My Week in Dramas 17 Aug 2025
Deep Affectionate Eyes, Trigger and other short C dramas
Leads Zhang Yuxi and Bi Wenjun are the primary romantic pairing in Deep Affectionate Eyes — a slice-of-life seachange romance. Even though C dramas (to my knowledge) have a good track record with seachange narratives, it was still a pleasant surprise to be able to watch it to the end without the uncomfortable sensation of dragging myself over the finishing line. In fact, to the credit of the showrunners, the final act gave the audience the payoff that they signed up for. Call it fan servicing if you like but in actual fact all the show does is do its job — fulfill its end of the bargain to anyone who has invested time and energy in the process of witnessing the central relationship unfold. Of course at 26 episodes I still thought it was longer than it needed to be with this overlong melodramatic struggle between the antagonists and protagonists somewhere in the middle. Thankfully, it doesn’t derail the romance but actually strengthens it.
On some level it behaves conventionally like a noona romance in so far as Ye Meng (Zhang Yuxi) who is supposedly 2 years older comes across more emotionally mature. She’s certainly far more extroverted and gungho. Her head is generally screwed on tightly and is far more certain about what she wants out of love and life. Li Jinyu (Bi Wenjun) comes across initially as a lad with a large chip on his shoulders stemming from his egregiously dysfunctional relationship with his embittered mother. It’s hard to believe how much she hates her own son but the reasons for all the venom only become more apparent much later. At the start of the story he’s living with grandma in a state of depression and aimlessness with abandonment issues. In that vein the visible difference in maturity also lends itself to a fascinating hero’s journey for Jinyu who is called to scale over the wall of despair to find love and acceptance on the other side. Love and marriage are not only the vehicle for healing he so desperately needs but to regain courage to be the man his wife needs him to be.
On the other hand, the age difference isn’t significant enough to be an animating feature of their relationship. When they become a couple, age is a nothing burger in this situation. What we’re presented with are the same problems as the majority of supposedly committed couples everywhere. The two marry after a whirlwind courtship but soon realise that with all the issues haunting them, this new life they’ve embarked on, is hardly a bed of roses. Jinyu accustomed to flying solo, needs to learn the most rudimentary aspects of building a marriage — clear communication to forge lifelong trust. The fact that they don’t get it right early adds a nice dose of realism to the plot.
The secondary couple consists of Ye Meng’s bestie, Ya’en, and an old childhood friend Cheng Kairen. Ya’en, a single mother is going through the labour pains of permanently separating from her unreliable and occasionally explosive husband. As someone who has mistakenly identified Ye Meng as the one who saved him many years ago, Cheng Kairan, emerges from the fracas as a contender for Ya’en’s affections and soon becomes a surrogate father figure to her son, Jiayu. Nothing comes easily for either and in a small community, gossip can be a relationship killer.
Localism is nothing new in these types of stories and it’s not hard to see why it’s an attractive proposition for those craving community. Cities are big and indifferent places to get lost in. On top of that the isolation can be stifling. Often too the competition for employment is fierce and there’s very little room for errors.
Kim Nam-gil and Kim Young-kwan’s latest offering on Netflix, Trigger is for the most part an engrossing “what if” drama. On the surface it seems like it’s commentary about gun access and gun violence but as one is taken deeper into the story, the dystopian reverberations speak to far more fundamental questions of power and the use of it in enforcing law and order issues. Injustices are real enough. The flouting of laws occurs routinely. But is taking matter into one’s own hands really the answer to all the imperfections of the justice system?
Guns represent power in the pocket. Needless to say it can defend and it can kill. Ordinary folk who live as law abiding citizens expect others to toe the line in similar fashion. “Do no harm” is the unspoken axiom of people living side by side going about their business. Of course there will always be those who don’t have the same regard for the rule of law — looking for wriggle room and exploiting loopholes — human nature being what it is. But often it is isn’t just flouting laws, it’s about using one’s resources and status position oneself above the law. Power is a tool that be used to impose one’s will on another regardless of the social contract. The antagonist in the drama attempts to sell the idea of guns as the great equalizer. It’s a terrible twist on the golden rule: Do unto others what they’ve done to you. Unforgiveness and vengeance become the order of the day. There’s no room for remorse or redemption. Once the trigger is pulled and the heart stops beating, there’s no going back.
Like Batman’s greatest nemesis The Joker, the antagonist here wants to see the world fall into chaos. A victim of many crimes himself, he now wants payback for the many wounds inflicted on him.
Is that the kind of world one wants to live in? That’s the question posed by the drama. Kim Nam-gil’s character knows the power of guns having done overseas stints in the army as a sharpshooter. He is positioned as the ideal law enforcement officer who has a healthy fear of firearms and is sympathetic to the plight of those in his beat. What’s really surprising is the support he receives from his colleagues and superiors — a rare sight among K drama procedurals — who immediately see him as the go-to guy in this inevitable escalation of violence.
The final act suffers somewhat from resorting to a deus ex machina resolution but as a whole it’s a gripping watch.
Among the short C dramas that I’ve been watching, my top recommendation is this lovely modern day arranged marriage between a mute CEO husband and his extroverted wife. The male lead is played by one of my favourite short drama actors, Wang Yiran who is a charming versatile performer with many projects under his belt. You can find it here or here. The mute husband trope is not often utilized but in his case he has been traumatized into the state of non-speaking. The mute angle as always it’s all about the importance of transparent communication in marriage.
Another well-made arranged marriage story this time set vaguely in the Song dynasty. It has been done at least twice before but this version is arguably the best. Certainly there are several popular romance tropes at play but it has the best character development and the chemistry is top notch. The storyline involves a young perfumer who has been crushing on an heir to a marquisate for three years. One day she overhears him belittling her in front of his companions and realises that she’s been wasting her time. As part of her epiphany she finally agrees to a betrothal to the prodigious Grand Tutor conferred by the emperor three years earlier. The two have a history and he was her teacher in the past although he’s not much older.
My third recommendation in this post is this recent one with Li Shiyao. It’s a well-written contract marriage period piece that begins with a rebirth. The female lead (Yang Yimo) is from an aristocratic family trying to undo all the horrors of her previous life and reshape her future. She collaborates with an unfavoured prince to deal with her and his enemies. It’s not exactly love at first sight but both being fairly intelligent develop a formidable team. The chemistry is excellent. So’s the acting. Li Shiyao has proven his acting chops playing all kinds of characters but I particularly like him as this type of tsundere role. Alternative venues for this drama are here, here or here.
The final recommendation is this hilarious storyline about a disabled CEO whose daughter finds him a super strong retarded wife who suffers from a head trauma that has led to her amnesia. She’s in fact fallen prey to the machinations of her greedy family who unsuccessfully attempts to murder her to steal her inheritance. The chemistry is great and the little girl cheerleading them, has the best lines. She’s a well-known and beloved child actor.
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