Eleison

8.8 now 😉

The rating says "G" and then the first tag says, "Torture." Um... 😅

Hi fight scenes in Ever Night are fabulous. It has really amazing martial arts choreography. The best I've seen in a drama.

Yes, he's much less irreverent and roguish in this than Ever Night (like if Ning Que had manners 😅), but I see some of the daredevil, cheeky rascal, and dogged determination of Ning Que in this character, too. In Ever Night, he's like a cockcroach in that he just bounces back from everything. 😅

I'm only at Episode 14--why do they Duan Xu decked out as an old man? 😅

Interesting take. I just don't see this perspective in the way I'm often seing people talk about Cdramas and actors in them. You're arguing that enjoying Cdramas is tied to enjoying beauty (for some who watch). What do you think is the difference between objectifying a person and appreciating their beauty? And do you think it counts as "appreciating beauty" if the beauty is largely constructed/artificial? I'm asking this because I'm genuinely curious (you have inisghtful and articulate observations about dramas that are often helpful in describing what an experience of watching one is like), not because I'm trying to pick a fight. But if you're not interested in dialoguing that's fine, too. ☺️

I'm still getting used to the way idol fandoms work with dramas. Working backwards from an actor's looks to like their character (no matter what it is) is a very... unique way of approaching entertainment. I've noticed it makes viewers drool over villains or problematic characters frequently and I find that a little unsettling. I've watched quite a few Cdramas now, but not that many while airing so I think that's why I'm noticing this dynamic more. I have an aversion to thirst comments in general because I think they're sexually objectifying (imo), but when it's applied to villains it feels even more confusing.

I think actors should be praised and enjoyed for doing their job well: playing their roles and characters convincingly. Anything beyond that seems to go a little too far, and feeds an unhealthy focus on looks and the physical, which actors largely have no control over unless they get work done or the filmmakers use filters/touvh them up? It's making me start to see why all these idol actors get such extensive work done to their faces. 😭

Please hear me, this isn't shots fired at any individuals, it's the industry or system or whatever mechanism is behind this that's clearly feeding and fueling this approach to viewers' experience of dramas (and actors) that's starting to frustrate me.

This is probably not a good place to verbally process this as I have a feeling I'll get eaten alive, but it is so puzzling to me... 🤷‍♀️

Below is a critical rant on what I am discovering is "idol fandom," so those who might get triggered or offended do not have to read it. 😅 I'm putting it in a spoiler tag so you only have to look at it if you want to:

LOVED Flourished Peony. Season 2, In The Name Of Blossom, gets more angsty, but it makes sense if you think about the story as a whole and the arcs the characters are on, starting in season 1.

I don't think the whole thing was terribly written, but some parts were absolutely abysmal. 😅

I wonder if it will be the timeframe when Chen Ying goes from the child actor to the teenage version? Just guessing since two actors play him. 🤷‍♀️

The ML and FL had a lot of makeout sessions in the last 1/3 of You Are My Glory to the point where I got to saying, "Again!?" 😅 I don't remember thinking she was restrained in those scenes. Some of the early parts are a bit bogged down by the gaming stuff, but once they get to the gaming competition I think it picks up.

Okay, I assumed so so that's good to know! Thanks!

"Chogiyo"! ☺️

Didn't know that one! Some of the English-y Korean words are quite funny to hear.

You're right, "fun cai" and "fun cai wa" I definitely know. 😅 "Thank you," obviously, and a few others, like "let go," and "useless wretch" (they used it so much in Ever Night I couldn't help but pick that one up 😅). But still much less than Korean.

When I was in SK a few years ago my friends and I were visiting Yonsei University (my friend studied abroad there for a semester about 8 years ago), and a girl dropped something as she walked by several hundred yards away. On impulse, without evening thinking about it too much, I shouted in Korean, "Hey!"--what they always say when they're getting someone's attention--and I was tickled pink when she turned around and looked my way. I was able to point out that she dropped something, and I felt so proud that she understood me. 😅

I assume they'll explain later how Duan Xu reunited with his father who abandoned him?

These are all great points; Cdramas have really seemed to up the ante for Asian entertainment (and have made things pretty accessible, too, while Kdramas are now getting harder to access on just one or two legal platforms; if you want to see the new stuff you have to be on all of them or reduce to illegal sites which I just avoid). Kdramas came a long way from 2013, and really started pumping out some fantastic stuff for a few years, but they do seem to have hit a rough patch for a few years now and are struggling to consistently good stuff out. A bummer because I love how they write character arcs (another thing I think they do well that I'd add to your short list of things Kdramas do well/better than Cdramas (or at least historically they did); Cdramas can do this, too, but it's one of the things that endeared me to Kdramas).

I also prefer listening to Korean than Mandarin, but that's probably partly due to the familiarity. I also still recognize so little of what's said with Mandarin compared to Korean. The language is much harder to pick up, I think. I recognize words but can't always place what they mean exactly, whereas I can do that better with Korean for some reason.

At least in this, the general actually generals (intelligently, innovatively and effectively and without needlessly sacrificing lives). 😉

For all those wanting to see an epic Marquis Wuan, look no farther. He's embodied in Duan Xu's generaling. 😉

Yeah, I think Cdramas are sometimes more closet edgy than Kdramas, too, and I think many viewers like the subtlely robust and spicy romantic tension Cdramas seem to be very good at building. And, despite censorship's overweening presence, in some ways it seems they take more risks (unless Netflix or Disney made the Kdrama 😅)?

It reminds me a little of Legend of Shen Li but with the roles reversed (the ML couldn't technically be with the FL), but there was clearly attraction and attachment on his side that came through which turned his measured and intentional restraint into tension.

I'm watching this on Viki which is behind in episode release, but so far I haven't seen too much to indicate the FL falling for the ML, at least not in a way she's consciously aware of. 😉Though I'm not sure I'd say the plot is unengaging. I'll wait a bit longer to see if the FL starts get more invested in him as some more time passes to decide what I think. I think they have chemistry, though, at the minimum.