Chun se ji qing ren

A brilliant choice to create a series with main lead working as an embalmer because Will Love in Spring is not just a romance, but also talks about Life & Death. There are many beautiful scenes with meaningful dialogues. A drama that help me experience personal growth. It is not hard to fall in love with female lead because her struggle does not stop her to be an optimistic person and being lovable for others. Some scenes are very heartbreaking, but we are taught to be able to get up again. The cinematography is the best too, remind me to the movie Chungking Express. I keep taking screenshot because of the dialogues and scenes.

This is not a romcom. It deals with life and death and the acceptance and overcoming of events when things don't go right in our path. I liked the first half of the episodes more. They were uplifting and yet tragic and the slow burn romance of the two leading characters is just wonderful to watch. Then it gets a bit boring and slowly develop to events that are annoying especially the changes affecting the FL's character. This series needs patience to watch especially in the second half of the series. I did drop it and came back to it after a long pause. The cinematography and conversations and storytelling are worth watching. I just wished the pace could pick up a bit.

At the writing of this review, its MDL rating is at 8.5. I am actually a little surprised that it's so high. Not that I don't like the drama, in fact, I really like it. But for the fact that with quite a controversial and flawed female lead, who has made some questionable decisions and said some mean words, I think some watchers might really be put off by her.

"Will Love in Spring" is definitely not a romantic comedy. Death is a central theme, and if this is one of your taboo subjects, do not watch this drama. There are some funny and sweet/fluffy moments. But for the most part, this is a mature, dark, healing drama. It's a character-driven drama that focuses on our main leads' development and their relationships with family members and each other. This is a mature drama that makes you think.

Li Xian and Zhou Yu Tong have excellent chemistry from start to finish. Their romance is nicely developed from when they first met in high school, to reconnecting again as adults. They had a long and bumpy ride before they hit the final destination in the very last episode. Zhang Jie (FL) is an independent, feisty, outgoing professional woman who still struggles with low-esteem due to her disability. However, at one point, I do find her shenanigans a little repetitive. I also believe many viewers are mad at her during the New Year's Eve episode (ep 15?). Her actions and words towards Chen Mai Dong (ML) were uncalled for and downright mean. But given what happened that night at home, her past trauma and what she's gone through in life, I can understand her and choose to have faith in her. What was most disappointing to me is her decision in the last couple episodes. Not being honest with ML about her decision and plans until the very end is more unforgiving to me. They have always had an honest and open relationship from bickering to comforting each other. Why can't she be honest now? But, I give props to the drama for not crashing and burning in the end. The final episode wraps out everything nicely and gives me closure to Chen Main Dong and Zhang Jie's story. The conversation they had at the NanPing train station: FL's realization of her actions and ML's clear understanding of FL's personality, strengths and weaknesses, and his explanation and forgiveness, brought me so much comfort and joy. In the end, they found love and learned to love. For romance lovers, let's not forget to include the fact that this couple is very affectionate and not afraid to display their affections through kisses and hugs. Lastly, Chen Mai Dong is another green flag and only he can balance out Zhang Jie's energy.

There are so many lovely side characters in this drama. I love the relationship of the siblings. Niao Niao (little sis) is played by the talented child actress, Zhang Xi Wei. What a little firecracker and smartass she is. She brings so much color to the drama. Wu Jun Ting plays the quirky and sweet younger brother, Zhuang Yan. Who has a pet goose and walks it like a dog?? Zhuang Yan! I haven't seen Wu Jun Ting since "Time and Her are Just Right". I loved him in that drama and remembered his nice deep voice. I also envy the friendship between Grandma Chen and Grandma Lin. They are the poster children for best-friend-forever friendship. I enjoy the sisterhood between FL and Wang Xi Xia. Wang Peng looks so pretty as the best friend. She looks so much more mature and sexy than in her previous roles. Last but not the least, FL's mother. I bet she's another character that many hate. She's the typical loud Chinese mother, who can't stop criticizing her children. She's tolerable but at one point I also want to strangle her. Glad she got a lot better towards the last few episodes. I am not sure if it's the actress or the character, but she always seems to talk and laugh with a fake smile.

I would love to see more of the funny romance between BFF Wang Xi Xia and the Doc. The Doc is so quirky and adorable at the same time. Their scenes give the drama a more light-hearted touch, as they are hilarious together. I just want more of them.

I am not familiar with the funeral industry or the role of an embalmer. So, I can't comment on how realistic "Will Love in Spring" is portraying that. It's not a profession that we see in dramas often, so I am glad to get a peek into ML's job.

I would recommend this drama to those that love a realistic portrayal of life, struggles, and relationships. The characters in this drama are all flawed and they make decisions that we don't always agree with. But life is not rosy and we are not perfect. If you don't mind the topic of death, this is an excellently acted drama. I had a great time watching this, even if I had a roller coaster ride of emotions.

I got sick from kdramas because they've been going in circles lately. Same plots but different actors. Silly romcoms, rich CEOs, negative IQ FLs, cringy teen dramas, fantasy all over the place, time travel, and mythical creatures... God, I'm tired just from typing them. Anyway, I wanted to switch countries, so here I am watching my first C-drama.

My first thought was "Man! I for sure have been missing on a lot. C-drama looks amazing and much better than the trash I've been watching". Sadly, that wasn't my last thought.

What impressed me most at first was ML's unusual but interesting job. The powerful, determined FL and her smart decisions about work and love life. This combination contributed to making an original, solid story, not the generic tacky one that you'll forget the moment you turn off your screen.

Now let's talk about their characters separately. The ML's character wasn't that original, the typical cold, not wanting-to-fall-in-love kind. But I let that slide because he has such a cute smile and dimples :). The FL was no surprise. The two characters usually come together in one promotional pack: cold/warm, introvert/extrovert, obnoxious/unbelievably cheerful, uninterested/very interested... Her character for me went from "I hope she changes" to "glad she did" to "Well, that was short-lived". However, they had great chemistry, so that's a bright side.

As for the story, I think it was good, not great. But mid-series, the intensity falls off drastically, and it takes about 5 episodes to flesh out what could have been done in one episode. Plus, the impactful realistic turning point I was eagerly waiting for never happened. Their relationship faced a real dilemma, not the fairy tale kind where the only problem the lovers face is the rich parents' approval. I watched until the end, even though it became repetitive and silly in the last couple of episodes, hoping to see a relevant solution to their problem. I was expecting a realistic solution to a realistic problem, but instead, they went back to fairytale bookshelves and chose the most lousiest cliché ending.

Honestly, I regret watching it. 21 episodes was too much, and definitely not worth it. If they had made it 8 episodes, it would have been nice, and it wouldn't have affected the story much since most of it was filler.

On a side note, I want to address what they did with her little brother. Throughout the series, I have been following all the signs they've been throwing at us now and then, and could predict where this was going, yet I hoped I was wrong. Unfortunately, no. I wasn't. In the end, it was exactly what I thought it was. What a shame! I ran away from american series because of the exact same issue, and thought china was a conservative country. Apparently, not.

I recommend skipping this.

Well actually no. I urge you to skip this and spend your time on something more meaningful or just entertaining.

I had high hopes for this series.

Nine stars for the first half...

1. In the beginning, the FL was portrayed as a mature, competent woman - an independent, fun-loving, fully-formed human being. It was easy to care about her.

2. The ML was a bit cold. But he was responsible, thoughtful, and no-nonsense-someone with a sensitive soul and a philosophical side. His devotion to his grandmother was touching and seemed authentic.

The actors portraying both leads were phenomenal. Almost all the secondary characters were outstanding. The cinematography was excellent, and the dialogue was unpretentious-in the first half.

3. An important character died in the first half of this series. Someone less central, but also loved, died in the second half. The loss and grief experienced by those mourning the first death felt real and heartfelt.

BUT...Five stars for the second half

Starting with the last five or six episodes, this series just fell apart.

1. The narrative pace slowed to a crawl. Way too much talking. Lots of filler. The dialogue degenerated into a cascade of cliches, bromides, truisms, and empty blather about death, life, and love. A few of these lines were effective and original. Most weren't.

2. The second death was sad, but exaggerated and overworked. The trauma went on way too long.

3. The FL began showing a narcissistic side. Her explanations for her behavior were whiny and self-serving. I stopped respecting her. (I'm talking about the character, not the actor, who did an amazing job throughout.)

Hey, writers! It's possible to depict a flawed human being-and still keep the audience invested in that person. The writing didn't work for me here. In the end, I just didn't care about this woman and her choices.

4. A few plot elements that needed explanation didn't get them in the second half. I felt a little manipulated in spots.

5. The major conflict which the characters had agonized over for most of the series was resolved with a clumsy deus ex machina turn of events - By golly, a new industry is coming to town. Yay! Problem solved.

Not believable.