roddib

A very touching and emotional youth and family drama. The first 6 episodes are heartbreaking and sad, but in a good way. We see the reasons for the younger brother's depression and anxiety very well. I was moved to tears, which is rare. I found the drama quite a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family.

The older brother, violently ousted from the family, is not a knight in a shining armor, but comes to the support of his brother, just because he's needed. The "way home" in the title means that he slowly admits to himself how lonely he has been and that he actually longs to return to the family. But this happens by his own terms. The brothers first have to break free from the suffocating family environment before they can bring the whole family back to its tracks.

The father figure in this drama is the kind that I constantly wanted to hit him in the head with a baseball bat. But unreasonable people like that do exist in real life. The mother was just a little less frustrating. The kind of a meak i'm-just-a-mother person that do exist in real life.

I found this from Youku by browsing the family dramas category. Somewhat crazy that people think the relationship between two brothers could or should be BL. Nothing in the drama even remotely gives that kind of ideas. Although the brothers are not related by blood, they grew up as brothers in the same family and didn't even know the older brother's dad (younger brother's uncle) wasn't his real dad. This is not "bromance" either since it's all in the family.

The writing takes a small dive towards the end. It's good that it's this short. I didn't particularly like the meddling gossipy villager characters. But the drama wanted to portray how also a dysfunctional village community can come together and build better relationships.

All in all, a very heartwarming drama which I give 8.5.

Ps. The title refers to the song by The Hollies. The lyrics and atmosphere fit the drama just perfecly:

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where, who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there

For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother

If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another

It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share

And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy, he's my brother