Hello There (2023)

A Feel Good Drama on an angst subject!

A modern title to an ancient costume drama was incongruous!
Spoiler Alert!
This is a short review on looking at this drama from the angle of a lighter vein on an angst subject-death. How to make it into a feel good drama?
Antithetically sprinkling the sets with modern props? Give the viewers a fun time spotting them?
Add lots of comedic relief support players?
Approach it from a Chinese idiom, the “Sai Weng Shi Ma” (the old man lost his horse) method? (learning Chinese!) Facing life challenges in equanimity and matter-of-factly as there may be a hidden silver lining.
The story was mainly on 2 characters, the FL and the ML.
The FL was a level headed and kind-hearted female head of her clan with an impending doom .She had inherited her family deadly disease which will kill them before the age of 25. However that fate can be averted if she can find the “Destined One”, a man with a mole beneath the eye (the ML).
The ML was a stoned faced head of a mountain sect with an anomaly of a warm heart. He was on a mission to steal a martial arts book which can heal his demonic rage when it surged suddenly. That can be found in the FL place.
The plot was a simple story for the 2 main characters to find their remedies. With such a simple plot the script should have been tighter! Supporting characters like the rival lover, his cousin, his mother, the bad guy’s duo, should had less screen time. The SML (ML’s brother} and his physician were the comedic relief couple. There was no need to add duos of the bodyguards and the bad guys; too many cooks spoiled the drama!
In the end, how did the FL avoided her appointment with death at an early age? Give her the “Sai Weng Shi Ma” effect! She was hit mega dose from the villain and collapsed. The villains, Ml, FL were practicing from 1 martial arts book which had been tore into 3 parts. Each part when practiced singularly was dangerous. The villain was stagnated; ML had demonic rage while Fl shortened her life. The ML, who by then had found his missing book and practiced it, gave his inner force daily to FL to keep her alive. 3 different “qi” slowly merging into 1, and she came back to life!
Re-watch? Yes! Watch list after watching a sad ending drama!

Read More

Simple, short & sweet

If you're looking for something light and funny, this series is for you. I don't expect much since it's low budget. The storyline makes sense and is easy to follow (even if you don't look at the subtitle all the time). There is a clear character development for both FL and ML (i.e. ML becomes more loving. FL becomes more independent). The main couple is cute and you can see the chemistry between them. All supporting characters are funny too. They have their own personalities and don't blend together.

The minus point is it does get quite cheese sometimes. The series tries to get as many kissing scenes as possible, to the point that feels quite forced. Also, I hope the 2nd couple gets more screen time :)

Read More