What a Great Binge

So, this is my first review. I accidentally clicked the button and decided to give it a whirl then discovered I put it in the wrong place so the same review exists under Episode 30 as a reaction :).

Sorry it turned out so long.

Synopsis of my review: The chemistry between Yang Yang and Dilraba is the main draw. The story is secondary but not bad. At first, I LOVED the story, then I only liked it as the middle dragged and I had to skip a bunch of stuff about Chinese space exploration, then I LOVED it again near the end as the relationship took front and center again, and finally, MEH at the end.

Full Review: What did I love? The ML and FL! They had such great chemistry.

Yang Yang is always sexy and handsome, but his face has been like a stone in every show I've seen him in. It fits in Lost Tomb and maybe in Love O2O and Kings Avatar (which I never did finish), but it is also a bit boring. This time, his stern expression would soften as he struggled with his emotions. I felt that clench in my gut when he looked at Dilraba wistfully, and I felt his pain as he realized how stupid he had been. Now, I may actually go back and watch some of his other shows to see if I am missing out.

Dilraba is always beautiful. I watch her occasionally because I love her expressions and overall look. I never finish any of her shows because most of them seem to be either Xanzia or Wuxia and very few of those can keep my attention for long, even when they are well done because they are so melodramatic. But now that I have seen Dilraba and Yang Yang together, I may not be able to watch her in anything else. (just kidding, I'm going to go find some others and see if the chemistry is as good - I didn't feel it for Eternal Love of Dream - which I dropped - but maybe some of the others will be as good).

***Spoiler Alert.***

The storyline is another draw. Though these folks are not normal people, they are believable, as are all of the side characters. The story progresses, it started with video gaming, and I thought, "Oh, he's doing that again." but then it shifted. The game stayed in the background for a long time but never became front and center again after the first third of the show. The middle was about building the relationship, including making realistic mistakes and trying to make amends. And they didn't shy away from implying sexual attraction, which would have been silly with such beautiful people. Once this couple hooks up, they hook up! Their relationship is complicated, and these complications are glossed over but not ignored. I like that.

Oh, but the ending sucked! We have spent 31 episodes and 15.5 hours getting to know this couple and their world, and in the last 30 minutes, we are introduced to a whole new cast of characters, a conflict that is supposed to mirror the main couple's possible conflict, and the Glory of China as they launch into space. I mean, the first person he calls is his best friend after launching the rocket, which I can forgive, but then the main couple just hugs and walk away. No closure, no hint of a future together. We know they are in love, but we don't know if they will progress. I would have loved a sly baby announcement or something to queue me in that this relationship will keep growing even after the curtain falls.

Also, the wedding is a disappointment and a bit weird. Really, everything from the wedding on feels like a downhill slide. I feel they could have done more with this. Maybe it could have gone longer, and we could have seen more about their married life.

In the end, I may be missing a bit of the point of the show because I literally skipped through EVERYTHING that didn't involve the main couple. SO MUCH aerospace stuff that I skipped and parties or conversations Dilraba had without Yang Yang. Perhaps if I had watched and enjoyed that aspect of the show, this ending would have felt more satisfying.

My other complaint is that this show seemed to really center around Yang Yang's character more than being an equal split with Dilraba. Why did we see so much of his aerospace engineering and so little of her acting/movie-making?

***Spoiler Over***

I still enjoyed the ride. With all its flaws, the beauty and chemistry of the main (and only) couple were outstanding and enough to keep me watching episode after episode until I couldn't keep my eyes open! Skip the boring stuff, and it is a beautiful relationship story. I almost wished I'd stopped at episode 30 because that would have been a more satisfying ending on the relationship side. But I didn't, and I bet you won't either. The couple is just too engaging to not hungrily watch every moment you can of them together. I hope they make more shows/movies together. The reason for the 9 instead of 9.5 was the ending. The reason for the 9.5 instead of a 10 is because of the parts I had to skip.

Thank you, Youtubers, for making clips of this show, so I got curious. I'm so glad I checked it out and hope you will too.

Leggi di Più

Cool Concept, missed delivery

**Caveat** The subtitles on the YouTube version I watched were auto-generated, so much of the content was confusing and proper subtitles may have improved my perception of the delivery. It very well may be that I will give this drama a better rating if I watch it again with real subtitling. (I'm looking at you Viki volunteers :))

**Caveat 2** I watch a lot of mini-dramas. I love these because I can get my Wuxia/Xanxia or Chinese Rom-Com without committing to 24-50 hours of viewing. I understand the limitations of the media and therefore gave this drama a higher rating than I would have had it been a traditional web or broadcast drama.

**Caveat 3** I have no memory of the music and watched most of this on mute.

This is such a cool concept. Not a spoiler because it is in the opening sequence - a fixer comes into a comic/novel/TV show to help the character who is getting beaten down but doesn't deserve the treatment. Here she is coming in to help the chubby wife of a philandering husband from getting beaten to death. Pretty high concept for such a comedy-toned mini-drama, but it still worked. The writer had a big task and tried to take on more than they could accomplish in 70 minutes. They tried to have too many complex backstories and another transmigration character that was unnecessary.

I think this idea could have been better dealt with in a short form with some streamlining. That being said, I enjoyed it.

Leggi di Più