Rush to the Dead Summer is a worthy six episode drama that premiered in China during the summer of 2017. The cast for the show is pretty big so I'll just list the three main actors and actress that are for most in the series who are, Zheng Shuang, Chen Xuedong, and Bai Jingting. The drama's screenplay was based n a novel of the same name written by Guo Jingming. Producers of the show decided not to overdub the cast's voices for the drama, having only their real voices that were recorded on set. You might not know but, Chinese dramas tend to overdub the cast's voices depending on which dialect of Chinese the viewers speak.
A groups of high students who met in junior high have a friendship that spans ten years. Each season leading to summer is similar to a stage in their lives. As each person goes out into the world, they learn that they are always tied to each other and that living life is never easy. Plus one friend has always secretly been a snake in the grass who caused a bunch of problems since their high school days.
Rush to the Dead Summer was given a lot of leg room to expand it's storyline. It does do a very good job placing building blocks of development on the characters. You will go from not knowing anything about these people to feeling a connection to their hearts. Almost to the point that you can guess how a character will react to what before they see it coming. I do think that because this drama is so character focused, that the plot suffers quite a bit. One think that can be a problem in pacing. Yes, this drama is about the stages of life but forty six episodes is a ton of story to tell. Some of the episodes can clearly be labeled as stalling for time. For example, a whole episode about a character's family situation which only added another layer of emotional depth to the character but did absolutely nothing for the storyline. Or inserting too many couples into the story where things feel like a fight for screen time between them instead of an easy flow from one event to the next. Rush to the Death Summer get's so stuck in it's ways that you kinda just roll with the punches. Well, I know I did. There's a charm about the show that keeps you coming back for more though. For me, seeing if each character would reach their dream and what struggles would try to pull them down. Sadly, the plot development screwed up my thirst to see one character become a singer. Then her story was kind of pushed into being only about love. Mind you, I loved the couple she was in but it frustrated me how someone could give up on being a singer just because they didn't win a singing competition. What the script does get right was the shock value that come up one after the other. Most of what you will see does make you want check yourself into a mental hospital for bipolar disorder however, these happening are also very true to real life. None knows whats waiting for them right around the corner in life. We can only prepare the best that we can to keep moving forward. Rush to the Dead Summer still ended up feeling somewhat rushed toward the end to me. You will find that the drama still jumps around in time a lot even with all the time given for the drama to be a master at managing it's time. The episodes aren't long and I think the creator got a little to relaxed with all the extra content that wasn't needed. I personally would have cut out a couple of episodes that stalled the story. Overall, Rush to the Dead Summer has some very good dramatic moments that make the show. Then there's a very good portrayal of friendship that will make you feel all ten years of the emotion they have for each other.
I though that the whole cast did a number on their roles. I'm not familiar with any of these people. Still, they are a good looking cast who play on the heartstrings of viewers truthfully. Even the costars did so well in their character's that sometimes I didn't mind the detours into the side stories. Different characters get introduced after a time which made the drama more exciting but, I would have done things a little differently when is comes to some characters. Other than that, Everything about these performances were solid.
Scenes are surprisingly shot in the same fashion as a Korean drama. People who have an eye for cinematography will see the similarities right away. I did however, enjoy a look around China's environment dealing with the rich, middle class, and the poor. The living conditions look different depending on the character's financial background. Shots of the city from the sky fast forwarded to a single time's movement was a nice touch too.
Rush to the Dead Summer is an alright drama IF( this is a big if…) you have the time to spare. I wouldn't watch this drama if you don't have the time to watch something that's super long. It's a good drama for people who have a real perspective on life and love.
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