Not really the story of Han Dynasty

This is more my thoughts on the conclusion and the taste it left in my mouth. Thus I mainly talk about the ending here.

Despite the name of the show, it doesn't actually cover the Han Dynasty, only its origins. It starts with Liu Bang's life before fame, then proceeds to his rise and the Chu-Han contention, and while it's doing that it's very entertaining to watch. The problems arise after the victory of Han. By that point there's only a few episodes left, and they rush over what happens to some of the generals, and wrap up with what happens to Liu Bang himself and his wife. Honestly, I think the show should've ended after Liu Bang wins over Xiang Yu. The last few episodes were a bore to watch. It's almost like the creators were promised a 100-episode run, but then the budget was cut or something, and the show was downscaled to 50.

In the last few episodes, the main conflict of the story had already been resolved, all of the characters we've grown to love just basically fade into the background, and the story suddenly decides to focus specifically on Han Xin and Lv Zhi. They try to create new conflicts with Lv Zhi and Liu Bang's sons, but his sons are pretty much new characters. Sure, we have seen them before, but they never had any dialogue as they were kids. Now that they're adults, the show is trying to make us care about them within a couple of episodes. The final hours of Liu Bang carry little to no impact, and Zhang Liang (the best character of the show imo) dies offscreen. And just consider the fact this show is called "the story of HAN DYNASTY". Yet 90% of the show is taking place before the dynasty is even established, while the other 10% only cover the very beginning. This honestly should've been either called "The Origins of Han Dynasty" or "The Chu-Han Contention". And then they could make a sequel actually covering the actual life in Imperial China after the establishment of Han.

While watching the show, I thought I'd give it an 8. Because it was very fun to watch and had a lot of really impressive and satisfying scenes. But the ending is a huge letdown.

EDIT: I have just looked up the original title of the show and it's not actually called "the story of Han Dynasty" in China. I'm not sure who came up with this title for the translation, since the show has never officially come out in the West (not to my knowledge), but this is just a flatout wrong title. So, considering this, my complaints about the title shouldn't be addressed to the show itself. However, this doesn't change the fact that the ending feels rushed and anti-climatic. I still think the show should've ended with Liu Bang's victory over Xiang Yu.

Read More

A must-watch show for history buffs!

DISCLAIMER: This review was written in two parts. Scroll down for my second half of the review under the "Edit" subtitle.
--------------------------------------------------------------
I have only seen 45 episodes so far (which is about half of the series). I might change my opinions later. But here are my thoughts at the moment:

Chen Jianbin as Cao Cao is amazing. I think, if the whole show was about him, I would've probably given it a 10. Then again, I do appreciate that it shows us all sides of the conflict. When it comes to the story, I think the worst thing about this show is that they didn't make me care enough about Liu Bei and Zhou Yu, who are seen as the leaders of the factions that oppose Cao Cao. I think, a show like this must make every side look equally interesting. But, unfortunately, to me Liu Bei looks ingenuine and pretentious, while Zhou Yu looks narrow-minded and immature. Zhang Fei is probably the character I dislike the most, which also makes me dislike Liu Bei even more for employing him and treating him like a brother. I feel like, in real life, Liu Bei would be the one person I'd identify with the most, but in this show I root for Cao Cao. So, as a result, every episode that is focused on the character of Cao Cao feels like a great episode. Whereas episodes about his enemies can be somewhat boring. However, even at its worst, the show is still pretty good.

When the show shines though, it REALLY shines. Some of the dialogue and monologue can be not only exciting to watch but also genuinely enlightening. I have not read the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, so I assume a lot of that comes from the book. But the way it was integrated in the show was brilliant and seamless. Also the show features A LOT of characters. It introduces everyone with a subtitle, which at first I didn't like. Then I realized, you can just not pay attention to most of them on your first watch, because the most important characters you will remember anyway. But the presence of all these additional characters makes the show that much more rewatchable.

Another gripe I have with the show is the color palette. Everything is so blue and grey. I know they're trying to go for realism, but it results with even sunny days looking kinda depressing. It also causes a lot of confusion in the battle scenes, as you don't know which troops fight for who. In the Story of Han Dynasty every faction was distinctly colored in their clothing and banners. This may not be the most realistic approach, but it works. I wish Three Kingdoms did the same.

And for my final note, I wanna praise the music. While the intro theme might feel a bit out of place at first with its heavy opera-style singing, the rest of the score is so god damn beautiful. There is a couple of compositions that, whenever they come by, touch me deeply in my heart. Needless to say, this serves perfectly to enhance the emotion conveyed brilliantly by the actors (Chen Jianbin especially!).

In conclusion: I have not seen that many historical shows. But among the ones I've seen, this might just be the best one. Most historical shows tend to be rather mediocre. As a history buff I cut them some slack. This one does not need any slack, it's a great show. I will absolutely be watching it to the end. I doubt I will have to edit this review though, I think the issues I have with the show will not be suddenly resolved, but the level of brilliance is not likely to fall either.
--------------------------------------------------------------
EDIT: I have completed the show, and now I will leave a comment on the second half of it.

I was correct in saying that neither the show's drawbacks nor its brilliance would change in the second half. However, I still felt the need to address the remaining episodes. Because, while my rating still stands, the story structure undergoes some massive changes. I must admit that, after most of the original characters die off, the show becomes pretty lonely.

On the Wu side, after Zhou Yu dies, no interesting characters are left, except for a brief appearance of Lu Xun, which was a pleasant surprise. After that, Wu is completely out of the picture, and we only hear about it in third person. In Shu-Han we are left with only Zhuge Liang, as the single character that's a delight to follow. And as for Wei, with the death of Cao Pi, Sima Yi emerges as the main force driving the story forward (and as my new personal favorite).

So, as the ending draws nearer, the show becomes almost entirely about the struggle between two characters: Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang. While it might feel a bit of a downgrade from the way the show started with a multitude of characters, it also means we get to see only the most exciting parts, and none of the boring or annoying ones. The show suddenly becomes more suspensful and less "fun" (in a good way). This change of pace also feels very appropriate. As it takes a long time to watch the show, as you progress, you feel the time pass. As you see characters you've grown to love get old and die, you reflect on where you started from and where you are now. And the show reacts accordingly. We can see Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi constantly refer to the past and have flashbacks right to the very end. Which makes the last episode incredibly impactful.

The ending of the show is executed PERFECTLY! I honestly could not imagine a better ending. It puts to shame most other shows I have seen. It carries all the weight of the entire show on its back, and that gives way for a cathartic conclusion that pretty much wraps up all the storylines with a series of twists and some gorgeous metaphors. And although in a way I'm glad to finally have finished this massive epic of a series, it is a bittersweet feeling, as I'm sure I am gonna miss it a bunch. How am I gonna go about my life without the daily wisdom of these military masterminds? I have no idea. But oh well, just as the Han Dynasty had to collapse and the Sima-Jin Dynasty had to emerge (only to collapse soon-after) I must move onto the next show until I also find my way to the oblivion.

Read More

Squandered potential

I've always thought the life story of Genghis Khan deserves a good cinematic adaptation, but it always fails to get one. Ask yourself: what is the one thing that Genghis Khan is known for? Yes, conquering more land than any other single ruler in history. And yet every movie adaptation that I've seen would show his origin story and then end before the most interesting part starts: the actual conquests outside of Mongolia. I ventured into this TV show, thinking that maybe this time things will be different, because while it is difficult to fit all these conquests into a movie, it shouldn't be a problem with a TV series, right? Not to mention you have all this space to explore the complexities of characters and really flesh them out.

Well, this show was disappointing in almost every regard. I watched 11 episodes, and within all that time we're still in Mongolia, dealing with local tribes. Why? China had already made a movie about Genghis Khan (called, you guessed it, Genghis Khan) in 1998. It manages to tell the same story within 2 hours and make it more exciting and emotional. Why do we have to spend 11 episodes (or roughly 8 hours) on it?

But you know what? That wouldn't be the problem, if the story was interesting. And there's a lot of potential for that. Such a fragmented and tribal environment must contain a lot of diplomacy, scheming, betrayals, wars, etc. The story of one clan taking over every other clan can be done at the level of The Godfather. With such a controversial figure as Genghis Khan, you can make a show rivaling The Sopranos in terms of character depth. Instead this series isn't even worth mentioning in the same sentence as those masterpieces.

Characters have no complexity whatsoever. I remember Alan Moore making fun of Stan Lee's early characters, saying they would only have one character trait, something like a bad leg. Guess what? There isn't a single character in this show with a bad leg. What I mean by that is they have no traits whatsoever. They're usually characterized by either being good or bad. Sometimes they change from good to bad, or from bad to good. Genghis Khan is especially glorified. In history he was a cruel leader, who nevertheless achieved a lot of great feats. Here he's not cruel at all. In fact, he might just be the most level-headed character. Not any different from any other generic ruler you've seen a thousand times in every other show.

The way the show is filmed is also a huge problem. It honestly looks very cheap, like it was made with very little budget. Perhaps it was. And the continent-spanning adventure of Genghis Khan is really the last story you should skimp out on. But even with little budget, you can make it work. For example, if you don't have good costumes or sets, try to use lighting and shadows to your advantage. Obscure the details you don't want people to see, and show those you do want them to see. Plant the seeds in the minds of the audience, that their imagination will help to grow. This show doesn't do that. Also, there's the right way and the wrong way of filming the steppes. The right way is to take a lot of static and wide shots, showing the expanse of the grassland under the heaven. I've seen beautiful steppes. I've also seen beautiful movies about the steppes (including about Mongolia). This can be done. Well, the wrong way to film the steppes is the way it's done in this show. To summarize my thoughts on how this show looks: it resembles a LARP filmed in a back yard or at a golf club, thus completely failing to recreate the feel of the setting.

If I had to describe this show with one word, it would be: boring. Unlike the issues I had with Queen Dugu, which was annoying to watch, this show doesn't really generate much of any emotion. Which is the lesser of two evils, as far as I'm concerned. But I really can find no compelling reason to keep watching it. Such a shame, because this series clearly had a lot of potential.

The music was great though! It's a shame it's wasted on such a mediocre show. If anyone knows where I can get the soundtrack, please DM me.

Read More

A shell of a show

So, first I watched a show about the foundation of the Han dynasty, and then a show about the collapse of the Han dynasty. I figured, I should keep moving further along the chronology of Chinese history. Couldn't find a show about Sima-Jin, and then there's a period of instability and fragmentation in Chinese history. The next imperial dynasty of China was Sui, so I thought I'd pick a show about that. The two most accessible shows about its foundation turned out to be The Legend of Dugu and Queen Dugu. I decided to go with the latter, since I heard some people describe the former as having annoying one-dimensional characters and a lot of love-triangle melodrama. Now I'm confused because that turned out to be exactly the description of Queen Dugu.

Watching this was a torture. I liked the sets, costumes and the soundtrack, but other than that there's literally no redeeming qualities. The show tells the story of Dugu Jialuo, who is supposed to be 13 at the time, so naturally she is played by a 40-year-old. To make matters worse, they also feature a backstory of her romance with this other dude, whom she had studied with. They even show flashbacks from her school days, at which point she was what? 11? 10? Still played by a 40-year-old. I mean, this is ridiculous, but I'd be willing to overlook such trifle matters, if the story was any good. And it's not.

In the first episode they set up a story arc involving a confrontation between some courtiers . In any normal show, this arc would take maybe 3-4 episodes, and then move onto more important stuff. Here, though, by episode 8 the arc is still unresolved. Why? Because every episode has maybe 10-15 minutes of actual plot, and the rest is just people expressing love for each other or ending up in cliched awkward situations straight from a romcom. You know, stuff like "whoops, I accidentally fell on my crush, and now I'm lying on top of him as we would do if we were having sex, so let me blush and back away like an insecure teenager" - this particular trope was employed twice within the 8 episodes that I watched. In fact, the whole show seems like it was written by a teenager. Everyone is acting immature, there's no depth to any character, they barely resemble real people. One character constantly uses the threat of suicide as a way to manipulate people, and also performs the most fake crying I have ever seen in a TV show. She's acting like a spoiled teenager. Are we supposed to find that cute? Anyway, when the show does have actual plot twists, they're straight out of a soap opera. Stuff like somebody who had died returning to life and telling an incredible story of how they survived, even though it makes no sense.

The whole show is 50 episodes long, and it spends almost 1/5 of it going nowhere. When will there be time for military campaigns, economical and political issues, insights on the medieval feudal life and the course of history? What is the point of making a historical TV show if it's just going to be a pointless melodrama?

When some of the reviewers here mentioned that they've been fast-forwarding this show, I was baffled. How can you understand the story if you skip elements of it? But after watching a few episodes, I realized that there's nothing here to watch. Skipping forward is basically the only way to power through this slog of a show.

So, is this show terrible? Not really, no, I've seen worse. But is it worth watching? I'd say no, unless you don't have anything better to watch. I am dropping it, and do not recommend anybody to watch it, except for maybe someone who's looking for mere escapism and doesn't care about the story. But then again, for mere escapist there are plenty of other options.

Read More