Her fever would even become higher if you touch her, Ah Si!
If you think that the first episode was not all good, then you should give this remake another chance and watch this episode. Episode 2 had me smiling and squealing because all my favorite scenes/story lines from the original version were combined here. You will surely see which ones I smiled and squealed for when you read below!
We started off this episode by seeing Lei staring (more like worshipping) at Jing’s ad. Typical Lei acted all weird by complimenting Shancai and even kissing her afterwards. Ugh this is what I hated about you, Lei!
Teng Tang Jing is here as early as episode 2! Our girl is really lovely (this must be consistent too!) and I could already sense some chemistry with her and Lei when they hugged the first time.
F4 + Jing went out for drinks and catching up on one another and reminiscing how they were when they were still kids. Jing asked Ah Si how his sister was and that he probably misses her. His good friends told Jing that he has found a replacement for his sister anyway. Oh yes! I just can’t wait for Dee Hsu’s guest role as the cool and fierce jie of Ah Si!
This is Dao Ming Si’s jealous face every time he would see Shancai and Qinghe being so happy together. Boy Dylan needs to work on this face more since it is basically Dao Ming Si’s signature face haha!
Apparently it is an honor to receive F4’s Joker card so Qinghe was more than delighted to have received one.
I was not able to take a screenshot of Dylan Wang’s killer Dao Ming Si stare but it was just epic! If looks could really kill… He was mocking Shancai for being 10, 100, or 1000 times happier every time she is with Qinghe.
This, my friends, is something that I squealed over! I loved this so much in the original version and this 2018 version did not disappoint. Lei won this round (Shancai really did actually like omg) and what was interesting for me here was Jing’s expression. It was a mix of neutral but with tinges of jealousy and confusion. Great acting, girl!
Jing helped out Shancai by giving her clothes and shoes. She told her that it was her first time to see Lei being so agitated over a matter. Shancai then comforted her by telling her that she is the only one that Lei likes. She did not respond when Shancai asked her if she feels the same way towards Lei.
Shancai fainted and had to take some bed rest. I was smiling like an idiot when this was all happening because I knew where this was going already hihi
As a Meteor Garden addict, I knew I was right! Dao Ming Si came to visit her and he looked nothing but a very decent man who was like an angel.
I mean, look at that! Who would have expected to see Dao Ming Si’s soft side as early as episode 2?!
After that lovely dinner, Shancai asked him what his motive was for visiting her. Was it to see her being sick and in such a pathetic state? Ah Si still continued being soft and told her that he wasn’t (*melts*). He asked her where she was planning to go during the National Holiday since he was willing to pay for her to come with them to Hawaii. She then told him that she was going to Qinghe’s family villa in Sanya which made him angry. I was smiling again after this scene because I just knew where this was going!
See, I knew it!!! Dao Ming Si made his whole squad follow Shancai. HAHA! Jing invited her to their party and she could not take no for an answer. She told her that she will transform her look and leave everyone in awe.
Mission accomplished for Jing and Shancai! Look at those wide-eyed young men upon seeing Shancai! *squeals*. This is how we ended episode 2 and we know where this is going to lead us!
In a nutshell,
- This episode did not have much unnecessary scenes and it had no boring moments for me.
- I think the story is building up pretty well and like I said at the start, everything that I loved in the original version was given justice.
- I actually have mixed feelings about Dao Ming Si’s sudden change in character. Again, I guess it is because of the story’s speed but this version of Ah Si did not even give me the chance to be scared of him… He turned so soft in just 2 episodes!
- This episode just got me thinking more and more about this drama and I just cannot wait for the next episodes to come!
What did you think about this episode? Did you like it as much as I did? Feel free to share your thoughts here!
SkimmedMilkDRAMA 
Awesome review!
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Thank you! 🙂
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What I would like to know is “when” exactly did he fall for her? Obviously he got her attention from the beginning but when did he start to actually care about her?
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There really isn’t a lot of material available in English so I welcome your comments. I don’t think the Netflix episodes are ending/beginning with the same scenes. It seems to off a little. Again, this episode left me with many questions but I wonder if you’ll agree with me that the shows improve with a second viewing? You catch nuances you missed the first time.
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The first two episodes that I watched were not cut according to Netflix’s editing format. My following recaps/reviews will be based on Netflix’s editing so no worries! I haven’t rewatched any episodes but I agree that most dramas need a second viewing because that’s when you get to appreciate what you might have missed when you watched it for the first time.
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Ok! I’m rewatching episode 2 and here are my thoughts/questions/observations.
1. The boys have carried back Si to his home and are wrapping him up in bandages. Honestly, I found this to be cringey to watch. Thoughts?
2. Also, here’s another random thought on wardrobe. Why do the actors usually leave on their coats? I’m guessing this is a styling choice on the costume designer part OR was it super cold on the set? I ask this because you can often see puffs of clouds coming out of the actors’ mouths even when they are inside a building. The scene when Si wakes up and tries to chase the other F4 shows him yelling and puffs coming out of his mouth. You also see it in lots of other scenes. Where in the world was this filmed?
3. One of the two evil girls is wearing a short yellow and black plaid pleated skirt and it completely reminded me of the skirt worn by Cher in Clueless. I think it was done on purpose and for that I saw THANK YOU to the costume designer. That skirt is pretty iconic. But it also brings the question forward about girls’ fashion in this show…why is Shancai’s wardrobe so modest? I feel like a point is being driven home that the perfect heroine should be modest and pure and good hearted but can’t she be stylish too? In many american films they show the heroine frumpy at the beginning and then a makeover scene usually appears and viola she’s a gorgeous girl but I don’t get the feeling here even after the various makeover scenes I’ve seen so far. Shancai is uber modest and for some reason that bothers me. I may have to double check my own biases on this. What do you think about her wardrobe?
4. One of the evil girls was complaining to Shancai that she should respect the seniors. We know that this was because she’s ultimately jealous but it still ringed false to me and I wondered if it was a cultural thing. Surely high school and college seniors get perks because they are seniors but everyone has to earn the respect. It’s just not given/expected to someone here based on class standing. Am I reading too close into it?
5. There are tooooo many scenes where we are forced to watch Shancai walking slowly. Am I right?
6. Okay, I’m going to say that the scene where Lei says “I don’t usually take back what I’ve given away” is our first clue that he’s aware that he has to make a break with Shancai. Is it possible that he knows that Si likes Shancai even this early?
More later!!!! As always thank you for your responses and patience.
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1. Interesting that you thought that way that all I did was laugh and found them so adorable for wrapping him in bandages lol. I don’t have much thoughts about that except that I found it really funny and loved their friendship.
2. It was both for the styling and weather. It was winter season in China when this drama was filmed.
3. Like I said in my previous episode’s comments, I actually liked some of Shancai’s clothes. They’re wearable and achievable for its target audience. Her character’s styling has always been simple and modest to highlight her “plain-ness or ordinariness”. I guess the author made it a point for her to never change how she looked because doing that would be very contradictory to her character.
4. Yes, you are haha! I think it was just some typical form of bullying or power-tripping in a school-setting. I must admit that I kind of did the same thing back in high school lol
5. Yes! It’s to highlight her reflections. This version has actually toned down her self reflections as compared to the original version that it has gotten to a point that she became really annoying.
6. Oh wow, I never thought of it that way. That could be a possible foreshadowing!
Thank you very much as well! You have such interesting observations and insights 🙂
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Thank YOU for taking the time to not only write these reviews but to answer queries.
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You’re welcome! 🙂 Glad to be of help! Thank you very much for always dropping by here too 🙂
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7. After watching this episode again after watching the first 20 episodes, I believe that Shancai asking Lei if she could see him again on the roof was the gutsiest thing she’s ever done. It really is out of character for her. But you wouldn’t know it because you wouldn’t know how truly modest she is. It’s only the 2nd episode and remember at the end of the first she actually face kicked Si. I blame the director for the pacing. It really is a huge moment but you don’t realize it until a second viewing.
8. Now let’s discuss the makeover scene. I LOVE A MAKEOVER SCENE. Pretty Woman, She’s All That, The Devil Wears Prada…I love them all. This I did not love. Let’s jump in with the small things. Shancai’s flailing on the massage table is cringey and therefore hard to watch. I consider this an actor/director misjudgement. The obvious product placement of the Wetcode CC cream wasn’t as cringey as the yelling/flailing. In fact, if Wetcode was sold here i might give it a whirl just out of curiousity. However, the WORST THING ABOUT THE MAKEOVER IS THE TAILORING. CLOTHES HAVE TO FIT!!! The dress is way to big and really looks too old for her. Her face looks exactly the same and her hair and jewelry are distracting. I know the costume designer could have done better because look how lovely Jing looks. I’m so underwhelmed by this. So disappointing. So please tell me, was this makeover scene disappointing to you as well? Was this not supposed to be a classic makeover scene in the american sense of the ugly duckling turns into the beautiful swan?
9. Si’s house is beautiful. That is all.
10. I swear I’ll have this theme song is so catchy. I will probably learn it phonetically.
11. How hilarious is it that Si’s picture is on the mantel next to the one of F4 as kids? I laughed when i saw it because he looks like he’s smirking and it just seems so out of place with the older photos on there. I mean let’s say his parents decorated the house, why would his parents choose to put that one there (or his sister for that matter). It’s quirky and I’m not sure it the set designer meant it for a joke or not but I enjoyed the laugh.
12. Si is always impeccably tailored. Also, when he is sitting in the butterfly back chair with the fireplace on in the background, this is a great shot and I applause the cinematographer/director who chose the angle. Well done!
13. The list of “perks” Shancai will have as Si’s girlfriend made me LOL. “I can give you good snacks at school.” How is this a thing? Is this what a grown man says to woe a girl? I don’t mean offense I just need to know how he thinks this is a thing? Also, can you tell me if a woman or man wrote the screenplay for this because it might make sense of a couple of things. For example, is Shancai’s character the product of a man’s idea of the perfect heroine because it really feels like it. I don’t think a woman would write Shancai’s character like this. I think there would have been more opportunity for Shancai to show true anger. I may be wrong. Please let me know if you know.
14. Meizuo wears a pink and white stripe oxford shirt with black “sharpie” writing and it’s perfection on him. We should all write on our oxfords.
15. We spend too much time on bananas and Qinghe cements his role as nerd with his running and banana gags.
16. Lei wears a distressed collar sweater which shows up a few more times in other episodes and I’m wondering what else will be distressed. Fashion never sleeps!
17. Again there is a mention about bullying when the girls are at the tea shop. It is prevalent in the US as well and I wonder what the root causes are there and if they are similar to here. Mostly the caricature is that the jock bullies the nerd. Is that the same issue?
18. Now that we have Shancai’s friend Xiao You added to the mix, it looks like this show has got two types of young girls. Virtuous ones like Shancai, Xiao You, Li Zhen (before her betrayal), Jing and “bad” girls like the 2 jealous girls in class. I’m telling you, this was written by a man.
19. We spend waaayyy too much time watching Shancai make a tea. But I enjoy the music playing and it reminds me of the score from Pride and Prejudice, the Kiera Knightly version not the Colin Firth one.
20. Here’s a crazy note: how are we to believe that Lei can draw a map of Asia and Europe TO FREAKING SCALE and then not be able to draw people better than a 6 year old?!? Of for the love of continuity!
21. Do you notice that some days Shancai’s clothes match Lei’s and some day’s Si? Or am I just making that up?
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7. She was indeed very gutsy when she said that! Girl was really crushing on Lei too haha!
8. To be honest, I’m so sick of makeover scenes in Asian dramas or in general that I didn’t have opinions on it anymore haha! I find them too cliche and uninteresting already. As for this drama’s makeover scene, it was not intended to be the typical goal of any makeover scene, which was to transform an ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. The goal was to transform Shancai into something that she was not or could never be at all which was to be a lady of the same social status with Dao Ming Si. It was somehow meant to mock how a makeover should be as Shancai quickly took everything off and rejected Dao Ming Si.
11. Wow, I didn’t even notice that! Dramas love putting pictures of the characters in their houses so I’m not sure if it was really intended to be funny as it has always been the case.
13. The “perks” were really intended to be superficial and immature because Dao Ming Si isn’t supposed to be a grown man to begin with. One of his main characteristics is his immaturity/childishness.
13. It was a female who wrote the manga where the drama was based from, Yoko Kamio.
17. I don’t really know much about the bullying in China. And if I do, it will just really be based on their entertainment industry or from an outsider’s perspective.
18. Sorry to break it to you but it was really written by a woman. Even the drama’s screenplay was written by a woman lol. I find it interesting that you thought that it was a man who wrote it because I would actually never think of that.
20. Really? I think drawing people vs. drawing objects are completely different and I believe that the former is always more difficult and complex.
21. I noticed the one with Lei but I have actually never noticed that she did too with Dao Ming Si.
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Thank you Dramarian! I am shocked that both the original and the screenplay were written by women. This changes everything! I now have to rethink some things. Before I felt like it was sexist in some way but it would hardly be that with a female at the helm. After seeing 25 episodes I understand that both the characters and actors are evolving so to see the episodes again there’s so much revealed. Thank you!
Also, since I’m new to these dramas I didn’t know that makeover scenes were so common. You are teaching me so much and again thank you!!!
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Yaaay glad to be of help! No problem 🙂 I will definitely rewatch this drama soon too so I can feel what you’re feeling right now too.
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