- Title: Angels Fall Sometimes
- Also Known As: 谢谢你温暖我, If There is Time, If There is Still Time Left , Ru Guo Hai You Shi Jian
- Director: Zhu Dong Ning
- Cast: Lin Yi, Landy Li
- Screenwriter: Cheng Xiao Mao, Cheng Meng Yan
- Genres: Romance, Life, Melodrama
- Episodes: 24
- Date of Release: March 9, 2024
- Original Network: CCTV, Tencent Video
- Where to Watch: Tencent Video, WeTV, iQiyi, Viki
Dear readers… I have been craving sweets lately, but since I am starting a healthy lifestyle, I have been restraining myself from indulging in sweets and cakes. However, while watching Angels Fall Sometimes drama where one character owns a coffee shop and another character cannot live without sweet beverages, cakes, and chocolates, I found it torturous.
Additionally, the story was emotionally intense, causing me to cry my eyes out in front of the screen. Therefore, be prepared to read an emotional review about Angels Fall Sometimes drama. It is one the Chinese dramas review release ini March 2024. Happy reading!
Angels Fall Sometimes Synopsis
Lin Tuo is a young man with big dreams. He aspires to become a furniture designer who can create pieces that capture the hearts of their users, just like his Grandpa did. Currently, he is seeking a job that can support him and help him achieve his goal of living an independent life. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer with his friends.
An Zhi Que has faced many hardships in life. She comes from a very humble family, so she works part-time jobs in many places. Her dream is to have her own apartment so that she and her father do not have to live in the cramped space they currently use.
met at an internship interview and quickly became close and shortly after, ended up as a couple. After graduation, Lin Tuo secured a job as a designer in a company, while An Zhi Que opened a small café. Their love grew strong and the future seemed bright.
However, their good times did not last long as Lin Tuo was diagnosed with ALS, an incurable terminal illness. His promising future was shattered, and his days were numbered. He hid himself from the people around him, including An Zhi Que. But as the illness worsened, he could no longer hide it and was forced to tell the truth. With the support of his loved ones, Lin Tuo was able to overcome difficult times, learn to make peace with himself, and bravely face the future.
Angels Fall Sometimes Drama Review
After laughing and blushing nonstop for a few days, I found myself crying nonstop while watching this drama. It feels like I’m watching Love is Panacea once again, but this time, it feels heavier. I had read the synopsis beforehand, and I knew this melodrama would make me cry ugly.
So, my heart had been anticipating it since the beginning. I did not enjoy the happiness when An Zhi Que and Lin Tuo began their relationship. I feel a sense of impending darkness as if happiness is fleeting.
I have recently watched several dramas, including Amidst a Snowstorm of Love, Everyone Loves Me, Our Interpreter, and even The Different Princess, which have shown me the beauty of life. Watching this drama has had a stronger effect on me than I anticipated.
However, An Zhi Que’s positive attitude and sincerity in staying by Lin Tuo’s side warmed my heart. The warmth I feel reminds me of when I saw Born to Run’s Zhao Xiu Fang when she helped her daughter Chen An Xin face the amputations. This is a powerful display of love that has an uplifting effect.
Story-wise, I could only compare this drama to Love is Panacea. Panacea, as both tell the story of a patient with a terminal illness. Su Wei An in Love is Panacea suffered from Huntington’s Disease and had to quit medical school before traveling the world and meeting Gu Yun Zheng. They conducted research together to help other HD patients.
In this drama, Lin Tuo and An Zhi Que experienced the beauty of the world before Lin Tuo learned he had ALS. He kept the bad news to himself and decided to face it alone. Later, An Zhi Que found out and they fought the disease together.
I needed to Google a little bit about this disease because all I know about ALS is that it afflicts Stephen Hawking. According to the Mayo Clinic website, ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing a loss of muscle control. The exact cause of ALS is still unknown, although a small number of cases have been proven to be inherited. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disease.
But what makes “Angels Fall Sometime” drama heavier and more heart-wrenching is that it all seemed realistic. I feel like I am witnessing Lin Tuo as he suffers from the early onset of the disease and wondering what happened to him.
I also feel like I was there when he was first diagnosed with ALS or when the disease worsened and he had to sit in a wheelchair because he could no longer walk. Also, the person who played Director Zhou, who diagnosed Lin Tuo, is a real ALS specialist. His real name is Professor Fan Dong Sheng from the Department of Neurology at Peking University Third Hospital.
I visited his ResearchGate webpage and discovered that he has written 446 publications with 6,320 citations. This brilliant move from the Director of Angels Fall Sometimes gives me goosebumps.
This realistic depiction is nowhere to be seen in Love is Panacea. Su Wei An was already suffering from the disease when the story began. I was unsure if she ended up in a wheelchair or needed assistance with everyday tasks, such as eating and going to the bathroom.
Additionally, Su Wei An disappears at the end of the drama, leaving the viewers to their imagination. So, yes… Angels Fall Sometime drama is definitely harder to digest due to the detailed portrayal of Lin Tuo’s illness.
Angels Fall Sometimes provides a poignant representation of how a terminally ill patient faces his fate. It is upsetting to watch Lin Tuo when he collapses, mentally and physically. However, it did not stop there: Angels Fall Sometime drama also shows us from the point of view of the caretaker
. Chen Guang Pu shows us how it could also be distressing for them. It is hard to face the reality that your loved one is dying, and you feel helpless, no matter how powerful you are or how much money you have.
In Angels Fall Sometimes, family plays an important role. There are two types of families in the drama. The first one is An Zhi Que’s family. Since her mother died when she was nine years old, An Zhi Que has been living with her father (later, her father said that An Zhi Que’s mother died when she was four years old. I don’t know which one is right). In spite of their poverty, An Zhi Que and An He Gui lived happily. An He Gui worked as a taxi driver, and because they had a mortgage to pay, An Zhi Que worked part-time in many places to help the family.
An Zhi Que and An He Gui’s positive mindset and optimism help them go through every hardship in life. They also supported each other wholeheartedly. When An Zhi Que opened HW café, An He Gui was willing to work as a delivery man for her. I love to see them both. It was no doubt that the cheerful attitude and strong will undoubtedly stem from the same genes.
On the contrary, Lin Tuo’s family is complete and lives in a much better financial situation. Lin Shou Zheng works as a surgeon and Xu Li Lian is a head nurse at the same hospital, keeping them both busy. However, only Xu Li Lian took care of the family. Lin Shou Zheng was too busy with his career and forgot about his wife and children.
Lin Shou Zheng is a demanding father. Xu Li Lian follows her husband’s footsteps and is biased toward her younger son, Lin Ye. Fortunately, despite coming from a loveless family, Lin Tuo still has a kind-hearted grandfather, Xu Bang Quan, who is an artist and a great carpenter. Grandpa Xu raised him, and he became the only source of love in Lin Tuo’s life until he met An Zhi Que.
Lin Tuo is not the only one whose life is affected by ALS. Lin Tuo’s parents’ attitude drastically changed after he confessed about his illness to them in episode 16. Watching it made my tears flow profusely.
Lin Tuo’s family was not the only one who was unaware of his condition. For many episodes, An Zhi Que was also in the dark about his condition. Lin Tuo insisted on breaking up in the 12th episode, and she learned about his illness in the 17th episode. She did not hear it directly from Lin Tuo, but from He Xin Di, who took a picture of Lin Tuo who was sitting in a wheelchair. So, you can imagine how shocked An Zhi Que was when Lin Tuo spilled the truth.
In addition to Lin Tuo and An Zhi Que, there is also a second couple romance. Although I wondered if it could be categorized as romance due to its unromantic nature, the couple is Chen Guang Pu and He Xin Di. At first, I was annoyed by their loud and fast-talking, especially during arguments.
However, I could tell right away that they were going to be lovers at some point in this drama. The only person around Chen Guang Pu and He Xin Di who has this feeling is A Bao, the new waiter at the HW Café. He confidently predicted that Chen Guang Pu and He Xin Di would end up as a couple, and he was right!
The drama’s ending was not a completely tragic one, but it still made me cry. I would call it an open ending that leaned towards the sad ending. However, this is a melodrama, so what kind of ending did you expect from this genre? I have never heard of a sad Chinese melodrama with a happy ending.
The actors’ amazing acting skills in Angels Fall Sometimes brought me to tears. And, of course, the star of this drama is Lin Yi. After watching his three dramas (almost) one after another, I could see how his acting skills have grown immensely. He started as a stiff Qi Lian in Derailment, but became more expressive in his role as Gu Xun in Everyone Loves Me.
In this drama, Lin Yi showed us his flirty side. But in Angels Fall Sometimes, he went by leaps and bounds. Lin Yi perfectly portrayed Lin Tuo from the beginning, when he was still healthy, to when his body started to fail and later when speaking became an arduous task for him. Not only was his facial expression excellent but I was also amazed by how he could control his body so well that nobody would suspect he was just acting paralyzed.
Landy Li also did a great job as An Zhi Que. Her cheerful and childlike appearance was like a ray of light that lit up this gloomy drama. I saw her for the first time in the movie Adoring, where she played a small role as Gao Meng Meng, Yu He Wei’s daughter. Then I saw her in the drama Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty.
But I was focused on Wang Anyu’s performance as Aisin Goro Yin Xiang at that time. Her last drama that I watched was The Starry Love where she played Ye Tan, an abandoned princess from the mortal realm. This is an entertaining and funny drama. Landy Li did a good job portraying the naughty Ye Tan as well. You should put it on your list.
Lin Yi and Landy Li’s acting took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Fortunately, Angels Fall Sometimes is only a 24-episode drama. If it were longer than 30 episodes, I don’t think I could handle it.
The Cinematography
The credit also goes to our director Zhu Dong Ning. He was also in charge of the 2023 drama Wulin Heroes. Angels Fall Sometimes had a strong plot and talented actors who delivered the story flawlessly. However, a drama needs to be presented in the right way. It involves the right amount of lighting, the correct shooting angles, and the accurate camera movements to help us, viewers, understand the story.
Angels Fall Sometimes presents us with beautiful but somber images. The color tones were dull and there weren’t many bright hues used in the costumes. Even He Xin Di, who has a vivacious personality, does not wear bright colors. She wore colorful clothes, but they were all slightly darker. It must be said that Zhu Dong Ning has succeeded in creating a gloomy atmosphere in this drama.
Combined with the right angles and smooth camera movement, it made me feel like I was floating around watching all the characters. Zhu Dong Ning also captured the characters’ small gestures to show us how they feel.
I can’t erase the scene from episode 17 from my mind when An Zhi Que confronted Lin about the illness and the reason he broke up with her. She cried profusely and begged Lin Tuo not to push her away. Then Lin Tuo took her in his embrace, only with his left hand.
I could feel the fear, sadness, and desperation from the way An Zhi Que’s hands tightly grasped Lin Tuo’s jacket. Meanwhile, the helplessness was clearly displayed in Lin Tuo’s right arm which hanging down because it was already paralyzed.
The scene was engraved deeply in my mind right now. I should find a funny and light drama after this one to completely erase this sadness from my mind.
The Characters
Lin Tuo (played by Lin Yi)
Lin Tuo is a diligent and hardworking person. He is sensitive, kind, and loves to help people. He was born with a warm heart and is very considerate of others.
However, Lin Tuo tends to hide his negative emotions in his heart for fear that they will affect the people around him. He never gets angry and rarely raises his voice in an argument. His relationship with An Zhi Que seemed to be going smoothly.
It was almost too good to be true. Unfortunately, it was. Lin Tuo was good at keeping his emotions in check and always hiding the unpleasant reality from An Zhi Que. Even after a year of being in a relationship, An Zhi Que did not seem to know the truth about the Lin family.
Lin Tuo did not excel academically, but he was very creative and had the mind of an artist, a trait he inherited from his Grandpa Xu, who raised Lin Yi from childhood. Lin Tuo was a promising designer who caught the eye of Wei Hai Yang.
Having grown up without the love of his parents, Lin Tuo cherishes those who love him. His Grandpa and An Zhi Que are the people he loves the most. Therefore, he kept his illness a secret to avoid burdening them with worry. However, he couldn’t hide his relief when he found out that An Zhi Que and his parents were willing to support him through the hard times.
An Zhi Que (played by Landy Li)
n contrast to Lin Tuo’s family, An Zhi Que’s family lived in poverty. Her mother passed away when she was four, leaving her to live with her father, An He Gui, in a small apartment. An Zhi Que and her father are working hard to pay for a new and larger apartment, as they wish to have their own home.
An Zhi Que has a strong will and is always considerate of others. An Zhi Que is a hard-working person who has a positive mental attitude and optimism toward life. In the face of all the hardships she has encountered, An Zhi Que did not become weaker but instead became stronger. She rarely cries but has a sensitive heart that makes her kind to others. In her life, An he Gui is her strongest supporter, followed by He Xin Di, her best friend.
Chen Guang Pu (played by Sun Tian Yu)
This loud and chatty young man is Lin Tuo’s best friend. He came from a wealthy family who owned a retail business. His parents expect him to take over the business one day. Chen Guang Pu enjoys an easy life. His parents dote on him and spoil him with lots of love and money.
However, an easy life made him grow up as an irresponsible adult. Chen Guang Pu is a short-tempered person and careless person. He often gets upset when he is not being treated well by his parents. He dates many girls, but all of them are only a short-term romance.
Chen Guang Pu often became a victim of fraud and deception. Even though he has many shortcomings, Chen Guang Pu is a very loyal friend.
He Xin Di (played by Li Xin Ran)
He Xin Di is a vivacious, outspoken girl. She values hard work as well as money and has always wanted to marry a rich man. Her difficult life can be compared to the life of An Zhi Que. He Xin Di has been an independent person since she was a young girl. Not because He Xin Di was an orphan, but because her parents had abandoned her.
After divorcing and remarrying, they moved on with their new families and forgot about He Xin Di. Meanwhile, He Xin Di grew accustomed to living alone and now works as an online streamer selling various goods. She considers An He Gui to be her godfather and An Zhi Que to be a member of her family.
Jiang Chu Cheng (played by Wang You Jun)
Jiang Chu Cheng is Lin Tuo’s senior in college. They often have soccer games together and their friendship is quite good. Jiang Chu Chen helped Lin Tuo enter Ji Jia Design and supported him during his hard times at work. Jiang Chu Cheng is a talented and capable designer.
He fell in love with An Zhi Que, but it did not make him hate Lin Tuo or sabotage their relationship. Instead, he supports them when life gets tough.
Lin Ye (played by Chen Ze)
Lin Ye is Lin Tuo’s younger brother. When Lin Tuo graduated from college, Lin Ye was preparing for his college entrance exam. He is introverted and reticent, mainly because he is not happy at home. Lin Ye’s and Lin Tuo’s parents are very demanding people.
After failing to persuade Lin Tuo to enter medical school, Mr. and Mrs. Lin turned their attention to Lin Ye and forced him to enroll in medical school. Mr. Lin, who was already dissatisfied with Lin Tuo, did not want Lin Ye to lose his chance. However, Lin Ye chose to study in an art institute instead of following his parents’ path because he wanted to become a music producer.
Lin Ye’s feelings for Lin Tuo were complicated. He did not like that Lin Tuo was living a life of freedom, which put him under pressure from their parents. However, Lin Tuo was the only person he could turn to. The conflicted feelings were obvious at the beginning of the drama.
The Conclusion
Angels Fall Sometimes gave me an emotional roller coaster ride. The strong plot and excellent acting made me cry a bucket of tears. Even after it ended, I still shed some tears while I wrote this review. However, I personally don’t think I would watch it again considering how much emotion I invested in this drama.
Nevertheless, if you like this kind of sad melodrama and you enjoyed the feeling of being pulled into the abyss of sadness. Watch it as many times as you like.
And after you watch it, don’t forget to write your opinion about this Angels Fall Sometime drama. I’d be really happy to read your comments in the comment box below. Thanks for stopping by, I’ll see you in another post of the drama review. Goodbye!
