Eleison

Wait, so you DID watch some of this, you just didn't finish it because you didn't like how they handled this plot point? 🤔

Cause if you did watch it, I'm a bit confused by your comment. I'm not sure we watched the same drama. 😅

As far as I saw, they chose to walk a fine line with this drama's plot for goofy chicanery and comedic purposes, but in my opinion, they never crossed the line into condoning or reinforcing inappropriate behavior.

The first time the FL saw the ML was as an adult (that was obvious to her and her mom) doing something chivalrous, so she got fluttery cause he was gorgeous and kind. Then, when she met him again, but this time as a student, she was obviously shocked and embarrassed, then had to deal with/try to work past her leftover fluttery feelings from the previous interaction, as any responsible adult would upon making this discovery. I'm confused how that is "showing interest in an underage student"? 🤔 This is the way I would hope an adult would deal with this kind of misunderstanding if it were to happen to them...

This comment made me giggle out loud 😂😂😂

Haha, it's been ridiculous and nonsensical since Episode 1 for me. 😅 Or do you mean it's getting MORE ridiculous and nonsensical than it already was (in like a Doctor Stranger kind of way? If you've seen it, you'll know what I mean 😉)?

Maybe they're realizing it might actually be a good way to advertize since more and more people watch dramas these days (the number of people finding out about them has gone up significantly due to/since COVID)! 😅

I might revise "rom coms bring instant fame" to "well-written rom-coms bring instant fame." 😉

Haha, men were children/kids, too. And many of the messed up ones were the kids who got trampled that you're talking about. Not excusing bad choices, just pointing this out. 😉

I was actually thinking more about this and I wonder if all the stuff about the light and the Heavenly God is supposed to smell of the West. The architecture and clothing of Xiling feels remotely Western (almost not Asian at all), and uses language and imagery that sometimes mimics (poorly, crudely) some faint religious language and imagery (from Christianity), while Tang feels solidly Eastern (Buddhism, Daoism). I wonder if it's making a statement about Eastern vs. Western (again, not in a direct way but through fantasy and hints and call-backs that people will automatically associate). For instance, the West associates "light" with the good, and "darkness" with what is bad or evil. Western religion/philosophy is founded on the belief that pure evil is nothingness, and is merely a kind of parasite of the good (which also means the good can exist without evil, but not the other way around, which I think Ever Night (and Eastern religions?) would deny). This show seems to challenges those basic images of the West and the assumptions that accompany them pretty clearly. But I could be wrong--it's just a theory!

Aw, I love how all of Fu Zi's disciples' gifts (and Yan Se's gift!) helped Ning Que when he wasn't strong enough to face his opponent. The guy's got pretty epic friends! I think that's his secret sauce to success--he has great people around him who truly care about him even with all his quirks, mischievousness, and mistakes (and who know he cares about them!)!

I also have to echo others who have praised the fighting sequences in this. They really are fantastic. AND, what I prefer about this over Blood Of Youth (in addition to the more comprehensive and less confusing world-building--wait, I take that back, I don't know what's going on at Xiling most of the time 😅) is the lack of exposition about the fighting techniques/cultivation. I got kind of tired of characters spending half of their dialogue on explaining the cultivation powers of the characters and all their time breaking down what we were seeing like sports announcers in BoY. This drama does have some of this, but I don't notice it and it feels like they show it more than merely telling about it, and incorporate it more subtly into the dialogue. I'm starting to think wuxia can't escape cultivation exposition, but this drama at least does a better job than Blood Of Youth (in my opinion). And while Arthur Chen is clearly a novice actor in this (and probably got the role because his family has connections in the industry? 💁‍♀️), he at least fully embraces the brazen narcissism and conceited cheekiness of Ning Que, fighting convincingly when it's not a stunt double (I assume he had one; if not, I'm super impressed). 😉

One last thing: the BGMs are BEAUTIFUL.

Sooo.... I'm at the part with Mo Shanshan and Ning Que in the wilderness looking for the Heavenly Scrolls, and they definitely seem to have a thing. I thought it was just gonna be on her part but he's also flirting with her big time. A few scenes even seemed to hint that they're in a sexual relationship, but I know we'd never see that due to the ML actor's age and the year this was made. Am I right about them being involved, or am I reading into things? I know he ultimately ends up with Sang Sang so this is kind of unpleasant to watch cause it makes me think less of Ning Que who's already not the easiest character to root for. I WANT to root for him, but I sometimes find it difficult to do so because he's not the most praiseworthy dude. I tend to prefer my leads to be less morally gray ir MLs with "harems"... especially when they're not even that great. He's a big deal and unique in a lot of ways (with fighting, calligraphy, grit, tenacity and cultivation, etc.), but as far as someone you'd want to be in a romantic relationship with, he is not a catch. 😅

Another question... 😬

That's a really interesting point. I have noticed the newer Cdramas are much more palatable than older Cdramas.

Do you think the insertion is really that calculated and pointed, though? Are you saying it's being pushed on drama creators, or that drama creators on a larger scale are pushing for it?

I guess it felt off to me because, while I know China has many cultures within its borders and many different regions, they all still feel distinctly EASTERN, whereas yodeling feels distinctly WESTERN, and a specific type of Western (as it's a facet of European) culture. To me, it did less to proclaim a global move on their part (or as a way of catering to me as an international viewer) and instead just distracted me from noticing what happened in the scene because it felt so off (and it's also a costume drama; it would feel weird to have an electric guitar in an OST for a film about the American Revolution, too, because it also doesn't musically fit with the tone or time period). 😅 And I think it still feels a bit off to incorporate elements of other cultures when your population doesn't reflect those cultures (also, I'd like to point out that the yodeling in Sound Of Music was incorporated because the movie, while American-made, took place where yodeling was traditionally a thing; you wouldn't see it in just any American TV show or movie necessarily); so many cultures are present in the U.S., as it's a massive melting pot of global humanity and culture that we don't see in another country. To me, it's appropriate that those cultures would be reflected in our entertainment musically, thematically and as far as genres go.

I've definitely noticed more of what you describe in Kdramas (I would argue Korean content is more widely global than Chinese, but that's just been my experience; CDramas are not quite as accessible to westerners, especially xianxia--it's such an aquired taste and SO different from anything in the west), but maybe Cdramas are indeed following suit, too. 🤷‍♀️

Actors and their agencies lying is not something I have a hard time believing. 😅

And that is a good point! I'm not on social media platforms so I wouldn't be able to track those pieces of evidence down. 🫤

I'll have to look up those videos, thank you!

Thank you!

Yeah, that's the type of evidence I'd wait for. And it should be investigated if there's reasonable suspicion that any of it is true! I hope they do.

Thank you!

Well, it's just that I try to avoid believing what I see on the internet unless it's from a reliable source (and ideally from a few reliable sources). In fact, that goes for what celebrities say, too. I just assume most of what I see of them off-screen is a facade. But I think it's one thing to assume that celebrities aren't as good as they seem, it's another to slander them for specific immoral acts without evidence, don't you think?

These all sound really terrible, but this list isn't evidence, they're claims, no? 😬

I'm not trying to defend him, I actually think most celebrities are not great people; they are just good at covering up the stuff they do behind closed doors. It's just that I don't like getting on bandwagons without having evidence first.

I am open to believing this, but I need evidence before doing so.

Thank you! But I don't really want to visit a personal Google Doc. Can you paste them here on MDL in a "spoiler post" so we don't blow up the chat? If you wouldn't mind. I understand that might be too much to ask, but I appreciate the attempt at sharing links, anyway. :)