Daqui a Coração

Apparently when Netflix says that the 30th is the last day to watch a show, they really mean the 29th is the last day for viewing. I wouldn't have been able to finish HtH anyway, but I did intend to watch more than 18 eps. It doesn't matter, it was starting to feel like a chore, anyway.

Our ML, Zhan Nan Xian, now CEO of a cosmetics company, and our FL, Wen Nuan, were in love in HS, but they broke up. We don't get the full story in the beginning. The show rolls it out in pieces. "You've been back for so many days. Do you want to keep hiding in your shell and stay there forever?" - Zhan Nan Xian queries his turtle. It's been 7 years. She's been in Europe and he's buried his head in work, but that doesn't stop the recurring nightmares. 7 years has not healed their hearts.

But ya gotta make a living, right? She's coming back to China, so when they offer her the job as his personal assistant, she takes it. This is typical of the emotional shortcuts one might see in a modern-day 🇨🇳Chinese drama. We'll get to talking about that in a bit. When Wen goes to work for CEO Zhan she gets a new office, new responsibilities, a new boss, and new enemies. One woman thinks Wen went and took HER job. Zhan Nan Xian's movie actress GF doesn't like it when she sees that wench, Wen, with her BF, either. Let the plots and underhanded schemes begin.

Zhan Nan Xian never stopped loving Wen, even when she broke up with him. He never understood what happened, but he's determined to win Wen back whenever he can. He keeps his GF, though... Wen is dating Zhu Lin Lu, who runs his own company. At least, they tell us they are dating, but this is a bizarre relationship. They don't see eachother much and they don't act the least bit romantic. Zhu Lin Lu's company is in direct competition with Zhan Nan Xian's, so Wen is put in awkward situations that are difficult to wend, and she is often caught in the middle. The greed and corporate espionage is ham-handed, but it's still fun, at times.

HTH is a 2018 release that is rated 91 on AWiki. It is 1 season consisting of 48 45-minute eps. In the 18 eps I saw it has the distinction of being the 2nd-worst modern-day C🇨🇳 feature I've seen (Hot Girl-3.9 will be hard to beat for the worst) but it also has some exceptional romantic moments. The show creators waste all of the emotional currency. It feels like the show opens without a proper ep1 to lay the groundwork. We don't know these people, what motivates them, what led them to where they are, and why they are going where they're going. We don't know why it's a big deal that she's coming to work for him, we aren't invested in their love story, we don't know why she has another boyfriend who barely seems to be a boyfriend, and we don't know why she ran away to Europe. We get flashes of their past life but it's nothing that would lead us to cheer them on as a couple. It's fine to roll these things out gradually, but it is not okay to leave the viewer on the outside looking in. The viewer must be brought in, emotionally, to make the show enjoyable.

Speaking of enjoyable, HtH has its bright spots. Zhang Jian Jun Wei's song is very nice. There's a tasty kiss or two (after which it's strangely like nothing happened). Ep5 is beautiful. They sightsee in London. At one point they recite poetry to lovely background music, and it is magnificent. As they stroll around London, they stop to enjoy a street musician playing an acoustic cover of 'Free Falling'. It sounds pretty good, and it's obvious that the film crew stumbled onto the singer and incorporated the music into the show. It was a good move: The natural vibe is a jolting contrast to the rest of the show's over-managed feel & under-developed characters, it's very like a '70s Mennen Skin Bracer slap-in-the-face ad. I loved ep5 so much I was going to rewatch it on the 30th. Thanks for the clarity, Netflix, sigh.

The C🇨🇳 excel at fantasy and period pieces and have put out some all-world, all-time stuff, save for some clunky special effects. (I'll take a well written, directed and acted low-budget piece over a big-budget bore every day of the week). Their modern-day stuff is as bad as their other stuff is good. HtH's stuffin' is typical of C🇨🇳 modern-day features: ⚠In flashbacks they always have the same outfits on ⚠She's packing a small suitcase for a London trip. She holds up two trench coats, a tan one and a red one, and asks which one she should take. On the trip we see her in a grey trench coat and then a blue one, but not a tan nor red one. ⚠Is she wealthy? Does she have to work? There's conflicting evidence. ⚠Why does the ML keep his actress GF, and why does the FL keep her shallow, cheatin BF?

None of that makes sense except for this: Dream logic. Sometimes in a dream a person may look like someone else, but you know who it really is. Or it may look like one thing is happening, but you know what's /really/ going on; You just know. C🇨🇳 modern-day dramas use dream logic. You must accept certain things as so and skip forward. Otherwise - don't bother, they'll make you crazy - things will not add up. Even period and fantasy Cdramas will expect us to walk an invisible bridge from point A to F and not fuss about them filling in the gaps. Sometimes the simplicity seems to connect to the style of ancient plays, especially when the characters are excessively naive. Other times it seems lacking or lazy. The trade off is that the simplicity of these shows is relaxing. They are perfect for times when the anxiety is up. It's up to the individual to do the tally and decide if the trade balance is positive or not.

Zhang Han is ML Zhan Nan Xian & Janine Chang is FL Wen Nuan. Her hair is always messy in the early episodes which doesn't fit with her personality or her position. Are we supposed to like the FL's sister, who goes into work and acts like a b!+ch on wheels? I wanted to slap her. Zhu Lin Lu is the corporate & romantic competition, Jing Chao. He plays an attentive guard in Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, but in HtH he is brash and irresponsible (and he looks like Tom Brady's leaner, meaner brother). {RRLITP is a perfect show thru 49 episodes. I almost never look ahead, but while reading up on whether it was a true story or not, I learned how heartbreaking it is in its second half, so I abandoned it at the point of a perfect ending. She (Ruyi) had already been through enough. Thru ep49, RRLITP is spectacular. The writing, directing, and acting are as good as it gets. None of that reaches the heights of its breathtaking visual beauty. It's not a true story, btw. It is inspired by a real monarch who suddenly put away his wife, never to see her again but there are no written records on the details - so the show is 90% artistic license.} Jenny Zhang plays a vapid actress and current GF of our ML. In Ancient Love Poetry(8.6) she's dynamite with a performance that is over-the-top, but appropriate for the role. The result is mesmerizing.

Anyway, C🇨🇳 modern-day features are designed for turning off one's brain. There's obvious political reasons for that, but we won't get into it. Reasons aside, there's always gonna be a need for such tranquilizers. One has to wonder if these actors can act as they appear so 2D in HtH, but Zhu Lin Lu and Jenny Zhang can ACT. Don't judge C🇨🇳 actors' capabilities based on a modern day show, as they aren't permitted to truly show what they are capable of.

The best modern-day C🇨🇳 shows that I've seen are: Meteor Garden-7.4 (it wanes next to Boys Over Flowers-8), I Hear You-7.3, & You Are My Destiny-6.8, which drags in the middle. The Oath Of Love was on track to be one of the best, but it left Prime before I could finish it. Love 020 series-6.8 and Accidentally In Love-6.5 get honorable mention; they pass the time acceptably. The very best one is King's Avatar-8, but it is about a RPG competition and contains no romance. That's all, folks.

QUOTES📢

If I should meet thee, After long years, How should I greet thee? With silence and tears. 'Tis nothing that I loved so well. Yet did I love thee to the last as fervently as thou. Who didst not change through all the past. And can't not alter now. The better days of life for ours; The worst can be but mine. And show that love, however vain, Nor thou nor I can feel again. The loveliest things that still remain. Through dark and dread eternity. Returns again to me. And more thy buried love endearing. That aught except its living years. ~Lord Byron~

Rated PG-13: P's Cautioned

ps. 5/19/24> Having recently seen a couple excellent C🇨🇳modern-day shows, I have to amend the record. NF seems to have fixed their issue, too.

In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:

💓 - C🇨🇳: Well-Intended Love 7.5 (Rom-porn/extra points for the dopamine); A Little Thing Called First Love 8.5; Find Yourself 8.9; The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8; The Sleepless Princess 9.1 K🇰🇷 : A Witch's Love 7.8; Love To Hate You 8.9; Touch Your Heart 8.2; Crash Landing On You 9.1; Oh My Ghost 10; It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9; Hospital Playlist 9; My Mister 9.5;

🎎 - C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4, Under the Power 8.6, The Rebel Princess 9.1, The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (ancient 🇨🇳 opera style), The Rise of Phoenixes 9 K🇰🇷: My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy; Mr. Queen 8.5; My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo 8.5; The King's Affection 8.3; Mr. Sunshine 9

🔮🐉- C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9; Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5; Douluo Continent 9.4; Handsome Siblings 8.7; Eternal Love 8.3, Ancient Love Poetry 8.6; Love and Redemption 10

⚡/😱 - C🇨🇳: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!; K🇰🇷: K2 8; Private Lives 8.1; Sisyphus 8; Tunnel 8.1; Signal 8.6; The Man From Nowhere 8.9 Black 9; Squid Game 8.4; Kingdom 8.3;

The acting and the plot was very nice and smooth, the actress and actor all were relatively good looking, the only thing that annoys me is the cgi (fake) office and fake lift to the office. Seems unprofessional

This is the 3rd drama from Hans Zhang - Boss & me, Sunshine of my life & this. All 3 are fantastic. So far in Sunshine of my life is the best due its plot & swoonworthy, he has the most beautiful female lead & luckily here he has also a beautiful female lead.

Another chinese drama that contain unrequited love, back-stabbing, deceit & lies.

It's a shame truly sad that women are portrayed as such no dignity, no self-confidence & no shame.

It's a long drama & some scenes are draggy & long. I fast forward some scenes that are not related to the 2 main leads.

Some scenes are just frustrations.

Instead of the 2 main leads Nanxian & WenNuan talk like an adult, they go on defend, silent treatment & attack.

Watched but will not rewatch.

This drama got me hooked from episode 1, the moment seemingly cold and ruthless CEO Zhan Nanxian (Hans Zhang) told himself, "you'll get Wen Nuan back". Seven years ago, Wen Nuan (Janine Chang) broke up with Nanxian for unexplained reasons and left for UK. Now she is back in Shanghai and somehow gets a job in sales in Nanxian's company. Against her judgement, even after she lied that her boyfriend is Zhu Linlu (Jing Chao), her most supportive friend who happens to be the general manager of a competitor company, she gets promoted to be Nanxian's assistant.

I would normally avoid this kind of drama, full of angst with a female lead whose instinctive response to problems is to clam up and flee. And Nanxian is not blameless either. Why have such a high-profile actress, Bo Yixin (Jenny Zhang), for a girlfriend if he intended to get Nuan back? And Yixin used to be Wen Nuan's best friend too, so the betrayal was doubly painful for Nuan. But I couldn't stop watching even though it gets draggy sometimes. There is just something compelling about Nanxian's formidable yet haunted and lonely CEO character that makes you want him to get the girl.

And I'm so glad I stuck it out. The ending is worth the angst.

This filming portrays every feeling that it presents you were on the edge of your seat waiting for the next move anxious for each response. Very happy with the writers and actresses and actors this just makes me want more.