Please make sure to check back every other Saturday for NEW reviews! If there is a drama you want to see review, let us know in the comments below!
If you haven't read our review for Episode 1-3, Click HERE!
If you haven't read our review for Episode 1-3, Click HERE!
Okay guys, so the last post was
more of a recap than a review. We’ve had some requests for an actual review, so
here’s my attempt at one!
Sorry this is late. I'm experiencing technical difficulties, so things have been a little rough. Thanks for your understanding.
For convenience purposes, I’ve
taken to referring to Alice/Seiko as just Alice. It can get a bit confusing,
not to mention tiring, constantly typing Alice/Seiko. I’ve tried my best to
make everything as easy as possible to understand, but I do realize that
reading something, as opposed to watching it, can be ambiguous at times.
If you have any questions, please
comment to let us know!
*Disclaimer: All pictures come from afairytaleworld.com and Google image search. No copyright intended.
EP 4
This episode opens with Hai Jie,
Ting Yu and Die Fei going to Japan for the Siren. Ting Yu has arranged for Hai
Jie to go look for Alice while he and Die Fei go see Siren’s owner. To me, this
gave a little insight into Ting Yu’s true character. Although he is rough
around the edges, he is considerate towards his friends.
Ting Yu and Die Fei go to see the old
man who currently owns Siren. The man has never played the violin, but is
looking for someone he thinks is worthy to be the new owner. Ting Yu plays
beautifully for the man, but the man will not give Ting Yu the Siren. He states
that while Ting Yu has superb skill, there are contradictions in his playing. I
think the old man senses some sort of turmoil in Ting Yu’s playing, just like Ting
Yu sensed an unresolved relationship in Hai Jie’s playing, earlier.
Meanwhile, Hai Jie goes to the town
Alice is from and visits all the places she told him about.
After leaving the old man’s house,
Die Fei and Ting Yu go eat. Die Fei tries to cheer him up, but states that he’s
upset because he’s never faced rejection like that before. To me, this was a
very underhanded comment on Die Fei’s part because, at this point, she barely
knows Ting Yu. It also seemed to be foreshadowing something dark in Ting Yu’s
past that would possibly be revealed at a later time, all, of course, in the name
of character development.
Later, Die Fei and Ting Yu go back
to the inn and Die Fei tells him she’s sincere in her feelings toward Hai Jie.
Ting Yu asks her if she’s mad that he sent Hai Jie to find Alice. Die Fei says
she’s not and she’s happy Hai Jie has the chance to find his lost love. Ting Yu
then gets real with her: Die Fei should give up on Hai Jie because he only loves
Alice; Die Fei has no chance and playing martyr won’t get her anywhere. Die Fei explodes
at Ting Yu, admitting that she is mad at him for pushing Hai Jie to find Alice,
and storms off.
We cut to Hai Jie wandering around
Alice’s town looking for her. He goes into a Noh theater (if you don’t know
what Noh theater is, look it up; it’s well worth the read!) and comes across a
little girl, also named Alice. She runs away and he passes out after injuring
himself trying to find her.
He wakes up to an old woman tending
to him at her house. He tries to talk with her, but the communication barriers prove
too great and he is eventually picked up by Ting Yu and Die Fei. As he’s
leaving, we are shown a picture of the woman, her husband and Alice, presumably
their granddaughter.
While eating, Hai Jie regales Ting
Yu and Die Fei with his lack of success in finding Alice, and is upset because
he’s too injured to keep looking. Although upset, Die Fei volunteers to continue
the search and wants Ting Yu to, again, try to convince the old man to give him
the Siren. Die Fei spends the next day searching, with no luck. That night, she
finally confronts Hai Jie about the actual probability of finding Alice. Hai
Jie remains steadfast, truly believing he will find Alice.
The following day, Ting Yu
accompanies Die Fei in the search. He’s decided that he is not fated to have the
Siren and accepts this fact with (some) dignity. Die Fei then admits that Ting
Yu was right, she can’t keep pining after Hai Jie and wants him to be happy.
However, Ting Yu tells Die Fei that he wants to pursue her and kisses her. She
pushes him and is upset. Ting Yu says he “hypnotized himself to throw himself
into the feeling only” (quoted from subtitles). He says every time he plays
music, he does the same thing. In my opinion, this could be one of two things:
an excuse or a combination of excuse and truth. It seems like he might be
embarrassed that Die Fei pushed him away. Ting Yu is a very prideful person and
lashes out when his pride is hurt, in anyway. However, it could also be true
that he let himself get caught up in the emotions Hai Jie and Die Fei have been
projecting. It is true that musicians, and artists in general, often immerse
themselves in their art. This includes getting into a certain mindset (or
character) where they feel the actual emotions linked to their work.
Ting Yu and Die Fei go back to the
inn, where Die Fei stomps off to her room pout, while Ting Yu and Hai Jie go to
a sauna for some overdue “bro-time”.
Sometime later, Siren’s owner sends
his assistant to Ting Yu’s inn. The assistant tells Ting Yu that the old man
has decided to give Ting Yu the Siren because it seems like Siren has chosen
Ting Yu as its new owner. The man also warns Ting Yu not to play Siren until he
is fully prepared; Siren can take him to the top of the world or bring him to
the darkest bottom. This seems like a wise piece of advice, and extreme
foreshadowing.
Our three leads go back to Taipei,
with Die Fie and Ting Yu not speaking to each other – Die Fei is still upset and
Ting Yu is too proud to break the ice.
EP 5
At the end of the previous episode,
Ting Yu and Die Fei are questioned by the insurance company about the
disappearance of Ting Yu’s previous violin. Ting Yu also asks Die Fei if she is
distracted with thoughts of the violin, Hai Jie or himself. Die Fei storms off,
decided to resign from her position with the orchestra.
Hai Jie goes to see his sister, Hai
Na, because she wants his help in getting their parents forgiveness before she
gets married. He agrees to help and goes to talk to his niece, Mei Mei, who’s
at Lisa’s café. There’s an almost run-in with Alice, but a conveniently timed
phone call prevents it.
Later, Hai Jie and Die Fei run into
each other and he proceeds to follow her around. He doesn’t understand why she’s
mad at him and he wants to know why she’s resigning. They bicker and he asks
her if it’s because she likes Ting Yu. Relieved, she denies, but then starts questioning
Hai Jie’s devotion to Alice: What if Alice is dead or married to someone, now?
Needless to say, Hai Jie remains firm in his devotion; he won’t assume anything
until he knows for sure (why can’t every drama have this sound, logical
reasoning?).
Ting Yu goes to see Lisa at the café,
but ends up talking to Alice, instead. He tells her that Lisa saved him when he
was younger and how passionate she is in helping other young people find their
way in the world. He tells her how much pressure his mother put on him to
perform perfectly, to the point that he developed extreme insomnia and
practiced all day and night. He says one night, he was walking home and was
approached by some thugs. They beat him badly, but Lisa saved him and took him
home with her.
Alice becomes extremely interested
and wants to know her mother’s secrets. Ting Yu only tells Alice the Lisa she
knows now is not the same Lisa from the past; that Lisa died when her daughter
was taken from her.
We cut to Hai Jie taking Hai Na,
her fiancé and Mei Mei to see his parents. Hai Na wants their forgiveness
before she gets married. The parents are shocked to see her and her father
becomes enraged. He refuses to forgive her and claims that he doesn’t have a
daughter. Hai Na’s fiancé comes to the rescue and defends her honor. He says
that he doesn’t need her parents’ approval and that he will love and care for
her, anyway. Mei Mei finally respects her soon-to-be stepdad makes him promise
to always protect her and her mom. I have to say this was a great scene. Even
though Hai Na’s fiancé stood up to her parents, he did so in a very respectful
(as respectful as one can be in that situation) manner. He didn’t curse, he
didn’t get physical, and he directly proclaimed his love for Hai Na AND her
difficult teenage daughter. It was well written and well-acted. Most scenes of
this nature (that I’ve seen) usually are over dramatized and result in even
more problems.
Later, Die Fei’s sister, Yu Shu, and
their friend grill Die Fei on why she’s been so upset and why she’s resigning.
They figure out that she’s in love with Hai Jie, but Die Fei has a Freudian slip
and implies that she’s interested in Ting Yu, as well. Yu Shu warns her not to
get involved with Ting Yu, because it will only end in disaster, but Die Fei
defends that she’s not interested in Ting Yu and decides to go back to work.
Die Fei meets with Hai Jie and he
questions what’s going on between her and Ting Yu. She inadvertently spills
that Ting Yu kissed her. Hai Jie later arranges for Die Fei and Ting Yu to meet
to discuss their issues. She demands Ting Yu apologize for kissing her, but he’s
more interested in whether she felt anything during the kiss. She flat out
denies having any feelings and he apologizes. She’s happy they talked and tells
him even though it was her first kiss, it doesn’t matter anymore because they’ve
made up. I found this scene to be a little bittersweet. It was funny how Die Fei
demanded an apology, but a little saddening when she flat out rejected Ting Yu.
The expression on his face showed he was hopeful for a positive answer and was
taken aback by the rejection.
At Hai Na’s wedding, Mei Mei is
surprised that Lisa knows her mother. Lisa tells Mei Mei that when she was born
she had some complications, but Hai Na never gave up on her. Once again, Mei
Mei finally has some respect for her elders and realizes she’s been acting like
a complete brat. Hai Na’s parents also show up and they have a tearful, happy
reunion.
The scene cuts to Alice receiving a
text from SJ, demanding she meet him somewhere. She confronts him and wants to
know why he’s in Taipei. He haughtily tells her that he just wanted to see her
because she is his fiancé, after all (giant gasp!). He also reminds her that
she has a mission to figure out some sort of password, to which she impertinently
acknowledges.
EP 6
We open with Alice snooping through
some of her mother’s things but she doesn’t find what she’s looking for while
Lisa’s away.
Yu Shu tells Die Fei to report to
the director when she goes back to work the next day and tells her she’s going
on a business trip with the director for 10 days. Die Fei warns her sister to
not be involved with a married man, but Yu Shu brushes her off.
The next day, the director asks Die Fei to check on Ting Yu and gives her a spare key to Ting Yu’s house. She
warily lets herself into Ting Yu’s apartment and finds it amess with sheet
music. He destroys some of it, saying he’s unhappy with his most recent
composition and is frustrated by his lack of inspiration. Die Fei says she can’t
relate to his problem because she doesn’t know how to play violin, so he gives
her a brief lesson. This scene is purely fan service (albeit subdued). The way
he physically shows her how to play is a gift of its own… :)
Ting Yu eventually tries to throw
her out because her playing is so bad. As she leaves, she tells him she’s going
to confess to Hai Jie, but Ting Yu tells her not to get her hopes up.
Die Fei then gets a call from her
sister to go shopping. They end up at a lingerie store and Yu Shu tells Die Fei
all the different ways to get a guy in bed, i.e. acting drunk, pretending to
twist your ankle or pretending to be sick. What great advice. I wonder if she
used any of those on the director.
Hai Jie is wandering around and
sees Alice in a crowd. He chases after her, but messes up the set of two
buskers. The girls demand he pay for the damages, but he offers to play with
them to make more money. They almost are arrested for not having performance
permits, but Hai Jie helps them escape and they all go eat together.
That night, Yu Shu and the director
are unknowingly photographed together in his car.
At the same time, Die Fei and her father
are eating dinner and they fight about him always giving Yu Shu preferential
treatment, while essentially pushing Die Fei to the side. In anger, Die Fei
reveals that YS is dating their boss, who’s a married man.
The next day, Alice seeks Ting Yu
out to, once again, find out more about her mother. He tells her more about the
time Lisa saved him when he was a teenager. He reveals that Lisa treated him
like a son, completely different from how his own mother ever treated him.
After going back home, he realized that “home” wasn’t a comfortable place for
him and was continually stressed by the pressure to perform perfectly. He later
goes to find Lisa, who is volunteering at a mental health facility. He spends
the day with her, and finds new meaning in playing his violin. He is happy and
relaxed and decides he will stop playing violin competitively. Lisa encourages
him to confront his mother to show that he is now an adult and can make
decisions for himself. He asks Lisa to go with him, but his mother freaks out
and accuses Lisa of turning Ting Yu against her. She essentially has a mental
break down and goes to the police, accusing Lisa of sexually abusing Ting Yu.
Sometime later, Ting Yu gets a call
right before a performance, informing him that his mother has attempted
suicide. After that, he decides to continue performing to live up to his mother’s
expectations and to make her happy. However, she still commits suicide. Ting Yu
goes on to explain that Lisa was there for him and held him while he cried, but
that he hasn’t shed a single tear since. Ting Yu stresses to Alice that she should
cherish this time with her mother and she shouldn’t waste this opportunity.
This whole scene was a great moment of character background and development. We
can more easily understand why Ting Yu acts the way he does and how mental
stress can break someone. It was truly sad watching him (as a character)
struggle with the pressure his mother constantly put on him and that her death fundamentally
killed him. Aaron Yan was fantastic in his portrayal of Ting Yu.
Later, we see Die Fei attempting to
write a confession letter when she gets a call from Hai Jie. He wants her to
open the orchestra hall so he can show his new friends (the girls he helped
earlier).
Die Fei loses the chance to confess
to Hai Jie, so she wanders around the building and starts singing in one of the
practice halls. Unbeknownst to her, Ting Yu is also there and hears her singing,
and is captivated by the sound of her voice.
Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it! Let us know what you thought about it in the comments below!
Thank you!
K
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