While I'm not surprised by MDL's negative reaction to this show, I can't help but wish there was at least some love shown to this series here. But, considering this is essentially an indie film stretched into more than six hours of drama, I can't complain much, given the tastes of MDL users.

The extended shots and continuous takes evoke strong vibes reminiscent of Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, which might make some viewers find the material a bit monotonous. But if you're a fan of Edward Yang or Hou Hsiao-hsien's films, this is a treat. I would even go so far as to say this is the best thing I've seen from iQIYI and Chinese contemporary film/television in a long time.

The direction, production, and the actors' performances (there are some seriously impressive performances here) are genuinely excellent and ensure there's always something captivating happening within the frame.

The atmosphere and mood of the show stayed with me long after the credits rolled in the final episode. If nothing else, the final half-hour or so will linger in your memory long after the screen goes dark.

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A show of two halves—with a very strong second half!

This is definitely a show of two halves. It is amazing how quickly the show went from a run-of-the-mill YA TV show to a pretty good coming-of-age story.

First things first, the first half of the show drags so much. There is so much filler in the first half that I am quite sure that at least three to four episodes worth of content could have easily been cut out and that would result in an improved show. Honestly, I considered dropping it more than a couple of times, but after finishing the final episode, I am glad that I kept up with it to the end.

I started watching this right after With You —which I enjoyed quite a bit but felt the ending could have been handled better— and struggled to form a connection with any of the characters or care about their problems. In the earlier episodes, I kept thinking how With You did everything so much better. My Huckleberry Friends just couldn't match with Class 2 the camaraderie that With You was able to conjure between the members of Class 5 and their homeroom teacher. So many other things felt wrong: the character interactions didn't feel earned but merely exigencies of the plot, the drama seemed too hamfisted, the show relied a bit too heavily upon sentimentality, and the direction and the story didn't seem to mesh that well. It seemed the director was filming an indie coming-of-age story but the writer/s wanted to narrate a melodramatic high-school love triangle.

But something changed around the second half of the show. Suddenly, I found myself heavily invested in the lives of all the characters. The soundtrack started to bang big time. I even got moist-eyed more than a couple of times and by the time the show ended I was completely in love.

Now, I think it is probably better than With You in more ways than that show is better than it. This show's ending is definitely stronger and many times more satisfying than that of With You. When it comes to characters, I believe this show might have the upper hand there as well. Don't get me wrong, nothing here overtakes or even matches the camaraderie that the members of Class 5 share with each other and the audience by extension for me, but I don't recall thinking any character was wasted here as I thought about Lu Xing He from With You. Overall, I would say this is the finest high school drama on this website for me so far.

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