1
EllieWins
Digital Circus
How different would the same person be if they came from opposite backgrounds?
Derailment is 25% sci-fi and 75% slice of life. Many viewers go into this expecting a thrilling sci-fi experience with many twists and turns and they get that but in small doses. They're so thrilling that it appears separate from the rest of the drama which is a lot more workplace oriented. The focus is on Xiaoyuan adjusting from riches to rags. The mundane parts are where she develops which is also where viewers find it to be dragging. People's disappointment makes sense when the selling point of this drama is the premise of parallel universes. When going into this, viewers should expect a drama that hones in on different genres and to keep in mind that Xiaoyuan is the focus.
Story:
We follow the luxurious life of Xiaoyuan in the first universe. She's rich, popular, and has a sense of superiority that soon bites her. She wakes up in a parallel universe where she has nothing but a mysterious phone that traversed space with her. She meets Qi Lian, a wealthy guy she has never met before, who knows that universe's Xiaoyuan. Qi Lian is looking for a missing person who's only trace is an identical phone to Xiaoyuan's. Xiaoyuan learns the way of the world through hairdressing and later makeup, meeting many derailments in her pursuits. They both work together to solve the mystery of Xiaoyuan's entry into another universe and what happened to the second universe's Xiaoyuan in the hopes of setting things right and finding Qi Lian’s best friend.
The story is character driven, specifically focusing on the development of Xiaoyuan. It's well-written but the hairdressing arc could have been condensed for a more concise storyline. The amount of time we spend on hairdressing is not equal to its importance down the line plot wise. Most of Xiaoyuan's development happens in the hairdressing arc and should have been spanned alongside the plot in the makeup arc as it had more significance. This drama could've been cut down to 24 episodes, perhaps even less than that.
Characters:
Xiaoyuan is the product of her environment. Stubborn, self-centered, arrogant… She was born rich with those closest to her catering to her. She doesn't consider other people's feelings and self-righteously forsakes rules for what she believes is right and expects others to put up with it. How can she grow if no one tells her what she's doing wrong? And that is where the second universe comes in where she must start from nothing and endure many hardships to learn humility, resilience, true happiness, and to cherish what matters.
Qi Lian has an unhealthy obsession with finding Xu Jingyang, his best friend who disappeared. He's so obsessed with his goal that he struggles to see past it. For viewers discretion, I believe there should be a warning that Qi Lian became abusive to Xiaoyuan for a couple episodes which almost made me drop it. He is the ML, not an antagonist, so something like that is breaching his role for me. I did forgive this since this was a part of his development and he does develop and make up for his mistakes.
All the side characters were very likable, especially Fang Zhou and Jiang Bo. You can feel the love they put into writing these characters.
The parallels and differences between the two Xiaoyuans with opposing backgrounds was very interesting to me, especially with the biggest plot twist.
Romance:
The romance is a rocky ride. It's slow with many bumps and isn't the main focus. I felt iffy about them getting together after how Qi Lian abused her, but it was ultimately an okay romance. However, if I had it my way, I would have preferred that the romance be between Xiaoyuan and Jiang Bo. It's illogical since it wouldn't work plot wise, but his relationship with Xiaoyuan was more entertaining, equal, and didn’t cross any moral lines.
Overall:
If you're looking for a sci-fi focused drama, concise plot, and a respectable romance throughout, Derailment isn't for you. If you're looking for a drama that's slice of life, workplace oriented, has lovable side characters, a well-developed FL, great OST, an okay romance, and comes in small doses of the thrilling, plot twisty sci-fi premise, then this drama is it.
Story:
We follow the luxurious life of Xiaoyuan in the first universe. She's rich, popular, and has a sense of superiority that soon bites her. She wakes up in a parallel universe where she has nothing but a mysterious phone that traversed space with her. She meets Qi Lian, a wealthy guy she has never met before, who knows that universe's Xiaoyuan. Qi Lian is looking for a missing person who's only trace is an identical phone to Xiaoyuan's. Xiaoyuan learns the way of the world through hairdressing and later makeup, meeting many derailments in her pursuits. They both work together to solve the mystery of Xiaoyuan's entry into another universe and what happened to the second universe's Xiaoyuan in the hopes of setting things right and finding Qi Lian’s best friend.
The story is character driven, specifically focusing on the development of Xiaoyuan. It's well-written but the hairdressing arc could have been condensed for a more concise storyline. The amount of time we spend on hairdressing is not equal to its importance down the line plot wise. Most of Xiaoyuan's development happens in the hairdressing arc and should have been spanned alongside the plot in the makeup arc as it had more significance. This drama could've been cut down to 24 episodes, perhaps even less than that.
Characters:
Xiaoyuan is the product of her environment. Stubborn, self-centered, arrogant… She was born rich with those closest to her catering to her. She doesn't consider other people's feelings and self-righteously forsakes rules for what she believes is right and expects others to put up with it. How can she grow if no one tells her what she's doing wrong? And that is where the second universe comes in where she must start from nothing and endure many hardships to learn humility, resilience, true happiness, and to cherish what matters.
Qi Lian has an unhealthy obsession with finding Xu Jingyang, his best friend who disappeared. He's so obsessed with his goal that he struggles to see past it. For viewers discretion, I believe there should be a warning that Qi Lian became abusive to Xiaoyuan for a couple episodes which almost made me drop it. He is the ML, not an antagonist, so something like that is breaching his role for me. I did forgive this since this was a part of his development and he does develop and make up for his mistakes.
All the side characters were very likable, especially Fang Zhou and Jiang Bo. You can feel the love they put into writing these characters.
The parallels and differences between the two Xiaoyuans with opposing backgrounds was very interesting to me, especially with the biggest plot twist.
Romance:
The romance is a rocky ride. It's slow with many bumps and isn't the main focus. I felt iffy about them getting together after how Qi Lian abused her, but it was ultimately an okay romance. However, if I had it my way, I would have preferred that the romance be between Xiaoyuan and Jiang Bo. It's illogical since it wouldn't work plot wise, but his relationship with Xiaoyuan was more entertaining, equal, and didn’t cross any moral lines.
Overall:
If you're looking for a sci-fi focused drama, concise plot, and a respectable romance throughout, Derailment isn't for you. If you're looking for a drama that's slice of life, workplace oriented, has lovable side characters, a well-developed FL, great OST, an okay romance, and comes in small doses of the thrilling, plot twisty sci-fi premise, then this drama is it.
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