xiaoyezi

When you get the chance to do over

The chance to right your mistakes is one of the top wishful thinkings that never loses its charm.

By right, the premise for Story of Kunning Palace (SoKP) already makes for a great start … By left though, SoKP falls through in the genre of reborn stories with poor camera angles and lighting, story execution and okay-ish actor / actress caliber.

Director Chu is infamous in the industry for his weird camera angles and inappropriate lighting position - so I will not delve deep into this. As a general viewer, I don’t have the professional knowledge to critique this constructively. The only thing I would say is it indeed cut down my viewing experience by a fair bit.

Onto the story. Jiang Xuening was the evil, alluring empress that was given the chance to redo life when she found she was back to her 18-year old self.

First things first, like any idol drama, I think evil can and should be contested. She was morally flexible and selfish in her first life, but to emphasise she was evil and thus, felt this deep regret to redeem her past actions to Yan Lin and Zhang Zhe was a bit lost on me. I felt that this may be due to the lost of translation from the original novel to drama adaptation.

This leads to the second, related point. The director and editors presented the story such that flashbacks of 1st life would play out right before the big event happened in 2nd life, and then we would watch how Xuening did differently after. On one hand, it made the story less draggy. On the other, it made me feel less engaged with Xuening’s motivation because I didn’t get enough context on why she felt a certain way with some characters in the scene. Like why she is so afraid of Xie Wei. Or why is she so grateful towards Fangyin. I mean they did mention why with the brief flashbacks, but the impact wasn’t deep enough for me to truly grasp the full picture of Xuening’s feelings. Not to mention, some of the flashbacks felt disjointed too.

Xie Wei should be an intriguing male lead - with his obvious backstory that closely mirror of Mei Chang Su story from Nirvana in Fire. Alas, while one may be able to copy the surface level stuff, the spirit or essence of classics is not as easily replicated. Maybe it’s the screenwriter. Maybe it’s the actor. To be fair, I think Zhang Ling He did good enough for his age. His Xie Wei just doesn’t have that charisma or charm for me, for now. Quite a lot of things were diluted to me in SoKP - I couldn’t feel that Xie Wei is was that smart to be able to fool the emperor, ministers, and rebels. There were more questions about how he survived his ordeal as a kid then and the resources he was able to amass at his disposal as an adult now to be able to do what he wanted. Similar to Xuening character, I felt this is also another lost in translation case. I shall stand corrected if I ever find the time to read the novel.

The funny thing was I got more intrigued by the side characters stories more than our main leads. One was Xue Hui’s arc, Xuening’s sister who was wise and truly just wanted to live her life peacefully but was misunderstood by Xuening for her indifference, in the 1st life. As Xuening chose differently this time, she came to better understand the person beneath the protective shell Xue Hui’s has built. Pity that Xue Hui didn’t even appear much on screen. Another one was Yan Lin’s, and I was rather satisfy with his arc. Fangyin’s arc was enjoyable too.

Overall, SoKP is a good enough reborn story that’s not for the nitpicky. It has a good enough storyline that sadly wasn’t translated as robustly on screen.

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Take aim

Alert: The enemy has knocked down the main gate of Pingling City in Jinxiu.
Target: Susha's commanding general, Feng Sui Ge.
Location: Right at the front gates.

Swoosh!

An arrow is shot, and an enemy is down. As the Feng Battalion retreats, the scene cuts to the archer herself: Fu Yi Xiao, Jinxiu's red-clad heroine who supposedly turned the tide of the war. But she is not being celebrated; instead she is fleeing for her life.

Why? Does her desperate escape connect to Feng Sui Ge's loss at the Battle of Pingling?

This is the compelling mystery that sets the stage for Fated Hearts. After both survive their respective life-threatening ordeals, Feng Sui Ge finds Fu Yi Xiao, who is now suffering from amnesia. He seizes the opportunity to coerce her into an alliance to uncover the truth.

To say he "coerces" her is an understatement. The Susha Death God employs whips, kicks, and punches to force her submission. Yet, even without her memories, the Jinxiu archer's spirit is unbroken. Yi Xiao proves to be his equal in every sense, meeting his brutal authority with her own fierce intelligence and indomitable will.

This dynamic is perfectly captured in a pivotal early scene: as Feng Sui Ge lashes her 47 times for defiance, Fu Yi Xiao doesn't just endure it—she fights back with a bite. And before their alliance is set, she returns the 47 lashes. How satisfying! This act is a powerful declaration that she will not be controlled. It sets the stage for a relationship where neither can dominate the other, and every interaction is a tense negotiation of power. Soon, they become each other's greatest allies, unraveling the conspiracy that connects those who wanted Yi Xiao dead to Sui Ge's battle outcome at Pingling.

It has been a long time since I've encountered such a believable and satisfying enemies-to-lovers arc in a C-drama, a landscape often saturated with insta-love and artificial romance. What makes Feng Sui Ge and Fu Yi Xiao's relationship so compelling is the authentic tension between two formidable individuals. Their transition from enemies to lovers feels earned, built on a foundation of mutual trust and the quiet acknowledgment that they have finally found their match. They are two sharp blades, slowly tempered together in the fires of shared adversity.

The narrative is elevated by several strong elements, particularly in its first half. The father-son bond between the Emperor and Feng Sui Ge is complex and stern, built on harsh lessons and immense pressure. This strict upbringing is the key to understanding why Feng Sui Ge is a force to be reckoned with—a leader truly deserving of his "Susha Death God" title. His decisive, ruthless action when forced to explain his loss at Pingling was both shocking and satisfying to watch, a move he could only make with his father's tacit permission.

I also enjoyed the camaraderie within the Feng Battalion and the sincere sibling relationships Sui Ge shares with the princess and the prince. Furthermore, Fated Hearts features some of the better fight scenes in the genre, with choreography that is crisp, impactful, and narratively driven.

I would have rated Fated Hearts much higher if not for a messier narrative in its second half. After the mystery of Pingling is resolved around the midpoint, the show introduces a tangle of new subplots that doesn’t resolve neatly: the Emperor's one-sided expectations, the princess's obsessive love triangle, a very short memory-loss arc for Sui Ge and the betrayals that Sui Ge and Fu Yi Xiao suffer. All these feels messy and rushed, with conflicts resolved a little too simply, perhaps in service of promoting modern values within a historical setting.

Additionally, the cinematography sometimes relies too heavily on repetitive close-ups of the main actors' faces, and the background music which is played a little too often. This is like telling the audience how to feel instead of letting the scenes breathe.

Despite its flaws, I had an enjoyable time with Fated Hearts. It's been a while since a couple's romantic moments were compelling enough for me to rewatch. Ultimately, the consistent characterizations of Fu Yi Xiao and Feng Sui Ge carry the show. From enemies challenging each other's every order to lovers fighting back-to-back against common foes, their journey remains the undeniable heart of the drama as they have clear targets in their hearts.

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Blossoming well, with the right care

A snowy night. A fated encounter. A book of records. An arrow shot.

And then, young Dou Zhao woke up from a dream that seemingly foretold her entire life. The book of records and the new birthmark she got seemed to tell her not to take this lightly.

Will things be different this time?
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.
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It’s yet another rebirth themed story. But with well paced exposition and pacing of the story introducing the characters and background, I quickly immersed into the story. Dou Zhao quickly got into my favourite female characters list, with her wisdom, emotional maturity and capability. I like that her outlook in life which, influenced by her grandmother, went beyond palace politics and family entanglement. Even if that was hard to do with her family lineage, Dou Zhao always tried her best to protect and to live her life well.

I enjoyed the romance progress between these two for the most part - from strangers to comrades to admiration to couples. Different from other rebirth story themes, Dou Zhao in “the first life” had minimal involvement with Song Mo, our male lead. And the book of records she held only consisted of poems that require Dou Zhao to unravel the meaning. The blossom did well to highlight the exact moment and dialogues between Dou Zhao and Song Mo shared which prevented the latter from heading towards the path of no return as life kept beating him down. Whether the dream that Dou Zhao had of them was their past life or not, Dou Zhao became the guiding light that Song Mo needed in this life.

While I really liked Meng Zi Yi’s and Li Yun Rui’s CP and their chemistry, the after marriage scenes in the middle did felt a little flat, losing the sparkly tension in the beginning. I am alright with innocent secondary school kids cute fluffs, but the whole everyone is preventing me to kiss my wife troupe is a little overused. What I usually look forward to in an idol romance drama funnily felt like unnecessary fillers for me. They still have quite the improvement when it comes to their acting, especially Meng Zi Yi - but it’s good enough to make me believe and root for Dou Zhao’s and Song Mo’s romance.

Some parts of the story were a little choppy. The change of sides and motivation for some of the characters also felt abrupt and too easy, though highlight scenes were given to these supporting characters. What’s fortunate was Director Zeng’s resourceful and the cast’s dedication, from actors & actresses to screenwriter, making this point negligible. And thankfully, the last part of the story picked up the pacing and intrigue we had in the beginning, closing most of the loops and questions.

Speaking of Director Zheng, the cinematography of the Blossom was one of the more one of the more revered ones we have seen in a long while. Though it’s Director Zeng’s first long filmed television series, he utilised his best strength to enhance the visual storytelling of the shots, giving Blossom a fresh look and nice upgrade in the voluminous ancient idol romance genre.

All in all, the Blossom has grown well this winter, with each and everyone’s care. It’s Director Zeng’s first long firm production; it’s Meng Zi Yi and Li Yun Rui’s first leads show; it’s a story which talks about enduring the storms and grow strongly with a little help from others - and they all deliver.

Hope all these will win this cast another collaboration.

~~~~

What flower is this? Fourth Lady seemed to cherish it a lot.

‘Purple wreath (九重紫)’, a type of wildflower. Duke Heir doesn’t have to worry about it, it can endure countless storms and can grow strong independently.

I believe that it can, but I also believe that it will blossom quicker with a little help.

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It’s morphing time at Rakshasa Street

Rakshasa Street, a place where all dead spirits from Human World wander into. Each street has a Requiem General to maintain order as these dead spirits will turn the citizens living at Rakshasa Street into evil beings.

That’s where the story for Cao Yan Bing, the ex-Requiem General of Luosha Street, began.

Growing up with the mission to protect the home to his family and the place his mother fight dying to protect, Cao Yan Bing suddenly uncovered clues that his mother’s death 10 years ago may not be as simple as he thought. To find the truth of what happened then, and possibly to reunite with him mum, he embarked on a journey to find the secret Luohua Ancient Tower. Together with him on this journey was Xia Ling and Beiluo, each with their own family related reasons to find this Luohua Ancient Tower.

What’s favourable to Hero is Back is the timing of when the story is release, a fitting story theme with logical plot line, and likeable cast. With a case of good C-drama drought which is in sync with their airing time, Hero is Back was engaging enough of a simple superhero family story to tune into with the kids at home.

I like the theme of family overlay that’s important in Chinese culture - it’s an interesting contrast with Western superhero stories and more akin to the Japanese version of Power Rangers, minus the morphing sequences. Most challenges that came up served to strengthen our trio’s resolve and faith to protect their loved ones. Fitting of the comic superhero troupe and fans of superheroes stories, overlay with Asian culture. By the end of the story, we know that they will look to mark their own path to resolving the problems they came across in their journey at Rakshasha Street.

Hence, it’s a slight pity that the flow of the story got draggy once they reached the Lingfeng street. What could’ve been a simple search for the guide to the Luohua Ancient Tower and a 4th party member evolved to a “battle” of philosophy - as General Yan continued to see Cao Yan Bing’s group as a threat to Lingfeng Street’s peace and prevented them from connecting with Yan Feng Zha. This part of the story could’ve cut short and be replaced with an expanded vs battle with each King at Luohua Ancient Tower instead.

All in all, Hero is Back is pretty much the origin story of a team of superheroes turning “vigilante” - quotation marks to fit the PG-13 rating and this team’s righteous values. It’s more forming of the team and finding their moral compass than to defeat any big boss or change anything concrete.

Not to worry. If they have enough budget and popularity to green lit the next season, we will have our mighty morphing Cao Yan Bing and friends standing firm to protect Rakshasa Street.

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Flowers that bloom in adversity

One doesn’t meet a girl like Hua Zhi in an ancient society. Thou one does meet a girl like Hua Zin in an ancient idol romance story.

And I meant it well. Hua Zhi is the kind of female lead that we ladies root for and want to be in our heart. After a long day’s work, it’s healing watching a smart, independent, courageous female lead successfully starting a business and leading her group of supportive family and friends out of poverty after the guys in the family are forced to exile.

Other than this strong female lead story done right, it has all other lovely elements such as romance, friendship and kinship.

Yan Xi is the god sent male lead for Hua Zhi in an idol romance. Strong, understanding and respectful. Their love story is one of the healthier ones that dismisses most troupes. Though Hu Yi Tian and Zhang Jing Yi chemistry is a little lacking, it’s healing watching Yan Xi and Jing Yi’s steady progression, heathy communication and supportive teamwork.

There are many other couples in the story too, which make up for a good time. From the happy bickering couple (Bao Xia x Chen Qing), to innocent playmates couple (Shao Yao x Shen Er), to supportive married couple (4th uncle and aunt), I quite like all the love story lines. Even granny’s first love story with grandpa got a shoutout.

Moving on the next point - the friendship and kinship. Blossom in adversity is not only about Story of Hua Zhi. It’s also about story of each Hua Lady. Every one of them is a unique flower that blooms prettily on her own right. I like how every of them have a memorable trait / character despite the big cast.

First, there are Hua Zhi’s grandmother, mother and aunts. Not many stories highlight the friendship of grannies in their 60’s and beyond. I love the backstory that Blossom in Adversity gives to Zhu Mu. We got to see a glimpse of who she was when she was a teenager, how she talked about her first love and what her considerations were as the head of a large family.

Myolie Wu plays the prideful 3rd aunt who has a soft heart. There can be many things you will feel frustrated about being family with her - at the end of the day, she does care and is reliable when times call for it. Her words to Hua Zhi, “Family is not a place to talk reason” may sound like she’s pulling rank. But indeed, sometimes reason is not the solution.

Second, Hua Zhi has 4 maids who become reliable business partners. They are interestingly named after the 4 seasons, adding color to the flowers with their own storyline - Ying ‘Chun’, Bao ‘Xia’, Nian ‘Qiu’, Fu ‘Dong’.

Third, Hua Zhi’s sisters also got mini spotlight in this 40 episode story. The one who stood out to me is Hua Qin. One might not respect Hua Qin on her schemes and only thought of using marriage as a way out. However, I thought it was a good contrast to Hua Zhi, without vilifying Hua Qin’s method.

All in all, Blossom in Adversity is a little tad perfect with Hua Zhi and Hua Family’s lovely ladies successfully building their business in the ancient society together. The guys somewhat become the Hua Ping (vase) in the story. But it kinda of hit the right tune when one wants to relax and feel a win after coming home from our real life’s adversity.

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More than skin deep

Composite art, image modification (age progression), facial (post mortem) reconstruction - the 3 main disciplines of forensic art. These are the 3 main elements that’s used in identification, assessment and resolutions of the cases in Under the Skin through the gifted Artist Shen Yi and his reliable partner Detective Du Cheng.

And they are used masterfully in UTS.

Truth to be told, Under the Skin was a difficult series for me to sit through. Not because the story is crappy. On the contrary, it is often because of the disturbingly humane reasons of the perpetrators when revealed why they did what they do. UTS highlights the social issues that’s plaguing our current society - gender equality, view of beauty in society, bullying and feelings of outcasts, human trafficking, identity fraud, abuse, rape, organised criminal, and of course murders. All heavy topics. All too real. All grey. All more than skin deep. The cases may have concluded, however, the underlying social issues that spark the cases…not so.

Besides the heavy utilisation on forensic art in solving the cases, one of the things that stood out about UTS was Shen Yi’s character, as the gifted artist. Usually, gifted characters are stereotyped to be eccentric because they are gifted with a special ability that normal people can’t understand, pun intended. Like Sherlock Holmes. I appreciate that UTS made Shen Yi a gentle, calm, smart introvert who relates well with others. And often, he shows an empathy to the perpetrators in ways that others can’t. Through Shen Yi’s eyes, he helps bring out the humanity side of the cases.

One fun fact that was brought out by this show is the amazing ability that certain gifted people have. I thought UTS exaggerated the ability of Shen Yi in facial reconstruction with the little information he had to go by. (Age progression technique is popularised by app in recent years, so more “believable”.) And through others’ reviews and comments, I got educated on a real world person who has this ability - a retired Chinese police forensic artist Lin Yu Hui who can sketch image of a person based on few clues. He helped solved a high profile murder case in US back in 2017 and now establishes his own studio to draw portraits of missing people, usually children, and martyrs. Inspiring and admirable.

Another fun fact is the various arts and stories behind them where Shen Yi used to teach the university students. More than art, they symbolise the messages that Shen Yi / UTS wants to relay to the students / audiences. Such as the female artist who drew Judith and Holofernes and gifting the portrait of Marie Curie to one of the perpetrators.

All in all, the forensic art aspect of UTS is like garlic and onion in Chinese dishes. On its own, garlic and onion can be rather blend and not something we will have as the main dish. With other dishes though, they bring out the flavours and make for appetising meal.

Not sure why I use food analogy to describe a crime fiction story. Long analogy short, UTS is a story that peels into the complexity of social issues through forensic art.

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Making our youth counts with the right guidance

Ray of Light is like your typical coming of age, school drama - with a crucial additional pillar, Hao Nan Lao Shi. Indeed, great teachers do make students care more for their studies.

What is enjoyable about Ray of Light is being able to see this story from Hao Nan Lao Shi perspectives, on how he believes his students’ potential, on how he advises them as a friend / peer, on how he spend the time with them to get through their current largest hurdle.

On the students end, I particularly like one of the students arc, Jia Kun, who wants to go Shanghai because his first love is there. Through Hao Nan Lao Shi’s words, he comes to realise that the most reliable support to protect their love is through getting a stable job which education can provide. That’s the kind of adult’s perspective, influence and guidance a lot of teenagers need in crucial juncture of their lives - and it‘s nice to see this play out well on screen.

Ren Zhen’s and Gao Yuan’s relationship dynamic is also cute. They share a side with each other that they don’t show to others, they listen to each other’s worries and support each other, they study together and know to prioritise the practical things first - it’s the kind of high school romance I ship. The romantic buff in me is interested to see more of their development as working adults.

Hao Nan Lao Shi’s backstory is a little dramatic, but I guess it grounds the character, knowing his what, his when and his why. Special mention to his mum visiting his workplace - cool mum.

Despite the aforementioned highlights, I only rated Ray of Light at 7.0 because I wasn’t pulled in by all of Qingyun Class 14. What makes high school time highly reminiscent is because of the shared camaraderie of going through the same intensive public exam that seemingly make / break everyone’s future and a celebratory graduation trip that symbolically marks the start of adulthood. While there were these in Ray of Light, I don’t feel that camaraderie bond between Class 14, which is a key ingredient for school dramas. They can’t seem to evoke that mixed feeling of anxiousness and anticipation which I once felt about graduating high school / university.

(Oops, looks like you guys could probably guess my age range now. :P)

Maybe it’s the pacing of the stories, maybe it’s the execution, maybe it’s the cast, or maybe I have past that stage in life. Regardless, Ray of Light is still worth to check out, especially if you are into coming of age stories. If it’s not for Class 14, for Hao Nan Lao Shi, who’s that ray in this story.

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Slowing down admist all the hustle and bustle [of dramaland]

Meet Yourself is likely the type of show where you’d either love it to the moon or feel meh about.

To some, 40 episodes of a healing drama is too long; to a few others, the show probably inspire them to take intentional steps, as required, so they’d be able to appreciate the things that matter to them, before it’s too late.

For me, I quite like Meet Yourself for its lovely characters, awesome cinematography, mature romance, and nuggets of wise conversations…but it has to catch me at the right mood. Even this review has been a long time coming, which ironically fits into the show’s iconic slow pacing.

First things first, on the story premise, we follow Xu Hong Dou journey of healing in Yunmiao Village after feeling burnt out from the grief she felt of her best friend’s death. As she settled in and eventually got “coaxed” to take up an advisory position to assist the local cafe, she started to get more involved in the affairs of people at Yunmiao Village. And then, slowly but surely, Xu Hong Dou felt pockets of fresh air from this place and people, which gave her the energy to connect with herself and begin again.

While there may seem that the stories were unfolding in its own timing and there are many moments in the show that seems more like local tourism MV promotion, I’d say that’s how life kinda is. After all, we don’t necessarily stop to hear or remember the stories of people we deal with in our day to day life. Only when the interactions increase and we start to care about these stories of people who were once strangers to us would we then feel the impact in our hearts. It’s not a process that we can and should rush. And this is the timing that Meet Yourself follows - through Xu Hong Dou’s lens and timing.

Each character’s arcs and stories make Yunmiao Village a warm place. And the greatest anchor is Xie Zi Yao, a promising young lad who had the capability, heart and determination to work on his vision - a vision that Xu Hong Dou seems to understand and support. Neither of them were looking for romance. Yet, they found life is better with each other in it.

In the world of hustle bustle, in real life or drama land, Meet Yourself firmly cement itself as the place that everyone wants to rest and relax in, but unsure if they want it for that long. Still, I’d recommend everyone to give it a shot - perhaps at some point of your life, Meet Yourself may be what you need to reconnect with what you want to work towards to and what matters to you.

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A detective fan favourite series

Girlfriend died of drowning in a room devoid of water. Few years later, encountered a mysterious key that can unlock doors to anywhere one wishes, and perhaps the answer to the unresolved case from the past. That's where our story, the Record of Strange Things begins.

Depending on the type of audience you are, this setup may or may not sound interesting. As a Chinese drama fan, RoST is a unique category of its own where users in modern world can leverage on supernatural objects. Thus, it's worth exploring just based on this point.

As an old school detective fans, this is the basic setup of every other detective teams' new adventure to a strange world. Indeed, the plot structure is nothing original. After the necessary introduction of our main characters, the remaining episodes are structured into a few arcs with the same formula. Each arc is centered on a strange object and key characters relating to this case. While the arcs can be watched as standalone case on its own, they are related. Resolution of each arc gets our characters closer to the climax and finale of this RoST season.

Sounds troupe-y and Conan-ish? Yes, but old school detective fan favourite would buy this setup for RoST is a detective story done right. RoST has lovely characters, fascinating twist and turns of story arcs as well as consistent, tight logic of overarching plot.

One, we have the coming together of these unlikely quartet that's lovable.

At the beginning, they are forced to work together by circumstances and coincidences. They continue to work together because they have strengths that complement each other which make 1 plus 3 more than 4. What's great about this quartet is we truly see a believable friendship journey. From the start of distrust to enjoying each other's company to being a formidable team, we can feel each stage of progression and dynamics between them that's playful and enjoyable to watch. It makes us like them, as characters, and as 1 team.

Beyond these 4 main characters, the supporting characters and / or villains (it's a matter of perspectives) have their own motivations, personalities and brains.

No actions, inconsistent with characters' respective motivations.
No moments of unnecessary fillers.
No surprises, convoluted to the point that they do not make sense.
No opponents who are dumbed down to make our main characters "shine in comparison."

Special mention to Zhi Wei, a high ranked officer from the opposing organisation. Yes, he is that annoying villain-ish fella that somehow grows on the audience, unsuspectingly. Think of him as RoST version of Loki. Beyond Zhi Wei, RoST has smart opponents who do things that make sense and actually pose real challenge to our main characters - how lovely.

Two, we have intriguing story arcs that will keep audiences locked on the screen to find out what's happening next. The beginning is a little slow with the necessary setup and introduction. But once it gets past that, every moment matters. Just when we thought we have the plot figured out, we will be thrown off track with surprises that makes sense when it's revealed - how fascinating.

Three, we have well thought-out logic and consistent story plot through and through. The buildup of each moment is done well. The rules of how each objecr works are watertight and well used by the owners. As such, we are given satisfying face-off between the characters - some arcs more polished than the other, but all passable nonetheless. At the very least, none of them would make us go - "huh, but why would you do that?" What's more, the story is well injected with humor to balance off the tension that comes with a mystery show involving supernatural objects - how wonderful.

With all these coming together, the lackluster production quality and poor acting of some actors in RoST are forgivable. It's a show that was completed in 2016. It's from a production team that was tight on resources.

To sum it up, RoST is a story about the coming together of a group of 4, aided by strange objects that give users superpower. While we aren't sure if we will ever see the light of season 2 and the resolution of some setups, RoST is a love letter to detective fans, made by a production team who has equal love to this genre.

Give it a try and some time - perhaps it might grow on you. At least it didn't have 1000++ episodes like Conan.

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Fun when it does not take itself too seriously

This drama requires a low expectation to be enjoyable.

With a short 8mins of 18 episodes, there isn't a lot of time to flesh out the details of the plot. But it works precisely because of this short format.

The humor is light, playing around the female lead's determination to escape her loop of not dying and maintaining her modern personality in an ancient world. The main leads' acting is good and have believable chemistry. I enjoy this troupe of bubbly female lead warming the male lead's lonely heart - enjoy it enough to not nitpick too critically of the few plot holes here and there.

I presume this drama took inspiration from Romance of Tiger and Rose's plot - all shorten to 3 full length episodes. It's perfect when one wants to relax the brain and wind down.

For an idol drama to work, audience has to buy-in the main leads chemistry. If the plot wasn't too bad to the point that it distracts us from the chemistry, the idol drama is good enough. I presume most idol drama production team can consider to adopt this format in coming years rather than assembling a team to produce 16 to 24 full length episodes, only for audience to skip two thirds of them.

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Dreams are means to an end

Part 1 - One step at a time, together and independently

The thing about pair skating, it’s about pair work as much as it’s about individual work. Part 1 story was set in the 80’s, and it was a story that’s centred on pairs figure skating, a time when times were tough and opportunities were limited.

When I first tuned in, I thought it would be a story of hard work and true love triumphed the nationals. Little did I know, Part 1 was more about the story of Yan Zhen Hua and Li Bing He’s thin-ice romance, and excruciating hard work to fight for a spot in national ice-skating sports team. Alas, while they shared the same dream and true love, it’s a story about what happened when a pair of figure skaters did not share the same motivation, attitude, and talent / potential.

One of the key themes in Part 1 of the story was the contrast of our main leads’ family background. Coming from a poor family background, Yan Zhen Hua had all the reason and grit to struggle through arduous training on the ice so he can be his family’s pride. His greatest Achilles' heel, as all main characters would have, was this pride of his. Not that having pride was bad, in fact, it was a great motivator for YZH to push through the hurdles, so he can win the nationals. The pride did however limit his growth in ice-skate, and to a certain extent, blinded his empathy to his friends’ challenges.

In contrast, LBH, who started off as the innocent rich girl, whose eyes only had skating and her “Da Hua ge”, slowly came to develop her own comprehension about skating through her life experiences in latter part of the story. And when the rift started to become apparent, they both unfortunately decided to part ways.

It took me awhile, I surprisingly came to like this consistent characters portrayal and realistic story execution. While we can empathise with YZH’s situation and may even applaud him for gritting through and staying loyal to his dream, family and friends, truth to be told, it was hard to root for him - especially if we have also been through one or two life’s curveballs ourselves. After all, we don’t live life in vacuum. What the production team wanted to portray was the real and gruesome road to the nationals.

Part 2 - Focus on what matters

For part 2, we came to the short track speed skater story, featuring YZH’s son, Yan Yang’s training in Beijing in 00’s.

The pace was a lot faster and focused in part 2. In the present days, we can clearly tell that the facilities and support for young athletes were more matured. I particularly loved it when Coach Chen entered the picture - her no nonsense, tough love approach that focused on results might be harsh, but it’s clearly effective.

Comparatively to his father, YY is a lot more confident, calmer, and firmer on pursuing his goals. His approach when faced with setbacks were more matured. The only time he raised his voice was when YZH forcefully stopped him from a competition. It made sense, YZH and YY had quite different childhood experiences. Watching how YZH came to accept and eventually supported his son’s short speed track skating was heartwarming.

JY, as the female lead for part 2, is a determined, quiet, and awkward character. She had certain attachment to her past experiences to overcome. Watching how she warmed up to YY and going through it was enjoyable.

Apart from YY and JY’s development and journey, both on ice and off ice, there was also a clear arc / representation for each character:
- Yan Yang: The unsung heroes, those who helped trained their team but may not get the chance to compete at nationals
- Jin Ying: Athletes who had exposure in overseas training system, and how they adapted back to their country’s training system
- Jia Chang An: Talent vs Hard Work in competitive sports
- Tang Han: Impact of injuries to an athlete’s career
- Tian Miao: Competitiveness, which can serve as a motivator or downfall
- Coaches: The different training philosophies and how to instil the “right” attitude. When to step in, when to take a step back, when to push, when to remain as observer

All in all, I enjoyed Part 2 story a lot more as it’s my cup of tea for a sports series, that’s centered on training progress, characters’ motivation, and team members’ dynamics / support for each other, albeit a little propaganda-ish. Part 1 story would be lovely for those who liked melodrama stories that’s centered on the main characters’ journey, speck of life’s realism, and bittersweet romance.

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Choices, consequences, and (2nd) chance

I think it's fair to say most of us have thought about what would've been different if we had made a different choice way back when. I would also bet my money to say that most of us also thought about how nice it would be if we are given a time machine to make that different choice given a chance, especially if we aren't at a good place right now. Cue to our wonderful series, Go Back Couple as we explore the different choice our 38 year-old main couple, Choi Ban Do and Ma Jin Joo make (or will make) when they find themselves back in their 18 year-old self after filing for divorce right at the first episode.

To say this story doesn't know how to tug our heartstrings is an understatement. This series really explores in depth the journey of couple relationship from falling in love to married to divorce, first loves as we remember them (vs what actually happened), our idealism about life in our younger self vs our realism (and jadedness) about life in our adult self. These are moments, stories, and messages that one would appreciate differently at different phases in life, making this series one of the top for rewatch.

Choi Ban Do and Ma Jin Joo were really well portrayed and well cast. Both were able to capture the nuance and character of both their older and younger selves. As working professionals, it's easy for us to neglect our loved ones and more importantly, ourselves in the day to day grind of trying to just survive; as university students, it's easy for us to feel like the world is our oyster and we will get whatever we set our mind to. This journey to the past is one that is very much needed by Ban Do and Jin Joo to mend their broken and battered hearts, from realities of life, and it's one that is enjoyable to watch and appreciate.

The supporting casts' stories were also well relayed, especially the second male lead, Jung Nam Gil. Through him, we learn that what we truly seek for is for someone to see us for who we are and to remind us of our strengths we sometimes fail to see in ourselves. While the second female lead's influence is less in the series in comparison, through her, we learn that it's important to do what we really want to do (responsibly of course) because there might come come a day when you can't even if you want to..... Yes, let these messages sinks in for a moment.

All in all, it's a story that's centered on healing and appreciating the moments in life, as fleeting as they may be.

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What Romantic really means

This story is rather well paced. They didn't take too long to establish the characters and their relationship with each other. For the younger doctors, they provide the hook for more common understanding of romance to audience. As we watch the show further though, we get to understand who Dr. Romantic really is, the meaning Kim Sabu provides to "Romantic" through the patients and incidents in the show, and how his own idealised view of reality influenced others, in particular the two aforementioned younger doctors, Dr. Kang and Dr. Yoon. In fact, everyone in Doldam Hospital holds their idealised view of how the medic field shall be. While I am not in the medic field and do not watch a lot of medical drama (the other ones I've watched which I think are good are Hospital Playlist and The Hippocratic Crush), I think this show balance the jargons well enough to not lose my attention.

Overall, I feel that this show has different flavors served on a platter to different kind of audience. Whether you are looking for a medical drama where the plots move along, a romance, a coming-to-age story with completed past, a persistence to live out one's values - this show provides it all.

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A story of redemption - of yourself and your family’s

Life has no redo - what if it does?

Hua Qian got what she wished for as she found herself back to 2 years ago. And she wasted no time to right her and her family’s wrongs, one at a time.

The early parts of the story was intriguing, figuring out the dynamics between the characters and their respective reactions to Hua Qian’s changes. Hua Qian, in her 2nd life became ever the wiser and determined to stay on the right path, as it meant staying alive. And her greatest struggle comes was from changing her closest family, making the story and characters feel rather grounded - after all, change is hard when they hadn’t experienced what Hua Qian had already “experienced prior”. I liked that it was not a walk in the park for her just because she had additional knowledge about the events. And once she changed her earlier behaviours, they logically lead to different chains of events that would no longer give Hua Qian the same advantage.

Another thing I enjoyed about Scent of Time was how Hua Qian rely on her wits most of the time to get through her valuable 2nd chance. Sure, she earned her admirers and respect. But she was no damsel in distress and played an active role in her redemption arc. This made up for the rushed ending and [somewhat] plot twist on how she got her 2nd chance…just a little bit.

Another aspect that could be improved was the supporting cast’s characters development. There were many moments in the show I felt their involvement were just pushing the plots along. Though…since it’s Hua Qian’s story of redemption, I guess this is acceptable.

Overall, I would say Scent of Time had cohesive story line and an independent female lead who stayed focus on her goals. Can give it a chance if redemption and 2nd chance stories are your thing. For those who are into romance or comedy, I’d suggest to check out other stories.

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Enjoyable short ride

There’s an adage which says an old trick well done is far better than a new trick with no effect. This is an apt description for this show.

Rebirth. Sisters exchange marriages. Marriage first then romance. A “playboy” and “useless” husband.

The plots / story arcs - nothing new.
The enjoyment of the show - engaging.
The chemistry of the leads - natural.
The duration - just right.

Choosing to do this story in a short drama format is a right choice. Choosing to binge watch this show when all the other episodes are released is another. The plots move along swiftly when watched altogether, which helps with the enjoyment.

The female lead is feisty and not one to back down, the male lead is smart and good looking. They make a good pair, which is key to short romance drama.

Tune in to this when you need something short and fun!

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