Littletad
This review may contain spoilers
What could have been.
I know i’m not familiar with Taiwanese dramas as I am with Korean, but bear with me as I felt they followed the same formula to a certain extent. Keep in mind that Autumns Concerto was released one year after Boys over Flowers. So it’s hard to gauge the impact it had on this series, if it had any at all. This is all before the “me too” era. To cut to the chase, this drama had so much freaking potential, but by the middle half, it goes completely bonkers.
There is so much to digest here, and there might be a few spoilers, but there was just so much wrong with this show. The main character forces himself on the female lead at least 4-5 times. So much is glossed over, as if it’s normal. There’s attempted kidnapping, murder, attempted rape, prostitution, and so much more. All of this seems normal, despite little consequence until we get to the 30th episode where things get more absurd.
The FL almost never expresses a full thought that bears emotion and weight with what she’s faced in life. She’s frail and timid, never allowing herself to say what’s on her mind. This starts to change, a little bit, but I kid you not, by the 29th episode. The formula every single character uses then, especially the FL, is to lie. And boy does everyone lie. Lies upon lies, upon withholds. We never get complete answers from the FL, no matter who asks, especially when it mattered. The solution is to keep lying while thereby creating more needless drama. During 2008, I think producers and writers felt that this kind of path gave the viewers an inclination to keep watching. This doesn’t work in the digital age and I don’t think it did much then either. If you watch only the first 10 episodes of this series, you could say it’s almost among the best. The brain tumor storyline was done insanely well, but it’s the only saving grace.
So many of the extra side characters are useless. The “best friend” male is an utter train wreck of a character. He has no money. No title. No completed education. Instead, he tries to solve real world problems with his fist and manly facial expressions. It’s almost a joke by the 29th episode. At one point a character says this exact line, “I don’t know how to explain how absurd all of this is.” A line used by the ML’s would be wife, who decided to keep a recovering amnesia patient in the dark so she could have her happy fake fiancé. By the time you reach that line, you realize how fitting it is to tie the whole series down.
If it weren’t video speed pro, I wouldn’t even had bothered.
There is so much to digest here, and there might be a few spoilers, but there was just so much wrong with this show. The main character forces himself on the female lead at least 4-5 times. So much is glossed over, as if it’s normal. There’s attempted kidnapping, murder, attempted rape, prostitution, and so much more. All of this seems normal, despite little consequence until we get to the 30th episode where things get more absurd.
The FL almost never expresses a full thought that bears emotion and weight with what she’s faced in life. She’s frail and timid, never allowing herself to say what’s on her mind. This starts to change, a little bit, but I kid you not, by the 29th episode. The formula every single character uses then, especially the FL, is to lie. And boy does everyone lie. Lies upon lies, upon withholds. We never get complete answers from the FL, no matter who asks, especially when it mattered. The solution is to keep lying while thereby creating more needless drama. During 2008, I think producers and writers felt that this kind of path gave the viewers an inclination to keep watching. This doesn’t work in the digital age and I don’t think it did much then either. If you watch only the first 10 episodes of this series, you could say it’s almost among the best. The brain tumor storyline was done insanely well, but it’s the only saving grace.
So many of the extra side characters are useless. The “best friend” male is an utter train wreck of a character. He has no money. No title. No completed education. Instead, he tries to solve real world problems with his fist and manly facial expressions. It’s almost a joke by the 29th episode. At one point a character says this exact line, “I don’t know how to explain how absurd all of this is.” A line used by the ML’s would be wife, who decided to keep a recovering amnesia patient in the dark so she could have her happy fake fiancé. By the time you reach that line, you realize how fitting it is to tie the whole series down.
If it weren’t video speed pro, I wouldn’t even had bothered.
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