In more ways than one, To The Dearest Intruder reminds me of The Fierce Wife, as both are Taiwanese dramas that revolve around the themes of family, love and the taboo of adultery. But while the former irritates me more than the latter in terms of the fake mustache of the male protagonist and many other little details regarding the actors and actresses – yes, I am an extremely judgmental person – I still find To The Dearest Intruder pretty intriguing.
The Fierce Wife was, in 2011, a popular drama about a naïve mother named Xie An Zhen who lets her cousin Li Wei En temporarily live with her family of three, only to regret her decision tremendously later on when she discovers that her husband Wen Rui Fan has begun to cheat on her with Wei En. She receives guidance from Lan Tian Wei on how to become a more attractive and independent woman in hopes of winning Rui Fan’s love back, but slowly realizes that his love is no longer what she desires for.
Similarly, To The Dearest Intruder also illustrates the life of a married couple and the female protagonist’s discovery of her husband’s infidelity, but what makes this particular drama different from The Fierce Wife is that the intruder is, in fact, the female protagonist’s own best friend. Ten years ago, Song Jia An introduced her best friend Luo Shao Qing to her all-time crush, Yan Hao, and told Shao Qing that her lifetime dream is to marry Yan Hao. At first, Shao Qing dislikes Yan Hao and wonders why Jia An is so obsessed with him. And when Yan Hao confesses to Shao Qing after the three spent quite some time together, Shao Qing gets mad because she truly believed that Yan Hao belonged to Jia An, and even commands Yan Hao to take back his confession. But, as expected, Shao Qing slowly begins to fall in love with Yan Hao as well, and, after spending a night with Yan Hao, she leaves without a word in hopes of forgetting Yan Hao and her love for him. She only comes back ten years later, after Jia An and Yan Hao have already been married for three years, and admits to Yan Hao that she still couldn’t forget him. Needless to say, trouble rolls down the snowy hill and just gets bigger and bigger.
Because I tend to only watch the cliché, cheesy dramas in which love is all about flowers and chocolate – not really, but you get the point – I really enjoyed watching To The Dearest Intruder. I don’t want to outright spoil To The Dearest Intruder, but let’s just say that even The Fierce Wife could not beat the dramatic ending of the former. And even though some parts of To The Dearest Intruder were just plainly ridiculous or unrealistic, like the ending itself actually, I admit that I cried a lot while watching it, especially when Jia An eventually asks Yan Hao if he ever loved her, even if just a little.
As usual, I would like to recommend my favorite OSTs from The Dearest Intruder as the ending of this blog, the first being the opening theme of the drama, titled “If We Meet Again.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQQ-yWrOda4 My second favorite is “Good To Have You” by Fan Wei Qi, which is actually a really old song, but it suits the plot of the drama so well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q2r-tNQo4k (Sorry, I couldn’t find any videos with the English translations of the lyrics for either of the songs!) And for fun, you can also search范瑋琪 (Fan Wei Qi) on Facebook and watch all the cute videos she posts of her adorable pair of twins. Enjoy!
Vicky Chou is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a self-proclaimed EXO-L despite initially despising the overratedness that is EXO, and hopes to become famous one day so she can meet various K-pop idols outside of her dreams. She is afraid of trying new things and thus tends to only order a mocha frappuccino at Libe Cafe. Vicky’s blog appears on alternate Mondays this semester, and she can be reached at [email protected].