#character: gong shang jue

[movielosophy]

My Journey To You | Gong Shang Jue

[shewholovestoread]

My Journey To You - Thoughts and Impressions Part 2 of 2 - The Characters

Part 1 HERE

The format of the post will be as follows:

1) Yun Wei Shan

2) Gong Zi Yu

3) Their Relationship

4) Shangguan Qian

5) Gong Shang Jue

6) Their relationship

Spoilers below, beware all who enter.

Yun Wei Shan:

On paper, Yun Wei Shan seems like a perfectly fine character, she's empathetic, kind in an unkind world and willing to go to extremes (even putting her life on the line) to protect those she loves and cares about. The problem is just that though, in a book, we would have access to her thoughts and her perspective which would make for interesting reading. But when viewed visually, it's not as compelling. Visually, you have a character who seems to have the range of 2 expressions and there's no sense of internal conflict. Take her 'allegiance' to Wufeng for instance. From the very beginning, we the audience, can tell that she's not truly aligned with them or their ideology. She doesn't agree with their methods and if not for her foster sister, Yun Que she would have quit long ago. Not even the poison that Wufeng uses to keep all their assassins in check, would stop her.

What I will commend her characters for is her innate kindness. She is kind in a world that should have snuffed that light out a long time ago and yet, it persisted. This was in no small part due to her bond with Yun Que. She wasn't simply a dorm-mate, a fellow assassin. She was a sister in every sense of the word. She had someone to care for and protect. Even her mentor, Han Ya Si, is not like the cold and unfeeling mentors we meet later. You can tell that he genuinely cares about those under him. For all intents and purposes, he raised these women since they were children and unlike the others, he doesn't view them as tools to be used and then discarded when no longer useful.

When she goes to the Gong Family as a prospective bride, we also know that Yun Que is dead, her one tangible tie to Wufeng is gone. She's now thrust into this family that Wufeng claims is their arch-nemesis but throughout the show, we never find out what her actual mission is, what is she after? Why was she sent? She's clearly not supposed to kill anyone. Evade discovery but then what? We never find out. But because she's not particularly loyal to Wufeng, there's never any sense of conflicting desire inside her. So in that sense, she becomes a very one-note-character.

In terms of character growth, there is very little. Throughout the series, her one desire for freedom which, in a sense she does achieve (if you ignore the last 5 minutes of the show) All her life, she's been told what to do and that love is a weakness. At the end, she chooses to stay with Gong Zi Yu and embraces her love for him and those around her.

Gong Zi Yu:

Gong Zi Yu is perhaps the weakest link among the four main leads. If Yun Wei Shan's growth seemed negligible, Zi Yu's felt unearned.

I understand what the writer and director were going for, they set him up as a contrast to the other clan warriors who are cold and calculative, he was warm and kind. He starts off the series as someone who doesn't much care for the Gong family traditions, preferring instead the company of courtesans, he likes poetry and music. However, with the sudden death of his father and brother, he's thrust back into the family and worse into the role of Sword Wielder (SW), the leader of the Gongs. To officially become the SW, he must pass 3 tests and this is where things become a little strange. He passes them with ease and it feels unearned because while others who trained their whole lives took considerably longer to pass those tests, he came in with essentially no training and aced.

Now, you can be special but the fact that you are "special" must be made noticeable in text, like foreshadow it, or leave subtle clues that hint at it. The show does none of this and instead just asks the audience to believe it. That is not how you write a compelling character.

He's also probably the least mature character in the show (and I'll get to big reveal in a bit) but his blatant disregard for the Gong family protocols more than once, illustrate his cavalier attitude. Another way of looking at this is that he breaks tradition because he wants to create a better world for the generations to follow but all of that gets negated at the end.

The big reveal at the end, where we realise that everything that happened since Yun Wei Shan's reveal as a Wufeng assassin, was his grand plan does not make sense one bit. It comes completely left of field with little to no set-up at all. There was no foreshadowing, no little seeds left by the writer/director, little things that the audience could notice upon rewatching the show. In their effort to be ‘unexpected’, they sacrificed coherent story-telling.

Even his relationship with Yun Wei Shan is boring. I get that it was meant to be sweet but sweet will only take you so far especially in a show where the tone is anything but that. I know we're meant to swoon because of how steadfast he is when it comes to her but there are times when it seems straight up stupid. She is an assassin who has infiltrated his family and her mission could possibly be to kill him or someone close to him. Unlike the audience, he doesn't know that she is kind and even if he sees it, how can he know that it's not a facade? This also makes it seem like their relationship has no stakes, like what could she possibly do to make him doubt her or vice-versa.

I know you could be thinking, "but this is a healthy relationship." Okay but how is it healthy? It would have been if they explicitly trusted each other and communicated (like a Dream of Splendor, now that was a healthy relationship) but Zi Yu and Yun Wei Shan don't do that either, at least she's not always honest. If we're meant to believe that they do indeed communicate, then we need to see it, you can't plug it in as an extension of a previous scene and call it a day.

One of the best ways of making a compelling couple is the push and pull of the relationship and this ship had all of the ingredients; The Assassin and The Target, both suspicious of each other but inexplicably drawn together, so much sexual tension and angst. Instead, all we got was bland love at first sight and then sticking through it.

Shangguan Qian:

Shangguan Qian is the other assassin sent by the Wufeng (why send only one when you can send two and double your chances of success) and her character is infinitely more delicious than Yun Wei Shan's.

Shangguan Qian is very hard to pin down and stays so till pretty much the end of the series. Her motives are complex and you can never tell just whose side she's on. I also love the way she gradually warms up to the Gong brothers. I think that Wufeng feeds it's assassins a lot of lies about the family and her being with them, i think starts to dispel some of the myths.

She is also set-up as a foil to Yun Wei Shan. Where Wei Shan is kind and straighforward, Shangguan Qian is cold and unpredictable. Her demeanour makes sense when you look at her relationship with her mentor, Han Ya Qi, who in contrast to Han Ya Si, does seem to view his pupils as expendable. He recognises, correctly, that the only person Shangguan Qian cares about her is herself and that's because of the world she was raised in, caught in a perpetual dance between survival and death, there was little time for luxuries like love.

But even here, the show and Shangguan Qian surprise us. At the end, we learn that Han Ya Qi did take steps to protect Shangguan Qian and when he is at death's doorstep, alone, she does come back for him and tries to save him. The Shangguan Qian we met at the beginning of the series, would have left him there to die without a backward glance. Her time with the Gongs and especially with Yun Wei Shan and Lady Wuji, gave her glimpse of what life could be like, it's subtle but it's there. Every time Wei Shan helps her without asking for anything in return, there's always a beat where you can tell that Shangguan Qian is wondering what her motives could be. She never trusts the other women fully, they are after all Wufeng assassins but I do believe, by the end of the series, her opinion of them is kinder at the very least.

I also loved how unapologetic Shangguan Qian is. She's not sitting there wringing her hands, fussing over things she has to do. To her knowledge, if she fails her mission, she dies. Her mentor doesn't seem to care beyond training her, she has no one to fall back on. She has a job to do and she's gonna do it to the best of her abilities.

I must also talk about the actress, Lu Yu Xiao, and her performance. Her character is someone who is always on alert, always plotting her next move, carefully observing those around her for weaknesses she can exploit. She goes from seductive to hurt to unaffected in a beat and conveys it all through her eyes and the minutest of facial expressions. Her performance is so understated and it's a pleasure to watch.

Gong Shang Jue:

Gong Shang Jue is the resident emo dude and he is easily one of the best characters in the show. He makes no bones about his opinion of Zi Yu and for the most part, his criticisms are on point. He is an also incredibly traumatised character, having lost his mother and younger brother during the previous Wufeng attack. His zeal, therefore, to find and root out any and all Wufeng assassins who could have infiltrated the family makes sense, he's already lost the people closest to him, he doesn't want to lose any more. He is so single-minded that he doesn't even spare his own prospective bride when he suspects her of being from Wufeng.

Unlike Zi Yu, Shang Jue realises why the Gongs put in the protocols that they did. At the beginning of the show, he is painted in a more antagonistic light (this is to land the big reveal at the end) but you can see that Shang Jue doesn't really care about power. His quest for position of SW, is more about keeping his family safe and he believes that he is the best candidate for that job.

His cold exterior only ever cracks when he's with his other brother Gong Yuan Zhi (he's the resident psychopath) With Yuan Zhi, you can see what Shang Jue could have been like, if not for the events of the past.

The relationship between Shang Jue and Shangguan Qian is a treat to watch. There was so much sexual tension between them, so much suppressed yearning, I loved it. Theirs was such a cat and mouse game with each constantly trying to outwit the other.

Is it a healthy relationship? Not really, he literally interrogates her and threatens to torture her even more if she doesn't talk. But he's not someone who is demonstrative of his emotions and feelings, like I don't think he knows how to open up. But with Shangguan Qian, his cold heart begins to thaw and you can see that in their interactions.

Every time, Shangguan Qian initiates physical intimacy or tries to, you can see the confusion on his face and the inner conflict. On the one hand, he doesn't fully trust her and is suspicious of her motives, but on the other, there is a part of him that genuinely likes and yearns for it. There are instances where he wants to reach out to her or touch her but always holds himself back.

Shangguan Qian is also only ever honest with Shang Jue, she tells him the truth and I think a lot of their later interactions (at least on her part) are largely genuine.

They are also unnervingly similar to each other, both owe their allegiance to something larger than themselves and are shaped by their trauma (Shangguan Qian with the loss of her entire family and Shang Jue with the death of his mother and brother) They are drawn to each other despite everything because they see that they are the only people who are capable of understanding exactly what the other is going through.

What differentiates them however, is that while Shang Jue is driven by loyalty, Shangguan Qian is driven by vengeance and therein lies their greatest obstacle, the one thing that neither is willing to compromise. They are so beautifully written and executed that, even knowing that it could never work out, they still make the audience root for them.

And yet, by the end of the show, they are both fundamentally different people. Shang Jue chooses to let her go when he finds out she's pregnant and instead of going back to Wufeng, Shangguan Qian chooses to stay in a small isolated house with azaleas planted around the house. She chooses to peace and safety for her unborn child over her thirst for revenge.

If there is to be a season 2, a Shangguan Qian and Shang Jue reunion is inevitable and I for one, would love to see how that unfolds...

[sarah-yyy]

Sorry to bother you, is My journey worth watching?

what: period cdrama // completed // 24 eps, roughly 50 mins each where: iqiyi (i think most eps are still vip-locked) (standard disclaimer that i don't use eng subs so i don't speak to the quality of the subs) why: ngl, i was in it purely for zhang linghe to start, but then got !!! over cheng lei and lu yuxiao, and was too invested to quit even when the plot got sloppy. extremely gorgeous cast, extremely gorgeous set. the cinematography?? chef's kiss. you can see the budget for this show was good. the relationship between the characters? v interesting.

story revolves around the Gong family who is v prominent in jianghu even though they live up in the mountains and keep themselves sequestered away from the rest of jianghu. the Gong family itself is split into 4 different factions: Shang, Jue, Zhi, Yu.

Yu 羽 - the Yu household deals with internal affairs. the head of the Yu household is the head of the Gong family (the title is Sword Wielder or zhiren)

this is our male lead, gong ziyu (a baby). second son of the Yu household. his dad is the zhiren and his big bro (gong huanyu) is the named heir who will inherit the zhiren position. has a v lukewarm relationship with his dad. introduced as being quite useless. his martial arts is :/ and he sees no need to improve his skills etc because his brother will be there to protect him.

is quite suddenly thrust into the position of zhiren when his dad and his brother die under ~mysterious circumstances :(

Jue 角 - the Jue household deals with...external affairs, they are the ones who leave the mountain to Get Things Done outside and manage all relationships/partnerships outside

gege step on me this boy is gong shangjue, head of the jue household. he is The Man. the pride and joy of the gong family. everyone (*cough*i say everyone but really yuanzhi-didi does it enough that he counts for everyone*cough*) worships him. martial arts skills?? loyalty to the gong family?? incredibly attractive resting bitch face??? he is a 10 no matter how you assess him.

missed out on being the zhiren by virtue of him not being home when tragedy struck the old zhiren and gong ziyu's brother. doesn't think gong ziyu has what it takes to be zhiren and take care of the Gong family. my boy gong shangjue would make an Excellent zhiren tbh

do i have to seduce y'all into watching this i think i have to:

Shang 商 - the Shang household develops/produces weaponry

for most of it, the show has a p dark vibe, BUT whenever gong zishang shows up, we know we're in for some laughs. this zishang-jiejie is the eldest daughter of the head of the Shang household.

her father doesn't take her v seriously because she's a girl (also because she's always following behind gong ziyu's personal bodyguard jin fan like this: 😍💖🤞🏼; valid life choices tbh because same) but she does take her craft v seriously! ride or die for gong ziyu.

Zhi 徵 - the Zhi household develops poisons

YUANZHI-DIDI!! this boy loves two things: poisons and gege. #1 gong shangjue fanboy at least 10 years in a row. parents died when he was p young, and gong shangjue took him under his wing. whiz at poisons and v fight fight fight (ง •̀_•́)ง. is suspicious about everything and VERY protective of his gege.

alright that's the main Gong sibs all sorted. there's also an assortment of Inner Mountain (houshan) characters that are v interesting but i won't get into because 1) spoilers, 2) this post will get too long if i get to talk about hua-gongzi and xue-gongzi/xue-tongzi.

okay so the Gong family live in p much a fortress up in the mountains. no outsiders are allowed in, and only a select few are allowed out of the Gong family territory at all. we learn that this is to protect the Gong family from Wu Feng, a spy organisation which has p much taken over jianghu. Wu Feng learns that the Gong family will be holding a bride selection contest thingy for gong huanyu, and sends:

yun weishan, a low-ranking assassin in Wu Feng (Chi, the lowest out of 4 ranks chi, mei, wang, liang), disguised as a bride.

her mission is to be picked by gong huanyu as his bride, and become the next zhiren-furen so she can p much feed intel to Wu Feng. when gong huanyu and the old zhiren both croak, her attentions turn to gong ziyu who is by that point already 😍🥰😘 over her anyway NO SURPRISES. the 恋爱脑 on that boy istg, absolutely head no thoughts only yun weishan at least 20 hours in a day.

shangguan qian, a higher-ranking assassin (Mei, one rank above yws) in Wu Feng

my love my wife her mission is a little different from yws. her target isn't anyone from the Yu household but gong shangjue instead. the goal is to get her hands on this secret weapon (this is also a v HMMM part of the plot but no matter we endure what we have to) that the Gong family is safeguarding.

the relationship between these two wu feng spies is so interesting too!! they're not friends, not exactly allies, but also not quite enemies. they will help each other out if they really have to (and only if it doesn't jeopardise their own positions and there is adequate compensation), but will also not hesitate to stab each other in the backs if it serves their respective missions.

i needed like 100000 more scenes of them together ngl

ANYWAY the plot revolves around the Gong family trying to Catch The Spy, the Wu Feng spies trying to Complete Their Mission, gong ziyu trying to Prove Himself as the zhiren, and ofc there's romance sprinkled around. that's p much the gist of the show.

listen listen listen... i know this show has a bad rep in the cdrama circles, i agree. the plot is......HMM and it tries to hard to be one of those clever mysteries when it should just be what it is which is p much an idol drama?? i mean...it is a guo jingming show, we weren't going in expecting to be wowed by the plot. i think if they'd just stuck to the basics, this would have been a stronger show, but imo this wasn't bad bad. the worldbuilding was good and the characters were interesting, and like i said, the whole thing is shot really beautifully!!

the ending was......but i'll keep this spoiler free and just say that it was HMMMMM and v unnecessary what they did.

with the preface that i watched it without much expectations as to the plot, i enjoyed a lot of parts of the show! it's an incredibly easy watch, and because it's only 24 eps, the pacing is quick and conflicts don't tend to drag on for too long. if you're looking for some easy entertainment, i'd say go for it, but if you have Standards regarding plot etc, this is probably not the show for you

[simply-whump]

My Journey to You (云之羽) - Whump List

Whumpees : Gong Zi Yu played by Zhang Ling He, Gong Shang Jue played by Ryan Cheng and Gong Yuan Zhi played by Tian Jia Rui

Synopsis : The series tells the story of Yun Wei Shan, a spy longing for freedom, who infiltrates the Gong residence to complete a mission. In the eerie and treacherous Gong residence, she encounters love and friendship, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and finds the determination to move forward. Together with the rebellious nobleman Gong Zi Yu, they grow and mature through their shared experiences. (MDL)

Genres : Romance, Wuxia, Fantasy, Mystery

Note : In Chinese dramas, my attention is usually focused on the male lead but here it was the other characters that caught my eyes! The fights were also beautiful.

Warning! Possible spoilers below!

Gong Zi Yu

Didn't like him at first but he grew on me, especially towards the end

Ep 1 : None

Ep 2 : Fighting, hit, grabbed by the neck — Called a failure, teary-eyed, upset

Ep 3 : Crying, grieving — Crying

Ep 4 : Slapped

Ep 5 : Crying

Ep 6-7 : None

Ep 8 : Crying — In an ice bath, cold

Ep 9 : In bed, sleeping, agitated, wakes up

Ep 10 : Dives into icy water, almost drowns, saved

Ep 11-14 : None

Ep 15 : Takes poison willingly, in pain, passes out — Coughing blood, in bed, looked after

Ep 16 : Worried for someone, crying

Ep 17 : None (But damn I nearly cried at the end of this episode )

Ep 18 : Crying

Ep 19 : None

Ep 20 : Crying

Ep 21 : Crying (you may think he cries a lot seeing this list but… there is a lot of sad stuff)

Ep 22 : The plot twist was so satisfying — Fighting, face scratched, hit, spitting blood, poisoned?, helped to walk, collapses — Energy transferred to him

Ep 23 : Crying — Suddenly in pain after standing up, coughing blood

Ep 24 : None (If you want a satisfying ending, don't watch the last 5 min)

Gong Shang Jue

The charisma of this man was off the charts, I was rooting for him for the whole drama

Ep 1-10 : None

Ep 11 : Teary-eyed

Ep 12 : None

Ep 13 : Crying — Worried for Yuan Zhi

Ep 14-17 : None

Ep 18 : Cool fight

Ep 19 : Cool fight (3 vs 1, so unfair) —Unconscious, blood at his mouth, concern for him —Unconscious in bed — (Flashback) Injured by Zi Yu — (Present) In a lot of pain (Too complicated to explain why)

Ep 20-22 : None

Ep 23 : Fighting, hit, spitting blood, hit again, unconscious, concern for him

Ep 24 : Teary-eyed

Gong Yuan Zhi

Great Whump! Also I loved his brotherly relationship with Shang Jue.

Ep 1-3 : None

Ep 4 : Slapped

Ep 5 : Teary-eyed

Ep 6-8 : None

Ep 9 : Fighting — Bruises on his back treated

Ep 10 : None

Ep 11 : Crying

Ep 12 : Crying — Teary-eyed 

Ep 13 : Stabbed by a piece of glass in the chest, collapses, put to bed, piece of glass painfully removed from his body, in a lot of pain, bleeding from the mouth, passes out (almost killed accidentally by his beloved brother) — (Flashback) Crying — (Present) Unconscious in bed, looked after, inner energy transferred to him, wakes up briefly 

Ep 14 : In bed, given medicine 

Ep 15-17 : None

Ep 18 : Fighting, sword at his neck, restrained, gagged, paralysed, bites himself on purpose, bleeding, released 

Ep 19 : Fighting — Treating bruises on his back — Teary-eyed

Ep 20-22 : None

Ep 23 : Fighting, hit, spitting blood, grabbing a blade with his bare hands, collapses, bleeding from the mouth, worried for Shang Jue, groaning in pain, crawling towards him, crying, screaming — (Flashback) Poisons himself to know the effect of a poison — (Present) Hit 

Ep 24 : None

>> More Whump Lists

[koremakaria]

Love, Loyalty, and Lethal Revenge

Gong Shang Jues and Shangguan Qian

Characters' Analysis and Speculations (Long Post) 

While I love our main hero and his coming of age story in My Journey to You. I just can’t help being pulled in by our second main couple. Who can resist this pairing?

One a Stone Cold Warrior and One a Deadly Scheherazade  

But before we begin, I’d like to make it clear that I don’t consider My Journey to You as a romance drama. If you come in with the mindset of it being a romance story then there might be a lot of disappointment on how things ultimately play out. Rather, I think of the drama as a coming of age, family melodrama with romantic elements. Yes, the romantic elements are a prominent part of the drama but they enhance the story rather than being the central focus.

So with that out of the way … this is just my personal thought on this pairing.

Loyalty: Protect the Family

The theme of loyalty is prevalent throughout the story. Protect the family. Protect the clan. Protect the ones you love. Both Gong Shang Jues and Shangguan Qian are very similar in this respect.

Gong Shang Jues (GSJ), the stone cold warrior with an impenetrable armored exterior but with a heart softer than a melted marshmallow on a stick over a pit of open flame. He always put his family’s safety above everything. His purpose in life is to live to protect the family. You can see this when he mentors Gong Yuan Zhi while also quietly helping Gong Zi Yu to improve his martial arts skills. He steps up and took on the older brother role quite seriously. This seems to come natural to him. Power and status don’t matter to him as long as the family is safe. He’s content to just do what he can to keep the family safe.

Shangguan Qian (SGQ), the Scheherazade, weaving tales and killing foes, is also devoted to her family. If you believe her story of the Gushan Sect massacre (personally I do) then she’s as devoted to her family as Gong Shang Jues is devoted to his. The only problem is that her family is like all dead. And NO. They didn’t die the normal way (plague, natural disaster, old age) as they were massacred. So, my girl is hell bent on avenging her family. She lives to take the lives of those that wronged her and her family. She would and could do ANYTHING to get this revenge. She’s a spy/assassin infiltrating the Gong family so that she can get her hands on a deadly weapon for her revenge plan.    

Tensions: This deadly weapon is not for sale and it’s not supposed to leave the Gong family. So yeah. We have a problem. In fact, we have a big problem. When SGQ asks GSJ for help with her revenge plan after they “consummated” their “marriage” there are at least two ways to look at it.

One: she’s being truthful and is genuine in offering him everything in return for his help.

Two: she’s wants to gain his trust and sympathy by weaving a tragic story and everything is a lie

Now, it is important to note that when SGQ asks for help, she said she’d already tried multiple times but failed and so she needs help. She made it super clear that she’d give him everything in return for this revenge to which GSJ replies in a condescending tone with ‘what else do you have?’ which is very cruel considering that they had just slept together. (Yes the pool scene. Yes THAT pool scene)

My man, Gong Shang Jues, was brutal here. To be honest, I was shocked by his reaction, but it made sense to me. He’s quietly exerting his power here telling Shangguan Qian that he has the upper hand. After all she is asking for a favor.  Also we have to remember that these two never fully trust one another. They play a game of cat-and-mouse constantly … sometimes deliberately surrendering to move their chess piece forward. You have to read between the lines. They know that the other party is keeping something from them so it’s in character for GSJ.  He’s not fully trusting her here because her association with the Wu Feng Sect and his obligation to protect his Gong family. She’s not fully trusting him because she knows that his family’s safety will always be his priority and she’s not sure where she ranks in his heart.

Love: The Heart is a Mysterious Little Thing

Gong Shang Jues (GSJ) is the stone cold warrior on the outside. He’s the perfect emo-heavy metal band-heartthrob. Pretty standard issue. You know the drill … exuding dark vibes … extremely skilled and highly competent … I mean that alone is pretty hawt … but get this … he also comes fully equipped with a tragic backstory! So he’s the complete package.

In the love department, GSJ doesn’t really have time for all that stuff, he’s too busy protecting the Gong family but when the clan’s elders were like yeah … your duty to the family also includes … (check notes) … producing heirs … so best get on with it, my boy … soo GSJ decided on a bride that he wants to keep an eye on since he suspects that she’s a spy.

We then learned that despite his hard outer shell, his inner heart is soft. He probably doesn’t like the violence of their world all that much but is extremely competent in order to protect his family. Like this guy is a family man … like you guys …he’s ready to beef with anyone who threatens his family.

Shangguan Qian (SGQ) is a noble lady with gentle dispositions on the outside. She carries herself like a beautiful flower, delicate, soft, and bright. However, on the inside her heart is stronger than steel. She is a spy and she uses manipulation to get things to go her way … but if you believe her story about the Gushen Sect then she’s also doing everything for her revenge plan so her heart is also with her family.

Tensions: In terms of romantic love, these two were way too busy to even think about love. One is focusing on protecting his family. One is focusing on a revenge plan for her dead family (again if you believe her story). Love kind of crashed into them instead.

For Gong Shang Jues, he won’t ever say it out loud but Shangguan Qian is the exact type of girls he’d be into. For one, she’s very intelligent. She knows how to survive in dangerous situations. She seems devoted to her family (again if you believe her story). Her heart is so strong that nothing … and I mean nothing will come between her revenge plan. For someone with a soft heart, Shangguan Qian is the perfect match for him. He’s given his all to his family and just wants someone who understands him. SGQ gets him. It could be because she needs to manipulate him but there has to be moments he felt seen when she voices his thoughts and feelings out loud without him telling her about them.  

For Shangguan Qian, she is attracted to Gong Shang Jues’ soft heart because hers has been hardened through years of training plus her tragic past. If you believe the story of her family’s massacre than both she and GSJ are victims of Wu Feng’s thirst for power. It’s difficult to say for certain but maybe she doesn’t want to be this way. Maybe she doesn’t want to be the cold and calculating spy. (note: she talked a lot about having feelings and empathy with our FL a lot) If she accomplishes her revenge mission then maybe she can rest. Be her true self which we never get to see since her mission is still pending.

SGQ is attracted to GSJ’s good heart. She lives alone in a world of power struggle and only the lies she tells are keeping her safe and alive. It’s a really sad and lonely place to be. She can’t trust anyone because her ‘rescuer’ turned out to be her enemy who trained her to kill presumably good people.

So …to know that GSJ will do anything and everything for his family, there has to be moments where she yearns to be ‘one of his people’ to be his family … to rest under his protection. Wouldn’t it be nice to be protected … for once in her life. To have her heart at peace. When she tells the story of their first meeting, GSJ protected her from a group of thugs and he did so out of principle. Like he didn’t know her, he was just a good guy doing normal things that good guys do. But for someone like SGQ … that must have been a rare and precious experience. To be protected. Must be nice. But she wouldn’t really know.

Lethal Revenge: You Have Your Family and I Have Mine

So here we are again, back to this little revenge plot that may or may not be true. It could be completely true, partly true, or not true at all. Personally, I am choosing to believe SGQ because she also had a similar conversation with another person.

To me, it doesn’t really matter if the revenge plot is true or not. The important thing is what Gong Shang Jues believes to be true because my girl, Shangguan Qian, is sticking to her story like krazy glue. So now the ball is in his court. What to do … indeed … what to do?

Gong Shang Jues (GSJ). In the grand scheme of things, the revenge plot (killing Dian Zhu) is not harming the Gong family. In fact, it probably will benefit a lot of people. Shangguan Qian is not asking him to kill an innocent person but rather a dangerous person who committed a lot of bad deeds. So, my girl is not like asking for something so outrageous but yeah Shangguan Qian happened to want the Gong’s family secret weapon that is forbidden to outsiders so yeah … this is… in fact … a problem. Gong Shang Jues is not helping mainly because is undecided on her revenge story.  

Shangguan Qian (SGQ). Home girl here is like willing to risk it all for a chance to kill her enemy. She really needs to steal the blueprint of the Gong’s family secret weapon. I mean she might not need to steal it … if Gong Shang Jues had agreed to help her but he had not and like she doesn’t have all day to wait around for an answer that might be a big NO.

Can you really blame her? She’s just sticking to her mission. Her heart is so strong and hardened that she’s willing to show the Gong family’s enemies a way inside the clan’s territory. Important to note here that we don’t know if she thought the Gong family could handle this wave of attack but the point is that she was focused on getting the secret weapon for her own revenge plan. Putting her dead family above his. But even with this, something is not quite adding up. There was a brief scene prior to the attack that GSJ told GYZ that there was a task that only SGQ could do for him. Was he talking about SGQ's spreading information about the Gong family's weakness? Like were there working together? It's not exactly clear.

Now some people would say that she betrays GSJ’s trust and that she wanted the Wu Feng people to kill him. That’s valid. And maybe it is true. We don’t have enough information to conclude this for certain. Also, Gong Shang Jues never fully trusted Shangguan Qian. In order to betray someone, you first need them to trust you. It’s like the ONE requirement for a betrayal. Soooo yeaahhh … I’m sympathetic to Shangguan Qian here. My girl is like just trying to get her revenge for her family … if Gong Shang Jues won’t help then best be getting out of my way boy!

Tensions: The main tension here is what to believe. Does Gong Shang Jues believe in Shangguan Qian’s story of revenge? Because this is basically the make or break of their relationship … like she’s doing all these shady things for it. She even told him about it. Had asked him for help … practically begging him to help her … but Gong Shang Jues still has doubts in his heart.

Their final confrontation/conversation was exactly this. She’s taking half the blueprint trying to get out and execute her revenge plan but he’s like, babe … I already told you, you can’t check it out of the library. It’s a restricted material for internal circulation only. And so they fought and she lost.

But! He doesn’t kill her. He didn’t even restrain her when he could easily do so. No. They just talk … albeit with him pointing a sharp sword at her throat. But the point is that he’s being so nice here when he didn’t need to be. She’s a security risk. An enemy of the family.

She refused to hand back the blueprint and he can’t let her go with it since you know his whole personality is all about protecting the family. She talked about her revenge plan again and Gong Shang Jues said that he didn’t believe her words since he doesn’t have enough evidence to back it up. This man is all about being competent and thorough.

But Shangguan Qian then tells him that she’s not lying. That the revenge plan is real. That her family massacre was very real. She steps closer to him despite the sword at her throat and whispers something that short circuited Gong Shang Jues momentarily before making her escape. During this exchange, GSJ managed to get the blueprint back through a quick sleight of hand movement. It looked too easy … so I can’t quite decide if GSJ was just super skilled or if SGQ somehow decided to let him take the blueprint from her. Jury is still out on this. Dear readers this is up to you to decide. What to believe.

It was later revealed that she told him that she is currently carrying a Gong bloodline. Like my girl is preggo. Or at least she said that she was.

When you really think about it. She's showing him all of her cards. It's now all on the table. Like, if true, then he knows everything about her. She's not hiding anything from him.

And GSJ just watched her leave.

What! The! Hell!   

Speculations

In the realm of speculations, anything and everything is possible my dear friends. [release your inner demonssss!!! hehehe] Maybe I’m just reading too much into things but in any case we’re in the land of speculations so if you would be so kind … I’ll remain here in my little delulu corner.

A lot of people view this relationship as doom and tragic. A pair of star crossed lovers who can never be together because of their duties and obligations.

While I understand why some people would lean this way, personally I don’t think that it’s a ‘sad ending’ for these two. I don’t even think that there is an ending … not yet anyways.

Some of the clues that were given to viewers throughout the drama suggest a potential happy ending for Gong Shang Jues and Shangguan Qian.

Now it’s all speculation so who knows. But I am happy to be delulu to protect my heart and my sanity.  

Clue 1: The Azalea Flowers (I belong to you forever)

Throughout the drama, SGQ tried many ways to please GSJ. She wanted to manipulate his feelings toward her and he knew of it. Knew what she was up to. There was a conversation in EP 17 about whether he’d like the azalea plant that has yet to blossom and GSJ said that the flowers will bloom soon and she will know whether he likes it or not. Yeah …  I don’t think they’re talking about the azalea here. I think he’s saying that soon she’d know if he has fallen for her and in the process give her his trust. But he has not decided yet since the flower has yet to bloom.  

Then we see the azalea again in EP 24 with the flowers blooming and GSJ thinking about SGQ. We never got to hear his answer. Does he like her or not? And more importantly does he believe her revenge story? Not to mention the Gong baby story!!! Because this is where he needs to make a decision. He didn’t throw away the plant so he needs to decide on what to do next. Do you really think that GSJ will just let his baby go? To live a dangerous life out there in the world without him … yeah dream on sister! Remember GSJ is all about family. He’s the poster child for a family man. If there is a baby, you better bet your money on him being there.   

But then he would have to believe her words. And by that extension, he would have to believe in her. The last time the two talked it out, GSJ said that he doesn’t trust her words. If he doesn’t believe her revenge story then he won’t believe that she’s carrying his child. The two stories are now tied together. So whatever he decides here will be monumental.

For Shangguan Qian, we see her somewhere safe (for now), watering a bunch of azalea flower plants. Why do this? Is it just for sentimentality? Seems kind of odd for someone who warned FL to not fall for her mark. Could it be that she’s betting on GSJ believing in her story, both the revenge story and the baby story. I mean the two are tied together now. Is she just like chilling and waiting for him to come and find her? With his skills and how competent he is, like it wouldn’t be that hard.

Clue 2: The Gong Baby Story

We do not have sufficient evidence to prove or disprove this story. It’s literally just something you have to decide on your own. But there were a few clues given that it’s true. First, in EP 18 we see SGQ putting something in her tea and thinking about her time with GSJ then decided not to drink it. We don’t know what it is in that drink but in dramaland … it was probably a contraceptive tea to prevent pregnancy since she slept with him in the last EP.

Now why would she go and do something like that? A baby is a huge responsibility especially if you’re set on carrying out a dangerous revenge plan. But she took that risk. Why? Is she betting on GSJ coming over to her side eventually … even when he never gave her a clear answer? Maybe. It’s definitely a possibility.

Also, she didn’t accomplish her mission given by Wu Feng (even if she doesn’t want to work for this shady organization) and so she couldn’t really return there. If she really is pregnant then she would need to go somewhere safe to carry the child to term and as long as Wu Feng lives the baby will never be truly safe as a Gong baby. This could serve as a motivation to completely clear out the Wu Feng people for GSJ but first he’d have to believe that there is a baby.

Clue 3: “What Else Do You Have?”

So we circle back to this scene where SGQ offered GSJ everything in exchange for his help with her revenge plan. He was sorta looking down on her, maybe not believing her story. Maybe it’s another one of her many lies and half-truths …

SGQ: “So, if you can help me revenge and kill Dian Zhu. I’m willing to give up everything”

GSJ: “Everything?”

SGQ: “emm, everything”

GSJ: “What else do you have?”

Like this was the conversation they had after they slept together. It’s quite cruel for GSJ to say something so crass. He could have meant that she doesn’t have anything he wanted but given that this is a period piece and he’d just slept with her. To say that she doesn’t have anything of value that she could give him / bargain with him was so brutal. He’s basically saying that if he helps her then it’s because he wants to. That he had already slept with her. That he had taken everything she had. That she has nothing else to offer.  

Then … before she left in EP 24 she told him that she is carrying his child … BOOM … mic drop!

Because it’s actually something that Gong Shang Jues doesn’t have. This child (if true) is very precious to the Gong family. We are told that the mountains cause fertility issues and with the last Wu Feng’s attack, they lost a lot of family members including many young ones. So, a baby is definitely a big deal. A very very very big deal.

But GSJ would have to believe SGQ for any of it to matter and SGQ would have to be pregnant for real. But even if she wasn’t, they could try again. Because the point of her telling him that she’s with child is to remind him that only she (a woman) has the ability to bear children and his question to her “what else do you have?” well my boy … SGQ has the ability to give him children. It doesn’t have to be her specifically but GSJ sorta like her and he has to marry and have children eventually … as part of his duty to his clan … so now he has a decision to make. 

So what now …

Gong Shang Jues has to make a decision on his feelings for Shangguan Qian.

Believe her story (revenge and baby) or to not believe her story

If the answer is no … then they remain separate (I don’t believe in this. Let me be delulu)

If the answer is yes … then in my very humble opinion he’d go look for her and their story would continue …

I’m optimistic about their story. Why leave the audience with all these clues? And they’re both alive and well … SGQ is not exactly in hiding and if GSJ really wants to find her, well, he’d only have to get on his high horse and ride out.

Wow … that was a lot … I don’t even know if anyone would read this so if you made it this far … I hope it wasn’t too painful and thank you so much for reading.

[xiaolanhua]

my thoughts on My Journey to You

Disclaimer: there will be spoilers below the cut!

Firstly I have to say that this was a drama I was anticipating so much and it was mainly because of two reasons: the cast and the director. The news of Esther doing another drama with Ling He made me very excited to watch the drama even before knowing what the show was about and when I saw that Edward Guo was the director, I knew I HAD to watch it because I loved the movie The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity that was also directed by him. When the trailer dropped I almost cried of happiness of how good it looked! And I know trailer can be deceiving some times but still got me excited and looking forward the release. 

After watching the first episode I was very overwhelmed by it because since from the start the drama showcased amazing visuals, top notching costumes and an intriguing plot. And I felt the same feeling after watching every episode because it always got better and better.

So I will divide my thoughts in categories:

Characters:

One thing that made me really interested in the drama was the characters because they weren’t written shallowly. Although the english title for the drama is “My Journey to you” I think it should be called “A journey to yourself” because the main thing I got from characters is that they were on a journey to find their identity. 

Weishan was a Wufeng spy/assassin but she wanted to be more than that, she wanted freedom to live as her real self that it was taken from her.

Ziyu always felt neglected by his father and it was one of the reasons he had no aspirations and didn’t know what he was and what he wanted.

Shang Jue was definitely the most suitable to be the World Wielder, he was capable, logical and already passed the three trials of the three realms but still felt like it wasn’t enough and lived blaming himself after what happened with this mother and brother.

Yuan Zhi had literally a brother complex with Shang Jue because he also blamed himself for what happened with Shang Jue’s little brother and lived his life trying to be the perfect brother to him.

Zi Shang was always downlooked by the others in the Gong family, mostly because she is a woman and didn’t meet expectations that they had for her, she was really smart but people always though of her being a superfluous woman who goes after man.

Jin Fan was a talent since he was a kid and had to give up the most precious thing to him that it was being a Red Jade Guardian so to meet the expectations of being a good guardian to Ziyu he had to shut down the things he wanted and the things he felt.

Shangquan is the only character I couldn’t really get into it because it’s hard to know what she really feels and thinks :(

So, with that being said, I think the development of the characters where they try to find their real selfs was the most solid thing in the drama. 

Visuals:

Another thing that makes this show amazing it is the visuals! Since the cinematography, the costumes to the fighting choreography, it is really impeccable! 

The director did such a great job to capture the feelings, the elements and really helped upgrade the tension of some scenes! All the scenes that had water as a primordial element were my favorite!

The couples:

I must say that even tho I got interested in the drama before airing because of the main cast pairing, when I was watching the drama, the romance was definitely on second plan. Of course it was great and cute but was not the priority for me so when the two main couples of the drama didn’t had their “happy endings” I was not bothered by it because it make sense. It was known from the very beginning that a relationship between someone from Wufeng and the Gong family was doomed so I was glad that at least none of them died because I think that this would make it a really sad ending.

The plot:

I’m still amazed by how the things turned out with the plot, and yes, there was some things that was left without a proper explanation but it still made emends to give some closured to the main story and for that I am satisfied. 

When I think about a drama is really more about how the episodes influenced me while watching than only judging it by the last episode. So, the intriguing questions and theories made while I was watching and how they “played” with the audience’s mind were another solid point that sold the drama to me.

Editing:

For a drama, specially wuxia, to have 24 episodes can make the audience feels some rushes at the latest episodes but for me personally I think it didn’t rushed at all but again, some might feel different about this. I still think that if the drama had like two more episodes it could make some questions to be answered (specially about Wufeng’s leader and Weishan twin sister plot) but this is what we got for now. I really doubt (even tho I really want) they would make a special episode to give it proper closure to the cliffhanger that was left at the end :(

Acting:

Must I say, the acting of the cast is astonishing! They portrayed the characters so well that I could feel their emotions and sympathize (and cry) with them, such a great job made by a great casting!

Ost:

The soundcheck for this show is amazing and it really compliments the drama!

-

Overall, it was an awesome journey to watch the drama and it’s definitely one of my favorites of the year and among the all the dramas I’ve watched. I might have forgot to say some things I’m not recalling at the moment but for now, I will give it 9,5/10.

[swiftletinthecloud]

Gong Zi Shang…I have like a new appreciation for her character after the most recent episode. Like most of the audience, I saw her character as a comedic relief in this otherwise pretty dark drama. Even her introduction scene was set up in this comedic way unlike all the other characters’ very serious or calm intro. Sometimes I felt like she was just Too Much, like she’s in a different genre drama than everyone else. And then we get a scene like the one in the latest episode 9, and it’s wait, she has just as much depth as the other characters. Gong Zi Shang is the victim of the same lack of expectations and being looked down on by her family that Gong Zi Yu experienced, but unlike him, she doesn’t necessarily get the easy sympathy of the audience.

She’s the Elder Miss of the Gong family and the Shang lord, but no one really treats her seriously. As a girl, she’s not even in consideration to be Sword Wielder. And as she mentioned in the scene in the screenshot, she’s the current Shang lord, but she feels like she’s only a placeholder until her brother is older. Her new friend mentioned, and she’s very much aware of, that the Elder Miss Gong Zi Shang is known for only three things, eating, sleeping, and chasing after Jin Fan all day. Even the man she loves find her a nuanced some times.

And so Gong Zi Shang plays into that. She says she doesn’t care what other people think, but I think she very much cares. She plays into that lack of expectation from everyone, the character that everyone sees her as during the day, the lazy boy-crazy Elder Miss Gong, so it doesn’t hurt as much but at night when she’s alone, that’s when she’s hard at work as the Shang lord, working on her inventions, when no one sees her or expect anything from her, so she can shock the world when she succeeds.

Her actions are pretty much in the same veins as Zi Yu’s at the start of the drama, when he’s also leaning into that lack of expectations to be perceived as a rebellious, playboy drunkard, before he was forced to take on the responsibilities of the Sword Wielder and grow up both out of spite against Gong Shang Jue and his desire have the power to protect Yun Wei Shan. Zi Shang’s just a step a head of him, where she already found her motivation/spite to prove and show her worth.

I can also see why Zi Shang and Zi Yu are so close too, because they’re in very similar situations and can understand what the other is going through.

[randomingoftherandomness]

If you could choose the cast for the next generation of My Journey To You which actors/actress would you pick for the heirs of the Gong family?

Ooo! I like this :)

Now, I'm not gonna pretend I am very much versed in the who's who of new Cdrama actors and actresses because frankly, I don't watch as much shows as I used to, but I'll give this a stab.

Ding Chengxin

I didn't even hesitate with this pick :DDD

He has actually done two project with GJM and so I may be biased here in picking him, but I really want to see him do a third project in GJM's style. There's a measure of elegance about him that he has shown in his roles in Wuliang and Painted Skin that deeply captivated me. I would like to see him in another wuxia/guzhuang, and I know I'm not the only one.

As for who he would play, I am thinking that he could be great as an heir to either the Xue family or the Jue family. The side eye game/resting bitch face would be phenomenal.

(side note: I'm picking up on GJM liking to give his MC some secret world breaking tattoo...)

2. Li Hongyi

Another actor I want to see more of, and by the looks of things, will be getting more of, so I think I'm gonna be good :) He was fantastic in The Blood of Youth, but it was his turn in the rom-com The Legendary Life of Queen Lau that really sold me on him. I've always believed it is harder to do comedies than it is to do serious stuff, and somehow he managed to not make it cheesy or over the top.

I think he'd be great as an heir to the Yu lineage -- perhaps taking on more of Yun Weishan's prim and proper reticence rather than Ziyu's more relaxed personality.

3. Wu Mingjing

I have been utterly enamoured with her since I saw her in What's Wrong With My Princess a couple of days ago. I think she's absolutely fantastic and could do with some meatier roles to sink her teeth into. Definitely someone I will be paying attention to from now on and I am looking forward to checking out more of her body of work.

I think she'd steal the show as someone from the Zhi residence. The amount of ice princess looks she could rock!! The quiet but vicious sass!!! Yes, I think she would be great.

4. Ao Ruipeng

Ao Ruipeng is someone I saw and immediately saw a puppy. No. But fr. He's got this very pleasant aura about him and gives off the vibe that he's super affable. It definitely helps that he and Li Hongyi played off each other with great aplomb in The Blood of Youth.

I can see him being an heir to the Shang lineage, inheriting all of Zishang's extroversions and Jin Fan's more measured decision making processes.

(sorry. I just wanted y'all to see them both being cute together)

5. Zhao Lusi

This one I know is a fantasy casting on my part, but since this is my list, I shall indulge in all the fantasy I want :DD

She's definitely one of the best actresses of her generation, hands down. It's not even a question at this point and she has the body of work to prove it. There's something so chameleon-like of her and she becomes the characters she plays and not just plays them. She's an absolute delight to watch and I still enjoy her roles in The Long Ballad and Love Like The Galaxy. I've seen bits of her in Hidden Love, but because I'm not much for modern dramas, that's in the back burner for now, but I'll get round to it eventually.

I would not hazard a guess as to which heir she should play because I think it would ultimately depend on the narrative. Give her the role with the most weight to it and I think she would not only hit it out of the park, but flourish. Lusi is a powerhouse and it would be a treat to watch her tackle any role.

(also she was in a previous project with Li Hongyi and his unfortunate cockroach antennas serious those antennas look dry as fuck)

(I have also realised that two of my choices were previous co-stars with LHY was this a conscious decision wow idk maybe?)

[mirageofadesert]

C-Drama Review: My Journey to You

Broadcast: iQIYI, 2023, 24 Episodes Genre: Romance, Wuxia

My Rating 7/10

A beautiful show with a promising premise, ultimately disappointing with a poorly realized asynchronous story-telling and unsatisfactory ending.

Acting: 6/10 World-building: 7/10 Production: 9/10 Storytelling: 4/10 Pacing: 7/10 Re-watch Value: 6/10  Bonus: for Jolin Jin's and Tian Jiarui's characters. One of my favorite big sister and little brother!

Summary with minor spoilers: My Journey to You tells the story of two assassins, Yun Weishan (played by Yu Shuxin) and Shangguan Qian (played by Lu Yuxiao), who are sent to infiltrate an enemy sect territory, the Gong residence, disguised as potential brides. However, their respective objectives are in conflict with each other, and so are their targets. They encounter two very different young masters and their respective families. Young Master Gong Ziyu (played by Zhang Linghe) surprisingly attains the title of Sword Wielder of the Gong family, but faces accusations about the legitimacy of this status and title. Only by completing three challenges can he prove himself and take up his family's legacy. He falls in love with Yun Weishan early on, meanwhile Shangguan Qian future husband Gong Shang Jue (played by Cheng Lei) distrusts his new bride. In a balancing act, she must win his trust without revealing her true intentions. Thus begins a dangerous game, wherein the lines between friend and foe are blurred. The price? Freedom from the oppressing employers - and their own survival.

My review - spoilers ahead!

The show started out incredible promising: A captivating premise, a darker tone in both cinematography and theme, beautiful sets and costumes, decent special effects and a different voice for Esther Yu. And while the show had great moments, it overall failed to deliver what it promised. So what went wrong?

The short version is that the show suffered from the typical shortcoming: mediocre acting, misguided directing and bad writing.

Esther Yu and Zhang Ling He never stood out to me as particularly great actors, and this holds true in this show as well. However, I don't think the problem with My Journey to You can be blamed on their unconvincing acting, but is rather a product of the direction the writing took them.

The tension arcs get boring really fast: Again and again the female leads are in danger of being exposed (or better: exposing themselves), but by the third time it doesn't feel exciting anymore. The other major plot line is the conflict surrounding the succession of the sword wielder title, which I was never able to care about. I think a different story-line for the ML would have greatly benefited the drama. Trying to make the audience care about him by putting a lot of emphasis on his hard childhood early on in the show, didn't work, because it felt so irrelevant compared to the backstories of the other characters. It didn't give him depth, it actually took it away.  Therefore, the dynamic between the main couple wasn't working either - she was too cold, he was too immature for them to create any interesting chemistry.

The second couple not only had the better written characters, their storyline had more suspense. I have seen mainly Esther Yu being criticized for this drama, so my potentially controversial opinion is, that it's actually the fault of the dull main storyline and the bland ML.

The other big problem are the poorly build-up plot twists. Some of these plot twists themselves were great, like the switch of the medical document and the death of the little sister. While these were great plot points, the narrative build-up wasn't. In retrospect, it made sense we got so much information about the MLs unhappy childhood and complex relationship with his parents, because that build-up both to the medical record swap and the betrayal of the older brother, however... it was just done in such an annoying way, that it made the ML look unnecessary whiny and the storyline boring.

As the show progressed, they increasingly used the element of time-jumps and flashbacks to tell the story. There should have been a better way to deliver tension and twists, than constantly making jumps in order to catch the audience off guard. Part of the fun in mysteries like this is to make guesses while watching, but that only goes so far, when it is all in the editing and crucial information is simply being withheld. And what made this even worse, it that the final plot twist (e.g. the brother coming back) was so predictable, all the asynchronous story-telling wasn't even necessary!

Worst of all was the ending: A twin sister out of nowhere? A villain that was poorly build up? No resolution for the second couple? A cliffhanger for a next season that does not fit the tone of the first 23 episodes and is unlikely to ever happen? Frustrating.

It wasn't all bad: The supporting cast was great. Ryan Cheng, Jolin Jin and Tian Jiarui were amazing! The dynamics between all the other couples were engaging as well. Gong Zishang was my favorite comic relief in any cdrama, and she gave the whole show such a unique vibe! Tian Jiarui's character was right done my alley - I just love my twisted little psychopath in emotional turmoil!

Just one last thought ... please no more Chen Duling? She has been in most shows I have watched this summer and has failed to charm me every time. She is a decent actress, but the type casting of "sad, whiny girl" isn't doing her any favors.

Overall, I think this was a decent drama. I still would recommend you to watch this show, especially if you value intriguing characters over plot!

[anndramarama]

I really tried with this drama and while it's not a favorite, it is a standout for its atmospheric world-building and several side characters that had a lot of potential. (Gong Shang Jue and Gong Yuan Zhi there's a thought bubble with your faces in it over my head right now.)

Putting this video here because I thought this scene had incredible fight choreography and editing, and because I think Lester Lin (the child actor) is so talented throughout.

[movielosophy]

My Journey To You | He loooves being called "gege"

[shewholovestoread]

My Journey To You - Thoughts and Impressions Part 1 of 2

I realise that I've been missing these past few months, i've been on a consumption binge but with little to no bandwidth to write about any show/film irrespective of how much I may have loved them. (depression is an ass) But I can, once again, feel thoughts tingling in my brain and I've decided to get back to writing, something that I deeply enjoy. Anyway, enough about me, let's get started.

To keep the post from getting obscenely long, I'm going to split it into two. This post will be about the technical aspects of the show. Part 2 will focus on the characters.

My Journey To You is a 2023 fantasy, Wuxia show (shows/films that are based in ancient China with martial arts warriors being capable of superhuman feats, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It was highly anticipated owing to the amazing trailer (one of the best I've seen)

Plot: The series tells the story of Yun Wei Shan, a spy longing for freedom, who infiltrates the Gong residence to complete a mission. In the eerie and treacherous Gong residence, she encounters love and friendship, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and finds the determination to move forward. Together with the rebellious nobleman Gong Zi Yu, they grow and mature through their shared experiences. (via mydramalist)

It stars: Yu Shu Xin (Yun Wei Shan), Zhang Ling He(Gong Zi Yu), Ryan Cheng (Gong Shang Jue) and Lu Yu Xiao (Shangguan Qian), Tian Jia Rui (Gong Yuan Zhi), Jolin Jin (Gong Zi Shang) and Sun Chen Jun (Jin Fan)

Written by: Edward Guo.

Series directed by: Edward Guo & Luo Luo

I'll talk about everything I liked before I get into the stuff that I didn't.

Right off the bat, this show has some of the most gorgeous characters you'll come across and this applies to both the men and the women. The costume and make-up departments do an amazing job making already attractive people look ridiculously attractive. They also help the actors really inhabit the world seamlessly. The costumes are especially incredibly detailed and intricate, you can see the care that went into crafting the look for each of these characters. Shout-out to Huang Wei (costume designer) and Shi Hui (Make-up)

One of the best aspects of the show is the cinematography by Wei Hong. This show is aesthetically beautiful, so many absolutely stunning shots. Chinese shows (and Korean shows) love slow-motion shots, and while at times, it can be a bit much, this show makes great use of them, especially during the fight scenes.

The cinematography is helped to a great extent by the excellent production design, courtesy Jiyao Zhang. Like the costumes, the production design too is detailed and intricate. The world feels fully realised and yet also lived in. Each of the different clan mansions, the Front Hill and Back Hill are so incredibly different and distinct that you can immediately tell where you are. An insane amount of hard work went into the show and it shows in every frame.

You can tell that they had a good budget to work with and every bit of it was spent on making the show look as stylized as possible, there is not an ounce of realism to be found here, cue slow-motion beautiful hair flying shots. (Every day I bemoan my inability to make gifs) But the screencaps below illustrate the beauty of the show, it's so gorgeous that you could literally use screencaps as wallpapers.

The fight scenes in the show are some of the best I've seen. They are intense and thrilling and always coherent, you can always tell who's fighting who. The fight scenes are also so aesthetically pleasing, like an exceptionally deadly dance.

Now, we come to the not-so-great stuff.

First off, the marketing. The show was marketed and advertised as an action fantasy show and while there is action and it is excellent, it's not an "action" show. The main focus of the show is on the characters and the internal power struggle of the Gong family. There are also whole scenes, sometimes making up the bulk of an entire episode which are just conversations. I've seen a lot of viewers disappointed and it makes sense. they thought they were coming for action and instead they got verbose conversations.

The pacing also comes to a near-halt in some of these scenes and instead we're treated to lengthy expositions which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it becomes tedious when it happens repetitively.

Now, let's come to the worst thing about the show, it's ending, specifically the last 5 minutes. This end is ridiculously mindbogglingly bad when you consider that there is almost no confirmation on a 2nd season. It's just such a bad idea to end on a cliffhanger like this. If they wanted to leave things open for a potential 2nd season, they could have ended with the Wufeng elders coming together at that character's home, possibly to hold them ransom or something, like literally anything else.

if you're planning on watching this show and I do recommend it, keep in mind that it does get slow and don't watch the last 5 mins of the show. Trust me, you'll like the show a whole lot more if you follow that approach.

Part 2 HERE

[web-novel-polls]

SVSSS Character List

These are the characters I am planning to include in the SVSSS Character Tournament (Overview Post here). I only included those that I thought had a chance of winning or were the most impactful to the story (e.i. main characters). Please let me know if there's someone else you'd like to see!

Total: 22

Cultivators

Peak Lords - Tian Gong Twelve Peaks

Yue Qingyuan of Qiong Ding Peak

Original Shen Qingqiu / Shen Jiu of Qing Jing Peak

Shen Qingqiu / Shen Yuan of Qing Jing Peak

Wei Qingwei of Wan Jian Peak

Shang Qinghua of An Ding Peak

Qi Qingqi of Xian Shu Peak

Liu Qingge of Bai Zhan Peak

Mu Qingfang of Qian Cao Peak

Twelve Peak Disciples

Ming Fan of Qing Jing Peak 

Liu Mingyan of Xian Shu Peak

Ning Yingying of Qing Jing Peak

Yang Yixuan of Bai Zhan Peak

Ji Jue of Bai Zhan Peak

Other

Su Xiyan of Huan Hua Palace

Gongyi Xiao of Huan Hua Palace

Demons

Six Balls / Liu Ge Qiu

Luo Binghe / Bing-mei 

Original Luo Binghe / Bing-ge

Sha Hualing

Mobei Jun

Zhuzhi-lang

Tianlang-Jun

[movielosophy]

My Journey To You | unwilling

[movielosophy]

My Journey To You | 👀