Good despite it's age – but too heavy on the flashbacks
Watching a 10 year old C-drama can be hit or miss. This has stood the test of time rather well, I would say. Some things are of course a bit outdated (like the use of loooong, lingering shots, and the very prominent product placements, especially of Rio!), but overall I will say this doesn't feel as outdated as some other older dramas
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Before I started this, I did read a review here on MDL recommending to watch the first episodes of the director's cut version, and then jump into this normal version in episode 13 or something like that. I did not do that; I started the normal version to see if I found it hard to get into or too slow/boring, but I found it OK from the get-go. But that could be a tip to check out.
What was annoying, was the heavy use of flashbacks. Sometimes flashback to something you saw just a few minutes ago, and not just a quick flashback, but they could be quite long. And flashback to the same thing several times. The flashbacks in the last episodes also felt completely unnecessary. I am positive this could have been 30 episodes by reducing flashbacks!
As for the story, it revolves around FL Zhao Mo Sheng who fell in love with ML He Yi Chen at first glance when she enrolled in college. He was a top law student one year her senior; serious about his studies, seemingly a bit cold and un-interested on the surface. Her positive, bubbly personality and consistent approaches did break through to him, and they started dating. Something then happened, and she left for the US without a word.
7 years later, she returns back to China, and by chance she encounters him already at her first day back. He ignores her, but then fate (with some help from a friend), puts them together again. None of them have really moved on in these 7 years apart, not managed to forget the love they had. But that doesn't mean other persons are not interested in them, so will they overcome the hurt from back then, or will this re-encounter make it possible for them to close the door and move on?
OK, so for the story...some issues first:
I found it a bit strange how she didn't keep in touch with her neighbour and Jia (?) at all.
The timeline for her time in the US was a bit confusing / felt like it didn't quite match up.
The part about Ying Hui and his ex felt very unnecessary and then wasn't followed up on either.
For me, it also felt needless to show He Yi Mei's storypath in the last two episodes. That could have been cut shorter as well.
But besides these issues, and the already mentioned heavy use of flashbacks, I did enjoy this.
I liked the cast and found most of the performances to be good. Especially Wallace Chung in the role of the ML showed good character development; how he brought out a warmer, more playful side of his character was well done.
FL Tiffany Tang didn't really neither wow me or disappoint me. If anything, I think her wig sometimes bugged me too much!
I really enjoyed the character of her coworker Gu Xing Hong, played by Zang Hong Na. She added a welcome touch of boisterousness.
.
Before I started this, I did read a review here on MDL recommending to watch the first episodes of the director's cut version, and then jump into this normal version in episode 13 or something like that. I did not do that; I started the normal version to see if I found it hard to get into or too slow/boring, but I found it OK from the get-go. But that could be a tip to check out.
What was annoying, was the heavy use of flashbacks. Sometimes flashback to something you saw just a few minutes ago, and not just a quick flashback, but they could be quite long. And flashback to the same thing several times. The flashbacks in the last episodes also felt completely unnecessary. I am positive this could have been 30 episodes by reducing flashbacks!
As for the story, it revolves around FL Zhao Mo Sheng who fell in love with ML He Yi Chen at first glance when she enrolled in college. He was a top law student one year her senior; serious about his studies, seemingly a bit cold and un-interested on the surface. Her positive, bubbly personality and consistent approaches did break through to him, and they started dating. Something then happened, and she left for the US without a word.
7 years later, she returns back to China, and by chance she encounters him already at her first day back. He ignores her, but then fate (with some help from a friend), puts them together again. None of them have really moved on in these 7 years apart, not managed to forget the love they had. But that doesn't mean other persons are not interested in them, so will they overcome the hurt from back then, or will this re-encounter make it possible for them to close the door and move on?
OK, so for the story...some issues first:
I found it a bit strange how she didn't keep in touch with her neighbour and Jia (?) at all.
The timeline for her time in the US was a bit confusing / felt like it didn't quite match up.
The part about Ying Hui and his ex felt very unnecessary and then wasn't followed up on either.
For me, it also felt needless to show He Yi Mei's storypath in the last two episodes. That could have been cut shorter as well.
But besides these issues, and the already mentioned heavy use of flashbacks, I did enjoy this.
I liked the cast and found most of the performances to be good. Especially Wallace Chung in the role of the ML showed good character development; how he brought out a warmer, more playful side of his character was well done.
FL Tiffany Tang didn't really neither wow me or disappoint me. If anything, I think her wig sometimes bugged me too much!
I really enjoyed the character of her coworker Gu Xing Hong, played by Zang Hong Na. She added a welcome touch of boisterousness.
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