Good drama, but had the potential to be much better.
What I liked:
I feel like there are very few romance dramas I’ve watched that actually explore the FML’s trauma in great detail, as it’s done here. In Hidden Love and WIFTY, we get a glimpse of the ML’s trauma but the FML’s issues are rarely discussed, if ever at all. It was nice seeing the reverse for the change. As with every ML that Zhu Yi has written, Sang Yan is such a green flag and I really liked how protective and supportive he was of the FML despite how frustrating she was at times. The FML, despite her issues, was a very interesting character and I think the show did a good job of depicting how she didn’t let her childhood trauma affect her ability to become successful in life.
What I disliked:
Given the premise, I expected this story to be darker compared to Hidden Love, with the FML’s trauma serving as a central plot point in moving the narrative forward. While this drama does a good job of illustrating how Yifan’s trauma has shaped her personality and career, it falls short in portraying her character growth, and how she was able to heal and move past her fears despite her past experiences. Throughout the story, we saw some signs of growth, such as her standing up for Sang Yan and going to her mother’s house after her uncle appeared to frame Sang Yan’s restaurant for food poisoning. Also her choosing not to forgive her mother for not taking care of her after her father died. Aside from that though, I feel like it could’ve been executed a lot better. Yifan never opened up to anyone about her issues, which is understandable to an extent given the negative circumstances she was in. Although I was getting increasingly annoyed in the later half of the story when she and Sang Yan were already in a relationship, and not only did she lie to him about what happened but she completely up and left him and her entire life in Nanwu without any warning. I understand that in certain situations, people with PTSD have a tendency to make irrational decisions. But I really wish she had at the very least, told her friends and Sang Yan the reason behind why she left. Their reunion felt extremely underwhelming too. I feel like Sang Yan and Yifan needed to have a more serious conversation about her issues. I was also hoping she’d finally open up to her best friend about her past trauma after they reunited, but that never happened. I feel like this show had more opportunities to delve into her communication issues and family trauma but instead half of its runtime was spent on the 2nd lead couple (which btw, barely contributed anything to the main leads’ story) and grandparent’s relationship, which I did not care for at all. Speaking of which, I thought the 2nd leads’ relationship had a lot of potential in the beginning, but fell short because much of their relationship revolved around Su Hao’an’s grandpa, rather than them actually getting to know each other as people. Another complaint I have about the ML and FML’s romance is the development of their relationship felt a little shallow for my liking. Aside from being conventionally attractive, I’m not entirely sure what it was about the FML that captivated the ML so much. Don’t get me wrong I loved seeing Sang Yan display his unconditional love for Yifan but some of his actions felt a little over exaggerated. For example, him following the FML home without her knowing, flying to Yihe for her graduation, following her around the airport. I also felt like it was obvious that his devotion to the FML was also probably the only reason she even noticed him to begin with. As a result, Sang Yan’s character felt a little bit one dimensional for me and I wish the story could’ve explored his struggles separate from Yifan’s.
Despite the glaring issues I had with this drama, it was still enough of an enjoyable experience for me to recommend watching it. Although if you’re like me, and get frustrated with a lack of communication, slow pacing, and too much screen time spent on the secondary couple, then you might be left somewhat disappointed.
I feel like there are very few romance dramas I’ve watched that actually explore the FML’s trauma in great detail, as it’s done here. In Hidden Love and WIFTY, we get a glimpse of the ML’s trauma but the FML’s issues are rarely discussed, if ever at all. It was nice seeing the reverse for the change. As with every ML that Zhu Yi has written, Sang Yan is such a green flag and I really liked how protective and supportive he was of the FML despite how frustrating she was at times. The FML, despite her issues, was a very interesting character and I think the show did a good job of depicting how she didn’t let her childhood trauma affect her ability to become successful in life.
What I disliked:
Given the premise, I expected this story to be darker compared to Hidden Love, with the FML’s trauma serving as a central plot point in moving the narrative forward. While this drama does a good job of illustrating how Yifan’s trauma has shaped her personality and career, it falls short in portraying her character growth, and how she was able to heal and move past her fears despite her past experiences. Throughout the story, we saw some signs of growth, such as her standing up for Sang Yan and going to her mother’s house after her uncle appeared to frame Sang Yan’s restaurant for food poisoning. Also her choosing not to forgive her mother for not taking care of her after her father died. Aside from that though, I feel like it could’ve been executed a lot better. Yifan never opened up to anyone about her issues, which is understandable to an extent given the negative circumstances she was in. Although I was getting increasingly annoyed in the later half of the story when she and Sang Yan were already in a relationship, and not only did she lie to him about what happened but she completely up and left him and her entire life in Nanwu without any warning. I understand that in certain situations, people with PTSD have a tendency to make irrational decisions. But I really wish she had at the very least, told her friends and Sang Yan the reason behind why she left. Their reunion felt extremely underwhelming too. I feel like Sang Yan and Yifan needed to have a more serious conversation about her issues. I was also hoping she’d finally open up to her best friend about her past trauma after they reunited, but that never happened. I feel like this show had more opportunities to delve into her communication issues and family trauma but instead half of its runtime was spent on the 2nd lead couple (which btw, barely contributed anything to the main leads’ story) and grandparent’s relationship, which I did not care for at all. Speaking of which, I thought the 2nd leads’ relationship had a lot of potential in the beginning, but fell short because much of their relationship revolved around Su Hao’an’s grandpa, rather than them actually getting to know each other as people. Another complaint I have about the ML and FML’s romance is the development of their relationship felt a little shallow for my liking. Aside from being conventionally attractive, I’m not entirely sure what it was about the FML that captivated the ML so much. Don’t get me wrong I loved seeing Sang Yan display his unconditional love for Yifan but some of his actions felt a little over exaggerated. For example, him following the FML home without her knowing, flying to Yihe for her graduation, following her around the airport. I also felt like it was obvious that his devotion to the FML was also probably the only reason she even noticed him to begin with. As a result, Sang Yan’s character felt a little bit one dimensional for me and I wish the story could’ve explored his struggles separate from Yifan’s.
Despite the glaring issues I had with this drama, it was still enough of an enjoyable experience for me to recommend watching it. Although if you’re like me, and get frustrated with a lack of communication, slow pacing, and too much screen time spent on the secondary couple, then you might be left somewhat disappointed.
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