Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Let’s play a game of Whack-A-Trope!
I started watching this show when it was first released. It looks alright. I got past the half way mark before I was blocked by the VVIP pay wall. I ended up watching other shows and shelved it until now. I thought I'd finish it, but to my surprise, it was quite a struggle.After giving it some thought, this is my conclusion. While the first dozen or so eps were decent if samey to many other contemporary c-dramas at least there was enough energy to push the story along. It is obvious that the show is a grab bag of tropes from the get-go.
However, once the plot is on rail and the OTP are officially, all the momentum are gone. What is left are very tropey plots and cliche gags to try to keep things moving until the bitter end.
This is not helped by poor character development. The ML is obviously the typical cold, low EQ boss and the FL is the damsel in waiting. Rather than allowing both characters to grow (up), the writer paints the ML into a corner.
The ML is now a lovesick puppy who run through all the typical dating fails. For example, he can't cook but tried his best to cook a meal for her. It was cute the first time. Not cute by the 6th time! He is constantly asking for relationship advice but totally misses the point.
This is a man who is supposed to be an intellectual giant, a peerless lawyer. He behaves like a lovesick high schooler EVERYDAY. Yes, he is a noob to love but flogging the same horse for 30 eps, is exhausting and makes him looks like a fool.
On the other hand, the FL is supposed to grow into a lawyer that is a fitting mate for the ML. I'm sure it was written in bold and probably underlined in red by the writer but what the show delivered is largely the same meek character.
The ML is overbearing and too protective. It got so bad that the FL took a break from their relationship. Bravo GF! Finally, a bit of gumption. There was a breakthrough of sort around ep.35. It was so contrived. It went from confrontation to reconciliation in a heartbeat. Then after all the flowery speech about giving her space, respect and undying love, the ML just went back to being a green-eyed monster in the next scene. It is odd how much time he is seen not doing real work. He just seems to be stuck in a loop alternatively trying to please her and annoy her.
This type of repetition is everywhere. A kiss being interrupted by a phone call is a tired tropey nowadays but in this show, I ran out of fingers trying to count the times they were interrupted if there is a mere hint of skinship.
Oh yes, speaking of skinship, there are some, but they are mechanical and lack passion. It pretty much mirrors their chemistry. It is there and they whisper sweet nothing to each other on cue, but it is not very convincing. This is further tested when the show introduces a SFL who scored the worst own goal. Least said, the better. You want to see chemistry, watch the first few eps of Amidst A Snowstorm. You won’t regret it.
It won’t be a party if we just talk about the leads. How about the tone deaf, bootlicking junior lawyer? Someone needs to have a good chat with him. Preferably in a soundproof padded cell and behind locked door.
The grand prize goes to the antagonist, He is given so much prominence. When you consider he is supposed to be the twice winner of the Golden Scale Award yet at every turn he is proven to be a C grade lawyer but an A grade douche bag, it is sending some weird message about the Chinese legal fraternity. His denouement didn’t happen until the dying minutes of ep.36. It was long time coming but it was unrewarding. He is not punished in any tangible way. His parting words are, “this isn’t over!”. Yay . . . I think.
At this point, I must call out the handful of legal cases the drama presented to us. They range from meh to sad. I don’t know the Chinese legal system, but I don’t think the writer is much more knowledgeable. Time and again, the cases are supposed to showcase the ability of the leads, but they are so contrived, it is like reading a murder mystery backwards. Scenes in the courtroom are perfunctory.
Of course, the HEA ending arrived on cue. It is fine. The last ep is total fan service, it is FINE. The 5 minutes long epilogue is the bomb!
I could have just labelled this a fluffy rom-com and move on. But somehow, this show irritates me. Maybe it is the ham-fisted use of tired tropes, the shallow witless plots or cliché moments stuck on repeat. Regardless, I had more fun writing this review than watching the show. That's a win, isn't it?
Cet avis était-il utile?
Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
best rom-com of 2024!
i had high expectations for this drama since the beginning and it didn’t disappoint me at all. it was my first time to watch a drama with chen xing xu and i’m in love. this drama is a perfect mixture of fluffy, funny and cute moments.i’m a big fan of slow burn dramas and since this drama has 36 episodes, it’s normal for the romance to develop after a while. because i actually prefer for them to take a while to get together rather than having a breakup (it’s usual in dramas with this amount of episodes). regarding the drama, i laughed a lot with them, the female and male main leads expressions are the best.
the side characters are also cute and funny. of course, they put another female lead persuading Qian Heng, it was inevitable. this character that went after QH and it kinda mess up with the plot, because it wasn’t needed at all! but i think this was like a push for the female lead career improvement. she changed work places and worked harder to get a name by herself, and not to be called Qian Heng’s girlfriend. some people didn’t like the ending, but i feel like it was very realistic. i wouldn’t like to be considered as someone’s girlfriend, i would like to be known as the career i chose. she’s tired of living as Qian Heng shadow.
i found it very hard to like both main leads in chinese dramas, i usually don’t even like the female lead characters and i loved her, she’s super cute! their chemistry is also very good and it feels like it’s a little realistic, it really feels like a REAL relationship. so both main leads are the cutest!
the fact that i watched this with broken subtitles and enjoyed it so much says a LOT. this is one of the best chinese dramas that i’ve watched. definitely my best trope. i will rewatch it for sure.
beware before watching: it takes a while for their relationship; the male lead is cold for her in the beginning; focus a lot in the side couple; it’s super funny, it’s very light; the ending is kinda rushed (no wedding scenes), but worth it.
Cet avis était-il utile?
Starts off kind of promising, but then turns into just a montage of CEO cliches.
The basic problem with this story is... well.... the story.ML starts off as a domineering, powerful, cold, calculating badboy. But when he realizes he's in love with the FL halfway through the drama, he suddenly becomes pathetic, grovelly, sweet and spineless. It's like he turns into a completely different character altogether.
For those of us who like badboy ML's, the way he falls apart and turns into a simp as soon as he realizes he loves her, is a huge turnoff. It's not cute, and it's not sexy. It's just extremely cringe.
In the beginning, there was some novelty to the way this couple becomes closer. But at that halfway mark, suddenly the ways the ML and FL are pushed together through the story become really insultingly cliche. He hurts his hand so she has to tie his tie. The power goes out and they have to talk in the dark. Just really stupid basic shit with zero imagination.
Really disappointed in this one, because the way it started off was so promising that I'm surprised at how cheap the writing became as the show went on.
Cet avis était-il utile?
The best Chinese Rom-Com!
Initially I watched this drama because of Chen Xing Xu because I fell for him since drama Fall In Love and I like the female lead since I watched A Date With Future. These twi ML and FL absolutely a good and brilliant combination. These two are very cute!From 1st episode until now, all the character are perfect and each character is important including this Bao Rui. Even the supporting character also cute and helpful.
The storyline maybe a bit cliche, but how all they played their character were very good until I got carried away. Well done! Now I turned myself into Chen Xing Xu fans.
Whoever looking for simple Rom-Com Cdrama, here is the answer! I give 4/5 stars!
Cet avis était-il utile?
Best chemistry for CXX
I was sure that fall in love was his best alchemy until I looked at MY BOSS. When the relationship begins I find that his look at cheng yao and his way of being was admirable. CXX gave everything and I'm sure it was because he was with an actress his age. It was simpler, more fluid. I didn't like "our interpreter" where I found the lead very cold and closed. At least Cheng Yao (RUONAN) was warm and it felt good. It's an excellent romance office. You can go there with your eyes closed. You will laugh, cry, be envious, be amused, feel full of emotions.The best cdrama of 2024 at the moment.
Cet avis était-il utile?
Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Hypocritical & Lazy scriptwriting with dull chemistry
PLOT & GENRE DISTRIBUTION - This drama never had a rise arc but fell straight after introduction simply due to lazy writing. Rom-Com + Any other genre .. never works for me, because they most of the time completely overshadow the other genre. Something similar happened here, Law as a genre was slaughtered here passionately instead it was suppose to bond our leads.THEME - Feminism was the main idea behind this production but fell flat. Writers of this drama had a wishful thinking that they were doing female population a great favour by voicing their opinions through this drama. All throughout the show I never witnessed female characters stating their rights and P.O.Vs where needed. Just saying that character is strong doesn't make them one, actions speak louder than words. Here, you'll see neither actions nor words.
ACTING - Cheng Xi, Bao Rui, Tan Ying and Liang Yi Ran may be Yu Fei also, were the only well acted characters for me. No hate for actors I haven't seen their others works yet, so I refrain from strong opinion but FL had only overstretched grin and sad pout as reactions which made it difficult to read her emotions and ML was there for thirsty viewers like me 🤭 but I couldn't feel his emotions. ML and FL had no chemistry at all, it felt that they fell in love just because it was the story arc, that's it.
CHARACTERS & DEVELOPMENT - I saw no character development.
> Qian Heng - From the beginning to end he was arrogant, self-righteous, domineering, (it's not bad if done right way), rude, possessive, hypocritical and clueless I must say. As, a lawyer he was professional lawyer indeed but he needed to cut some slack on controlling behaviour. I understand it was his first relationship, yet, you shouldn't go out of the way to disrespect other's opinions. At some point he told FL to not date until 2 years and focus on career, they fell in love that's not the problem, but don't interfere in her work unnecessarily, that's rude. Clearly, he was at peak of his career so everything felt easy for him, but she was starting from the scratch yet, obviously if your partner take pride in their work they will not like your influence on it even though his intention was to help but sadly it backfired. As I said he was self-righteous, he thought actively helping her through his connections was right thing to do and clearly she minded it all. This character was hypocritical than the writing itself, his words were all support for FL, but actions weren't. Since they lacked chemistry, 180 turn on his personality after dating felt unreal. He was cute until he was not. He needed to groom his inner child better.
> Cheng Yao - Faltering, stubborn, ignorant, impulsive and extremely naive. Another clueless character who needs to them spoon-fed every info. As, a lawyer she was lacking, well definitely she was rookie but not layman🙄. She waited for ML to react on her behalf. well woman up girl you are a lawyer yourself. (Atleast you have read law books 👀). At the end of the drama she becomes successful, oh well🙃, I mean they clearly implied that when she moved firms she became a success in no less than six months ... ok .. so maybe that firm was the problem or maybe her 24hrs involvement with ML she clearly needed to breathe some alone air. She didn't handled Liang Yi Ran episode well, it was a great opportunity to show her professional side thay missed it great time. Even if she shifted firms but she should have handled that matter herself, it was about her integrity as lawyer which she kept yelling about from day 1 but no our pampered ML will come and solve issue for us .. dah dude??🤡 In their relationship she was the lacking one, I never felt any affection towards ML from this character, it seemed as if dating wasn't her pursuit and yes it was not? it clearly states she wanted to be a top lawyer in synopsis and her mind was fixated on that, all this dating stuff felt forced. She wasn't serious about being professional unless LYR called her out. I think this character was better fit with Gu Bei Qing than ML.
> Wu Jun - Persistent, carefree, cheery, supportive and little bit Selfish😆. As a lawyer we didn't get to how he was, there wasn't much shown, but he has kind heart and has better personality than ML. In short, all he did was follow his love and support her unconditionally and clean up after ML's mess🤭. But chemistry between 2nd couple was good and reason I continued so let's cut him some slack. This character was true to it's origin till end.
> Cheng Xi - Wu jun's love interest, Deng Ming's ex, Cheng Yao's sister that's what she describe her not cheng xi, still the actress portrayed her role well. This character at least I expected to turn out strong if not FL, but no she was again overshadowed. I loved the scenes she was in, but I wished a lot for this character to develop but to no avail
> Bao Rui - He was funny until he was not, initially I enjoyed his scenes where he portrayed self-obsessed, boss stalker (in good way), conceited and I am centre of world personality, but in later episodes it became annoying. I had few laughs because of the office trio.
> Tan Ying & Yu Fei - Sweet and endearing, their love story was far more interesting than main couple.
> Liang Yi Ran - Yes, we needed THAT one girl, so here she is, actress played well. It was indeed a filler, but ignited something in FL to become more serious about her profession.
STORY - Two words - Paper thin. Full of fillers and was parody of well known troupes and cliches. So many false claims on feminism, which were never brought to action. Cases weren't dealt properly.. maybe execution problem. Many story arcs were cut short or weren't dealt with carefully, everything was stuffed in last episode. I don't think intimacy is deemed necessary for romance but please give us some tension or believable couple. After living under the same roof, FL doesn't changed a bit.🙄 She acted the same as his assistant and as his girlfriend. 🤡 They literally made the mess out of law, if you can't balance then don't mention it at all, just let it be a rom-com .. just don't add another genre. She aspired to be top lawyer, but her passion is nowhere to be seen. She literally shirked away her responsibility and ran off when scolded by her boss, I know she is sulking since it's a rom-com but girl she is not your BF yet. Just for the sake of humour they did 360 with parents, indeed it was a filler.
PACE - Slow-paced but should come with warning that you could get frustrated. I have no problem with slow-pace, have watched some awesome shows with slow pace. But there has to be some development to keep us engaging, pacing was not true rom-com genre. It was painstakingly annoying.
EXECUTION - They gave an already weak story another shock with execution. It made story even more pathetic.
DIRECTION/CINEMATOGRAPHY - There were some random unneeded shots and there weren't much aesthetics to point out otherwise it was good.
Music/SFX - I won't be listening on repeat that's for sure, but went well with moods they tried hard to present. 😆 Opening OST and one I don't remember ep no. , but the one when she was sad over the celebrity case, I liked them.
One last thing, they needed a better stylist, only Tan Ying and Cheng Xi stood out it terms of fashion.
Cet avis était-il utile?
another fluffy chinese romcom
Very timeless romance, and i say it not as a compliment... It's certainly not modern enough for being aired in 2024! I enjoyed it without skipping much, in-between other dramas, BUT it's totally NOT something you can take seriously. The ML and FL look good and are funny enough for a light-hearted series, the topic is there, decent job etc.Packed with tropes though, to the point that some are bothersome. What chances are that the young aspiring FL lawyer gets to share "by accident" a rent house with her famous ML boss? Also it comes out that their parents are ex-colleagues? Add to this that everyone - and i mean EVERYONE - in this drama is young and single? Except for the two pairs of parents, of course. Fake problems appear too - the ML is overprotective while the FL is too upright etc. Both sisters suffer from being called LadyBoss... REALLY?? Can i suffer with you??
My personal objection is also to the MANY ENDLESS outfits the FL is wearing... How come a young aspiring average lawyer can afford to be sooo sooo fashionable? And another personal objection to chinese dramas - everyone looks ANOREXIC, to the point that the FL is described as weighing 40 kg to a height of 1.66m!! Come again??
Just put your brain at rest and enjoy!
Cet avis était-il utile?
So so
it’s an okay series for me, but I’ve been skipping a bit on some scenes, Chemisty is okay too. But plot’s nothing new. if you just want something to enjoy this is an okay series. it’s not the kind that would pull you in and make you feel different emotions & would make you want to finish the whole thing without skipping. overall it’s bearable and sometimes enjoyable, The ML looks good and very manly not your typical skinny tall ML. The FL is cute but I think a straight or wavy hair would look better on her, her curly long hair felt so heavy whenever I see her heheheCet avis était-il utile?
Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Watch this for 2 of our main lead Chen Xing Xu & Zhang Ruo Nan. But in the end more like the 2nd couple, Cheng Xi (CX) & Wu Jun (WJ).Quite confuse what score to give to this drama. Quite bored in the middle, quite confuse with all the legal stuff, but also quite entertained with several scene. So just settle with 7 in the end.
The story begin with our FL, Cheng Yao (CY), who quit her job due to keep getting unimportant task from her old job. Like have to company her boss in various meeting & drinking party. CY got new job & must move to new place & by 'coincidence' move to the same flat with the ML, Qian Heng (QH), which also turn out to be her new boss.
The story rolled after that not so strange for us. CY did her job wonderfully & make QH fall in love with her & of course as usual CY also fall in love with her amazing boss....
Oh i forgot to mention we also have the classic problem... QH happen to be insomniac & only CY can put him to sleep. Unfortunately later on they kinda forget about this problem. Or u may say they 'cure it'. Never really mention in the first place how QH have problem with it, just a few brief moment about it, really hope they elaborated more about this....
Ok. That's briefly about our drama. Now what I like & don't like about this drama. What I like first:
+ The good chemistry between Zhang Ruo Nan & Chen Xing Xu. Not saying this is the best chemistry for them, but they quite compatible.
+ The 'stupid' QH. Sometimes it just funny to see how stupid man when comes to relationships.
+ The second couple Cheng Xi (CX) & Wu Jun (WJ). As I stated before, I more like their story. They have more steady story to develop, their story also more logic & overall just more realistic that our main couple.
+ The stupid Bao Rui (BR). Haha... This guy is so stupid & cute. He can't take a slight hidden gesture, even a big reveal, like when Tan Ying & Yu Fei already tell him about their relationship, BR still take it as a joke....
+ The way QH learn about how to see CY in the equal level with him in the end. This actually that bump the score of this drama a little bit more for me.... Yeah quite hate him & frustrated with him at first when he still didn't understand when CY told him that QH never really put his shoes in her feet. But all turn out good in the end.
+ Strong opinionated FL. CY looked like soft woman from the outside, she didn't talk much. But she had several unwavering opinion, that in the end also make QH have softer heart & new understanding about human relationships.
Now what I don't like:
- The stupid & slow QH. Yeah although he's a little bit cute when he need to search every little thing on Baidu. But it really frustrated me when he didn't want to acknowledge his feeling for CY. And the way he get jealous over little things also annoyed me...
- The legal term that this drama use. Sometimes it just bored me & make me confuse even. Maybe cause it just slightly different then my country...
- the unnecessary love rival. Ugh... I already so happy when they don't have love rival in the beginning till middle of the drama. But when suddenly they threw Liang Yi Ran it made me slightly grumble
- This drama gave slight pic that man should protect their woman, and woman can't do much without man protection. Yeah that changes in the end. And I hope it enough to put understanding into woman & man who watch this drama.
Overall this quite good drama to watch
Cet avis était-il utile?
Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Delightful Slice of Life Romance
I don’t know how the male lead is only 27 when he looks like he’s 37 next to the female lead.From the comment section, a lot of people were upset about the lack of kissing and sex scenes. If you’re looking for that and not a good story with good acting, this isn’t the series for you. Guess people like to see some tonguing with the main couple. Others want a bedroom scene where they actually have sex rather than just the implied scenes where they go into the bedroom. Or the ML saying they’ve done everything except get marry. Maybe people are horny for it to determine if a series is good or not. Personally I don’t need the sex scenes if a series has no story to tell with bad acting that it needs gratuitous sex and kissing to sell the series.
It’s been a while since I have seen such a funny series. The series was so good that I was able to binge it in 3 days.
Cheng Yao is not your typical female protagonist which is why a lot of people find her annoying. They are expecting her to be formulaic to being helpless and needing a man to save her. She is strong willed and believe in using her strengths in unconventional ways to deal with the law and life.
Qian Heng is the tsundere ML who is humbled by the FL in many ways that he grows as person. If this is a trope it is t a boring one in the way it was executed by the actor and story arc.
Wu Jun is such a golden retriever with the FL sister Cheng Xi. I am glad she gave her ex hubby his just desserts in the end.
The Glory and Wealth gang was delightful to the office dynamics.
All the side characters were well fleshed out. The court cases are interesting. The female antagonist wasn’t needed but I guess with 36 episodes they need some juicy toxic drama thrown in.
The mom provided some ridiculous comic relief. Overall, it’s worth watching.
Cet avis était-il utile?
Cette critique peut contenir des spoilers
Lovely acting but slow pacing
This has a slow, torturous beginning. Honestly it was kind of hard to watch the ML be mean to the FL and she just smiles and stays bubbly.The pacing was slow too. I don’t mind things progressing at a natural pace but the episodes leading up to the leads being together draaaaaged. And then the writers inserted OW drama. Yikes. If it weren’t for the FL’s and ML’s character arcs, I probably would’ve quit this show.
I like that the FL wasn’t just all about the love she had for the ML. She wanted to be her own kind and professional person and that was lovely. I also love that the ML didn’t start looking around for someone else when the GL didn’t just make things easy for him. So despite the pacing, I watched this show for the mature and realistic development of feelings and relationship between the main leads and the two secondary couples. Lovely acting and fun music that you find yourself randomly humming throughout the day.
Cet avis était-il utile?
Feel-good drama
I am having a mixed feeling about this drama. I am fairly new to Chinese Dramas ,which is why it is quite hard for me to stick to dramas with many (36 too many) episodes. I guess I have no patience for it. The first 15 episodes were cute and fun to watch. Even the ML is starting to warm up to FL. The way he looks at her can melt any other girls into puddles. The chemistry is definitely "chemistrying" for both leads but the FL....Oh god how dense can she be? Can't believe the writer is portraying the FL, who is supposed to be a lawyer but she is acting like a doormat to her ML/boss all the time. She is so dumb at getting the signals the ML is so desperately trying to send to her. And don't get me started on the ML. He is very good looking (probably why I am tolerating this drama) but he is acting like an inexperienced school boy in love. His lines can be cringrey and childish at times. Not cool at all for a so called successful 30 yo lawyer. If the drama keeps on dragging back and forth, without any confession from either of them anytime soon, God help me I will flip the table. It's starting to get on my nerves!The lesson to be learned from this drama: BE HONEST AND CLEAR ABOUT YOUR FEELINGS ALREADY!!! or else we'll be pulling our hair out going around in circles up untill the last episode.
Cet avis était-il utile?