I have yet to find a non-historical C-drama that keeps me on the edge of seat as the wuxia-based ones, and Meteor Garden is no exception. That said, (and others will disagree with me) I liked it better than Boys Over Flowers which I could not finish. I believe (not quite sure) that the story is based on the Japanese story (who have their own version) called Hana Yori Dango and I plan to watch that one in the future. After completing the show, I took a week before writing the review, to ensure I looked at it with impartial eyes (no emotion involved here, folks).

STORY:
Shan Cai, fabulously done by Shen Yue, comes from a poor family and is able to attend a prestigious university. Unfortunately for her, she has a run in with F4, a group of the richest most popular boys on campus. Hijinks ensue. The leader of F4, Dao Ming Si, played very nicely by Dylan Wang, decides that Shan Cai deserves a smack down and begins plotting against her and (no surprise here) he falls in love with her by episode 5. Don’t worry….its not that easy. She doesn’t want anything to do with the bully and when she finally does, his mother protests and not in a good way and all of that unfolds over the next 44 episodes.

The story does touch on some touchy but not unwelcome subjects such as bullying, sexual harassment, anger management, and emotional immaturity. Where I thought this show excelled was addressing these subjects without making anyone out to be an evil villain….after all that’s reality right? Humans are fallible, and this show illustrates that very well. Like many c-dramas, the middle dragged (I admit I skipped about 5 episodes) but it picked right back up and became more engaging.

CHARACTERS:
Truth be told, I hated the two main characters until sometime around episode thirty-something (ok. I hated Shan Cai longer than I hated Si). That said, the characters were really well flushed out….because they made me feel something the entire show, even if it was loathing. These two leads were the most immature characters in the entire show and that is why it worked. It was almost as if all the other characters were a crucible to forge Shan Cai and Si into better human beings.

There was a sweet story-line between Shan Cai and Hua Ze Lei, well done by Darren Chen, Si’s best friend and another member of F4. He is the second male lead and a calming presence on the screen when Shan Cai and Si get overly emotional (and they do…a lot). I know it was intended to be a love triangle, but it was well done and entertaining as well as touching.

The best character, BY FAR, in the show was Dao Ming Zhuang played by Dee Hsu. She brought the real emotion to the scenes whether it be tears or laughter, she had me riveted….and yes, I wish they had used her more. The rest of the characters were well flushed out and less volatile than the two leads (it was a relief). Dae Ming Feng is another villain that the writers wanted me to like in the end….sorry, didn’t work for me.

MUSIC:
Last night I downloaded the River song used in the show….love it (It’s the Bishop Briggs version). The songs were mainly sung by the members of F4 and they were catchy and not annoying, but I didn’t download them. Thankfully, the music added to the scenes.

RECAP:
Meteor Garden is worth watching but don’t expect a binge worthy show that leaves you all white knuckled and out of breath. The actors all did so well, I am looking for other shows they are in. The entire 49 episodes were entertaining although, I might need someone to explain the last episode. It almost felt like a hallucination.