Let me be upfront. I watched Falling Into You (炽道) largely because of Gina Jin. It is simply a pleasure to look at her beautiful face! And her beauty is just perfect for a older woman and younger man romance drama. She is alluring and hence, it is understandable why a young man would fall for her. This would then make the drama relatable to the viewers. So, how sweet is this drama? Or is the age gap too wide to generate the right chemistry between the leads? Scroll down for my Falling Into You review for this 2022 Chinese production.
My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 26
Type: Romance
Aired: September 2022
Images Credit: Youku Official Facebook
The Cast Of Falling Into You 2022
- Gina Jin Chen as Luo Na
- Wang An Yu as Duan Yu Cheng
- Chi Jia as Wu Ze
- Liu Guan Cheng as Wang Qi Lin
- Zhang Kai Ying as Shi Yin
- Guo Jin Qi as Jiang Tian
- Liu Zeng Yu as Liu Shan
- Xi Lan Hua as Dai Yu Xia
- Gao Hong Liang as Yang Jin
- Gao Sheng Hao Yu as Mao Mao Qi
Main Characters
Luo Na
Luo Na is a graduate student at Nanhu University School of Sports as well as assistant coach of their track and field team. She is a strict coach but has a warm heart. Luo Na is pretty, friendly, and approachable. She is also fit and sporty. Her father is a renowned athlete coach based abroad.
Duan Yu Cheng
Yu Cheng is a freshman at Nanhu University. He is in the finance faculty but loves athletics especially high jump. He has been a high jumper since his school days but is considered short for the sport. But Yu Cheng is a confident and determined guy with a bit of cockiness in him. He also comes from a rich family.
Wu Ze
Wu Ze is a sprint coach of Nanhu University’s athletics team. He is a fierce coach who would not hesitate to scold his charges if they don’t perform. He can be fiery but means well. Wu Ze and Luo Na share a very comfortable friendship as they have known each other for a long time.
Supporting Characters
Wang Qi Lin
Wang Qi Lin is the head coach of Nanhu University’s track and field team. Luo Na and Wu Ze report to him.
Shi Yin
Shi Yin is Yu Cheng’s course mate at Nanhu University. She is interested in Yu Cheng but her love is unrequited.
Jiang Tian
Jiang Tian is a high jumper and Yu Cheng’s teammate at Nanhu University. He is the top jumper in the team. He comes from a poor family and hence, often feels the pressure to succeed.
Liu Shan
Liu Shan is a high jumper and Yu Cheng’s teammate at Nanhu University together with Jiang Tian. He is also Yu Cheng’s friendly rival from their high school days.
Dai Yu Xia
Yu Xia is a shot put athlete in Nanhu University track and field team. She is a matured girl with a calming influence who often advises the younger athletes. She and Jiang Tian are friends from childhood. She is 4 years older than him.
Yang Jin
Yang Jin is a decathlon coach who has just retired.
Mao Mao Qi
Mao Qi is a poor kid from the rural area but with a natural talent for high jump. He is a simple-minded and trusting boy.
Synopsis
Luo Na first met Yu Cheng when she was on a recruitment drive for talented athletes at a high school sporting event. She is an assistant coach and postgraduate student at Nanhu University. Yu Cheng is a talented high jumper but coaches often don’t see him as success material in the sport due to his short height. He subsequently enters Nanhu University as a finance student but wants to join their track and field team to be a high jumper.
Luo Na fights hard to get him admitted into the university’s high jump team as she has already seen his potential earlier. Yu Cheng who is attracted to Luo Na is happy that she believes in him. However, when another talented high jumper joins the team, Yu Cheng faces a crisis since his own performance has reached a plateau. He is also afraid of losing Luo Na’s attention due to his poor results.
After feeling lost for a short period of time, Yu Cheng resolves to do his best to make Luo Na proud of him. He also courageously makes his intention known and pursues Luo Na. However, she is wary of their age difference and her status as his coach to embark on a relationship with him.
Falling Into You 2022 Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
Falling Into You has a happy ending. After the media exposure on his relationship with Luo Na, he is told to take a break from national training. Hence, he lost the chance to represent the country for the Asian Games in the decathlon event. Luo Na then arranged for Yu Cheng to train abroad with her father in the high jump event. He has to overcome the hardship and longing for Luo Na to concentrate on his training. Her fierce father made it hard for Yu Cheng initially with his tough discipline. But Yu Cheng persevered with Luo Na’s encouragement.
After a few months, Yu Cheng showed good results and won a few competitions abroad. He decided to return to China after being recalled by the national training camp and his case has been settled. Yu Cheng secretly returned home to surprise Luo Na with a wedding proposal with the help of his friends and teammates. Together with the coaches, they become witnesses to Yu Cheng’s wedding-like marriage proposal which Luo Na excitedly accepts. The last scene is of the group dancing and celebrating the happy occasion on the tracks.
When Did The Couple Get Together?
Yu Cheng was already smitten by Luo Na the first time he met her while he was still an 18-year-old high school student. Hence, he studied hard to gain entry into Nanhu University with the aim of joining the track and field team and getting close to her. There is an 8-year gap between them.
Yu Cheng first kissed Luo Na in Episode 12. He did it while she was sleeping but the kiss woke her up. They talked about what he had done in Episode 13. She didn’t agree with his behavior and reminded him of their age gap and her role as his coach. Luo Na stopped Yu Cheng from confessing his feelings and wanted him to put all his attention on his training. Although she was also falling for him, she kept reminding herself to be sensible and reined in her feelings in Episode 15. However, Yu Cheng made it clear that he would pursue her despite her insistence that he shouldn’t have such thoughts.
In Episode 17, Luo Na gave in to her feelings when Yu Cheng kissed her. She responded to his kiss and admitted that she loves him as well. The couple started dating then which is about 2 years after they first met. They consummated their relationship in Episode 20. Yu Cheng asked Luo Na to marry him in Episode 23 and did it again in Episode 25 before he left for training abroad. She agreed and he formally proposed to her in Episode 26.
Is There Any Breakup?
No, Luo Na and Yu Cheng did not have any breakup after they got together in Episode 17. There are small disagreements here and there but generally, the couple has a very loving and positive relationship throughout the drama. Luo Na is the anchor that Yu Cheng needs in his sports career and he thrives on her love and attention.
Hence, even when Yu Cheng’s mother disapproved of their relationship, it didn’t pose any major problems to the couple. She then pressured Wang Qi Lin to resolve the matter in Episode 20 but Luo Na didn’t succumb to the pressure to break up with Yu Cheng. Their relationship was fully exposed by a reporter in Episode 24 but the lovers remained supportive of each other. Yu Cheng’s mother became more accepting of Luo Na after the exposure.
Love Triangle
Wu Ze also has feelings for Luo Na and tried to confess to her in Episode 8. But she can’t see themselves as lovers. It felt weird to her as they know each other too well. In Episode 13, Wu Ze admitted to Yu Cheng that he doesn’t dare to express his feelings for Luo Na because he doesn’t see himself as being good enough for her. Wu Ze tried to kiss her in Episode 15 when she hugged and comforted him following his adoptive father’s death. But Luo Na avoided his kiss and Wu Ze knew then that she is better off without being with him.
They remained as close friends despite the one-sided love. Wu Ze is always supportive of Luo Na and there is no toxic jealousy on his part. Eventually, he even felt that Yu Cheng is a matching partner for Luo Na.
What Happened To The Other Characters?
Dai Yu Xia and Jiang Tian became a couple. She informed Luo Na about it in Episode 13 as she planned to retire soon to open a noodle shop together with Jiang Tian who was quitting the team due to his lack of success in competitions. But Jiang Tian didn’t know of Dai Yu Xia’s intention to quit with him. He wanted her to continue due to her good results. He opened the noodle shop with Luo Na’s and Wu Ze’s help in Episode 14 while Dai Yu Xia went on to join the national team training in Episode 15 with Jiang Tian’s full support.
Mao Qi was also accepted into the national training camp in Episode 15 due to his talent. Liu Shan decided to give up high jump and pursue postgraduate studies instead when he couldn’t improve on his sporting results. Li Ge became obedient in Episode 20 after Wu Ze saved him and Yu Cheng from a group of thugs. He won the National Athletics Championship in the 100m dash in Episode 22 and left for national training in Episode 23. Wu Ze cried tears of happiness when Li Ge won his race.
Falling Into You 2022 Review – A Noona Romance
Falling Into You is one of the better romance dramas for 2022 provided you don’t mind that the female protagonist is 8 years older than the male. Some people are okay with it while others don’t. It is really a matter of personal taste. The other consideration is the male character’s personality. In some dramas of the same genre, the guy may be younger but he can also be very matured in his thinking such as the one in Find Yourself and Go Go Squid 2. This means the relationship is more equal between the 2 partners.
However, in Falling Into You, Yu Cheng is definitely the young one in his relationship with Luo Na. His immaturity shows at times. He doesn’t like it when Luo Na doesn’t give him enough attention. He exhibits some degree of clinginess. It is also important to Yu Cheng to make Luo Na proud of him and he listens to her like a little boy. In fact, some viewers may even find the whole relationship iffy because of her role as his coach and his young age when they first met although they didn’t start dating until he is around 20.
Hence, Yu Cheng is not your typical domineering and manly hero. If you don’t find him cute and charming in his own way, then the romance will also lose its shine. So, I think whether you will enjoy this drama or otherwise will depend a lot on how much you like the male character and his personality.
A Positive Relationship
To me, Yu Cheng is like a little puppy when he is with Luo Na. He has a crush on her when they first met and finds her beautiful. He loves her totally as the drama progresses and has no interest in any other girls. Yu Cheng knows he wants Luo Na and dares to pursue her despite the challenges. He makes his intention clear and hence, there are no mind games of guessing each other’s feelings and acting shy like in Mr. Bad and A Romance Of The Little Forest.
Falling Into You is also a drama without toxic love triangles and jealousies. There is also no silly accidental kiss due to a fall that we often get in romance dramas. While there is a little bit of parental disapproval, it hardly makes a dent in the overall story. The tiny bit of angst comes from the sports side of things rather than the romance. The couple is supportive of each other and has a healthy and trusting relationship. So, if you don’t mind a older woman and younger man romance, this is the drama to watch for couple goals.
Blazing Chemistry
The chemistry between Gina Jin and Wang An Yu is practically flammable in Falling Into You. After Why Women Love, I was thinking it will be hard for the actress to surpass her partnership with Wang Zi Yi in that rom-com. But I think she did better with Wang An Yu in this one. Although the relationship in the story seems an unbalanced one given their different roles and age gap, the blazing chemistry kind of covered up the inadequacies. When you see their on screen interactions, they are naturally sweet and their kisses will leave you craving for more.
Gina Jin is perfect for the role of Luo Na with her gorgeous looks. As an athletics coach, she is mainly dressed in sporting attire throughout the drama but it doesn’t diminish her beauty one bit. She is not just a pretty face though but gives the character the right feel as an athletics coach with her fit body and measured sternness in her acting.
Wang An Yu is like a typical college boy and he has also played this role before in Forever Love. He is also a university student and skater in To Fly With You. Hence, Yu Cheng isn’t really a new role where he is concerned and it isn’t surprising that he did rather well with the character that he was given. He emits the required confidence in a sportsman and is also convincing in the crying scenes when he is down.
Rushed Ending
One of the complaints that I have on this drama will be the rushed ending. The last one to two episodes seems to be quickly stitched together to wrap up the story. I don’t think it is even necessary to bring in new characters so late in the drama when they are better ways to end it with such a simple plot. The ending isn’t ideal but satisfactory overall.
The other weakness that I can detect is that some minor subplots are introduced but never really get anywhere in the story. For instance, there is a girl in the beginning of the drama who is really interested in the male lead but her character simple faded away after a while. Basically, her presence is pointless to the plot development. Similarly, the parental disapproval of the couple’s relationship is brought in but never explored in detail.
Nevertheless, these are not major issues that warrant you to drop this drama. They may be noticeable but more importantly, they don’t take away the pleasure of watching the romance blossoming between the leads.
My Verdict – Great Provided…
I think Falling Into You is a great romance drama provided you can get past 2 things. The first is the age gap as this is a older woman and younger man romance just like My Fated Boy. The second is this is also a coach and student relationship in a university track and field team setting. The mitigating factors are he is the one who pursues her and she is not his only coach. When I started watching, I also thought the pair up is weird. But I got used to it after a while with their cute relationship dynamics and his total adoration for her.
Overall, this is more of a romance than a serious sports drama. The training, successes and failures are all tied back to the romance one way or another. While the plot is simple, there is depth to the relationship development. The typical ups and downs that a sportsman has to face means someone special has to be there to provide that unconditional and loving support. So, this has a matured romance feel to it as well with the communication lines kept opened for a healthy relationship.
For this Falling Into You review, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. Watch it for the leads’ sizzling chemistry and the couple’s unique sweetness. I would have rated it higher if not for the rushed ending. I like it for the positivity and couple goals. But just bear in mind that the guy is young and more immature and clingy than the woman in his own cute way. The typical male and female roles are partly reversed with this couple. So, if you don’t mind that, the romance will be unique, sweet, and refreshing. But if you do, it will be an excruciating watch.
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