Going into this, I thought that this would just be a light fun watch. Oh how I was proven so wrong.

Let me start with the character Bai lang and his growth, which I considered to be the main storyline of the show. Initially, I thought that his fear of dentists was some sort of a recurring joke, but the depth and severity soon started to reveal itself. Seeing his pain and trauma was something so painful to watch, and I absolutely loved the delivery of his backstory, especially the scene with him as a younger child. I got chills every time he started going into a panic attack, the scene with him in the car and Xun an driving was so well executed. Everything perfectly explained his reaction to certain things and the environment around him, including his willingness to not commit to relationships. His fear was so realistic and moving, being so beautifully portrayed. Watching bai lang’s journey of struggle and growth is so heartwarming.

Xun an too is a wonderful character, and even though his depth and growth is more subtle, it is shown well. His backstory with his senior makes me feel sad, but we get to see him grow out of his introverted and workaholic shell to take care of Bai lang, truly showcasing the power of love.

The other side characters are also written well, each one in particular sharing their own struggles and burdens. My favorite was his sisters, which showed how she had to bear the weight of taking care of bai lang from such a young age and hence being overprotective of him.

The pacing is done well, allowing characters to instinctively move at a steady pace, without forcing them to make actions to make the story unfold quicker or be too slow. The best part about this show honestly is how realistic and genuine the characters are, and the setting, music, editing and environments all allow them to exist naturally.

But even so, I have some gripes about it…....particularly towards the side characters and the final act.

While I thought that the problems and hurdles present were enough, the show felt too insecure of itself and felt the need to have more. The second to last episode should have been quiet and calm as it was after the climax, but instead the writers shoved in more drama. Watching Xun an getting beat up from his dad just for Bai lang did not send the meaningful and sweet it did about struggling for love. It honestly pains me to see that shows like these feel the need to normalize such behaviors from parents because it is the stereotypical and traditional Asian parent-children relationships. Xun an shouldn't have needed to endure physical abuse from his dad just to be accepted by his family. I hate both his parents for allowing that cruelty to occur and I hate it even more that they were painted in a 'nice' light, like they still care about Xun an. The abusive father and doormat mother were seriously the worst parts of these series, I never want to see them ever again.

Going to a less worse part, SCREENTIME. I don't understand why the writers even bothered to set up the other three couples if they were not confident to give them enough screen time to develop. Alex and RJ while interesting characters, barely had any screen time (the age gap between them made me uncomfortable so I was never invested in them anyway but still). Don't even get me started on Ren min and Big A. Putting the sister and Qi ran is honestly is so ironic and ridiculous when both of them solidified that idea of confidence and love they received currently was enough for them. The last two episodes genuinely left such a sour taste in my mouth. It was so surprising and disappointing to see such a downfall after a brilliant first two acts.

But honestly, those don’t stop this from being a fantastic show. The characters are wonderful and the main romance is so beautiful, it really makes it all worth it. Definitely would recommend to anyone looking for a good romance show to pick up!