#snow maze

[yawp-dead-poet]

SO EXCITED TO START THIS OMG

hi hey hello i have started watching a new crime drama and I AM OBSESSED. it's called 雪迷宫 or, for some reason, The First Shot, although it should be more properly Snow Maze. it's a period piece set in 1997 and it's produced by ZHANG YIMOU which must be why the production values are actually good??? anyway i am here to tell you all about it and why you should be watching it okay here we go

first of all there's a big hot dumb cop, zheng bei. yes that's huang jingyu and you might not like him because of his apparently quite sketchy personal life but all i care about in this case is that he's tall, and thoughtful, and a police captain who's protective of his people and a little bit of an idiot. my catnip tbh. (i guess he was in addicted too? somehow breaking the you-can-only-be-in-one-BL rule?)

(ETA that by "dumb" of course he's not dumb at all, only by comparison; cf. my own stupid meta on this fascinating topic)

then there's an effete genius consultant, gu yiran (wang ziqi), who knows everything there is to know about drugs. he comes from the south to help these ignorant northerners form an anti-narcotics unit. he's such a massive nerd, the team doesn't like him until they realize that he runs 10k every morning and can outrun motorcycles and is actually quite useful. then suddenly it's no longer "gu-laoshi" but is all "ran-ge" this and "ran-ge" that. he can't dance for shit. i adore him.

there's a superb seven-samurai style Assembling The Team sequence in which this cop is brought in as the muscle. Her nickname is mad dog yao and she kicks the ass of an entire club at one point. we love her. her only problem is that, not unlike zhang haixing in tibetan sea flower, she will in fact fight a wall. here's gu yiran's face after a drug dealer mistakenly underestimates her and she stomps on him.

one of my favorite things about this drama so far is how poor the police are. it's 1997 in a dinky northern precinct and these cops ain't got shit. no computers. rudimentary cellphones. barely any forenic analysis, and most of that is on pieces of paper. no bullpen. no interrogation rooms. they have to interview suspects at their desks.

captain zheng is so underpaid he can't even afford a real pointer for his situation board, he has to go outside and get a literal stick.

drives his dad's chicken delivery van. has to slam himself against the front door to open it. everything about this is absolutely perfect.

i'm only on episode 7 but this shit is already brotastic. please behold:

yes that is an actual line from the show. yes gu yiran has to live with captain zheng, they can't afford fancy accommodations for him. turns out there's a trundle bed made out of paper clips but that's okay, they still get plenty of cosy domestic time together.

and that's also what i already love about this drama—in spite of being about anti-narcotics, it's also very slice of life, very daily city life, with meals and neighbors and friends and family and did i mention food, there is so much eating in this drama. it's gorgeous. also i'm improving my colloquial chinese by leaps and bounds.

of course you are you stupid service top, now take care of the baby.

and those are just some of the reasons why you should be watching the first shot, which is funny and suspenseful and unexpectedly brainy and well-cast and has beautiful opening credits. there are 19 episodes on youku's youtube channel right now and the subs are shockingly high quality. i'm hooked, and also so mad at my day job because i can't just binge it, pls join me in this handbasket

[qpjianghu]

The First Shot (2024)

Ep. 15 ~ Gu Yiran whump + bridal carry

[movielosophy]

The First Shot | them.

[melodious-tear]

"That smile is as fake as a store mannequin's. He smiles like this. Is it creepy?" - The first shot ep. 5

[superwholockian93]

In the middle of a serious drug busting case, they out here on a night market date

[omaenanimonoda]

[fluffy13-4]

I created a poll for our little The First Shot fandom here to vote for our favorite queer BeiRan moment.

This is my very first own post on tumblr so a) this is an experiment for me and b) I have zero reach. Therefore I am mentioning literally everyone that I found who posted about The First Shot. I am a bit worried but doing it with good intentions and hope that everyone is ok with it!

@ataraxetta @bananaproved @cnladies @good--merits-accumulated  @hideyseek

@hidey-writes @joyouslee @kylinym @lilianhuas @linjingshu

@lizzymayi @lunarriviera @melodious-tear @moononmyfloor @mostotherthings

@movielosophy @numerodix @numerodixe @omaenanimonoda @oncopper

@pi-ying-xi @qpjianghu @rageprufrock @soberbutsleepless @superwholockian93

@thelaithlyworm @whumperer-86

Spoiler Warning: This poll contains spoilers for The First Shot - see poll after the cut.

[kylinym]

〖 姜小海 Jiang Xiaohai | 章宇 Zhang Yu 〗

雪迷宫 | the First Shot ~ episode 4

雪迷宫 | the First Shot ~ episode 32

[thelaithlyworm]

So I started watching The First Shot | Snow Maze because some tumblr moots were screaming about it (this is the way) and it's been interesting so far. Aaaaah, it's a cop show -- there's a city in Northeast China facing an influx of meth dealing, they have no expertise in this and so recruit an expert from warmer climes, a bespectacled young professor.

I found the first two eps okay but not particularly gripping, and then I got to ep 3 which is almost entirely our new team getting to know each other and I think I'm in for the long haul now.

It's just so very... so very Not Glossy in its cinematography. Desaturated colours, if someone wears a uniform it ain't flattering, the furniture fits awkwardly in its spaces, there's, there's background noise from other rooms during conversational scenes. Got a strong 'there is a documentary team quietly filming this in real-time' vibe to a lot of it.

And. And it's set in the fucking 90s. The clothes, the equipment, the little sister in High Fashion with her big earrings and blow-dried hair. This is a cop show set in a country I do not live in which I must read subtitles to understand and I Am Drowning In Nostalgia Right Now. Kind of a dizzying experience.

I can see why Zheng Bei (one of the male leads) is the team leader, too. He's bluff, solid, reliable, down-to-earth -- but we also see him soothing feelings when there's a culture clash with their Southern Expert and being quietly kind to the Expert in turn. He's got interpersonal skills without making a show of it, you feel me? Quietly kind. Seems like the kind of CO who'll turn up to underlings' five-year-old daughters' dance recitals for decades to come.

Early Verdict: would recommend.

[bouncinghedgehog]

[lunarriviera]

hi hey hello i have started watching a new crime drama and I AM OBSESSED. it's called 雪迷宫 or, for some reason, The First Shot, although it should be more properly Snow Maze. it's a period piece set in 1997 and it's produced by ZHANG YIMOU which must be why the production values are actually good??? anyway i am here to tell you all about it and why you should be watching it okay here we go

first of all there's a big hot dumb cop, zheng bei. yes that's huang jingyu and you might not like him because of his apparently quite sketchy personal life but all i care about in this case is that he's tall, and thoughtful, and a police captain who's protective of his people and a little bit of an idiot. my catnip tbh. (i guess he was in addicted too? somehow breaking the you-can-only-be-in-one-BL rule?)

(ETA that by "dumb" of course he's not dumb at all, only by comparison; cf. my own stupid meta on this fascinating topic)

then there's an effete genius consultant, gu yiran (wang ziqi), who knows everything there is to know about drugs. he comes from the south to help these ignorant northerners form an anti-narcotics unit. he's such a massive nerd, the team doesn't like him until they realize that he runs 10k every morning and can outrun motorcycles and is actually quite useful. then suddenly it's no longer "gu-laoshi" but is all "ran-ge" this and "ran-ge" that. he can't dance for shit. i adore him.

there's a superb seven-samurai style Assembling The Team sequence in which this cop is brought in as the muscle. Her nickname is mad dog yao and she kicks the ass of an entire club at one point. we love her. her only problem is that, not unlike zhang haixing in tibetan sea flower, she will in fact fight a wall. here's gu yiran's face after a drug dealer mistakenly underestimates her and she stomps on him.

one of my favorite things about this drama so far is how poor the police are. it's 1997 in a dinky northern precinct and these cops ain't got shit. no computers. rudimentary cellphones. barely any forenic analysis, and most of that is on pieces of paper. no bullpen. no interrogation rooms. they have to interview suspects at their desks.

captain zheng is so underpaid he can't even afford a real pointer for his situation board, he has to go outside and get a literal stick.

drives his dad's chicken delivery van. has to slam himself against the front door to open it. everything about this is absolutely perfect.

i'm only on episode 7 but this shit is already brotastic. please behold:

yes that is an actual line from the show. yes gu yiran has to live with captain zheng, they can't afford fancy accommodations for him. turns out there's a trundle bed made out of paper clips but that's okay, they still get plenty of cosy domestic time together.

and that's also what i already love about this drama—in spite of being about anti-narcotics, it's also very slice of life, very daily city life, with meals and neighbors and friends and family and did i mention food, there is so much eating in this drama. it's gorgeous. also i'm improving my colloquial chinese by leaps and bounds.

of course you are you stupid service top, now take care of the baby.

and those are just some of the reasons why you should be watching the first shot, which is funny and suspenseful and unexpectedly brainy and well-cast and has beautiful opening credits. there are 19 episodes on youku's youtube channel right now and the subs are shockingly high quality. i'm hooked, and also so mad at my day job because i can't just binge it, pls join me in this handbasket

[oli-draw]

day ten:Snow Maze

Fuchs: tell me, let's go to the catwalk in dreams, go for a ride and drink hot chocolate for one. No, I went with this moron To the Lom snow maze, well, who did I listen to?!

Lom:I hear from a moron-first of all, and secondly, I know where to go

Fuchs:So where are we?!

Lom:We seem to, uh

Fuchs:What's there?

Lom:We're lost

Fuchs: very good, stop, WHAT?!

[movielosophy]

The First Shot | Stop worrying.

[melodious-tear]

[superwholockian93]

Look, I love Beiran but

But I also love whatever is also going on with them

Their size difference is amazing

[omaenanimonoda]