I watched a 15-hour movie.

Yes I did.

Okay well, it was actually a 15 episode drama entitled 《唯一继承者》"Taste of Love", and it was an alright drama.

There were a lot of unneeded scenes that really make you scratch your heads and struggle to understand why they included that in the episodes. And then it bewildered me even future when the last episode was actually pretty damn rushed.

Overall, the arrangement and rationing of timing to the different cutscenes were not the best, as some episodes left me questioning whether I should continue watching whilst towards the end, I could not wait to watch the next.

The front was a bit dry, with episodes mainly consisting of attempts to introduce Taiwanese cuisine and the occasional chemistry between the lead actors. It was really, though, from the midway point of the drama, that things got heated up. You could understand and relate to it, and you realised how this plot deserves a drama that gives it time to develop.

You see, with movies, you have under 2 hours to develop the emotions for the characters, and only very good movies - Our Times, just to quote - can pull off that emotional attachment we all get.

With dramas, you are given more leeway, and you have much more time to make the lead characters seem more surreal, with all the small things they do. The downside is that it does get draggy, but in the end, it seems to fit it. Somehow.

Okay, so here's the part those of you who didn't catch the drama or isn't interested to may be more interested in: my reflections.

So the drama presents to you 2 rather different sides to the definition of love: one being unconditional, and one being a cost-benefit analysis. Basically, one is heart, one is brain - or rather, math.

In the drama, there's this guy who has liked this girl since secondary school, and even though she dated another guy and went overseas and what not, he still liked her deeply. He would do anything - and by that, I mean ANYTHING - to make her happy. He doesn't expect any returns, nor for his love to be reciprocated. He waits, and waits, and always plays Mr Nice Guy.

Then there's this other guy who thinks love is like doing a trade - you give out, she gives in. He thinks that love is not about the long run, but about the burning passion two people share when you are so madly in love with each other. If it doesn't work out and the flame dies, he'd rather not meet with his ex ever again.

Quite extreme, isn't it?

So what's my viewpoint? As always, I shall wave my magic wand and bring to you my word of the year: balance.

If I love someone, it'll be about passion, it'll be about being unconditional, but it'll also be about working for it and not waiting too long. Passion can only drive you that far in a relationship; it's the unconditional part that sinks in once you start to realise your other half's flaws and you accept them. You work hard to correct it, or maybe you may just accept it, but ultimately, you'll give everything you can to her and you won't expect her to repay you in exact love currency (or Love Dollars, whatever you call them).

Someone in the drama also said that liking someone is liking her strong points but picking and disliking her weaknesses, and that loving someone is liking both of that. That's interesting, because perhaps it's also made me realised that you can never really truly love someone without being in a relationship. Even the person who said it in the drama disliked his crush's flaws. So I guess love only comes in when you have the passion to adore each other's strengths, and then gradually accept each other's flaws and work to correct them together or just poke fun of all of it.

So yes, for me, you can't possibly love someone without dating. Unless you're obsessed, in which case it can become quite creepy for that person.

By the way, I shall clarify this again: I am not emo/sad/emotionally-broken, I am just reflective again, and I just wanted to share with everyone what I think love or like is. I'd love to have someone to discuss this topic with because it's very interesting and we could go on for hours about these kind of things.

So drop me a DM.

Jk. Who will? And besides, I don't just talk to everyone about these things lol. You'd have to be my bff or something.

Song of the day:

朱俐靜 - 以為我可以

(Friggin sad song lmao. I love how they played this song at very crucial parts in the drama to really make the audience feel.)