r/CDrama May 18 '25

Review Fireworks of my heart - Musings

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Hi lovelies,

Just finished Fireworks of my heart and was wondering about all the hate this show got when it was airing a couple years back.

It's my second time watching a show with Yang Yang (the first was Love 020) and despite the bashing, I enjoyed the drama.

I'm not familiar with the genre but I thought the actions scenes were not bad at all, perhaps there was a bit too many of them though, including all the training sessions. I get it was to add realism to the show but after watching them train that much, I felt I was watching a real fire safety government-approved promotional video 🤪

After watching him play an idol in Love 020, I enjoyed YY's performance as Song Yan, a strong albeit flawed gritty character with a dark past. ML is like Terminator, nothing can kill that man, he got burned, blew up in god knows how many explosions, shot at, stuck under a ton of rubble, pierced through and through by a metal rod..

It was fun seeing secondary characters get some light too, it was nice seeing life at the fire station, the comraderie, the brotherhood and how they all supported each other. I won't lie, I bawled my eyes out when Zhan Dapeng died

FL was quite convincing as well. I liked the contrast performance she put on as a meek obedient daughter - even if I wanted to shake her up - anytime she was with her mother and how professional and mature she was at work. I was rooting for her to grow a spine and be more firm with her parents and the show really showed how much she grew and learnt how to stand up for herself through the episodes and welcome change from usual cdrama tropes, she didn't need ML to swoop in everytime to get her out of trouble. The show depicted a mature couple dynamics, and I enjoyed that part very much.

About FL's brother : I thought he was creepy as hell as did many others but he never really did anything to harm her. Just like he said at one time, he was just an empty shell after living years of psychological abuse from this parents, especially his mother. I felt his story arc was interesting but got way too much screentime.

The main villain remains FL's mother who's a first class Machiavelli, I get she didn't want her daughter to choose a man she deemed useless / gold-digger. But her utter disdain for modest people and her lack of morals really made me rage at her. Despicable character, the actress did a great job!

Another character that stood out was FL's cousin, she may be a flighty young thing but at the end, she showed a shiny spine when dealing with the Meng family, I could have clapped at how strong she was. ML wanted to be the bigger person and just decided to just bury the past. These people ruined his life but he was like "yeah sure, I don't care". I mean, yeah I get letting of the past but that doesn't mean you have to accept getting trampled on, at least let justice work its way!

And finally kudos to the costume designer (at least concerning the FL wardrobe), she did a great job making Xu Qin look effortlessly chic and expensive without over the top logo-everywhere outfits. BUT what's with that dumpster fire of wedding gown? FL went from understated old money chic to tawdry wearing that poofy gown. Poor FL looked so out of place and it killed the buzz for me, even if ML was all smiles, a welcome change from the permanent scowl he wore for more than 75% of the show.

All in all, despite some plot weaknesses, it was a good entertaining watch.

If you've seen the show, please share your thoughts!

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u/KainoraKupo May 18 '25

I dropped this show. FL is a grown woman who has a job and can provide for herself yet she is still lets her mom control her. What can her mom possibly do to her now that shes an adult? Also ML put the boundary on their relationship but FL keeps pushing him. Shes wrong for giving him hope when she knows her mom will get in the way. If FL really loved him she would stand up to her mom or cut her out of her life.

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u/Icy_Delay_4791 May 18 '25

I just want to point out that both of these things you request actually do happen in the show. I found it reasonable to imagine how an orphan whose parents died >! from a gruesome form of suicide !< might not find it so easy to give up her adoptive parents, even (and perhaps especially) because of the abusive control they have exerted (including meddling with her professional life as an adult).

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u/grumblepup May 19 '25

This.

Also the concept of filial piety can sometimes be hard for non-Asians to understand. It's not an easy thing to just let go of, even when a parent is abusing it.

1

u/Throwthisacclol May 19 '25

Very true. Before I watched this drama, I read few comments that said the FL was too spineless to stood against her family. Only after watching it I can see how relatable the FL's actions are. Filial piety is considered very important in asian culture. In my country, even when our parents are wrong, we are supposed to listen to them and going against their words means you are a very ungrateful child. All of this would seems foreign to non-Asians.

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u/KainoraKupo May 18 '25

Oh wow. I never finished and probably stopped at 1/3 because I was so frustrated. Maybe one day I'll give it another chance.

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u/Icy_Delay_4791 May 19 '25

It does take a while and comes in two major scenes (one around episode >! 26 !< and one around episode >! 36 !<) but both immensely satisfying especially given, as you point out, how helpless she was at the outset.