cnguyen1031
STORY:
Even though you're splitting the time between all five girls (obviously some have more screen time than others), it still feels fairly well balanced and spaced out. The stories intermingled with each other fairly well but with so many leads, you definitely find yourself rooting for some more than others (or hoping for more screen time for a certain storyline).
The drama was highly rated, and I don't disagree. I normally watch more ancient dramas than modern ones, but this one had a good realistic feeling to it, compared to others I've seen. Everything that went on seemed like things that people could relate to more readily (family problems, being an older lady but still single, being a young entrepreneur, being an entry level worker dealing with relationships, or being new to the workforce and finding your footing in life). Many times, dramas have to overly exaggerate what happens to get people to feel intrigued, but I think Ode To Joy kept it realistic enough but still intriguing.
Plot never felt super lagging at any point. (It took me a while to get into it at the beginning, but a lot of shows are that way). Overall good with story lines.
ACTING:
-Olivia Wang: Had to mention her first because hands down loved the story with Qu Xiao Xiao and Zhao Qi Ping the best. I already loved Wang Kai coming into this drama, so I knew I'd like him, but Olivia Wang was a good surprise (I'd already seen When a Snail Falls in Love at this point, so knew they had good chemistry). At the beginning of the story, I didn't really like QXX. Her character was super snobby and standard scheming rich girl, but later on (and after she and ZQP get together) she soon became my favorite. Once her character developed more, you saw her become someone who had good intentions, even though sometimes she went about it the wrong way. I will argue though that a lot of times, she got blamed for something (which yes she instigated), but the real problem was with the person she schemed against.
-Yang Zi: Qiu Ying Ying - ABSOLUTE WORST for me. I actually skipped through most of her scenes while watching. I'm not attributing it to the actress because she was following the script, but my god her character was annoying. I get it, each girl was supposed to have a different personality, so obviously one had to be the naive and bullheaded one. She honestly just annoyed me so much how she went about everything - blaming others for things that weren't really their fault (Yes I'm a little biased because I liked Qu Xiao Xiao). Again being bullheaded and impulsive are common traits that a lot of people had, but something about how her character went about it made me not feel sorry for her when bad things happened because she deserved it in some way (not everything, but most things).
-Liu Tao: Always a great actress. If anything I was hoping her character would open up more and develop quicker, but her character was the oldest of the bunch and fairly set in her ways.
-Jiang Xin: another great actress. Very good at showing off the sides of her character - the nonchalant one who goes to parties and dates, the lonely one who just wanted to find love, the struggling one dealing with her family issues, etc. I'd say of all of the characters, hers was the most rounded for me. You saw a lot of different sides to her, whereas some of the other characters (while not one dimensional) felt like certain parts of their character overtook the rest. Jiang Xin's character really felt the most balanced of all (showing all of her sides, I mean).
-Qiao Xin: Guan Ju Er - a very new actress, which kind of showed at times. She really didn't have a lot to do in the first season. Most of her focus was on being overworked as an intern with the small sprinklings of her one sided love. She had most of her progression in the second season where she really finds what she likes as a person and obviously finds love eventually.
Additional Characters:
Wang Kai is always great for me. This was a new side of him that I hadn't seen yet. The playful and flirtation doctor, but still had a very strong moral upbringing.
The other males didn't really shine for me. They were all fairly one dimensional for the most part, just filling the space for what the girls were lacking.
REWATCH VALUE:
I'd definitely rewatch again in a few months or so (I just watched it through a few months ago). I'd honestly probably just skip around a lot and watch the stories that I actually enjoyed. (Aka, i'd honestly probably skip all of Qiu Ying Ying's stories again). A very good drama, but I definitely wouldn't rewatch the show in entirety.
Even though you're splitting the time between all five girls (obviously some have more screen time than others), it still feels fairly well balanced and spaced out. The stories intermingled with each other fairly well but with so many leads, you definitely find yourself rooting for some more than others (or hoping for more screen time for a certain storyline).
The drama was highly rated, and I don't disagree. I normally watch more ancient dramas than modern ones, but this one had a good realistic feeling to it, compared to others I've seen. Everything that went on seemed like things that people could relate to more readily (family problems, being an older lady but still single, being a young entrepreneur, being an entry level worker dealing with relationships, or being new to the workforce and finding your footing in life). Many times, dramas have to overly exaggerate what happens to get people to feel intrigued, but I think Ode To Joy kept it realistic enough but still intriguing.
Plot never felt super lagging at any point. (It took me a while to get into it at the beginning, but a lot of shows are that way). Overall good with story lines.
ACTING:
-Olivia Wang: Had to mention her first because hands down loved the story with Qu Xiao Xiao and Zhao Qi Ping the best. I already loved Wang Kai coming into this drama, so I knew I'd like him, but Olivia Wang was a good surprise (I'd already seen When a Snail Falls in Love at this point, so knew they had good chemistry). At the beginning of the story, I didn't really like QXX. Her character was super snobby and standard scheming rich girl, but later on (and after she and ZQP get together) she soon became my favorite. Once her character developed more, you saw her become someone who had good intentions, even though sometimes she went about it the wrong way. I will argue though that a lot of times, she got blamed for something (which yes she instigated), but the real problem was with the person she schemed against.
-Yang Zi: Qiu Ying Ying - ABSOLUTE WORST for me. I actually skipped through most of her scenes while watching. I'm not attributing it to the actress because she was following the script, but my god her character was annoying. I get it, each girl was supposed to have a different personality, so obviously one had to be the naive and bullheaded one. She honestly just annoyed me so much how she went about everything - blaming others for things that weren't really their fault (Yes I'm a little biased because I liked Qu Xiao Xiao). Again being bullheaded and impulsive are common traits that a lot of people had, but something about how her character went about it made me not feel sorry for her when bad things happened because she deserved it in some way (not everything, but most things).
-Liu Tao: Always a great actress. If anything I was hoping her character would open up more and develop quicker, but her character was the oldest of the bunch and fairly set in her ways.
-Jiang Xin: another great actress. Very good at showing off the sides of her character - the nonchalant one who goes to parties and dates, the lonely one who just wanted to find love, the struggling one dealing with her family issues, etc. I'd say of all of the characters, hers was the most rounded for me. You saw a lot of different sides to her, whereas some of the other characters (while not one dimensional) felt like certain parts of their character overtook the rest. Jiang Xin's character really felt the most balanced of all (showing all of her sides, I mean).
-Qiao Xin: Guan Ju Er - a very new actress, which kind of showed at times. She really didn't have a lot to do in the first season. Most of her focus was on being overworked as an intern with the small sprinklings of her one sided love. She had most of her progression in the second season where she really finds what she likes as a person and obviously finds love eventually.
Additional Characters:
Wang Kai is always great for me. This was a new side of him that I hadn't seen yet. The playful and flirtation doctor, but still had a very strong moral upbringing.
The other males didn't really shine for me. They were all fairly one dimensional for the most part, just filling the space for what the girls were lacking.
REWATCH VALUE:
I'd definitely rewatch again in a few months or so (I just watched it through a few months ago). I'd honestly probably just skip around a lot and watch the stories that I actually enjoyed. (Aka, i'd honestly probably skip all of Qiu Ying Ying's stories again). A very good drama, but I definitely wouldn't rewatch the show in entirety.
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