Becky
North Pole
This review may contain spoilers
Excellent acting and realistic portrayals of hospital and medical procedures
I really like this drama. It is a rare gem among the more commercially oriented contemporary dramas. This is adapted from a real life story and based on a comic novel. The story starts a few days before a comic artist was diagnosed with cancer, how she handled the diagnosis, her treatment, her recovery and subsequent relapse. The production managed to balance this depressing plot with comedy, in the form of the FL who is a very optimistic and straight-forward talker (often talking before she thinks). Yet I could not give it a higher rating because of confusing editing (there are 2 editions) and THAT ending -_-
The Good Stuff
1) No product placement!!! That annoying face mask, 999 flu medicine and nuts snack are nowhere to be seen here! It was a relief to see FL using cucumber slices and other facial products. The only suspected product placement might be Vitagen.... it appeared about 3 times in the drama?
2) Excellent acting. I have no complain on the cast! Jiang Xin is such a good actress, I was confident she would deliver a great performance, and she did. I have worried on Vengo Gao, but the worries are unfounded. This is probably the best acting Vengo has done ;) And the other 2 FLs and supporting cast are great in their roles too. Special mention to the actor who played Xiong Dun's father, he was really endearing and had great onscreen chemistry with Jiang Xin (Xiong Dun).
3) Most convincing BFF friendships in a drama! My first tears were when Xiong Dun wanted to move out of Ai Mi's place because of Ai Mi's mother misconception that cancer is contagious. As a distressed Ai Mi asked Xiong Dun to stay, my heart went owwwww. The development of Xia Meng/Xiong Dun from enemies to best friends is very well done too!
4) Realistic portrayal of hospital and medical procedures. According to a few doctors' and nurses' comments at Douban, the medical aspect in the drama is quite accurate. The interactions between doctors, nurses and patients are realistic too, and the problems that the drama showed are real issues at hospitals.
5) Good storytelling and pacing. There isn't really any "filler" sub plot. Story is kept tight and well paced.
The Bad Stuff
1) Script tried to cover too many social topics... I do not understand why it has the sub-plot on Xia Meng's strained relations with her mother? And that scene with the pregnant lady on the train, trying to stir up controversy on motherhood? I feel that the scriptwriter and director could have focused less on this sub-plot. After all it is not relevant to the main plot, and not related in a medical drama? Instead I would have prefer more background stories on Doctor Lin and Ai Mi. Especially Ai Mi, as Xiong Dun's BFF since they were children, we really do not know much about her. Instead we know more on Xia Meng.
2) 2 editions of the drama. It is not a simple original vs uncut editions.... as both versions have scenes that are not in the other.
3) THAT ending. It completely goes against the "living toward the sun" mantra, seems to hint that Doctor Lin has mental problems after Xiong Dun passed away? Or is the director trying to give a happy conclusion to viewers, even if it is an imaginary? An artistic, open-ended conclusion which you can interpret in various ways. It can also be interpreted as how people deal with the passing of loved ones, coping by imagining she is still there although fully aware she has died.
But I would prefer a dinner gathering after few years. Ai Mi and Lao Zheng with a kid, Xia Meng coming to the dinner with Xiong Dun's parents (she promised to look after them like her own), Xiong Dun's boss with a wife, etc.. and sharing their recent happenings and future plans.
Or an ending showing Ai Mi and Xia Meng completing the bucket lists of Xiong Dun's and Xia Meng's :) and did Xiong Dun give the letters to Doctor Lin? Maybe not send to him yearly but gave all to him after she died? It is a waste to throw away the letters....
Music is okay. Some good lyrics in the title and ending songs. And oh, this has a high re-watch value because of the 2 editions. And I have also just realized the dvd edition at pangzitv has some differences with the dvd edition at Duboko -_- So i had actually watched 3 versions
The Good Stuff
1) No product placement!!! That annoying face mask, 999 flu medicine and nuts snack are nowhere to be seen here! It was a relief to see FL using cucumber slices and other facial products. The only suspected product placement might be Vitagen.... it appeared about 3 times in the drama?
2) Excellent acting. I have no complain on the cast! Jiang Xin is such a good actress, I was confident she would deliver a great performance, and she did. I have worried on Vengo Gao, but the worries are unfounded. This is probably the best acting Vengo has done ;) And the other 2 FLs and supporting cast are great in their roles too. Special mention to the actor who played Xiong Dun's father, he was really endearing and had great onscreen chemistry with Jiang Xin (Xiong Dun).
3) Most convincing BFF friendships in a drama! My first tears were when Xiong Dun wanted to move out of Ai Mi's place because of Ai Mi's mother misconception that cancer is contagious. As a distressed Ai Mi asked Xiong Dun to stay, my heart went owwwww. The development of Xia Meng/Xiong Dun from enemies to best friends is very well done too!
4) Realistic portrayal of hospital and medical procedures. According to a few doctors' and nurses' comments at Douban, the medical aspect in the drama is quite accurate. The interactions between doctors, nurses and patients are realistic too, and the problems that the drama showed are real issues at hospitals.
5) Good storytelling and pacing. There isn't really any "filler" sub plot. Story is kept tight and well paced.
The Bad Stuff
1) Script tried to cover too many social topics... I do not understand why it has the sub-plot on Xia Meng's strained relations with her mother? And that scene with the pregnant lady on the train, trying to stir up controversy on motherhood? I feel that the scriptwriter and director could have focused less on this sub-plot. After all it is not relevant to the main plot, and not related in a medical drama? Instead I would have prefer more background stories on Doctor Lin and Ai Mi. Especially Ai Mi, as Xiong Dun's BFF since they were children, we really do not know much about her. Instead we know more on Xia Meng.
2) 2 editions of the drama. It is not a simple original vs uncut editions.... as both versions have scenes that are not in the other.
3) THAT ending. It completely goes against the "living toward the sun" mantra, seems to hint that Doctor Lin has mental problems after Xiong Dun passed away? Or is the director trying to give a happy conclusion to viewers, even if it is an imaginary? An artistic, open-ended conclusion which you can interpret in various ways. It can also be interpreted as how people deal with the passing of loved ones, coping by imagining she is still there although fully aware she has died.
But I would prefer a dinner gathering after few years. Ai Mi and Lao Zheng with a kid, Xia Meng coming to the dinner with Xiong Dun's parents (she promised to look after them like her own), Xiong Dun's boss with a wife, etc.. and sharing their recent happenings and future plans.
Or an ending showing Ai Mi and Xia Meng completing the bucket lists of Xiong Dun's and Xia Meng's :) and did Xiong Dun give the letters to Doctor Lin? Maybe not send to him yearly but gave all to him after she died? It is a waste to throw away the letters....
Music is okay. Some good lyrics in the title and ending songs. And oh, this has a high re-watch value because of the 2 editions. And I have also just realized the dvd edition at pangzitv has some differences with the dvd edition at Duboko -_- So i had actually watched 3 versions
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