JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights .. I HAD to work my way through…
I was curious to know what impact it had in the AWARD and critical acclaim circuit : and that's when I looked for an AI overview of WHY it FAILED to garner much.
WHAT AI summarized : My query was :What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama,…
I get this : the motivations that drive awards
And then I think when Award are based ONLY on these OVERT categories some TRUE GEMS fall away into oblivion.
Has me wondering HOW would the SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDIES have fared under such criteria LOL
THINK: - HAMLET - MACBETH - OTHELLO - KING LEAR
The Classic QUAD that is EVEN to this day studied and analysed LOL
It would FAIL for - being "weak and masochistic" - lacking "a triumphant spirit" - for "characters that spend time weeping, kneeling, begging" - for 'crushed and humiliated' leads
If any English Lit student is here .. who had ANY of the ABOVE as their high school syllabus would understand how and why this Drama is SO TOP OF the LINE and IMO amongst the MOST CINEMATIC and LITERARY of PERIOD Chinese Dramas
And that is talking about JUST the characters and story arc
JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights .. I HAD to work my way through…
BUT .. WHOA it was STILL EPIC
Even MORE EPIC in the second round.
SO much of the machinations fell into place .. could finally understand causes, motivations, chain of actions, thought processes EVEN much of the PLOT points.
It's like in FIRST round, I gobbled down a delish dish when I was hungry and missed SO MUCH .. then another day, on my SECOND round, I decided to savour it and pick out ALL the smells, tastes, textures and the look of it.
JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights ..
I HAD to work my way through : TERRIBLE subbing
Ok not as bad as YouTube machine translations; but this drama deserved Viki / Netflix (even more Pro) level of subbing.
It was ripe with poetry, innuendo, between the lines conversations. Besides, the fact that many of the 'texts in letters - memorials' etc were on screen but NOT translated. (I had to flick out my Google Translate and it was like an idiot. SIGH! I guess it's NOT easy to Translate Mandarin).
Then there were the BLANKS .. NO SUBS in crucial scenes when you want to hang on to each word.
What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama, for example Magnolia or Eagle?
Royal Nirvana faced a "perfect storm" of obstacles that kept it from winning the top-tier government awards (like the Flying Apsaras or Magnolia Best Drama) that Nirvana in Fire swept.
While visually stunning and well-acted, it fell short of "legendary" status for four key reasons:
1. The "Suffering" Factor (Tone vs. Preference)Major Chinese awards, particularly the government-backed Flying Apsaras, heavily favor dramas with "positive energy" (正能量), constructive values, or inspiring heroes.
The Mismatch: Royal Nirvana is famously bleak. It is a tragedy about a hero who tries to be moral but is repeatedly crushed, humiliated, and traumatized by his father.
The Consequence: This "depressing" tone can be viewed by conservative jury panels as "too dark" or lacking the triumphant spirit usually rewarded in top national accolades.
Unlike Mei Changsu, who suffers but wins, Xiao Dingquan suffers and loses.
2. "The Crying Prince" Controversy The reception of the protagonist, Xiao Dingquan, was divisive.
Audience Split: While Luo Jin’s acting was praised, the character spent a significant portion of the series weeping, kneeling, or begging. This earned him the nickname "The Crying Prince" (哭包太子) among netizens.I
Impact: A protagonist who appears "weak" or "masochistic" (even if historically realistic or psychologically complex) often lacks the broad mainstream appeal needed to secure a "Best Actor" or "Best Drama" win against more dominant, clever heroes.
3. A Year of Titans (The Competition) The drama aired in late 2019 and competed in the 2020 awards cycle, which was one of the most competitive years in recent history. It was overshadowed by massive hits that had both critical acclaim and mass appeal:
The shweetest back and forth between the OTP - the ABSOLUTE opposite of “cringey” - total squeeeeee ALL the way .. my cheeks are hurting from all that grinning, watching their flirty courtship which is so low key but high impact
OMG !!!!YESSSS!!!!!I LOVE ITIt gives that ethereal 4th dimension to this unforgettable epic Period DramaI have…
😝😝😝
Totally get that of course
I have my list of such too 🤣
- Zhang Wan Yi (LYF) - Kim Seon Ho - Miles Wei - Deng Wei - Feng Shan Feng ( couldn’t do Story of Ming Lan JUST because I couldn’t stay with or get into him - and that seemed like an epic drama I’d have enjoyed so much)
Can’t for the life of me get behind them if they are in the OTP mode - am absolutely fine and admire them in support roles even as second leads) : though they were in some superb dramas that I would have watched otherwise 🤭
OMG !!!!YESSSS!!!!!I LOVE ITIt gives that ethereal 4th dimension to this unforgettable epic Period DramaI have…
🤓😝
His looks? Or his acting?
He’s a SUPERB actor IMO .. Gets into character and full of micro expressions.
He isn’t “good looking” in the standard sense (cherubic at best) but when you watch him in his roles you’ll be swept off.
My first drama of his was Sungkyunkwan Scandal - he was in a support role and stole the show and one wished he was the ML He pulled off a naughty flirty highly intelligent person in it - his winks were something!!!
He’s in Descendants of the Sun which I dropped because I couldn’t bear watching the FL and her wax bland face even though SJK was slaying the role. Also the story was more like a travel mag shoot 🤪
Have a look at the posts and comments I posted just now ;-p
I've copy pasted the response ..
And then I think when Award are based ONLY on these OVERT categories some TRUE GEMS fall away into oblivion.
Has me wondering HOW would the SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDIES have fared under such criteria LOL
THINK:
- HAMLET
- MACBETH
- OTHELLO
- KING LEAR
The Classic QUAD that is EVEN to this day studied and analysed LOL
It would FAIL for
- being "weak and masochistic"
- lacking "a triumphant spirit"
- for "characters that spend time weeping, kneeling, begging"
- for 'crushed and humiliated' leads
If any English Lit student is here .. who had ANY of the ABOVE as their high school syllabus would understand how and why this Drama is SO TOP OF the LINE and IMO amongst the MOST CINEMATIC and LITERARY of PERIOD Chinese Dramas
And that is talking about JUST the characters and story arc
Even MORE EPIC in the second round.
SO much of the machinations fell into place .. could finally understand causes, motivations, chain of actions, thought processes EVEN much of the PLOT points.
It's like in FIRST round, I gobbled down a delish dish when I was hungry and missed SO MUCH .. then another day, on my SECOND round, I decided to savour it and pick out ALL the smells, tastes, textures and the look of it.
I HAD to work my way through : TERRIBLE subbing
Ok not as bad as YouTube machine translations; but this drama deserved Viki / Netflix (even more Pro) level of subbing.
It was ripe with poetry, innuendo, between the lines conversations.
Besides, the fact that many of the 'texts in letters - memorials' etc were on screen but NOT translated. (I had to flick out my Google Translate and it was like an idiot. SIGH! I guess it's NOT easy to Translate Mandarin).
Then there were the BLANKS .. NO SUBS in crucial scenes when you want to hang on to each word.
What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama, for example Magnolia or Eagle?
Royal Nirvana faced a "perfect storm" of obstacles that kept it from winning the top-tier government awards (like the Flying Apsaras or Magnolia Best Drama) that Nirvana in Fire swept.
While visually stunning and well-acted, it fell short of "legendary" status for four key reasons:
1. The "Suffering" Factor (Tone vs. Preference)Major Chinese awards, particularly the government-backed Flying Apsaras, heavily favor dramas with "positive energy" (正能量), constructive values, or inspiring heroes.
The Mismatch: Royal Nirvana is famously bleak. It is a tragedy about a hero who tries to be moral but is repeatedly crushed, humiliated, and traumatized by his father.
The Consequence: This "depressing" tone can be viewed by conservative jury panels as "too dark" or lacking the triumphant spirit usually rewarded in top national accolades.
Unlike Mei Changsu, who suffers but wins, Xiao Dingquan suffers and loses.
2. "The Crying Prince" Controversy
The reception of the protagonist, Xiao Dingquan, was divisive.
Audience Split: While Luo Jin’s acting was praised, the character spent a significant portion of the series weeping, kneeling, or begging.
This earned him the nickname "The Crying Prince" (哭包太子) among netizens.I
Impact: A protagonist who appears "weak" or "masochistic" (even if historically realistic or psychologically complex) often lacks the broad mainstream appeal needed to secure a "Best Actor" or "Best Drama" win against more dominant, clever heroes.
3. A Year of Titans (The Competition)
The drama aired in late 2019 and competed in the 2020 awards cycle, which was one of the most competitive years in recent history.
It was overshadowed by massive hits that had both critical acclaim and mass appeal:
- Joy of Life
- The Longest Day in Chang'an
Dropped it after it - this second arc was so off colour for me ..
Episode 12
WTEff happened??
Someone pulled a half baked cake out of the oven ????
Am so disappointed!!!
Every thing changed.
The tone the pace the tension - suddenly it becomes an illustrated history text book of Republican China 🙈
I feel like using the Zheng Dalun’s pistol and shooting me in the head - BAM!!!!
Ugh!!!
Haven’t felt so betrayed by a drama in a long while
Totally loving the portrayal - he’s slaying the role
Wow!!!
Loving the pace - the no unnecessary dawdling and time waste.
Crisp and tight and yet such sharp plot turns that is outlining the characters 😍
Just started!!
Stay Good and taut and sensible 🤭🫰🏽🫰🏽
I get that
Totally get that of course
I have my list of such too 🤣
- Zhang Wan Yi (LYF)
- Kim Seon Ho
- Miles Wei
- Deng Wei
- Feng Shan Feng ( couldn’t do Story of Ming Lan JUST because I couldn’t stay with or get into him - and that seemed like an epic drama I’d have enjoyed so much)
Can’t for the life of me get behind them if they are in the OTP mode - am absolutely fine and admire them in support roles even as second leads) : though they were in some superb dramas that I would have watched otherwise 🤭
His looks? Or his acting?
He’s a SUPERB actor IMO .. Gets into character and full of micro expressions.
He isn’t “good looking” in the standard sense (cherubic at best) but when you watch him in his roles you’ll be swept off.
My first drama of his was Sungkyunkwan Scandal - he was in a support role and stole the show and one wished he was the ML
He pulled off a naughty flirty highly intelligent person in it - his winks were something!!!
He’s in Descendants of the Sun which I dropped because I couldn’t bear watching the FL and her wax bland face even though SJK was slaying the role.
Also the story was more like a travel mag shoot 🤪
He’s also fabulous in Innocent Man
Watched twice - all three seasons
Blown away by the story telling acting