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

Well, that escalated quickly! Lunch with Zhi’s family is as awkward as expected with Zhi’s mom at her passive aggressive best, throwing barb after barb at Chong despite Yiming’s increasingly desperate (but nevertheless valiant) attempts at talking him up. At first it seems like her dad might still be supportive but that swiftly changes when he realizes the true nature of their relationship and he proves to be as ruthless as her mom in trying to nip it in the bud.

And this is where I’m a bit conflicted. I can sort of understand where everyone is coming from but gosh, do they all mishandle the situation big-time! Zhi’s parents (rightfully) express concerns about Chong’s long-term job/financial prospects and it is a valid concern. However, cornering Chong without giving him an opportunity to assuage their concerns is a terrible way to address it and makes it very clear that they are not really seeking reassurance but rather trying to end the relationship. And this has the desired effect, yanking Chong from the early-stage romantic haze and forcing him to concretely think about their long-term plans. And then he proceeds to bungle it up in the worst way possible. He unilaterally decides that he has to prove himself before continuing with the relationship and temporarily breaks up with Zhi. Come on! You can’t just make a decision like that without even discussing it with your partner. And then to spring it on her right after she pours her heart out to you? Badly done, Chong, badly done!

Amidst the doom and gloom of this contrived relationship drama, the one bright spot is that we finally get to see Tiger Comics get its comeuppance. And fittingly, it comes about through Wang Lao Hu’s own hubris. Not content with wresting her original comic from her, he is threatened when he finds out that she is behind the comic that is gaining popularity in the competition. In an attempt to stir up a cheating scandal to sabotage her, he arranges for obviously fraudulent votes for her comic. But this is a step too far and Wei Zhi, unconstrained by any concern for her editor in this instance, threatens legal action against him. Seeing her stand up for herself also leads to an impromptu rebellion in the office with several employees quitting. While this storyline was developed a bit haphazardly, Wang Lao Hu was brilliantly slimy in every scene of his, making his eventual downfall extremely satisfying to see.

Wei Zhi, in an attempt to get over her heartbreak, pours herself into her work and goes from strength to strength, winning the competition and reuniting with her entire original team (+Shan Shan). Well, at least her professional life is taking off again, even if her personal life is in shambles (sadly through no contribution of her own).

Stray Musings

• So disappointed with Chong here – even aside from the badly managed break-up, the fact that he doesn’t even reach out to her during the cheating scandal? I know he helped behind the scenes through Nanfeng, but if your eventual plan is to get back together, don’t leave her alone during tough times like this!
• Shan Shan getting her prosthetics and everyone’s tearful reactions as she takes her first steps with them was another heartwarming moment to dispel the dreariness of Zhi and Chong’s drama.
• In another sub-plot, probably designed to reignite the B-plot romance, Yan quit coaching and takes up a desk job (in Nanfeng’s company naturally). There are some dramas where the secondary couple is as swoon-inducing, if not more, than the main couple but I’m not sold on them here. I liked them initially but Nanfeng’s blow hot blow cold demeanour ruined it a bit for me. And now it just feels like they’re trying to wrap up the storyline in a tidy bow as the series approaches its end.