Imperfect Her (2020)

The title and poster of 3 women hugging each other give away what this drama is about. The last character “她” stands out as it is exactly this character that informs the us that this is a narrative about woman. I usually avoid anything with the slightest feminist content because I’m afraid what it will make me to believe and afraid what it will show me. The first episode put me in tears. Thank god after the first episode there is less I can relate to if not I wouldn’t be able to continue watching this drama. The drama is unexpectedly good, but people who couldn’t understand the main character’s internal turmoil might not like the drama. The problem is that the most logical solution after she save the girl is to call the police. The evidence in the apartment and on the girl’s body can put her parents in jail and the main character could legally adopt her as her own child (I don’t know if that’s how it works in China, but I think that’s how it usually works but I might be wrong). The story would just end right there. But it’s exactly because she is the person she is and she made the choices she did so complications arise and the story unfolds.
I really love a line that the main character said (if I didn’t misunderstood her, my mandarin isn’t perfect). She said, “people say parents love towards their children is unconditional but they are wrong. A child’s love to their parents is what is truly unconditional.” I have never came across anything anywhere that voiced the opposite of the generalization that a parents love is unconditional. There’s some sort of relief when the main character made that confession. But it’s exactly a child’s love towards their parents translates into a parent’s love toward their children. (of course that’s not always the case but it’s beautiful to watch when it is)

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Too disjointed and quick.

Both the J and the K versions blew me away, I've watched them both multiple times. This version failed at pretty much every level to drag me in. The plot didn't make sense to me - just too complicated to flow and the relationships just didn't ring true enough. Both Xhou Xun and Chen Si Nou had the acting chops to have really pulled it off but the script left them with too little to work with.
The way they reworked the elements of the story - the set up, the escape etc. was just too disjointed and too quick. By the time half way came I'd lost interest - could have been great.

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