This review has germinated for several months. Why? For me, the real test of a film that just makes your heart happy is tied to sustaining that viewing after viewing. "Hidden Love" as a script far exceeded the original story by adding character depth, a first love romance that most women remember, with ML/FL actors that fill the screen with emotion and...let's be honest, amazing visuals....but it was more than that. The entire cast ensemble created a story synergy filling in all the spaces in a series of interwoven plotlines with a director's sequence expertise that is missing in most dramas.

The relationships of siblings, parents, friends, and those college roommates we all had that have remained in our lives since our first dormitory room long ago. Scriptwriters who bring humor, sadness, conflict, and growing pains into each episode are rare in modern dramas but fortunately for the producers of Hidden Love, they took you on a concurrent journey through the storyline and our memories of similar moments in our coming of age from high school through our college years.

I could spend time exploring the chemistry among Zhoa Lusi, Victor Ma, and Chen Zheyuan, but each episode pretty much speaks for itself as we travel through the years watching the dynamics of these three grow individually as people and together in romance, friendship, and as siblings. An older brother protecting you growing up creates a very special bond that transcends time. The heartbreak of thinking our first love "couldn't wait for us to grow up" before finding someone was a sequence of emotional events that was handled so realistically you could feel her despair right along with her. The only aspect of this drama I would have to say I found disappointing was when it ended without a clear possibility for a follow-up season.

The story of this drama would be incomplete without congratulating the marking team who created a BTS series of videos that kept viewers engaged between episodes and added depth to the drama in getting to know the detailed work that went into the final product. Watching actors having fun while focused on their craft and supporting one another is rare. Those captured moments made each actor shine as people versus only seeing them in the roles they are portraying. I have watched this drama several times and purchased it for special friends who I know will be drawn into many of the college antics pulling from the collective memory of my college roommates and classmates. Happy Viewing--Hope