The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

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The sexy spy in Black & White returns to the small screen (didn’t watch her other works.) Sonia Sui abandons the gun and picks up a baggage, playing a confident woman in her mid thirties. All I ask is that she’s more Dal Ja Spring and less pity party Ruby Lin. So far, so good. Our girl isn’t a leftover, she simply needs to tie up one stringy romance before moving on. She doesn’t need help in that area.

Episode 1 First Impression:

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Our leading lady, Ji An Lei (Sonia Sui), is a hot 34-year-old woman, strutting down the streets in her wonder legs and mini short shorts (Really, how short could these get?) It amazes me that she doesn’t get hit on 24/7 walking around like the hottest cake in the bakery store. She has a stable job, a friendly family, so what’s holding her back from pursuing marriage? A suitable partner. The premiere drives this point further by having Lei Lie’s only niece, Gu Xiao Yun (Xin Le Er) preparing for her marriage with boyfriend, Zhou Da Kai (Lin Bo Hong), at the blossoming age of 22. What’s the hurry kiddo?

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I think it’s cute how Xiao Yun met her husband. Flashback: She’s an art student and Da Kai was the hired nekkkkkid model. 😛 How should I describe this convenience? Gateway to the goodies? Distracted and bothered, she wasn’t able to draw a single line of his healthy body the whole hour. The Assisting Professor, our male lead, Huang Yi Kang (Tony Yang), stepped in and ordered her to focus, after the other students have left. So she shyly peered and drew….and scored a date with the eager young lad at the end. And the rest is history.

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As the hour continues, we learn what’s tugging at Lei Lei’s unsettled feelings. Turns out Lei Lei has an unfinished chapter with her former love. The culprit of her cardiac knot is He Ting Wei (Zhuang Kai Xun), who has dated and broken up with her three times in the past 14 years. Fate is an arse, isn’t he? Every time Ting Wei returns to Taipei, the annoying winged kid would pull them together. The pattern of dating and eventually falling out is due to his nature. Ting Wei enjoys traveling the world and doesn’t really consider Lei Lei’s position and feelings as the person left behind.

The third time they broke up, he left her with a ridiculous offer, “If you’re still single at 35, marry He Ting Wei.” Dude, really? Who told you to set the rules of marriage around here?

That’s my reaction but Lei Lei lives her life remembering that suggestion. She reads his postcards, replies to his emails, and even carries a picture of them together in her wallet.

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In the last ten minutes, two bombs are dropped. While anticipating her promotion to become the next general manager, Lei Lei’s expectant face is crushed by her boss’s decision. He gives the job title to his daughter, Shen Hai Lun (Aggie Hsieh) and has the nerves to ask Lei Lei to stay with the company forever. The second grenade is in the form of He Ting Wei. Indeed, he has returned to Taipei and confirms with Lei Lei that he’s here to stay. He wants to spend the evening with her.

After having a terrible day at work, Lei Lei’s face finds a different shade of gloom the moment Ting Wei introduces the woman who has made him consider settlement for good – Shen Hai Lun.

Ah, so nice. Job and man gone in one day. What Lei Lei doesn’t know: she has a new roommate at home, waiting to be discovered. 😉

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Kappy: First thing first, it’s not impossible for a woman as attractive as Lei Lei to be alone at that age. Her problem is she can’t move on until her romance with Ting Wei comes to a closure. That chapter of her life is left unfinished, placing him in her mind restlessly over the years. Time has changed but society is still very much unkind to older women. Is there a drama for men in that age range looking for love? Being called out and made fun? Not as many as there are for women. Why is that?

Sonia Sui. She’s good when she’s broody and deep in thought. The ending scene when her heart was stomped on and her head dipped slightly was pitch perfect to describe her broken dreams. And that added wistful smile? Nice touch to keep things classy. Her weakness comes out when she has to be loud – such as that scene with Tony Yang where she was over-the-top and appeared a bit too eager, shrieking and bulging her eyes. She isn’t a natural in that area.

To complicate matters, Shen Han Lun is also the ex-flame of Huang Yi Kang, which means a rectangular love is on its way to dock. Not sure I like how connected everyone is but I do like the characters enough to continue watching.

The other thing that I like is the theme song. By Your Side by William Wei. Listen & Download below:

I do have a question, what does the chicken man represent in Lei Lei’s mind?

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How are Tdramas this season? Anything to recommend?

  1. 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

    Kappy, I swear you can read my mind. I literally just got home and was watching episode 3, and was thinking, “That’s it, this show is too good to ignore”, and was planning to write something on it (I am so afraid to commit because college is shattering all of my schedules.. I actually have days now where my laptop is untouched.. major blasphemy I tells ya!).

    You literally picked out all the things I liked about the first episode, including weibird wei’s theme song. I have it on repeat on my phone XD

    I think that the angry bird is sort of like… you know that tension on your head when you have an 14-page paper to write, but you keep on procrastinating, so the thought just weighs really heavily in the back of your mind constantly? I think that’s the angry bird. Just all of Ji An Lei’s problems constantly stressing her.

    Also, did you spot the cameo by Director Winnie? It’s his protege directing so he must be having so much fun, being the laoban’s shifu XD And Chen You Qing and Ji An Lei have the same mummy!! Although I have to say, JAL’s reincarnation of her is much more publicly embarassing =__=;;

    I think this is the B-side of ITWY… like, what happens when being a Li Da Ren doesn’t pay off? Because from the looks of it, Ji An Lei and Huang Yi Kang are both the Li Da Rens of the relationship, and they’re both so passive (Huang Yi Kang didn’t even confess ¬_¬;;), and now they have to move on and be less passive and yesh…

    I know it’s only been 3 episodes in but I already just want them to get together.. like, I’d rather watch them get together and then have to fight to stay together (realistically, I mean, not makjangically), than just slowly watch them get together.

    P.S. You know it’s a sad time in your life when watching one episode takes you 4 days and 6 different sit-downs..

  2. 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

    I LOL-ed at your first screencap, random extras are not supposed to look into the camera!!!

    With the yellow angry bird, I thought it was from that fortune telling session her mum brought her to, like a bird picked out that awlful fortune so everytime she thinks about how miserable her life seems to be, that supposed ‘fate’ is like a cloud hanging over her head…

    Agree with Nutella above about An Lei and Yi Kang seem to be both Li Da Rens… but then as I continue watching I really wonder how An Lei can still be so hung up about the guy she has already broken up with THREE times. Da Ren / Yi Kang are too scared to try, but with An Lei she has tried and failed, time to move on girl. Especially when she can pull off hot pants like that. Her wardrobe in this drama must be only conisting of these shorts.

    All the new Tdramas coming out doesn’t seem all that interesting. 🙁 Blue Lan is filming one though, with Mag Hsu as the writer but that’s a few months away…

  3. 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

    Oh….Interesting how you two came from two angles but the meaning of the yellow bird is the same. The unhappiness and tension in Lei Lei’s life! I completely missed those! Awesome! 😉

    Nutella, nope, I have no idea what Director Winnie looks like but it’s sweet he had a cameo in his protege’s first directing production.

    Being Li Da Ren rarely pays off. heh.

    P.S. Yes, this episode took me 3 days to finish. Life just isn’t very kind…

    Kat, I think it’s the persistence that she speaks of. Or maybe she’s been watching In Time With You and decides that they have an ill-fated relationship that might turn good if she stubbornly waits for his return… okay, that makes no sense! XD I need coffee.

    Nothing caught your eye? I guess that’s good so I can focus on this one. 😀

    Two Li Da Rens…… Interesting.

  4. 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

    LOL! such a newbie’s mistake. looking at the camera! i mean i would too…and maybe put up a peace sign. 😛 NG!

    this woman is soooooooooooooooooo skinny! look at those hot pants!!! she totally does not need to wait for that jerk to come back and make her mistake! i don’t like the actor. he screams im a bad guy even though he isn’t. don’t say something so casually!

    the angry bird. LOLed so hard. i thought i was seeing thing when it first showed up.

    the niece and her husband are so cute how they met. hehehe

    “GATEWAY TO GOODIES” —> 😀

    “Cardiac Knot” — > GOLD LINE! show off your medical bg, kappy. haha

  5. 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

    Director Winnie is the chubby photographer that is there for the family portrait ^u^

    Every episode just keeps on getting better, I swear. I wish there were more shows like this that were airing so I wouldn’t feel so dead.

    The ex sort of looks like a meh version of Chen Kun… he’s just so irritating. If it were me, I wouldn’t go for either of the guys… I like my men strong, confident and decisive, not wimpy, hung up and forever crying.

    I agree with Kat, if he’s broken up with you thrice, and then come around for another woman, then you’re clearly not his type of girl. But she’s too soft or scared or something, she thinks no other guy can make her feel that way (and she’s not even she’s tried, she just shut down her friends’ attempts to set her up), so now she’s just heartbroken.. sort of like putting all your eggs in one basket, or something?

    SPOILERISH ALERT:
    ep3 makes her get this brilliant idea of working with Huang Yi Kang to get their respective loves back *rolls eyes* I sincerely hope she gives up stat and does something else.

    • 6 thoughts on “The Pursuit of Happiness: Episode 1 “Love is persistence?”

      Agree with you~!~

      What kind of stupid idea is that? UGH.

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