This review may contain spoilers
not the fluffy usual romance - a much better one than that
Having it tagged as "romance" and "youth", most of us expected it to be some fluffy drama halfway through the episodes - but it shattered my expectations. The romantic interest in the movie was just a background to the ongoing spiritual adversity our female lead's family is experiencing, so at least we would expect something by the end of the series to root for the two of them, but it wasn't ruining the mood for the mystery about the sister as well, which is a good balance.
I didn't think it would actually turn out this dark by the end of the drama, and would actually go down that route. Still, it is such a good message for most families regarding too many expectations towards their children. Sometimes, we harden our emotions so much that we expect other people to have the same feeling that we do, just suck up all the problems, knowing that each of us takes pains to heart differently. Bei Yu's story is heartbreaking for every sister, especially as the eldest who gets pressured every day to be the future provider of the family. In fact, I started hating the family because of what was happening; it was the mother at the start, then the father. I find them so cold and harsh for how they treated their daughter like that. But then, along the way, I learned that they just grieved differently, and I can't blame them for having to mourn that way. I've seen some people handle death in distinct ways; they cry their heart out, they smile to deny the death, they pretend to be alright, or it's a late process of acceptance. As for Bei Yu's family, I believe that they are at the point of late acceptance, as they still cannot process the entire truth of her death and would rather just run away from the reality.
The thing is that this movie may have angst for the family's treatment of Bei Yu, but as you watch until the end, you will realize why they actually acted and handled that way. Why have they decided to just treat it like Bei Yu was a bad daughter despite knowing the truth? It's because, as parents, they are afraid to hammer the wall that's already cracked. The moment the reality was mirrored to everyone, the family started breaking, and that's what the parents were trying to avoid the whole time. They can't afford to lose more of their children.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS:
1. Qiao Qing Yi - starting off the drama, all she wanted was to discover the reason for her sister's death. She used to hate her for all the bad influence she left behind not knowing what she actually suffered to become like that. Qing Yi was an immature child to start off the drama, she thinks least of the effect of what she's doing or what might happen if she does this and that. But then on the other side, her justice to seek the reality over her sister's death was the best part of her. It's another way of showing how much she actually loved and valued her sister, that even after death, she would still defend her reputation. She may seem like an aloof person, but she takes things by heart a lot.
2. Ming Sheng - he seemed to be one of the bullies at the start, but Ming Sheng is one of the green flag male leads that I love, to be honest. He was always there for Qing Yi, even at her darkest times. Throughout the whole drama, he has been good to her, even though sometimes she doesn't know what he did for her. Even at Qing Yi's separation arc, he is still very much willing to come with her, and I think that Ming Sheng is a perfect example of what we actually should be towards someone we love so much.
3. Fang Hao (Qing Yi's mother) - to be honest, I hated her at the beginning of the series for the reason that she is way too cold-hearted about her eldest daughter's death. Not knowing that she actually was the one who suffered the most with the grief. Her character has so much to hide at the start of the series that it's very hard to see if she really was emotionally affected. But by the end, she's the one I pity the most. She suffered way too much with what happened that she just decided that "Oh fuck it, whatever fixes everything" and just goes along with what makes the family stand strong. Fang Hao is honestly the brick of the house. By the time she started falling apart, the family was torn. When she was standing strong, the family was pretty strong too, and I think that's part of the reason why she appeared to be emotionally well checked at the beginning.
4. Lu Sheng (Qing Yu's father) - he has always been like a can that was crushed several times but still remains a can. Since the beginning of the series, he has always looked emotionally strong until we figured out how he was just bottling up his feelings. He just wanted to appear strong for the family, but to be honest, he cared a lot about the things his wife was suffering too. I especially got emotional when he actually saw his daughter's contest and did not say anything about it, but just put it inside her bag instead. That small gesture showed how he already accepted everything, the imperfection of their family, and would rather they just have a happy life in the end instead.
To be honest, all of their actings are heartfelt, especially Liu Dan's (Fang Hao), that is what top acting does look like. I could feel every part of her emotion, even when she got depressed, and it literally made me cry when it showed her backstory of actually suffering from grief. It was too much. On the other hand, I think Jing Yi (Qing Yu) should try to improve her acting skills in terms of dark dramas like this because she seems too innocent and doesn't show many emotions, especially her facial expressions. It just seems the same expression the whole time. If she could at least improve, this series would have been even better.
Overall, if you are looking for a romance drama right from the start, this is not for you. The whole series is more like a family drama than romance. It talks more about growing up, family struggles, and hidden emotions. Romance only appeared in the last episode. But if you are into angst dramas, this is definitely for you. It does kind of remind me of the parents from Love Like the Galaxy, to be honest.
I didn't think it would actually turn out this dark by the end of the drama, and would actually go down that route. Still, it is such a good message for most families regarding too many expectations towards their children. Sometimes, we harden our emotions so much that we expect other people to have the same feeling that we do, just suck up all the problems, knowing that each of us takes pains to heart differently. Bei Yu's story is heartbreaking for every sister, especially as the eldest who gets pressured every day to be the future provider of the family. In fact, I started hating the family because of what was happening; it was the mother at the start, then the father. I find them so cold and harsh for how they treated their daughter like that. But then, along the way, I learned that they just grieved differently, and I can't blame them for having to mourn that way. I've seen some people handle death in distinct ways; they cry their heart out, they smile to deny the death, they pretend to be alright, or it's a late process of acceptance. As for Bei Yu's family, I believe that they are at the point of late acceptance, as they still cannot process the entire truth of her death and would rather just run away from the reality.
The thing is that this movie may have angst for the family's treatment of Bei Yu, but as you watch until the end, you will realize why they actually acted and handled that way. Why have they decided to just treat it like Bei Yu was a bad daughter despite knowing the truth? It's because, as parents, they are afraid to hammer the wall that's already cracked. The moment the reality was mirrored to everyone, the family started breaking, and that's what the parents were trying to avoid the whole time. They can't afford to lose more of their children.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS:
1. Qiao Qing Yi - starting off the drama, all she wanted was to discover the reason for her sister's death. She used to hate her for all the bad influence she left behind not knowing what she actually suffered to become like that. Qing Yi was an immature child to start off the drama, she thinks least of the effect of what she's doing or what might happen if she does this and that. But then on the other side, her justice to seek the reality over her sister's death was the best part of her. It's another way of showing how much she actually loved and valued her sister, that even after death, she would still defend her reputation. She may seem like an aloof person, but she takes things by heart a lot.
2. Ming Sheng - he seemed to be one of the bullies at the start, but Ming Sheng is one of the green flag male leads that I love, to be honest. He was always there for Qing Yi, even at her darkest times. Throughout the whole drama, he has been good to her, even though sometimes she doesn't know what he did for her. Even at Qing Yi's separation arc, he is still very much willing to come with her, and I think that Ming Sheng is a perfect example of what we actually should be towards someone we love so much.
3. Fang Hao (Qing Yi's mother) - to be honest, I hated her at the beginning of the series for the reason that she is way too cold-hearted about her eldest daughter's death. Not knowing that she actually was the one who suffered the most with the grief. Her character has so much to hide at the start of the series that it's very hard to see if she really was emotionally affected. But by the end, she's the one I pity the most. She suffered way too much with what happened that she just decided that "Oh fuck it, whatever fixes everything" and just goes along with what makes the family stand strong. Fang Hao is honestly the brick of the house. By the time she started falling apart, the family was torn. When she was standing strong, the family was pretty strong too, and I think that's part of the reason why she appeared to be emotionally well checked at the beginning.
4. Lu Sheng (Qing Yu's father) - he has always been like a can that was crushed several times but still remains a can. Since the beginning of the series, he has always looked emotionally strong until we figured out how he was just bottling up his feelings. He just wanted to appear strong for the family, but to be honest, he cared a lot about the things his wife was suffering too. I especially got emotional when he actually saw his daughter's contest and did not say anything about it, but just put it inside her bag instead. That small gesture showed how he already accepted everything, the imperfection of their family, and would rather they just have a happy life in the end instead.
To be honest, all of their actings are heartfelt, especially Liu Dan's (Fang Hao), that is what top acting does look like. I could feel every part of her emotion, even when she got depressed, and it literally made me cry when it showed her backstory of actually suffering from grief. It was too much. On the other hand, I think Jing Yi (Qing Yu) should try to improve her acting skills in terms of dark dramas like this because she seems too innocent and doesn't show many emotions, especially her facial expressions. It just seems the same expression the whole time. If she could at least improve, this series would have been even better.
Overall, if you are looking for a romance drama right from the start, this is not for you. The whole series is more like a family drama than romance. It talks more about growing up, family struggles, and hidden emotions. Romance only appeared in the last episode. But if you are into angst dramas, this is definitely for you. It does kind of remind me of the parents from Love Like the Galaxy, to be honest.
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