It is a pity that a few things went wrong with this Chinese drama when you have 2 people who have proven acting skills being chosen as the leads. I see it as a waste of their talent and effort. But first of all, you must be open to the concept of online dating if you are thinking of watching this. The female character has known someone online for more than 6 years. She has been chatting with him but does not know his name and how he looks like. But she still falls for him and has no interest in any other guys.

Okay, if you are comfortable with that kind of romance, then you will be less likely to feel that the whole story is farfetched. After all, she doesn’t know the identity of her online boyfriend for a large part of the drama. She just knows that she loves him and considers him as her boyfriend as the drama progresses although she hasn’t even seen a picture of him before. Hence, it is hard to really relate to this story as it is too detached from reality.

Poor Plot Structure
Personally, I think this storyline has potential to be a hit but the screenwriter has failed to structure it properly to present a more emotional and believable romance. I don’t think it is necessary to elevate their online friendship into a romance because it is just not realistic when they have never met. If they have preserved the online buddy concept like in Moonlight, this might be more watchable.

Even if a virtual relationship is integral to the plot, it fails to hook viewers into rooting for the couple. This is because little time is spent to make viewers feel that the online relationship is worth pursuing. There is just no justification for that obsession that he is the one when she doesn’t even know his name. They are normally just chatting with each other like buddies that the romance, if any, just seems fuzzy.

As a result, when the relationship moves to the real world, you can’t feel that emotional depth. What begins online with little romantic vibes just can’t suddenly transform into a great real romance. This is especially so when the plot also fails to make the 2 characters be more loving towards each other before the girl finds out the guy’s identity. I guess they can’t because she already has an online boyfriend and this is where the kink is in terms of the plot execution.

Serious Lack Of Chemistry
This is probably the main reason why Fall In Love With A Scientist can’t really take off. The leads lack chemistry as a couple. The romance looks bland and uninspiring. Perhaps the poor plot execution contributed to it but the leads themselves fail to give us a convincing performance as lovers. There is simply no spark between them. It is such a far cry from Zhou Yu Tong’s partnership with Simon Gong in Begin Again and Jasper Liu also had better chemistry with Shen Yue in Use For My Talent.

I don’t really know where the fault lies because the leads’ acting isn’t exactly bad either. Zhou Yu Tong and Jasper Liu did bring out the essence of the character that they are playing. She gives Ling Ling a very ordinary personality with lackadaisical attitude while he displays the required awkwardness in Yang Lan Hang’s character. But once you put them together, they just don’t seem to match. It could well be the case that the way the characters are written just makes them an oddly paired couple.

Unalluring Characters
I see Ling Ling and Yang Lan Hang as opposites of each other. Ling Ling is expressive and direct. Yang Lan Hang is an introvert and not very sociable. She sees her job at the lab as a means to earn money while he is dead serious about his research work. It should be the case of opposites attract but somehow, the outcome just falls flat.

I don’t see Ling Ling as annoying but neither is she very likable. There is nothing to make her really stand out unlike the gutsy Xia Qian in My Bargain Queen or the principled Su Xiao in The Ideal City. Instead, Ling Ling is silly and immature at times. As for Yang Lan Hang, he is merely a brainy guy to me and there is nothing cute about his character unlike Zhou Sheng Chen in Forever And Ever. In short, both the main characters are just not alluring enough to draw viewers into their love story.

My Verdict – Little Reason To Watch
Unless you have watched all the recent romance dramas and there is nothing else on the table, there is really little reason to choose this title. I know rom-coms don’t normally have great plots but what usually makes them watchable is some level of chemistry between the leads. A mind-blowing chemistry can make a very average romance drama into something special. Think of My Little Happiness and You Are My Glory. But Fall In Love With A Scientist just don’t have the required romantic vibes to pull it out of mediocrity given the average plot.

It is also a relatively clean romance drama which is akin to Our Secret. There are kisses but nothing spectacular for you to drool over. So, the overall romantic feel for the drama is kind of muted from the plot to the skinship. I’m not saying steamy kisses are a necessity but you certainly can’t have missing sparks in a couple’s interactions for a romance drama.

The last few scenes for the ending may also feel weird for some. It is certainly different from the typical ending of a rom-com. But on the plus side, this drama does go into more detail on the protagonists’ work so that you can understand what they are researching on.

For this Fall In Love With A Scientist review, I can only rate it 6/10. Watch it only if you are a big fan of the leads and you think having an online boyfriend whom you have never met is sane. Otherwise, just pick another title to spend your time on.