear it felt like she still saw them together but they stopped talking idk im so confused. But also like they give flashbacks to that moment so I'm pretty sure it's not a dream??) Anyways if anyone can explain that part to me that'd be great bc I was confused asf.
I know a lot of people aren't big fans of Esther Yu (some of yall drag her way too hard tho like chill out) and I can understand why her acting might not be everyone's taste but, especially with these types of characters, I really can't think of another actor that could give off the same essence that Esther did with MuMu. I will say though, when I first watched the teasers and trailers, I was hoping for more a mature ML/FL kinda dynamic but also not entirely surprised since it's an Esther drama. Would love to see her play more diverse characters though like her character in MJTY (?? I haven't watched it yet but apparently she's and assassin in there so I will fs have to binge it sometime soon).
Overall I'd give it a 6/10. if I was just rating the cinematography and vibes alone, it'd def be a 10, but a lot of the moments just lacked depth and the story wasn't all that interesting (and in fact quite cliche) for me to give it a higher rating. I did start watching the show in 2x speed towards the end and it was really funny so
Overall, so far at least, I really enjoy the cinematography and it being set in Thailand for sure adds to the aesthetic elements. The scenes are pleasing to look at and they have this vibe that is pretty calming?? I'm not entirely sure how to describe it but it's easy to watch and you don't have to overthinking it much.
However what my main cons are with this show is how the romance between the FL and ML are almost overly romanticized at a point?? Like before they got together those moments were cute and had lots of tension but after it just became flat and repetitive. I suppose if you're really into those type of "hot" scenes then you'll really enjoy the show. But for me personally, these scenes get redundant and lack the emotional essence that cdramas usually have.
(01/04/2026 update)
So I finally finished the drama and will say it turned out better than I expected during my previous check in. One thing I didn't really like though was how everyone just pretty much FL in the dark during the 8 years they were apart?? Like not a single person around ML thought like hey maybe this isn't what FL wants.. Idk, I'm just generally not a fan of these "I'm not good enough for them/they deserve better" tropes when clearly like VERY clearly the FL is not the type of person to want to be left in the dark over something like this. Also wish they showed a bit more emotional depth in the resolution part cause it feels a bit rushed almost?? like they showed their moments apart and the sad moments + "explanations" but I feel like FL got over being lied to for a whole 8 years WAY too quickly. (Maybe it's just cuz I would've been a bit more salty if I was her..)
I do appreciate how MuMu has a more mature/grown vibe in the second half of the show. While I did enjoy her younger personality in the first half it did feel a bit awkward watching her in certain scenes... (just personally not my taste) so I'm glad they were able to show a bit more of a mature side of her (but I mean she also is a lot older so it's kinda expected).
Honestly though, I'm reading my old review and not much has changed. There were less eyecandy moments in the second half than I thought there'd be (and I'm also lowkey thankful for.. don't shoot me), but as soon as they got together again it also go boring again... like they're cute but it feels more like I'm third wheeling (and not in a good way if yk what I mean ;-;). I personally love emotionally heavy and deep stories so though this show was romantic, it was pretty surface level to me and lacked a lot of depth that I find interesting and resonating to watch. But then again, if this is your time of thing, I'm not here to judge you.
Also, right after the car accident, I feel like the plot started to get really confusing?? Though it felt more like an editing/post production error rather than the story itself (since I mean the story is pretty obvious and like you can expect what happens). But a lot of the clips felt really choppy and they'd have the "1 month later" clip but then it just made no sense?? Idk I feel like a lot of the scenes were jumbled there and I even had to rewatch them to make sure I wasn't missing anything so.. Ig if anyone can explain why MuMu was still in thailand after the 1 month later clip even though she said she was going to head back to visit her mom asap? and like did Jin Zhao just magically heal in the one month since I thought he was struggling to even stand properly, let alone meet up with her at some balcony cafe thing (I lowkey thought it was a dream at first too since it like showed a clip of him sleeping and it like zoomed out of his head so I was like oh maybe he was just dreaming about letting her go since she kept texting him even in canada but like if they "broke up" idk if girl would be doing that?? like cuz i swear it felt like she still saw them together but they stopped talking idk im so confused. But also like they give flashbacks to that moment so I'm pretty sure it's not a dream??) Anyways if anyone can explain that part to me that'd be great bc I was confused asf.
I know a lot of people aren't big fans of Esther Yu (some of yall drag her way too hard tho like chill out) and I can understand why her acting might not be everyone's taste but, especially with these types of characters, I really can't think of another actor that could give off the same essence that Esther did with MuMu. I will say though, when I first watched the teasers and trailers, I was hoping for more a mature ML/FL kinda dynamic but also not entirely surprised since it's an Esther drama. Would love to see her play more diverse characters though like her character in MJTY (?? I haven't watched it yet but apparently she's and assassin in there so I will fs have to binge it sometime soon).
Overall I'd give it a 6/10. if I was just rating the cinematography and vibes alone, it'd def be a 10, but a lot of the moments just lacked depth and the story wasn't all that interesting (and in fact quite cliche) for me to give it a higher rating. I did start watching the show in 2x speed towards the end and it was really funny so
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