a cute feel good show 85% of the time!!

my friends and i have been talking about smth we would like to describe as the 'rare minimum.' as in this is the bare minimum bar is on the ground expectation for quality, and yet it happens so rarely that we are still surprised by it. this show is kind of it for light hearted romcoms! while not exactly a particularly smart show, it doesn't fall into senseless stupidity. all i ask is that the female lead be written with enough care and consideration that allows her to stand on her own, and isn't held down by the usual misogynistic tropes, and that she and the male lead can have a relationship that isn't plagued by stupid miscommunications and misunderstandings.... or worse the male lead being sweet and then suddenly becoming a raging abuser to 'protect her' or some shit which is the trope that sends me towards an early death.

the only real time su ci has issues w pei zhao/qi wang is when she becomes suddenly triggered and flies into trauma lizard brain for an episode but it's easily forgivable and understandable considering what she's been through, and the way that the couple actually communicate makes up for it, with them becoming stronger by the end. there's also a part where pei zhao has to marry a princess to save su ci, and she doesn't lose her head and devolve into 'he's betraying me' she ultimately still trusts him and knows that he did it for good reasons, but the narrative still allows her to be rightfully angry, which is nice. they have such a straightforward progression of becoming close, inspiring each other, being vulnerable with each other, and supporting each other that is just refreshing and comfortable to watch. i don't feel like im constantly under attack like how i feel having seen so many romantic dramas, where there is just toxic behavior that isn't developed or worked through and angst over misunderstandings.

the group dynamic/scooby gang investigating generally low stakes mysteries is so the vibe that i was looking for! every member of the friend group is so cute and each person has their chance to shine and offer their skills to the mystery at hand. well, maybe xie beiming a little less, but he's so lovable and supportive and important just for his presence alone! it's just nice to watch a show about a whole friend group too, which also feels like something of a rarity. usually the b couple is off having a whole separate plot. the secondary couple in this show is also.... really cute..... they really get me.... the supportive himbo king x smart/capable spunky girl ALWAYS gets me.... giving me guo jing x huang rong from condor heroes vibes. that said while they were super cute for most of the series i was disappointed in how their relationship arc went by the end, they really established that xie beiming was the overprotective will-just-hide-the-truth-from-his-girl type, which is fine as long as he grows from it and he never does?? pei zhao is literally like u should trust and believe in ur smart and strong gf and he still doesnt learn?? he literally goes into the finale still having not told her his past and she has to learn due to circumstance. very disappointed, he could have had a really fulfilling character arc in which he learns how to actually respect rushuang, and women in general by extension, by trusting and believing in her strength, and willing to be share himself and his troubles with her as a partner. sighhhhhh..

other problems w the show include the absolute flagrant and violent transphobia of the first episode and also sprinkled throughout the rest of the show. it's like reeeallly bad and reeeaaally gross. there's also some tropes in the beginning that are quite shitty, such as the aphrodisiac shit, the threat of sexual violence, it's all p upsetting and is what knocks the score down for me. i kno she's not trans by any means, but there's just something really violent about a gender nonconforming person getting drugged, and non consensually stuffed into the clothing and make up of their assigned gender, and then put under the threat of sexual violence, and then having to be saved by the male love interest.... and this happens TWICE.

but OTHERWISE, i've seen many a 'strong female character' but usually they are girl bosses because they are royalty or just powerful in social status, or they're exceptional fighters/warriors/generals.... it felt nice to watch su ci be accepted and respected based on her ability as a detective. also a lot of the characters come under the assumption that pei zhao and su ci are gay because she was dressed as a man for a lot of the series.... for a show with no gay leads or gay relationships, it somehow still felt like the kindest treatment of lgb people i've seen in a c-drama?? pei zhao is clearly interested and kisses su ci before he finds out she's a girl, and even afterwards every time someone is like u guys are gay, he is super accepting and goes along with it, he doesn't protest even a little, being gay just isn't treated like it's shameful.... which is more than i can say for some literal bl novels/shows. based on this i'm willing to just go ahead w my bi king headcanon. himbo king xie meiming is also super supportive when he thinks they're gay, he doesn't 'out' them at any point and is just generally caring?? the only one who is mad about it is pei zhao's clearly gay servant kid who also wrote their names together in a marriage wish so i'm willing to chalk it up to him being young and suffering from internalized homophobia.

another note why are we STILL under the yoke of the ten miles peach blossoms styling chokehold.... su ci resembles bai qian in her styling very much, very sick of the light near white robes with the middle parted hair that softly curls around the head and the drop earrings.... even when dressed as a guy she looks like bai qian's young cross dressing form. come on c dramas let's move onnnNNN!!!

ultimately, this is a great feel good comfort show! lighthearted but still engaging, with a lot of simple plots and storytelling, nothing new exactly, but it doesn't aspire to ever be more than it is. just comforting, safe, and cute.

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never in a million years did i imagine myself simping for a cat girl

after watching this and ding yuxi's han shuo from romance of tiger and rose, i am realizing that i am not immune to the charms of idol types............

ge xinyi's xiao xiu is literally the cutest girl i've ever seen and her as a cat! so good!!!! i imagined it would be some kind of cringe baby nyannyan shit but she just like,,, had the personality of what an actual cat might have??? and acted it so well down to all the details, really great physical acting, and her line delivery was so natural and realistic..... i love her im obsessed!!!!!!! i was so scared that she would be baby and annoying and overly dependent on chi yan for everything but i srlsy am so thankful that she had her own thing, made friends on her own, got a job, and was moreso curious and excitable abt exploring the human world- the independence and ability to take care of herself all felt like cared for decisions in making a real character and not a thing or idea of a cutesy cat.

ren youlun's chi yan was also quite good and very natural feeling, he didn't feel like...the drama version of an antisocial loner, but like, a real guy who is just like that. i liked also that he didn't have like, idol type good looks, and was just very plain, but the more i watched him the more fond of him i felt. his character growth is genuinely quite nice to see, it feels so relaxing to have him become a much more open and caring person. their relationship is adorable and sweet, they are just good to each other and good for each other which is somehow a rarity in c drama rom coms!!!!

the story itself is whatever tbh, i mean i have literally the lowest of expectations when the plot is my girlfriend is a cat alien, but it met all of them. main leads are written to at least feel natural, real and respectable enough, no crazy motivations out of left field, no wild problematics, just genuinely sweet and supportive relationship. it's really the parts outside of it that start not making sense. there's plenty of plot and logic holes in the fantasy they made but im just choosing to ignore it because i can. the amnesia plot towards the end is kinda annoying but honestly wasnt as bad as i thought it would be, it felt more natural as a progression, though i would have preferred a different way of solving it- which tbh would've meant xiao xiu actually returning to cat planet for a time (and then lin mo wouldnt have to disappear for the last quarter and we could've progressed the cat smuggling plot instead of having everyone re-meet each other and re-get together) but there's no way that they would ever have the budget to hire an animator to depict any more scenes on cat planet lmfao.

the secondary characters are p meh and lin mo is especially poorly written and purely for plot purposes of needing villain he has absolutely shit for brains common sense and somehow is delusional for 10 years out of grief. actual villain idgaf that hes poorly written because im not expecting anythin more out of him. the secondary couple im also not a fan of, though i like qin mingming quite a bit and i actually really like her friendship w chi yan. xu zihao is unbearable in the first half of the drama and im genuinely just not sold on his and mingming's relationship working out but whatever.

all in all, i had a really great time watching this sweet and wholesome drama! i realize the script writer is the same writer as rational life which is my fav modern c drama so i look forward to her future projects, as well as to both lead actors but especially ge xinyi!

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genuinely a solid show

ok first the pros:
truly an enjoyable show for the most part. high praise for its ability to recreate 1930s beiping. it was a lovely experience watching the show mostly for its ability to create a setting and environment that allowed you to hang out in the time and place, with a ragtag group of opera performers, to hear and see and smell and exist in the world. truly a++ for being able to bring the viewer into the setting. i have such deep affection for a majority of the characters, everyone in the opera troupe and all of their daily antics and dramas are so entertaining and engaging. i also LOOVEE the two old gays, esp ning jiulang who acts as shang xirui's mentor and idol, and the disciple that shang xirui takes in... we love intergenerational queer connections. er nai nai is quite well written especially in the beginning, i found it to be unfortunately lacking about half way through, but her character arc finishes in a somewhat satisfying way.

My greatest love goes to, of course, shang xirui, our stubborn, fearless, eccentric, gay artist- yin zheng's acting is PHENOMENAL!!! rarely does one find a portrayal of someone who is meant to be "strange" and not have it be forced, cringe, or just far from reality and is just the idea of 'strange.' yin zheng's shang xirui feels like an absolutely genuinely one of a kind, original human being- who has quirks, who is a genius, who can masterfully embody femininity and masculinity, who feels so deeply and passionately and stubbornly. like i think he is one of my favorite and most beloved characters of all c-drama?? yin zheng creates such a realistic, multifaceted portrayal, i found myself so endeared to him, sometimes exasperated, but so admiring all the same.

i generally quite enjoyed the themes that the series ended on as well. a good chunk of it is about the dying art form of chinese opera, the relationship that an artist has to the art, to their brand and performance, as well as to the audience. i'm a bit more ambivalent about shang xirui and cheng fengtai's relationship, but they actually got me in the end. the care and love they have for each other is so deep, yet shang xirui's decision to stay in beiping, despite whatever dangers he may face, despite separating from the man he loves, because that's where his passion and art are, his family, and his life are- really got my admiration for the series. even the way cheng fengtai and er nainai's way of talking about shang xirui basically just living off them felt so wrong. the story's decision to highlight shang xirui's free spirit and independence, his determination and stubbornness to live by his art, rather than placing love above all else is really great and another rarity in c drama. the last couple scenes with him and cheng fengtai on the phone... when they finally saw each other again......... wow this is the shit that gets me......

ok cons.....
i find cheng fengtai's character to be extremely lacking and quite poorly written, especially in comparison to shang xirui who gets so much incredible development. sad rich boy with a sad backstory and who couldn't pursue artistic things like he wanted but had to be a businessman for his family....... whatever...... like he had a lot of potential to be a genuinely very interesting character. the show couldve actually explored his privilege and his interest in shang xirui as a reflection of the dreams he abandoned as well as the mother who abandoned him. from the beginning it felt clear that he was projecting heavily on shang xirui but the show never explored this as a potential flaw... it was just framed as romantic? like imagine if they gave cheng fengtai real flaws, that his love for shang xirui wasn't pure, that he wasnt a perfect friend/partner to him and in fact had to learn how to be better to him while exploring his own character? imagine if they actually made him address his relationship with his wife!! they make the suggestion that he does not truly love her but performs the role of a husband because it is what is expected of him... ok so write that but a full arc! write about how he has to perform the role of a perfect son, head of the family, and husband and its intersections specifically with CLASS and give him depth rather than just fetishizing it all as self sacrifice. er nainai is barely well written but it's still better than cheng fengtai, she actually has really interesting stuff going on, being a woman who IS strong, capable and can take control and leadership, and yet romanticizes the traditional role of a wife and performs it because of what she has been taught by society. It's really interesting and only at the very very end does she have one line acknowledging it, saying that she and cheng fengtai do not have a romantic love, but that they have simply been performing the roles of husband and wife. one line is not good enough!! why not write an entire relationship arc for them that explores this instead of having it devolve into a literal MISUNDERSTANDING about cheng fengtai cheating on her and her being insecure when they have REAL problems to work through that the show set up already!!! ALSO the relationship between cheng fengtai and his little sister is interesting too and has the set up for some actual good development that just once again devolves into a misunderstanding that cheng fengtai is working w the japanese! truly a disappointment. the show is just hell bent on making cheng fengtai mr. action cool hot rich man who is a bamf ceo who also is GOOD to everyone!!

all the military stuff drags on and on and definitely highlights the military in a way that isn't comfortable (i know it takes place in wartimes but STILL). the plot w cheng fentai's sister and the cao's was so horrible please take it away. gu dali was super hot but i KNO it was just some racist misogynistic shit where her being masculine and in charge is supposed to be funny and strange and unlike a good han woman rather than genuinely admirable... and then they did the horrible plot of her trying to get pregnant and her having to act feminine which was framed as soOOoo funny..... and then they killed her..... truly a grave crime. i also really really did not like the ending w shang xirui almost ruining his voice to save cheng fengtai, i am never a fan of self sacrifice for love, and it felt really gratuitous. i understand that they had to up the stakes for the finale and also show how much shang xirui loved him, but i feel like this was already shown by the way he just stabbed the japanese on pure instinct and the way he stayed by his bedside and refused to leave him.

anyway, all in all, a solid show. there's certainly flaws and missed opportunities for me, but overall its strength in shang xirui's character, its portrayal of the opera world and the experiential immersion in the setting make it a drama that will stick with me for quite some time.

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