This review may contain spoilers
The hype is killing the enjoyment.
When one's expectations are set to perfection, the show fails to deliver. The show has a high rating, but it felt underwhelming to me. The story is mellow-stress-free, and I failed to feel the astonishment it promised.
I would first like to discuss what I enjoyed. Visually, the drama is enticing, and the cast is beautiful (and I emphasize BEAUTIFUL). The show has no actual conflict, and whatever minute disputes we see are either superficial or short-lived. I also liked that initially, it was strongly communicated that the feelings were one-sided (younger FL to older ML) and were not reciprocated until they were seemingly mature enough (they tend to focus on the age difference a lot, personally, I don't care much; I understand since maturity level changes drastically at this age it can be uncomfortable for many). Also, I would especially like to applaud the actress portraying young SJ's, Zhang Xi Wei; her performance stole my heart! The banter she had with her brother is among my favourite scenes.
Adding to that, I would have appreciated, it if there were more scenes with the brother and slightly more focus on other relationships. If such scenes would have replaced the everyday interactions, which were monotonous at times, between the ML and FL it would have added a bit more to the comedic parts. All the characters are well rounded, but not all characters go through a proper development arc or are even given the screentime for us to discover a bit about them. ML and FL, are both shown to have friends and coworkers. Still, we never learn anything more about these side characters apart from the caricature they are supposed to portray. Generally, I do not mind seeing characters as just 'the smart one, 'the hopeless romantic one', but when all the characters are just that, the scenes without the ML and the FL feel too bland and tedious. I did end up skipping a lot of these scenes.
Now, speaking a bit about the story and direction. As I said before, it is a stress-free drama. I generally watch such dramas to escape my stressful real life, and on this account, the show delivers. It is enjoyable for viewers, especially the younger audience. My 19yo niece is in absolute awe of this show. I would think it is a mature story for people below 25 and a cute fluff for people above 25 (although I could be wrong, it is just my opinion). Either way, one cannot go wrong. For me, though, the alacrity was disjointed, and the main reason for this was the way the FL in her high school years kept talking and acting like a baby. This infantilizing of the character is especially unconvincing after seeing her as a child. She is a witty and funny character, but all of it is lost too suddenly; I would have loved it if some of these personality traits were carried into her adulthood. Her university personality is still better and she does start acting like an actual human adult eventually, but one has to go on till ep7 with an unpleasant babyish acting. But the actor is not to blame here; it is solely the fault of the direction and the production.
If I had seen the show before reading the reviews and comments, I would have given it an 8/10. But the way the reviews make it sound brought my anticipations way too high, and then the drama failed. The storyline is not new but rather an updated version of what most fluffy romances are, albeit with better visuals. The acting is above average, and the worry-free storyline does leave much to desire. So, is it a trailblazing perfection? No. But is it worth watching? Yes, and it is enjoyable for what it is, a simplistic warmhearted easy-going-romantic drama!
PS: I had been watching this drama for a while now, so please excuse my grammar. :)
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