minmay

Initially, I didn't have high expectations going into Speed and Love, since I wasn't really into cars and racing, but my philosophy for watching this show anyway was because of Esther. Although the production was met with a plethora of issues, including crew and script changes, I felt this drama was still really fun, and I had a blast watching it.

I was thrown off guard in the beginning when Jin Zhao was shown to be underground boxing. I had thought that maybe the cars and racing were pretty minimal since he had other things going on, but rest assured, we see a lot of cars AND racing.

Whoever the casting director that casted He Yu and Esther together deserves a raise because the chemistry was insanely good - everything else was more trivial to me. I love the way Esther brought Jiang Mu to life with the acting, outfits, and hairstyles. The voice and mannerisms are very on brand to Jiang Mu's character too! Esther always plays such fun characters.

I wanted to note He Yu????? I've never watched a drama where a guy wanted to kiss a girl so bad you could very obviously see it in his face - like if you pay attention to whenever he's just about to kiss Jiang Mu, oh my god???? He's actually crazy good!

I really appreciate the first few episodes. The first episode was a bit choppier, but it still got the point across. We are thrown into the realization that Jin Zhao has changed and has been fending for himself. He's involved with shady-seeming people, and Jiang Mu, being spoiled and sheltered, is very unaccustomed to the lifestyle that Jin Zhao has. It got the point across quite well, in my opinion. I imagine they probably cut some scenes related to Jiang Mu since she has a more normal and wealthy lifestyle that didn't require her to struggle as much in comparison to Jin Zhao, who has a rather tumultuous and dangerous lifestyle. So, it seems to me that it could have been a choice of choosing to show more drama vs. a perhaps slightly unrelatable lifestyle, where money isn't an issue.

I also really appreciate Jiang Mu being a bit more on the proactive side to chasing Jin Zhao. I find a lot of dramas like doing the opposite, where the male lead pursues the female lead, which gets little complaints - i.e., The First Frost. So, actually, I don't mind the switch, and considering they always repeat "Zhao Zhao Mu Mu" and constantly think of each other, even when they were separated, they're both mega-yearner 3000s to me.

Now cons:
I honestly really wanted to rate this show a lot higher, but it does have a few pitfalls, namely a few abrupt cuts - don't get me started on the straight-up cut of the wedding, and the storyline issue from the breakup. All issues are attributed to the scriptwriter's fault or the production.

The mom vs Jin Zhao and break-up portion felt a little bit "yikes" - actually, I don't view Jin Zhao negatively. You can see in the show that Jiang Mu's mother almost made the same choice he did, except she was more communicative, and Chris was right there with her when he found out about her condition. If I'm understanding Jin Zhao's character correctly, he seems to have specific confidence issues when it comes to her. He definitely took it very far by ghosting her when he really should have just communicated; however, I do feel that at some point, people were being too harsh to his character, specifically about Jin Zhao's circumstances. The chronological timeline of what happened:

> Jin Zhao is in critical condition from the car accident
> Jiang Mu finds out from Officer Lu that he's in critical condition, and they don't know the outcome
> Jiang Mu finds out from Chris about her mother's successful surgery and is rehabilitating, but is basically missing her daughter
> Jiang Mu, at the time, not knowing whether Jin Zhao is out of critical condition or not, tells Chris she'll go back to Canada with him
> Jing Mu texts Jin Zhao about this - although seemingly feeling very conflicted - but again, he's still in critical condition
> This is when you can't tell whether they cut scenes or what because then Jiang Mu says "my mother is not doing very well and I'll have to stay with her for a while to accompany her" and then you cut to Jin Zhao in a coma? Did someone tell her he was okay? What is going on?
> Jin Zhao, miraculously, comes out of his coma and sees her messages
> To support Jiang Mu's decision to go to her mom, he evades the nurses and sends Jiang Mu away with a goodbye so she doesn't feel guilty.
> So, Jiang Mu goes to Canada and goes to school there while staying with her mother for years

The mom vs. Jin Zhao scene was honestly very frustrating to me because it was a little bit of a questionable moment. It was surprising even! Considering that Jiang Mu's mother came out of surgery successfully, with no significant threat to her life, vs. Jin Zhao, who is in critical condition, where Jiang Mu hadn't even confirmed his wellbeing or even seen him before agreeing to go back to Canada with Chris, the whole situation had started giving me a bit of cognitive dissonance.

So now,
> Although Jin Zhao is out of critical condition, he is basically crippled
> Jin Zhao, just like Jiang Mu's mother, has to go through rehabilitation - but unlike Jiang Mu's mother, he does not have Jiang Mu there for him
> Jin Zhao's character is a man who has always had to rely on himself. So what I imagine is that his mental condition has rapidly deteriorated because of him being crippled. So: thoughts of being useless, a burden/baggage, can't defend anyone physically, won't be able to do much in general, etc.
> In the midst of his depression from the trauma of the accident and physical ailments, he pushes away the one insecurity he seemed to have: Jiang Mu
> Anyone who has benefitted from Jin Zhao and has close connections to him would obviously cover for him because it's his wish/decision. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised that they would all side with Jin Zhao, considering what he's done for everyone. This isn't to say Jiang Mu is bad or they don't like her, but Jin Zhao has been there for and supported everyone through thick and thin

AGAIN, it is wrong for Jin Zhao to ghost her. I really WISH he said something; however, I find that these circumstances don't make him necessarily as bad as everyone wishes he was. It also stressed me out that after Jiang Mu found him, she immediately started lying and provoking him any chance she got to get a reaction out of him. I honestly think I'm getting old, because this felt immature to me, so it was a bit hard to watch. Although I'm not saying Jin Zhao didn't deserve it, and considering his decision to "let her be happier" without communication is also immature, I consider that canceled out. The sharing of the medical information part without Jin Zhao's knowledge was kind of funny because the entire time, at the back of my head, I was like, "where are the privacy laws?!" - I let out a breath of fresh air when he finally told her he'd send her his medical information to decide whether she'd be with him or not. I know Jiang Mu seemed a bit peeved when Jin Zhao said he'd leave her alone if she found his physical ailments too burdensome, but it is a legitimate concern for Jin Zhao that personally affects him, so I do think it's a good thing he finally communicated that so that Jiang Mu understands what she's really getting herself into. And say what you want about Jiang Mu - as immature as she may be at times, she's always been the most communicative person, and I'm honestly happy she is this way!

Overall, besides the mom vs. Jin Zhao and break-up parts, everything else was honestly still good to me. I wish we could have seen more like Jiang Mu's parents coming to the wedding or even Jiang Mu's father finding out about their relationship, but considering how much they cut from the drama, I wouldn't doubt there was more, but they just decided to cut out for whatever reason. I also realized that while I do like the later Nanjing scenes, Jin Zhao and Jiang Mu's tension, fashion, and hair were unmatched when in Thailand. Something in the Thailand air! Altogether, the casting was fantastic, the vibes are unmatched, and the music is very on point for the show. I already wish He Yu and Esther would have a second collaboration already! For anyone who is on the fence or planning to watch, at the end of the day, the cast, tags, and synopsis are there to read - you know what you're getting into, there's really no surprises. This drama absolutely deserved the heat it got when it was airing!