My Way (2022)

Poor Writing Ruins Even a Good Story

I really wanted to like this drama. Initially, the characters seemed appealing, and I was looking forward to getting to know them and their stories. What a let-down! There were so many things going on at the same time, so this story needed to flow a lot better than it did. There was a lot of needless repetition and wasted opportunities for the characters to really grow and develop.

The Couples:
I was really rooting for the lead couple. I was disappointed. He made mistakes, yes, he did. He handled them poorly, yes, he did. But there didn't seem to be much real love or dedication from either spouse to communicate and try to work through their problems, especially for the sake of the family they say they loved. And what was that ending for them? Ambiguous at best.

The lawyer & the writer were also disappointing. I thought it ironic that the couple didn't make the connection that despite the lawyer's modern, professional, capable demeanor, she was doing almost the same thing her mother-in-law was doing, and the writer husband was taking her for granted the same way! He did get to redeem himself a bit with his concern for her and his support. But not sufficiently to change.

The artist & the engineer was the couple that disgusted me the most. Not him, but her. He was just too sweet, too much of a doormat, too understanding, too wish-washy. She was just a selfish, self-centered, insensitive, spoiled diva. At first, I thought they would be my favorite couple, but she put paid to that very quickly. I did not like her at all.

The music teacher & the baker. That 'relationship' didn't even take off for me. There was no development of their involvement at all. Potentially the strongest story arc with the opportunity to show the most beneficial change - wasted by a weak script. I wasn't even rooting for her by the end.

The kids:
Wow! What a spoiled, entitled, bratty bunch! None of them were particularly appealing, and they did nothing to make me believe they were anything but noisy and basically unnecessary characters.

The older parents/in-laws:
OMG! The representation of older Chinese mothers gets worse and worse. Nosy, bossy, single-minded - these things don't equate to loving your children. No wonder their own children even as adults are so dysfunctional, and then go on to raise the same dysfunctional children themselves.

The ending:
Maybe the writer was trying to redeem themself by making a poor attempt at being philosophical. It didn't work. The FL was neither inspiring nor philosophical throughout the story. She didn't come across as someone to be empathized with or even sympathized with. She didn't impress me much as the kind of woman to be admired or emulated. She just did what so many women in real-life situations do - stumble along with unrealistic dreams and the illusion of perfection. Maybe that was the intent of the writer and this story. I don't know.

Personally, this was a let-down. No chance of re-watching. I did like the actor who played the ML, though. I hope he doesn't get bogged-down playing the role of the cheating husband who turns out to be a waste of time.

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