Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

 An improvement over the last few episodes but still a bit of mixed feelings. While the series started strong, it has become a bit draggy in the middle, and I think these episodes perfectly display both its strengths and weaknesses. Romance is definitely a strong suit for the writers (and ably performed by the actors). I was a bit concerned that the romance would fall flat once Zhi and Chong actually got together but thankfully that wasn’t the case. I’ve said before that their most swoon-worthy moments are the small interactions between them, and these episodes were filled with such moments. Doing the grocery shopping, cooking together, sightseeing – we got to see how they are as an actual couple, and they are adorable. Of course, it’s still probably in that heady initial stage of a new relationship so we will have to see how they navigate tougher times ahead. And of course, to that end we finish up with a cliffhanger of sorts with Zhi’s mom finding out about Chong and inviting everyone over for dinner. Should be interesting to see just how awkward that dinner ends up being!

However, the sweetest scene goes to Dai Duo and Shan who are perhaps the most endearing couple on the show. Despite the brash front he puts on, he is so supportive of Shen, even showing up at the hospital to be by her side as she begins her journey towards prosthetics. It seemed like a fight was brewing when Shan tried to pass him off as just another friend (not once but twice!!), but they quickly moved past that and what could have been a corny scene about writing postcards to their future selves, actually ended up being a sweet display of the support and depth of feelings for each other. And anyway, the secrecy doesn’t last much longer with the couple discovered by Chong and Zhi. Lucky for them that supportive sis-in-law Zhi is there to blunt the sharp edges of Chong in protective big brother mode. And Dai Duo’s heartfelt declaration towards Chen does away with any other reservations that Chong has.

Alas, the show drops the ball when it comes to storytelling and the other, non-romantic plotlines. On a standalone basis, the story arcs are fairly engaging – we meet another one of Zhi’s former team, Meizi, and learn more about her troubled home life. So much of the series has involved Zhi in Chong’s home turf that it is refreshing to see her in her element and having a life and friends outside of his circle. We also finally find out who is behind the initial AI scandal that kicked off the drama (and also a hint of why Zhi never pursued any legal action). However, as with several other storylines, these feel shoehorned in with little buildup, to be brought up when needed as a filler and promptly dispensed with afterwards. The AI scandal is arguably one of the most important events in the show and yet it is barely mentioned after the initial episodes until it is brought up out of the blue here. And if Meizi is an important enough character to devote two episodes to, including several scenes of Chong gently counseling her son, why was she barely mentioned earlier. It doesn’t feel cohesive and takes away from the enjoyment of the show. I don’t hold much hope for a better resolution to the comic competition or Zhi’s unfair contract with her former agency either.

Stray Musings

• Chong’s face when Zhi introduced him to her parents as Shan’s older brother! Poor guy
• I am really enjoying the little clips of Zhi’s comic at the end of the episodes. I wonder if they did a tie-in comic with this series because I wouldn’t mind reading more of it.
• <<Spoiler alert>> Zhi’s former editor, Zhang, appears to be behind the AI related trouble, although we still don’t know the exact reason why. Between this and Zhi’s comments on indie comics finding it difficult to compete with established agencies to garner views online, it seems like there is a compelling story about the seamy underbelly of comics publishing that could have been explored more.