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

And so, we finally arrive at the end of the serial. What started with a fair amount of promise and turned into a bit of slog in the middle, goes out with, if not a bang, at least a fairly satisfying ending with most plotlines wrapped up in a neat bow.

Having made up in the previous episode, we viewers get to enjoy two episodes of happiness between Zhi and Chong, with some sweet Dai Duo-Shan moments thrown in to boot. And Zhi’s parents (the primary roadblock for our happy couple) swiftly come around after seeing how miserable Zhi was during their temporary split. So smiles all around and no more angst in sight. Jokes aside, this does set the stage for what is a genuinely sweet moment between Zhi and her mom where they acknowledge the past difficulties of their relationship but also their genuine affection for each other. Despite their fights, I think the series did show that they cared for each other but were just fundamentally two very different people with different values who couldn’t see their way to bridging that gap. By accepting Chong, Zhi’s mother finally lets go of her preconceived notion about what a happy settled life for Zhi would look like, which in turn helps Zhi take a reciprocal step forward to build a better relationship with her.

The other touching moment of the finale came at the Big Air World Cup Finals where everyone comes together to cheer on Dai Duo and Chong. Chong pulls out the run of his life and wins the championship – not unexpected but still thrilling especially given how they previously touched upon his struggles in returning to competitive snowboarding. And Dai Duo is right there on the podium with him, fulfilling their long ago promise of facing and winning at Big Air together.

Having met their respective professional goals, Chong is now focused on moving forward in their personal life and proposing to Zhi. But in typical fashion (for them), they can’t manage it without a bunch of silly missteps along with a pinch of miscommunication. Although having the proposal finally be on the ski slope is quite poetic since that is what brought them together in the first place. Not sure how I feel about a public proposal with all their friends around but hey, to each their own and their friends have very much been a part of their journey from the beginning, so it makes a certain sense. A happy ending all around (though perhaps one that didn’t need to be dragged out so many episodes with an unnecessary split!)

Stray Musings

• Dai Duo is perhaps my favorite character of the show – he may have been introduced as a brash, bratty character but that view of him was swiftly dismantled as they showed how his behavior was to a large extent him acting out his pain and sense of betrayal by Chong’s departure from the team. And of course, he is the sweetest, most supportive boyfriend ever which definitely didn’t hurt my perception of him!
• The most surprising thing about this finale was that Jiang and Yan did not get together in the end. I was so sure it was heading in that direction, but I have to eat my words now. Given how she strung him along, I’m not opposed to it but I would have preferred having some sort of scene where they resolve to be friends (since it’s unavoidable that they’ll be thrown together). Perhaps Yan’s farewell dialogue about the moon was meant to serve that purpose but it didn’t feel like it offered enough closure. And they are clearly still a bit awkward around each other at the end during the proposal so their story felt a bit incomplete. Any thoughts? Should they have reconciled in typical rom-com fashion? Or do you prefer a somewhat more realistic ending like this one?