Sweet show, mostly feelgood

This is a really sweet show around growing up, friendship, family, and love.

A bit slowpaced, without big conflicts or "villains", mostly feelgood.
There are some very heartwarming scenes, like between Guang Feng (?) and his grandma, and the small gestures from Rangrang showing us how he cares about her.

The ML's role is kind of similar to that in "You are desire" and the same of his friend (Gu Ran). I like both of their acting - suitable roles.
FL is very sweet, although I do find the female characters in Cdramas often to be a bit overly childish.

I can see myself recommending this as something to watch for a mum (/parents) and teenage (daughter) together.

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Gripping story and strong acting. Recommended (with a warning).

This is one of the dramas that have left a very strong impression on me, together with shows like My Dearest and Mr Sunshine.
Oh, how I cried ...!
Weeks after finishing this show I still got emotional thinking about it. This series will sit with me for a long, long time.
Brilliant performances - the emotions portrayed, whether frustration, anger, love, sadness or joy, was just exeptional.

Costumes, for someone like me with no specific knowledge about this, seemed fine.
Locations and filmography were good too.

Note: After I originally wrote this review I learned the series is based on historical persons.

It also felt more "realistic" than most of the other historical dramas I've seen. Not "over-the-top" with clichés and such (as I remember).

The only thing I guess is holding me back from giving a full score, is that I felt the story skipped a bit much in the end.

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Healthy relationships

A good balance between workplace drama, slice-of-life, family and romance.
The relationships portrayed, both family, friends and coworkers, are realistic and develops well, supporting the storyarchs and pace of the drama.

Acting was strong from pretty much everyone. Dylan Wang mastered the portrayal of a young person with sincere feelings well, and I must say the actress playing FL’s mum impressed me.

The “opposite age difference” is shown in a very realistic way, and I particularly liked how they addressed the concerns and obstacles through the views of different people around them.

The supporting characters’ stories did develop on their own archs, without being too dominating. They could have dropped some of it and made the drama shorter, as they were not really essential to the story, but those scenes didn’t feel like a total waste of time either.

All in all, this is a good drama to watch if you like more mature, healthy relationships.

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Could've been shorter

Main reason I watched this despite its age, is because I like Hyun Bin as an actor and was curious about one of his roles from a bit further back.
I saw some mixed reviews, and although my opinion differ from those giving very poor reviews, I can't give it top score either.

I like the acting: I think Hyun Bin plays out his double role well. I am a bit more mixed about Han Ja-Min; I felt she "overacted" the sadness/weariness a bit at times.

As for the storyline, it got a bit too plot-heavy. I felt it could have been rounded off nicely at 12 episodes; I kind of expected it to be near an end in episode 10.

But: I must admit I got emotional (last 2 episodes).

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Sweet, easy watch

I would say this is a rather “innocent” story: it is sweet and uncomplicated, without any big ups and downs and dramatic plots.
It contains a lot of the familiar tropes, but they are kept at a “calmer level”.

The cast is ok; the two main leads portray their characters’ personalities rather well, although their chemistry could have been stronger.

The screenplay also stays focused on the main characters. Yes, the supporting characters also have a story, but it is not elaborated too much.

Don’t expect any big surprises, but if you want an easy, feel good sweet romance with some funny elements, this is worth watching.

I liked how they approached the part that led to his “night time online study” ?

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Familiar tropes, but entertaining

Don't expect original plots – this script contains a lot of the familiar ones, but it is still rather entertaining. It also covers some more serious topics, like harassment in the workplace, but it isn't a serious, heavy drama. You have to watch it on the right premise; I kind of remember it as a hybrid of a romcom and a drama.

The kid is an absolute charmer, and he almost makes this worth the watch on his own, lightening up the show with funny scenes and "adorableness".

I like that the FL is strong and independent with a career in what some might think of as a more male dominated area.

The cast is quite good, and the two main leads interactions are often spot on.

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Charming and feelgood, although not very original

This was a lot better than I expected after reading the synopsis.
Although the storyline itself contains a lot of the familiar tropes from Cdramas, the charm, the small lighthearted humorous moments, and the acting resulted in a feelgood viewing experience for me.
Some of the common plots are also kept at the "less dramatic" level, keeping it more realistic.

The soundtrack is not intruding, but well chosen, adding to the mood and vibe in the different scenes.

Grandad was excellent – the actor portraying this character did a fabolous job. I kind of wished we saw more of him!

I liked Xu Ruo Han (FL) in “Forbidden flower” and thought this role suited her quite well.
Even if kind of typecasted, Wei Zhe Ming (ML) is also an actor I like, and he nailed this role quite well. I can't really remember if I have seen him in many humoristic scenes before, and even if these were just small lighthearted moments I found his timing and execution to be spot on.

This is a C-drama I can see myself rewatching when in the mood for something not too heavy, not too melodrama.

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Beautiful story about overcoming life challenges and personal growth

Great cast and class acting, good script, filmography and music. Emotional (you might cry) and a bit inspirational.
I guess one could say the script depicts feminism (probably not the best choice of words, but I can't describe it better in English).

The script actually raised quite a lot of what I guess are stigmas and societal/cultural challenges, like divorce, remarriage, gender equality, traumas and more (without spoiling too much), and it did so rather elegantly. And with that I mean it didn’t really feel too “preachy”/ moralistic, as some other shows I have seen have been.

If anything bugged me I guess it is that especially Rose didn’t really age visually. I don’t mind her looking youthful at the end, but then again - maybe it was to show she kind of found herself again?
I spotted one very obvious blooper (brand new car model spotted in Paris-scene).

One of the things stopping me from giving full score:
Some lengthy scenes and flashbacks could have been shortened, and it was VERY obvious what car brand put their marketing budget to use here (so much so that I found it a bit annoying ?).

A show I definitely will recommend if you like quite realistic dramas without big intrigues and plots.

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Don't watch in public (but do watch it!)

I often watch Kdramas on my commute. This drama is one I recommend you watch in a comfortable place, with easy access to tissues, as it gets quite emotional and will most likely tug hard at your heart strings.

Don't be fooled with the "chaebol cold guy, sympathetic poor girl" synopsis, as this story is so much more than that. Or, should I say - it adds a whole new layer to this kind of plot. You still have the typical characters of controling parent, love rival and so, and although kind of cliché, it adds to the main story revolving around the FL and ML.

Main reason to watch is the performances of the two main leads.
Especially the FL does an exceptional job I think, in portraying and displaying all kinds of emotions; despair, wishfullnes, disbelief, resolutness, love ...
ML is also delivering a strong performance. I like this character's development, and also how he handles it; we can see the changes he goes through in his expressions and body language.

To be honest I don't really remember the soundtrack. It kind of makes sense the music took a backseat in this, but at the same time I have watched other series where the soundtrack still can evoke emotions, so they might have missed an opportunity here as well.

When I had watched around half of the episodes I ended up binging the rest, as I wanted to finish it before my vacation was over.

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Realistic and charming, challenging stigmas

What sets this apart from a lot of other Cdramas for me:
- That it challenges what I assume are stigmas towards some groups (certain careers and disabilities) in a very natural way (not overly "preachy" or "propaganda-ist").
- The locations: I love that the majority of the story is unfolding in their hometown, not in Shanghai. It is charming and creates a very natural atmosphere. At the same time, the Shanghai-scenes are important parts of the story.
- The character gallery, their individual progressions and developments.

In addition, I think they nailed the casting, and pretty much all of the actors delivered strong performances.
All in all, this is a series I would recommend, and one I can see myself watch again some time.

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A mix of beautiful and triggering

First of all: This show contains scenes that might be triggering for some, all from wrist-grabbing and abuse to r*pe (disgusting Emperor!).

Very brief synopsis:
Crown Prince has been in love with the FL "forever". When they are due to marry, the influential Perceptor, our ML, gets her as his bride instead. FL witnessed this man murder someone and believes him to be pure evil, and tries to kill him on their wedding night. We then follow their story; falling in love, deceivement, intertwinements with the Royal court and the Crown Prince, revenge plots, near-death experiences, abduction, tragic losses, and more. Add in some memory-loss and poison, and pretty much all the boxes for cliches and tropes are ticked off.

Cast:
The main actors were all strong. He Xuan Lin (FL) and Richard Li (ML) makes a good on-screen couple. There are some steamy moments between them.
Wang Xing Wei (SML) made me dislike the Crown Prince, although his character was a bit exaggerated.

Story:
It contains a lot of well-known tropes and cliches, and they could probably have skipped some without loosing much from the story. They could rather have given more room for us to grow a stronger bond with the main characters, as it could feel a bit hectic at times.
The introduction of Pei Che felt unnecessary. His character kind of felt "half-hearted".
The ending felt a bit rushed for me.

All in all:
I watched a lot of this while multitasking, and even if I had to skip back every now and then, it was also much I didn't really miss even if not paying full attention.
I feel the show could have been better, and completed watched it mainly because of the main couple.

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This could have been longer

I watched this on Viki. I did not read the comments until after I finished it, but some said, and others agreed, that you might want to watch the last episode (10) first, if you want the events in chronological order.

First of all: This had potential to be a great series. It is good in it's own way as it is, but I have a feeling it would have been even better if it was a little bit longer; maybe 12-14 episodes. I don't often say "longer" for C-dramas, lol, it is more often the other way around.

The two leading actors (ML & FL) were both good, and I liked their chemistry.
Second ML (the emperor) didn't quite sit right with me, but that was partly due to his appearance, which again was partly due to his hair and makeup.
Other than his, I found the costumes and such to be nice as well.

The series had a concistent overall almost "steamy" vibe to it.

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