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I have no issue with pure fluff dramas, but they have no issue being this long.
I think this show is actually kind of like Chinese medicine - you won’t get spectacular results, but it will sooth your mind and heart. But it also somehow left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
I do think this is a rather nicely delivered and healthy romance and great chemistry. The progression of feelings between Su Ye and Xi Fan had such the right pace. I enjoyed Xi Fan’s friends. Loved her family. Even though I am not convinced with the practice of traditional Chinese medicine, I think they did an amazing job with balancing it with western medicine - showing the pros and cons of both in the larger picture (and not claiming TCM can cure cancer or something). And if the drama was truly just them falling in love and some background progression at work, with less characters, that would in fact be a great drama for me.
Sadly, I think my biggest issue was the fact it was not really a pure fluff feel-good type of a show. Both leads had to deal with truly serious issues that were negatively impacting their lives, but these issues were introduced, not developed and then had a quick closure. So I could neither just chill watching the drama, nor I could get in depth about the themes they were introducing. Because they never truly explored these conflicts and issues and just glossed over them, the whole show just felt flat.
Then we have the difference in quality of writing between Su Ye and Xi Fan. One was a layered character with real flaws, real struggles and nice development (Xi Fan), one was stagnant with no versatility, too perfect to exist (Su Ye). By all means he felt like a supporting character for Xi Fan’s story. And while I was also in love with him at first, at some point I wanted to see a little bit more.
The acting was great. I wouldn’t say I was especially amazed by any of the performances (it’s not the best of the year type of situation), but they for sure satisfied me. The chemistry between Zhang Ling He and Xu Ruo Han was refreshingly natural.
Production wise, I for sure loved the little addition of herbs description at the beginning of each episode - took screenshots of every one of them. I do think they overdone the slow motion candy sweet romance styling for some scenes though.
Overall, I know many people loved it, so did I at first. But the drama lost me somewhere in the middle and I never got back on the hype train.
I do think this is a rather nicely delivered and healthy romance and great chemistry. The progression of feelings between Su Ye and Xi Fan had such the right pace. I enjoyed Xi Fan’s friends. Loved her family. Even though I am not convinced with the practice of traditional Chinese medicine, I think they did an amazing job with balancing it with western medicine - showing the pros and cons of both in the larger picture (and not claiming TCM can cure cancer or something). And if the drama was truly just them falling in love and some background progression at work, with less characters, that would in fact be a great drama for me.
Sadly, I think my biggest issue was the fact it was not really a pure fluff feel-good type of a show. Both leads had to deal with truly serious issues that were negatively impacting their lives, but these issues were introduced, not developed and then had a quick closure. So I could neither just chill watching the drama, nor I could get in depth about the themes they were introducing. Because they never truly explored these conflicts and issues and just glossed over them, the whole show just felt flat.
Then we have the difference in quality of writing between Su Ye and Xi Fan. One was a layered character with real flaws, real struggles and nice development (Xi Fan), one was stagnant with no versatility, too perfect to exist (Su Ye). By all means he felt like a supporting character for Xi Fan’s story. And while I was also in love with him at first, at some point I wanted to see a little bit more.
The acting was great. I wouldn’t say I was especially amazed by any of the performances (it’s not the best of the year type of situation), but they for sure satisfied me. The chemistry between Zhang Ling He and Xu Ruo Han was refreshingly natural.
Production wise, I for sure loved the little addition of herbs description at the beginning of each episode - took screenshots of every one of them. I do think they overdone the slow motion candy sweet romance styling for some scenes though.
Overall, I know many people loved it, so did I at first. But the drama lost me somewhere in the middle and I never got back on the hype train.
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