Amidst a Snowstorm of Love (2024)

Most natural and genuine romance with diabetes chemistry.

“They give me butterflies just by them being in the same airspace.” - me

Wu Lei & Zhao Jinmai, my all-time favorite couple from now on. I absolutely adore the organic evolution of their relationship, from the initial awkward, blind-date-like tension to becoming utterly smitten with one another. It’s rare to maintain such palpable chemistry throughout the entire series, especially considering that they got together relatively early on. Most shows struggle to keep the romantic tension once the couple has formed, but this series deftly keeps the spark alive in every interaction. What’s even better is that their connection feels incredibly natural and genuine, with unbeatable on-screen chemistry that is both sizzling and enthralling, a testament to their exceptional acting prowess and talent. I'm particularly fond of their meticulous attention to detail, evident in the subtle nuances of facial expressions and deliberate gestures executed by the characters. I can genuinely sense the level of hard work and dedication they pour into their acting behind the scenes, as they excellently presented the delicate interplay of ambiguity and tension inherent in the process of falling in love, and how their interactions still shine after coming together.

Quoting roughly from Wu Lei’s acting teacher, Teacher Cui, on them: “Wu Lei is a very serious person. Every time he takes on a role, he always fully immerses himself in the life of that character in advance. Every frown, every smile, every movement is executed with professionalism and in deep immersion of that character. No wonder so many people like him, because the quality he brings to his performances is exceptional. The manner in which they both handle intricacies and communicate when they're together makes their couple pairing very good.”

Lovely, therapeutic, mesmerizing, heartwarming, soothing, wholesome, tender, and comforting.
An absolute treat that cures depression, yet causes diabetes.

I found the casting to be perfect. Alongside the Lin Yiyang-Yin Guo (Yi-Guo) couple, I thoroughly enjoyed the supporting characters like Wu Wei & lil bro Meng Xiaotian. Their presence injected a playful energy into the story, often through subtle teasing or reactions to the leads, while consistently remaining strongly supportive of them. The bromance and rivalry were superb too—the trio Lin Yiyang, Jiang Yang & Meng Xiaodong all harbored mutual respect and admiration for one another, adding to the wholesome feel of the show. Furthermore, all of them played the role of wingmen well, putting in a decent amount of good words for Lin Yiyang along the way. So how can one not like the cast? Heck, even Yin Guo’s friends are good wingwomen.
I also loved the scenic filming locations that contribute to the gorgeous & cozy vibe of the show—filmed in Finland, France, and China; 3 countries & 11 cities. The BGM adeptly complemented the mood of the show, seamlessly blending with the atmosphere and drawing me in, with the OSTs being catchily good as well.

Some people don’t understand that the plot IS the interactions and the growing relationship/romance. The reason some perceive it as dull, draggy, or devoid of any plot is simply because they don't vibe with the chemistry between the couple as much. And for a series that heavily depends on the dynamics of the couple, this can make-or-break the show for you, so just give few eps a try and feel the chemistry urself to see if you’ll like it or not. And if you are skipping/ff-ing their scenes it’s totally pointless/invalid.
Just know that I love the tension and the tender relationship between the two throughout its entire run.

As someone who enjoys playing 8-ball/9-ball pool & snooker, I appreciate the cast’s efforts to learn the sport from scratch, training hard for a few months, immaculately capturing the aura of a professional player and successfully showcasing some impressive plays.

——————————————————————————
Here’s a brief overview of the gameplay for those who have never played before (feel free to skip):

In snooker, players must pot a red ball (1 pt) first before they can attempt to pot a colored ball, which carries varying point values (yellow-2, green-3, brown-4, blue-5, pink-6, black-7 pts).
This alternation between potting reds and colored balls (red, colored, red, colored) continues until all the red balls are cleared from the table, after which players must pot the colored balls in sequence from yellow to black. To maximize their points, players need to strategically position the cue ball (white ball), ideally near the black ball (which yields the most points), after potting a red. They must also position for the next red ball after potting the black. The colored balls are spotted—placed back onto its designated spot once they’re potted, as long as there are still red balls on the table.
Players will also need to deal with being "snookered," where their opponent skillfully blocks the path to the required ball, typically as fewer red balls remain on the table. Failing to hit the required ball results in a foul, with the opponent gaining a minimum of 4 pts (misses all the balls, or hits any colored ball lower than 5 pts). Contacting let’s say a blue ball when you are supposed to hit a red ball will be a foul that gives the opponent the blue-ball points (5 pts), while illegally contacting pink or black ball will give the opponent 6 or 7 pts respectively. The one with the most points at the end of the game wins, obviously, with the maximum break score of 147 attainable (potting red and only black in alternation) which is insanely challenging even for professional players.

For 9-ball pool, it’s simpler, players just have to pot the balls numbered 1 through 9 in sequential order, starting from the lowest numbered ball. The player who pots the 9-ball (yellow stripe ball) at any point wins the game (so a legal shot—hitting a required lowest numbered ball first, but successfully potting the 9-ball in the process results in an instant win). In the show, you will also see the players determining the order of play or break through “lagging”. This involves each player simultaneously hitting their assigned ball from the head string (horizontal line running across the table) towards the opposite cushion of the table, aiming to return the ball closer to the head cushion (the cushion nearest to where they initially hit the ball) than the opponent. The player whose ball stops closest to the head cushion wins the lag and earns the right to break the rack of balls to start the game.
Breaking first is usually more advantageous since the likelihood of pocketing any balls at the break is quite high. This is even more so for skilled players as they have an even higher chance of performing a run-out or clearance, where they pot all the remaining balls on the table in a single turn, thereby winning the game.

Most people (myself included), at least for recreational/non-competitive players, find snooker to be a much more challenging game than pool. This is primarily due to its larger table size, tighter pockets, and smaller balls, making potting more difficult as there is less margin for error, demanding more precise shot-making. Moreover, snooker’s greater number of balls and its scoring system, which includes more extensive rules and fouls, further adds to its complexity (possibly more strategic depth), and a game of snooker is typically longer than a game of 9-ball pool so it can be more mentally taxing as well.
That said, both snooker and pool demands precise ball control (power, spin, accuracy) for positioning and strategic thinking, since players cannot simply pot whichever ball they want and must always plan for the next or several shots ahead.
——————————————————————————

I’m now a huge fan of both Wu Lei and Zhao Jinmai. Their chemistry is electrifying and off-the-charts. If they don’t win the best couple award, I’ll riot, because I don’t know who else could.

Please, for the sake of humanity, give them a few more dramas as lovers, because their chemistry is too good to be wasted on just one project.

I’ll miss this show greatly.
And yes, their chemistry outweighs any negatives for me.

10/10.

Weibo Content (BTS, Interviews, etc):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-tVcTH8XLtaimpDae1dtmGkXAfbvTcLCERXHEwrl61Y/edit?usp=sharing

Episodes: 30
Runtime: 23 Hours

Please refer to my review’s comments section for further details and discussions regarding some of the criticism or complaints towards the show.

Read More

Missed the pocket by a mile

There are mild spoilers in this review, but nothing that will spoil the story.

I promise, I gave up on watching romcoms. I really did. But this was a romance drama and I’ve seen some good ones of those. “Lighter and Princess” for instance wasn’t half bad (even though a friend of mine dubbed it lighter and ashtray— you know who you are…) but I’m afraid this one really didn’t make the cut. So if you are going to feel sensitive about a beloved actor, then this review will probably rile you up and is best passed over. Spend your day happily elsewhere. We all have different opinions and I’ve explained my serious reasons, albeit in a somewhat flippant tone.

I’m not a great fan of the standard tsundere type. “We can talk to each other any time if we have anything to say.” Actual quote from Ep 15, albeit in translation. I sort of hope that it lost something in the process there. To me, someone who can’t talk about what they feel is a bit of a red flag. And the way he stared at her at the start was really creepy stalker stuff. Later he makes life changing decisions which he doesn’t discusses with her and she’s the last to know. The character simply wasn’t my type. But putting that aside, Leo Wu did a good job with Lin Yi Yang, and the chemistry was visible in his face right from the start.

But out of what did all this romance spring? There was no witty dialogue going on, no flirtation to lighten the mood. Love seemed to conveniently blossom out of thin air. Followed by a lot on him chasing her, and her pushing him away whilst being pouty petulant. Did the writers actually know why they “fell in love”? It sort of didn’t seem like they did.

Ok, setting the why question aside, and to be fair, I’ve fallen in love for no reason I could explain to myself. To start off with, the romance was pretty cute. It ticked all the standard boxes, as well as all the cliché boxes and all the stating the obvious boxes and a whole bunch of the cringe boxes. It’s really the only reason to watch the drama at all, and you will just about get it in real time, inching inexorably forward, through every tiny nuance. But that’s Chinese romance drama so if I don’t like it, I should just stfu and not watch it! (There, said it for you.) There’s a lot of defensive play nestling up against the cushions and the occasional escaping from an impossible snooker, but they ping around the table and drop the 9-ball without going in off. After about eight episodes I’m kinda over it but I hung in there. Then they really start straying into a sort of toxic, sacrificial relationship dynamic where A (him) relentlessly does everything for B (her), and she takes it all and doesn’t seem to do anything much in return except sleep a lot and cry prettily. Romantic? More Red Flag waving as far as I was concerned.

Which leads me into Yin Guo’s character (Zhao Jin Mai). Take a pound of sugar, some marshmallows and a handful of pink and fluffy with a great big dollop of childish sulky, petulance and a large spoonful of wet weekend; stir constantly for 30 episodes and it should come out pretty much the same as it went in. Really, couldn’t they have written a little bit of an edge in there somewhere. She was supposed to be a competitive sportswoman with an ice queen attitude in her games. I’m afraid that was wishful thinking, ‘cause nowhere did I actually find any believable link between those two supposed sides of her. There’s an internal stillness and concentration that is present in any professional sportsperson, that is born of single-mindedness and dedication, and I just couldn’t see that in Zhao Jin Mai’s eyes or in her character. Leo Wu made a much more convincing job of lining himself up down the cue.

The thing that actually was pretty glacial was the pacing. If you remove the PP from each episode in Helsinki, you’re left with about 5 minutes of real action. I like slow paced dramas but you really have to plumb the character depth to make them work. Unfortunately, here, character exploration was limited to squirming, shyness and ludicrous amounts of hesitancy for at least the first eight episodes. They needed way more variations in dynamics in their relationship to make it interesting and engaging.

There were a lot of characters who just seemed to hang around like loose red balls after the break, getting in the way of a clear view of the black. Not at all enough plot to go round for sooooo many characters. They could have cut the acting budget by half with very little effort and no-one would have noticed. And what is that first rule of writing? — never introduce a character without a well defined and clear purpose. Take Meng Xiao Dong (Wang Xing Yue) for instance and his maybe/maybe-not relationship. It was hinted at and never really explored or resolved so why was it there at all? And it wasn’t like they were short of time.

The lack of any real plot or serious character development meant that the forward momentum was sadly lacking and it became tedious and boring, with each episode pretty much indistinguishable from the previous one.

My final beef is Lin Yi Yang crying poor and it turns out “all” he has is 55,000 US$ and ownership of a billiard hall. Give me strength, I’m lmao at this point. It’s like crying poor because you can’t afford your annual holiday in San Tropez. What planet are people on? Definitely not mine, I’m telling you that. It’s a complete misuse of the word and an absolute insult to a whole world of people who struggle to live their lives and support their families with three less noughts in their bank accounts.

If you enjoyed Road Home, then you will find this a slight step up. The production values in this one were actually reasonable. It was well lit and in focus!

Read More