BearFightingFanBackAgain

The crew didn’t have a big budget for marketing and because it’s a tribute drama, I think the producers didn’t think it would do well overseas. Fans basically had to message the platforms to ensure we got access and subtitles. Luckily the drama has done well in China. Pang Hongmei is a pretty great character. She’s a strong woman with a sense of contrast and life. She doesn’t fall into the usual stereotypes for bada** women either.

🎉🎉🎉
Congrats to Romance of a Twin Flower for making it to #5 on Tencent Video WeTV 2023 Global Ranking TOP5 and #2 on Tencent Video WeTV Costume Drama 2023 Global Ranking!!!

Merry Belated Christmas to all Ran fans🎅🏻
Pics from PXR’s wall:
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4982824570457172
Video from PXR’s wall:
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4982830525057965
Pics from her studio Series 1:
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4982826665512750
Pics from her studio Series 2:
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4982829297436038

Not sure why some people are still trashing this show with such decent grades but to each their own 🤷‍♀️

🎉🎉🎉
Congrats to this show for making it to #5 on
Tencent Video WeTV 2023 Global Ranking TOP5 and #2 on Tencent Video WeTV Costume Drama 2023 Global Ranking!!!

"Bending the bow to fight as a man, I used to be with Huamei in my dream"
It’s a poem that refers to the female lead. Her dad used to recite a poem about Mulan to her so it’s a special memory and a figure she strives to be. His referencing that acknowledges her work as an officer and their battle to bring the submarine project to life. Huamei (thrush) the bird he says he meets while fighting, refers to the female lead. Huamei is the Chinese title of the show. So basically the show is about the male lead recounting how he met and basically fell in love with the female lead.

These makeup pics posted by the show’s stylist for Xiao Ran look gorgeous:
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4983558077415923

Yup! That’s why I always say she’s visually super versatile as an actress. She can do cute or glamorous with no trouble.

Not on WeTV. I’ve heard Youku is better though.

There are no kiss scenes but they do end up together. In fact, from a cinematic/storytelling standpoint, the end is quite beautiful.

Yes, a lot of people don’t realise military and police officers are often trained to not express emotions while in certain circumstances. PHM is so serious that she definitely would have trained herself well in this regard. And it has to be added that she is a young woman in a male dominated field so she definitely will be trying harder to be taken seriously. There’s a look she gives when she’s being bandaged up and you can tell it’s the expression of a kid who has watched spy/detective films and is trying to imitate that sense of hardboiled coolness.

A person she can feel vulnerable with.

I really hope the English subs can capture the beauty of the show’s last few lines. They’re absolutely amazing 😭

PHM not being an emotional character doesn’t mean PHM won’t have emotional scenes and breakdowns. As your post points out, she does have moments but they depend. After her father, Pang Hongmei’s emotions only belong to Ji Danyang. Outside of these two people, she’s less likely to drop the mask. But some viewers are not understanding this and criticising the acting. My post is to bring context to them because I believe PHM’s reactions are correct according to the plot or environment. The problem is that if the character is acting through a mask, the show needs to find a different way of depicting the character than through the face because very little emotion will come through the mask and if the viewer is not used to more subtle acting/considering multiple factors while watching the performance, they won’t get it and will think the acting is bad.

After her father, Pang Hongmei’s emotions only belong to Ji Danyang.

Like with acting, when taking pictures the character setting and situation should be considered. In the scenes, when PHM should show emotion, she’s perfectly fine and that’s how you know the acting is fine. However not all audiences can analyse film well so the director has to guide them. In the scenes when PHM has to be emotionally restrained or emotionless , because she is a character of actions not emotions in those scenes, that is where the direction should be guiding the viewers so they understand the performance.
The scene I mentioned, PHM would have been running off of adrenaline and her training, she definitely wouldn’t be in the mindset to break down but to control the situation. In reality that scene lasted too long anyway but I’d argue this is the editor’s mistake. This type of scene needed to be quick cuts and punchy.

It has no advertising budget and neither leads are traffic so there won’t be much data. It’s a pure word of mouth drama. Considering that, I would not say its rankings are low at all. It sits in the Top Ten on most of those charts with shows with enormous marketing budgets and campaigns. I know for a fact, I saw it on Maoyan at #2 a few times for TV broadcasts. The CVB, however, the ranking usually thought of as the purest, is 2. There are few dramas that have broken 2. Breaking 1 is considered a success for most dramas even on CCTV. And this is breaking 2 for two relatively unknown leads. It also broke 100 million views yesterday and today on Kuyun. It’s done so well, CCTV picked it up for afternoon reruns and those reruns are reaching peaks of 1% on Cool Cloud too. With all this in mind, it is indeed a pretty good drama.

I need to take some time to write a review that will do this show justice but it’s honestly been the best drama chasing experience I’ve ever had. I hope C-ent thinks about this when casting and making sartorial decisions in the future. It’s really better to get actors and fans that are low-key. I think one of the reasons this show did so well is because people could watch it with their families and viewers could discuss it calmly online too. People just want to enjoy the show. The occasional complaint is fine but no one wants to see all the fighting and bullying I’ve seen this year. Next yeah I really hope there will be more dramas like Huamei.

Yup!

People who compare the acting of Bai Hui and Pang Hongmei must understand that they are two different types of characters, opposites of one another. Viewers aren’t wrong when they refer to them as red and white roses. Bai Hui is full of emotion and hot-blooded, everything about her will be on full display for the audience and thus it will be easier to empathise. Pang Hongmei on the other hand, is cold and trained, the more dire the situation, the more controlled she will become. He character will never have big emotions in most big scenes, because that is when PHM’s coldness will be in full effect. If you want to see her emotions, it will be in her actions and body language.
I think this director is very good but I think is a weak area. When filming PHM for big scenes, the emphasis should not have been on the face like Bai Hui but on the actions and body like in a fight scene. I think only then would the audience have understood the difference in character types and personalities.
The clearest example of this is at the end when a dear comrade dies. It really should have been a quick shot, lay the comrade down with care, shut their eyes, get up with determination. Instead the director did a close up facial shot for a character that wont let grief show at such important moments creating something slightly awkward.
All in all though, as I said this director is very good! Probably one of the best I’ve seen this year! I hope this opens up opportunities for him and I plan to watch his movie which was an award winning work.