236
598
129
10
9
12
9
3
10
16
6
9
1
2
10
19
4
4
3
1
2
3
3
1
1
2
4
9
10
27
Nothing Happens, Vibes Occur - Sponsored by Photovoltaic Panels.
Nothing happens, but it’s still somehow interesting. That's a long story short of how I would describe the drama. It just flows in an even pace filled with either fun, lovely and heartwarming interactions, or rage inducing ones. But the plot is barely there. It’s mostly about characters and their interactions - vibes fueled. And the characters were not even that outstanding.
Starting with our male lead - Lin Yu Sen who was so perfect it was kind of boring. I am extremely grateful for that initial light pity party he was having and a tiny bit of mischievousness from him towards the female lead. That said, I don’t really have issues with him having less presence than the female lead. For me no matter the drama, one of the leads will always be more of the focus. I just wish he was a bit more than a supportive boyfriend. Even his own personal struggles seemed more like a way of showing how inspiring and encouraging Xi Guang is. Uplift women in dramas, yes. But you don't have to leave men behind.
Nie Xi Guang on the other hand was actually a well written female lead with solid, but realistic character development focused on finding her own path, drive and goal in life. She slowly learned how to stand up for herself and speak honestly about her grievances - she was never a doormat, but she for sure gained more sass with every episode. As for the flaws - questionable taste in men at least in her younger age. I do think she was a bit too old for this level of fascination over the second male lead and how long it took her to move on. Especially taking into consideration how he treated her.
And here comes the cherry on top of the dama: Zhuang Xu, so annoying he became my favorite character. Yes, I hated him to the core, but at the same time when they kept him hidden for a few episodes I missed him. Mr. Audacity Wood stole the show for me and both the external conflict/misunderstanding and his internal issues were the most interesting aspects of the plot. Honestly though - where did the audacity come from? So little self confidence, so much self-doubt and victim complex, yet the audacity unmatched by the rich cold CEOs.
For more supporting characters we had the initial friend group which was rather basic. We did manage to get one amazing scene showing that at least one of the girls was truly Xi Guang’s friend, but overall they were there to fill the shots.
Work colleagues were better personality wise, but even they slowly vanished and lost their individuality. This drama never had friendship in its focus and that’s slightly sad. Out of all the relationships outside of the leads, one that was the best developed and shined the brightest was Xi Guang and her little brother.
We also got the standard family drama. On Yu Sen side the “competent male lead versus incompetent rest of the family” shenanigans. Glad it never developed into anything more than a side story that made a comeback every few episodes for a few minutes. On the female lead side we had the dad with too much unfounded pride and his evil (and also incompetent) girlfriend with a daughter (who was also incompetent - as you can see everyone, but the leads and the people they liked were incompetent).
How was the romance? Nice. And take it as a compliment. There was no ridiculous drama and angst between the main couple and even the initial misunderstanding did not lead to outrageous twists. Their whole relationship was based on both great communication and the underlying conflict based on misconception/misunderstanding - and it did make sense, somehow. There weren’t any massive ups and downs - this is for sure not a rollercoaster of emotions. More like a nice walk along the riverside accompanied by rustling trees, singing birds and the newest, most advanced, best in the world, innovative, groundbreaking and saving global climate Chinese photovoltaic panels.
So yeah, let’s all agree this drama is as much of a cute romance as it is an ad for a specific branch of the Chinese market (and just a tiny reminder that China also excels in neuroscience, in case anyone forgot). Maybe 20% of the business related scenes actually had an impact on the leads and their development in terms of their character and career, the rest was just long ass explanation how amazing PVs are, how China is going to be pioneers in that market, how it all works and what kind of profits and benefits it has. An ad. I skipped all these scenes and I’m not even sorry.
As for the production, I am convinced from episode 23 they changed people involved in filming and editing the show - the improvement of the quality was so obvious. The first 22 episodes were rather empty, simple and lacked depth and definition. From episode 23 be it use of light, framing scenes with forefront blurred objects, colors - everything was so much better, richer.
For the acting I mostly want to talk about Zhao Jin Mai since she stood out amongst her co-stars. The way you could feel everything Xi Guang was feeling. My favorite scenes were for sure the few confrontations she had with people in her life and how she firmly stood her ground, simply because there were so many emotions behind what she was saying. These were not just a “girlboss” badass moment. You could also feel all the disappointment, frustration, resignation, sadness and frustration. These scenes on one had made you proud of her, but also sad for how long she was keeping it all in not allowing herself to truly express her feelings.
Song Wei Long was fine. I guess that's a compliment. I feel like his acting is really reactionary - he acts on cue without being immersed in the character he is portraying.
Then we have Lai Wei Ming. I have no idea why he was so all over the place, since I know he can do better, but I lived for the sick pathetic vibe he gave me. It just added to the frustration and rage I was feeling when he was on screen. No idea what kind of tips the director gave him, but it did not work, but at the same time somehow worked. And that styling - dude looks like he was one foot in the grave the whole show. They did him dirty.
Overall, I feel like this is a drama you can enjoy in two cases: you truly adore the “nothing much happening, all we have are vibes, but these are good vibes” dramas, or when you are in a specific mood for a slow pace sweet romance with just enough plot to make you stay till the end.
Starting with our male lead - Lin Yu Sen who was so perfect it was kind of boring. I am extremely grateful for that initial light pity party he was having and a tiny bit of mischievousness from him towards the female lead. That said, I don’t really have issues with him having less presence than the female lead. For me no matter the drama, one of the leads will always be more of the focus. I just wish he was a bit more than a supportive boyfriend. Even his own personal struggles seemed more like a way of showing how inspiring and encouraging Xi Guang is. Uplift women in dramas, yes. But you don't have to leave men behind.
Nie Xi Guang on the other hand was actually a well written female lead with solid, but realistic character development focused on finding her own path, drive and goal in life. She slowly learned how to stand up for herself and speak honestly about her grievances - she was never a doormat, but she for sure gained more sass with every episode. As for the flaws - questionable taste in men at least in her younger age. I do think she was a bit too old for this level of fascination over the second male lead and how long it took her to move on. Especially taking into consideration how he treated her.
And here comes the cherry on top of the dama: Zhuang Xu, so annoying he became my favorite character. Yes, I hated him to the core, but at the same time when they kept him hidden for a few episodes I missed him. Mr. Audacity Wood stole the show for me and both the external conflict/misunderstanding and his internal issues were the most interesting aspects of the plot. Honestly though - where did the audacity come from? So little self confidence, so much self-doubt and victim complex, yet the audacity unmatched by the rich cold CEOs.
For more supporting characters we had the initial friend group which was rather basic. We did manage to get one amazing scene showing that at least one of the girls was truly Xi Guang’s friend, but overall they were there to fill the shots.
Work colleagues were better personality wise, but even they slowly vanished and lost their individuality. This drama never had friendship in its focus and that’s slightly sad. Out of all the relationships outside of the leads, one that was the best developed and shined the brightest was Xi Guang and her little brother.
We also got the standard family drama. On Yu Sen side the “competent male lead versus incompetent rest of the family” shenanigans. Glad it never developed into anything more than a side story that made a comeback every few episodes for a few minutes. On the female lead side we had the dad with too much unfounded pride and his evil (and also incompetent) girlfriend with a daughter (who was also incompetent - as you can see everyone, but the leads and the people they liked were incompetent).
How was the romance? Nice. And take it as a compliment. There was no ridiculous drama and angst between the main couple and even the initial misunderstanding did not lead to outrageous twists. Their whole relationship was based on both great communication and the underlying conflict based on misconception/misunderstanding - and it did make sense, somehow. There weren’t any massive ups and downs - this is for sure not a rollercoaster of emotions. More like a nice walk along the riverside accompanied by rustling trees, singing birds and the newest, most advanced, best in the world, innovative, groundbreaking and saving global climate Chinese photovoltaic panels.
So yeah, let’s all agree this drama is as much of a cute romance as it is an ad for a specific branch of the Chinese market (and just a tiny reminder that China also excels in neuroscience, in case anyone forgot). Maybe 20% of the business related scenes actually had an impact on the leads and their development in terms of their character and career, the rest was just long ass explanation how amazing PVs are, how China is going to be pioneers in that market, how it all works and what kind of profits and benefits it has. An ad. I skipped all these scenes and I’m not even sorry.
As for the production, I am convinced from episode 23 they changed people involved in filming and editing the show - the improvement of the quality was so obvious. The first 22 episodes were rather empty, simple and lacked depth and definition. From episode 23 be it use of light, framing scenes with forefront blurred objects, colors - everything was so much better, richer.
For the acting I mostly want to talk about Zhao Jin Mai since she stood out amongst her co-stars. The way you could feel everything Xi Guang was feeling. My favorite scenes were for sure the few confrontations she had with people in her life and how she firmly stood her ground, simply because there were so many emotions behind what she was saying. These were not just a “girlboss” badass moment. You could also feel all the disappointment, frustration, resignation, sadness and frustration. These scenes on one had made you proud of her, but also sad for how long she was keeping it all in not allowing herself to truly express her feelings.
Song Wei Long was fine. I guess that's a compliment. I feel like his acting is really reactionary - he acts on cue without being immersed in the character he is portraying.
Then we have Lai Wei Ming. I have no idea why he was so all over the place, since I know he can do better, but I lived for the sick pathetic vibe he gave me. It just added to the frustration and rage I was feeling when he was on screen. No idea what kind of tips the director gave him, but it did not work, but at the same time somehow worked. And that styling - dude looks like he was one foot in the grave the whole show. They did him dirty.
Overall, I feel like this is a drama you can enjoy in two cases: you truly adore the “nothing much happening, all we have are vibes, but these are good vibes” dramas, or when you are in a specific mood for a slow pace sweet romance with just enough plot to make you stay till the end.
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