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This review may contain spoilers
The complexity and trauma hidden behind that stoic persona.
If only the show was shorter. It was such a good story, with a rather good message, extremely well delivered closure in all areas, so why don't I feel much when I think about it? Maybe, because it was all diluted too much in these 32 episodes.
Wen Yi Fan is one of the more refreshing and real female characters I have seen in quite some time. The detailed presentation of all the layers of the complexity and trauma hidden behind that stoic persona that Yi Fan was truly stunning. The way we slowly learned how much of an impact her past has on her current self. How hard it is to heal. How hard it is to believe in yourself and believe you are worth being loved and cared for. It’s a whole journey filled with reflection and development, building up strength and character. Learning how to protect yourself and people around you, how to set boundaries. How to move on. How to start anew.
What’s more, I loved how the romance was not its own separate thing - it was an integral part connected to other plotlines. It felt like a cohesive picture - a situation happening in one area affected other areas of Yi Fan’s life: be it friendship, work, relationship. If I were to name the love story presented here, rather than slow paced, I’d call it patient. Was it a bit one sided plot wise? Yes. I’m not saying Yi Fan did not love Sang Yan. It was extremely clear she did. Considering the story though - it was all about how Sang Yan can help her, protect her, keep her safe, and support her. Did I mind? Not really. Relationships are almost never 50-50. Sometimes they are 20-80, sometimes 70-30. It changes as the life situation changes. Relationships should not be about keeping a score, but wanting to thrive as a unit.
For the conclusions - huge props for the story to not fix the family relationships. Not even give a vague “maybe in the future”. The ties were cut as they should. There was no redemption arc for anyone. The aunt was awful till the end, the uncle was just a criminal who deserved the punishment he got, and the mother was selfish till the last moment they showed her up on screen. Finally we are not fed the bullshit idea that no matter how abused and neglected you are, you need to forgive and forget because “it’s family”.
I loved the last conversation Yi Fan had with her mother. I loved how she was not fooled by the tears. I loved how she understood she is worth the love. The mother was selfish, always prioritizing herself. Yi Fan did nothing wrong and that message was loud and clear.
Random thing I truly loved is the number of hugs we’ve got. Hugs are honestly so underrated in dramas. While kiss scenes might be the highlight or romance, hugs are for me the highlight of a love - the way Yi Fan literally melted in Sang Yan’s arm, the way it showed how safe she felt being with him.
What’s more to appreciate? The acting. Zhang Ruo Nan aced the role. She embodied Wen Yi Fan. It’s so hard to play a character that feels a lot of strong feelings, but also hides them from others. The emotions have to be obvious to the audience, but also subtle enough that we as viewers understand she does not want to show them, and other characters might miss them. The balance of how much to show is a skill not that many actors and actresses possess.
Big props to all the villains too - strong performances that made me hate them with passion.
All that said, I had mixed feelings about the “trauma” aspect of the show. On one hand they did a perfect job to show how trauma can and usually does impact every part of someone’s life, because it can literally change one’s personality, sense of self-worth. It’s not just about “reacting to triggering events” - it literally influences any and all decision making. On the other hand, why exactly did they add all the sexual assaults and harassment to the show? From what I heard from people who read the novel, some assault/harassment scenes did not even take place in the source material… and I fail to see why they were added. Was her being harassed and assaulted twice not enough?
To the things I disliked - more or less the show should have been shorter. I’d cut around 8 episodes if I had any say. There was quite a lot of repetition. Some plotlines were not only too long, but quite honestly, completely not needed (grandpa's story was cute, until it was just boring and ill fitting - why so much focus on it?) Stalker actor? Why was he there? Just to annoy the audience, since his presence brought close to nothing in terms of progression of the plot.
And now I will say something truly controversial - I think there was too much Sang Yan. Wild take, I know, but hear me out. This is by all means one woman story - Wen Yi Fan. She is the only one with real depth and development. The one who faces both external and internal struggles. The heart of the whole drama. Sang Yan was there, stagnant. He did not need development, because his existence centers around Yi Fan. Where he lives, what he does, where he works, how he behaves - all dictated by Yi Fan’s existence. I had no issue with that. I don’t think in every romance drama both main characters need to be equally developed. I just think their screen time should then be adequate of how much they bring to the drama. By all means, Sang Yan was not an interesting character and I never truly cared that much for him because of that. He is hot and a perfect boyfriend, and then what?
The production and editing was hit and miss for me at the same time. You know how at the end of the episodes of dramas they always add highly edited screenshots from the episode with 87545865406 filters on them? This is kind of how the whole drama felt. The screenshots came out amazing, but some scenes just felt exhausting for me to watch. There were moments when the distorted reflections and lens flares literally blurred the faces so much, I could not see them. I wish they were more selective when they want to turn up the aesthetic shots.
Soundtrack was perfect for the drama, but music wise not my style. Still, the songs are supposed to fit the show, not my own personal preferences, hence high score from me.
Overall, maybe I just expected more. Something about this drama just did not click well with me, even though I should love it. I still enjoyed it, but there were times when I played the episode out of obligation of wanting to finish the show, rather than excitement or seeing what will happen next.
Wen Yi Fan is one of the more refreshing and real female characters I have seen in quite some time. The detailed presentation of all the layers of the complexity and trauma hidden behind that stoic persona that Yi Fan was truly stunning. The way we slowly learned how much of an impact her past has on her current self. How hard it is to heal. How hard it is to believe in yourself and believe you are worth being loved and cared for. It’s a whole journey filled with reflection and development, building up strength and character. Learning how to protect yourself and people around you, how to set boundaries. How to move on. How to start anew.
What’s more, I loved how the romance was not its own separate thing - it was an integral part connected to other plotlines. It felt like a cohesive picture - a situation happening in one area affected other areas of Yi Fan’s life: be it friendship, work, relationship. If I were to name the love story presented here, rather than slow paced, I’d call it patient. Was it a bit one sided plot wise? Yes. I’m not saying Yi Fan did not love Sang Yan. It was extremely clear she did. Considering the story though - it was all about how Sang Yan can help her, protect her, keep her safe, and support her. Did I mind? Not really. Relationships are almost never 50-50. Sometimes they are 20-80, sometimes 70-30. It changes as the life situation changes. Relationships should not be about keeping a score, but wanting to thrive as a unit.
For the conclusions - huge props for the story to not fix the family relationships. Not even give a vague “maybe in the future”. The ties were cut as they should. There was no redemption arc for anyone. The aunt was awful till the end, the uncle was just a criminal who deserved the punishment he got, and the mother was selfish till the last moment they showed her up on screen. Finally we are not fed the bullshit idea that no matter how abused and neglected you are, you need to forgive and forget because “it’s family”.
I loved the last conversation Yi Fan had with her mother. I loved how she was not fooled by the tears. I loved how she understood she is worth the love. The mother was selfish, always prioritizing herself. Yi Fan did nothing wrong and that message was loud and clear.
Random thing I truly loved is the number of hugs we’ve got. Hugs are honestly so underrated in dramas. While kiss scenes might be the highlight or romance, hugs are for me the highlight of a love - the way Yi Fan literally melted in Sang Yan’s arm, the way it showed how safe she felt being with him.
What’s more to appreciate? The acting. Zhang Ruo Nan aced the role. She embodied Wen Yi Fan. It’s so hard to play a character that feels a lot of strong feelings, but also hides them from others. The emotions have to be obvious to the audience, but also subtle enough that we as viewers understand she does not want to show them, and other characters might miss them. The balance of how much to show is a skill not that many actors and actresses possess.
Big props to all the villains too - strong performances that made me hate them with passion.
All that said, I had mixed feelings about the “trauma” aspect of the show. On one hand they did a perfect job to show how trauma can and usually does impact every part of someone’s life, because it can literally change one’s personality, sense of self-worth. It’s not just about “reacting to triggering events” - it literally influences any and all decision making. On the other hand, why exactly did they add all the sexual assaults and harassment to the show? From what I heard from people who read the novel, some assault/harassment scenes did not even take place in the source material… and I fail to see why they were added. Was her being harassed and assaulted twice not enough?
To the things I disliked - more or less the show should have been shorter. I’d cut around 8 episodes if I had any say. There was quite a lot of repetition. Some plotlines were not only too long, but quite honestly, completely not needed (grandpa's story was cute, until it was just boring and ill fitting - why so much focus on it?) Stalker actor? Why was he there? Just to annoy the audience, since his presence brought close to nothing in terms of progression of the plot.
And now I will say something truly controversial - I think there was too much Sang Yan. Wild take, I know, but hear me out. This is by all means one woman story - Wen Yi Fan. She is the only one with real depth and development. The one who faces both external and internal struggles. The heart of the whole drama. Sang Yan was there, stagnant. He did not need development, because his existence centers around Yi Fan. Where he lives, what he does, where he works, how he behaves - all dictated by Yi Fan’s existence. I had no issue with that. I don’t think in every romance drama both main characters need to be equally developed. I just think their screen time should then be adequate of how much they bring to the drama. By all means, Sang Yan was not an interesting character and I never truly cared that much for him because of that. He is hot and a perfect boyfriend, and then what?
The production and editing was hit and miss for me at the same time. You know how at the end of the episodes of dramas they always add highly edited screenshots from the episode with 87545865406 filters on them? This is kind of how the whole drama felt. The screenshots came out amazing, but some scenes just felt exhausting for me to watch. There were moments when the distorted reflections and lens flares literally blurred the faces so much, I could not see them. I wish they were more selective when they want to turn up the aesthetic shots.
Soundtrack was perfect for the drama, but music wise not my style. Still, the songs are supposed to fit the show, not my own personal preferences, hence high score from me.
Overall, maybe I just expected more. Something about this drama just did not click well with me, even though I should love it. I still enjoyed it, but there were times when I played the episode out of obligation of wanting to finish the show, rather than excitement or seeing what will happen next.
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