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rainbowsky · 3 years ago

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Review: Luoyang

I enjoyed this one enormously. A few people told me they thought the story was too complicated and confusing and that they lost interest in it, but my experience wasn't anything like that. I found the story exciting and engaging, and I was very invested in the characters and what was happening to them. It was fun to watch the mystery unfold and to see what became of everyone.

Although I found one or two things disappointing (which I will discuss in more detail in the spoiler section), overall I loved this series. The actors really brought this story to life, and DD gave an excellent performance. Highly recommended.

[ Spoilers under the cut. ]

The Characters

In a 39 episode series there are bound to be dozens of characters. I won't go into detail on all of them, but I'll talk about some of my favorites.

Baili Hongyi

I loved this character so much, perhaps in part because he came across as autisitic-coded and had a lot of traits I can relate to. As I said in a previous post, there are many autism traits that he seemed to present:

Hates being touched

Much more interested in ideas and tasks than in people

Can get overwhelmed when faced with too much sensory or social stimulation

Focused on his specific interests (food, puzzles, engineering, systems), which he is a comprehensive expert on, and ignores everything/one else, including eating and sleeping

Fixated on justice, right/wrong

Creative and intelligent

Constantly underestimated

Blunt/honest in his speech; doesn’t understand or participate in social niceties

Fiercely independent; wants to do things according to his vision of what's appropriate, regardless of what other people think

Complete lack of interest in money, status, or social expectations

Doesn't use his face expressively in the way others do (this pays off as one ages, I can recommend! 😅)

I strongly identified with this character. His tendency to be somewhat solitary and very task-focused, to the point of completely tuning other people out. His immersion in the mystery and fixation on the goal. His lack of interest in status or money or social expectations. His tendency to accidentally offend people via his honesty and/or unconventional approaches to things. His quiet affection and steadfast care for those he loved.

His whole 'ancient gourmet' thing was so up my alley, too. Anyone who has been following me for a while knows I love watching DD eat, and it was especially funny watching everyone hold their breath waiting for his verdict. There was also something very humorous about watching ancient DD be surrounded by fans. 😅

This character is so similar to DD in many ways, it was a role that suited him well. He gave an excellent performance. I was so proud of our Bobo. His voicing of the character, his physical performance - the whole package. It was so satisfying to watch.

As we already know from CQL, DD is the master of subtlety. He really brought this character to life, but in a very calm, understated way that was so refreshing to see. The deeply emotional moments were performed with so much restraint - he stayed true to the character throughout every range of emotion and experience.

There were a couple of disappointments with the character that had nothing to do with DD, but I'll get to those later.

Gao Bingzhu

I absolutely loved this character. He was so relatable and so well-written and performed. I have to say, there were a couple of moments where I was completely blown away by Huang Xuan's acting. The graveside scene where he was grieving his friends, for example, ripped my heart out.

Through the course of the series I felt like I got to know and feel a deep connection with this character. He had an interesting, believable trajectory in terms of character development, and he felt consistent throughout the series. There was never a time where I felt confused about where they were going with him, or where I felt that he was drifting out of character (with one tiny exception I'll talk about later).

I've seen some reviews where people said they didn't feel there was any chemistry between Siyue and Bingzhu, and I can't help but wonder if we were watching a different series. I know a lot of people seek overt romantic sparks flying in order to feel sexual/romantic tension between characters, but I prefer deeper emotional moments such as the many these two shared - including that graveside scene - in order to feel a believable chemistry.

Wu Siyue

She was such a badass character, and I found her inner conflict between career and family duty convincing and compelling. I was very invested in her winning the battles she was fighting both internally and with the people around her.

I liked that she was a solid equal with Gao Bingzhu, and I liked the way their relationship unfolded; with a tone of depth, shared experience and mutual respect. I don't enjoy romances that feel superficial or power imbalanced.

There were a couple of moments in her character arc that annoyed me - times where she felt 'cutesy' and/or tragic in a very out-of-character way - and I felt in those moments that it was a foreshadowing that the writers were going to murder her. Unfortunately I was correct in my assumption. More on that later.

Yao Niang

I was captivated by this character, even if I could see her betrayal coming from a mile away. She just had so much intensity, complexity and contrast. I love characters that have a mixture of bad and good qualities, and her story was so compelling. She also had such a strong presence. Zhang Li really knocked it out of the park with this role. She brought this character to life and made every aspect of her personality engaging and believable.

The scene between her and Gao Bingzhu, where her identity was revealed, was one of my favorites of the entire series. Both actors gave incredible performances and really drew me into the emotional experience of the characters. Brilliant.

Bai Lang

I am always a sucker for a good sidekick, and Bai Lang didn't disappoint. He quickly became one of my favorite characters. He was always up for anything, and his endless adaptability and ability to be at the right place, at the right time, often saved the day. He was a good foil for Gao Bingzhu, and their relationship was so heartwarming and brotherly.

I get easily attached to these types of resourceful 'grey morality' characters. They end up carrying a HUGE part of the story and rarely get the appreciation they deserve. Jiang Long handled this task exceptionally well, giving us a good mixture of devotion, mischief and goofy humor.

Prince Chuan

I practically fell in love with this character. He was so beautiful, debaucherous, noble and long-suffering.

I was so relieved when he didn't die from getting stabbed by Peipei. When he returned to the Intelligence Services and made his little speech about no longer hiding his identity, my heart swelled for him.

Liu Duan Duan was so magnetic and pretty in this role, and really looked the part of the privileged princeling navigating court intrigue and weighty responsibilities.

Gong Yan

This character represents the 5% of bisexuality I possess. Maybe because she looks like the love child of Xue Yang and Xie Yun. I felt so drawn to her smirking, conflicted Xue Yang style of villainy, and she had so much screen presence, wow. Zhao Qian has charisma to spare.

The Empress

Even though this character was somewhat ambiguous and enigmatic throughout the series, I really enjoyed her. I think it was mostly because of the brilliant performance given by Yong Mei. She oozed so much nobility and power and gave us such an imposing presence.

Her world-weary frustration and almost boredom-level detachment were palpable. She was so convincingly powerful and yet totally helpless and dependent upon everyone around her. I could relate to her sort of smouldering irritation with having to rely on others whose competence she could never be certain of.

In the moments where she appeared before the people of Luoyang, she had such a convincing regal air, it was easy to get swept up in her star power.

An Bai Tan

This character was even more enigmatic than the Empress. There were several times throughout the series when I felt suspicious of her, but never enough to be convinced of her betrayal. She walked that thin tight rope of suspense throughout the series, and I found it very enjoyable. Zhang Zhi Lin gave such an understated, intense performance. Really loved this character. I have an appreciation for characters who stay in the background a bit, but who are indispensable to those they serve.

Yang Huan

Another background character who brought a strong, understated role. As secretary to the Empress, she gave off such an aura of competence, humility and respect. I found myself drawn to her in every scene she appeared in. Liu Menke gave a powerful, subtle performance that was surprisingly memorable considering the role she played.

Liu Ran

I started out hating her, but she really grew on me. She went from desperate, whiny, clingy girl to supportive, steadfast partner somewhere along the way, and it was a welcome change. Even when she was grating on my nerves, I felt Song Yi gave a good performance. She had that perpetually troubled look on her face that was so endearing, and I just wanted to give her a hug.

Wu Youjue

I began to suspect him as the main villain within the first few episodes. There were quite a few tells:

His sickliness. In dramas sickness is often presented as a sign of hidden moral weakness (something that's always bothered me, actually).

His placement within the court. He had so much access, and so little prestige. This is often a means of introducing bitterness and resentment into a character, or else a signal that they want to stay in the shadows.

As hinted at in the previous point, he kept too low of a profile for someone in his position and with his level of access. He seemed to have something to hide.

He was very controlling and overprotective, and the only emotions he ever showed were anger and dismay. He came across to me as villain-coded from the start. There was never any real warmth from him. We were supposed to trust him because everyone else did, but that only made me more suspicious.

He was the central repository for a lot of information, and 'coincidentally' the moves the team was making and the information they were discovering were constantly getting leaked. He seemed the most likely source of those leaks.

Having said all that, it was still fun to watch the story unfold.

Zhang Duo gave us a consistently good performance. There were a few moments where the coughing fits sounded a bit forced, but other than that, he really brought this character to life.

Although from a writing perspective I think they should have made him a bit more sympathetic. It would have made his trajectory more believable and his secret a more dramatic discovery for me. I was also a bit irritated that he seemed to be yet another queer-coded villain (his devotion to Baili Kuanren came across as very bromancey), but I doubt it was intentional.

The Story

I enjoyed the mystery and intrigue of this story, and I loved the romance between Wu Siyue and Gao Bingzhu. In terms of pure enjoyment, I found the first half of the series more entertaining than the last half. That's never a 'good thing' - a story should get more exciting and more suspenseful over time - but it was nowhere near enough of an issue to make me lose interest. I remained invested in the story throughout the series.

I think the primary problem I had wasn't even with the main plot, it was with the side plots and some of the character development issues. I'll talk about that more in a bit, but this series was a good reminder for me as a writer, about the importance of ensuring that every element of a story has its own strength as a stand-alone.

I feel like a lot of the side stories were just superficial narrative devices used to move the main story forward, rather than the rich, engaging side plots they could have been. This had a somewhat disastrous effect on the overall impact of the story as a whole.

If they changed nothing else, but they strengthened those side stories, it could have made all the difference to the series.

The mystery itself, the places the story took us to, etc. were exciting and overall pretty satisfying. It was everything around it that didn't hold up as well, and that brought the story down a bit for me. That and some of the character development issues I will discuss later.

The Soundtrack

Overall I enjoyed the music in this series. There were a few times when its use felt overbearing, but for the most part it wasn't too bad. There were a couple of songs I particularly enjoyed.

Longing of the Heart - Huang Shi Fu - I'm always a sucker for the sad love songs on soundtracks. Chinese dramas really excel at this genre, I have to say. This one is among my favorites so far. The fragility of the vocals is heartbreaking. The melody she sings is so packed full of grief and longing. She has such a beautiful, expressive voice.

The Wind Rises in Luoyang -Zhao Jingxu - I enjoy the smooth, sweet purity and clarity of the vocals. It reminded me of GG's voice (although of course I prefer GG). The song also has such an epic, dramatic atmosphere, it was well suited.

The Disappointments

Character and Story Development

There were a few things with this drama that I felt were missed opportunities. One of these disappointments was the trajectory of the overall story. It started out so exciting and so engaging and gradually seemed to run out of steam.

At the beginning of the story I felt so intrigued by the investigation, and by the way in which the three main characters approached this task. Gao Bingzhu's single-minded obsession, Baili Hongyi's focused inquisitiveness, Wu Siyue's charging forward on several fronts.

Over time as their paths converged, some of that excitement and intrigue died. As the tension between the three of them died, so too did some of the overall suspense and tension. It felt almost like the writers had difficulty communicating the distinctive qualities and motives of each character once they began working together.

This came through not just in the decline of energy and suspense, but it also came through in the gradual blurring of the characters.

Baili Hongyi started out as quite a sleuth, someone who seemed utterly absorbed in the mystery and trying to figure it out. This created a lot of interest and a lot of dramatic tension. But over time, the focus on his character shifted more onto his relationships, his constant danger and his role on the security team, and as a viewer I was left feeling less of a sense of who he was as a person, and less of that excitement of the mystery he brought with him in previous episodes.

And some of the interesting traits that were built up in the earlier episodes all but disappeared toward the end. The gourmet thing disappeared, the engineering genius was de-emphasized, the inquisitive mastermind thing took a back seat, the social friction all but vanished...

Some of that was positive character development. His subtle but steady connection with Lui Ran, for example, and his bonds of trust with Siyue and Bingzhu, but some of it felt like a loss of the essence of who he was and what made me invested in him as a character.

The same was true, but to a slightly lesser degree, with Gao Bingzhu and Wu Siyue. As their bond grew there were some romantic elements introduced in ways that felt awkward and unnatural for them as characters.

For example, the scene in the Unwelcome Well about a third of the way through Ep. 37 where they were acting flirty and romantic, it felt unnatural, and put there as a foreshadowing of Siyue's death. They were both being too cutesy, and it didn't feel in character for how they would live out a moment like that. I could tell they were setting up for a tragedy.

I had long suspected they were going to kill her off, but that scene only confirmed it for me.

Side Plots

There were a few side stories that had a lot of potential, but really fell flat for me. If they'd made a few minor modifications to these stories they could have been very fulfilling, and could have lent more depth to the series. As it stands, each of these elements ended up feeling a bit shallow - which only lent a bit of unnecessary shallowness to the overall series.

The whole Peipei side romance had so much potential, but it ended up just feeling deflated and disappointing. My main problem with it was that Lui Feng was a completely unsympathetic character from the very beginning, so it was difficult to get invested in his quest to reunite with his long lost love. He was awful.

She was also a pretty one-dimensional character. Her glamorous boat trip down the river was about the most exciting part of her story. We didn't get any truly character-building scenes with her, and yet we were meant to be invested in what happened to her. It didn't work for me.

This storyline had so much potential, and if they'd just made a few minor adjustments it could have lent a lot more excitement and depth to the story overall, but ultimately it all fell flat. Very disappointing.

I felt somewhat similarly about the Unwelcome Well. It started out as an exciting underworld full of struggling, hapless people and ended up just feeling like a plot device.

One of the biggest mistakes they made with the Unwelcome Well, is that they killed off almost every character that connected us to the Well. If they'd given us even one young resident who wanted a chance at life and a future for themself, we would have had an emotional investment in their finally being free at the end. Instead the liberation of the Well felt like a bit of an afterthought.

Huge missed opportunity.

The whole Li Beiqi situation was another example of this. We were supposed to feel invested in what happened to him, but we were never given any real meat in terms of his relationship with the Wu siblings until after he'd died. By then it was too late.

Such a shame, when all it would have taken to give us more emotional investment in his story would have been for them to give us a brief scene or two where we caught a glimpse of his experience or feelings.

I mentioned the issues with Wu Youjue earlier as well. He was a bit too one-dimensional as a character, and his side story with Baili Kaunren and the hatred he felt for the Empress wasn't robust enough for us to feel anything strong about him. If they'd just changed the way some of his scenes played out, they could have had a really powerful emotional struggle, but instead we got a bit of a cardboard character.

The 'long lost sister' saga was also disappointing. We were led, along with Gao Bingzhu, to wonder if it could be one of the clan members, but it was always just a one-sided curiosity on his part. We didn't get anything from the other side - nothing to kindle that suspense - and ultimately, no payoff.

Set Design

The set design in this series was a bit hit and miss. There were moments when it was simply breathtaking, and moments where I was left confused and a bit removed from the story.

For example, the overhead shots of the canal at night, with festival atmosphere, were stunning. However, the intelligence services area with all the message tubes and sliding gold boxes was overwrought, lacking any grounding in logic or reality, and ultimately felt very chaotic and meaningless. I just didn't get the sense of how any of it functioned within the technology of the time, and for that reason it didn't feel real.

If they'd simplified the whole thing and made it feel more rational, organized and realistic, it would have lent so much more dramatic weight to everything that happened there.

I felt the same way about what felt like an over-use of water features. For example, Baili Hongyi's space. It felt impractical. I ended up spending a lot of time pondering the mold on his papers and bedding, and wondering how many times a guest accidentally slipped on the floor or dragged their sleeve in the water while dining.

I think water features are beautiful, and I'm led to understand that there is a historical basis for water features in houses, but this felt like a bit too much. Especially given how practical Baili Hongyi was as a person. It felt a bit out of character for him to spend most of his time in such an impractical, visually cluttered space.

Outdoor spaces felt immersive, while some of the indoor ones felt distracting

Form over function has always been one of my pet peeves. Yes, there is undeniable beauty in it, but when the sets felt overwrought it ended up giving the production more of a stage/theater play atmosphere and less like something real, gritty and tangible - grounded in reality. Especially since these were locations where we spent so much time in the series.

By contrast, if you look at some of the scenes that happened outside of those locations - for example whenever they met at the street cafe for a bowl of lamb soup, or even the granary, or almost anywhere in the street - it just felt more 'real' and immersive.

I recognize I'm coming at this from the perspective of someone who is easily overwhelmed by visual clutter, chaos and complexity, so this might have been 'just me'. I'm sure there are a lot of people who were captivated by the impractical beauty of the sets. But to me, when something tries too hard to be visually stunning, it often also becomes visually distracting.

One of the important principles of set design is that they are meant to be in the background. Some of the sets were so 'up front' that they might as well have been given a few lines in the script.

Unintentional Comedy

The whole extra finger thing killed me. It was so comedic, especially the way the brother would always be holding it up like Dr Evil in Austin Powers films. I was LOLing every time the extra finger made an appearance. It was so cute, and hard to take seriously.

Separated at birth?

I couldn't help but think that all it would have taken was for his mother to do like Douzi's mother in Farewell My Concubine, and all of this unpleasantness could have been entirely avoided...

Outrage

As I already mentioned, I began to expect early on that the writers were going to murder Siyue, and I was so angry!

This happened with the Wolf as well. I feel like it's a 'thing' to kill off strong female characters in order to help develop the emotional experience of male characters, and it offends me.

I get that some people enjoy a tragic love story, but to me it just feels like pointless, gratuitous pain. Who are these people whose lives are so cheerful that they want tragedy in their escapism?

The scene where she died was so annoying, too. The deadbeat brother-in-law with a crossbow? To quote a certain cultivator, "Ridiculous." And she dies protecting her villainous brother and they keep him alive so her sacrifice 'won't have been in vain'? And then we get treated to a scene of Gao Bingzhu on the bridge, alone?

To say I hated the ending would be an understatement. I am not built for this kind of tragic romance BS. 😅

Final Thoughts

I feel like I spent a lot of time tearing things apart, here, but ultimately I did enjoy this drama a lot. As is evidenced by the fact that I finished it pretty quickly. I normally take a long time to watch a drama, because I tend to nibble away at these sorts of things. Not so with this drama. I made time to watch it because I was drawn into the story and invested in the characters.

I just felt a bit let down by a few aspects of it.

I am very proud of DD. He showed himself to be a solid actor in this series, and I think no one who watched it could fail to see he has what it takes. It stands as powerful proof of his talent and ability. 🥺

#wang yibo #luoyang #fengqi luoyang #baili hongyi #luoyang spoilers #autism is my botox #reviews #this took me FOREVER to write!#actor dd

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absolutebl · 3 years ago

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Hi hi! I watched We Best Love 1 & 2 and thought I would share my thoughts.

Short thoughts

My personal rating would be a 6/10. I had to force myself to continue after part 1 ended in heartbreak, and then again after finishing episode 3 of part 2. The rating is mostly driven by the fact I didn’t enjoy the main plotline nor the main secondary plotline and therefore probably wouldn’t ever rewatch it.

Longer thoughts

Things I liked

* The acting was superb, especially YU, who had such incredible facial control and emotiveness throughout. The hugs between Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De hit me harder than the kisses or other things; they just felt so weighty and emotional, and like they were genuinely taking so much comfort from each other.

* The way the Japanese dialogue was sprinkled in so naturally was extremely charming and made me smile a lot.

* The scene in part 1 where Zhou Shu Yi and Gao Shi De’s mom are ganging up on Gao Shi De at the dinner table is probably one of my favorite BL scenes ever. I cackled so hard through the whole thing. Shu Yi and Shi De’s mom’s dynamic in general I just found so fun.

* Set design and styling of the actors, especially in part 2. I want Zhou Shu Yi’s house so badly, and few BL actors have looked quite as good in suits as those two. (Although I wanted so much to put a pair of suspenders on Shu Yi’s pants so his white shirt wouldn’t pop out between his black vest and trousers when he sat down.)

* Shi Zhe Yu and Liu Bing Wei’s side storyline. They had immediate chemistry in part 1, and after a rocky start in ep 1 of part 2, I thought they were very cute together. I loved the “donkey and carrot” dynamic.

* “You can consider it my dowry” literally made me choke on my tea. Epic line, especially delivered so nonchalantly. That whole conversation between Zhou Shu Yi’s dad and Gao Shi De was great—“No worries; he can join my family instead” was such a great table-turn, and very fitting for a couple that took turns pursuing each other and always felt like equals. I also appreciated that they tried hard to make Zhou Shu Yi’s father a more three-dimensional and likable version of the ultrapowerful homophobic dad character than normal, and it was clear Yoza Eriku was having a lot of fun playing him.

Things I didn’t like:

* The entire main plotline. I simply personally don’t enjoy the “interfering powerful homophobic parents” and “forced/prolonged separation” tropes. The five year separation, the misunderstanding, and the dad’s involvement just turned me off dramatically. If the show hadn’t been so short (and so highly recommended) I don’t think I would have finished it. Also, you described the plot as “classic”; the down-side of that is there was nothing in the main plot that felt new. Is this the best iteration of these common plots? Maybe. But coming to it after almost 30 other BLs (and the show coming out in 2021 after it had all been down before), there just wasn’t much that felt fresh in the plot or characters.

* Pei Shou Yi and Yu Zhen Xuan’s entire storyline. When Pei Shou Yi was explaining to Yu Zhen Xuan about his affective disorder (which is not a correct use of that term I don’t think, but that’s beside the point), I was super intrigued. (That line, “For me, it was just 12 years,” hit so hard.) I still think it’s a really cool and fascinating idea for a BL character. But I didn’t feel that that core concept connected to any of his actions in a way that made him suddenly make sense and feel like a well-developed, 3D character, so it just felt like a waste. For example, I still couldn’t tell you why he left Yu Zhen Xuan at the end of the year, although I wasn’t paying a ton of attention by that point. Even still, if at the end of that speech Pei Shou Yi had been like, “Look, if it makes you happy to be here with me then go ahead; as you now know, it literally doesn’t make a difference to me so I guess knock yourself out,” I could have dug that as a satisfying ending for them. The extra episode of drama and sudden U-turn from Shou Yi felt unnecessary and unearned. And I just didn’t really find Yu Zhen Xuan to be particularly likable or sympathetic as a character.

* Even though part 2 picked up literally where part 1 ended, and it was clear both parts were shot together, the further I got into part 2 the harder it was to feel like I was watching the same characters as in part 1. In particular, connecting the somewhat playful, lovesick Shu Yi of part 1 to the ambitious Shu Yi whose dream in life is to be chairman of a business conglomerate was a bit of a challenge.

* The whole business setting wasn’t badly done (it was oddly charming) but it wasn’t super well done either. Yu Zhen Xuan as CTO of a tech company was pretty hard to swallow. There also just wasn’t a lot of actual plot in part 2. The corporate espionage storyline didn’t seem to have a point, and largely seemed to exist so something besides a flashback would happen, and to justify the use of a business setting.

* The sheer amount of heterosexuality in part 1.

* The sheer amount of questions never answered in part 2. (“Who did Zhou Shu Yi see in America?” is the biggest one that I’m not aware was answered.)

Miscellanea:

* I don’t know if this is a Taiwanese accent thing or something general for Mandarin that I just never picked up on, but I noticed a lot of “sh” sounds devolving into “s” sounds throughout the show and from multiple characters. In particular, both main characters’ names got the treatment (Shu Yi being pronounced as Su Yi and Shi De as Si De), and the words 說 and 什麼 getting pronounced as “suō” and “sénme” respectively.

Other BL thoughts:

* I finished Manner of Death; personal rating is 8/10. I loved the couples and the setting, and the ending was extremely cute and satisfying. The two stars it loses are (1) for the unbelievably grim material the plot is actually about; and (2) because at times the romance and the mystery seemed really poorly integrated and to detract from one another. Would rewatch but with a lot of skipping around to avoid the really grim bits.

* I started Until We Meet Again. Just from the first episode I really love it. I think I know what’s going on with Pharm’s dreams, and if I’m right it’s going to be so cool. I already love the desserts angle. Manaow is my favorite female side character since Yihwa stole the show in Together with Me; her and Pharm’s banter and laughter feel so natural that I kept wondering if they were improv-ing. Probably the best 1st episode I’ve seen from a Thai BL, so I have very high expectations from here.

Hope you’re having a great weekend!

I hope you're having a greta weekend too!

Excellent thoughts all.

The only thing I'll point out, just in case you didn't know, is Taiwanese Mandarin is different from the Mainland in a few ways. (Most notably its written standards, like they did in Hong Kong.) But when spoken Standard Guoyu (used in education, businesses, govt offices, the news etc... see Guoyu Cidian《國語辭典》) seems quite formal and, to me, a little stiff sounding.

But your ear (better a than mine) is, I think, picking up on Taiwan Guoyu - it’s a colloquial, localized form. Slightly influenced by Hokkien and a few other things.

Languages do crazy things on islands.

---

On a different note if you liked the first few eps of UWMA then you are going to really love the rest. At least I hope so. Clearly we don’t have an exact match in taste, but UWMA is wonderful on story. There is a bit of a blushing maiden trope with Pharm but that’s the only flag I really have for that show (apart from old school trigger warning, which you kinda know you’re in for form the get go).

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yibo-wang · 3 years ago

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quick quick~ i am debating on watching either legend of fei or luoyang~ i need 5 different reasons on both to which i could start first~ 👀

hdjfj okay so they're both pretty good shows

luoyang:

luoyang is relatively shorter compared to lof, that's 39 vs 52 episodes

plot wise I was hooked to luoyang more, cause I really like detective/murder mysteries.

if you're looking for any romantic scenes then luoyang barely has any doesn't have a lot of those (*sort of spoilers* we get one kiss between the main leads and that too was like a cpr situation lol).

if you liked lan wangji's character in cql it's highly likely you'll love erlang (yibo's character) in here too.

one thing I really liked was huang xuan's acting, it was really incredible. he's a very good actor, and knows how to build the scene. the relationship between erlang and gao bingzhu was interesting particularly cause the way yibo knows how to create homoerotic tension

idk if this counts as a selling point but luoyang had a big budget, you can see with all the sets and places, almost everything was built from scratch and it was really cool.

legend of fei:

compared to luoyang, lof is pretty long. I had to finish it in pieces the first time.

xie yun (yibo) and zhou fei (zhao liying) were the selling point for the show for me. they have very good chemistry.

if erlang is lan wangji's son lmao then xie yun is wei wuxians. but jokes aside yibo playing xie yun is just >>>>>> he's so charismatic and lovely. really knows how to capture your attention in every scene.

legend of fei is for the women. no but the amount of girl bosses in this show is just 👏👏👏 this show is for bisexuals, it's for the girlbosses and their himbo (boy)friends.

lof has a lot of humor. it's relatively lighthearted too as compared to luoyang which is pretty serious throughout.

reasons to watch legend of fei (what op said 😌) *this tag does contain spoilers tho

I hope that's helpful and you enjoy whatever you decide on watching!

#legend of fei #luoyang #let's chat!#in the end they both have yibo so you're really winning no matter what you choose /j #sorry for the delay!

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heymeowmao · 3 years ago

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风起洛阳 | Luoyang E31 ° Loyalty

Bonus: “If you die, I can at least bring your body back.”

#风起洛阳 #Luoyang #cdrama #Huang Xuan #Jiang Long #character: gao bingzhu #character: bai lang #cheeky #meowmao gifs #there's a new car commercial with jiang long and it's so entertaining i saved it #a car commercial

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verycharismaticdragon · 4 years ago

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You know, scrolling through the tags now that I’ve finished the show, I noticed that many people coming to read TYK after watching SHL get the impression that the novel’s plot is less coherent or not as neat as the show. And I would like to suggest a different perspective for your consideration:

the novel’s and the show’s main plots are not the same.

I’m not talking about changes made to certain events here; what I mean is, SHL took the novel’s secondary (possibly tertiary actually) plotline and used it as its main plot.

Jianghu politics and Lapis Armor are simply not as important in the novel – they are used to further the themes and sometimes to move events forward, but more often than not, they take background to what the book is really about: found family. User bluemorningsoup on twitter once posited that the novel’s climax is actually the New Year’s celebration – and that is exactly it. It’s the peaceful, joyful chapter completely devoid of any connection to the jianghu/armor plot, where the characters reflect on their past and compare it to their present, and realize that they found a home in each other. This is it. This is what the novel is about. It is built on exploring the characters, their development, and relationships between them.

On the other hand, SHL takes the jianghu/armor plot to the forefront. The focus on politics, more scenes with former members of Rong Xuan’s circle, even the fact that the key is not destroyed and the Armory gets opened in the finale – all of this is reasonable for a story where the jianghu/armor plot is the main plotline. However, it makes sense for the novel to skim or skip those, because the novel just isn’t about that.

To illustrate, let’s take a look at one particular event: Gao Chong’s loss of reputation and death by betrayal. In the show, it happens in front of our eyes, it’s in the focus, it is spread over two episodes… in the novel, it happens offscreen, and takes a total of two paragraphs as narrated by Gao Xiaolian. Why does the novel skip it? Because Gao Chong himself can not further our understanding of any of our main characters, so giving his death focus would not add anything to the main plot. Gao Xiaolian, however, now an orphan who lost her family and home, becomes a narrative parallel to both Wen Kexing and Zhang Chengling. That’s why Gao Chong’s death is presented to us through her, her feelings, her pain – for us to draw the comparison.

Again, it also makes sense for the show to have this event be in focus, given its importance to the jianghu/armor plotline.

So here’s where I think disconnect occurs: when you go from adaptation to source material, you naturally expect them to have the same plot, at least in general terms. And the armor plot does exist in the novel, so that expectation is seemingly fulfilled – except then over half of the plotline happens offscreen, and is delivered to the main cast in disjointed fragments with many a blank space. So if you came from the show, it naturally leaves you confused – why is the main plot so broken up? Why do characters completely forget about it at times?

But take a moment to look at it from another angle: as a secondary plot that is useful for furthering the themes and for spurring characters into action at times, but isn’t used when it isn’t needed. And consider also: is there a single part of the novel where nothing happens from the perspective of character exploration, character development, or relationship building? Then doesn’t it make sense to view that as the main plot?

In the end, while I personally prefer the novel’s focus on characters, it wouldn’t be fair to criticize SHL for shifting it to armor/jianghu plotline, as that decision was most likely made to accommodate c-nsorship. But it did create something of a misunderstanding for fans coming to the novel after watching the show, and that’s what I was hoping to address with this post.

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- TYK/SHL comparisons masterpost - - tyk meta masterpost -

#ofc its possible that other considerations also played part in switching the plot #such as that character exploration might not've worked as a plot for an action/adventure show (as opposed to book)#as well as the genre shift (or within genre shift?)#but whatever the reason. all i want is for people coming from the show to the novel to not be confused when they dont see what they expected #the novel's refusal to care about jianghu politics is not a bug but a feature. its very much deliberate.#its ok if its not to your taste. but its not bad writing.#tian ya ke #tyk #faraway wanderers #tian ya ke meta #word of honor #woh #shan he ling #shl #word of honor meta #tyk shl comparisons #priest novels

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dramas-vs-novels · 4 years ago

Note

How would you rank the various Iron Triangle members from different adaptations?

I decided to just rank the major recurring characters too!

** Ranking “Explore With the Note” // “Heavenly Palace on the Clouds” later after it’s done airing.

Wu Xie:

Zhu Yilong (The Lost Tomb Reboot)

Li Yifeng (The Lost Tomb 1)

Qin Hao (Tomb of the Sea)

Zeng Shun Xi (Ultimate Note)

Hou Minghao (The Lost Tomb 2)

Xiao Ge // Zhang Qiling

Huang Junjie (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Xiao Yu Liang (Tomb of the Sea, Ultimate Note)

Yang Yang (The Lost Tomb)

Cheng Yi (The Lost Tomb 2)

Wang "Fatty" Pangzi

Chen Minghao (Lost Tomb Reboot, Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Bo Yu (The Lost Tomb 2)

Cheng Fang Xu (Ultimate Note)

Liu Tian Zuo (The Lost Tomb)

Zhang Rishan

Zhang Mingen (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Ming’en (Mystic Nine)

Zhang Ming En (Ultimate Note)

Xie Yu Chen

Liu Xue Yi (The Lost Tomb 2)

Liu Yu Han (Ultimate Note)

Zhang “Lay” Yi Xing (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhang Xiao Chen (The Lost Tomb)

Hei Yanjing

Chen “Baron” Chu He (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Ji Chen (Tomb of the Sea)

Liu Yu Ning (Ultimate Note)

Wang Meng

Zhu Jie (Tomb of the Sea)

Zhu Jie (Ultimate Note)

Gao Qi Chang (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Wu San Xing // Xie Lian Huan

Yao Yi Chen (Lost Tomb 2; Young Wu Sanxing)

Yu Ming Xuan (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Ken Chang (The Lost Tomb)

Fan Ming (Ultimate Note)

Yu He Wei (Tomb of the Sea)

Yao Lu (Lost Tomb 2; Old Wu Sanxing)

Huo Xiu Xiu

Huang Yi (Lost Tomb 2)

Liu Ruo Yan (Ultimate Note)

Wu Yu Tong (Tomb of the Sea)

Ying Er (The Lost Tomb)

Wu Er Bai

Hu Jun (Lost Tomb Reboot)

Wang Jin Song (Ultimate Note)

Li Hu Cheng (Tomb of the Sea)

#the lost tomb #explore with the note #the lost tomb 2 #tomb of the sea #sand sea #reunion: the sound of the providence #the lost tomb reboot #wu xie #zhang qiling #xiao ge #wang pangzi #pangzi

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heretherebedork · 3 years ago

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I am here to hurt myself by watching WBL2. I know it ends in a reward but the beginning is nothing but agony and why I haven't watched it before. I am already in pain just from watching any tiny amount of pain of these boys.

lol I am literally refering to this as my day of atonement.

... I did make a very nice Rosh Hashanah post but that doesn't make me particularly religious, tbh. Cultural Judaism, yo.

Also, pain. Hi pain.

Ugh, I avoided this pain for so long. Now I'm here for it. One post. I'm only making this one post. @absolutebl I'm doing it! I know how much you love this, though.

Oh, fuck it, if I'm trying to limit all my rambling to one post I might as well read more it. I ramble so much.

Ep 1:

Oh look pain. Pain. And more pain. Yup. Yup. I hate this kind of plot even if I know it resolves well. At least it's not cheating but STILL hi dying. Shu Yi is a darling boy who deserved better than five years of nothing for any reason and Gao Shi De should have been better than that. Even knowing it ends well doesn't make this easier. dgkldf GODDAMN IT SELF. Just watch the show and stop being a baby about emotional pain.

Awww, the matching ties! I've seen that post a dozen times and love it every time and it's good to see.

The fucking way Gao Shi De just tries to walk back into his life without a second word or hesitation or thought makes me SO DAMN TWITCHY. Poor Shu Yi. Also, Gao Shi De deserves every punch and slap and uuughhh this show was designed to hurt me. I HATE relationships falling apart. Absolutely my least favorite trope/plot point of practically all time.I hate it I hate iiiit I hate it so muuuuuch.

I mean, damn, the acting here is amazing beyond words, obviously. But that just makes it hurt more. Especially Shu Yi's pain that he's put behind so much anger and work just to keep himself functional and it's damn gorgeous DAMNit.

Ep 2:

Darling Shu Yi deserved so much better. Even though Gao Shi De wasn't cheating on him, he deserved better than the silence and disappearance and he deserves the goddamn world. Ugh literally like a minute into the episode and already there is so much pain. I know they end up happy but I almost want to just tell Shu Yi to tell Gao Shi De to fuck off forever.

Nope, Gao Shi De, you deserve the pain. Shu Yi does't, you do, your upset doesn't get me upset. Shu Yi's pain is the only one I regret in this show. But, seriously, doing all this in front of the whole company is such a bastard move in his part honestly. Poor Shu Yi, seriously.

I do love my tiny obviously favorite character, though, and his tiny inability to sit and his tiny double hands for everything and I adore him beyond measure.

Ugh, Shu Yi choosing to fake the return of trust and friendship and love and I am proud of him for doing that and no, I don't care, Gao Shi De deserves it. I mean, it's not a good or healthy choice but, you know what, I'm okay with that.

But seriously. Poor Shu Yi. Has to deal with being ghosted and then Gao Shi De's return and then an extremely drunk ex crying on him when he's just trying to go to work... at midnight, okay, maybe not healthy either.

Ep 3:

Oh, Gao Shi De. You're an idiot. I mean that... only with a tiny bit of affection and mostly with me rolling my eyes. Making a promise to his dad wasn't bright of you. I mean, seriously, 5 years without contacting him, telling him what happened and on the condition that Shu Yi doesn't try to move on in five years of being completely ghosted. That's just dumb to an astonishingly level of dumb.

Ugh, poor Shu Yi. Your dad and your ex are both idiots and they deserve to get away from you just like you want. Seriously. You poor young man. You deserved so much better from the people you love.

But seriously fuck Gao Shi De and Shu Yi's dad. You're both idiots who don't deserve him. Especially his dad. But also especially Gao Shi De. Seriously. This is why we talk to people, damnit. Poor Shu Yi.

Why, yes, that's my main take away from this show. Shu Yi deserved so much better. Gao Shi De's need to constantly solve everything by himself is the biggest problem in the show, oy vey.

OF COURSE he wants to go back to that time. He was loved and loved and trusted you and happy and comfortable and who wouldn't want to go back to that?

Yu Zhen Xuan is my darling, obviously, and Pei Shou Yi's wanting to take care of him but also to stay away from him for his own sake. Oh, boys.

Ep 4:

I know they get better at some point. I really do. Shu Yi is still breaking my heart, though. I just want to see the poor darling smile and not in a flashback.

Oh, Shu Yi. You deserve the world, seriously. I mean, I'm glad you've managed to come back around to trying to believe in Gao Shi De. I really am. But man he doesn't deserve it. But also ugh, this embrace, utterly fantastic. Darling Shu Yi is finally smiling!

And poor Yu Zhen Xuan trying to ask about Pei Shou Yi so deseperately and being denied everything... ugh, I love him so much. But mostly just Yu Zhen Xuan wanting that connection so badly but always, again and again, denied and I just want to comfort him so badly. Yes, he's coming to you but, I mean, what is friendship but going to other people for comfort? Awww, the two ramens. The BABY.

But also darling Shu Yi is finally smiling and Gao Shi De does bring him comfort and love and they're genuinely good to and for each other, at least, once they're together. Now they just need to actually talk to each other about what happened.

The simultaneous "DAD" was gorgeous. Okay, that was really good.

Ep 5:

Ah, my long awaited darling boy's backstory that I know and love. The tiny panic and fear and the way he jumps and fights back at the tiniest thing... I love this feral teenager SO MUCH and then he grows up into a CTO for a major company and it's even better.

Plus, Pei Shou Yi looking for him after telling him not to come back because the mug got returned? Ugh, heartbreaking but in like a sad, small kind of way.

And the darling CEOs teasing each other in front of their employees while also in suits and being uplifting and good at supporting them? A+ how does one go about getting bosses like that? Also, how Shu Yi looks at Gao Shi De when he's being a good boss? Also A+.

Okay, yes, they're adorable and tiny and the piggyback ride while also in suits and looking fine is simple the best of the best and Gao Shi De taking care of Shu Yi while also confronting his father is frankly amazing. Oh, darling boys.

Gao Shi De, he already admitted that he did this entirely to trick you and Shu Yi is perfectly willing to take a stand against his father. Stop trying to win him over. Let Shu Yi handle his family. His dad's an idiot and he's not gonna listen to you.

Ep 6:

More backstory for my darling feral teenager and the doctor who took care of him at his lowest. I love them both so much. I wish they'd gotten more of a story but I'm not entirely sure I want a third season about them either.

Portable boyfriend! Well! Portable boy... friend...

Also, Shu Yi and Gao Shi De, you have no right to talk about them not communicating, seriously boys, love you to death but seriously communication... actually, honestly, Shu Yi is great at communication. He can criticize them. Gao Shi De has no right.

Pei Shou Yi, seriously, you say these things about not having any emotion but you also admit that you knew he evoked a response from you. You definitely remembered and had feelings about him when you were separated. I mean, you even saved the ramen that was his favorite. You looked for him. I know it's scary but that's okay.

Shu Yi is just so adorable about meeting the in-laws and being all awkward and adorable and it's beyond cute and then the talk about his dad and family and they're just adorable and domestic and sweet and how dare they.

Literally, Shu Yi is the best person in the world and the two people who love him most can learn a lot from him.

Ugh, Yu Zhen Xuan is my baby and I love him so much and he's just doing his best to be his best and he wants to love and be loved but he's trying so hard and I love him so much. He's just such a darling and he also deserves the world and to be loved just as he loves.

And we had to have another pool kiss, of course, what darlings.

Pei Shou Yei: I don't experience emotions... except the ones involved in protect Yu Zhen Xuan because those aren't emotions, those are just natural urges and don't count.

Awww, proposals are always adorable and sweet.

I did it! I've finally watched the whole thing, between dramacool and dailymotion I've managed to watch this show. Yay for me!

#bl drama #bl series #i'm not really gonna tag this #i'm so late to the game #but also agony #so you know #lol i finally did it #now my list of shows i have considered watching but chosen not to is at least one shorter

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elencelebrindal · 4 years ago

Note

If I'm not mistaken you've now read/watched the three mxtx works and WoH. How would you rank them following personal preference? Which main couple did you like the most? Favorite plot twists in all four?

Yep, I did. I still have to read Faraway Wanderers though. Can't wait to.

This came out to be quite a long post, so I'll put it under the read more thingy.

Now, how would I rank them?

I'll have Tian Guan Ci Fu at the top, no doubts. It's my absolute favorite among all these four, and will probably remain my favorite even after I finally get to read the huge thing that's 2ha. It's the perfect balance of a story with no characters left unexplained (except for the minor ones and RIP Hua Cheng's backstory, why did mxtx rob us so much), of characters being unique all in different ways, and of a romance that, while being absolutely the main focus of the novel, is not overwhelming. For me, an aro/ace person, the romance written in TGCF is so good that it made even me stupidly happy. I don't get such big smiles on my face while reading my own romantic content.

This is the ONLY novel I've ever read that doesn't have a single character I hate in it. Only one, maybe two at most, that I dislike. That's it. Everyone's good. Everyone.

Then I'll definitely have Word of Honor. Just like TGCF, it's a really good balance between an interesting story (I was literally squirming in my seat while impatiently waiting for things to be revealed, enjoying every second of it) and a subtle romance that was still obvious enough to make me wonder what the hell happened with censorship in this drama. Not that I'm complaining though.

Almost all the characters are incredibly good. They have depth to them, all the main ones have either a satisfying backstory or a beautifully crafted development.

And this is it for the ranking. I wrote way more than I should have, but oh well.

After that, it's a tie between Mo Dao Zu Shi and Scum Villain. I don't want to favor one over the other, because I genuinely like them the same. Scum Villain is really underrated, and while I understand it somewhat, it's really unfair.

MDZS (and The Untamed) has a story that draws you to it, especially if you (like me) have an obsession with all things dark and spooky and terrifying like the demonic cultivation in this, like the whole mystery they have to solve with body parts leading them to the solution. The drama, as good as it was, really didn't do justice to the spook factor of using dismembered parts of a corpse to move around.

SVSSS is straight up weird, literally an isekai but make it Chinese. I think the best part of it is Shen Yuan panicking and cussing everyone out every time something happens around him, though... I really loved the story and the way it played out. I especially liked how the novel kept mentioning Proud Immortal Demon Way and compared the events of that book to the events that were happening in that book's world.

But why do I prefer Word of Honor to them? Well, it's simple. There's some aspects of the romance that don't resonate well with me.

WangXian is a beautiful couple, and they deserve all the happiness in the world (they have a canonic son!!!!!!!!), but Wei WuXian's initial obliviousness made me really uncomfortable at times. Not because he didn't know Lan WangJi was in love with him (the fool! thank goodness for Guanyin Temple), but because he kept teasing Lan WangJi about it while the latter was drunk. I mean, I get it. If you don't know, you don't realize what you're doing. But as a person that easily suffers from people making fun of me behind my back... it kinds struck a nerve. I still love them to pieces, though, they're so good together.

BingQiu, well... this is a rollercoaster of a couple. Again, I absolutely love them together, but some parts come off almost as scenes where consent is thrown to the wind. As a reader you know Shen QingQiu is willing and in love (gods, they married each other, I'd be a fool to say the opposite), but there should be a limit to how many times a willing person should say "No" in such a novel. This is mostly me being my aro/ace self, though. I don't really understand what goes on in the world of intimacy between people because I (literally) don't give a fuck, so I'm probably reading too much where there's too little. Don't take this as me not liking BingQiu, I'm in love with them and I desperately need more content.

Favorite plot twists, eh? Okay, big SPOILER ALERT from here onwards. And I mean it. BIG. SPOILER. ALERT.

Now, which main couple did I like the most?

Hualian. I don't even need to think about it. Bonus point because they're both out of their minds and the extras show it.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. I never have smiles so big and goofy in front of anything else, not even my own stuff. Hualian genuinely makes me happy.

Stop reading if you haven't finished all four of these, please.

...

Okay, here I go.

WoH:

Wen KeXing faking his death and telling basically everyone but Zhou ZiShu.

The villain being Zhao Jing; I was actually fooled and thought the main bastard of the series was Gao Chong.

Episode 35, and I'm not saying anything else. Although, as soon as that son of a bitch put his hands on Cao Weining's face like that, I genuinely knew what was going to happen.

The hairpin being the key for the armory. That was so stunning I had to pause the episode for a second and take a walk around the house.

MDZS:

Jin GuangYao being the villain. And being an amazing villain, on top of that.

Nie Huaisang. Fuck's sake, that man fooled the entire fandom just like that. I don't think many people realized he was the one behind everything.

The golden core transplant reveal. I'm sure that more experienced readers and viewers (aka people that had read/watched a ton more cultivation world stuff) had hints of it, but when I watched The Untamed I never read/watched anything remotely close to this genre. It hit me like a brick and I sat in front of the screen in shock.

SVSSS:

Shang QingHua being Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky. It's such a silly thing, but it made me pause for a good five minutes. I wasn't expecting it in the slightest.

The whole thing with the Old Palace Master. The man belongs to the dumpster he never got thrown into.

Tianlang-Jun not actually being the villain. Poor demon, he just wanted to continue with the questionable hobby of reading porn and daydreaming about Shen QingQiu's relationships.

I think I had another one, but it's late and I'm probably forgetting it.

TGCF:

Oh boy, where do I belong? Ah yes, the entirety of book 4. Took me out on the spot.

Jun Wu being Bai WuXiang completely blew me away. That was probably the biggest plot twist in the history of plot twists.

Also, Ling Wen knowing, and her being the creator of the Brocade Immortal.

Fu Yao and Nan Feng being Feng Xin and Mu Qing. For some reason, even if it's kinda obvious when you take a good look at them, it never clicked before being revealed.

On the same note, Ming Yi being He Xuan, and the Earth Master being actually dead. What a ride that arc has been for me.

One of the most important details, however... I got it myself. The ring Hua Cheng gives to Xie Lian. I see so many people saying that they didn't expect the ring to be his ashes, but I did something I generally can't stop myself from doing. I guessed something tremendously important by accident, something I do with many many books so I can ruin the experience for myself. I was literally sitting down, taking a break from reading (I devoured TGCF in 3 days, I needed that break lol), and all of a sudden this goddamn revelation descend upon me like the holy spirit, completely out of the blue. I just sat up, looked at the screen, and went "the ring is is fucking ashes, isn't it?", and completely ruined the surprise for myself.

And this is it.

If there's more I forgot (probably) I don't know. For now, this is my answer. Way too long, as always.

#word of honor #woh #tian guan ci fu #tgcf #heaven official's blessing #svsss #scum villain #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #danmei #mdzs

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