#dub watchers dont deserve rights

[murderenjoyer]

Discussing the few BL I've ever enjoyed (aside from Yuri on Ice, we'd already discussed that previously so its not featured in these screenshots).

3rd manga mentioned is Boys Next Door by Kaori Yuki.

[hawopro]

Thoughts on tlt2.2 heavenly palace

[spoiler alert]

ok...so that was a wild ride, and exactly as i expected.

i might feel differently after finishing the books, but as a drama watcher who's seen everything except for ljm, this doesn't deserve 2.5 rating

(i do understand it's due to timing...and many people got high hope after un, but given that this was filmed way before and was shoved into the dungeon until this year, i think i can cut it some slack)

yes, there are problems with script, plot holes, editing, and pacing, etc. ( /clown/ many problems...) and just confusing as hell especially for anyone who isn’t familiar with the franchise, heck, it’s probably confusing for anyone who is familiar with the franchise still

but it's pretty much the same quality as every other drama adaptation imho??

(save for un and first half of sha hai; I mean everyone got their fav adaptation due to one reason or another, my favorite being tr16 and that’s like alternate universe pingxie fanfiction, but objectively, from a filmmaking standpoint, un and sha hai did a better job, but that’s not my point)

i said it before but i'll say it again, you might be able to enjoy this adaptation if:

you dont read the books; book fans will spit blood, buckets of them

willing to be confused and can close your eyes at the most wtf moments (like seriously just roll with it, don’t try to make sense of anything, don’t try to read too deep into anything, it will drive you insane)

like bai shu enough

in which, i met all three criteria so i didn't spit blood, I also enjoy seeing bai shu; I’ve seen worst drama, so honestly, I can just ignore everything and watch it on a shallow level.

Plot wise, it looks like theyre trying to tie everything together from tlt1 and tlt2, while also squeeze in the bit with xlh and ss, which was revealed in un, while also mention the existence of the wang and somehow forcefully jump straight to jdk being final villain and him and xg disappearing into the bronze gate... all within the last couple episodes LMAO

And this is after wasting so much time for walking in the snow, going through the exact same event as tlt2, walking in the tomb, lots of firing guns into thin air (there was a wholeass three-minute scene of just them firing guns and hitting nothing, I counted.)

there are some bad takes on characterization, and it’s hard to feel connections between all the characters and their relationship with one another (especially ss and wx, wx and pz, wx and xg, pz and xg, which are like all the crucial relationships)

but it follows the formula: initial mystery to gain clues/motive, more searching for clues, long/dangerous journey to get to destination, human vs human problem, some ljm political play/dealings on the side, actual tomb, ending on a cliffhanger

(I didn’t care for the side story with xiuxiu and the huo family tbh, it didn’t seem to have any point? Aside from sending xh to the tomb to breakup with wx? Or am I just missing something?)

anyway it’s wild af, but at the same time, fits within my expectation

the set is really nice I think; prop wise, there was only one scene that really bothered me, it’s when they uhh setting up explosives and the /hard rock/ um bounced LMAO; while i enjoyed seeing wx firing guns, that was pretty much useless, i wish that was done better

The only action i appreciate in here are when xiaohua and his right hand man are on screen; there were a few really nice throws in the choreo

CGI actually look okay? The centipede was really icky, final monster is legit sentai series boss LOL

I was meh with a-ning and ss; not my fav, ss was an asshole. But a-ning has a motorcycle! And of course can’t have a dmbj drama without bad english dubbing.

not much tsj content at all, xg doesn’t even spare pz a glance (i came out of this needing more pz and xg content) wx treats pz badly sometimes (pz deserves better) well there was a lean, but that’s all??

(ok I swear this isn’t a dissing post...? hahaha)

bai shu made a fine wu xie, he did better than i expected? But later on his acting def felt a little bit unnatural. BUT IM SOFT FOR HIM, he’s my ‘91 puppy, he also deserves better. i don’t think i would have stayed around for as long if i didn’t know/like him (na jk, i get suck into the pit either way)

zhao dongze seemed rather ...vacant. he’s also the most babey xg. he’s even babier than wx. he talks a lot. he cares for wx a lot. he doesn’t smile sadly; as far as ooc, i mean yes, but i like jbr’s xg soooo

also there are so many meme materials for this xg

both of their portrayals feel inconsistent, BUT i’ve seen better performance by them, (zdz did great in lst, which is a wuxia drama) so i will chalk that up as a directing problem

but i think it’s fine to have different renditions of wx and xg? idk it doesn’t bother me as much

there are gratuitous amount of pingxie skinship (new game: take a shot every time xg touches wx) in which i enjoy greatly; emotionally i feel theyre a bit distant, not much chemistry, but man they’re blatantly pushing the pingxie agenda with all those touches

(id like some intense eye contact pls)

theyre touching hands every time xg is on screen istg; and bc we love hands in this house, we like it a lot

If you’re here for pingxie, maybe just watch episode 18

pangxie, however, was what baited me in and kept me there

wx is mean to pz, but he’s also soft for pz, especially in the beginning; and pz in turn takes care of him so much (pz is so precious)

wx is so tsundere and pz loves to tease him; they literally went through a whole divorce (for no reason, what’s going on writers?) and got back together (without an explanation?)

there are so many pangxie gems, wx holding pz’s hand? caressing his hand??? and like pz coaxing wx to calm down by hugging him?? Pz fixing wx’s blanket even when wx was being a whole douche?? pz giving wx air kiss and wink??

pz deserves better, but man, i love all the pangxie moments in here

(so much fic material pls i desperately need--)

LMAO ig my point is there are many shortcomings, but in my personal opinion, it’s similar in quality as many of the other adaptations, and it doesn’t deserve 2.5.

yes, it’s bad as a standalone drama, but yes, i enjoyed it (some aspects of it anyway)

so if you do watch, watch it for the meager interactions between our favorite characters, pingxie/pangxie crumbs; enjoy it on a surface level, and not for the plot or anything else LOL

Ok im done rambling~