Fragrance of the First Flower

This mini series is breathtakingly stunning and mesmerizing with outstanding performances from the two leading actresses - Lyan and Zai Zai. Set in the universe of modern Taiwan after same-sex marriage was legalized, the story gives a new chance of finding love, healing and true selves to two women who had gone separate ways from an unresolved romantic relationship in their adolescence due to societal pressure and internalized homophobia.

I am still in awe how well crafted and thought out the series was. And you can really feel the cast and director gave so much love, care and compassion to the story, characters and the lgbt community. The actresses, especially Lyan seriously wowed me with her performances down to nano-seconds. I hope she is fully aware of her own gifts and her impact to the global lgbtq community and Asian audience who have long craved for real representation.

Fragrance of the First Flower is a deeply moving and poetic story that really makes you feel vulnerable. The production was done with spectacular details and character development. The delicate chemistry between two women in an East-Asian cultural setting was extremely well-portrayed. Refreshing, this film will make you remember its gentleness and warmth. Worth your time.

Fragrance of the First Flower is, quite possibly, the only series that's brought me to tears every single episode, for no reason other than that everything is so beautiful, and everything just feels so-real. Brought to life by outstanding, award-winning performances by its two leads, Lyan Chen and ZaiZai Lin, Fragrance of the First Flower brings to life a quiet, sweeping love story for the ages, featuring Tingting and Yi-Ming, two high school friends turned not-quite sweethearts who reunite under serendipitous circumstances years later.

One of the most incredible things about the storytelling behind FOTFF is how natural it is: at no point do you ever lose sight of the fact that Tingting and Yi-Ming are two flawed people trying to navigate the day-to-day complexities of a relationship impeded by conflicting work schedules, family dynamics, miscommunication, and the delicate social dances most queer people still feel compelled to step through.

Throughout the series-beautifully framed with soft, masterful cinematography-Tingting, who starts out as a wide-eyed optimist who wears her heart on her sleeve, comes to realize true love only comes after you remove the rose-colored lenses; and stoic, avoidant Yi-Ming discovers that love, much like the beautiful, sprawling house plants she cares for, requires deliberate, conscious nurturing to bloom and grow.

It's a landmark series for Taiwan, and for TV and film in general: the work that went into producing such a moving, well-made series must be lauded.