Review: Hidden Love [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Show’s got quite a few things going for it: it’s full of pretty polish, boasts a pair of good-looking leads who share a sparky chemistry, has a cast of likable characters (with the rare exception, for purposes of narrative tension), and has a very enjoyable soundtrack to score it all.

Show’s biggest strength, though, in my opinion, is its ability to serve up feels that feel at once real and relatable.

Our entire premise is the crush that our female lead Sang Zhi (Zhao Lu Si) has on Jiaxu (Chen Zhe Yuan), and Show’s ability to bring the feels to life, of all the nuances of how it feels to have a crush on someone, is so spot on.

A very easy, enjoyable, sometimes cracky watch, provided you get around some of the points of discomfort that some viewers experienced – which I’ll talk about later, in this review.

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Review: A Dream Of Splendor [China]

THE SHORT VERDICT:

On the upside, Show is gorgeous to look at, and features two beautiful leads in Crystal Liu and Chen Xiao.

Best of all, our leads are both strong characters in their own rights, and who also share a lot of crackly chemistry; y’know, the kind that threatens to leap off your screen and slap you in the face. 🔥

On top of that, Show is a proponent of female independence AND female friendships. How rare! 🤩

On the downside, Show loses some of that excellent dramatic tension in its second half, which can be a damper. I also didn’t jive so well with Show’s sense of humor, a lot of the time.

Still a very solid watch overall, though. Watch it for the leads, if nothing else. 😁

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