Dear Missy
Mar. 7th, 2021 19:55![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
superborbtl;dr a somewhat frothy, highly character driven modern cdrama. I enjoyed it a lot, though there were quite a few bits that were frustrating. Relatively light, not very plotty, very beautiful outfits, that sort of thing, but has enough serious, insightful conversations and character moments that it felt satisfying and not just like candy.
The premise: as teenagers, Shen Siyi and Lu Ke were inseparable best friends, until they had an argument and didn't speak for years. Now, they are working together for the same magazine. They and their close group of friends live through the trials and tribulations of youth in Shanghai. (You know it's Shanghai bc they cannot resist showing you shots of the Bund...)
The characters:
Shen Siyi: Cool and in control, she will get things done. She has a Tragic Past and a complicated family situation that has caused her to close off her heart (except to Lu Ke). She has the most amazing outfits and loves Lu Ke so much. I adore her. She's come back to Shanghai to work at Nouveau, the magazine she and Lu Ke loved as children.
Lu Ke: The most kind hearted person, who will go to the ends of the earth for her friends. Her outfits are always so cozy looking! She's been working at Nouveau, and loves Nouveau deeply (as long as it's plot convenient...)
Guan Yue: She grew up beloved by her parents, so she's still spoiled, but her heart is in the right place. She's an ~artiste~ and often impractical. I think all of the watch party disliked her for a while, but she grows up eventually!
Yao Yuan: Starts off as a bit of a playboy, but quickly becomes a romantic when he falls in love. He's a guitar player whose family owns a hotel, but his job is *handwave* an architect. (There IS a Qi Hun crossover later in the show.)
Zhang Mang: A jokester who still has a high EQ, his bantering skills are off the charts. He inexplicably disappears and reappears when plot convenient, it's very strange.
Ye Zhou: Shen Siyi's little brother, despite his wealthy background, he wants to be a cop and do good in the world! Younger than all the others, who are college friends, he's doing his best!
Cheng Nan: Lu Ke's college boyfriend, he works in tech. He's a bit insecure about his place in the world.
Lao Huang: The only member of the college group of friends who regularly uses their brain to solve emotional problems, his advice is (nearly) always the correct thing to do!
What I loved: some truly great characters, who have complicated emotions and relationships! Some really unexpectedly deep conversations happen later in the show too, which I didn't expect from a show that was billed so frothily. Excellent outfits, visually the show is pretty gorgeous. But it's not all beautiful, e.g. I loved that [redacted] was allowed to "ugly eat" when she was sad. Partially because the show is quite woman heavy, they often put men in the role of the "emotionally aware" character, which I liked.
What I didn't like: the realism of anything related to work was... extremely lacking, it was very much a "work happens for plot reasons" type of show. Also, some of the plot choices were insufferable; in particular, there's a very long tedious arc for no good reason that we all hated. rot13 spoiler: Naq bs pbhefr vg jnf n fubj gung unq gb cnve rirelbar bss. Abg harkcrpgrq sbe gur traer, ohg V ubcrq sbe orggre. I still feel like SSY/LK is the best pairing out of all of this anyway, do have to put it down in the dislike column that it was not SSY/LK endgame.
Overall, I would recommend this especially if you like modern women-focused dramas! I watched it entirely through watch parties, and I think it does well there. You can pretty quickly summarize previous episodes if people miss, you can chat without missing anything too much, but it has enough substance to be compelling.
The premise: as teenagers, Shen Siyi and Lu Ke were inseparable best friends, until they had an argument and didn't speak for years. Now, they are working together for the same magazine. They and their close group of friends live through the trials and tribulations of youth in Shanghai. (You know it's Shanghai bc they cannot resist showing you shots of the Bund...)
The characters:
Shen Siyi: Cool and in control, she will get things done. She has a Tragic Past and a complicated family situation that has caused her to close off her heart (except to Lu Ke). She has the most amazing outfits and loves Lu Ke so much. I adore her. She's come back to Shanghai to work at Nouveau, the magazine she and Lu Ke loved as children.
Lu Ke: The most kind hearted person, who will go to the ends of the earth for her friends. Her outfits are always so cozy looking! She's been working at Nouveau, and loves Nouveau deeply (as long as it's plot convenient...)
Guan Yue: She grew up beloved by her parents, so she's still spoiled, but her heart is in the right place. She's an ~artiste~ and often impractical. I think all of the watch party disliked her for a while, but she grows up eventually!
Yao Yuan: Starts off as a bit of a playboy, but quickly becomes a romantic when he falls in love. He's a guitar player whose family owns a hotel, but his job is *handwave* an architect. (There IS a Qi Hun crossover later in the show.)
Zhang Mang: A jokester who still has a high EQ, his bantering skills are off the charts. He inexplicably disappears and reappears when plot convenient, it's very strange.
Ye Zhou: Shen Siyi's little brother, despite his wealthy background, he wants to be a cop and do good in the world! Younger than all the others, who are college friends, he's doing his best!
Cheng Nan: Lu Ke's college boyfriend, he works in tech. He's a bit insecure about his place in the world.
Lao Huang: The only member of the college group of friends who regularly uses their brain to solve emotional problems, his advice is (nearly) always the correct thing to do!
What I loved: some truly great characters, who have complicated emotions and relationships! Some really unexpectedly deep conversations happen later in the show too, which I didn't expect from a show that was billed so frothily. Excellent outfits, visually the show is pretty gorgeous. But it's not all beautiful, e.g. I loved that [redacted] was allowed to "ugly eat" when she was sad. Partially because the show is quite woman heavy, they often put men in the role of the "emotionally aware" character, which I liked.
What I didn't like: the realism of anything related to work was... extremely lacking, it was very much a "work happens for plot reasons" type of show. Also, some of the plot choices were insufferable; in particular, there's a very long tedious arc for no good reason that we all hated. rot13 spoiler: Naq bs pbhefr vg jnf n fubj gung unq gb cnve rirelbar bss. Abg harkcrpgrq sbe gur traer, ohg V ubcrq sbe orggre. I still feel like SSY/LK is the best pairing out of all of this anyway, do have to put it down in the dislike column that it was not SSY/LK endgame.
Overall, I would recommend this especially if you like modern women-focused dramas! I watched it entirely through watch parties, and I think it does well there. You can pretty quickly summarize previous episodes if people miss, you can chat without missing anything too much, but it has enough substance to be compelling.
no subject
Date: 2021-03-08 16:20 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-03-08 18:09 (UTC)