Vico SDL

I consider the lead couple as the only real flaw

This drama is actually really, really good… a strong and smart female lead who has quite a temper, a lot of attaching characters (even the villains eventually grow on the viewer), each having a personal and interesting story. I especially like the fact that none of them is all black or white, but even when they start off as bad people, they reveal some qualities. Also, the intrigue never stops : we always have some new event, something going, which gives a good pace to the plot
I’d say my favorite point is how the female lead slowly but surely wins over everyone around her, especially her students with her wits and character. She may first appear as the usual brainless tomboy but the viewer quickly realizes she’s far from being ordinary.
Unfortunately, the story has a big flaw that stops it from being as good as it should be : the lead couple. The male lead, played by Zhang Zhe Han, could be very annoying : cold, insensitive, narrow-minded, he doesn’t start off as very likeable. But that could be brushed off once he blinds with Ban Shu, if it wasn’t for what I call his indecisiveness. his remaining attachment (sometimes close from obsession) to his dead lover first appeared as romantic but eventually became annoying and frustrating as it lingered through the whole drama, eventually making the female lead suffer and making the viewer feel that Ban Shu was just a substitute/consolation prize. This became even worse when his dead lover was actually revealed not to be dead : I could totally understand why he felt a duty towards her, especially after everything she’s been through, but it was especially annoying how this subplot lingered almost until the last episode, made us feel that he wasn’t really sure who, between the ex and the new lover, he now loved. The fact that he seemed to realize how much he loved Ban Shu only when he was about to lose her made this all the more frustrating. I also find it quite insatisfying that it was due to the ex-lover retrieving her memory that they were finally together. Moreover, this happened only towards the last episodes and I feel that if they had done sooner, and made the male lead clearer about his feelings would have felt better. What didn’t help is that just like a lot of other viewers, I had a big preference for the second male lead (even though I was happy about who he ended with the end and how he ended with her).
I feel obliged to specify : I do not blame the actor Zhang Zhe Han. In the rare scenes where his character had to express big emotions (his character was after all supposed to be poker face), he did a very good job.
So, in other words, I feel like if they had handled the lead couple in another way, this drama could have been really perfect (or almost).
Nevertheless, it’s still REALLY a good watch.
Another good point is that this drama had a lot of actors who weren’t much known back then but who would eventually famous actors, even stars and it’s interesting to see them when they were at their beginnings and some of them were actually still kids (ex : Zhang Zhe Han, Gavin Gao, Dilraba, Zhang Xue Ying, Guan Xiao Tong, Merxat, Jiang Yi Yi, Sun Yi, Wang Shuang, Zhang Yi Jie…)

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Some good and not so good : a potential not fully exploited

Being a fan of the novel and the Taiwanese drama, I was very excited when I learned that there would be a Chinese drama. The actors were all unknown to me, so I was watched their previous dramas. The only one who really worried me was Zhang Xue Ying, whom I had seen in a rather thankless role in Fifteen Years of Waiting For Migratory Birds. I thought she didn't have what it took to convey the grace and complexity of the character.
And to be honest, she proved me completely wrong: Zhang Xue Ying is fresh, graceful, natural and touching in this role and she is now one of my favorite actresses. I even find her superior to her predecessor, Barbie Xu who was very imposing but did not give off enough emotion for a woman in love, unlike Zhang Xue Ying who remains strong but nevertheless accessible to the viewer because she notably shows more passion and naturalness. . Moreover, she has very good chemistry with her partner Qin Jun Jie who plays Ou Chen.
Qin Jun Jie is also a pleasant discovery of this drama. Many compared him to Peter Ho, his predecessor, by saying he was less good. But let's be honest, Peter Ho was just AMAZING in this part and it's hard (almost impossible) to reach such a level, especially in the same part. In addition, the scriptwriters sought to soften his character, which makes it impossible for Qin Jun Jie to act exactly like Peter Ho and to fully exploit his acting. So There's no need to compare him to Peter Ho. Qin Jun Jie is touching and natural, and he has a promising future.
But although I have nothing to reproach Qin Jun Jie for his representation of Ou Chen, i do have something to say about the representation that the screenwriters made of the character.
The story is originally rather dark and the three main characters have a bit of a twisted side (Xia Mo with her coldness, Ou Chen with his possessiveness and scary temper and Luo Xi with his manipulative side). The Taiwanese drama had managed to convey this atmosphere full of tension, with characters who had been abused or neglected by their parents and still bore the scars of it.
But here, we don't find that tension or that touch of madness in them: the setting is full of bright colors and Ou Chen’s character was softened and we don’t really feel the lack of love and the loneliness he suffered, which is supposed to explain his obsessive love for Xia Mo. Terrible mistake because the character of Ou Chen is incredible because he has a ruthless and crazy side, especially with Xia Mo and here they make him lose what characterizes him the most . In addition, the evolution and the final redemption that the character goes through at the end loses its meaning here since it is much less important and unexpected because of him being softer.
In addition, the scriptwriters used a different chronological sequence from the novel and the drama: they just told the events in the order of the chronological sequence, a simpler solution but more boring for the plot, whereas the novel and the Taiwanese drama had revealed to us what happened with flashbacks, giving the viewer a sense of suspense and mystery that makes you want to know what happened between the characters and provides a sense of climax when everything is finally revealed.
But we find none of that in the scenario of the new version. Neither the mystery, nor the tension, nor the touch of madness of the characters. Besides, I don't see the fake angelic appearance of Luo Xi that he has in the novel but, it was already the case in the Taiwanese version which also rathered to focus on his cunning side (a choice that I don’t necessarily approve but okay). In addition, they added a lot of useless subplots that weigh down the story (like Fang Jin Hua, resentful journalist whom they try to present to us as attaching despite her villainous side, without succeeding). The whole thing frankly turns melodrama (I really have the impression that they were inspired by Korean makjongs which I hate) and it's more boring than anything else (ex: when we see Ou Chen following Xia Mo everywhere just to annoy Luo Xi).
Finally, the staging choices are not always terrible either: either they are ordinary, or they are clichés (ex: the rain when Ou Chen confronts Xia Mo in his old house : seriously ? 😓), or just plain badly done with too much slow motion or bad background music choices that don’t seem to have anything to do with the scene (ex: we often have soft and soothing music for a sad or tense scene and the result is weird).
Also, Huang Sheng Chi who plays Luo Xi lacks a little of natural (but I find that it was also the case of Huang Xiao Ming, his predecessor), especially when we compare him to his partners but after all,he is young and far from being bad: in short, he has potential.
In summary, this version of a brilliant and original story is nice to watch, and introduces us to a patch of very good actors, but it's not epic either because of the screenwriting choices that were made. It's even less awesome compared to the Taiwanese version, but it's still nice to watch.
In itself, it's worth a 6/10 but I put a 7/10 for the actors that I was happy to discover and because this story holds a special place in my heart.

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A stain Ruining a drama that could have been AWESOME !

And I could have absolutely LOVED this drama. A beautiful and intriguing love story between the two leads, various and interesting characters, an intense plot, full of twists and turns (especially since I have a weakness for Chinese historical dramas) and a WONDERFUL male lead as we girls dream to find in reality (while knowing that we won't) played by a fair and charismatic actor.
BUT there is a little problem : no, in fact, it's a big problem that prevents me from fully enjoying the love story that is at the heart of this drama.
And there, I take the risk of being murdered by the fans of the said problem (yeah, because this problem has fans): and yes, I am talking about Angelababy, alias Plastic-Face, main actress of the drama ( hence the gravity of the problem). No, it's not for her face which seems very fake that I don't like her. This is for her lack of emotion throughout the drama. Angelababy falls far short behind her partner Wallace Chung when it comes to conveying emotions through her acting. Yet her character had incredible potential: if we separate the character from the actress, Ping Ting is a strong, intelligent, determined and charming woman who sees her world turned upside down by her encounter with the hero. But Angelababy fails to portray Ping Ting's strength, charm, or inner struggle between those she's always been loyal to and the one she falls in love with. And then I can imagine SO many actresses who would have done a better job than her, despite being less famous.
Yeah, I'm not afraid to say it: I think here Angelababy was chosen more for her fame than her acting skills, and in my eyes, she ruins the drama.
I can't even console myself by telling myself that we may one day have a remake with an actress at the height because the drama is based on a novel to which he was VERY unfaithful (and for some reason, I prefer the scenario from the drama to that of the novel)
Go ahead, Angelababy fans: you can slash me now 🤕

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Nice to watch but not extraordinary

This was nice (I discovered promising actors that I wish would be with a more important channel) but I didn’t like the fact that despite having a (nice) girlfriend, the male lead still fell in love with his (fake) niece. For like 27episodes, he refused to admit his feelings for Kom and kept dating Roong, even though they often fought because he cared more about Kom than about Roong. So it felt like the male lead was in love with 2 women, that he was fickle and not sincere with Roong, who was really nice and strong (for once, the male lead has a girlfriend who is nice before meeting the female lead). I honestly felt bad for Roong because she deserved better than a man whose heart wasn’t entirely with her.
And then, the writers killed her. So awful ! It seemed like the writers wanted her to give free way to the leads but didn’t find any better to do this without making the leads look like a cheating couple. They could have allowed her to walk away freely from this suffering relationship and Kom and Chartsiam could have been together with her blessing and she would have had her chance to be happy. But no, Until the end, her relationship with Chartsiam would have brought her more suffering than happiness. I cannot believe he dared to ask her « to make him forget about Kom » : so cruel ! And to think this was their last conversation before she died.
Kom herself was annoying sometimes (even though I don think her character was to blame for that love triangle with Chartsiam and Roong : she did her best to not ruin her relationship but Chartsiam is the one who persevered in being with Roong while being in love with Kom). But she tended to be quite immature and impulsive sometimes, even selfish. She ran away from home so many times that I stopped counting at some point. And this didn’t feel like someone rebelling against her persecutors but more like someone running away from her problems, not caring if those who love her might worry.
Moreover, the story was a bit cliche : a poor orphan girl mistreated by her current guardians (stepmom, half-sister, etc.). The only part that was a bit original is that the one mistreating her the most was actually her biological father but even that was a bit predictable. Moreover, I found it a bit ridiculous that after everyone discovered that, they were all like « Come on, forgive him, he’s your biological father after all, it doesn’t matter if he’s been mistreating and beating you for the past 6 years ». I can understand that Rangsan’s feeling for Kom changed when he realized she was his daughter but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t wrong to mistreat her when he thought her to be the daughter of his wife’s lover. And yet; that’s what they seemed to imply when they said « He didn’t know you were his daughter ». I don’t agree on that : they should have let him pay his karma (saying that but I actually felt sorry for Rangsan but that was probably due to the actor’s great performance).
And finally, the last episodes and the ending felt rushed and frustrating :it’s like the writers realized too late that they only had a few episodes left to write the end of the story and they were like « let’s just wrap this up very quickly ». Besides, the ending of each character unsatisfying : I actually would have wished Rangsan to spend a bit more time with Kom before dying (I know, pretty contradictory with what I previously said) ; like I said, Roong’s ending felt sad and unfair ; I also wished for Ratirot, Kom’s Nice sister, to end up with the kind Ram who always took care of her rather than with that butthead Rat who kept acting on impulse and hurt people around him, more especially those he pretended to love ; Ratirot felt sometimes a bit too easy to persecute and too weak (I can’t believe she tried to kill herself just because Rat didn’t like her) ; that brat Podjanee changed from a spoiled brat to a strong and smart girl way too quickly and that didn’t feel natural, furthermore, we wished to have seen her being punished a bit, as she was really intolerable sometimes (preach to the actress by the way) ; and her romance with Ram seemed forced, like the writers wanted to give nice Ram a consolation prize after having failed twice to get the girl he wanted. We just don’t see when and how they fell in love. And finally, Bunga’s karma was only mentioned too briefly : after all the awful things she’s done, we wanted to see more of her punishment.

So after writing this review, it probably gives the impression that this lakorn is absolutely awful. However, it is not : it is nice to watch to spend time, if you like the good old recipes from Thai dramas and you’ll discover great actors. I have nothing to say against the cast : Nutcha Jeka is very young but she already has charm and talent. I just find it sad that these talented young actors waste their time with Channel 8, a channel that is not bad but that doesn’t produce many lakorns.

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Overall, it was pretty disappointing
It had started nice but it went slowly but surely downhill
Mostly because the three main characters feels really irritating or misplaced
Maytinee is supposed to be the villain of the story but she is actually more likeable than her doormat second sister or than the manwhore male lead. You can’t help but feel pity for her because she lacked of love and was constantly pushed to her limits by her third younger sister, which drives her to become the murderer she finally becomes. We can’t help but feel that she could have ended differently, had she received the love that she needed. and for that, we feel only but pity for her. Moreover, her dark aspect make her more complex and more interesting as a character than the others. Besides, the actress’ acting is strong and makes us feel all of her charisma.
On the other hand, you have her second younger sister, Darika. The writers want us to feel sympathy for her but they fail, as she appears weak, annoyingly good and boring to death. It feels super irritating to see her being so caring with everyone, even when they persecute her. Besides, the actress’ acting doesn’t help, as she always seems to be nervous, like she’s about to be beaten. And I find it just incredible that the writers try to present her like a victim and a good person when in the end, it turns out she was actually an accomplice of murder all this time, even if it was by weakness (and it’s pretty nonsensical that she doesn’t get arrested for that in the end). Her sister may have been the real murderer but at least, it is openly admitted that she’s not a good person.
And the male lead... AKA manwhore of the year. At some point, he even kisses the eldest sister, while having a crush on the younger sis. Huh, seriously ? I don’t think I need to say more. He had started nicely as he was just trying to know more about his brother’s death but at some point, it seems to become secondary to him.
So these two characters are supposed to be the main characters but they are the most irritating while it feels like the villain should be the main character. This destroy what could be a good story.

Otherwise, the story is nice : plenty of suspense, mystery and darkness. However, I repeat, the main couple stops from fully enjoying the story

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This is actually nice

So I had read some bad reviews so I had low expectations… but this was actually cute and nice
Yes, sure, this is nothing extraordinary or epic. But this still makes one pass a good time : we have four good stories about love within the family.
It’s not something overly dramatic though : you still get good laughters, especially in the second story, with the father getting his head stuck in a bar, who desperately refuses to take off his mask and take the risk of being photographed (jeez, this had me dead 🤣🤣🤣, especially the way people who gather around him to try to get his head out).
Nevertheless, the stories are both touching and happy. It will help give you a breath of fresh air, exactly what you need when you don’t want anything serious for a moment.
The actors are great, even the youngest children : some may be disappointed that Dylan Wang is there for only a quarter of the story but honestly ? This is to be expected, the movie doesn’t lie about the fact that this is divided in four parts.

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So it’s over
And personally I don’t think it was as bad as everyone considered but that’s just a personal opinion. Maybe it’s also because I do my best to not take logic too seriously when it comes to Dramaland (actually, I even tend to throw it out by the window when I do : one of the first rules I’ve learnt to enjoy Dramaland !)
It’s definitely not epic : it’s a cute, lighthearted fluffy romance, just the kind of thing we need when we don’t want anything too serious (and god knows I need that sometimes with my anxiety problems) and that does the job
Unlike many people, I do think that all of the cast did a really good job. The main couple had cute scenes, good skinship and a strange chemistry which somehow still works out. I wouldn’t call them my favorite ship (I’m just too obsessed by Xie Wei and Jiang Xuening right now) but I think they’re definitely cute to follow
I do have a big crush on the niece’s character who starts off as an annoying spoiled imbecile to then grow mature and decisive
Again : it’s definitely not epic, and it’s not the c-drama of the year. For example, it’s sometimes too repetitive, goes around in circles with no real reason. I do think it should have been shortened by at least 10 episodes (especially with the arc where the main couple was having a fight : this took way much time and place, and came way too late)
I so think it’s more of a 6,5 but I’ll go to 7 because I do have a guilty pleasure for this
But in my opinion, it does fulfill the main purpose of a drama, which is make us have a nice time when watching it and that is enough for me

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