THE WAY WE WERE Episode 1-3

Taiwan’s rom-coms may be spazzy and addictive, but its slice-of-life dramas are on a whole different level.  Taiwan makes some amazing slice-of-life dramas, and The Way We Were is no exception!  The Way We Were is the latest slice-of-life/human tw-drama, produced by the famous actress Ruby Lin.  It’s a pleasant surprise for me because it evokes the feelings of summer–nostalgia, warmth, freedom, melancholy..–and it always leaves me feeling refreshed after each episode.

The first thing you may notice about The Way We Were is that it has a retro theme, since the first part of the drama is set in the 1990’s.  Lately the retro theme with youthful characters, nostalgic references to the past, etc. has been all the rage both in k-dramas and tw-dramas.  I haven’t really  gotten into that trend, since I never watched the super popular nostalgic dramas. (i.e. In A Good Way, Reply 1994)  So no, I can’t make any comparisons between The Way We Were & other similarly themed dramas–and I actually don’t want to.  I think it’s better to watch this drama without any expectations/preconceptions of what it should be like.  ;)

The Way We Were is a story about the friendship of 5 people that spans for 16 years.  It will cover the 1990’s up to the present day…hence the original title, “16 Summers”.  I much prefer the original title because it captures the spirit of the drama much more accurately.  So from now on I’ll (probably) be referring to the drama by its original title, 16 Summers, rather than its English title.

Of course Ruby Lin is the big draw of the drama, considering she is both the lead actress and the producer of 16 Summers!  I was actually a bit nervous about Ruby’s role as a young student in her 20’s since Ruby is far past that age range–and NO, she is not the kind of actress that never ages! If you don’t believe me, you should check out some of her previous dramas (i.e. Qing Shi Huang Fei) in which her aging is very apparent.  But surprisingly, Ruby looks SUPER youthful here!  I don’t know if it’s the lighting or heavier makeup or what, but Ruby actually looks the part of a woman in her 20’s.  And guess what–her wig actually looks real.

I’m loving Ruby’s character, Jia Ni, because she’s a hoot to watch with her no-nonsense attitude and wry sense of humor.  She has some traits that seem stereotypical on the surface, but at a closer look, there’s something about her that differentiates her from the stereotypical heroine.  Sure, Jia Ni is assertive, tomboyish, and unimpressed by the male lead–all of which are stereotypical traits of a drama heroine.  But at the same time, it never feels like she’s defined by the stereotypes.  She doesn’t have all these traits just to fulfill the role of the girl-next-door heroine, but rather, because that’s just the way she is.  Jia Ni is her own person, someone who feels real and unattached to the drama tropes.  I’m impressed by how Ruby has portrayed Jia Ni so far because she really loses herself in her role and makes me forget that I’m even watching Ruby on screen. 

Watch the next episode THE WAY WE WERE

THE WAY WE WERE EPISODE 5