A Robot in the Orange Orchard (你好呀，我的橘子恋人)
Synopsis
Lu Sen, the CEO of IMU Technology, has a severe allergic reaction to human touch. Dr. Fu Yang and Team Alpha built an emotional intelligence human-like robot named Friday that caught CEO Lu Sen’s attention. After agreeing to a contract, an unfortunate event led to the damage of Friday’s battery. To cover up their mistake, Team Alpha hires Yang Shan Shan, the face model of Friday, to pose as Friday.
A Robot in the Orange Orchard is adapted from the MBC Korean drama, I’m Not a Robot (2017) starring Yoo Seung Hoo (유승호) and Chae Soo Bin (채수빈 ).
First Impressions
Impressions on episodes 1 – 10
Character
Leon Liang Jing Kang (梁靖康) is known for his participation in Meteor Garden (2018) as Feng Mei Zuo and lead role in My Love, Englighten Me (2020) as Han Che. In A Robot in the Orange Orchard, Leon Liang Jing Kang plays Lu Sen, an intelligent and ruthless person within his industry. Having lost his parents when he was young and betrayed by one of the people he trusts the most, Lu Sen has lived by himself since his parents’ death. Lu Sen’s distrust in people made him develop a severe allergic reaction upon physical interaction. So, he turns his interest towards AI household appliances and becomes interested in Friday’s technology when he receives intel on her. Although he dislikes human interactions, it’s clear that he doesn’t despise all humans. Lu Sen still has human interactions, except Lu Sen limits them by clearing out crowds and having his umbrella handy to poke at people to back off. We learn that Lu Sen’s allergic reaction is psychological to his distrust of people. If he can surpass that, Lu Sen can be around people without worrying about his allergic reaction and taking the medication on time. Leon Liang Jing Kang has the perfect innocent facial features to portray Lu Sen, who, although he holds a high IQ, has an ignorant outlook on EQ and human interaction.
Sun Qian (孙千) also held a supporting role in Meteor Garen (2018) and starred in several female lead roles like Sweet Tai Chi (2019) and Dr. Cutie (2020). In A Robot in the Orange Orchard, Sun Qian plays Yang Shan Shan / Friday, an aspiring inventor/researcher who once tried to work for Fu Yang but was rejected and made fun of by Fu Yang. During that time, Team Alpha’s Pai Song took Yang Shan Shan’s facial features as a model for the AI robot Friday. With their tight schedule to keep the terms on their contract with Lu Sen, Team Alpha seeks Yang Shan Shan’s help to pretend to be Friday for one day. However, this scheme continues as Team Alpha lacks the funds to get the piece for Friday’s battery replacement.
While Friday is a smart and composed robot, Yang Shan Shan lacks all of the traits to pass as a robot. Yang Shan Shan likes to speak her mind and cannot compute difficult questions quickly. Being naive, Lu Sen believes Fu Yang’s lies to “Friday’s friend mode.” With this friend mode of Friday, Lu Sen can easily open up to Yang Shan Shan and break down his trust barriers. The dynamics of the two leads are fun to watch as Lu Sen tries to understand Friday’s non-robotic actions and Yang Shan Shan tries to keep up with the charade.
Overall Impressions
I’ve seen the original Korean version, I’m Not a Robot (2017), and have been anticipating the release of A Robot in the Orange Orchard. There are many similarities between the two, especially if we talk about the core story of a man who has an allergic reaction due to his trust issues and a woman who becomes a robot replacement. There are minor tweaks like how Fu Yang isn’t Yang Shan Shan’s ex-boyfriend who used her face as a model. However, there are more episodes, and the progression of the plot may add the focus of IMU Technology, antagonists, and Fu Yang and Kang Li Er’s possible love story.
What works for me so far is the casting choice for Lu Sen. Liang Jing Kang is known for his innocent, sweet boy looks. It adds to how Lu Sen is more naive about how a human relationship works. However, this may be detrimental to the chemistry, as I feel it lacks some sparks. I remember watching I’m Not a Robot and being enamored by Jo Ji Ah / Aji 3’s smile and how much she cared for Kim Min Kyu. On the flip side, it felt genuine when I saw Kim Min Kyu slowly falling for Aji 3. However, though the sequence of events makes sense, I feel like Liang Jing Kang and Sun Qian couldn’t capture the same energy and sparks that Yoo Seung Ho and Chae Soo Bin did. Could it be that I’ve grown within those years and have higher expectations from romance dramas now? Maybe, but as a story focused on a relationship-driven plot, it could still do better.
As of episode ten, I am still quite intrigued with the drama and am curious about how this adaptation will unfold. If you haven’t seen the original version, I would highly suggest it if you’re looking for a cute romance drama. If I make it to the end, I’ll be back to give A Robot in the Orange Orchard a final rating.
If you have started A Robot in the Orange Orchard, do share your opinions with me!
Photo credits: Youku Weibo and Douban
