ザラ Notes: 流星花園2 Meteor Garden 2

19 April 2008

流星花園2 Meteor Garden 2

Title: 流星花園2 Liúxīng Huāyuán 2
English Title: Meteor Garden 2
Country: Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Language: Mandarin Chinese
Year: 2002
Episode: 31
Cast:

徐熙媛 Xú Xī Yuàn (Barbi Hsu)
言承旭 Yán Chéng Xù (Jerry Yan)
周渝民 Zhōu Yú Mín (Vic Zhou)
朱孝天 Zhū Xiào Tiān (Ken Chu)
吳建豪 Wú Jiàn Háo (Vanness Wu)
鄭雪兒 Zhèng Xuě Er (Michelle Saram)
錢韋杉 Qián Wéi Shān (Winnie Chien)
歐定興 Ōu Dìng Xìng (Edward Qu)

SYNOPSIS

F4 (JVKV) - 絕不能失去你 Jué Bùnéng Shīqù Nǐ (Can't Lose You)

The F4 members Dao Ming Si, Hua Ze Lei, Shi Men, and Mei Zuo graduate from Ying De University and subsequently focuses on their life after graduation. The F4 are the heirs of the wealthiest and most influential families in Taiwan.

Shan Cai and Dao Ming Si go to Barcelona in Spain for a vacation. Dao Ming Si meets an accident and suffers some memory loss; he cannot remember who Shan Cai is and how she is related to him.

Dao Ming Si meets spunky girl Ye Sha, and falls in love with her. Shan Cai tries really hard to help Dao Ming Si regain his memory but to no avail. Just when she's ready to give up, a swimming accident helps restore Dao Ming Si's memory and he finally remembers how important Shan Cai is to him.

REVIEW

F4 (JVKV) - 煙火的季節 Yānhuǒ De Jìjié ((The Season of Fireworks)

Meteor Garden 2 is much more melodramatic than its prequel. The conflict between Dao Ming Si, Shan Cai, Hua Ze Lei, and Ye Sha seemed to drag on forever.

After all the drama of Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai being together in 流星花園 Meteor Garden, the production team apparently wanted to make two lead couples this time around in Meteor Garden 2: Dao Ming Si and Ye Sha; Shan Cai and Hua Ze Lei.

Of course, this was unacceptable to most viewers and the production team made some changes. So although this drama turned out longer than it was initially intended to be, at least Dao Ming Si and Shan Cai ended up together.

Mei Zhuo's story on this one is particularly interesting. Mei Zhuo's mother set him up with a daughter of a friend, forced him to take the girl out on dates, and wants him to marry the girl. Unlike Mei Zhuo who wants nothing to do with the girl, the girl is surprisingly willing to go along with the plan. It turns out that she had been in love with Mei Zhuo ever since they were young.

Yes, it was the quintessential story wherein a pure girl is in love with a bad boy who ends up changing for the better because of the girl, and the two end up living happily ever after. But it was nicely done, and probably the main reason I actually managed to watch this drama until the very end.