The pace and production are very much in the daytime television soap opera tradition--camera lingering in close-ups, tears, bright lighting, hospital scenes, etc. But the story deals with the role of women in society and in marriage, and how women's personal development can be held back by tradition.
What I like is that the characters are not two dimensional. Yi-Zhen is not perfect, but she maintains her integrity. I thought that the actress did a good job of portraying the developing coldness in her marriage. Shao-Wen is not a bad husband--he is supportive, honest, and in his way loving--but he doesn't understand what his wife is going through until the end.
I was pleased that this avoided many of the cliche's one often finds in this type of television. I didn't predict how it would end. I think that the screen writing and acting were very good. I would have preferred more varied lighting on the sets (why didn't Shao-Wen and Yi-Zhen turn the lights off when they went to sleep?). I also thought that Yi-Zhen's hair and make-up were too perfect during the daytime scenes--at times it almost felt like she was wearing a mask and wig. Her natural attractiveness was on display when she was writing in her diary.
The subsidiary characters were each interesting. Xiaoqing as the driven career woman was well portrayed, as was Nina Pan (the actress playing Nina must have enjoyed playing the slithery, tactile vamp). The mother in law was also very well done.
