This review may contain spoilers
Heat death of a drama
I’d normally drop a show because it is bad and unwatchable. In this case, I just can't be bothered to watch anymore. After 6 eps, I feel like I've seen it all before and in much better productions.For instance, I gather this show follows Will Love in Spring in the schedule. Ouch, that must have hurt because while WLiS has enough chemistry to warm your house in the dead of winter, there is no chemistry here. We get the meaningful glances, but I get more feels looking at a slice of chocolate cake.
Ditto, the topic of disappearing traditional Chinese craftsmanship due to young people moving away to cities is well documented. Several shows have highlighted this and one prime example is Meet Yourself. MY is far superior in every way. Not only is the story and acting better but their predicament is woven into the plot in a humanistic way. You feel for the old masters and respect them for their dedication. In this series, all we get are buyouts, shady deals and naked greed. I will quit too if I have to put up with those shenanigans.
The opening scene of this series is so confusing. It literally dropped our leads in front of us with no preamble and then immediately does a flashback. Did that scene gave half the story away?!
Backstabbing, underhanded deals, and betrayal is the only way Chinese knows how to do business, according to this show. We are 5, 6 eps in and there is no way I would do business with any of them. This extends to the FL's family. Her family is willing to renege on their promise to sell the FL shares in the family business. All in the name of keeping the investors happy and benefiting their useless son. To paraphrase an adage, who needs enemies when you have family like that.
Speaking of friends and family, while a lot of series have quirky and interesting supporting characters, so far, I have seen none. They are all either nasty, scheming, useless and/or parasites. I suppose it means our leads have nobody to rely on except themselves . . I shall just refer back to my point on zero chemistry. Touché.
Let's talk a little about our leads now. Vic Zhou has been absent from the small screen for many moons. He is still dapper and quite stoic in this drama, but he is a little stiff as well. Need to loosen up those acting muscles.
Speaking of acting muscles, Victoria Song is quite lively and animated this time around. This is a departure from her usual stilted and pouting way. She is also playing a woman somewhat younger than her real age. Picture Zhao Lusi in that role and you'll get the picture. It is a bit of hit and miss though. I see it as a welcome change but is it too little, too late? I don't know and probably will never find out.
In the end, too many tropes, poor chemistry and dodgy characters rules this series. There is no good reason for me to keep watching. It might come good, or it might get worse. Regardless, with Joy of Life 2 going live, conservation of viewing hours is a no brainer.
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