WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If you DO NOT want to be spoiled, please DO NOT read. You have been warned.
Finally, it was airing after so much anticipation. Although I would agree that Next Station, Happiness sounded better and more unique but I guess Autumn’s Concerto wasn’t all that bad either. Maybe because autumn was around the corner during the time that it began to air so it was suitable? All right, no more randomness. How was episode 1?
If you get past the first five minutes or so of the stepmother’s shouting marathon, it was actually very good. It was surprisingly good although it still carried some elements from other idol dramas. If I didn’t know about the cast changes several times around, I would’ve thought it was written for Ady because of her background in piano and how it reminded me of The Outsiders too much for obvious reasons, especially how the little Mu Cheng was playing with the fake piano which she drew on the table. (It was a huge reminder because Yu Hao and Xiao Yan Yi drawn the piano while they were decorating their house.) It turned me off because of the similarities but I held on a little longer and continued to watch the scenes, trying to see more into it. The theme song of the drama saved it the most since Della’s voice was just so unique and it brought something special into the song itself. That was definitely something to stay for. It reminded me that soundtrack contributed majorly to these Taiwanese productions because those actually drew me into the drama more and made it bearable to watch through any situation.
Back to the drama, I must say that it was a bit more refreshing–at least from what I’ve seen from TW dramas–to make Mu Cheng’s occupation in association with fishes and the fish market in general. Though it was another typical ‘rich guy, poor girl’ storyline. Another thing that was kind of typical was the whole introduction of Guang Xi and how he was going through a phase of self-destructive mode. And then it told us the real reason behind Guang Xi’s actions at the bar meeting up with his juniors. (Another typical move.) So the supposed player was not really a player.
But it was all right since I did not expect Mu Cheng to still stick behind like she did that one night. I was thinking that she would eventually get abandoned by her stepmother but that was not it. So it was something to stick around for. There was mixture of predictability along with its unpredictability also. That was something else.
Oh yeah, did I say that it was too typical to have Mu Cheng’s father die in a car accident? It was another thing that reminded me of those people and their carelessness. Or because it was typical so they wanted to go along that path so viewers could relate to rather than making it too far-fetched?
I must admit that I loved the script-writers for making Mu Cheng so careful with protecting herself against that freaky man. She knew what was going on and she did all she could to protect herself. If it shall happen, she won’t be called a dummy for being clueless. Her intelligence was what made her character admirable thus far.
I actually liked how they diverted the story into the direction of rivalry between the universities and different activities they were involved in. It brought on a lively trait to the educational atmosphere that contained other factors aside from academic subjects. It gave a sense of what could happen at any university. Like the whole prank playing or the bets between Guang Xi and his friends. Or the part where Guang Xi was reminded of the rumors being spread about his mother and his lawyer. It was part of the education process that most of us go through–yet those were unwanted extras that we could do without.
The scene where Guang Xi remembered back to what happened to his father and their short-lived bond was very touching and well done. Van Ness showed his acting skills at that part, the torture that he went through and how he was only able to live in past memories with his father. The pain of having to live with the rumors surrounding him about his mother and his lawyer. The little scene at the piano with Guang Xi repeating Bach’s “Air on the G string” continuously was very touching as well. Worth a few tears even.
On the other hand, it was a bit disturbing to see how the university operated with favoring Guang Xi because his mother was the dean but somewhat portrayed how things were. It was funny too that Guang Xi ended up unscathed yet the scholarship student was in trouble for being involved in a fight.
It was a bit funny to see Figaro portraying such a role since I was used to seeing him as the kind and hard-working guy in I Do.
The best quote in this episode so far: “It looks like you haven’t woke up yet. You’re still in your pajamas.” (LOL)
It was more of a misunderstanding since Guang Xi and Mu Cheng were both covering up their true feelings but it was still really cute to see them together during the scene on the ice.
Although the rating only averaged to 2.89 for the first episode, it actually won over its other two competitors, 花樣男子流星花園 (中視) and 紫玫瑰 (華視), with its rating being 1.86 and 0.27 respectively.
*All images were captured by DTLCT