m5m

This show is proof that you can have an entertaining romance drama without any stupid love-triangles. Wthout any contrived, dragged-out misunderstandings. Without anyone being killed, kidnapped, blackmailed or raped or really any criminal activity whatsoever. And without any stupid pointless scheming. Other than a brief stretch early on when the writers made the ML become really stupid just so they could contrive an early 'break up' and not settle them in as a couple too early, once that stupidity was over, this was just a nice pair of adults having a growing, positive adult relationship. And it wasn't boring. Yang Yang was overall pretty solid as the ML. Yes he is eye-candy, but he did a good job of playing a character who was super smart and capable when it came to math, science and factual matters ... but a deeply limited, severely under-developed person emotionally. His character has to undergo the most growth in order for the relationship to work because, well, he's kind of a socio-emotional idiot for the first 15+ episodes. Meanwhile, Dilraba Dilmurat is just fantastic as the quirky, clever and incredibly emotionally sensible JingJing who is the true rock of the relationship. Yes, she knows she is never going to be his intellectual equal in matters math, science and technology. But she shows again and again that she is the wise one between the two in matters of emotion and the heart. And she uses her skills to support him and guide him forward, never letting her love for him become a distraction or hindrance. Always able to make their love a strength for both their careers. The overall cast is charming and wonderful. The production values are very good - the soundtrack is especially excellent. One thing that is interesting is the social messaging in the show. A major plot theme is the struggles of people like YuTu and his colleagues, working in the aerospace industry, with balancing work pressures and family and social relationships. The picture painted in the show is that they have to sacrifice so much of their personal lives in order to support the missions. The picture painted is very stark. And matches up with what is true and known outside this show. But the show also has the various characters basically yield patriotic lip-service with "that's just the way it has to be". Clearly that's to get past the censors. Because it doesn't really have to be that way. Western aerospace institutions are able to accomplish all the same things while often working within mandated work-life balance rules that prevent the kind of overwork burnout conditions the show alludes to. So it feels like the show was having it both ways. On one hand, clearly illustrating the problem, but then safely skirting past the sensors by not having characters decry the state of things or call for changes.