#Tianyao

[zhoufeis]

Have you resolved the misunderstandings between the two of you last night?

护心 BACK FROM THE BRINK China. 2023.

[trendingdrama]

[S01.E38 ] BACK FROM THE BRINK / 护心 (2023) dir. sam ho & zeng xiao yu

[dramagifs]

The window is broken. I can't shut it.

[night-rider-lily]

ANYONE ELSE OBSESSED WITH NEO HOU?????

AND ZHOU YE BEING PRETTY ASF?! MY GOD-

[plasmon-gif-factory]

[fortycumber]

what I find hilarious is how suying keeps calling tianyao 'an evil dragon'. Like gurl...

YOU GO AROUND TOWN STABBING PEOPLE, MUTILATING THEM, DISMEMBERING THEM, DISEMBOWELING THEM, THROWING THEIR BODY PARTS AWAY, STEALING HUSBANDS, KIDNAPPING PEOPLE, HURTING PEOPLE IN ALL THE WORST WAYS IMAGINABLE, (please insert all the other dreadful things she's done) and she still has the nerve to call tianyao evil...

While all my baby ever wanted to do was be someone's husband.

Like chill.

[simply-zhouye]

More promotional stills of Zhou Ye as Yan Hui in Back from the Brink

[spuddypotat]

bai xiaosheng getting some much deserved affection from his wife and husband because hes all i can think about ♥️♥️

[gotmilfed]

Oh (picture of tianyao and yanhui) were really in it now

[ajaxbell]

I watched Back from the Brink because I guess I just wanted more dramas about dragons? But I was pleasantly surprised.

I actually can't say why I started watching this. I remember when it came out thinking I wasn't interested. I went in with low expectations and feel pretty rewarded for what I got. Like a lot of cdramas this makes some pretty startling tone shifts if you're used to western storytelling. It has the same original story author as Love Between Fairy and Devil and I can definitely see some theme similarities between the two. Resurrection/rebirth, all consuming revenge as a source of downfall, the 'good' guys actually being the villains (to some extent, here it's more individual). But I wouldn't say there's much similarity between the two productions beyond the opening credits and the music.

Zhou Ye was amazing at the comedy and really capable competent character which was refreshing after the recent shows I've watched.

Back from the Brink starts of with pretty high level of slapstick, even as it's clear from the beginning that the themes are serious. The opening flashback is about heartbreak and deceit, but the the main story has a cartoon levels of slapstick comedy. The comedy resonated with me and was amusing rather than irritating as it can be when done badly. Though it did lower my expectations for the show overall. But the acting across the cast was unexpectedly good, even as some of the directorial choices were weird.

There was a lot of baozi eaten in this and I regret I did not get to eat any.

Things I didn't like:

I think one of my biggest complaints is that like 20% of this show is flashbacks. Not like scenes of things that happened before the present day story, but like replay scenes of things you literally just saw as recently as the last episode, or sometimes even in the same episode. Like I get the person is supposed to remembering or thinking of something, but most shows can depict that without showing the exact same footage over and over. Maybe it was supposed to somehow deepen emotional impact, but it sure didn't work for me.

And the main villain came across as petulant rather than scary or even really powerful, which ultimately detracted from the overall impact of the story.

The very end was a little weak, but honestly if the PRC would get it together and let shows depict reincarnation a lot of these plots would make so much more sense.

Things I liked:

The slapstick! Really something I don't usually look for or always even enjoy, but Zhou Ye did the comedy very well and Hou Minghao did a good job of playing the straight man against her hilarity.

The sets and costumes. All of them weren't great but the overall aesthetics were great and quite pleasing.

The second male lead had a good plot, backstory, did comedy well, and made me feel wistful longing. Usually I either hate the 2ML, or like him so much than the main love interest that I end up mad at the show (you know like The Wolf?).

There's a really charming subplot late in the show that was way too cute but like not TOO cute and it really kept me in the show as the plot twisted.

The main female lead was really competent, smart, but also silly and charming. It was nice balance, and definitely different than what I've been seeing in female leads recently (really the antithesis of the FLs in The Longest Promise and The Journey of Chong Zi).

The secondary cast was huge, all did decent to great work, and had their own good side plots.

I definitely enjoyed this but I was more entertained by it than I was really emotionally invested. I liked the story, and mostly liked how it was told (minus the repetitive flashbacks). I think Zhou Ye carried a lot of the emotional acting work of the main couple. Hou Minghao was fine as the dragon lord, pretty enough for it, and I'd even say his acting was good, but he didn't have the brooding intensity the role required. It did need something like a Wang Hedi as Moon Supreme type deal and it just wasn't there. And though it didn't diminish my enjoyment, it's probably what kept me from being really emotionally involved. Still I'd recommend it, though maybe as a palate cleanser between more intense dramas.

Even if I thought he lacked some keep element (gravitas?) he sure is pretty

[zhoufeis]

护心  BACK FROM THE BRINK China. 2023.

# when you are the one who gets tortured # but your only priority is to make sure your wife is fine

[trendingdrama]

[ S01.E24 ] BACK FROM THE BRINK / 护心 (2023) dir. Sam ho, Zeng xiao yu

[dongbangskies]

This was legit so hot. Good job VA. The 乖 really sold me

Yanhui, It’s all alright. Just calm down. Calm down. You’re out of danger now.

BACK FROM THE BRINK 护心 (2023) episode 12, dir. Sam Ho and Zeng Xiao Yu.

[dongbangskies]

Growing up is not cutting the male lead any slack for his bullshit….

You cannot have your cake and eat it too. If you are not going to accept her feelings, you have no right to be a cockblock and a salty bitch if someone else comes along.

You rejected her. Now live with your decision. I don’t care how cute you are and how much you actually like her.

I know you are traumatized and have the weight of the world on your shoulders but MY GUY you gotta figure your shit out or at least communicate that you are figuring your shit out and not out right reject emotions. Have you ever tried to TALK ABOUT?!

[fortycumber]

people are so quick to hate on bai xiao sheng, but they don't understand the essence behind his character. He's an orphan who was ostracised and abandoned by everyone he deemed to be close to him, including his own mother. He was blamed for something that he neither could control nor change and then was thrown at the mercy of a monster who proceeded using him throughout his childhood and adolescence. He has never been treated with kindness and love by anyone ever in his life, thus he has never known how to treat people well himself. That's why he only spouts lies and uses people, it's a reflection of the treatment he's lived with his entire life. It's honestly a miracle that he's so cheerful and happy most of the time, despite the fact we know it's probably a facade. So when someone like Yanhui (a compassionate and an innocent person) treats him kindly (let's ignore the many times she beats him up, it's nothing serious haha), especially during the incident in the woods, as he was forced to face his own traumas again, he would definitely look at her in a different light and would grow fond of her. That could also be the reason as to why he was under the false pretense of being in love with her, while it's obvious he isn't, he's just reacting appropriately to being treated kindly and in a good way for the first time in his entire life. So of course, seeing Tianyao hurt her like that would make him seem annoying while protecting her and it would make him easily misunderstand Tianyao's intentions and the reason behind his actions. Because in his eyes, everyone is a bad person except Yanhui.

[lindwurmkai]

I was surprised to find a lot of negative and mixed opinions in the Back From the Brink tag tbh. To me, it seemed so perfect that I expected nothing but praise 😅

After two and a half years of constantly watching c-dramas, I would definitely say it's in my all-time top 5 so far, possibly even top 3. And considering it's mainly a hetero* romance, that's very impressive!

Now, obviously me liking dragons an excessive amount has something to do with this. But I was worried Hou Minghao might not be well-suited for such a role and then both the character and his performance completely surpassed all my expectations. It's also rare for me to like a female character as much as I like Yan Hui, and Bai Xiaosheng's arc positively surprised me again and again.

This show is full of gender role reversals and low on the usual microaggressions. There are plenty of great side characters. It's pretty funny at times. I always appreciate a good old "don't discriminate against monsters/demons/spirits" plot. The romance takes a ... unique path full of twists and turns that I personally liked a lot better than the way these things usually go. What's not to love?!

I did notice a few plot holes and found the ending a little baffling, if sweet. How about an explanation??? Oh well. I've seen much worse 😂

I'm definitely going to watch this again one day and will be rotating Tianyao in my mind for the foreseeable future.

*It's not hetero to me but you know what I mean (everyone's bi here)