I was anticipating this drama since before it aired and to be honest I almost didn’t start this when I read…
My take away (and it is not the first time) : don't linger on the negative comments, even better, just dive in and make your own, unadulterated, opinion. And if the hate comments are too many when later you look at the Comments section, just stop reading. Such a drama watch should not be tainted by negativity (indeed most dramas should also be viewed for pleasure, and not for getting lessons in how to gun down a show we like).
Some bitter people can't stop themselves from ruining the pleasure of others. They are so pleased with themselves to announce when they "dropped" it or how so-an-so they felt about the characters, as if these fictional ones had to conform to their views of 21st century social norms! They also often parrot others' negativity, in announcing how they judge a show from a couple episodes or an excerpt and comments elsewhere, which is excruciatingly dishonest.
But we'll just reply to our fellow satisfied peers : Happy drama watching! and will enjoy till end, even wistfully regret it could not be longer.
As the drama nears the end of its airing, the Douban rating is out (why so lukewarm?) and its standing reached top ten of the week, as computed on the Marcus Here! drama news show. There also was a sweet interview between the leads WXY and LYX, of which I cut a new GIF to add in the Notes, together with screenshots and links for the Douban and Top Ten. Enjoy!
My bet is that the conflict in Dongguo is a construct from several accounts and perhaps more modeled on the memories from the Yugoslavian split and war, since China has had and still has relations with the countries there, esp. Serbia. The olive tree and the white dove are symbols of peace and peace keeping forces since Antiquity in Greece, Roman empire, Christianity and Islam.
I will not give precise examples about what I did.
Suffice it to say I helped a little girl who had seen her mother douse herself with gasoline and torch herself to death, so she was the first case of genuine PTSD I encountered. Also worked with some autistic kids, and in another setting with inner-city young addicts and violence sufferers, some that also had been sentenced as violent... And was in the circle of a schizophrenia sufferer whose husband was working with lepers. Have been around in my different incarnations and seen a lot in different countries and continents through my "incarnations".
I prefer to stay zen and remain helpful, keeping a distance, from my "alien from deep space status" : non threatening, and not involving myself excessively in other people's business if they do not request my help. If they do, I help with making them do things they are not used to, discover things they did not know until they find what suits them. Experience riding school: learning to fall and get back into saddle. Or sing, listen to different music, find their own songs even if it is rap. Paint butterflies in my Eden garden where pear blossoms rain down in spring. Do taiji and dream themselves as actors of something like this new year show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teqXXgA4NL4 ("dreaming of the things that we could be")
The promotion work was more about what would appeal to audiences, such as "other country", "explosions", "bombs", so those who watched the trailers may have misunderstood it. To me, I had not read the book but thought it looked liked "terrorism" and aftermath. Love despite the odds between mental injury sufferers (it is a "Love On" tagged series so that has probably misled some to believe it is a "mature" love story when it is quite different. If you came for a sizzling sweet love story, of course you would be disappointed.).
Indeed. Wondering how heavy Liang Jie is and how much Chen Zheyuan suffered in that scene! 😂
Yes, I know. He doesn't want to be accused of being a delicate "little fresh meat" like martial arts veteran Jackie Chan once taunted the new generation, and CZY's agency views him as too much of a superhero.
Fact is some actors can go through injuries and recover, more or less, like Jackie Chan, Z.Tao, Wu Lei, Ren Jialun, Luo Yunxi..., but they had a different initial training in martial arts and physical workout, and LYX is not in best of health now.
Chen Zheyuan ought to be spared any excesses for a while, if the producers want to keep him as a golden goose. He is a damn fine archer, and seeing him with his arm in a sling now makes me sigh.
Despite I usually prefer actors who have other artistic talents such as a good voice (Tan Jianci, Z.Tao, Ren Jialun, Steven Zhang...). But CZY is my exception : he can "sing" with auto tune and even lip synching and I won't blame him ever, as he candidly admitted he had been selected to sing in the past to "look handsome", and handsome he still is! He's got humor and dedication to what he does. As for archery, he is a genuine champion.
Still, bear with that I am fickle and whimsical and not as faithful and thorough as apricity and yuanbaozi on X + some other dedicated fen are. So some sections need additions and some others need revisions... if I get around to do it.
No you're not. But I have not read the novel and have not seen something like what you expect. It's always difficult for novel readers to reconcile with drama adaptation so I prefer, opposite to some, to read the book later - perhaps.
You already read it so you would be watching with a filter, but I still hope this could be an OK for you drama if you watch it.
Not at all. If you are looking for a military c-drama or movie, turn to Operation Red Sea, Wolf Warriors, Ace Troops, Glory of the Special Forces.... If you look for hot and sizzling romance, this is not for you either, prefer Road Home which also features an EOD played by Jing Boran, but does not stay too much on the dangerous nature of his job. Or try Hidden Love, which was a sweet love story starring Chen Zheyuan and Zhao Lusi. Or You Are My Glory which is a lovely love story about an actress played by Dilraba, and an engineer played by Yang Yang. If you want to know more about The White Olive Tree, its making of and theme matters, you can have a look at may Companion piece https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=2975219&page=1#p2975219
Both are fellow sufferers. JY is rebellious which is expected at his age, and he already has coped with death of his own parents to which he responded with first clinging to JL and next blaming him as "betrayer" when he did not stay with him or get him to live in dangerous Dongguo. He needs to know that he can't hope JL will rise from the dead and he needs to completely change his ways of thinking, even if it means maturing before he would be expected to, in normal circumstances. JY is not a "weak" kid. He will recover more quickly than LZ. He is more mentally stable and resilient. But dramas are not blueprint for behavior in real life, so I would not advise being that blunt about a tragic death with your own troubled and rebellious teenager in different circumstances.
Indeed. Wondering how heavy Liang Jie is and how much Chen Zheyuan suffered in that scene! 😂
Just joking. Her other name is "Little" and she is not huge, plus working in that industry, she has to take care to keep her weight low. I like Liang Jie and have watched a good number of the dramas she appeared in, all those with Xing Zhaolin (whom she made shine, although he has not kept much in favor since), and with Joseph Zeng, Steven Zhang, etc. Looking forward to her next appearance in upcoming Chasing the Undercurrent 2 where she'll be pairing with Johnny Huang in a crime story.
She is always memorable, and I followed her social media for a while, one reason why I watched a minor drama that she supported, thinking it so nice that some actors support each other's work, in this circle: CZY too has supported dramas and movies of friends, including a Zhang Jingyi movie....
Besides, for TWOT, Chen Zheyuan had genuinely worked a lot on arms muscles and body building. His company used to ask him to keep slim and not too muscular to fit the idea of "young" and "romantic", but he had mentioned he regretted he could not do more sports to get muscles. Hoping his recent injury off set of Chasing Dreams will not hamper him in continuing to chase his own ones.
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Some bitter people can't stop themselves from ruining the pleasure of others. They are so pleased with themselves to announce when they "dropped" it or how so-an-so they felt about the characters, as if these fictional ones had to conform to their views of 21st century social norms! They also often parrot others' negativity, in announcing how they judge a show from a couple episodes or an excerpt and comments elsewhere, which is excruciatingly dishonest.
But we'll just reply to our fellow satisfied peers : Happy drama watching! and will enjoy till end, even wistfully regret it could not be longer.
I will try to add more in the Discussion section's illustrated Notes
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/perfect-match/134578-notes-about-perfect-match
There also was a sweet interview between the leads WXY and LYX, of which I cut a new GIF to add in the Notes, together with screenshots and links for the Douban and Top Ten. Enjoy!
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/perfect-match/134578-notes-about-perfect-match?page=last&p=3252960#p3252960
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=3244734&page=1#p3244734
My bet is that the conflict in Dongguo is a construct from several accounts and perhaps more modeled on the memories from the Yugoslavian split and war, since China has had and still has relations with the countries there, esp. Serbia.
The olive tree and the white dove are symbols of peace and peace keeping forces since Antiquity in Greece, Roman empire, Christianity and Islam.
Suffice it to say I helped a little girl who had seen her mother douse herself with gasoline and torch herself to death, so she was the first case of genuine PTSD I encountered. Also worked with some autistic kids, and in another setting with inner-city young addicts and violence sufferers, some that also had been sentenced as violent... And was in the circle of a schizophrenia sufferer whose husband was working with lepers. Have been around in my different incarnations and seen a lot in different countries and continents through my "incarnations".
I prefer to stay zen and remain helpful, keeping a distance, from my "alien from deep space status" : non threatening, and not involving myself excessively in other people's business if they do not request my help. If they do, I help with making them do things they are not used to, discover things they did not know until they find what suits them. Experience riding school: learning to fall and get back into saddle. Or sing, listen to different music, find their own songs even if it is rap. Paint butterflies in my Eden garden where pear blossoms rain down in spring. Do taiji and dream themselves as actors of something like this new year show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teqXXgA4NL4 ("dreaming of the things that we could be")
The promotion work was more about what would appeal to audiences, such as "other country", "explosions", "bombs", so those who watched the trailers may have misunderstood it. To me, I had not read the book but thought it looked liked "terrorism" and aftermath. Love despite the odds between mental injury sufferers (it is a "Love On" tagged series so that has probably misled some to believe it is a "mature" love story when it is quite different. If you came for a sizzling sweet love story, of course you would be disappointed.).
Fact is some actors can go through injuries and recover, more or less, like Jackie Chan, Z.Tao, Wu Lei, Ren Jialun, Luo Yunxi..., but they had a different initial training in martial arts and physical workout, and LYX is not in best of health now.
Chen Zheyuan ought to be spared any excesses for a while, if the producers want to keep him as a golden goose.
He is a damn fine archer, and seeing him with his arm in a sling now makes me sigh.
--- Although not in the formal group of the yuanbao, I was very taken by his charm on screen, so started the following Profile as a tribute to his work and personality :https://mydramalist.com/discussions/an-ye-yu-li-ming/119875-profile-of-chen-zhe-yuan?pid=2761823&page=1#p2761823
Despite I usually prefer actors who have other artistic talents such as a good voice (Tan Jianci, Z.Tao, Ren Jialun, Steven Zhang...). But CZY is my exception : he can "sing" with auto tune and even lip synching and I won't blame him ever, as he candidly admitted he had been selected to sing in the past to "look handsome", and handsome he still is! He's got humor and dedication to what he does. As for archery, he is a genuine champion.
Still, bear with that I am fickle and whimsical and not as faithful and thorough as apricity and yuanbaozi on X + some other dedicated fen are. So some sections need additions and some others need revisions... if I get around to do it.
It's always difficult for novel readers to reconcile with drama adaptation so I prefer, opposite to some, to read the book later - perhaps.
You already read it so you would be watching with a filter, but I still hope this could be an OK for you drama if you watch it.
You can have a look at my Companion piece for more descriptions and info,
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=2975219&page=1#p2975219
and there is in same Discussions section, one about the novel, where you may post your precise opinions about comparison.
You can have a look at my Companion piece to know more about this drama:
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=2975219&page=1#p2975219
If you look for hot and sizzling romance, this is not for you either, prefer Road Home which also features an EOD played by Jing Boran, but does not stay too much on the dangerous nature of his job. Or try Hidden Love, which was a sweet love story starring Chen Zheyuan and Zhao Lusi. Or You Are My Glory which is a lovely love story about an actress played by Dilraba, and an engineer played by Yang Yang.
If you want to know more about The White Olive Tree, its making of and theme matters, you can have a look at may Companion piece
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=2975219&page=1#p2975219
JY is rebellious which is expected at his age, and he already has coped with death of his own parents to which he responded with first clinging to JL and next blaming him as "betrayer" when he did not stay with him or get him to live in dangerous Dongguo.
He needs to know that he can't hope JL will rise from the dead and he needs to completely change his ways of thinking, even if it means maturing before he would be expected to, in normal circumstances.
JY is not a "weak" kid. He will recover more quickly than LZ. He is more mentally stable and resilient.
But dramas are not blueprint for behavior in real life, so I would not advise being that blunt about a tragic death with your own troubled and rebellious teenager in different circumstances.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=3244734&page=1#p3244734
although even waiting for 2 episodes a day can feel excruciatingly slow 😂
She is always memorable, and I followed her social media for a while, one reason why I watched a minor drama that she supported, thinking it so nice that some actors support each other's work, in this circle: CZY too has supported dramas and movies of friends, including a Zhang Jingyi movie....
Besides, for TWOT, Chen Zheyuan had genuinely worked a lot on arms muscles and body building. His company used to ask him to keep slim and not too muscular to fit the idea of "young" and "romantic", but he had mentioned he regretted he could not do more sports to get muscles. Hoping his recent injury off set of Chasing Dreams will not hamper him in continuing to chase his own ones.
https://mydramalist.com/discussions/bai-se-gan-lan-shu/123595-shooting-location-cast-and-crew-and-more?pid=3244734&page=1#p3244734