Early Access: The Rational Life [China] E1-2 (Patreon)

E1-2. I've had several people tell me that they think I'd like this show, and now that I've actually dipped my toes in, I do think everyone's right. Just two episodes in, I feel interested, invested and curious to see more.

This show does strike me as a more mature, more serious version of Find Yourself, where we get a female lead who's in her thirties and facing family and societal pressure to get married, and a younger, fresh-faced male lead who's just out of school and working in the same office. The difference is that The Rational Life gives a more realistic take on the daily pressures that face our female lead.

Within just these two short episodes, I can clearly see how tough it is to walk in her shoes. She has to work extra hard, and be twice as tough, in order to prove herself in a corporate environment where women tend to be taken lightly; she has to deal with the pressure that her mother exerts on her on a daily basis via multiple calls and messages, not just to get married, but to get her life together and do better at taking care of herself; she has to deal with a boyfriend who only seems to care about getting married, and who doesn't seem to hear a thing she says to him; she has to face the societal judgment that's slowly seeping through to her, for being a single woman in her thirties.

It's tough being Ruoxin, but the thing is, Ruoxin's pressures are pretty universal; it's easy to imagine any other single woman with a career, in a country like China or even Korea, in a similar position. That makes her relatable.

While it did take me a while to warm up to Ruoxin - mostly because I was a little thrown by her no-nonsense persona, which can feel a bit brusque - I have come around to being on her team. In just these two episodes, she's shown a great deal of resilience and self-control. Best of all, she isn't afraid to speak up for herself when she feels the need to do so - and when she does so, she is firm, but also, calm, controlled and reasonable. She doesn't raise her voice, just because someone else raises their voice at her. I'm beginning to see that she's pretty darn awesome.

The thing is, Ruoxin isn't even asking for that much, honestly. She just wants to be taken seriously at work, and be acknowledged for her capabilities and not for her womanhood. She wants to be heard, when she tells her boyfriend that she doesn't like porridge, isn't free to meet up with him, and isn't ready to settle down. She wants to be understood by her own mother, when she says that she would rather be single, than settle down with someone who isn't right for her.

On that last point in particular, I'm very impressed that Ruoxin has such clarity, when she's in the midst of the situation. I only gained that kind of clarity on hindsight, and yet, here she is, ready to turn down the stability and societal credibility that Cui Lixin's offering her, and staring down singlehood with a steely fearlessness in her eyes. I do love that.

I also very much appreciate the glimpse of softness and vulnerability, that we get at the end of episode 2, when she asks her digital assistant Xiao Xin, whether she's lovable, and whether Xiao Xin will love her forever. I appreciate that glimpse, because it shows us that all this strength that Ruoxin puts into living her life, doesn't come easily to her. There is a toll that it takes on her, and there is a part of her that desires to be truly happy with someone else.

All in all, I really like Ruoxin, after just two episodes, and find her relatable as well as aspirational, in some ways.

Sure, there's the thing where Ruoxin misunderstands Qi Xiao as a spurned lover harassing Luo Luo, when it had been Luo Luo who had run off with his money. That was a bummer for Qi Xiao, poor guy. However, I suppose it was a reasonable misunderstanding, given the circumstances, and Luo Luo did take advantage of the situation to play the victim.

..Which brings me to Qi Xiao. I do like him. Let's be clear about that. I just.. find him a little too perfect, so far.

I mean, after Luo Luo runs off with his money, which appears to be quite a lot, since it leaves him pretty broke, and it was basically his share of their online business, he's still more concerned for her as a person, than he is about the loss of the money. That's.. almost too good to be true. Plus, he's able to put his own bad experience aside, to be sweet and patient with his mother, and buy her groceries, and teach her how to use her pressure cooker, and then take his friend to a fancy place to have a drink, because said friend is feeling down after receiving another professional rejection. Seriously, is this guy made of rainbows and unicorns? If he's real, I'd like to know where to get one of him, too?

I suppose that's the whole idea of his character, though. In a world where reality is hitting just a little too harshly, it might be really nice for Ruoxin to meet someone who appears to be so untouched by the sludge of this world.

I like Qi Xiao's can-do, gung-ho sort of attitude, where he picks up on Sijia's mention of Ruoxin working on a big case, and then proactively works on helping her to solve the case, even though he's not on payroll. And, I do like that Ruoxin isn't too proud to give him a chance to work as her assistant, for his efforts - despite her poor initial impression of him. I do hope that the misunderstanding gets cleared up soonish, because it's quite an unfortunate misconception.

For now, I'm really quite pleased with what I've seen so far, and looking forward to seeing what else Show has to offer. We're off to a nice, solid start, I'd say.

PS: I'll be covering 2 eps of this show at a time, because of the shorter episode length, and the relatively high episode count (35 eps). 

Next episode notes will be out on: Sunday, 29 August 2021!