I came across Hidden Love by accident. From what I’ve seen so far, it seems to be a generic romance story told from the perspective of a young girl who has a crush on an older boy, who, when they both grow up, also begins to love her back.
But what interests me more is the debate about the problematic way their relationship is portrayed when the female protagonist is still a little girl. On one side, viewers accuse the drama writers of promoting an unhealthy dynamic that is borderline “grooming”. On the other, some insist that we read between the lines and observe the nuances in the characters’ interactions, because while the line between acceptable and not is very thin in this drama, the actors never cross that line.
To be honest, both sides make sense. Kinda…
However, as I went through the first few episodes, it seems every issue in this drama stems from the awkward script; and the problematic look of the main relationship is also a product of that. And subpar scripts, well, it’s the problem with most dramas these days.
Let’s go over what happens.
EPISODE 1 RECAP
A fourteen-year-old girl doesn’t pay attention in class and gets scolded by her teacher. Her name is Sang Zhi.
I’m not sure how old this actress is here but she doesn’t look like a teenager, which confuses me whenever she acts like a very mature teenager.
The teacher requests to see her parents.
Scared to be in trouble, Sang Zhi waits for her brother to get home to tell him instead. When she runs into her brother’s room at home, however, she finds someone else sitting there. A supposedly very handsome older boy — Duan Jiaxu, the brother’s college friend.
I’m not saying that Chen Zheyuan is bad-looking, but from the way this girl reacts to his appearance, I was expecting a glorious elf-like beauty like Yang Yang or something like that.
Now, this is where most of the backlash regarding the “grooming/pedo” vibe begins, which I completely understand. It can be very triggering.
Personally, however, I find it to be a messy and mishandled scene more than a conscious attempt to push across an unhealthy dynamic. The lighting and music shouldn’t have made it look like this girl and this older boy were destined to be. The camera shouldn’t have zoomed in on his face like that when in every other drama, that’s how romance is conveyed. The young actress stares and the staring drags on for a tad too long. The guy himself — he doesn’t look at Sang Zhi in an inappropriate way, he just tries hard to appear cool and poised, like a manga boy, but he’s not quite there yet.
Anyway, the real problem begins when they start talking. And I don’t mean just in this scene; it’s the entire episode. At no point does anyone have a normal conversation with anyone else (except the parents).
Here Sang Zhi and Jiaxu have some awkward exchanges about his looks. He smirks, she blushes. The dialogue makes it sound like he’s quasi-teasing a teenage girl, but she doesn’t LOOK like a teenage girl.
Then the brother comes in and carries out some sibling rivalry with Sang Zhi.
The jokes are random. Too often the characters get too close to each other’s faces for no reason. The brother and Jiaxu also try to act like they’re long-time friends who banter and fist-bump each other, but none of it looks real. The actors are natural, but the things they say and do are not.
So because the brother doesn’t want to help Sang Zhi, she decides to ask this shiny, pretty new boy for help instead — which is another thing I don’t get. Sang Zhi is obviously trying to suck up to her brother so he would help her, but she doesn’t even try that hard to get his attention. The attempt is rather half-hearted. But then we’re supposed to believe that she has no choice but to ask Jiaxu instead?
Anyway, Jiaxu doesn’t promise that he will help, but he also doesn’t refuse Sang Zhi’s request.
We time-jump and now Sang Zhi is seventeen years old — played by Zhao Lusi. She still has a strong crush on Jiaxu and wants him to notice her. One day, her brother moves into a dorm room so Sang Zhi volunteers to help him, hoping to run into Jiaxu again.
And they do meet again. Sang Zhi shows some interest in Jiaxu’s fox plushie so he gives it to her as a gift.
I hope you washed that thing before bringing it to bed, girl, because if it belonged to a college boy, you can’t be sure where it’s been.
Sang Zhi pretends to forget her notebook in her brother’s room, which leads to Jiaxu having to call her and ask her what it’s about. Sang Zhi admits that she hasn’t written an essay which will be due soon and she was hoping that Jiaxu would do it for her.
So he tells her to meet him at a bus stop the next morning so he can help.
SO…
There’s nothing wrong on the girl’s part. Sang Zhi is as innocent as it can get and her crush on Jiaxu is completely wholesome. The factor that decides whether this relationship is problematic is how the older boy reacts. So how does he do?
I would have to put it like this: I know the actor has tried, but he’s not helping his case a lot. Once again, it’s because of the script. It keeps pushing the characters into random situations without proper build-up, which leads to awkward dialogues, unwarranted smirks, and plenty… plenty of staring.
Not to mention that this male lead is a hard role to play. It isn’t just a simple boy-meets-girl situation. The storyline involves a character who starts out as a minor, you need the kind of actor who can pull off the nuances and convey the transition between innocent and romantic with ease, such as how Mark Zhao pulled off Moyuan and Yehua. And Chen Zheyuan is just not that actor yet.
About the character Jiaxu, I don’t see a groomer or a pedo or anything along that line. What I see most of the time is a very uncomfortable guy with confusing body language towards everyone, and, for some reason, keeps having unnatural responses to this young girl.
You know who could have done this better? Yang Yang.
And no, I’m not saying this because Yang Yang looks like the Asian version of Legolas; and it’s not because his acting is exceptional, but because in all of the dramas I’ve seen him lead, he’s always great at making things look platonic and like… beyond the realm of humans. You can never accuse his character of romance even when he’s side-by-side with his love interest. He’s very — unintentionally — Legolas.
And remember that scene in You Are My Glory where Dilmurat’s character first asks him out when they are both students in uniforms?
We need this kind of detached, wholesome, and very Ghibli atmosphere.
ONTO THE GOOD THINGS
Zhao Lusi and the young actress are both excellent in the role of Sang Zhi. They’re as adorable as a squishmallow and make the most nonsensical things look good. The family relationships in here are also heartwarming.
I have not seen past episode one, and I’m not that crazy about either lead actor. But overall, if things improve after the two main characters enter college, it should be fine as a quick, relaxing watch. I do recommend that you either skip the parts where Sang Zhi is a kid or watch them with caution. I personally can’t be convinced that the young actress playing little Sang Zhi is fourteen and therefore cannot make sense of those scenes.