Have you ever enjoyed watching cottage core, village cooking-style videos where you actually get to meet yourself?
Have you ever wanted to run away from the hustle and bustle of city life for even a second? Don’t lie. We all have. Especially when the bone-deep fatigue and tiredness creeps in. That’s where this drama steps in. It’s like chicken soup for the tired, overworked soul. Here’s a walk-through of a beautiful Chinese Drama, Meet Yourself.
No of Episodes – 40 (perfect to binge-watch in a month)
You can watch it here.
Plot Overview
‘Meet Yourself’ show drops the viewer into the world of Xu Hong Dou (Liu Yi Fei – some of you might recognize her as Hua Mulan, from the Disney live-action remake) as she runs through her life on time, just like a clock. Nothing too jarring, nothing too out of the blue. She works in hospitality. Her life is instantly relatable to anyone trying to have a decent career, manage relationships, be healthy, get enough sleep, and so on. However, this mundane routine is left in shambles by the devastating death of her one and only friend. This leaves her reeling in the aftermath and trying to find a reason to go on.
To overcome the grief, she resigns from her job and moves to the small, idyllic, and absolutely scenic village of Yun Miao, near Dali, in Yunnan province, to regain her balance. This is, in fact, one of the places her dear friend wanted to visit with her. Here, we are introduced to a motley cast of people, all with their own hopes, dreams, and aspirations, and each one with their own unique flavour. Be it the cute little gang of village kids that run around while being watched over by the whole community, the other tenants in the Stay home she has rented a place at, or even the grannies and aunties in their traditional headdresses.
This is where we are also introduced to the character of Xie Zhi Yao (Li Xian), the self-proclaimed village beau. The ambitious entrepreneur returned to his hometown to help it advance and become a tourist attraction. Their relationship advances organically as they collaborate to promote the village using each others’ strengths. Xie Zhi Yao is an absolute gem of a person all around, always helping others. He never loses his patience when any of the villagers approach him for help – financial or otherwise. His relationship with his family is refreshingly lovely- especially with his grandmother and younger sibling.
Romance and Relationships
My favourite is the clear chemistry between the two main characters of the show, especially the early signs of interest. Even after the lead couple establishes their relationship, this show finds the perfect balance between romance and other relationships. The slow-burn of the romance makes the relationship even more believable. When the couple does end up together, it seems well thought-out and perfectly timed. And by the way, do you know who the captain of this cute ship is? Xie Zhi Yao’s granny!!!
She is an absolute delight to watch, with her child-like joy and positive outlook interspersed with occasional pearls of wisdom and the rarely displayed fiery temper. To be fair, a show just revolving around this granny would be an absolute delight in its own right. Every scene she is in, she steals your heart along with it. While there are cultural differences, I have never missed my granny more than I did while watching her performance.
It’s also wholesome to see how the couple interacts with each others’ families from the beginning, even before they became official.
Themes of Grief
One of the major reasons why I recommend ‘Meet Yourself’ drama is the beautiful portrayal of grief. Instead of using it only as a plot device to push the plot forward, it’s revisited many times as Xu Hong Dou navigates her grief. You see it creeping up on her suddenly sometimes, and sometimes more slowly and steadily. The actress did a fantastic job portraying the quiet grief. Even though the friendship is shown for only the first episode, the impact on the story is profound. Xu Hong Dou’s character carries the traces of the loss into the rest of the story.
Supporting Characters
The other characters all have their space in the story that unfolds in ‘Meet Yourself’ and all have their quirks. Even when the characters are given flaws, they are not half-baked or in your face. Instead, they are well thought out and balance out the characters. No one is too perfect. On the contrary, all of them are even more human in their flaws. For example, Xie Xiaochun is shown as a loud, aggressive, divorced single mother living with her family. This is a flaw in some scenes, but in a scene where she dresses down her ex-husband and her ex-in-laws to advocate for her child’s dream, you realise why she turned loud and aggressive.
I would definitely recommend ‘Meet Yourself’ show, for anyone who needs a break from dark, heavy themes. The kindness and the general good-naturedness of the people makes you realise that indeed people are not all bad.
However, mind you, that this is a slow show, especially in the second half, where things start winding down. So, unless you really want a treat to savour, I suggest you skip this because it might bore you and put you off completely. Please find this show at your perfect time, like I did. It satisfied me in a way that only serendipity can.
Music and Soundtrack
The background score throughout the ‘Meet Yourself’ series is a delight, except for the one song, ‘Saddle of my Heart’ with English lyrics. They tried to do a direct translation and ended up with funny lyrics like ‘Would you ask for any horse but this one inside your heart, I will give you the saddle of my heart.’ It is supposed to be this romantic serenade that is played in the background whenever the lead couple is having their moments, but it just becomes unintentionally funny with such lyrics.
On the other hand, the ‘Cradling Balad’ – a lullaby for children, sung through soft, sweet moments – is my favourite. It’s nostalgic in a way that transcends cultures and takes you back to the summer days spent with grandparents and cousins.
Cinematography
The cinematography, especially for the village portion, is so aesthetic and brilliant. These moments of stillness allow you to watch beautiful scenic vistas while listening to either melodic wind chimes or the wind, and rustling of leaves, or a background melody as people take afternoon naps. Now, this is a staycation!!
Final Thoughts
Like any other show, ‘Meet Yourself’ has some minor flaws, as some side characters don’t have as much of a character arc. Also, the show does touch heavily on human interactions, so sometimes the discussions can turn a bit preachy. Particularly around the whole city life vs. the village life debate, the parent vs. child debate, or the old arts vs. the modern consumerism debate. But then these are entirely forgivable and forgettable aspects since the others outweigh these by so much.
In the end, all I can say is that I hope you can take some time out of your busy life to watch this show. I also hope it brings you the same sort of comfort and joy it brought me.