Put Your Head On My Shoulder: A Halfway Through Review

Completely by accident, I might have picked up another drama — and by accident, I absolutely blame my partner in BL crime, Alix. This weekend, while catching up on all the currently BL dramas we’re consuming, we meandered over to Netflix. We were on the hunt for a new drama Perth, one of the actors of Love By Chance was rumored to be in and stumbled on a cute looking Chinese drama. Since the series didn’t have a trailer Alix started the first episode so we could watch the opening credits.

And we just kind of…kept watching.

Guys. Srsly. Guys. This show is just so freaking cute. How cute, you ask? Even though it was BL and Bubbles day, we sat there and watched the entire first episode. Even though I currently have a pretty full plate, I’ve already watched 9 episodes. While I’m writing this post, I’d really rather be sitting on my couch underneath my cozy blanket, washing away the frustrations of real life, binging more of these delightful episodes.

The show is called Put Your Head On My Shoulder and came out earlier this year. Here is the synopsis:

As Si Tu Mo’s graduation is nearing, she is confused about her future plans. She tries out all sorts of things all the time and is unable to make her own decisions. Her ordinary days are suddenly shaken up when the genius Physics student Gu Wei Yi appears in her life. The two accidentally end up living together and chaos begins.

While I’m not one for forced cohabitation dramas — dramas that are so slice of life they barely have a plot at all? Shows like that are totally my jam.  While watching Put You Head On My Shoulder, the drama which pops into my head to liken it to would be Love 020, one of my favorite Chinese dramas from a few years ago. Except…this might possibly be even better. The characters are well written and stand on their own. You can see why the hero, Gu Wei Yi, starts to fall for Momo as she is so quirky and delightful, smart and normal, that it’s possible I’ve fallen in love with her, too.

What the premise doesn’t tell you is there is another fella in the relationship mix, her longtime friend and longtime crush, Fu Pei. The two have one of those friendships that would have turned into a perfectly happy romantic relationship if either of them had been brave enough to take that first step. Fu Pei, the well-meaning idiot that he is, does tend to take her for granted a bit — not in the butthole way of the usual b-lead — but in the real, ‘they’ve been together so long, that you don’t think to make the effort you once did’ sort of way. Add in a healthy dose of, he’s a dumb college boy, and their potential relationship slipped away without him even knowing it.

One of the things that I love about our heroine, Momo, is that once she recognizes her and Fu Pei’s relationship for what it was, she knows it’s not healthy to continue to try to hold onto him, despite how much it hurts to be the one to let go. Of course, Fu Pei does not make it easy for her to walk away, as, once he realizes what he’s losing, he attempts to go full b-lead, holding onto Momo tighter and tighter. (It’s especially funny considering at those beginning story stages, it was completely due to his own floundering that she and Gu Wei Yi kept getting thrown together.)

Despite the fact there is someone else looking for her attention, Gu Wei Yi doesn’t fault her for this, even as he starts down the path of having his own feelings for Momo. You can see that, while it hurts to see her pining, or in pain because of someone else, seeing the way that she deals with it, watching her slowly start to grow, is part of what draws him to her. Added bonus? As Fu Pei and Gu Wei Yi are roommates (before the cohabitation comes into play), Gu Wei Yi tries hard not to let their competition ruin their friendship, especially when he can see that Fu Pei is really struggling as Momo begins to let go.

Gu Wei Yi isn’t too shabby of a character either! He is incredibly smart, the top of his class, the top of the university in his field (or apparently in any subject he chooses to set his mind to), but the interesting thing that sets him apart from other drama heroes — he’s not a jerk about it.  He doesn’t look down at the people around him. Though Momo is finishing up a degree in the very safe accounting field, he encourages her to do what she loves, even if that means to try the almost impossible task of switching gears to become an advertising designer. He studies physics because he loves physics. I just think he likes to learn period, several times during the show when he doesn’t understand things, be it facts or simple interpersonal interactions, he heads right to Chinese Google. (How do you comfort someone who fails an interview?)

How can you not love this pair?

Both characters are quirky but identifiably normal: Gu Wei Yi with his obsession with the Roomba, his awkwardness with the accidental condom incident, his loneliness after Momo and her mom leave the apartment. Momo with her love/fear/exasperated relationship with her mother. She is realistic, knowing what she wants, career-wise, isn’t smart but she believes it will make her happy and she’s willing to give up the potential for a solid career that she’s good at in order to try to make her dreams happen. She mourns the loss of her best friend but realizes that it’s time to let go.

While yes, I am less than halfway through the show and I haven’t gone searching for any spoilers, something tells me, from the tone of the show, we’re not in for huge angst here. Maybe some hurt feelings, some misunderstandings, but everyone is going to pair up, everyone is going to end up happy…and sometimes that’s just what I need with my drama watching.

If you’ve seen Put Your Head On My Shoulder, let me know! If you haven’t check it out, I really don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you give it a try. Oh, and when it says it’s time for Easter eggs, DO NOT GET UP FROM THE TV! The snack will wait! These easter eggs are DELIGHTFUL, giving some sort of amusing or heart-tugging insight to a character or situation which happened or was referenced to. So. Freaking. Cute.