Murphy's Law of Love (2015)

Story: This is a typical love story between two people with two vastly different beliefs, character and background. Anything that can go wrong did went wrong with the relationship. There are many cliches in the story and if it's not for the brilliant writing, dialogue and chemistry between the leads, it would have gone terribly wrong. What I love about the story is the fact that although it has cliche setting and scenes, the character development and the rationale for the growth of the relationships were excellent. Unlike typical Asian drama setting where revelations would bring about catastrophic turn of events, our leads dealt with all of the challenges thrown at them maturely, logically and calmly. I can totally see how this sort of relationship can be found in reality. The underlying philosophy of ending things well and moving on in life is also a mature take on how what's in the past should stay in the past. Both the leads have their personal issues that they need to deal with as they move forward in their relationship and this is how we see the character growth. I love the interactions between the leads and the people around them. They are a very sweet couple. I love the naughtiness and 'smartie pants' kind of things the male lead gets into in order to get the female lead to fall for him. There's plenty of skinship (forced, planned and natural) between the leads that reminds me why men are such devious creatures! There is no sudden deviation of character because of the challenges faced, rather the characters remained true to their natures while learning how to grow in relationships. There wasn't a single moment in the drama that felt rushed or dragged. Each scene and episode is vital to the natural pace of the story. If you are expecting 'drama', you will be disappointed, but if you are expecting a beautiful story that flows naturally, you will be delighted. The ending makes sense and was not rushed. In fact, I find myself wishing the couple all the best! Fans of mature story-telling would love this drama.

Acting/Cast: I was glad to see that Danson Tang came back to the TDrama scene with a bang. His depiction of the main character was brilliant. I love how Danson was able to act out such a wide range of emotions on his face from sombre, mad, in love, sad, naughty, teasing to just being plain cold and arrogant. His was my favourite character in the drama. This brings me to my least favourite character in the drama - coincidentally, the female lead! Do not get me wrong here. Ivelyn Lee acted brilliantly and delivered an excellent performance. It is her character that I disliked. What I disliked about Ivelyn's character of Guan Xiao Tong was Xiao Tong's cowardice and indecision when it comes to love relationships. She tends to over-analyse everything (like the psychologist she is) and tries to predict how the relationship will end. She failed to just enjoy being in a relationship and just let things develop naturally. She's always putting one foot in the relationship and another foot out (just in case things go wrong!). Therefore, she would always take the first step to end the relationship before she would really get hurt beyond repair. It did not matter what the man did for her or how much he had expressed his love for her...she has her own agenda and has already decided how she will end things with him. And once she had ended things with him, she started to over-analyse and regret her decisions in her past relationships.....the indecisiveness of her character totally makes me angry. Hers is like a pendulum, always swinging back and forth, always trying to take the middle ground but failed. Personally, I dislike ppl who are indecisive and have insecurity issues. I am glad that towards the end, she learns from this flaw of her character and grows more mature in her relationship with the male lead. It is because of my personal dislike of indecisive characters that I rated this drama 8.5/10 instead of the 9/10 I gave for its story. A stronger female lead character would be more to my liking.

Music: Lovely music but I've heard better ones before.

Rewatch value: I love all the lovey dovey scenes and the scenes where Danson acted the jealous and naughty man going after the girl he likes. I am a traditional person when it comes to love and appreciate it when the man is the one who goes all out after a girl and makes it so very apparent to all and sundry! To me, that is very flattering to the woman and very romantic as well. Therefore, this drama has a high rewatch value for me because of all of the romantic scenes between the leads.

Overall: It has been a while since I'd watched a TDrama. The industry has experienced a slump of late but once in a while, you'll find a gem and as of July 2015, this drama is the gem of 2015 TDrama for me. If you like romance dramas with mature story lines with a hint of mature comedy such as 'In Time With You', 'I want romance', 'Gentleman's Dignity' etc - you'll most likely like this drama as well.

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This is my 2nd Danson Tang drama. I saw him first in the HK vampire drama, STILL HAVE TIME TO LOVE YOU. He was very cool and brooding (my favorite characteristics), but in Murphy's, he was a much better actor. The chemistry between the male & female leads in Murphy's was amazing, what a cute couple! I really enjoyed watching how their love blossomed, the way Danson's character became I'M TARZAN, here to take care of you JANE.. Lvelyn Li played the sweet & innocent Jane to a perfection.

What prevented this drama from getting full marks was the way the story line neutered the male lead. I've seen this a few times in dramas, and it is really annoying. They take a perfectly good guy who is confident, loving and loyal and reduces him to confusion over 'what did I do wrong, I only wanted to love you'.. It became worst when the female lead went from sweet & bubbly into a little 'I am woman, hear me roar, witch'. Girl Power became extremely overrated when she became unappreciative of all he does for her and decides to 'find herself';. She of course soon learns the hard way that the love she pushed away is really what her heart desires and to quote the drama, 'what you want most in life can be achieved if you persevere and work hard to the end'; Good life lesson.

There were so many romantic & touching moments and the music really complemented the moods. The OST is amazing, check it out on YouTube. I am now hooked on the New Artist, GJ who sang JUST WANT TO SAY. Turns out to be 2014 contestant on China Idol.

Going to watch it again....

PS: incredibly cute dog, POLO, throughout the drama,

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