Rose in the Storm (2020)

Don't give up after the first Eps, it gets better!

1. Story
First of all, I'm really into business dramas and I don't mind business talk at all - I have alredy read that there was going to be a whole lot of business in the storyline, yet I need to say that still I was surprised about how much it actually made up of the story. I almost dropped it after Ep.4 - but I didn't, which was definitely a good choice!!!
I really enjoyed the story behind though, but some cases were way too draggy, for example the very first one with Wan JiaHe, which didn't need to take up that many Eps as it did. But all in all, the storyline develops very well, expecially in the second half (!!).
I've read reviews where people found the love story between the first lead couple too much of "back and forth", but to me, honestly, it didn't feel that way. Yes, there COULD'VE been less of it, but nothing relly felt like it was forced to me, and regarding the fact that this drama has 40 Eps, the "back and forth"s were needed to keep the story going.

2. Characters
Well, finally a drama where I enjoyed every female character! No clumsy, childish characters - instead we got smart, strong and independent women - not only the first and second lead (Lin Wo & Alisa), but also Sun Miao and even Zheng WanYing (though she was indeed getting a lot on my nerves in the first half haha).
What also surprised me in a good way was the second lead couple: They were not "only" supporting roles, but each had their own stories - really nice to watch! And I loooved Su Yuan, he developed to such a nice character and became really enjoyable to watch :)
Also a big praise to the stylists! I loved the outfits, especially Lin Wo's business outfits, and needless to talk about Hu YiTian in suits.. ;)

3. Acting & Cast
To me, the first lead couple didn't miss any chemistry, besides they look really well together.
I am really impressed with Qiao Xin's (Lin Wo's) crying scenes, they looked very real to me - except some scenes around the end where it was a bit too much for me - but I could get the emotions she was trying to portray.

The music was nothing special to me, but it did what it should and matched the scenes very well.

All in all, a drama worth watching if you don't mind too much business! Personally, the second half was way better than the first, so I'd recommend everyone to just "bear" some scenes in order to get to the more interesting parts!
The story is indeed a more mature one, the drama contains some dark scenes, facing such topics like suicide and family problems; the love story of the first leads is also more mature (which was definitely pretty enjoyable to me!).
( Little plus: Lots of slap scenes of Gao Shan (Hu YiTian), really entertaining to watch.. I love him tho lol)

-- very small spoiler --
.. aaand last: Yes, I get why everyone is hating so hard on Bei XiaoRong, but honestly.. Wasn't it already pretty obvious that he is not gonna win over Gao Shan? :) So why not lean back and enjoy some more drama in the making..? ;))

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Never thought about falling deeply in love with you? plus complicated revenge story?

To be honest wasnt quite sure what to expect of the drama before watching it. I saw some reviews that said it was bad, but after I have watched it, overall was good but towards the end I would skip. I almost contemplating dropping it towards 36 ep because it started not to make sense... but the overall drama is acceptable. Although this drama has some traces of revenge , it wasnt the main factor/drive behind the story, a good chunk was about their job and being a financial headhunter, that make the story more breathable, but towards the end they kinda stretched the story a little too much.

Male lead is Gao Shan. He is in the financial business. He has a complicated past. His father committed suicide from having not enough money to pay the people in his warehouse( i think he also went bankrupt) Gao Shan saw his father's suicide and his mother became mentally unstable. He completes to find a job in the financial industry, more over he wants to investigate what actually happened to his father. He meets the female lead Lin Wo, she is a financial headhunter. Their jobs are to find the perfect candidate to fit the financial job opening offered by the company. Lin Wo is smart, confident. Initally Gao Shan doesnt know that Lin Wo was the suspected person that was responsible for his father's suicide. Of course Lin Wo and Gao Shan fall in love. After he finds out about her identity, he attempts to break up with her.

He eventually gives up his revenge for her which I find sweet. I mean love can overcome hatred!!!But then the story gets weird and introduces to a character named Bei xiao rong. He was someone that Lin Wo took care of when he was younger. He use to have autism when he was younger... This character is introduced at a bad time and the introduction of his just makes the rest of the drama unbearable... He also complicates things and does things to ruin the relationship between the leads.... just because he likes her...

As for the romance between the lead, I felt they had a decent chemistry/passion. Although I wasnt the biggest fan of all their " punch kisses" ( lol term I made up) All their kisses were so forceful, like they plant the kiss in their face with force like punching someone lol. Can't they just be gentle?

Can we talk about the choice of clothing for the female lead? some formal outfits were so opened and low cut? ( something we dont really seem much in Chinese dramas)

Im so glad it wasnt just revenge driven or else it would be a very negative drama....It honestly did better than I expected.

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