Plot Synopsis
Our Generation: A Tale of Enduring Love Forged in the 90s
Spanning eleven years of growth, heartbreak, and unwavering courage,Our Generation(Original title:Ying Tao HuPo/樱桃琥珀)paints a vividpicture of a generation's coming-of-age, set against the backdropof a 1990s electricpowerplant workers' compound. It’s a story of two souls, reflections of one another, who find their way back to each other through the trials of youth.
At the heart of the story is Lin Qile (played by Zhao Jinmai), affectionately nicknamed "Ying Tao" (Cherry).True to her name, she is a vibrant and radiant "little sun," raised in a loving home by herparents, Lin Haifeng (Bao Jianfeng) and Zhao Shengjuan (Dong Jie).Her world is turned upside down by the arrival of a transfer student, Jiang Qiaoxi (Zhang Linghe), a mathematical genius who is her complete opposite.Haunted by the shadow of his deceased older brother, Jiang Qiaoxi lives a quiet, repressed life under the obsessive watch of his mother, Liang Hongfei (Dong Xuan).
The narrative unfolds across three distinct stages:
- Childhood:At nine years old, it is Ying Tao’s simple, warm gesture of sharing her headphones that first breaks through Jiang Qiaoxi's icy exterior. He finds his first true sanctuary within their spirited groupof friends, the "little squad."
- Adolescence:The innocence of youth is shattered by a "love letter incident" in middle school. A letter from Ying Tao ispublicly ridiculed, and when she travels to the city to find him, a tormented Jiang Qiaoxi, underpressure from his mother, coldly denies knowing her.
- ThePursuit:Years later, after a family tragedy, Jiang Qiaoxi abruptly leaves for Hong Kong without a word.In a bold act of devotion, Ying Tao follows him across the sea. She confronts him in a library, asking the heart-wrenching question: "Are you going to run away again?" This moment becomes the catalyst for their ultimate confession under a cherry blossom tree, where they declare, "Life has no standard answers, but you are my only choice."
A Mark of Quality: Daylight Entertainment's Signature Touch
The series isproduced by Daylight Entertainment, a company renowned for its "warm realism" and aportfolio of critically acclaimed dramas likeMinning TownandThe Tale of Xiao Xiang.Helming theproject is director Zhang Kaizhou, known for his masterful work on the highly-rated dramaThe Bond(Douban score: 8.7).ForOur Generation, he reunites with screenwriter Zeng Lu, with whom he collaborated on the hit seriesThe Story of Minglan.
Thispowerhouse team delivers aproduction defined by three key breakthroughs:
- ArchaeologicalPrecision:To capture the authentic feel of the era, theproduction team built a 1:1 scale replica of a 90spowerplant compound in Weihai.Every detail, from green-skinned trains to vintage radios, was meticulously sourced and verified to ensure that each frame feels like a genuine journey back in time.
- Poetic Visuals:The drama employs a sophisticated visual language, using "cherry red" and "amber yellow" as core motifs. A dynamic lighting system creates a soft, oilpainting-like texture, turning moments like raindrops reflecting neon lights on an umbrella or the warm glow of streetlamps on wet Hong Kongpavement intopowerful emotional symbols.
- Condensed Storytelling:The original 40-episode story was refined into a tight 24-episode series.By structuring theplot around distinct events, each episode delivers significant emotional turns, a move by Daylight Entertainment to defy the trend of "water-filled" youth dramas.
Rekindled Chemistry and DevotedPerformances
The series marks the highly anticipated second collaboration between Zhao Jinmai and Zhang Linghe, following theirpopularpairing inThe GrandPrincess.Their transition from historical fantasy to moderomance showcases a remarkable evolution in their on-screen chemistry.
- Zhao Jinmai's Resilient Strength:To embody the vibrant life force of Ying Tao, Zhao Jinmai gained 8pounds for the role and often appears in natural makeup. Her ability to flash a brilliant smile right after a tearful scene shatters the cliché of the overly delicate female lead. Her desperate, breathless run through Hong Kong, with flushed cheeks and messy hair, is a heart-stoppingportrayal of reckless, courageous love.
- Zhang Linghe's "Silent Volcano"Performance:Zhang Linghe conveys the soul of his character through subtle "fingertipacting." The whitening of his knuckles as he grips a mathpaper reveals his deep-seated repression, while the slight, restrained curl of his hand after gently touching Ying Tao’s hair speaks volumes of his inner conflict. His dedicatedpractice of Cantonese for his lines adds a layer of heartbreaking authenticity to his character's experience in Hong Kong.
Our Generationbecame a sensation even before its release, with over 900,000 reservations on the Youkuplatform.Its appeal lies in its ability to tapinto a collective memory of youth. As director Zhang Kaizhou stated in an interview, "Youth isn't about a sweet, filtered romance; it's thepainful memory of learning to face loss for the first time." When Jiang Qiaoxi finally reveals the letter he has treasured for eleven years, it’s a stunning realization: the ridiculed confessions, the waiting in the rain, and the cross-seapursuit were never acts of teenage melodrama, but thepurest expressions of the human spirit's courage to fight against alienation.
