Under the Same Sky (2023)

By far the best Oxin series to date.

There are some surprising things in this - the story is relatively focused, the cast is beautiful, and the story, while not very original, it fairly well-written - until the last episode.

It built up to a climax in Ep 7, but then deflated like a sad balloon. The fallout from what happened is barely touched on - what was the end result? The marriage was a business deal important to both families - that plot element was just dropped.

The climax itself is caused by Briggs and Shao being incredibly stupid and reckless, but I suppose first love can do that. The problem is that Briggs behaves totally out of character afterwards. If you're willing to derail a wedding to get your man, shouldn't he follow through instead of ghosting Shao? He's a horrible person - ruining someone's life then shrugging and going on his way. I know that's not how it's meant, and he does provide his reason, but it's unconvincing.

The whole finale is taken up by a replay of the entire climacitc sequence, followed by a lot of static scenes of people laying in bed moping. Given how short this was, it spoiled the story to have a filler ending episode that didn't make too much sense. The didn't really "earn" being a couple - it just happened, and was hard to invest in.

The acting is good, not stellar, with the exception of a few of the female roles, a recurring failing of Oxin productions. There is FINALLY a trans character that isn't a humilated for cheap comedy and is actually smart and wise.

If this is the new standard for Oxin, I'm happy because it shows a steep upward trajectory, and perhaps we'll see even better productions in the future.

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