In Time With You - where has it been all my life?

[dangermousie]

I have finished ep 1 (real life interferes with drama fun) and I ship Da Ren and You Qing so very much precisely because they are not dramatically star-crossed or romcom cute - no, they are so achingly real and people I am fascinated with, care about. Plus, they have all that history.



I've read about people not liking Ariel's character but for me she is the highlight of the drama, more than the score and the indie vibe and even Bolin Chen's marvelous Li Da Ren (though, wait, perhaps the latter is not true, as I love Da Ren and You Qing equally). She is something drama heroines are so rarely allowed to be - a real, breathing, flawed, complex human being. I can see both how she'd be hard to deal with and how Da Ren could love her. She's smart, independent, impatient, brusque, funny, self-absorbed, perfectionist, loyal, difficult, self-aware, dreamer. I adore her.

Oh, and I loved this little flashback, after her first defeat, when Da Ren told her she is a great girl. And then added not to misunderstand, he's never going to fall for her. Oh, honey!





I could watch these people do absolutely nothing exciting for eps and eps.

Comments

[algelic.livejournal.com]

Yes! I kept mentioning this drama to you! I'm glad you checked it out!

I really loved it. Realistic and romantic. The middle episodes drag a bit, but it's okay!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am so obsessed with this - first time twdrama drew me in, in years.

[manwevaire.livejournal.com]

so fast!! love it! It's like you're liveblogging all over again! yipee!!

Da Ren is just so hopelessly in love with You Qing already. When surprise surprise he won the class election, first thing he did was look into You Qing's direction. He's already that in tuned with her. And during basketball, when he heard about the quarrel, he immediately went to her and followed her, even though he has no idea how to comfort her... how amazing is this character right from the beginning? <3

Also love this first episode because You Qing already acknowledged her flaws right before it ended... She knows her character, but she's at that point in her life when she doesn't see any reason to change anything yet. She knows how she is, and that's a good first step. Her growth throughout this journey is believable, and you'll even love her more. Just like Domyouji in HYD not having any drastic change in his character, just someone who grew a bigger heart in the process. :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love how he always follows her after something big and bad happens - after people fail her and life proves unfair (I love how Ariel is willing to fight for what is right no matter the cost). In school after basketball and in college after the incident with the prof.

And yes, I can see why she doesn't want to change - tbh, she is not good at bending and rages against life but it makes sense to me. Especially since at her oldest in this drama she is 30 - despite her talking about being an obasan, that's rather young with plenty of room to grow. I can see why she doesn't fit in/has no boyfriend - her uncompromising character would give pause to many guys. But I adore her.

[inge-mares.livejournal.com]

I cannot wait for you to go through the angst. It's lovely.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

There is angst? Omg, both can't wait and feel awful for the darlings.

[inge-mares.livejournal.com]

An awful lot! the man pain and the what not LOL. Mostly on Da Ren's part and a lil bit of You Qing's. And the love triangle! I'm probably guilty with jumping ship at some point.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh God YES. I see lack of sleep in my future.

[elanatothemax.livejournal.com]

OMG prepare to be endlessly frustrated but so incredibly in love with these two that you grit your teeth and watch through the pain and alternately want to smack the characters (for me, it was mostly Da Ren) but also find yourself adoring them so much that you want to scoop them up in a warm loving embrace and sing them lullabies. I think the angst (at least, the angst's effect on me) was possibly the most painful of any of the asian dramas that I've watched aside from Que Sera Sera (that show was my first intro to real kdrama angst--my only previous dramas were Lie to Me and Coffee Prince--and sweet jesus, it GUTTED me).

This show is so amazing for the same reasons it's so frustrating/haunting (and I don't mean that in a bad way): these characters are like real people. Real people don't change overnight, hell, many of them don't change at all. They find patterns in which they are comfortable, and breaking out of those patterns is stunningly, achingly hard. You are in for such a ride.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I can't wait!

This is excellent so far - a rare drama whose characters feel real.

[elanatothemax.livejournal.com]

You Qing was the highlight for me, too. I ADORE Da Ren and think that he was the beating heart of the show, but You Qing was its soul. She was such a well-rounded and perfectly nuanced character. I could see the logic behind every decision she made and I could see why Da Ren was so in love with her, because she is a strong, loyal, difficult, passionate woman who also has a good head on her shoulders. And having fallen for a best friend (who was, unbeknownst to me at the time, also in love with me) but have things not work out because of timing, cowardice, and timidity, I felt such a connection to her struggles.

Also? After seeing It Started with a Kiss, I can now say unequivocally that Ariel Lin is a freaking goddess. I'm glad that I saw ITWY first, because It made me admire all the more how incredibly she transformed herself for both roles.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes, YQ is amazing - flawed and inspirational and real.

[joonni.livejournal.com]

Oh that phrase that will haunt these two for a long, long time. "I'm never going to fall for you." AH!!!!!!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I can't wait