BLISS RATING: ★★+
“When you grow up, you’ll find lots of warm and wonderful things waiting for you.” – Quote from First Note Of Love
Conceptually, this series ‘sounds’ like a winner. A budding singing duo composed of two likeable brothers. Tragically, one of them dies on the way to a concert site. The other one becomes lost in his own malaise for 5 years. Now with his recording contract about to end, his manager, Reese (Lui Min Ting) introduces Neil (Charles Tu) to a rather young inexperienced music composer with exceptional talent. His name is Hsiao Hai/Sea (Michael Chang).
Although Sea is young, music is in his blood, and he seems to have a natural talent for it with an affinity towards Neil’s approach. His bond with Neil echoes back to his childhood when Neil took the time to notice him and connect with him. From then on, something within Sea clicked and his passion has been Neil. Although studying other subjects in college, Sea still gravitates towards writing music focusing on Neil.
All of that sounds like a great connection story but the sequence of events for them were choppy and insufferably boring. While Neil’s constant doubts about himself and his phobia about appearing on stage are certainly a real thing, it got overblown. And too repetitive. Meanwhile, Sea’s constant questioning his own self-worth and his general timidity to others got to be such a predictable pattern, one could see the next one coming a mile away. His passivity was frustrating at times and a distraction. While I understand the anxieties of being a novice with some lack of confidence, acting like a child or child-like was just too much to endure. His mousy deference to everyone else became hackneyed and boring.
Their relationship looked and felt creepy to me. Even though both were adults, it still felt off. Sea was about 10 years younger than Neil, but Neil looked and felt older than his 29 years, while Sea projected and felt younger than his 19 years. In fact, the series went to great length several times to point out the fact that they met when Sea was very young, adding a real dimension of creepiness to this series.
Honestly, I never bought their relationship. Their physical connection scene was almost laughable with its muted tones and camera work and weird angles. Why have it? They were obviously uncomfortable doing those scenes. It truly was obvious. That relationship did not work for me at all.
Who really S.T.O.L.E. this series? James Kasama as Orca did. He was the lover of Reese. James presented Orca with a real sense of who the character was. Honest, straightforward, focused, driven, and completely in love with Reese. He is also a mentor to Sea and helps him focus on where to take his music and how to channel his feelings. I thought his portrayal for someone navigating both Chinese and Thai cultures and languages (since he is Thai) was quite good and believable. A special honorable mention has to go to Chin Tai Yu as Neil’s older brother, Matt. Matt was the linchpin to keeping Neil focus and with his death, Neil fell apart and became lost. Chin Tai Yu has a great scene towards the end of this series with his brother in which Neil finally says to him that he has met someone special, and it is now time for him to let Matt go. The exchange between the two of them was metaphysical yet strong and poignant to say the least.
While the relationship between Reese and Orca was certainly more adult-like, it too was unnecessarily melodramatic. Reese suffered from guilt for feeling responsible for the death of Neil’s brother, which of course in reality, he had nothing to do with. This went on for the entire series and he carried this guilt like a badge of honor. Orca became the father confessor and stabilizer for Reese. I have never understood the need for long-drawn-out scenes of melodrama to prove a love point. The audience is well aware of the drama; there is no need for constant reminders of non-essential sentimentality.
Honestly, I was unmoved by this series. I felt little from it. A few good scenes to be sure but nothing sustainable. There was way too much reliance on flashbacks. The time jumps were weird and did not make sense and Sea’s backstory seemed like he was astonishingly isolated and alone even as a child. But I am not sure that was really the case. The gaps were never filled in.
As far as the music goes, I was not impressed with it except for the last number which I did like. I am inferring that they had some musical background, but it all seemed too amateurish to me to be believable. I just never got into any of the singing portions at all and fast-forwarded through most of those numbers. But I am guessing I am not this series demographics.
I wish I could say I liked this series, but I cannot. I did not dislike it, however. I found it more exasperating than anything else. The characters did not grow and then suddenly they did. The transitions from being passive to active characters were way too abrupt. I also felt little emotional from this series even though I should have felt a lot because of the narrative. But it just never touched me. Perhaps because none of them got very deep into their characters for me to actually connect with them.
So, if you have not seen this one, you can move onto the next one.
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