Rewatch value? Heeeeeell no! I would never
ever going to dare to watch this again!
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Not as bad as the reviews
Honestly this drama was not as bad as the review. Now there were a few parts where I was like omg please stop this but if you stick through, it is not disappointing. Well AARON YAN WAS AMAZING!! This drama is NOT a rom-com it is more melodrama so acting was crucial and our ML really did an amazing job.I felt a bit sketchy about the actress but her character was not dumb or stupid or anything like that.
It did get really soapy in the middle: The marriage to SFL was honestly so unnecessary. I feel like they should just let him be engaged to her cause till that point it was really touching to see the main couple understand each other. When he got married though... the chemistry never really came back unfortunately.
But I swear Lu Tian Xing was so hot and so smart and just high EQ man. I loved him sm.
Also Aaron Yan sang all the OSTs and all of them were really amazing <3
Conclusion, do not care about reviews and just give it a try. Aaron never disappoints in my opinion.
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A wild ride!
This show is interesting and entertaining. It is really two shows. I wanted a light romantic comedy, and this fulfilled that, for the first half of the show. The second half of the show is a melodrama that I wasn't expecting, but that I enjoyed. Both parts are entertaining and enjoyable, but in very different ways. It is an odd shift in the show.The best part of the show for me was Aaron Yan. I have never watched him before, but he is amazing! I believed him when he was arrogant, tender, happy, and gut-wrenchingly vulnerable. I really felt his angst. Although I loved him most as Xiau Lu, his angst was so amazing to watch when he was Lu Tian Xing. Such a great actor to pull of both parts so brilliantly.
As for the worst part of the show, I think that it dragged on a bit too long. I found myself fast-forwarding through some parts (I mean how many slow walks to dramatic music do you really need?) and the last few episodes that didn't concentrate on the romance were a bit long. But, overall, I enjoyed the ride!
One more comment is that I read in other reviews that the reveal wasn't handled well, and I'm not sure why. I thought the reveal was entertaining. If you are looking for a cute male chases female that turn into an angsty melodrama, this one is for you!
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Actors: Aaron Yan was really good in this. I didn't hate him or find his character annoying. Li Tai was so stiff. I can't say I was impressed at anytime by her acting. I didn't feel any emotion from her. The supporting actors were awesome.
Music: By episode 15 the songs were stuck in my head and by 18 I had already downloaded them from iTunes. So the music was actually appropriate when you read the lyrics.
Rewatch: I can say if I caught the last half or the beginning Yes I would rewatch. The middle not so much. I'm not much on delusional love triangles.
Overall: This was a good effort. The characters were mostly likeable and when not blinded or delusional quite believable. I would recommend this as a "sunday afternoon and nothing is on" watch.
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I really loved this drama this was my first Taiwanese drama and this is the best I've watched. How Lu Tian Xing and Tao Le Si had to go through all the obstacles to get together. Everytime seeing Tao Le Si struggling because they were a small company had me crying. This also shows that how big companies try to buy everything even opportunities. Even though all this happened Tao Le Si did not give up. Even Lu Tian Xing saw her and ditched his own company and helped her as Xiao Lu. I ship them so much I have rewatched 3 times but some times it was a hassle since the episodes were extremely long. I can't look at it the same way as before because Aaron Yan came out as gay , my ship is ruined. Not saying I don't support him. Their acting was amazing , Huan Huan's acting was so realistic that I wanted to punch her because of what she did. Was this review helpful to you?
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(Note: I've only completely watched the first 20 episodes and skimmed through the rest.)Between the intriguing secret identity and opposites-attract tropes, I really wanted to like this show. Aaron Yan was charming in Just You, so I was hoping for a similar experience here, and FILWM did have a promising start with the mix of Lu Tian Xing's cocky charisma and Xiao Lu's (his alter ego) gentle sweetness. However, Tian Xing's "arrogant creep" factor eventually made me too uncomfortable to really enjoy the romance.
While I love it when the main characters start out hating or annoying each other before slowly falling for each other, alarm bells went off when Tian Xing made physical attempts to control Tao Le Si whenever she refused him, e.g., dragging her around by the arm despite her pleas to let go, forcefully kissing her though she struggled to get out of it, and one time even ordering someone to shut her in the car and block the door so she wouldn't get away. That combined with his other attempts to dictate her decisions and his manipulative behavior with the whole alter ego mess, those were some pretty clear red flags of an abusive relationship. (I'm relatively new to Asian dramas, but I've gotten enough of an idea that this kind of creepy, possessive behavior isn't all that unusual for the lead male role, which is a huge bummer. )
I stuck with it for a while longer in the hope that at least some of the behavior issues would be confronted once the truth of his identity got out, but alas, that never happened. While Tian Xing was remorseful for hurting Tao Si, I never got the sense that he regretted his actions otherwise, despite how wrong they were. It seemed like he was more sorry that he didn't get what he wanted, and his lies and manipulation were whisked away under the guise that he did it for "love" (so obviously that makes everything okay /sarcasm). I found it funny that at some point, he did admit his actions were selfish and didn't want to make Tao Si selfish along with him, but the narrative still never truly seemed to hold him accountable. I'm all for forgiveness, but it makes me wonder what would happen after their happily ever after - sure, they're cute when they get along, but would Tian Xing return to his physically aggressive, controlling ways if/when Tao Si disagrees with him again? Granted, it's fiction, but what kind of message is it sending?
There was just enough sweetness in the show to keep stringing me along till the last 10 or so episodes, and even then I had to skim the highlights to know what would happen with the two troubled lovers. There were a couple heartfelt, tear-filled scenes in the last leg of the story that managed to momentarily make me forget Tian Xing's ugly side, but those moments aren't enough to make me glad I watched the show (and I'm happy I didn't waste my time watching all of the ridiculously soapy family drama in the final third of the show). If I was still a fanfic writer, I'd be sorely tempted to do a major rewrite.
tl;dr Cute idea, poor execution.
As a side note, I didn't mind Tia Li's reserved acting. I can be a pretty outwardly expressionless person myself even when there's an emotional storm inside of me, so it was actually kind of nice/affirming to see that sort of personality... although I'm not certain it was intentional on her part.
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Starts off well....then disappoints
Like a lot of other viewers, I really enjoyed the first half of this show with the Lu Tian Xing/Xiao Lu drama. The cast chemistry between all the employees at the smaller ad agency is really cute. But as soon as the whole Huan Huan forced marriage plotline comes up, that's when this show starts to drag. They keep pushing this marriage plot over and over again for the last dozen episodes so characters keep having the same exact fights again and again. It was really frustrating to watch so eventually I skipped the last couple of episodes to watch the finale. Such a shame when the first half of the show and the acting was so promising!But I will say, the soundtrack is on point! Downloaded all the songs on Spotify after I finished watching the series. Some of the music cues are pretty cheesy but that kind of adds to the camp :)
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Fairly Flawed But Enjoyable Series
There is some deception involved in the poster of this series. You may think that it's almost entirely about a young man, who adopts a second identity, in order to win the heart of the young woman he loves. This is only the case for about half of the series.Fall in Love With Me tells the story of a advertising industry mastermind, who feels that he has lost his vision and creativity. Lu Tian-Hsing inadvertently meets Tao Le-Si on his way to a presentation. After the presentation, rather than be bombarded by the press, he slips out in a makeshift disguise and comes across Tao Le-Si's own small team in the middle of shooting a commercial. Tao Le-Si's team believes that he's the actor who is sent over to help. Lu Tian-Hsing not only finds himself enamored with the creative process of the company, but also with Tao Le-Si herself, who is the CEO of OZ Advertising, a small company originally founded by her deceased older brother.
Lu Tian-Hsing takes time off from his own company, SkyRider Advertising, in order to work for OZ and help the nearly-failed company, re-establish itself. He does this by transforming himself and creating the false identity of Xiao-Zu. Of course, OZ's staff is quickly impressed by Xiao-Zu's ideas which immediately lead to successes for the fledgling company. No one, however, is more impressed than Tao Le-Si who sees the same vision in Xiao-Zu that her brother had.
Lu Tian-Hsing not only transforms his physical appearance, but his personality as well. AS Lu Tian-Hsing, he is gruff, rude, and condescending. However, he is also extremely confident, and teaches others through empowerment, even if his methods are a bit questionable. As Xiao-Zu, he is kind, shy, compassionate, and supportive. Of course, Tao Le-Si falls in love with Xiao-Zu, not knowing that he's really Lu Tian-Hsing, the arrogant CEO of Skyrider whom she despises.
Anyone who has ever watched this type of formula (because there have been quite a few) will easily see the pitfalls and even the outcome of what will take place between these two characters. This only covers the first half of the series as Lu Tian-Hsing realizes that his disguise is too good, and he needs Tao Le-Si to fall in love with Lu Tian-Hsing, and not Xiao-Zu.
The second half has to do with the vicious and depraved family circle of Lu Tian-Hsing's adoptive family.
Step-brother Lance is the COO of Skyrider, and he only has dreams of destroying OZ Advertising (a company he views as a threat) and helping his sister, Huan Huan marry the only man she's ever loved: Lu Tian- Hsing. This the plot behind the second half of the series. How is Lu Tian-Hsing supposed to win the love of Tao Le-Si and keep OZ Advertising intact with his rich and powerful family doing everything that they can to destroy OZ as well as the love between Lu Tian-Hsing and Tao Le-Si.
The second act of the series is far darker and more intense than the first half, which is mostly light, fun, and very sweet.
The acting in this series is pretty much first rate. My only issue was with Beatrice Fang (Huan Huan) who sounds like an 8-year-old girl when she speaks. After a time, the whiny, pouting, screaming personality becomes grating and very one-dimensional.
Virtually all of the characters have flaws. However, the rock of the series is Tao Le-Si, whose power it is to believe in people and have faith, even with those who abuse her. Over time, we see her grow in strength and confidence. Much of this is due to Lu Tian-Hsing's help. He doesn't pity her. Instead, he urges her to be strong. In the end, we even wonder if Lu Tian-Hsing is worthy of her love.
My biggest issue with this series was the end. I'm all for happy endings where everything works out. I'm not for contrived endings where the depraved characters are suddenly and miraculously transformed with little-no explanation for the resurrection. In this way, the ending feels rushed and barely plausible. Additional scenes between Huan Huan and Lu Xian-Hsing as well as between Lu Xian-Hsing and Auntie Li should have been utilized to help make the viewer believe that the ending, not only worked, but was very much plausible. Unfortunately, we don't get that.
The dual-identity also didn't work entirely well for me either. You'll wonder why Xiao-Zu can be so sweet and loving to Tao Le-Si, but Lu Xian-Hsing lacks that ability initially. Granted, he's "acting" as Xiao-Zu, but his feelings aren't fake. So, why is it that Lu Xian- Hsing is unable to tap those feelings? It makes no sense. Instead, we see Lu Xian-Hsing constantly grabbing Tao Le-Si by the arm and hauling her off while he loses his temper soon after because she's not complying with his wishes.
Overall, the series is enjoyable despite the flaws. You'll have to get used to some very immature and unloving characters along the way in Huan Huan, Lance, and Auntie Li. Ultimately, I found myself rooting for Tao Le-Si more than anyone else, including Lu Xian-Hsing. Tao Le-Si proves that love does, indeed, conquer all.
Please note that this series can be watched on Netflix and it is spread out over 32 episodes.
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