Best Choice Ever (2024)

WARM FAMILY DRAMA

I definitely didnot know intially that it was a family drama. Xu kai was absolutely outstanding in his acting. He skillfully went from being cold and using Yang zi for his purpose to falling in love with her and giving up evil desires. Xu kai was such a cutie. His smile made the time stop for me. Yang zi as usual amazingly portrayed the role of a daughter. But dragging it for 37 episodes was not really necessary. It overall gives insight about hardships a family especially a mother faces when their children grow up, the constant anger and bickering, the extra consciousness of the mother regarding the society and so on. Just not a romance plot and definitely more than that.

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A beautiful drama ruined by annoying characters

I always had this problem with Cdramas where they don't understand what a normal/ not so well off family looks like. They usually show these " poor" characters with an extravagant lifestyle, beautiful clothes, an expensive apartment and so on. For a change they finally showed a poor household which looks believable. A small apartment with small rooms, stuffed furniture and not so elegant looking interior.
What is good:
This story is something that you can watch with your family. It revolves around family values closely knitted together in many Asian cultures, FL's relationships and her struggle in a competitive work environment. The story is not something that you haven't seen before and I have seen Xu Kai and Yang Zi portraying similar roles before yet this drama is much better than all of them together. It is obviously slow burn and little draggy especially with second ml's storyline and fl's overbearing and nosy mother but you will enjoy the two main leads and their interaction a lot. Grandma's character is the best for me. She had a different aura altogether. You will totally adore her. Storywise it is not the best but not too bad either. Writer do not shy away from showing competitive and greedy human nature in the drama. Acting is really good whether it is the main lead or the side characters. Believe me you will literally hate some characters. They are just that good.
What will make you drop this drama: *WARNING RANT AHEAD*
Among all the dramas that I have watched (and I have watched a lot) never have I ever seen a character as annoying, overbearing, nosy, without much dignity, full of selfish bul*sh*t, and totally without any hint of character development like that of the Mother of FL in this drama. In the beginning I sort of forgave her for everything knowing how parents could be little nosy in some families. Then I thought her character might change, something will develop in her arc but to my utter disappointment there wasn't an ounce of guilt or change in her character. I don't know but looks like writers were obsessed with her to an extent that she was more on screen than ML. There is a limit to bear with such a character but writers do not give a damn instead they will introduce a whole set of relatives to irk you further. Nobody really points out what is wrong with mother. Dad and brother's characters were the weakest. They just see the whole scenario like a passerby and even cajole mother despite her being super wrong. *Sigh*
I tried really very hard for Yangzi and Xu kai but I gave up after a while. FL's brother's arc wasn't really interesting plus I felt way too much second hand embarrassment for FL throughout the episodes. I would not recommend this drama to anyone just because of ONE CHARACTER.

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“Romance” should be removed as a genre

There is nothing romantic about this show, it’s purely a family drama, focused on generational differences, family struggles, values and how important those factors are in Asian culture. The overbearing mom was intolerable most of the show, but is quite accurate and relatable to our own. Cast and actors were great, I only stuck around for xu kai and yang zi but the first 28 episodes were not exciting, and didn’t really pick up till episode 30. This is one of those kind of shows you don’t have to focus on, can multitask with it in the background, and still not miss much. Some moments will pull at your heart strings, but that’s about it. Wish I could’ve rated it higher but not when I didn’t care for 2/3 of it.

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Do not underestimate this drama.

Best Choice Ever is genuinely one of the most thoughtful dramas I have ever watched. I know some people will possibly not like the first few episodes and drop this drama, but let me explain. Best Choice Ever may not have the most surreal, romantic or funny drama, but it sure is realistic. In the modern world, when people start to change and grow, they leave their parents. Now in the story, (no spoiling, don't worry) MaiChengHuan starts to have issues in regard to her family. But the character development in this drama especially of the mother, the independence yet rational of MaiChengHuan, as well as the life of YaoZhiMing and them going through realistic life struggles shapes this drama to what it is. Yes, I would agree, the first episodes of the mother definitely got on my nerves. But with that, let's remind us that we are pissed off of the mother because of her character, not because of any external force. Meaning, the acting is really realistic and touching. The more episodes you watch, the more realistic, touching and genuine this drama becomes. Even just MaiChengHuan's thinking is something many people should try to learn from. Even when she has a mistake or is in a really stressful situation, she is very optimistic and rational. This drama teaches many lessons that people tend to forget in this world. This includes the importance of family, learning to grow and move on, learning to leave a situation, learning to work hard and be independent, learning to be rational and learning to love. The family aspect is so deep, so thought-out and just realistic. Even with MaiChengHuan's brother, his character is also well-thought-out. I would rewatch this drama and reflect on my own life, making me think different about life. It teaches SO MANY valuable lessons, and with two wonderful actors, I think those lessons were really well implemented in this drama.
Now onto friendship and love. You can almost trace each part of their relationship. Unlike some other dramas that revolve around "love at first sight", this drama has a very reasonable love plot. The love is actually established earlier in the episodes, but by doing so, the rest of the many episodes show how they start to trust, love, and actually add each other as family. Even the smallest of details, like approval from parents, is well-thought-out. Usually, I find it hard to believe in other dramas that parents support their children's partner in 0.1 seconds. It takes time, it takes thinking, and sometimes leading to overstepping. But it is not what these actions are that are the problem, it is how you do them, etc. So again, this drama has taught me many lessons and realisticality.

Therefore, I highly recommend this drama. Yes, you may feel annoyed in the first episodes, but just you wait. This drama is one of those dramas that can fit anyone's appetite.

If you have read to here, thank you! And tell me, what do you think of this drama?

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For family-drama (with a side of romance) lovers, YES.

I'm actually quite shocked at all the people who dislike this drama, I actually loved it a lot.

In the end, they teach us that, after all, your mom was also once a little girl with passions and dreams. In the end she gave up those dreams to love you and build a life for you. The scene in previous eps where the Mom came back to her old house and cried for her mother really touched me, in her vulnerable moments she cried for her mother who was no longer with her, and whose house she left at a young young age to go to an unfamiliar scary place like shanghai. I cried a lot during the opera stage, Huan was witnessing her mother relive her childhood and unfulfilled passions, which was so so heartbreaking, bittersweet, but extremely touching. As a mother-daughter story with a side of romance, I enjoyed this drama very much.

While the mother was annoying at times, and quite nosy in her childrens' lives, I think everyone had major character development. Their mother learned to live her own life in the end, and love her children from a distance. And her children in turn learned to love their mother even more, because in reality she sacrificed the most for them. Their mother came to the big city, abandoning her dreams, and her kids eventually grew up in an environment where they were able to pursue all their passions. I think they start to realize this by the end of the drama, as they are especially grateful to their mother.

I think through this drama, I have come to terms with my own family's issues. I think my understanding for my parents has grown, especially because I see some of the sacrifices made by the parents in this drama reflected into the one's my own parents have made. I hope I can one day help my mother and father pursue their unfulfilled passions just as Huan and Ming did.

The only storyline I hated was the Zhiming father coming back plot, it was wildly unnessecary, esp if they were just gonna kill him off in the end. But I guess his father's story was important because he served as a major player in getting that evil woman arrested.

While a little more romance may have been good, I was pretty satisfied with the amount they gave us, the haters to lovers development was perfect, and we got quite a big amount of their romance in the first half, which I loved. Big kudos to ZhiMing because the whole drama he had to deal with huan's family drama, which was a whole bunch. At least we know from that that he truly loves her, because tbh idk if I could put up with all of that LMAO.

This drama for me is comparable to the kdrama Live Your Own Life, but I enjoy this cdrama a lot more because they do the family bonding genre very well, and the drama in LYOL is just way too crazy, not to mention the mother in LYOL is way worse than the mother in this drama (LIKE WAYYY WORSE), which I think is another reason I was able to tolerate the mom here. Overall, I would really recommend this drama if you enjoy family-dramas and slice of life! For haters to lovers enjoyers this is also a great watch, just the romance becomes very minimal in the last 11 eps, and more focus is on the family.

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Home is our driving force and Love is the reason we stay put. A Family can make or destroy a person.

Overview of Plot:-

The plot mainly revolves around the female lead Mai Cheng Huan, who belongs to a middle-class family. The drama depicts the personal development of characters and value of relationships and choices in a person's life. This is a family drama mainly focused on mother-daughter relationship or it won't be wrong to say it's focus on how to deal with controlling parents.

Key Characters:-

Mai Cheng Huan (Yang Zi):- The almost perfect girl from a middle-class family. She is mature, responsible and cheerful. She is an independent lady who supports her family financially the most. A bit emotional but determined and confident. The urge of doing her best and earn more along with keeping everyone happy around her is what she aspires to. She wants to give her best in her relationships and career.

Yao Zhi Ming (Xu Kai):- An oversees returnee and a successful person in his career. He is money-minded and cunning who only seeks benefits in business and never allow any feelings to meddle in his business. He believes in keeping private and professional lives seperate. Zhi Ming is not a type of person who always pulls a long face and never smiles.. instead he is a bit cheerful type. He knows how to take advantage of others to get his way. Money is what gives him satisfaction as he believes it's the only thing which will never abandon him. He doesn't know what is the warmth of having a loving family as he never had one.

"Nobody can avoid the temptation of power, and those who can avoid it, it's because they don't have power."
-Yao Zhi Ming

Liu Wan Yu (He Sai Fei):- The mother of female lead. She is controlling and overprotective type but deep down not a bad person. She wants her family to be happy and see them leading a rich life. In order to make the life of her family easy she did everything regardless of right and wrong which made her character overbearing.

My Impressions:-

The drama perfectly fits under the family theme. Don't expect it to be romcom though a modicum of romance is there. This drama is more focused on family relationships, how to handle them or deal with them. There are always some people in our lives whom we don't want to hurt but when these people start to think that they can control our lives then it's time to take stand for ourselves. This is what this drama wants to convey all along.

Female lead's mother is a domineering character though she thinks good of her family but her controlling nature ruins everything for her. She is a bit greedy as well as believes in showing off wealth. In her opinion, money brings happiness and parents have right to fully control the lives of their children. Children needs to obedient, they mustn't go against the parents and whatever parents do, regardless of right and wrong, it's always the best for their children, that's what she believes. Because of her this nature, she falls out with her loving family eventually. Though she enraged me many times as her acts weren't all acceptable but I never think she is an annoying character to be honest.

Female lead's father is also not that great. He never spoke up whenever he must had. He never tried to stop his wife's ridiculous acts or talk some sense into her. Just an agreeable and obedient husband. He lacks the sense of being an elder of the family. With a personality like this he can never be considered a good husband nor a good father in my opinion.

The best relationship in this drama is the sister-brother relationship between female lead and her brother. In addition to that, the leads relationship is also great because they support each other when needed, they helped each other to grow higher and to become the best of their own-selves. Furthermore, they respected one another's career and family. They never meddle in one another's problems yet always remain supportive of each other. Their relationship developed slowly yet firmly.

Grandma Mai is also a worth praising character here. She is the wisest person in this drama. She was an emotional support to both Cheng Huan and Zhi Ming.

"We are free to cry, but we must cry with good reasons."
-Grandma Mai

And there is one more good character and that is the secretary and best friend of Zhi Ming. He is such a fun boy and never failed to make me smile everytime he was on screen.

Female lead's ex is one of the worst character, the boy has no backbone. He wants to marry Cheng Huan but can't deal with his own parents, neither want to built his own career nor respects Huan's career, playing games all day and still wants to marry her. Initially, he looks like a cute and lovely boy but as the story develops more his inability to take stand for right thing came into light.
"Only love can not provide everything in life, one needs to be realistic and also work hard to be financially independent."

Secondary leads' relationship is more looks like a filler to me which was definitely not needed. Their chemistry seems awkward and I couldn't make myself invested in their relationship.

There are also few complaints I have. Firstly, Xu Kai as being the male lead has very less screen time especially in first half. If we analyze justly, he even has less screen time than the female lead's mother who is listed as support role. Honestly speaking, female lead's mother seems the only main character here and other are looking like support characters including female lead and male lead. Apart from that, his back story wasn't handled well as a main lead.

Additionally, I didn't like the take of drama on parents mistakes. The drama tries to justify wrong actions of parents in the name of them being parents and demands forgiveness and a second chance for them no matter how misdeed they did in past.

For example, Huan's ex's father had an extramarital affair with his secretary. When they get caught then the drama takes an u-turn on his actions after he was betrayed by his own lover. He started to singing praise for Huan and drama tried to show that he had an extramarital affair because his children are not close to him, and they just want his money and such kind of things. But in my views, it's still can not justify him having an affair.

Same goes with Zhi Ming's father. He didn't spare a single chance to destroy his own family. Had Zhi Ming not been this sensible and without Grandma's support to him, his life would have destroyed already. Yet the drama advocates for forgiveness to his father that now he wanted to change so Zhi Ming should forgive him. When a person is this irresponsible towards his own family and almost destroyed them then he doesn't even have the right to ask forgiveness or to get close again.

Acting:-

Acting is superb from all of the cast. Yang Zi and Xu Kai are amazing as always. I have nothing more to say about them. I'm amazed that Xu Kai and Yang Zi used their own voices in this drama. He Sai Fei did her job perfectly as she made me enraged time to time throughout the drama.

Conclusion:-

I tried my best to include everything I could in this review without spoiling much. For me, acting and leads relationship is the best thing in this drama, OSTs are average but plot isn't that great or exceptional nor the execution of the story. I enjoyed some parts and there are many I disliked and wanted to skip though I never skipped. Personally, I loved the conversations between Grandma, Zhi Ming, Cheng Huan and Cheng Zao. If come to number of episodes then 37 is big number for this plotline, 25 to 28 episodes would have been enough.

"Life is like opening a blind box. When you make a choice, you never know if it's wrong or right."
-Mai Cheng Huan

In the end, it's upto you whether you wanna watch this drama or not.

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Good Drama, but hated the mother...

Before watching this drama, you have to decide whether you're intending to watch for the romance or the family drama.

If you're seeking a romance-heavy plot, this drama might not be your cup of tea. "Best Choice Ever" is heavily centred around family - specifically revolving around the female lead's mother.

The female lead's mother is depicted as nosy and overbearing, embodying typical Asian family pressures/expectations placed on their child. Such as the emphasis on marrying a wealthy husband, raising children, gender roles in marriage and maintaining a good reputation among relatives and friends. This show offers valuable life lessons and includes moments of romance and heartwarming interactions between family members - a bit touching.

That being said, as the series progressed, I found myself increasingly irritated and frustrated with the female lead's mother. I couldn't fathom how the female lead managed to stay calm and comply with her mother; if I were in her shoes, I would've left due to the constant nagging and pestering. Her overbearing nature made me consider dropping the drama altogether. However, I pushed through, and by the final episodes, she had redeemed herself (Sightly...) I began to understand the mother a bit more, but still... (she said she would change, but barely did. I understand that mothers wish for their kids to live better lives and to give them what is best, but at some point, it seemed more like the mother wanted her kids to fulfill the dreams she never managed to achieve herself... never considering the consequences of her actions, or what her children want.)

I think all characters had some form of character development, but some are more significant than others.

While I don't consider it a must-watch, especially given its 37 episodes, each around 40+ minutes long, it does have its unique appeal. There are many other good dramas out there, but if you decide to watch this one, be prepared for a rollercoaster of emotions, especially regarding the female lead's mother. I hope I'm not the only one who feels this way!

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This is the school of life.

Before going with my review I woul like to talk about some complaints I read. First this drama is tagged as Life, and the reason is because it focused on life experience. For example, in real life, no one can choose their parents. They are who they are—educated or not, rich or poor, bad-tempered or not. But they are never all saints or all bad people. With no prior preparation, they have to raise children from 0 to 20 years and sometimes beyond. They have to be strong when we are hurt, cheerful when we are sad, wise whenever we are mad and understanding when we are confused. We also ask for unconditional love. It is only when we grow up that we realize the level of sacrifice it takes to raise children. They have to sacrifice their own dreams to nourish ours.

The majority of parents only want the best for their children and sometimes project their own hopes, desires, ambitions, and even fears onto them. They may try to control their children, believing it’s the only way to protect them. There’s no school to learn how to be parents. They can only draw from their own experiences and often improvise along the way. This drama is a must-watch for anyone who wants to become a better parent or child.

The show presents two models of children shaped by different background. The FL is patient, understanding, and solution-oriented but comes from a poor, uneducated family with a strong sense of morality. The father is a working class laborer with no other ambition than the happiness of the family. The FL is aware of her parents' sacrifices and limitations and strives to make them proud. In contrast, the ML comes from a broken family. Abandoned by everyone, he is self-made, intelligent, proud, and emotionally distant. Years of neglect and betrayal have left him incapable of trusting others. Instead of fostering relationships, he uses people to achieve his goals.

Some viewers complain about the FL's mother being overbearing and having too much screen time, but I believe this is intentional. It contrasts with the ML's invisible, absent parents, emphasizing the importance of presence in a child's life. The story highlights two distinct personalities shaped by their family dynamics: a compact, wharming family led by an overbearing mother who cares obsessively for her children, and a disjointed, invisible family with absentee parents.

Besides these two bigs models, we can also see in the show the fathers who totally spoiled the kids, the mother who sent her daughter abroad because she has no time for her, the divorced mother trying to keep up with his kid. A little panel showing here the complexity of our modern society. But here there's no judgment. There's no good nor bad. But it's a little strange to see for example while some tries to keep the mother out of their life, other wishes her mother could save some time to spend with her. That's it the complexity of relationships in our modern society.

Another important thing I notice trough much feedbacks I read, is a lot of complaints for the lack of romance in the story. On the contrary for me this is A lovely romance drama, but tell to us from the perspective of an older generation (The writer of the novel from which the drama is adapted is Yi Shu. She is already 78 and she is also the author of Tale of Rose novel). So this is a romance drama inside and between families. Because for the older generation marriage implies the committment of two families. And this commitment will bring all the communication, the trust, and the sincerity for relationship to flourish between the bride and the groom.

Nowadays this model is considered archaic and we can see there is a generational gap between the writer and the viewers. But think again about it. Why there is so much trouble in marriage nowadays? Why this high level of divorce? Why so much trouble for husband and wife to find time for themselves. And parents to spend time for children because of reduce family model, lonely and busy life style and no implication of elders whom are pushed away to retirement houses. And of a matter of fact, there is a grandma who lives in retirement home in the drama because she has no family left but a grandson who is very busy and has no attachments to family. I think the writer thinks the ancient model of relationships where the parents are implicated in our life is still viable, but it demands a lot of courage and constant communication to overcome the generational gap.

Let's talk about the story. For me, the common thread of the show is the word Presence. The presence of a parental figure to identify with and emulate.

I believe the FL is not so different from her mother. She is just as stubborn and thrifty, but she shares her mother's sense of sacrifice, devotion, and duty. On the other hand, the ML is self-centered, manipulative, and bossy, with no trust in others. Due to the absence of a paternal figure, combined with humiliation and betrayal, he doesn't understand the dynamics of family or relationships. To achieve success, he relies on authority and treats people as tools, rather than collaborators.

The writer does an excellent job of portraying the complexities of family dynamics. Is the mother a bad person? A bad mother? People are never as simple as they are often portrayed in fiction. We tend to imagine the world through simple archetypes of heroes and villains, but reality is far more complex. People are a mix of strengths and flaws. This idea is the base of the FL's family; a meddling housewife mother, a hard working but caring father, a supporting sensible brother striving for a living

We are creatures of habit and everyone of us bring the sequels of bad experiences. The mother's character may not be the usual perfect mother we all crave to see in drama. But she is depicted as a normal human who bears traumas from childhood, who belittled herself, lacks confidence but sacrifices her dreams in order to make a better future for her children. Moreover she is aware of her flaws and wishes she could change. But change is one of the hardest things for humans to achieve, and we often underestimate the time it takes.

The drama is also about her struggle in becoming a better mother, her dedication and commitment to be always present for her children despite the mistakes she continuously makes. For her parenting is a lifetime job and doesn’t come with a retirement plan. Even when her children grow up, she will still impose her choices on them. I think it’s natural because it's the way she was taught when she was young. In this story, the mother only wants what’s best for her daughter, and there’s no problem with that. The conflict arises because of the mother's gap and traditional education. This is her own flaw but as we say no one is perfect. The FL, being a filial daughter, would like to please her mother at first, but will eventually chooses to confront her because the consequences of a bad marriage will fall solely on her.

From my personal experience, I’ve learned that as we grow, we progressively make our own decisions when faced with challenges our parents never encountered. The mother in the drama has never dealt with such a greedy, manipulative family and doesn’t realize how much stress her daughter is under. The generational gap between mother and daughter can explain the misunderstanding.

For me, this is the true lesson of the story. The education our parents provide is merely a guideline. Once we grow up, we face our own struggles due to changes in our environment, workplace, and society. We must make our own choices—sometimes against the wishes of our parents, family, or friends, because they may not or cannot understand. The FL’s ex-boyfriend fails to grasp this, or perhaps lacks the courage to make the right decision. And later, in the drama lasts episodes we will finally understand why the FL's mother greed so much for a successful life is because of the regrets she accumulates in her life for not choosing the path of achieving her dream to become an opera singer.

If I had to summarize this drama in three themes, they would be: Presence, Independence, and Family.

Presence: the debut focuses on the family interaction, the mold from which our personalities emerge.

Independence: when we begin to construct our freedom, learn to make our own decisions, and bear their consequences.

Family: when we realize no one is an island. No matter how strong or independent we are, there will be times when we need support, praise, someone to lean on, a presence that makes all the hard work and achievements of our life worthwhile. And we finally understand the most important signification of family.

The final goal of our struggle in life is the family. Without the family anything has no sense. The true struggle is about making their life better or having someone to accompany us when we are old. Look at the distress of the ML who always says he has no father. We doesn't need words to understand how he feels lost when he suddenly realizes this time the father will never come back again. Too much time waste for past grudges when the father was eager to change. Now he is dead.

The message which is told through the show focus on remember us that the key to maintain good family relationships is communication. Through sincere communication with the heart we reinforce the trust, the love that are mandatory for the family to exist. The family itself that is crucial to maintain Love, Happiness, Health. It's is a virtuous circle. I think myself this drama is a real love story.

Sure, they are some annoying characters not necessary at all for the development of the story. However the majority of cdrama have the same problem. The nosy and omniscient friends of ML and FL with the sole purpose of filling the time screen. The second leads romance not really convincing. But nevertheless for me this drama was educational, entertaining, and inspiring, with a dazzling performance by Yang Zi and excellent delivery by Xu Kai. The FL's mother in fact is really convincing in her role of traditional mother. But she is not toxic at all, simply out of phase. And her problem is not so difficult to resolve. A little joke to conclude. How to deal with a nosy energetic housewife whose children are grownup and keep meddling because she has nothing to do? Give her some grandchildren...

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Ohhh Mother!!!!

There isn't really much to speak about in this series, though it was soooo long. so lets get into it:

Dang, this is such a ridiculously long series that was about a greedy mother. Literally the entire series is about this greedy woman trying to pretend she wants her children to have a better life than her's. It took 20 episodes to solidify she was just a gold digger that didn't get to strike gold for herself so she was doing everything to ensure that her daughter did. Once she found out her daughter BF was rich rich, she couldn't wait to get them married, swear her daughter was a prized cow that she wanted to sell off to the highest bidder. She was truly disgusting to watch, worst yet, episode 16 was the heights of disrespects to her daughter, like how do you even do that to another human being and then have the gull, de audacity, de ko-ho-Nays to plan a whole wedding and not tell the bride.. the bride, the second most important person in a wedding. This lady made all asian mothers look horrible. I've been to China and they love tradition but they not about this level. I felt so sorry for the groom, he really was just a bystander in this horrific accident that his sister and that crazy woman that happen to be the mother of the girl, planned. It just got worst and worst, and finally at the latter half of the series, you get fooled into thinking the mother finally found a clue under her gold digging pickaxe, but no she goes off and makes everything about herself again, making her entire family blow a blood vessel simply out of worry all under the guise that she doesn't want them to worry. Like how stupid is that, you run away so they don't have to worry, because they wont worry about why you just vanish.

Now, that I feel like I got enough of that off my chest (sooo much more I wanted to say), lets get onto the romance of the show. That is basically it, because there is nothing to speak about it. The total romance equates to about 1hr and 47 min of screen time, It was totally sad. I mean they were cute and their chemistry was somewhat cute, but it was like a sub-thought in the midst of a family drama soap opera.

I was truly disappointed with the entire series, because it had a romance listed... I can't even pretend this is a cautionary tale to other children, because everyone seems to just love to enable the mother and cuddle her for the rubbish behaviour she is exhibiting. Soo many opportunities the father and brother had to let her know that she is off the deep end of crazy but they made excuses...

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