A Good Expose on Environmental Governance
Show was a good expose on environmental governance. It showed the challenges that present themselves when trying to implement environmental protection including incompetence, one-upmanship, corruption, facing unfamiliar situations and what it takes to be effective, make good decisions and in fact, being competent.I’m familiar with the environmental issues portrayed in the show because of what I do in life. The issues are spot on. How they are investigated, treated and treated seemed a bit up and down to me. Almost idealistic.
At the same time it was showing the difficulties that a family can face when there are two professionals married to each other, juggling their responsibilities - but guess what - no mention of divorce etc. here we have a mature couple who have a great relationship and just work things out. What a breath of fresh air!
I did feel the show let some characters fade away. That could be the result of show only being 24 episodes long.
Show also highlighted how, even if you did something well or right, you would become the scapegoat. So, there is that insight into not rocking the boat, how the party retrains those who are judged to have let the system down, are interrogated and the importance of joint decision making. However, I suspect we saw a very “smoothed” out version of what really happens.
The other big message: there is more to life! Work life balance is continually undermined.
Overall, I thought this was a good show. The acting was good and I liked the characters.
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A very interesting take on environmental protection. But...
I had to concede that towards the end the drama got really, really boring for me 😅.it started out really well and then it just got suuuuuper slow. I think I understand why. Initially the show was filmed in a dynamic way. Our characters would go on expeditions to villages, into mountains and caves and discover pockets of terrible pollution. There would be interesting environmental cases to tackle. The first case was a prime example - how do you move a street full of vendors without harming their livelihoods? I thought the solution was ingenious.
Then the case of an apartment complex abandoned by developers, stranding the buyers with no homes but with high mortgages. And to add insult to injury, the apartment grounds was turned into a toxic garbage dump.
These cases held my attention until the big case involving the suicide of our main lead's friend which started it all ..and the drama literally slowed down and grounded to a halt. In terms of action and dynamism. Suddenly all our characters are stuck in meeting rooms, boardrooms and press conferences. They talk, they lecture. Essentially the show became super talky and my brain, tired out from a day of meetings at work, could not bear to watch TV people hold meetings. Pure torture 🤪
But I persevered.
I just felt that the last 10 episodes could've been told in the same dynamic way the show started out. What happened? God knows, but my brain begged for mercy and I ended up fast forwarding most of the last ten episodes. 😆
So should you watch this? Well, if an environmental, curious about how China goes green kinda person like me finds it boring...well, probably not a good idea unless you are an even bigger nerd than I am. 😉
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This review may contain spoilers
A must watch if you're interested in environmental protection!
Wow, I'm impressed! It's refreshing to see a non-wester-centric perspective and approach to environmental protection compared to what I am used to seeing when studying environmental issues.What I liked:
Normally, these types of dramas have around 40 episodes and can drag on for a bit or have really slow parts but I didn't find that was the case with this one. I felt it was an easy watch and not emotionally taxing. I think the drama did a good job of showcasing environmental issues and how factors such as personal greed, bureaucracy, group dynamics, and the divide between researchers and politicians affect the success of environmental protection. It also accurately depicts how low-income and rural areas are often hit harder by the effects of environmental pollution due to the government turning a blind eye to their situation and the lack of resources such as education, access to medical care, and proper infrastructure for dealing with waste disposal and sanitation. Additionally, when implementing pro-environmental policies in these areas, considering the interests of both people and nature is vital. Although they didn't specifically mention it by name, I was happy to see the concept of eco-tourism (sustainable tourism that promotes the protection and enjoyment of nature while accounting for the well-being of locals) being used as one way to satisfy economic and environmental concerns. This drama is a good example of how some environmental issues and environmental governance issues are hindrances that transcend culture and place. At the same time, others are innate and unique to specific people and environments. It was also refreshing to see a work-life balance struggle that didn't result in marital issues.
Critiques:
I would've liked to see the protagonist struggle a bit more when implementing environmental policies because I felt that issues were often solved either too quickly or smoothly. However, that might have been a result of the drama being 24 episodes. I felt that some of the ways our main character solved issues were a bit unorthodox, but that's probably how it was intended to be.
The other issue I had was with one of the female characters. In general, the drama was male-dominated which was fine. But, I felt the character of Su Na, the internet celebrity/blogger was a huge flop. It almost felt like they added her character to make the drama feel less male-centric. Instead of Su Na appearing strong-willed and genuinely concerned for the people, she was the stereotype of the annoying, naive, and outspoken woman depicted in movies and shows. Showing up at our main character's home after 10 pm doesn't showcase passion and dedication, rather it screams lacking professionalism, especially considering our main character has a wife and child. I felt her character didn't add much to the plot.
Overall, as someone who studies human-animal/environmental interaction, I felt this drama did a decent job of introducing a surface-level view of environmental issues and governance.
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