There was good stuff here. Some interesting themes and thought-provoking ideas. A pretty good mix of humor and angst. The actors did a good job. And I always adore childhood-friends-to-lovers. Overall, it was pretty good. But I was a little disorientated by some choices. It appeared the show was more invested in exploring the nature of divorce, than going deep on the relationships; the relationships were there to serve the theme, not the other way around. Which isn't wrong. Some people might enjoy it. But I felt some important moments weren't quite given the attention they deserved.

I loved the main couple, individually and as a couple. The start of their relationship was great. I loved that we got hints they'd both been in love forever, but Fu Li Gong became aware of it much, much earlier—which fits their characters. Given Zheng Ze Shou's personality, I'm not surprised he went turbo-fast once he became aware of his own feelings. Li Gong's freak out in the second half also made sense. He hid his feelings for a long time, scared of how their relationship might change; then everything did change, very suddenly, without any warning, and he didn't have the chance to process the changes or the consequences of the changes. A freak out at some point was inevitable, and I probably would've been disappointed if it hadn't come. Even so, I think the show didn't handle that entire conflict as well as it could have. Even though I understand why Li Gong reacted like he did, the show only presented the surface level. They accidentally make his anxieties seem shallow, and like he came to that decision unbelievably easily, given how invested he was in the relationship. The resolution is also a bit too easy, given the big emotions must have been going on. Given how long these two loved each other, and how much they had to lose if things went wrong (which is the entire point of the childhood-friends-to-lovers trope!!) the whole conflict kinda played out like just another disagreement and reconciliation. That being said, I like that Ze Shou eventually called him out (gently) for lying.

I don't really have much to say about the second couple. They were okay to watch, but I didn't get invested in them. Don't know why. They just didn't grab my attention.

In summary, I'm glad I watched it, and I might re-watch it to see how I feel the second time around. If my opinion changes I'll add a note to the end of this review. It's possible I was just thrown off by how unusual the show was in it's approach. Normally, a show that explores a super deep and emotional concept like divorce, will mirror that depth and emotion in the relationships. This show didn't quite match the energy. They went deep on the concept, but didn't mirror that intensity at all in the relationships, so I was left feeling the relationships were surface level and lacking (even though I might not have otherwise felt that way). All that said, I'm not sure that this approach would suit my taste anyway. I can like shows that keep things light. I like shows that take things deep. But if I can only have deep themes or deep relationship, I'd rather a deep relationship with light themes, than heavy themes with relatively surface-level relationship. But that's just me. If I end up re-watching it (which I'm not sure I will) I'll let you know if I change my mind on anything.