When this series debuted on Netflix, I watched maybe about a minute of it before I dropped it and moved on to something else. I didn't think about it again until December 2020. I'm currently in the mindset of giving (SOME) shows that initially didn't leave the greatest impression on me a second chance, so "A Taiwanese Tale of Two Cities" seemed like the obvious place to start.

But here's the thing. I don't think I was wrong in my first impression of the show. The beginning of ATTOTC is rough as hell. There's a sense that the show doesn't quite know who its characters are, or what direction it wants to take them. I know it wants to be a story about two women who grew up with different impressions of Taiwanese culture (one through assimilation, the other through a conservative environment thats 'trying' to become more open in response to its latest, and youngest generation's demand for change).

The theme that declares one must "love yourself before you love anyone else" (IIRC) falls pretty safely within the basics of a 101 feminist tale of self improvement and female friendships. Yet, for the first couple of episodes, I got the feeling that the writers just didn't know how to do that without relying so heavily on comedy. (We're throwing spaghetti at the walls, in other words.) I constantly kept wondering if I was supposed to be laughing at how sheltered Nian-Nian was, or if I was meant to root for her growing freedom from her parents. Jo, on the other hand, felt like she always had the clearer story as a young woman trying to reconnect with her roots, and mend broken family ties.

ATTOTC has all the technical markings of a forgettable, low-budget rom com series. The audio can be hard to hear sometimes, especially the non-subtitled English spoken by the characters. The lightning is often terrible (over bright, saturated to the point where everyone looks pale as death), every thing looks washed out, and the non-diegetic music can really grate on the nerves (especially that country song in the credits that begins abruptly, and without warning). Performances are incredibly shaky at the beginning, but I think most of the cast finds their footing toward the midpoint.

The two love interests (Tiang-Ming and Ryan), while generally unremarkable, do at least add some genuine conflict that centers the narratives of Jo and Nian-Nian. When they're facing troubles, the girls don't take it on the chin. They push back, and challenge their beau's. The story doesn't revolve around the pride and reputation of the men courting them in the face of disapproving parents (though it teeters awfully close to that).

The show does a really great job of keeping Jo and Nian-Nian connected when they live worlds apart from each other. There's this really neat of effect of depicting the two having conversations sitting right next to each other, but their surroundings maintain one is in San Francisco, and the other is in Taipei, Taiwan. There's also the occasional video chat, and cell phone text that's just as effective.

To disappoint, I truly don't think the show finds its focus and footing until episode eight. And it's to that point that I think me suggesting that the viewer "hang in there" until then might be asking for a bit much. Especially since I admit myself that the show is a rough watch for the first seven episodes out of twenty. Unlike some dramas, I do think this show earns your attention if you're willing to stick with it. It manages not to become aimless as it marches toward its finale, but you really have to survive those first seven episodes. (If it doesn't hit you, just drop it, fam.)

Of the things I appreciated is how they handled Nian-Nian and Ryan's relationship. ATTOTC forgoes the goofiness of the female lead falling into the guy's arms, the awkward stares, and the male protagonist constantly trying to control his beau's body by yanking at her arm. Instead we get some genuine drama.

Nian-Nian doesn't quite know how to adjust to the culture shock with how Ryan handles his messy former relationships (with multiple ex-wives), and Ryan is less than patient with her (sometimes) when it comes to how judgemental, and shame-focused she is about how people might see her in the context of his previous dynamics.

Unlike "Familiar Wife", their story doesn't hinge on the idea that they're destined or fated for each other. Whether they work out or not hinges entirely on how they communicate with each other, and I think the show handled that better than most dramas. The fact that they were constantly on the verge of breaking up really got me down. I wanted to see the two of them work it out, and while the show suggests its possible, we're basically left wondering. I'm both okay with that, and yet not.

Jo's relationship with Tiang-Ming I'm generally indifferent to. It's not terrible, but there were times where I felt like it simply existed to have Jo's time focused on something other than the family drama between her estranged grandmother, and mother while she was in Taiwan. Still it plays to the strengths of the characters.

(Not to harp on this, I like that she leaves when she feels like being taken for granted and Tiang Ming has to reevaluate how he's been acting. I'm sorry, it's just so refreshing.)

Overall, I really enjoyed my time with ATTOTC. It's not great, but its the effort it's puts into the relationship between Nian-Nian and Jo that made me stick with it once I re-committed myself to it.