This review may contain spoilers
I don't know how to say it but it took me until I watched half of the drama to become really interested. However, I think it was because I followed the previews and waited until it was nearly done airing before watching it. And thus, I recommend you to not watch/see/hear about ANY spoilers. That way, I think you'll be much more interested in this drama since the plot is pretty unpredictable.
That said, there are dramas that are still like crack even when I know what happens. So there is something that is missing, a spark, an attraction in this drama for me. Set in 1989, I liked the retro vibe; the production did a good job at making sure everything was authentic-from the bb caller things to the attire. The drama also explored some delicate issues and in my opinion, it was done very well. This is my first time traveling drama and yeah, it's surprisingly kind of believably done, not extremely far-fetched.
Most of the actors are pretty new or have only been in a few dramas. Marcus Chang is cute but his acting is fresh. It makes it hard for me to become extremely invested in his character's dilemma when I feel like he is trying really hard to show his anguish. And frankly, Ivy Shao's character, Zhen Zhen got on my nerves quite a lot. She is very, very naive but at least through it all she has a lot of heart. Her character did contrast well with Chen Che so it was cutely done, just not the most innovative one out there in dramaland. There are quite a bit 'Romeo and Juliet' love line aspects so I guess that was another one of the reasons I didn't just love this show.
Negatives aside, I did like the family love shown throughout this drama more than anything. It was raw, shown especially well through the hardships the families had to face together. The drama also demonstrates that the simplest choices can result in something drastically different, which forces us- as viewers- to really think about the choices we make in our own lives and if we're making the correct choices-for both ourselves and our loved ones.
OST is nice, catchy, but not my favorite.
I don't think I would re-watch. It was a decent one-time watch but ultimately, I didn't fall in love with it. Would I recommend it though? Yeah, sure if
-you like retro vibes (the clothing, the music, the atmosphere)
-you like 'forbidden'/denial from family love lines
(7.5, 8.5)
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