Binge, Stream or Skip? Drama Review // Begin Again《从结婚开始恋爱》

You can watch the trailer above or start watching episode one here.

Warning! Spoilers ahead.

Although there were a few parts that I watched on 2x speed, it is minimal so I would still say that this drama is stream-worthy.

Synopsis:

The story revolves around an ambitious female who managed to climb up the career ladder to take the position of CEO in a big company and a kind, gentle general surgery doctor.

What I like about this drama:

The main couple's love story starts off with a contractual marriage, or at least that was what the female lead (FL) thought. When actually, their love story started waaaaay back when they were kids. So this was a tinge of freshness compared to the other contractual marriage centered dramas that I have watched thus far. The drama started off with the couple's wedding, and then rewinded two weeks prior to show the leading events of establishing this contractual marriage. I was curious the whole time, thinking what could be the reason that lead the male lead (ML) to accept the proposal. Initially I thought it would be due to the money that the ML's family owes to the FL, but surprise surprise, it was not!

And to add to the above point, if you've noticed, I mentioned that the whole contractual marriage starting hinged on the ML accepting the proposal. Yes, you've read it right. In this drama, it is a reversal proposal, well, at least the first time around. The FL was in a situation where she needed a husband and she thought that the ML would fit the role just fine. Hence, she laid out all sorts of bargaining chips that she could come up with using her business-centric mind.

Whenever a misunderstanding occurs, it doesn't get dragged on for too long before it gets resolved. The characters' maturity matches their ages, they would talk it out like matured adults would. Of course, arguments do happen, but it wasn't frustrating to watch. Instead, the scenes were realistic, emotional and quite relatable. I only watched a small part on 2x speed towards the back of the drama because it was a tad bit annoying. But it wasn't very significant to the extent that it would affect my review of this drama.

The drama's ending. Recently, there has been too many dramas where the endings are just so unsatisfying and so rushed that it is so frustrating for the viewers! But not to worry. This drama has one of the most satisfying endings of all time. And by satisfying, I do not exactly mean to have a happy ending, but to close off loops, tie up loose ends, etc, and not making viewers feel like, huh? This drama has a happy ending, of course, and also nicely wrapped up the story for all the characters.

Who I like in this drama:

Lu Yiyao, uncle to the FL but actually not related by blood. He was adopted by the family at a young age and became the adopted brother of the FL when he actually isn't much older than her in terms of age. One, he is handsome, exactly my type. Then again, credits for the looks goes to the actor, Garvey Jin. Hahaha. Two, he liked the same person for so long and is always looking out for her, her over everyone else, everything else. I also want to be put on a pedestal by someone like him. But he did get a tad bit annoying at some parts when trying to break the main couple up and making use of Cai Siyu.

Then there is Cai Siyu, who poured her heart out for Lu Yiyao at the start despite knowing that he doesn't love her. I saw many comments on Youtube, where I watched the drama, saying that her love for him is only for his looks, she barely knew him, there were only three encounters between them, which is too little for her to have fell so deep. But I begged to differ. Yes, she probably liked him for his looks at first. But because of that, she paid so much attention to him, to his every gesture. They work in the same department. Technically, she would see him every single day. And of course, the drama cannot possibly show every single tiny detail, but to only show "major" events. Not to mention, they are not even the main couple. So I don't see how it doesn't make sense that she could fall so deep. This character has the courage that I don't really have in real life, so I quite respect her for it.

What I don't like about this drama:

Nothing major except for the revenge plot of, I suppose, the main antagonist. And then there is the postcard scene, where they showed that the FL has been receiving "warning" postcards reminding her about her dead sister. I guess they meant the scene as a "hint" to the revelation of the main antagonist later but I felt that the foreshadowing could have been done better. It felt like a scene just inserted to say 'here, we are placing this hint here for you' rather than having much meaning to the scene.

Who I don't like (or possibly even dislike) in this drama:

Gao Erfan, the main antagonist of this drama, and the boyfriend and almost fiancé of the FL's dead sister. The revenge motive and reasons for his actions doesn't really make sense to me. I can get why he would hate the Lu family, but to bring down the brand that the FL is building to fulfil her dead sister's wish because he thinks that the FL doesn't deserve to fulfil her dead sister's wish? He blames the FL for causing her sister's death because she got into a fatal car accident for returning home (after having ran away) to celebrate the FL's birthday. Clearly, this man doesn't seem to remember that she told him before that the FL is the closest family she's got. He could have driven her to wherever she is meeting the FL, then they could drive away to the airport together, rather than standing in the street where they parted for, I assume, hours waiting for her. Anyway, it is just a drama, but telling myself that doesn't make it less annoying to watch.

Other notes:

I was actually way more interested in how the side couple's story would develop rather than the main couple. Not that I was disinterested in the main couple's storyline, but I was just more interested in the Lu Yiyao-Cai Siyu couple. Probably because of Lu Yiyao *blush*.

It has been a long while where I have watched a drama that is past 30 episodes. This drama has 35! Most drama's that I have watched nowadays end with episode 24. Probably why this drama has such a satisfactory ending, partly also because they paced it well and surprisingly, not draggy at all!