Drama Review - Meet Yourself
Chinese Drama ·
Meet Yourself is a 2023 Chinese television drama produced by Huace Film and Television. Directed by Ding Ziguang and starring Liu Yifei and Li Xian, this show was one of the most popular modern dramas of 2023 in China. It boasts an impressive 8.7 score on Douban (think of it as a Chinese IMDb) with over 300,000 reviewers. This is a lot for a modern romance drama produced in China, and it only goes to show exactly how well received this drama was when it aired earlier this year. It is a bit hard for me to explain, but this is not your typical Chinese drama. Meet Yourself is a gentle, mature, healing, slice of life, romance drama – and I think that is where its main draw comes from. It is a nice change of pace from the thriller/mystery and rich CEO-type modern dramas often produced in China. Instead, this drama feels a lot more relatable and realistic, and maybe that was why it was such a refreshing and enjoyable watch for me.
Meet Yourself is a drama all about healing and a slow lifestyle. It follows a woman named Xu Hongdou who works as a lobby manager in a luxury 5-star hotel in Beijing. Her work in this hotel dominates most of her time and her adult life, and she is constantly stressed and busy because of it. However, this all changes when her best friend suddenly dies. Realizing that she needed a break from everything, Xu Hongdou decides to book a 3-month rest in a homestay in a village in Yunnan. Here, life is much slower than in the cities; people ride horses around, everyone knows each other, and the buildings and technology are visibly less developed. It is here that she meets Xie Zhiyao, an investor turned entrepreneur who quit his high-paying job in Beijing and came back to the village he grew up in to try and kickstart the tourism industry. The drama then revolves around Xu Hongdou, Xie Zhiyao, the other tenants in the homestay, and everyone else in Yun Miao village as they all journey through their own lives.
In my opinion, the characters are the most memorable part in this drama. Meet Yourself is very different because, although the focus is on the two leads, Xu Hongdou and Xie Zhiyao, it often does not feel this way. Rather, equal attention is given to the supporting characters as well. There are a lot of supporting characters in this drama, and this is a major reason why this drama was such an enlightening watch for me. We get to learn a lot about each and every single one of the supporting characters. Not all the characters are doing well. For every person, the drama delves deep into their stories, struggles, insecurities, and views on life. It really focuses on the humanity of each of the characters. We get to understand their choices, the actions that they take, and why they act the way that they do. We follow them as they develop themselves, and we are able to see them grow as people. Because of this, I found myself being able to relate to the majority of the characters in this drama, and this has really helped me reflect on my own life and my own relationships, struggles, and insecurities. For example, I saw myself as very similar to Damai, an introvert who is trying to figure her life out. I also connected with Aunt Agui, who loves to gossip about others but is really warm-hearted inside. Anyone watching will be able to find someone within the drama that they can relate to, which is a rare but very welcomed element in a drama. There is not a single character that I disliked; rather, every single character in this drama I grew to love and support.
The pacing of the drama is perfect. The slower pace of the drama fits perfectly with the theme of healing and a slow lifestyle. But even though the drama is slower than most, I was never bored while watching it. After each episode, I was always looking forward to what was going to happen next. I loved that I could not guess in what direction the plot would turn next. Many times while I was watching Meet Yourself, I was pleasantly surprised when things didn’t happen or resolve the way I thought they would, and that kept the freshness of the drama for me. Everything in the drama, from tension to different characters’ storylines, was developed at a perfectly natural pace. The drama explores many intricate topics such as death, success, and careers, and it does it at an extremely deep level. I also thought the romance in this drama was also perfectly crafted. The drama showcased a very healthy relationship that I enjoyed watching on the screen. I loved that the drama did not try to force the two leads together or do anything unnecessary to speed up the romance; rather, it felt very natural and much more like a slow-burn romance, which aligns with the style and direction of the drama. The same goes for every single other relationship in the drama, whether it was romantic or just being friends. Problems were resolved quickly and with maturity. Nothing ever felt rushed, and every single interaction and relationship felt very genuine.
The music and OSTs in Meet Yourself are also wonderful. In every single song in the OST, the music really helps elicit and heighten the emotion and sentiment at any particular moment in the drama. Furthermore, a lot of the OST is really calming and relaxing, and it will definitely be something I will listen to when I am feeling stressed or anxious. Just listen to two of the songs, A Beautiful Smile and 去有风的地方. A large amount of the OSTs are also in English (although some have slightly questionable lyrics), which is also nice. The background music is also faultless. This drama isn’t afraid to use video gamey music or circus-like music as background when something funny or unexpected happens, and it really helps make the scene funnier. On the other hand, when there is a more serious segment happening in the drama, the music is timed perfectly to comfort me and let me know that everything is going to be okay and that everything will be healed eventually. There really is music and songs for every moment, whether that’s mending relationships, people growing closer, or when something goes wrong, and this really plays into the strengths of the drama.
The cast of Meet Yourself is also star-studded. Along with Liu Yifei and Li Xian, it also showcases Niu Junfeng, Hu Bingqing, Dong Qing, Ma Mengwei, and Tu Songyan, among others. Even now, I cannot imagine more than one actor/actress that could play the role that each of them did respectively. Each one of them perfectly portrayed their characters’ thoughts, feelings, and emotions skillfully. I was particularly impressed by Hu Bingqing as Nana. I thought her acting was so good, and it was one of the highlights of the drama for me.
Now let me talk about the directing style and cinematography of the drama. The director, Ding Ziguang, is the same director who directed the Chinese drama Go Ahead. The directing style of this drama is very different from any other drama. There are some parts in the drama where I feel like it was filmed like a variety show instead, with the camera placements and background music all pointing to just a funny or friendly conversation. The humor in this drama is actually funny and fits in perfectly within each episode. The romantic and serious parts are well directed as well, where every single moment and expression is captured. It’s hard for me to explain, but the colors and the color scheme in the drama are very warm and soft. This really helps the idea of a heartwarming and feel-good drama, and it’s another one of the things that stuck out to me with this drama. Another undervalued thing I found was that this drama makes no attempt to portray the actors as perfect themselves. There is no heavy makeup, and when the camera zooms in on a person’s face, we are able to see their blemishes and imperfections in their skin. This makes the drama and the characters themselves feel much more organic and real, and I thought that it was a great directing choice.
Because this drama is really focused on healing, there are a lot of deep conversations and things that characters said that stuck with me. Even though this drama is purely fictional, I feel like I was still able to learn a lot from this drama about life in general, more than any other drama that I’ve ever seen. This paragraph will focus on some of the things that I learned or thought was valuable advice while watching this drama, as well as how this drama has impacted me and my own life. One thing I loved is that this drama teaches positive affirmation. For example, one of the characters, Xiao Xin, talked to herself in the mirror every morning, saying, “I’m excellent, I can do it, I definitely can.” This is a routine that I carried over to my own life. Now, before any important event in my life, I tell myself the same thing, and it really boosts my mindset going into whatever situation I’m going into. Something else I learned from this drama is that people’s hardships and prosperity in life are relative. For example, my current struggles are my finals that are coming up, and I will become happy once they are over. For others, they see a happy life when they start a successful business. However, for someone else, their life took a happy turn when they received just one Christmas present, or when one of their parents came out of rehab. Everyone has their own unique situation in life and has different ideas on what makes them happy based on their own past experiences. I know that I am in a very fortunate situation where most of my stress right now comes from school, and it is really humbling to me. Realizing this, I have made an effort to judge people less and try to relate to them more. When I interact with people, I also try to be someone who can understand their experiences as well. Something else I thought was valuable advice from the drama is that sometimes life just happens. In the drama, someone says that when a flood is gushing over you and you drown, it is not your fault. This is really comforting to know – not everything that goes wrong in life is your fault, but you have to try and make the best out of every situation you get. The amount of support that everyone gave each other in this drama was also overflowing. I also want to be able to give and receive this amount of support and encouragement to my friends and family. There is something that the drama said really well, “If friends don’t trouble/inconvenience each other they are acquaintances. You trouble your friends, not strangers.”
For me, I rate this drama a 10/10. This is the best modern Chinese drama that I have watched, and it is going against strong contenders such as Remembrance of Things Past and Go Ahead. This drama has made me seek a slower, more meaningful life myself, and now I unironically want to achieve every CS major’s dream and become a farmer when I grow older. If you ever feel sad, stressed, regretful, or just need some time to rethink your life, do yourself a favor and watch this drama. If you love shows with extremely supportive friends and a supportive family, watch the drama. Even if you are not in any of the categories above, go watch the drama as well. Anyways, if anyone needs to find me, I’m going to Yunnan right now :D
One last thing I would like to point out to people who are thinking about watching this drama is that episode 1 is very different from the rest of the drama. The first episode is rather dark and will hit you like a truck. For me, it was a rather emotional episode and a tough watch, and to be honest, I almost dropped the drama after watching it. But the rest of the drama is nowhere like the first episode, both in plot and in tone. After the first episode, the healing and uplifting starts. I have to give credit to this drama for only limiting the setup and backstory to only one episode; the director could have totally dragged out the background of the show for at least a couple more episodes. I am grateful they did not do that, as that would ruin some of the show’s early draw and charm and give a weird pace going into the actual healing part of the drama.
My rating: 10/10