Wenxia

Episodes 9&10 were brilliant. But how can we ever piece together the truth, if they all just keep lying and messing with each other?;)

I was planning to ignore the romance here, cause I'm not in the mood. But these two... They seem to weigh every word between each other, while you can see there's so much stuff boiling inside left unsaid. Somehow less has more impact? jiade jiu hao/fake is good… >.<

Lol not a boring minute with him. I thought he was gonna be a cliché at first, but his mind is just something else... The way he tricked Xiang into signing those papers... He could even make a boring torture-for-info scene into a fun bungee jumping experience;D

You mean when she tumbled him to the ground? Lol, I didn't look at it that way. I guess I focused on Liao shooting that guy dead from a moving car…
But yeah it's cool they made her a full-on player - she's got both skills and smarts, though I don't envy her that Luo xiang/Chen Mo headache;)

Well, I've run out of episodes… I'm kind of surprised, cause it didn't feel like 8 eps. Compared to Gold Panning, which actually physically tired me out, this was an effortless watch. Gotta give it to the director for making it flow so well. The tension is well balanced with humour, the characters engaging, the mystery still alive and kicking, plus visually it looks great. Then Long ge is like a delightful cherry on top in a bathrobe;) I'm waiting for Liao's arc, cause he's stirring the pot a lot - just not sure which direction...

I wouldn't bet on it tbh:) But I like the characters, so I'm not complaining ...yet.

Yes, and I hope the drama keeps us guessing! I'm only mid-ep3 and all of them look like they could be double agents to me. Well, besides Long ge. I believe he's genuinely off his rocker;)

Come on, that's what makes it so much fun. I mean how many stories there are where a guy pretending to be someone else needs to pretend he's his old self in a way one part of the crowd believes him and the other believes he's pretending:)) Now whether they can pull it off so it at least adheres to logic is another matter altogether;)

🚬🚬🚬🍋 rotfl I almost snorted my morning coffee. Didn't expect so much dark humour<3

Oh Stephen holds his own here believe me. This role suits him very well;)

Well, well, well Long ge is one crazy cookie... I already like him:D In ep1-2 we have car chases, explosions, flying limbs, humour, adorable kid, badass chief and a convoluted story that weirdly makes perfect sense... I'm in:)

So there's more development in the manga? I wish we saw that in the series - him actually having some breakthroughs and moving forward, or at least rearranging the narrative in a way that'd make me understand him better. To me, at times it looked like he cared deeply, just was too bogged down in insecurities, feelings of inadequacy, existential vacuum, with some lingering guilt tied to his father on top. And yeah, Kido's betrayal of trust added a brick into that heavy load, further undermining his confidence. Then at other times, his body language and words were so dismissive, you're right, it'd be hard to believe he gave a single shit...That's why I hoped this third installment would clear things up with him trying and finding a balance in his relationship with Kuzumi.

As I said, maybe sth got lost in translation for me, but I don't really see how he's more committed now, compared to the end of MI. That one ended on a hopeful and positive note too. Then after two years, he's still stuck in that mindset and has no trust or confidence in either himself or Kuzumi?! Seems like a waste.Honestly, that bar scene where they're talking with their backs to each other - each alone with their pain, was just too heartbreaking to watch...

I agree with what you wrote about Kuzumi. But that's a big part of why I feel they're not a good match, and there's 'no future' spelled all over this relationship. Kuzumi gives too much of himself emotionally while he himself is left starving. Imo you can't do it long-term without running dry and turning numb sooner or later. I mean there must be a limit to how many times you can get hurt before you just stop caring, right? Lol maybe I synced up too much with Kijima while watching this and that's why I see everything in bleak colours... Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this, I'll put the manga on my list, but I'll probably wait a while to read it with fresh eyes:)

I completely agree with the smoking and making out part:D Not sure if they were going for sexy or pretentious with all those close-ups of cigarettes...

I also found the opening confusing. At the end of MI it seemed those two were heading somewhere - but here Rio seems to be stuck in the same place both mentally and geographically?! Whatever happened to wanting to work hard to take care of Kuzumi? Plus by now, they should have enough trust between them not to jump to conclusions and just talk this out - even if it played right into R's insecurities.
When he got on his lap, I thought it was a prelude to some interesting role-playing:) I really didn't expect the drama that followed.

About why he went there - he mentioned his senpai invited him, so I thought maybe he just felt compelled to go with them. Could be a thing about his work environment or this culturally ingrained compulsion to listen to your seniors. It used to drive me up the wall, when one of my best friends who's Japanese kept bailing on me, because a senior from her uni she barely even knew asked her to do sth. She even resigned from a trip we planned together for weeks, because her senpai asked her to go on vacation with her…
Then, it could be sth K truly found hot. Maybe he actually tried to tell R about it, but when he saw him closing up, he backtracked fast.

Btw, I found Kido really annoying and the main reason why I put this series on hold for months. It was so hard to find the right mood so I could deal with that piece of… calculating selfishness;)

Frankly speaking, I don't get why Kuzumi even bothered with Rio after catching him with that boy. I'm completely on his side here, cause I tend to get very territorial about things/places I consider 'ours' in a relationship. They've symbolic value to me. Honestly, I'd have given up on R as a lost cause at that point. But that's partly because there was not enough build-up to get me emotionally invested in their love. R was determined to make it work with Kuzumi at the end of MI. So how did we get back to this crippling insecurity here? I'd prefer it if they added a montage of their letters/meetings over the years to give us better understanding of where they were emotionally at the start of this movie.

Btw, when R said he doesn't get why K wanted to be with a man like him. I was like, my thoughts exactly! Just drop him and move on! ...which is probably not the reaction the writers were hoping for;)
But honestly, the body language!!!! It's sth that bothered me in the Novelist as well. You beg someone to let them explain and then sit with your back to them and give a cop-out explanation?! I was actually boiling with emotions at that point ...just the murderous kind.

I wouldn't mind if there was a fourth part about K falling in love with someone else;) Sorry, I just can't help but feel their love is somewhat doomed. The ending didn't convince me otherwise. I don't trust R not to repeat his behaviour. You can't force people to give you things they're themselves unwilling/unable to give...

Other than that, I actually quite liked him as a character. That convo when he called K to his flat to apologize, and then started talking about rent?! Only this guy:D Btw the answer to his question whether he's a pain in the ass ..is a big fat yes!

I liked how intensely erotic this series was as a whole, and the underlying existentialist message. That last talk with old master reminded me about one of my favourite poems - Loneliness by RM Rilke:) But, imo all three parts suffered from problems with narrative structure ...or sth just got lost in translation for me about their relationships. This may get spoiler-ish, so I'll hide my letter of complaint below;)

Same! It makes zero sense for A-ren to choose that jump, when they used the responsibility for the village and kids to stop him from leaving earlier. That girl recognizing the teacher with surprise could just mean he
came back after a while. So happy ending seems perfectly possible to me too:) The last few minutes was just really a lot of contrived melodrama.

What an epic seduction technique in the wilderness! I'm totally stealing it. To think I always dissed people for bringing alcohol to the mountains. I just never knew it was not for drinking:'(

Born to be soulmates trailer aka youku acknowledging epilogue as one true ending
https://youtu.be/opwVWlRNqeI
Basking in the sun and Hei laoshi facepalming hard;) https://twitter.com/mmuk021/status/1389195528374689792
Day 2 shipping
https://mobile.twitter.com/lldszd/status/1389849275870310403
VohDoh concert crack
https://youtu.be/58NQ6Lv9528
'Bu man ni shuo' comedy skit
https://twitter.com/xiaobabiiwawa/status/1389671360713007105?s=03
Family singing compilation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4E8kd-kBdw
Legendary day1 performance singalong
https://youtu.be/Y6QfCe5G3-U
It was good to have you this Spring! Wo yong yuan dou zai...
https://twitter.com/littlejadebear/status/1520287607280009218?t=tiAb4vZdf8d5NcVTlIMkYg&s=19
得君为友，不枉此生💕
https://youtu.be/YfvVNpceIxY
Post concert depression:D
https://twitter.com/cocopines/status/1391070348997632003?s=21

Can't believe it's been a whole year since I was flying high on WoH concert feels! Maybe it's because I was trekking then and I'm trekking again this year, just through different mountains... But the concert has been on my mind a lot today - getting sentimental over the failed singing, ridiculous games, shameless shipping, fandom going wild making the whole city wonder wth is happening and is this a wedding of two guys?!;) Then there's the complicated feelings when I recall our fervent hopes that things stay fun and positive and that no toxicity can touch those two precious goofballs… Well, below are some of my fav concert moments if anyone wants to join me on a stroll down memory lane...

🤣🤣🤣💖💖💖 Who's got a terrific memory here, huh?;P Have a brilliant week Maggi!