Fannish 50 Post 17: Blossom, or the bones of a FANTASTIC C-DRAMA
May. 21st, 2025 12:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
glitteryvBlossom
Not even gonna hide the lede: THIS IS MY FAVE CDRAMA OF THE PAST 2 YEARS. It first aired in December 2024.
The premise
The story is abt Dou Zhao (played by Meng Ziyi). She's in her early 30s and has been married for over a decade to a guy she'd entered into an arranged marriage with. It's been a good life for the most part. The marriage isn't a passionate one, BUT Dou Zhao takes her role as wife v. seriously (including administrating the home AND some of her husband's business.) The first episode is set a year after she had a miscarriage (this is, IIRC, only mentioned in the first episode.) However, the loss affected her health to the point that she knows she's dying. (It's not explained what it is, but whenever she coughs and covers her mouth with a handkerchief, there's blood on it.)
ANYWAYS, one day, Dou Zhao finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with her OWN SISTER. It leads to a really bad confrontation (which includes an accusation from her sister to Dou Zhao abt their mother's death.) Betrayed and heartbroken (she might've not loved the guy, but she did cared abt him), Dou Zhao makes a public announcement that she's getting a divorce and leaves with her personal maid.
Because there's an actual coup happening in the capital (where one of the princes is deposing the emperor with the help of General Song Mo ((Li Yunri), the best general in the entire army), Dou Zhao has to go to her hometown to file the divorce. Along the way, an accident happens. She's rescued by Song Mo (!!!)--who is now at odds with the rebel prince-cum-new-emperor.
A monk named Yi Jong (played Xia Zhiguang) shows up and invites Dou Zhao and everyone else to his temple cuz a snowstorm is imminent. While there, Dou Zhao and Song Mo have a conversation that goes on until daybreak. Yi Jong comments something abt how the two of them are connected (cuz he saw it in the heavens.)
In the morning, when everyone starts to get ready to leave the temple, who shows up but Wang Ge (played by Du Yiheng) who is the head eunuch AND Wei Tingyu (played by Li Xinze) who is Dou Zhao's husband. They ACCUSE HER AND SONG MO OF BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP which the new emperor says is treason. So they have to be executed. They've brought a few soldier squads with them.
Song Mo's like "Bitch, what are y'all even talking abt?" And calls his own regiments to action.
A battle begins.
In the middle of all that, Yi Jong leads Dou Zhao, her maid, and Song Mo in the the direction of a secret passage out of the temple. Along the way, Dou Zhao's maid is killed and Yi Jong is mortally wounded. Before he dies, he repeats that he'd seen how there was a huge calamity happening, but within it there was a miracle. Also that Dou Zhao and Song Mo's destinies are connected. Then he hands Dou Zhao a v. special book, telling her that the book is a key to fix everything that has gone wrong. After that, he's dunzo.
Dou Zhao and Song Mo are running away when someone shoots an arrow that's so powerful it goes thru Song Mo AND Dou Zhao. The momentum is such that it pulls them into a chasm!
As the two of them fall and are dying, Dou Zhao thinks abt what her life had been like and wishing things had been different. She holds onto the book. Suddenly, instead of falling, she starts to float up. A drop of Song Mo's blood floats out of his body and embeds itself in the back of Dou Zhao's right ear. It becomes a red beauty mark.
She then wakes up in a new life, TWENTY YEARS IN THE PAST, with full memories of her first life AND her awareness as a 30-something year old. BUT NOW SHE'S IN HER OWN BODY WHEN SHE WAS 10 YEARS OLD!!!
Talk abt a record scratch moment! (and it's all filmed super exquisitely too.)
I first heard abt this drama toward the end of last year. The buzz was THAT strong. Fast-forward to early January this year when I decided to give it a try. IIRC, I ended watching all 34 episodes in A WEEK!!! XD
There's a TON I like abt this series. The plot, pacing, cinematography, casting, and acting were great. Motivations for the good characters AND the villains mostly made sense (there's one villain character I'll talk abt in my criticisms).
Another thing I dug abt this show was seen how Dou Zhao's meddling in her second life affected everyone else's life. Frex, some characters who had been good ppl in the first life become villains in the second one and vice versa. Because she's the viewers' touchstone in terms of this new life, it's fairly easy to side with her and, as a result, be suspicious of others' motivations. And also be shocked when a villain in Life 1 becomes an ally in Life 2.
The show has a fantastic balance of angst and humor too! Plus at least 2 extra layers of 💜GOOD ROMANCE, Y'ALL.💜
THE CP, Y'ALL. FUCKING *CHEF'S KISS* . Like, even before they get together, they have AN INCANDESCENT kind of chemistry. It's IMPOSSIBLE to not cheer for them. Theirs is a FREAK4FREAKLOVER relationship (with Dou Zhao being the FREAK (affectionately) and Song Mo being v. happy as the FREAKLOVER.)
They're also a bona fide, certified, and feared POWER COUPLE. Like, there's a moment in the story when they two of them are truly, 100% just chilling out at home…and yet some of the villains are STRESSING THE FUCK OUT cuz they're sure that Dou Zhao and Song Mo are planning stuff to bring them down, hahah. Then the scene cuts to a sweet moment between the CP.
This isn't exactly a spoiler, BUT I'm sure there are ppl who don't want to know anything abt the CP, so I'm gonna be considerate and throw in a
I really, really liked how the show reversed the expectations w/r/t the roles within the relationship. Because, once they get together, Dou Zhao slides into a soft femdome role. She takes care of Song Mo (bathing him in one scene) in a way that's not subservient at all. He's a leader in his own right yet he's a total softie with his wife. She's strong for him even when there doesn't seem to be any hope in the horizon.
One thing I really, really fancied abt this CP is that there's no misunderstanding OR hints of cheating or actual cheating in their romance. They hold each other's hearts thru this life, the previous one, and the many other ones to come. This show makes that v. fucking clear. One final thing I like abt this CP is that they most deffo fuck (not, like, onscreen cuz, LOL, it's a C Drama and so it had to pass censorship). However, there's a carnal aspect to the relationship that's part of their bond. Though it's technically true that Dou Zhao is a virgin in Life 2, she's playfully sensual with Song Mo (to the point of teasing him aaaalmost without meaning to, heheh) here and there.
Do I have any criticisms?
The last ONE FOURTH of the drama has a character having a v. random heel turn. For which I do blame the otherwise amazing script. As I understand it, there are a lot of hints throughout the novel (this drama is based on) of the character either being morally gray (if not 100% evil.) However, in the show, the character becomes a monster for a reason that doesn't convince me at all. I get that there wasn't enough time, but there we are.
IMO, eps. 24-27 the show gets a bit weird cuz the character's heel turn occurs and you're literally like ?????. IJS
There were also two secondary couples I didn't care abt at all. However, the show focused a bit too much on them.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
Low-Medium.
Bad things DO happen to Dou Zhao, stuff she has to recover from (mainly physically). Occasionally, she does get outsmarted by the villains and, sometimes, her memories from Life 1 do mess her up in LIfe 2 (assuming a character is good or evil, frex) from time to time.
IMO, the show didn't exactly protected her (the way I saw with Fangfei in The Double and Niaoniao in Love Like the Galaxy.) Her knowledge and training (via the combination of her memories and the book Yi Jong gave her) explain why she's able to weasel her way out of most predicaments. Though, again, she' s not infallible either.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's fine. The bulk of the struggle kicks off around ep. 25, but the story keeps things even between that and the CP's romance. I didn't feel one way or another abt the emperor in this drama. There are both external and internal reasons why he is the way he is. Tan Kai as the emperor did a good turn in the role.
How does it address/works with the trope?
IT'S ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THE WOMAN SET ON REVENGE/COLD GENERAL. Hits every point from Dou Zhao's initial disinterest in Song Mo, her revenge plans, Song Mo being mesmerized by her everything, him having a strong presence and being a fierce fighter, etc.
In a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), I'm placing Song Mo at 8, i.e. Expect A Painful Death If You Ever Cross Him. Although he softens up a ton once he and Dou Zhou are an official couple.
Do I recommend it?
OFC, I DO!! It's a show that gives you action, angst, romance, and a v. entertaining journey. The HEA ending is a delight (including the quick epilogue/stinger at the end of ep. 34.) I'm giving it a 4.7 out of 5. Watched it on YouTube at least twice now. #NoRegrets
Queerness level
It's low. There's one (1) instance of a platonic soulmates dynamic that could be read as queerplatonic, maybe? Though that depends a lot on whether or not one would see one half of the ship as asexual. IDK. I did read it as such, YMMV. Interestingly enough, there's another dynamic that could be perceived as a one-sided queer crush between another character and that same male (and possibly asexual) character.
Le Trailer
This is a teaser clip from when the show was being filmed. IMO, the official trailer gives way too much away. I chose to share this video instead cuz it showcases the cinematography and overall LOVEY-DOVEY (but in an an ADULT WAY) vibes.
Not even gonna hide the lede: THIS IS MY FAVE CDRAMA OF THE PAST 2 YEARS. It first aired in December 2024.
The premise
The story is abt Dou Zhao (played by Meng Ziyi). She's in her early 30s and has been married for over a decade to a guy she'd entered into an arranged marriage with. It's been a good life for the most part. The marriage isn't a passionate one, BUT Dou Zhao takes her role as wife v. seriously (including administrating the home AND some of her husband's business.) The first episode is set a year after she had a miscarriage (this is, IIRC, only mentioned in the first episode.) However, the loss affected her health to the point that she knows she's dying. (It's not explained what it is, but whenever she coughs and covers her mouth with a handkerchief, there's blood on it.)
ANYWAYS, one day, Dou Zhao finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with her OWN SISTER. It leads to a really bad confrontation (which includes an accusation from her sister to Dou Zhao abt their mother's death.) Betrayed and heartbroken (she might've not loved the guy, but she did cared abt him), Dou Zhao makes a public announcement that she's getting a divorce and leaves with her personal maid.
Because there's an actual coup happening in the capital (where one of the princes is deposing the emperor with the help of General Song Mo ((Li Yunri), the best general in the entire army), Dou Zhao has to go to her hometown to file the divorce. Along the way, an accident happens. She's rescued by Song Mo (!!!)--who is now at odds with the rebel prince-cum-new-emperor.
A monk named Yi Jong (played Xia Zhiguang) shows up and invites Dou Zhao and everyone else to his temple cuz a snowstorm is imminent. While there, Dou Zhao and Song Mo have a conversation that goes on until daybreak. Yi Jong comments something abt how the two of them are connected (cuz he saw it in the heavens.)
In the morning, when everyone starts to get ready to leave the temple, who shows up but Wang Ge (played by Du Yiheng) who is the head eunuch AND Wei Tingyu (played by Li Xinze) who is Dou Zhao's husband. They ACCUSE HER AND SONG MO OF BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP which the new emperor says is treason. So they have to be executed. They've brought a few soldier squads with them.
Song Mo's like "Bitch, what are y'all even talking abt?" And calls his own regiments to action.
A battle begins.
In the middle of all that, Yi Jong leads Dou Zhao, her maid, and Song Mo in the the direction of a secret passage out of the temple. Along the way, Dou Zhao's maid is killed and Yi Jong is mortally wounded. Before he dies, he repeats that he'd seen how there was a huge calamity happening, but within it there was a miracle. Also that Dou Zhao and Song Mo's destinies are connected. Then he hands Dou Zhao a v. special book, telling her that the book is a key to fix everything that has gone wrong. After that, he's dunzo.
Dou Zhao and Song Mo are running away when someone shoots an arrow that's so powerful it goes thru Song Mo AND Dou Zhao. The momentum is such that it pulls them into a chasm!
As the two of them fall and are dying, Dou Zhao thinks abt what her life had been like and wishing things had been different. She holds onto the book. Suddenly, instead of falling, she starts to float up. A drop of Song Mo's blood floats out of his body and embeds itself in the back of Dou Zhao's right ear. It becomes a red beauty mark.
She then wakes up in a new life, TWENTY YEARS IN THE PAST, with full memories of her first life AND her awareness as a 30-something year old. BUT NOW SHE'S IN HER OWN BODY WHEN SHE WAS 10 YEARS OLD!!!
Talk abt a record scratch moment! (and it's all filmed super exquisitely too.)
I first heard abt this drama toward the end of last year. The buzz was THAT strong. Fast-forward to early January this year when I decided to give it a try. IIRC, I ended watching all 34 episodes in A WEEK!!! XD
There's a TON I like abt this series. The plot, pacing, cinematography, casting, and acting were great. Motivations for the good characters AND the villains mostly made sense (there's one villain character I'll talk abt in my criticisms).
Another thing I dug abt this show was seen how Dou Zhao's meddling in her second life affected everyone else's life. Frex, some characters who had been good ppl in the first life become villains in the second one and vice versa. Because she's the viewers' touchstone in terms of this new life, it's fairly easy to side with her and, as a result, be suspicious of others' motivations. And also be shocked when a villain in Life 1 becomes an ally in Life 2.
The show has a fantastic balance of angst and humor too! Plus at least 2 extra layers of 💜GOOD ROMANCE, Y'ALL.💜
THE CP, Y'ALL. FUCKING *CHEF'S KISS* . Like, even before they get together, they have AN INCANDESCENT kind of chemistry. It's IMPOSSIBLE to not cheer for them. Theirs is a FREAK4FREAKLOVER relationship (with Dou Zhao being the FREAK (affectionately) and Song Mo being v. happy as the FREAKLOVER.)
They're also a bona fide, certified, and feared POWER COUPLE. Like, there's a moment in the story when they two of them are truly, 100% just chilling out at home…and yet some of the villains are STRESSING THE FUCK OUT cuz they're sure that Dou Zhao and Song Mo are planning stuff to bring them down, hahah. Then the scene cuts to a sweet moment between the CP.
This isn't exactly a spoiler, BUT I'm sure there are ppl who don't want to know anything abt the CP, so I'm gonna be considerate and throw in a
SPOILER WARNING
I really, really liked how the show reversed the expectations w/r/t the roles within the relationship. Because, once they get together, Dou Zhao slides into a soft femdome role. She takes care of Song Mo (bathing him in one scene) in a way that's not subservient at all. He's a leader in his own right yet he's a total softie with his wife. She's strong for him even when there doesn't seem to be any hope in the horizon.
One thing I really, really fancied abt this CP is that there's no misunderstanding OR hints of cheating or actual cheating in their romance. They hold each other's hearts thru this life, the previous one, and the many other ones to come. This show makes that v. fucking clear. One final thing I like abt this CP is that they most deffo fuck (not, like, onscreen cuz, LOL, it's a C Drama and so it had to pass censorship). However, there's a carnal aspect to the relationship that's part of their bond. Though it's technically true that Dou Zhao is a virgin in Life 2, she's playfully sensual with Song Mo (to the point of teasing him aaaalmost without meaning to, heheh) here and there.
Do I have any criticisms?
The last ONE FOURTH of the drama has a character having a v. random heel turn. For which I do blame the otherwise amazing script. As I understand it, there are a lot of hints throughout the novel (this drama is based on) of the character either being morally gray (if not 100% evil.) However, in the show, the character becomes a monster for a reason that doesn't convince me at all. I get that there wasn't enough time, but there we are.
IMO, eps. 24-27 the show gets a bit weird cuz the character's heel turn occurs and you're literally like ?????. IJS
There were also two secondary couples I didn't care abt at all. However, the show focused a bit too much on them.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
Low-Medium.
Bad things DO happen to Dou Zhao, stuff she has to recover from (mainly physically). Occasionally, she does get outsmarted by the villains and, sometimes, her memories from Life 1 do mess her up in LIfe 2 (assuming a character is good or evil, frex) from time to time.
IMO, the show didn't exactly protected her (the way I saw with Fangfei in The Double and Niaoniao in Love Like the Galaxy.) Her knowledge and training (via the combination of her memories and the book Yi Jong gave her) explain why she's able to weasel her way out of most predicaments. Though, again, she' s not infallible either.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's fine. The bulk of the struggle kicks off around ep. 25, but the story keeps things even between that and the CP's romance. I didn't feel one way or another abt the emperor in this drama. There are both external and internal reasons why he is the way he is. Tan Kai as the emperor did a good turn in the role.
How does it address/works with the trope?
IT'S ONE OF THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THE WOMAN SET ON REVENGE/COLD GENERAL. Hits every point from Dou Zhao's initial disinterest in Song Mo, her revenge plans, Song Mo being mesmerized by her everything, him having a strong presence and being a fierce fighter, etc.
In a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), I'm placing Song Mo at 8, i.e. Expect A Painful Death If You Ever Cross Him. Although he softens up a ton once he and Dou Zhou are an official couple.
Do I recommend it?
OFC, I DO!! It's a show that gives you action, angst, romance, and a v. entertaining journey. The HEA ending is a delight (including the quick epilogue/stinger at the end of ep. 34.) I'm giving it a 4.7 out of 5. Watched it on YouTube at least twice now. #NoRegrets
Queerness level
It's low. There's one (1) instance of a platonic soulmates dynamic that could be read as queerplatonic, maybe? Though that depends a lot on whether or not one would see one half of the ship as asexual. IDK. I did read it as such, YMMV. Interestingly enough, there's another dynamic that could be perceived as a one-sided queer crush between another character and that same male (and possibly asexual) character.
Le Trailer
This is a teaser clip from when the show was being filmed. IMO, the official trailer gives way too much away. I chose to share this video instead cuz it showcases the cinematography and overall LOVEY-DOVEY (but in an an ADULT WAY) vibes.
(no subject)
May. 21st, 2025 07:46 amturpsWell, what an unexpected photo of two of my fannish faves to wake up to. Thank you, MWay for posting this.
Two highly recommended movies about religious faith/doubt/sin
May. 19th, 2025 08:03 pmdarkrosaleenTwo of the most recent fandoms I've dabbled in have some thematic similarities (LOL), so I'm making a post about them. I probably would've watched both movies even if they hadn't been hyped to death, but hype still got me here. Yes, this is mostly an excuse to talk about movie #2.
Conclave
I already wanted to watch this movie because of the Oscar buzz, but I ended up watching it because it blew up on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fail_fandomanon as an extremely horny Old Man Yaoi fandom. I'm no stranger to thirsting after sad middle aged men--I've had a crush on The Terror's Frances Crozier since 2019--but Conclave failed to spark fannish joy for me.
I really enjoyed the movie's cinematography and visuals and tight pacing, but I did not find any of the sad middle aged cardinals attractive enough to ship (except, unfortunately, for extremely bigoted conservative vapelord Tedesco). It was also clear that for FFA, the appeal of this fandom is in shipping anxious neurotic repressed virgins with religious sexuality baggage, and that's really not my thing (part of what makes Crozier hot to me is that he clearly fucks, and all his sexual hangups come from decades of experience and relationships). My favorite cardinal was Stanley Tucci's Bellini, and Bellini/Tedesco is apparently a pretty popular ship, but I wasn't motivated to seek out fic for it.
Sinners
Firstly, aside from some minor gripes about pacing, I think this movie completely deserves its astronomical hype and might be the best movie about the power of music that I've ever seen.
Like Conclave, Sinners has characters struggling with faith and temptation, but there are no anxiously repressed virgins in sight (the only character likely to be a virgin is buried face-first in pussy by the second act). The characters eagerly indulge in sins ranging from blues music to sex to infidelity to violence and murder, and the supernatural element means that all these sins literally endanger the characters' mortal souls. I think the movie is really good at making things like acoustic blues music and consensual sex feel genuinely thrilling and evil and dangerous, the way they would to characters in this place and time.
I expected my favorite character to be one or both of MBJ's SmokeStack twins, but Preacher Boy stole my heart in the opening scene, and love him more every time I watch the movie. I said in my Baby Driver review that I have a thing for "a cute traumatized twink protagonist who's secretly badass and hyper-competent in his chosen field," and baby-faced blues prodigy/cunning linguist Sammie Moore definitely qualifies (I think Sinners/Baby Driver would be a fun crossover, and Baby definitely has tapes full of Sammie Moore records). It would've been really easy to write this character as a sweet, innocent, virginal final girl untouched by the sins of the other characters, but a huge part of Sammie's coming of age journey is him grappling with temptation and breaking his preacher father's religious rules, and figuring out for himself if following the rules is worth the high cost. I won't be surprised if he's my favorite character of the year.
The AO3 tag is pretty active for a standalone non-franchise movie. Most of the characters have opposite sex love interests, so this is a very het and readerfic-heavy fandom, which is a mixed bag for me. I'm not into readerfic or self-insert OCs at all, but I loved all the canon ships, especially Stack/Mary and Sammie/Pearline. I'm also very into Stack/Smoke and Sammie/Remmick, two delightfully fucked up ships filled with very different versions of codependence and obsession. This canon is also great for combining ships into messy polycules. This is the most energy I've had for a fandom in a while, and hopefully I can harness it into fic. Or maybe into a Remmick/Sammie fanmix of sad pining Irish love songs.
Conclave
I already wanted to watch this movie because of the Oscar buzz, but I ended up watching it because it blew up on
fail_fandomanon as an extremely horny Old Man Yaoi fandom. I'm no stranger to thirsting after sad middle aged men--I've had a crush on The Terror's Frances Crozier since 2019--but Conclave failed to spark fannish joy for me. I really enjoyed the movie's cinematography and visuals and tight pacing, but I did not find any of the sad middle aged cardinals attractive enough to ship (except, unfortunately, for extremely bigoted conservative vapelord Tedesco). It was also clear that for FFA, the appeal of this fandom is in shipping anxious neurotic repressed virgins with religious sexuality baggage, and that's really not my thing (part of what makes Crozier hot to me is that he clearly fucks, and all his sexual hangups come from decades of experience and relationships). My favorite cardinal was Stanley Tucci's Bellini, and Bellini/Tedesco is apparently a pretty popular ship, but I wasn't motivated to seek out fic for it.
Sinners
Firstly, aside from some minor gripes about pacing, I think this movie completely deserves its astronomical hype and might be the best movie about the power of music that I've ever seen.
Like Conclave, Sinners has characters struggling with faith and temptation, but there are no anxiously repressed virgins in sight (the only character likely to be a virgin is buried face-first in pussy by the second act). The characters eagerly indulge in sins ranging from blues music to sex to infidelity to violence and murder, and the supernatural element means that all these sins literally endanger the characters' mortal souls. I think the movie is really good at making things like acoustic blues music and consensual sex feel genuinely thrilling and evil and dangerous, the way they would to characters in this place and time.
I expected my favorite character to be one or both of MBJ's SmokeStack twins, but Preacher Boy stole my heart in the opening scene, and love him more every time I watch the movie. I said in my Baby Driver review that I have a thing for "a cute traumatized twink protagonist who's secretly badass and hyper-competent in his chosen field," and baby-faced blues prodigy/cunning linguist Sammie Moore definitely qualifies (I think Sinners/Baby Driver would be a fun crossover, and Baby definitely has tapes full of Sammie Moore records). It would've been really easy to write this character as a sweet, innocent, virginal final girl untouched by the sins of the other characters, but a huge part of Sammie's coming of age journey is him grappling with temptation and breaking his preacher father's religious rules, and figuring out for himself if following the rules is worth the high cost. I won't be surprised if he's my favorite character of the year.
The AO3 tag is pretty active for a standalone non-franchise movie. Most of the characters have opposite sex love interests, so this is a very het and readerfic-heavy fandom, which is a mixed bag for me. I'm not into readerfic or self-insert OCs at all, but I loved all the canon ships, especially Stack/Mary and Sammie/Pearline. I'm also very into Stack/Smoke and Sammie/Remmick, two delightfully fucked up ships filled with very different versions of codependence and obsession. This canon is also great for combining ships into messy polycules. This is the most energy I've had for a fandom in a while, and hopefully I can harness it into fic. Or maybe into a Remmick/Sammie fanmix of sad pining Irish love songs.
(no subject)
May. 19th, 2025 05:34 pmturpsKayleigh and Lucy are having a short break in Kraków, atm -- Bodhi is staying with Lucy's mam and sister. They left Saturday evening and will fly home tomorrow morning, so it really is a short visit. This means I've been on/am on cat and tortoise duty at their house.
Though, the cat looking after isn't as involved as previously ( cut for sad talk about a cat, not Murphy or Kevin. )
Before they went away Kayleigh asked if I wanted a hoover they were going to throw away as they'd bought a new one. I figured it would be perfect to keep in James' craft room, as that's always full of saw dust. I tried it for the first time today and the thing is a beast! It's a Shark brand, and there's not a thing wrong with it, so much so I'm seriously considering keeping it for my main hoover and giving James our usual one. I can't believe they were just going to throw it away.
I usually watch Eurovision, but tapped out halfway through on Saturday night. I just wasn't feeling it, and was tired as we'd taken the bus to Durham for a walk before coming home to take Kayleigh and Lucy to the airport. I did enjoy Doctor Who beforehand though and liked how it tied into Eurovision day.
It was class earlier, and I enjoyed it. Though, had a laugh with my friend as we walked home as Rosie split us up for the circuits, making us feel like we were back at school and had been split up for talking too much. That's not why she did it though, at least, I don't think so. Just, there were new people, and she wanted them to be partnered with old timers. I ended up with a lady coming to her first class, and it was also the first time she'd been out in public for a long time, so I'm glad I could be a friendly face in what had to be a difficult situation.
Though, the cat looking after isn't as involved as previously ( cut for sad talk about a cat, not Murphy or Kevin. )
Before they went away Kayleigh asked if I wanted a hoover they were going to throw away as they'd bought a new one. I figured it would be perfect to keep in James' craft room, as that's always full of saw dust. I tried it for the first time today and the thing is a beast! It's a Shark brand, and there's not a thing wrong with it, so much so I'm seriously considering keeping it for my main hoover and giving James our usual one. I can't believe they were just going to throw it away.
I usually watch Eurovision, but tapped out halfway through on Saturday night. I just wasn't feeling it, and was tired as we'd taken the bus to Durham for a walk before coming home to take Kayleigh and Lucy to the airport. I did enjoy Doctor Who beforehand though and liked how it tied into Eurovision day.
It was class earlier, and I enjoyed it. Though, had a laugh with my friend as we walked home as Rosie split us up for the circuits, making us feel like we were back at school and had been split up for talking too much. That's not why she did it though, at least, I don't think so. Just, there were new people, and she wanted them to be partnered with old timers. I ended up with a lady coming to her first class, and it was also the first time she'd been out in public for a long time, so I'm glad I could be a friendly face in what had to be a difficult situation.
Fannish 50 S3 Post 16: Love Like The Galaxy and my general side-eye of it (LOL.)
May. 18th, 2025 12:23 pmglitteryvLove Like The Galaxy
A 56-episode, v. popular period drama from 2022.
The premise
When Niaoniao (played by Zhao Lusi)'s a baby, her parents leave her with her paternal grandmother and aunt. Her parents are generals who have been ordered by the emperor to go fight elsewhere. FIFTEEN YEARS GO BY before they return. In all this time, Niaoniao has not only been neglected by her parents (who never visited her), but her grandmother and aunt mistreated her, and she doesn't have a real education.
Now that they're back, her parents try to help Niaoniao become a more socially acceptable person. The reunion doesn't go as smoothly as either party hoped it'd be.
Niaoniao keeps running into Ling Buyi | Zisheng (played by Wu Lei), the emperor's foster son AND one of the most powerful generals in the entire nation despite his youth. He's cold yet fair.
All the while, there's a growing conspiracy brewing…
The acting is pretty good. Zhao Lusi is v. expressive (from her voice to her body). She has a playfulness that has an undercurrent of manipulation. I like that she's not a bookworm BUT she does have smarts. Particularly when it comes to construction, woodworking, solving puzzles, and general creativity. She's curious abt all kinds of things DESPITE her mother wanting to crush all of Niaoniao's wonderment.
Wu Lei's Zisheng is handsome and has a definite PRESENCE. At times, he's a bit stiff while possibly trying to project the aloof vibe.
Another good thing is that the show gives both MCs the space they need to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Other shows would've probably rushed to get them to the next stage of the drama.
Good costuming and set design. Speaking of, kudos on how the good job the show does with using Niaoniao's style is used to show the passage of time. The bits abt domestic life are fun.
I gotta tip my hat at the many different kinds of women in this drama. There's a gamut from warrior/soldier women, to silly women who love all of the frippery, scheming female characters, and soft ones (who know how to navigate society) too. Extra yays to Consort Yue (played by Cao Xiwen); she's my fave female character in the show. Kudos to the dynamic between consort Yue and the empress. What an unexpected but comforting bond!
Do I have any criticisms?
DO I? BEHOLD MY COMPLAINT-A-THON. XD
* Old Madame Cheng (Xu Di) as the grandmother is a character that irritated me for the first 5 eps. I'm aware that this actor is v. popular. In this show, she plays an OTT, slightly crass character who tends to scream a lot and play the DRAMATIQUE card to the point that my eyes almost rolled out of their sockets. She yells a lot while pretending to be crying. I get that it's meant to be comedic,but I kept getting more and more upset at her antics.
Just as bad is Lady Ge (Chen Sisi), Niaoniao's aunt, who encourages that kind of behavior.
* Speaking of family, I'm v. much on the fence abt Niaoniao's relationship with her mom, Xiao Yuanyi (played by Zeng Li). It's a super antagonistic series of interactions that will piss you offf. What made it super erratic is that the show tries to reassure the audience abt Yuanyi truly loving her daughter. Whenever the two of them are in the same room, though, they react in a combative way that EVERY CHARACTER REMARKED ABT. In part, it's cuz they have similar personalities. The problem is that the mom would dole out punishments until she almost crosses the line in a bad way. Things do get smoother in the last third of the drama, but I wasn't convinced abt their reconciliation.
* Another negative is that the editing is off. Per what I know, the show had filmed around 60-65 eps but, per present time guidelines, the production team edited it down to 56 eps. This means that the storytelling suffered cuz things that would be important end up only being show. IIRC, I first noticed this around eps 45-47.
* The show does tries to smooth out the shift from the domestic stories (at Niaoniao's family home) to the Imperial Court. With the focus moving to the Imperial Family, specifically the emperor's offspring. Niaoniao ends up getting immersed in their lives due to her connection to Zisheng.
OTOH, I got why that had to happen as some of their minor plotlines tie directly to the fight for the throne thing. OTOH, a LOT of it felt like filler to me. I truly didn't care abt, like, 97% of the royals, LOL. One consequence of the royals taking up screentime is that the characters from the domestic plotline, i.e. Niaoniao's family and friends, are pretty much not shown for large swaths of time. To the point that important stuff (like weddings and pregnancies) are barely mentioned. I WANT TO SEE MORE ABT THE HOUSEHOLD, Niaoniao's families, ANYTHING BUT THE FUCKING ROYALS!
Adding to this is that there are 2 instances of different royals characters having the SAME STORYLINE beat by beat pretty much back-to-back. With the storylines being "character hates Niaoniao for no reason, so they try to get her in real trouble (if not kill her)".
* One thing I picked up on and ended up lessening my enjoyment of the drama was how EVERY. MALE. CHARACTER who is single and not related to NiaoNiao either has a crush on her OR wants to marry her.
Consequently, nearly EVERY. FEMALE. CHARACTER who is single and not related to NiaoNiao* automatically hates her. Like, Niaoniao walks into a room and every female character present wants to scratch her eyes out/tries to humiliate her/tries to 'put her in her place'. It's so fucking weird; I'm talking abt 6 different characters who wish the worst on Niaoniao ON SIGHT for no reason other than Buyi being openly interested in Niaoniao. IDEK.
(NB: * there is one (1) female character (who is single for most of the story and isn't a family member) who is a Ride or Die for Niaoniao.)
* I wanted to move past my overall cool feelings abt the CP, but that became an impossibility for me.
Zisheng and Niaoniao are deffo, 100% FREAK4FREAK. Like, that's not even up for argument. It is because they see and accept each other for who they are. They had a great simpatico going on. Had certain things been different, I'd have LOVED this CP head to toe.
The problem is that Niaoniao is 15 years old for abt TWO-THIRDS of the drama. Meanwhile, Zisheng is around 21. Not a terrible age gap (6 yrs), but her age is something that the drama brings up A LOT. Making it virtually impossible to forget it. 😬
I was v. uncomfortable with the show's insistence that this couple deserved a grand romance and whatever. Especially when it came to Zisheng. He makes it v. fucking clear that, if he doesn't marry her, he'll remain single for the rest of his life. From the SECOND he sees her from afar, he's like "omg, that's the woman I'm gonna marry! She's so beautiful!!"
Me watching this: SHE'S 15, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?! (I know that this was considered marriageable age back in the day. However, I live in 2025 and I just don't roll with the idea of a grown adult romancing a teenager. IJS.)
I kept watching in the hopes that the show would jump forward (which it did at some point) so that Niaoniao would be a little bit older. Unfortch, that didn't happen until the last third of the drama. FML.
Nevermind the fact that both characters have some deep emotional and psychological traumas (for different reasons). Thankfully, both characters get the chance to (separately) work their own shit out before getting together for good. Small mercies, I guess.
ON TOP OF THAT, there's something that Zisheng does which leads to a betrayal (NOT CHEATING) that hurts Niaoniao to the point that she swears she'll never forgive him. Because I knew this was gonna have an HEA, I did wondered how things were gonna get resolved.
SADLY, he didn't do nearly enough groveling as he should've.
The show works super hard to get them back together (probably due to there are under 10 eps left.) Rather than having the two characters hash it out and Zisheng GROVEL, the drama drops a loophole into the story that automatically gets her to forgive him. I really didn't like that. IJS..
* Lou Yao (played by Yu Cheng'en) who is a sweet but v. naive male character whose raging crush on Niaoniao rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. He tells her that he wants them to get married. She turns him down. He decides to woo her all the same?
* For whatever reason, the show has 3 characters doing heel turns wayyy late in the story. It was all so random, NGL.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
HIGH.
Niaoniao will always come on top SOMEHOW. It's not as blatant as with The Double, but it's close.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's the same story (ppl want to take over the throne) with a slight twist. That whole fight for the crown begins roughly 15 yrs before the show begins. So I found it interesting on how the show keeps the animosity going on for almost 20 yrs between the factions.
I'm of 2 minds when it comes to emperor Wen (played by Bao Jianfeng). He's the founding emperor of his dynasty (I've heard it's one of the Han ones; don't ask me cuz IDK a lot of history and even less abt Chinese history.) We know this dynasty is young cuz, per the show itself, the emperor has been ruling for a little over 10 yrs when the drama kicks off. He's a fair ruler who believes in keeping things balanced; v. likable too. HOWEVAH, he's kind of too benevolent (and that's something his enemies are v. aware of.) Him being merciful makes things a bit weird when he tries to pull rank since he IS soft-hearted.
The OTHER ??? is that he's way too concerned in getting Zisheng and Niaoniao together. It's played for laughs, I guess, but I was thrown off by his interest or the emperor being THE shipper of all shippers, hahaha.
How does it address/works with the trope?
So-so.
Unlike Fangfei (The Double) and Dou Zhao (Blossom), the wrongs done to Niaoniao are less specific. Yes, she was done dirty by her parents, but the drama shows plenty of scenes where the parents make amends. Her revenge plots are mostly abt Niaoniao getting back at present time!bullies. Also, and despite being smart and v. observant, she's not as savvy as the other two characters I mentioned. Not only is she a 15-y.o., but she also lacks life experience. This last thing meant I couldn't believe the scenes in which adult characters would seek Niaoniao's counsel.
Meanwhile, Zisheng is a GOAT in the Cold General department. He's imposing and fierce both in the field (the action scenes are really good) and in civilian life. In a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), I'm giving a 9.5, i.e. HE'S V. STABBITY (in the Touch Her and DIE way when it comes to anyone doing Niaoniao wrong) and a SCARY MOTHERFUCKER (in general) who is also a total goober with Niaoniao, her family, and some of his relatives. I want to see other stuff he's done after this show.
Do I recommend it?
I kinda do DESPITE ALL OF MY BITCHING, hahah. It was quite the fun drama (ort least the first half had a couple of ongoing plotlines that I was v. interested in. I liked some of the characters and Niaoniao is quite charming.
OTOH, the romance was NOT it for me and I
😒 how the royals overtook the plot. Settling in giving it a 2 out of 5. Watched this on YT, but I know it's also on Viki.
Queerness level
It's low-to-moderate. I can see Niaoniao/Wan Qiqi as a cute F/F ship. Also Zisheng/Yuan Shen (as enemies to lovers) and a surprise Zisheng/Male character I can't reveal cuz that's a big spoiler. Oh, and also Niaoniao/Zisheng/Yuan Shen for funsies, heheh.
Le Trailer
Which emphasizes the romance, downplays the fact that they are both freaks (of different kinds), and doesn't even bring up the imperial family stuff. IDEK, y'all.
A 56-episode, v. popular period drama from 2022.
The premise
When Niaoniao (played by Zhao Lusi)'s a baby, her parents leave her with her paternal grandmother and aunt. Her parents are generals who have been ordered by the emperor to go fight elsewhere. FIFTEEN YEARS GO BY before they return. In all this time, Niaoniao has not only been neglected by her parents (who never visited her), but her grandmother and aunt mistreated her, and she doesn't have a real education.
Now that they're back, her parents try to help Niaoniao become a more socially acceptable person. The reunion doesn't go as smoothly as either party hoped it'd be.
Niaoniao keeps running into Ling Buyi | Zisheng (played by Wu Lei), the emperor's foster son AND one of the most powerful generals in the entire nation despite his youth. He's cold yet fair.
All the while, there's a growing conspiracy brewing…
The acting is pretty good. Zhao Lusi is v. expressive (from her voice to her body). She has a playfulness that has an undercurrent of manipulation. I like that she's not a bookworm BUT she does have smarts. Particularly when it comes to construction, woodworking, solving puzzles, and general creativity. She's curious abt all kinds of things DESPITE her mother wanting to crush all of Niaoniao's wonderment.
Wu Lei's Zisheng is handsome and has a definite PRESENCE. At times, he's a bit stiff while possibly trying to project the aloof vibe.
Another good thing is that the show gives both MCs the space they need to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Other shows would've probably rushed to get them to the next stage of the drama.
Good costuming and set design. Speaking of, kudos on how the good job the show does with using Niaoniao's style is used to show the passage of time. The bits abt domestic life are fun.
I gotta tip my hat at the many different kinds of women in this drama. There's a gamut from warrior/soldier women, to silly women who love all of the frippery, scheming female characters, and soft ones (who know how to navigate society) too. Extra yays to Consort Yue (played by Cao Xiwen); she's my fave female character in the show. Kudos to the dynamic between consort Yue and the empress. What an unexpected but comforting bond!
Do I have any criticisms?
DO I? BEHOLD MY COMPLAINT-A-THON. XD
* Old Madame Cheng (Xu Di) as the grandmother is a character that irritated me for the first 5 eps. I'm aware that this actor is v. popular. In this show, she plays an OTT, slightly crass character who tends to scream a lot and play the DRAMATIQUE card to the point that my eyes almost rolled out of their sockets. She yells a lot while pretending to be crying. I get that it's meant to be comedic,but I kept getting more and more upset at her antics.
Just as bad is Lady Ge (Chen Sisi), Niaoniao's aunt, who encourages that kind of behavior.
* Speaking of family, I'm v. much on the fence abt Niaoniao's relationship with her mom, Xiao Yuanyi (played by Zeng Li). It's a super antagonistic series of interactions that will piss you offf. What made it super erratic is that the show tries to reassure the audience abt Yuanyi truly loving her daughter. Whenever the two of them are in the same room, though, they react in a combative way that EVERY CHARACTER REMARKED ABT. In part, it's cuz they have similar personalities. The problem is that the mom would dole out punishments until she almost crosses the line in a bad way. Things do get smoother in the last third of the drama, but I wasn't convinced abt their reconciliation.
* Another negative is that the editing is off. Per what I know, the show had filmed around 60-65 eps but, per present time guidelines, the production team edited it down to 56 eps. This means that the storytelling suffered cuz things that would be important end up only being show. IIRC, I first noticed this around eps 45-47.
* The show does tries to smooth out the shift from the domestic stories (at Niaoniao's family home) to the Imperial Court. With the focus moving to the Imperial Family, specifically the emperor's offspring. Niaoniao ends up getting immersed in their lives due to her connection to Zisheng.
OTOH, I got why that had to happen as some of their minor plotlines tie directly to the fight for the throne thing. OTOH, a LOT of it felt like filler to me. I truly didn't care abt, like, 97% of the royals, LOL. One consequence of the royals taking up screentime is that the characters from the domestic plotline, i.e. Niaoniao's family and friends, are pretty much not shown for large swaths of time. To the point that important stuff (like weddings and pregnancies) are barely mentioned. I WANT TO SEE MORE ABT THE HOUSEHOLD, Niaoniao's families, ANYTHING BUT THE FUCKING ROYALS!
Adding to this is that there are 2 instances of different royals characters having the SAME STORYLINE beat by beat pretty much back-to-back. With the storylines being "character hates Niaoniao for no reason, so they try to get her in real trouble (if not kill her)".
* One thing I picked up on and ended up lessening my enjoyment of the drama was how EVERY. MALE. CHARACTER who is single and not related to NiaoNiao either has a crush on her OR wants to marry her.
Consequently, nearly EVERY. FEMALE. CHARACTER who is single and not related to NiaoNiao* automatically hates her. Like, Niaoniao walks into a room and every female character present wants to scratch her eyes out/tries to humiliate her/tries to 'put her in her place'. It's so fucking weird; I'm talking abt 6 different characters who wish the worst on Niaoniao ON SIGHT for no reason other than Buyi being openly interested in Niaoniao. IDEK.
(NB: * there is one (1) female character (who is single for most of the story and isn't a family member) who is a Ride or Die for Niaoniao.)
* I wanted to move past my overall cool feelings abt the CP, but that became an impossibility for me.
Zisheng and Niaoniao are deffo, 100% FREAK4FREAK. Like, that's not even up for argument. It is because they see and accept each other for who they are. They had a great simpatico going on. Had certain things been different, I'd have LOVED this CP head to toe.
The problem is that Niaoniao is 15 years old for abt TWO-THIRDS of the drama. Meanwhile, Zisheng is around 21. Not a terrible age gap (6 yrs), but her age is something that the drama brings up A LOT. Making it virtually impossible to forget it. 😬
I was v. uncomfortable with the show's insistence that this couple deserved a grand romance and whatever. Especially when it came to Zisheng. He makes it v. fucking clear that, if he doesn't marry her, he'll remain single for the rest of his life. From the SECOND he sees her from afar, he's like "omg, that's the woman I'm gonna marry! She's so beautiful!!"
Me watching this: SHE'S 15, WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU?! (I know that this was considered marriageable age back in the day. However, I live in 2025 and I just don't roll with the idea of a grown adult romancing a teenager. IJS.)
I kept watching in the hopes that the show would jump forward (which it did at some point) so that Niaoniao would be a little bit older. Unfortch, that didn't happen until the last third of the drama. FML.
Nevermind the fact that both characters have some deep emotional and psychological traumas (for different reasons). Thankfully, both characters get the chance to (separately) work their own shit out before getting together for good. Small mercies, I guess.
ON TOP OF THAT, there's something that Zisheng does which leads to a betrayal (NOT CHEATING) that hurts Niaoniao to the point that she swears she'll never forgive him. Because I knew this was gonna have an HEA, I did wondered how things were gonna get resolved.
SADLY, he didn't do nearly enough groveling as he should've.
Le Spoiler Abt This
The show works super hard to get them back together (probably due to there are under 10 eps left.) Rather than having the two characters hash it out and Zisheng GROVEL, the drama drops a loophole into the story that automatically gets her to forgive him. I really didn't like that. IJS.
* Lou Yao (played by Yu Cheng'en) who is a sweet but v. naive male character whose raging crush on Niaoniao rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning. He tells her that he wants them to get married. She turns him down. He decides to woo her all the same?
* For whatever reason, the show has 3 characters doing heel turns wayyy late in the story. It was all so random, NGL.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
HIGH.
Niaoniao will always come on top SOMEHOW. It's not as blatant as with The Double, but it's close.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's the same story (ppl want to take over the throne) with a slight twist. That whole fight for the crown begins roughly 15 yrs before the show begins. So I found it interesting on how the show keeps the animosity going on for almost 20 yrs between the factions.
I'm of 2 minds when it comes to emperor Wen (played by Bao Jianfeng). He's the founding emperor of his dynasty (I've heard it's one of the Han ones; don't ask me cuz IDK a lot of history and even less abt Chinese history.) We know this dynasty is young cuz, per the show itself, the emperor has been ruling for a little over 10 yrs when the drama kicks off. He's a fair ruler who believes in keeping things balanced; v. likable too. HOWEVAH, he's kind of too benevolent (and that's something his enemies are v. aware of.) Him being merciful makes things a bit weird when he tries to pull rank since he IS soft-hearted.
The OTHER ??? is that he's way too concerned in getting Zisheng and Niaoniao together. It's played for laughs, I guess, but I was thrown off by his interest or the emperor being THE shipper of all shippers, hahaha.
How does it address/works with the trope?
So-so.
Unlike Fangfei (The Double) and Dou Zhao (Blossom), the wrongs done to Niaoniao are less specific. Yes, she was done dirty by her parents, but the drama shows plenty of scenes where the parents make amends. Her revenge plots are mostly abt Niaoniao getting back at present time!bullies. Also, and despite being smart and v. observant, she's not as savvy as the other two characters I mentioned. Not only is she a 15-y.o., but she also lacks life experience. This last thing meant I couldn't believe the scenes in which adult characters would seek Niaoniao's counsel.
Meanwhile, Zisheng is a GOAT in the Cold General department. He's imposing and fierce both in the field (the action scenes are really good) and in civilian life. In a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), I'm giving a 9.5, i.e. HE'S V. STABBITY (in the Touch Her and DIE way when it comes to anyone doing Niaoniao wrong) and a SCARY MOTHERFUCKER (in general) who is also a total goober with Niaoniao, her family, and some of his relatives. I want to see other stuff he's done after this show.
Do I recommend it?
I kinda do DESPITE ALL OF MY BITCHING, hahah. It was quite the fun drama (ort least the first half had a couple of ongoing plotlines that I was v. interested in. I liked some of the characters and Niaoniao is quite charming.
OTOH, the romance was NOT it for me and I
😒 how the royals overtook the plot. Settling in giving it a 2 out of 5. Watched this on YT, but I know it's also on Viki.
Queerness level
It's low-to-moderate. I can see Niaoniao/Wan Qiqi as a cute F/F ship. Also Zisheng/Yuan Shen (as enemies to lovers) and a surprise Zisheng/Male character I can't reveal cuz that's a big spoiler. Oh, and also Niaoniao/Zisheng/Yuan Shen for funsies, heheh.
Le Trailer
Which emphasizes the romance, downplays the fact that they are both freaks (of different kinds), and doesn't even bring up the imperial family stuff. IDEK, y'all.
(no subject)
May. 16th, 2025 12:49 pmturpsI got my intoabar assignment which is Aramis (The Musketeers) meets Joey Fatone (Nsync ) in a bar.
I opened the notification email. Then I stared. Then I laughed a little hysterically.
But, thinking about it since then, I'm sort of thinking of leaning into fanon and how Aramis hates the cold after Savoy and of course Joey survived the bitter cold of Germany -- which is North Pole levels of cold it seems, and often leads to huddling for warmth in a shared bed.
Surely something to bond over? How they actually meet in the first place? Hell if I know.
James was off the last two days so Wednesday we headed to Beamish for a long walk in the sunshine.
Then yesterday did something a bit different in that we took my SiL and oldest nephew for a train driving experience that he'd been given for his birthday.
I have to admit, I was a bit dubious before going as the railway people had sent all these emails saying to take part people had to be able to climb six foot into the train, wear sturdy shoes and clothes that couldn't be ruined by dirt, and I was very much of the opinion, yeah no. But I guess they had to stress worst case scenarios, as nothing like that happened.
It was a bog-standard modern train which Andrew got to drive over 22 miles of private railway track. It was a beautiful journey too, through gorgeous countryside, and I got to sit in the passenger part of the train with my SiL while James sat in the cab with my nephew, with the instructor standing behind and giving instructions.
I thought there would be some kind of dual controls, but nope, Andrew was in total control and did so well. He's obsessed with trains and buses, so this experience was a dream for him. Seeing him so happy was amazing, and showed that he could actually drive a train. Sadly, his autism means that while he could do that aspect of the job, dealing with the public or anything unexpected would completely throw him. Which is a shame, but after summer he's about to start a specialist college programme designed to get disabled young adults into the workforce, so hopefully, he'll be helped toward some railway based role, even if it's not a driver.
I opened the notification email. Then I stared. Then I laughed a little hysterically.
But, thinking about it since then, I'm sort of thinking of leaning into fanon and how Aramis hates the cold after Savoy and of course Joey survived the bitter cold of Germany -- which is North Pole levels of cold it seems, and often leads to huddling for warmth in a shared bed.
Surely something to bond over? How they actually meet in the first place? Hell if I know.
James was off the last two days so Wednesday we headed to Beamish for a long walk in the sunshine.
Then yesterday did something a bit different in that we took my SiL and oldest nephew for a train driving experience that he'd been given for his birthday.
I have to admit, I was a bit dubious before going as the railway people had sent all these emails saying to take part people had to be able to climb six foot into the train, wear sturdy shoes and clothes that couldn't be ruined by dirt, and I was very much of the opinion, yeah no. But I guess they had to stress worst case scenarios, as nothing like that happened.
It was a bog-standard modern train which Andrew got to drive over 22 miles of private railway track. It was a beautiful journey too, through gorgeous countryside, and I got to sit in the passenger part of the train with my SiL while James sat in the cab with my nephew, with the instructor standing behind and giving instructions.
I thought there would be some kind of dual controls, but nope, Andrew was in total control and did so well. He's obsessed with trains and buses, so this experience was a dream for him. Seeing him so happy was amazing, and showed that he could actually drive a train. Sadly, his autism means that while he could do that aspect of the job, dealing with the public or anything unexpected would completely throw him. Which is a shame, but after summer he's about to start a specialist college programme designed to get disabled young adults into the workforce, so hopefully, he'll be helped toward some railway based role, even if it's not a driver.
Fannish 50 Post 16: The high bonkers factor of The Double
May. 14th, 2025 11:43 amglitteryvWoman on a Path of Revenge/Cold Male Love Interest Is a fave historical drama trope because it mixes ROMANCE and MURDER. The next three shows I'll talk abt will center around this trope.
Gonna start with...
The Double (YouTube)
A 2024 drama that was among the most popular last year. It most deffo goes off the rails HARD, and I still am not sure if it's in a good way or a bad one.
The premise
The drama begins with 30-something Fangfei (played by Wu Jinyan) waking up in her bed next to a random guy. It's the set-up of all set-ups cuz she's never been unfaithful in all the years of her marriage. When Shen Yurong (played by Liang Yongqi), her husband, gets home, he suggests they go elsewhere to have a frank conversation. Fangfei is all for that while claiming her innocence. Along the way, he offers her some tea.
And then Fangfei wakes up IN AN OPEN GRAVE (!!!) with Shen Yuron holding a shovel and looking down at her. Fangfei's hands are tied up; she's starts asking what's going on. Shen Yurong apologizes for how far things have gone BUT, given her infidelity, he's been ordered to get rid of her. The scandal would be horrible for HIS reputation. He hits her on the head with the shovel and starts throw dirt on her.
Somehow, Fangfei manages to dig her way out. Dazed, she wanders around the forest for a bit. Then she meets a young woman who had been wrongly accused of a crime she didn't commit. Due to PLOTTY REASONS, the young woman dies. Fangfei decides to steal the woman's identity so that she can return to society, clear the woman's name, AND also find out what prompted her husband to kill her.
The 2nd part of the plot is abt Fangfei bumping into and teaming up with Xiao Heng, a.k.a. Duke Su (Wang Xingyue), a general who is v. close with the Emperor...
This is a 40-episode drama I pretty much bingewatched. Revenge plots are my fave type of dramarama to follow along, so I knew I just had to check this show out.
IMO, Wu Jingyan has a knack for playing characters who, after being mistreated by Life, decide to correct all the wrongs done to them. This is something I first picked up during Yanxi Palace. FWIW, there are enough things to keep The Double from being an exact copy of that other drama. THAT SAID, if you liked that aspect in that other drama, then chances are you'll dig this one too.
Fangfei is a character I liked cheering on for most of the show. She's someone who cares deeply abt people and, despite what's happened to her, she manages to connect with all sorts of folks.
Let me be the first one to say that I did found Wang Xingyue as Duke Su super hot, LOL. He has a calculating, HIGH competence vibe that it's total catnip for me. His sense of humor is super dry--which I loved. I also liked his aesthetic--which includes lots of dark red and black, v. severe, and perfect fits. He tends to sit down in a lounge-type of way that made me think of a beautiful cat that's almost impossible to not to pet. However, as soon as the cat sense that someone wants to pet it, it'll scratch EVERYONE'S EYES out.
The two of them together are quite intense most of the time. What makes this CP attractive is the BANTER. They tend to tease each other as they're commenting on stuff that's happened or plan their next steps. Lots of sassy remarks and whatnot. Their chemistry (in that aspect at least) is solid. Additionally, they are v. softe with each other when they're alone--which is something that both characters need for different reasons.
As for the villains, well, one of them is a regular level while the Main Villain is a SUPREMELY EVIL CHARACTER. The regular villain is interesting up until the end when they kinda go flat. The Main Villain, tho. Oof!
I appreciated that the drama offers some meaty backstory that explains how and why that character became a real Big Bad. It's hard to not end up pitying the Main Villain. Not enough to excuse what they do for the entire series. However, knowing what the character has gone through adds depth and understanding to their behavior.
My bestest guess as why ppl flocked to this show is cuz there's something happening in EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE.
Do I have any criticisms?
The flipside of having so much happening is that, after a while, it can get overwhelming. Because there's so much occurring, things that would normally take a while to get resolved, actually end within 2 episodes. You just gotta go with the flow.
Personally, the drama actually peaked at ep. 30, maybe ep. 34 if you want to stretch it a bit. And then, the plot switches lanes onto Imperial Court politics. My interest began to dip as the episodes went on. However, all I had left were 6 or so episodes, so I decided to stick with it til the end. *Hands*
Other criticisms:
- For all my yays abt the CP (including seeing them becoming acquainted to teaming up and eventually developing an emotional and psychologically strong bond), I never quite fully onboard with the romance. He's REALLY into her from the get go. Meanwhile, Fangfei's too focused on the revenge plot to even consider feeling attracted to anyone. Eventually, she does acknowledge her feelings, and then their affair goes on as expected.
However, the romance angle sort of fades away once they got together. Also the show does the most to keep things so G-rated that I wondered why they even bothered to have a CP in the first place.
Yes, it's a Chinese drama and I know that they had to keep things on a milder side of things in order to pass censorship. Fine. What puzzles me is that, even though the 2 characters click with each other, when it's time for all of the lovey-dovey stuff to BLOSSOM (including a degree of sexual attraction), it never quite reaches that level.
My two (unproven) theories as to why the love levels stay so low:
Theory A - IRL Wu Jiangyan was 32 at time of filming while Wang Xingyue was 21. I can see the production team and sponsors thinking that they'd avoid any controversy if they lowered the heat level. Funnily enough, some folks still complained abt the IRL age gap. IDEK.
Theory B - IMO, Wu Jiangyan doesn't seem to be super comfortable with romantic scenes. The only other thing I've ever watched her in has been Yanxi Palace, but I do recall all of the lovey-dovey scenes in Yanxi being a bit awkward.
- The director and production teams REALLY LIKE ZOOMING IN. It can be a bit disorienting at first. One thing that doesn't help is that Wu Jingyan (Fangfei) tends to have NO expression during any extreme close-ups. Which is odd cuz a lot of those close-ups happen whenever the character makes a monologue, tries to convince someone of something or has a flashback abt something. She's staring straight at the camera…but there's NOTHING there? All she gives is a v. strong 😶 expression. FWIW, I did get over it by, like, episode 7, but it IS odd. So, if you feel kinda weirded out abt that, trust that I had the same feeling, ahah.
- OK, so I HAVE TO TALK ABT THE ENDING. I didn't like it because there's a specific point (abt the hour or so mark in the episode) where, if you stop watching it there, then everything will be peachy. However, FOR SOME REASON, the story continues for another 15-20 mins and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH In spoilers:
The CP is married, everything is fine and dandy…until Duke Su is sent to fight some ppl elsewhere. He and Fangfei say good-bye followed by a combination of fighting scenes (which include some characters of the main cast dying) and Fangfei waiting for Duke Su to return. The waiting stretches thru seasons. It's kinda ambiguous whether he dies OR makes it back to Fangfei.
That ending was SO UNIVERSALLY HATED that the production team came up with a hastily patched up, 6-min ending "special episode" set years later where the CP is married and raising a kid. But the vibe was lost. 🤷🏾♀️
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
RIDICULOUSLY HIGH
I did come to resent the 20-inch/50.8cm thick plot armor that Fangfei wore. It's not that I wanted even more horrible things to happen to her. However, the way the show went out of its way in protecting her (to the point of breaking any and every logic that has ever existed) went past the point of ridiculousness.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
Same old "fighting for the throne" bullshittery. Personally, I didn't feel one way or another abt the emperor and his problems. OTOH, the focus on the throne plot made everything v. dull to me. OTOH, it brings ALL OF THE PLAYERS together cuz everyone has to side with or against the emperor.
How does it address/work with the trope?
It's a pretty standard version with Fangfei out for revenge, Duke Su being the one to fall first, and the two of them working better together. I wouldn't exactly call them a Power Couple because the plot makes too many logic leaps in order to have the CP overcome all of the obstacles, IMO.
On a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), Duke Su falls at "There's a strong AURA of DANGER that might make you want to cross the street (5)". He means business, but only if you mess with him. If you leave him be, he'll return in kind. He fulfilled his side of the trope pretty well.
Do I recommend it?
IDK???
FTR, I started watching this drama during the end of January of this year. I was NOT in a good mood due to the US Inauguration Day garbage. Can't deny that made it easier for me to accept the drama's logic fails without much fuss.
Mind you, I kinda had to get with it early cuz something happens in either episode 8 or 9 and it kinda broke my brain in a good way? It allowed me to LET GO and just follow along even when the story was random and nonsensical. IDC.
So, what happens is that Fangfei is in a competition against someone else. Then something occurs that *I* initially thought was a type of metaphor. HOWEVAH, based on the reactions from all of the characters in the scene, the thing was REALLY HAPPENING in front of everyone. It left me speechless then and it still leaves me 🙃 now.
OK, here's the scene in question.
Now you get why I was like O____o? LOOOOOL FOR INFINITY.
IF you continue watching this after accepting that the drama will go off the rails, sideways, will twirl away, etc, THEN, maybe you'll enjoy it. Again, back when I watched this, I was feeling super low and wanted a break, so I gave it a chance. I had a good time then. Looking back, though, THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST SHOWS I'VE EVER SAT THROUGH, HAHAHAHAHAHAH. After a while, I was like *HANDS*. And then it had that terrible ending followed by the fix-it episode…
I'm giving it a 1.8 out of 5. It's a watchable but v. disposable. You can find the first 22 eps on YouTube (on the Youku channel) and then search for the remaining 18 (ppl have uploaded it). The full series is on the Viki app as well as on Netflix.
Queerness level
There are a couple of characters that I kinda, low-key gave a raised eyebrow. But nothing that would make me suggest watching for those characters.
Le Trailer
Gonna start with...
The Double (YouTube)
A 2024 drama that was among the most popular last year. It most deffo goes off the rails HARD, and I still am not sure if it's in a good way or a bad one.
The premise
The drama begins with 30-something Fangfei (played by Wu Jinyan) waking up in her bed next to a random guy. It's the set-up of all set-ups cuz she's never been unfaithful in all the years of her marriage. When Shen Yurong (played by Liang Yongqi), her husband, gets home, he suggests they go elsewhere to have a frank conversation. Fangfei is all for that while claiming her innocence. Along the way, he offers her some tea.
And then Fangfei wakes up IN AN OPEN GRAVE (!!!) with Shen Yuron holding a shovel and looking down at her. Fangfei's hands are tied up; she's starts asking what's going on. Shen Yurong apologizes for how far things have gone BUT, given her infidelity, he's been ordered to get rid of her. The scandal would be horrible for HIS reputation. He hits her on the head with the shovel and starts throw dirt on her.
Somehow, Fangfei manages to dig her way out. Dazed, she wanders around the forest for a bit. Then she meets a young woman who had been wrongly accused of a crime she didn't commit. Due to PLOTTY REASONS, the young woman dies. Fangfei decides to steal the woman's identity so that she can return to society, clear the woman's name, AND also find out what prompted her husband to kill her.
The 2nd part of the plot is abt Fangfei bumping into and teaming up with Xiao Heng, a.k.a. Duke Su (Wang Xingyue), a general who is v. close with the Emperor...
This is a 40-episode drama I pretty much bingewatched. Revenge plots are my fave type of dramarama to follow along, so I knew I just had to check this show out.
IMO, Wu Jingyan has a knack for playing characters who, after being mistreated by Life, decide to correct all the wrongs done to them. This is something I first picked up during Yanxi Palace. FWIW, there are enough things to keep The Double from being an exact copy of that other drama. THAT SAID, if you liked that aspect in that other drama, then chances are you'll dig this one too.
Fangfei is a character I liked cheering on for most of the show. She's someone who cares deeply abt people and, despite what's happened to her, she manages to connect with all sorts of folks.
Let me be the first one to say that I did found Wang Xingyue as Duke Su super hot, LOL. He has a calculating, HIGH competence vibe that it's total catnip for me. His sense of humor is super dry--which I loved. I also liked his aesthetic--which includes lots of dark red and black, v. severe, and perfect fits. He tends to sit down in a lounge-type of way that made me think of a beautiful cat that's almost impossible to not to pet. However, as soon as the cat sense that someone wants to pet it, it'll scratch EVERYONE'S EYES out.
The two of them together are quite intense most of the time. What makes this CP attractive is the BANTER. They tend to tease each other as they're commenting on stuff that's happened or plan their next steps. Lots of sassy remarks and whatnot. Their chemistry (in that aspect at least) is solid. Additionally, they are v. softe with each other when they're alone--which is something that both characters need for different reasons.
As for the villains, well, one of them is a regular level while the Main Villain is a SUPREMELY EVIL CHARACTER. The regular villain is interesting up until the end when they kinda go flat. The Main Villain, tho. Oof!
I appreciated that the drama offers some meaty backstory that explains how and why that character became a real Big Bad. It's hard to not end up pitying the Main Villain. Not enough to excuse what they do for the entire series. However, knowing what the character has gone through adds depth and understanding to their behavior.
My bestest guess as why ppl flocked to this show is cuz there's something happening in EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE.
Do I have any criticisms?
The flipside of having so much happening is that, after a while, it can get overwhelming. Because there's so much occurring, things that would normally take a while to get resolved, actually end within 2 episodes. You just gotta go with the flow.
Personally, the drama actually peaked at ep. 30, maybe ep. 34 if you want to stretch it a bit. And then, the plot switches lanes onto Imperial Court politics. My interest began to dip as the episodes went on. However, all I had left were 6 or so episodes, so I decided to stick with it til the end. *Hands*
Other criticisms:
- For all my yays abt the CP (including seeing them becoming acquainted to teaming up and eventually developing an emotional and psychologically strong bond), I never quite fully onboard with the romance. He's REALLY into her from the get go. Meanwhile, Fangfei's too focused on the revenge plot to even consider feeling attracted to anyone. Eventually, she does acknowledge her feelings, and then their affair goes on as expected.
However, the romance angle sort of fades away once they got together. Also the show does the most to keep things so G-rated that I wondered why they even bothered to have a CP in the first place.
Yes, it's a Chinese drama and I know that they had to keep things on a milder side of things in order to pass censorship. Fine. What puzzles me is that, even though the 2 characters click with each other, when it's time for all of the lovey-dovey stuff to BLOSSOM (including a degree of sexual attraction), it never quite reaches that level.
My two (unproven) theories as to why the love levels stay so low:
Theory A - IRL Wu Jiangyan was 32 at time of filming while Wang Xingyue was 21. I can see the production team and sponsors thinking that they'd avoid any controversy if they lowered the heat level. Funnily enough, some folks still complained abt the IRL age gap. IDEK.
Theory B - IMO, Wu Jiangyan doesn't seem to be super comfortable with romantic scenes. The only other thing I've ever watched her in has been Yanxi Palace, but I do recall all of the lovey-dovey scenes in Yanxi being a bit awkward.
- The director and production teams REALLY LIKE ZOOMING IN. It can be a bit disorienting at first. One thing that doesn't help is that Wu Jingyan (Fangfei) tends to have NO expression during any extreme close-ups. Which is odd cuz a lot of those close-ups happen whenever the character makes a monologue, tries to convince someone of something or has a flashback abt something. She's staring straight at the camera…but there's NOTHING there? All she gives is a v. strong 😶 expression. FWIW, I did get over it by, like, episode 7, but it IS odd. So, if you feel kinda weirded out abt that, trust that I had the same feeling, ahah.
- OK, so I HAVE TO TALK ABT THE ENDING. I didn't like it because there's a specific point (abt the hour or so mark in the episode) where, if you stop watching it there, then everything will be peachy. However, FOR SOME REASON, the story continues for another 15-20 mins and UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH In spoilers:
AGAIN, HERE BE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING
The CP is married, everything is fine and dandy…until Duke Su is sent to fight some ppl elsewhere. He and Fangfei say good-bye followed by a combination of fighting scenes (which include some characters of the main cast dying) and Fangfei waiting for Duke Su to return. The waiting stretches thru seasons. It's kinda ambiguous whether he dies OR makes it back to Fangfei.
That ending was SO UNIVERSALLY HATED that the production team came up with a hastily patched up, 6-min ending "special episode" set years later where the CP is married and raising a kid. But the vibe was lost. 🤷🏾♀️
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
RIDICULOUSLY HIGH
I did come to resent the 20-inch/50.8cm thick plot armor that Fangfei wore. It's not that I wanted even more horrible things to happen to her. However, the way the show went out of its way in protecting her (to the point of breaking any and every logic that has ever existed) went past the point of ridiculousness.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
Same old "fighting for the throne" bullshittery. Personally, I didn't feel one way or another abt the emperor and his problems. OTOH, the focus on the throne plot made everything v. dull to me. OTOH, it brings ALL OF THE PLAYERS together cuz everyone has to side with or against the emperor.
How does it address/work with the trope?
It's a pretty standard version with Fangfei out for revenge, Duke Su being the one to fall first, and the two of them working better together. I wouldn't exactly call them a Power Couple because the plot makes too many logic leaps in order to have the CP overcome all of the obstacles, IMO.
On a scale of Somewhat Threatening (1) to Having MURDER FACE 24/7/365 (10), Duke Su falls at "There's a strong AURA of DANGER that might make you want to cross the street (5)". He means business, but only if you mess with him. If you leave him be, he'll return in kind. He fulfilled his side of the trope pretty well.
Do I recommend it?
IDK???
FTR, I started watching this drama during the end of January of this year. I was NOT in a good mood due to the US Inauguration Day garbage. Can't deny that made it easier for me to accept the drama's logic fails without much fuss.
Mind you, I kinda had to get with it early cuz something happens in either episode 8 or 9 and it kinda broke my brain in a good way? It allowed me to LET GO and just follow along even when the story was random and nonsensical. IDC.
So, what happens is that Fangfei is in a competition against someone else. Then something occurs that *I* initially thought was a type of metaphor. HOWEVAH, based on the reactions from all of the characters in the scene, the thing was REALLY HAPPENING in front of everyone. It left me speechless then and it still leaves me 🙃 now.
OK, here's the scene in question.
Now you get why I was like O____o? LOOOOOL FOR INFINITY.
IF you continue watching this after accepting that the drama will go off the rails, sideways, will twirl away, etc, THEN, maybe you'll enjoy it. Again, back when I watched this, I was feeling super low and wanted a break, so I gave it a chance. I had a good time then. Looking back, though, THIS IS ONE OF THE WORST SHOWS I'VE EVER SAT THROUGH, HAHAHAHAHAHAH. After a while, I was like *HANDS*. And then it had that terrible ending followed by the fix-it episode…
I'm giving it a 1.8 out of 5. It's a watchable but v. disposable. You can find the first 22 eps on YouTube (on the Youku channel) and then search for the remaining 18 (ppl have uploaded it). The full series is on the Viki app as well as on Netflix.
Queerness level
There are a couple of characters that I kinda, low-key gave a raised eyebrow. But nothing that would make me suggest watching for those characters.
Le Trailer
Fannish 50 S3 Post 15: Imperial Coroner
May. 13th, 2025 11:37 amglitteryvImperial Coroner (YouTube)
The premise
First airing in 2021, this is abt Chu Chu (played by Su Xiaotong), who comes from a family of coroners in her small hometown. She wants to be a coroner. In order to do that, she's got to take an exam so that she can secure a license to practice alongside her father and older brother. From what I can remember (it's been some 3 yrs since I watched this?), it wasn't exactly forbidden for women to want to be a coroner, but it's deffo looked down upon. Chu Chu doesn't care, though. She's READY.
On her way to take the exam, something happens that has her meeting Prince Xiao (played by Wang Ziqi), who is the head of a criminal investigation department within the Imperial Court. Unfortch for the prince, his unit is way understaffed (in part cuz it's considered lesser than other investigative departments.) Regardless, Prince Xiao picks up on Chu Chu's smarts, so he strikes a bargain. He hires her to help him investigate some odd cases and she will get more experience AND some backing to help her become a true/officiall coroner. From there, they team up and investigate all kinds of cases (usually murders).
Along the way, there are two larger storyarcs: one focusing on Chu Chu's background and one abt the Prince's history…
I have to admit that I almost gave on this show after the first 2 episodes, LOL. The way I go abt watching shows is to give the first three eps a chance JUST IN CASE. Sometimes, the pilot might not be good enough, the second episode might be wobbly, etc. USUALLY, by ep 3, I've made up my mind as to how I'm clicking with whatever's on the screen.
Two episodes in, I did find a lot of things I liked BUT there were other things that really, really annoyed me. Regarding the first, I liked the cinematography, most of the characters, and the acting. Unfortch, the one (1) character that kept annoying me was Chu Chu herself. :(
IMO, Su Xiaotong was playing her a little too peppy for my taste. On top of that, her outfits in the first 5 or so eps skew toward a younger (think pre-teen girl) look that was discordant with the whole murder cases thing. IJS.
ANYWAYS, I was abt to DNF the show when I said "well, let me sit thru one more ep just for completion's sake"...and I ENDED UP FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE DRAMA, HAHAHAH. JOKE'S ON ME!!! FWIW, I've got zero idea as to shifted for me to go 😍 and yet!
I kinda feel like Chu Chu, as a character, DID calmed down a little bit w/r/t some of the OTT quirkiness that was rubbing me off so wrongly in the first two episodes? As the show went on, I appreciated her dedication to her work and how much she loved her family. It was ALSO neat to see her world expand as she met more ppl and… (THIS IS NOT A SPOILER, Y'ALL), eventually having a romance with Prince Xiao.
Meanwhile, Wang Ziqi's approach to Prince Xiao was really interesting. He's considered to be aloof..but not in the usual OMG, HE'S SO SWOOONY type of way that Chinese historical dramas tend to do. He's much more of a cerebral character (although he can deffo fight when necessary).
As a couple, the two of them are ADORABLE. They're one of my fave types of couples: FREAK4FREAK. Both are v. unconventional people (Chu Chu is not grossed out by gore (having grown up in a coroner family) and Prince Xiao tends to suss out people and situations (but he's a bit of a socially awkward failboat at times). I love their vibe because they see each other for who they ARE and fully accept each other. So, when he starts to woo her, he does it in a totally unexpected way and she does the same.
there's a handkerchief Chu Chu embroidered a v. specific rib bone cuz it's the rib that's anatomically closest to the heart
ON TOP OF THAT, there are two other AWESOMECAKES characters that I LURVE. One is Len Yue (played by Zhao Yaoke) who is a badass lady that Chu Chu proposes to when they first meet and Jing Yi (played by Yang Tingdong), Prince Xiao's bestie and a bit of a brawler AND a goofball.
Had this been another kind of drama, there would've been some messy stuff happening of Chu Chu being jealous or Len Yue OR Jing Yi and Prince Xiao fighting for Chu Chu's heart. Instead of that BULLSHIT, WE GET EVERYONE CONNECTING WITH EVERYONE TO THE POINT THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT GO OT4. All four have amazing chemistry with each other (and, IMO, I feel like the show DOES PUSH for OT4 in every which way?) This deffo elevated the delightful experience that it's watching this show.
Most of the cases are pretty cool and interesting in terms of the crimes and how the team went abt solving them. I remember being kinda eh abt two cases, but I also didn't mind them much cuz I was having a good time watching Chu Chu, the Prince, and everyone else doing their thing.
ANOTHER COOL THING is that, if you're squeamish, all of the autopsies and the crimes are depicted via animation. So, even though Chu Chu and co deal with a lot of death, there's v. little actual gore onscreen. IJS
Sometimes, though, the way that Chu Chu and Prince Xiao discuss the cases can be a bit too much? (which includes the level of decomposition of the bodies, how deep/bad injuries were, etc.)
Do I have any criticisms?
I didn't care abt the whole drama with the emperor, LOL. IMO, things got unnecessarily convoluted, YMMV.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
MEDIUM
Chu Chu's bad experiences in the show have to do with past emotional trauma and moments of grief (regarding her mother, who passed on before the show began.) By ep. 10, I knew that she was gonna make it out okay out of dangerous situations. Which was fine with me cuz I didn't need that stress, really.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's a plot that began in a clever manner, but then it got dull as the show went on. I was not into it at all. *Hands*
Do I recommend it?
HELL YEAH! You get (mostly) intricate cases featuring two people who are FREAK4FREAK, their besties/paramours, and a whole lotta fun stuff in 36 episodes! I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Watched it on YouTube; I know it's also on Viki.
Even better was hearing the news (late last year) that filming's already started for SEASON TWO featuring with the ENTIRE CREW AND ACTORS FROM SEASON 1!!!
(So now I'm thinking of rewatching it later this year, i.e. before Season 2 drops.)
Queerness level
HIGH.
You've got F/F, M/M, F/F/M/M, M/M/F, etc. The OT4 works in every. single. way. There are a lot of shippy moments for every combo. If you like polyam ships, this might be the C drama for you! (You'd think I'm overselling, but nope, I'm truly not.)
Le Trailer
FWIW, I feel that this trailer makes the drama look goofier than it actually is. Even though I understand it as a way for ppl to tune in, it does miss the mark when it comes to encapsulating what this drama is really like. IJS.
The premise
First airing in 2021, this is abt Chu Chu (played by Su Xiaotong), who comes from a family of coroners in her small hometown. She wants to be a coroner. In order to do that, she's got to take an exam so that she can secure a license to practice alongside her father and older brother. From what I can remember (it's been some 3 yrs since I watched this?), it wasn't exactly forbidden for women to want to be a coroner, but it's deffo looked down upon. Chu Chu doesn't care, though. She's READY.
On her way to take the exam, something happens that has her meeting Prince Xiao (played by Wang Ziqi), who is the head of a criminal investigation department within the Imperial Court. Unfortch for the prince, his unit is way understaffed (in part cuz it's considered lesser than other investigative departments.) Regardless, Prince Xiao picks up on Chu Chu's smarts, so he strikes a bargain. He hires her to help him investigate some odd cases and she will get more experience AND some backing to help her become a true/officiall coroner. From there, they team up and investigate all kinds of cases (usually murders).
Along the way, there are two larger storyarcs: one focusing on Chu Chu's background and one abt the Prince's history…
I have to admit that I almost gave on this show after the first 2 episodes, LOL. The way I go abt watching shows is to give the first three eps a chance JUST IN CASE. Sometimes, the pilot might not be good enough, the second episode might be wobbly, etc. USUALLY, by ep 3, I've made up my mind as to how I'm clicking with whatever's on the screen.
Two episodes in, I did find a lot of things I liked BUT there were other things that really, really annoyed me. Regarding the first, I liked the cinematography, most of the characters, and the acting. Unfortch, the one (1) character that kept annoying me was Chu Chu herself. :(
IMO, Su Xiaotong was playing her a little too peppy for my taste. On top of that, her outfits in the first 5 or so eps skew toward a younger (think pre-teen girl) look that was discordant with the whole murder cases thing. IJS.
ANYWAYS, I was abt to DNF the show when I said "well, let me sit thru one more ep just for completion's sake"...and I ENDED UP FALLING IN LOVE WITH THE DRAMA, HAHAHAH. JOKE'S ON ME!!! FWIW, I've got zero idea as to shifted for me to go 😍 and yet!
I kinda feel like Chu Chu, as a character, DID calmed down a little bit w/r/t some of the OTT quirkiness that was rubbing me off so wrongly in the first two episodes? As the show went on, I appreciated her dedication to her work and how much she loved her family. It was ALSO neat to see her world expand as she met more ppl and… (THIS IS NOT A SPOILER, Y'ALL), eventually having a romance with Prince Xiao.
Meanwhile, Wang Ziqi's approach to Prince Xiao was really interesting. He's considered to be aloof..but not in the usual OMG, HE'S SO SWOOONY type of way that Chinese historical dramas tend to do. He's much more of a cerebral character (although he can deffo fight when necessary).
As a couple, the two of them are ADORABLE. They're one of my fave types of couples: FREAK4FREAK. Both are v. unconventional people (Chu Chu is not grossed out by gore (having grown up in a coroner family) and Prince Xiao tends to suss out people and situations (but he's a bit of a socially awkward failboat at times). I love their vibe because they see each other for who they ARE and fully accept each other. So, when he starts to woo her, he does it in a totally unexpected way and she does the same.
SPOILER
there's a handkerchief Chu Chu embroidered a v. specific rib bone cuz it's the rib that's anatomically closest to the heart
ON TOP OF THAT, there are two other AWESOMECAKES characters that I LURVE. One is Len Yue (played by Zhao Yaoke) who is a badass lady that Chu Chu proposes to when they first meet and Jing Yi (played by Yang Tingdong), Prince Xiao's bestie and a bit of a brawler AND a goofball.
Had this been another kind of drama, there would've been some messy stuff happening of Chu Chu being jealous or Len Yue OR Jing Yi and Prince Xiao fighting for Chu Chu's heart. Instead of that BULLSHIT, WE GET EVERYONE CONNECTING WITH EVERYONE TO THE POINT THAT IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO NOT GO OT4. All four have amazing chemistry with each other (and, IMO, I feel like the show DOES PUSH for OT4 in every which way?) This deffo elevated the delightful experience that it's watching this show.
Most of the cases are pretty cool and interesting in terms of the crimes and how the team went abt solving them. I remember being kinda eh abt two cases, but I also didn't mind them much cuz I was having a good time watching Chu Chu, the Prince, and everyone else doing their thing.
ANOTHER COOL THING is that, if you're squeamish, all of the autopsies and the crimes are depicted via animation. So, even though Chu Chu and co deal with a lot of death, there's v. little actual gore onscreen. IJS
Sometimes, though, the way that Chu Chu and Prince Xiao discuss the cases can be a bit too much? (which includes the level of decomposition of the bodies, how deep/bad injuries were, etc.)
Do I have any criticisms?
I didn't care abt the whole drama with the emperor, LOL. IMO, things got unnecessarily convoluted, YMMV.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
MEDIUM
Chu Chu's bad experiences in the show have to do with past emotional trauma and moments of grief (regarding her mother, who passed on before the show began.) By ep. 10, I knew that she was gonna make it out okay out of dangerous situations. Which was fine with me cuz I didn't need that stress, really.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
It's a plot that began in a clever manner, but then it got dull as the show went on. I was not into it at all. *Hands*
Do I recommend it?
HELL YEAH! You get (mostly) intricate cases featuring two people who are FREAK4FREAK, their besties/paramours, and a whole lotta fun stuff in 36 episodes! I'm giving it a 4 out of 5. Watched it on YouTube; I know it's also on Viki.
Even better was hearing the news (late last year) that filming's already started for SEASON TWO featuring with the ENTIRE CREW AND ACTORS FROM SEASON 1!!!
(So now I'm thinking of rewatching it later this year, i.e. before Season 2 drops.)
Queerness level
HIGH.
You've got F/F, M/M, F/F/M/M, M/M/F, etc. The OT4 works in every. single. way. There are a lot of shippy moments for every combo. If you like polyam ships, this might be the C drama for you! (You'd think I'm overselling, but nope, I'm truly not.)
Le Trailer
FWIW, I feel that this trailer makes the drama look goofier than it actually is. Even though I understand it as a way for ppl to tune in, it does miss the mark when it comes to encapsulating what this drama is really like. IJS.
(no subject)
May. 13th, 2025 12:57 pmturpsI enjoyed the wedding on Saturday. It was such a lovely location and the bride and groom were so happy, and both looked amazing.
There was a lot of waiting at first as things had became delayed so the main wedding party were still eating dessert when the evening guests arrived. But, we could wait in a courtyard with an attached bar, and met up with some old friends and just chatted until everyone could go to the main area.
Because of that delay lots of things got pushed back, the photo booth people could only take photos for an hour as they'd turned up at the time they'd been booked from, when the majority of people were still waiting outside. Then the food -- hot rolls, beef in gravy, pork in gravy, vegan sausages in gravy, complete with chips and various sauces, wasn't served until 10:30. Which was good for the main guests who were still eating at seven, but not so much for everyone else. But, there was also a nicely stocked free candy bar, so people were fuelled by sugar.
Funny story, while waiting a lady came rushing over saying, I know you but don't know how! I didn't know how either, though knew her face, so gave a few suggestions, were we at school together? Scout events? ( The bride and groom were both scouts, which is why we were invited, from that connection ) but it actually turned out she works at Company Shop, just neither of us clicked the connection due to being dressed so differently than usual.
She was such a lot of fun though, and insisted on buying a round of shots for everyone while we were waiting. No idea what the shot was, but it tasted good.
Despite the timing issues it was such a good night and if it wasn't such a long drive home we would have stayed even later than we did. If anyone is interested, I posted photos on Insta, here.
Yesterday was class, then Bodhisitting on the afternoon. Lucy did offer to pick me up but I said I'd just walk up after class as it seemed pointless to walk home then be picked up half an hour later. Plus, it was a lovely sunny day, so I enjoyed the walk.
Class was about fibre, which was quite interesting, and the battle ropes and slam ball was out, which I enjoyed. Though, things felt a bit extra challenging after class being off last week and me not doing my usual at home stuff due to not feeling well. After leaving some of the ladies were stopping for a drink at the attached gym cafe and asked me if I wanted to join them, but I couldn't which is a shame. Hopefully, that will happen again as while I've made one friend who I tend to walk home with, it'll be nice to talk to more of the others away from the class setting.
There was a lot of waiting at first as things had became delayed so the main wedding party were still eating dessert when the evening guests arrived. But, we could wait in a courtyard with an attached bar, and met up with some old friends and just chatted until everyone could go to the main area.
Because of that delay lots of things got pushed back, the photo booth people could only take photos for an hour as they'd turned up at the time they'd been booked from, when the majority of people were still waiting outside. Then the food -- hot rolls, beef in gravy, pork in gravy, vegan sausages in gravy, complete with chips and various sauces, wasn't served until 10:30. Which was good for the main guests who were still eating at seven, but not so much for everyone else. But, there was also a nicely stocked free candy bar, so people were fuelled by sugar.
Funny story, while waiting a lady came rushing over saying, I know you but don't know how! I didn't know how either, though knew her face, so gave a few suggestions, were we at school together? Scout events? ( The bride and groom were both scouts, which is why we were invited, from that connection ) but it actually turned out she works at Company Shop, just neither of us clicked the connection due to being dressed so differently than usual.
She was such a lot of fun though, and insisted on buying a round of shots for everyone while we were waiting. No idea what the shot was, but it tasted good.
Despite the timing issues it was such a good night and if it wasn't such a long drive home we would have stayed even later than we did. If anyone is interested, I posted photos on Insta, here.
Yesterday was class, then Bodhisitting on the afternoon. Lucy did offer to pick me up but I said I'd just walk up after class as it seemed pointless to walk home then be picked up half an hour later. Plus, it was a lovely sunny day, so I enjoyed the walk.
Class was about fibre, which was quite interesting, and the battle ropes and slam ball was out, which I enjoyed. Though, things felt a bit extra challenging after class being off last week and me not doing my usual at home stuff due to not feeling well. After leaving some of the ladies were stopping for a drink at the attached gym cafe and asked me if I wanted to join them, but I couldn't which is a shame. Hopefully, that will happen again as while I've made one friend who I tend to walk home with, it'll be nice to talk to more of the others away from the class setting.
Fannish 50 S3 Post 14: The Empresses in the Palace Cinematic Universe
May. 9th, 2025 11:00 amglitteryvThe first batch of Asian dramas I watched were Korean ones sometime in the early 2000s: Coffee Prince, My Lovely Samsoon, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, and my forever problematique fave Boys Over Flowers (I've watched this one at least 3 times and will probably watch it a few times more in the future, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
Then I kinda forgot abt them until Pandemic Year One, a.k.a. 2020, which reignited my interest all over again. This post will the first in an ongoing series where I jabber on abt them dramas. FTR, the bulk of what I watch are Chinese, Korean, and Thai series with a mix of things. Occasionally, I'll sneak a Japanese drama. Anyways, let's get started!
What ended up bringing me back is what I like to call the Empresses in the Palace Extended Universe, LOL.
Actually, before I begin, I gotta give a heads up for the following dramas.
All three shows are palace dramas that center around the inner court, i.e. the empress, the wives, and concubines. As such, one of the recurring themes has to do with the emperor's heirs. Subsequently, I have to give y'all a warning that all three shows deal with:
* Instances of child harm--including death by poison, suffocation, and drowning. Nothing is shown onscreen, but it happens enough times for me to mention this.
* Several of the female characters in all three shows have miscarriages. Sometimes by accident, sometimes is provoked by a rival.
* Fertility (who gets preggo the fastest, who has a hard time conceiving, etc) is something that comes up again and again in all three shows.
None of these things, aside from the child harm, are triggery for me, but I'm aware they're sensitive topics for others.
OK, let's go!
Empresses in the Palace (YouTube)
This is a historical harem drama that aired back in 2011 and, I gotta say, it still holds up!
The premise
In hopes to bring in new blood into the emperor's harem, all government official's daughters of marriageable age are presented to him and his mother. The "lucky" ones are offered a place in the Imperial Harem. The losers get a flower as a consolation prize before being sent home. #SadTrombone
FWIW, Zhen Huan (played by Sun Li)--whose father is a govt. official.--isn't too keen on the whole thing, but she's agreed to show up. Otherwise, her significantly younger sister would've taken her place. So Zhen Huan goes to the 'harem audition' with two of her best friends Shen Meizhuang (Lang Xi) and An Lingrong (Tao Xinran). OFC, all three end up among the newest Ladies. From then on, the story follows the ups and downs of Zhen Huan's life as she figures out the politics of the harem, overcomes her enemies' schemes, and tries to survive for as long as she can.
This drama works really well as in intro to the v. specific historical palace trope. As in explaining the rules, depicting everyone's struggles whether they're the Emperor's favorite or not, etc. The sets and costumes are neat and the acting is superb.
I like Sun Li's portrayal of Zhen Huan. She is smart and cool-headed. At times, she has to restart from rock bottom; viewers can't help cheering her along the way. She's also got a super amazing BFF (Shen Meizhuang) who has the most fascinating character story arc.
Oh, and depending on how you feel abt this specific type of love affair, Zhen Huan has a really swoonworthy yet ultimately doomed romance. Like, the second I saw the sparkage between her and her TRUE LURVE, I knew it was not gonna have an HEA, and quickly made my peace with that. It's soooo good, tho. 😭
That relationship left me crawling on the wall, rolling on the floor, pretty much embracing the full power of the emotional highs and lows. The CONNECTION between those two characters… LORRRDE. I think what I liked the most abt that ship is that Zhen Huan is V. AWARE (FROM THE START) how things are gonna shake out. It is NOT going to last. She's MARRIED TO THE FREAKING EMPEROR for starters. AND YET! *Clutches heart*
Although this drama doesn't have what I'd call a "traditionally happy ending", it certainly has a triumphant one.
Do I have any criticisms?
THE EMPEROR IS CRUMMY AF. I was also v. creeped out by him (especially during the second half of the drama.)
OTOH, Chen Jianbin (the actor who got cast for the role) has the poise and regal vibes when the show wants to depict the Emperor as someone who takes his role as ruler V., V. SERIOUSLY.
Unfortch, though, he has ZERO CHEMISTRY with all of the women he's meant to be romancing. I 😬 a lot (in the worst kind of way) during the romantic scenes (which are extremely mild due to Chinese TV censorship.) According to my calculations, Chen Jianbin was 41 at time of filming. Perhaps due to how young the majority of the actors in concubine roles are, he projects as being way older. So, he ends up giving what (to me) felt like slimy pervert vibes. YMMV abt this last point.
Also, this series is LONG (76 episodes total). The pace and story line begins to draaaaaag around ep. 53 or so. IMO, the drama peaks around episode 58-60, tho.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
LOW.
Zhen Huan's plot armor remains at below 20%. Bad things do happen to her (being mistreated, there are scenes when she's slapped, there are several murder attempts against her, etc). She DOES go thru some v. difficult moments before her luck turns for the better. Maybe due to the drama being so long, the PD team felt confident on giving her the necessary time to regroup and start fighting back? IDK.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh Noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
The emperor gets a sudden personality change that coincides with the mini-arc abt him trying to find his actual successor from among his remaining living children. So there are less actual!battles than expected, but way more bullshittery from him aimed at Zhen Huan especially. FWIW, I actively began to cheer for him to be taken out. XD
Do I recommend it?
Yes. It's kinda of a prototype for Palace/Harem drama and, despite the MUPPET FACE of the last 7-6 eps, the story is engaging. I'm giving it a 3.80 out of 5. Watched it on YT (with English subtitles) I think it's also on Amazon Prime and Viki. Full disclosure: I've seen commentary that the Amazon Prime episodes are more like recaps, so I urge you to watch it on YT or Viki instead.
Queerness level
Present but subtle. Per what I saw, there's NO on-screen queerness. However, I did feel in my heart that Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang have V. STRONG queerplatonic relationship. Shen Meizhuang is a true Ride or Die; it's fairly clear that she's not really interested in having a sexual or romantic relationship with the Emperor. However, she actively chooses to keep her position within the Imperial Harem SOLELY DUE to her affection for Zhen Huan. At one point, they are raising a child together in their own palace too.
Sadly, the ONLY trailer available is one with a bad voiceover that is giving the wrong information as to what the premise is. So I refuse to link it. :|
OK, so now we enter a Twilight Zone-esque setting in which the two dramas I'll be talking abt aired within months of each other in 2018. They also were set in the same time period, featuring the same characters, and the same storylines. Both are one generation in the future from the ending of Empresses in the Palace. I watched these two dramas back-to-back which made me feel a little loopy at times, NGL.
Having said that, they do have two differences. One, the casts aren't the same ppl. The real MAIN difference is the perspective. In one show, characters ABC will be villains, but in the other show they'll be the heroes. That flipped perspective was a big reason that kept me watching.
Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (YouTube)
The premise
Ruyi (played by Zhou Xun) is an 18-y.o. noblewoman who is close friends with the Fourth Prince (played by Wallace Huo). When the Fourth Prince ascends to the throne, now-Emperor Gaozong's wants Ruyi as his First Wife, i.e. the Empress. This plan goes tits up due to manipulations from other people. So Ruyi becomes the First Consort instead--which means she's up in the rankings but she's not the Main Squeeze.
From there, the story follows the usual story of Ruyi and the Emperor being in LURVE, other women doing their darndest to take over Ruyi's position, etc.
One of the drama's strengths comes from a specific character who has a close friendship with Ruyi. This character has the BEST storyline outside of everyone including Ruyi herself. The WAY that character manages to carve her own space within that court without sacrificing her humanity? *Does a slow-clap-to-standing-ovation*
Three out of the four main villains are excellent! I looooved hating on them due to how ruthless and Machiavellian they are. Me: "Y'all doing all of these terrible things for a man. A MAN!" (LOL) I was v. enthralled by their villainy, NGL.
Do I have any criticisms?
The fourth (and last) main villain SUCKS. IMO, the actor cast for that role lacks the heaviness that's needed to show true evil. She is v. weak. Especially when compared to the true Main Villain who played a long and nasty game.
Also, this drama has one of the WORST ENDINGS EVER. I kept hoping against hope that the ending would turn around in time to land properly and yet!
The even crummier thing is that the poor ending was due to RUYI HERSELF!
FWIW, I started watching the show because of her but then, by like ep. 10 or so, I began watching it because of [Character who is close to Ruyi that I raved abt earlier] and the villains. Watching a show for everyone EXCEPT the main character was a new experience for me, but I couldn't help it. Ruyi got on my DAMN NERVES.
Zhou Xun's approach to the role of Ruyi was to show her as a super honorable woman who is extra classy and uses her kindness as a (rather poor) shield. Unfortch, this means that Ruyi becomes the WORST kind of doormat character ever. The saddest part is that there are moments in which Ruyi shows her backbone and outsmarts the folks who are literally trying to kill her. But those moments are too spread out. Which means that she spends the majority of the drama actively choosing to not speak up or avoiding coming up with plans to get herself out of a tight spot time and time again. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING, Y'ALL!
The most RIDICULOUS aspect in the romance between Ruyi and the Emperor (because the story
.) This is exacerbated by Ruyi's insistence (from the second she becomes First Consort) on wanting a monogamous relationship with the emperor.
Like, she KNOWS that the emperor has a harem AND must get busy with all of the women (however that's all scheduled) because he's gotta have as many heirs as he possibly can. And yet, Ruyi gets jealous and acts hurt when the emperor is hopping from bed to bed. GIRL, YOU CAN'T CLAIM IGNORANCE AFTER YOU'VE WALKED INTO A SITUATION WITH EYES WIDE OPEN!!! Please keep in mind that Ruyi did grow up in the milieu of the Imperial Court. Therefore, she's culturally aware on the importance of the emperor having many wives. So...why the push for monogamy when it's a literal impossibility?????
🙄🙄🙄 Let me move on… 😅
This series is also 87 episodes long and that was a lot of time watching her getting (metaphorically) stepped on by nearly everyone. IJS.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
LOW.
I'd say it's around 18.5-19%. Ruyi suffers a lot (considering she's the main character).
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
Just like with Empresses in the Palace, this part of the story was all abt line of succession w/o any war or other armies vying for the throne, etc.
Thing is I HATED the emperor! (hahah). Even now, I'm not sure if he'd been a fuckboi all along who holds onto the idea that Ruyi is his true love for drama-rama reasons OR if he'd been truly in love with Ruyi and THEN becomes a fuckboi as his time on the throne goes on. In any case, he turned to be A COMPLETE AND UTTER LOSER.
Do I recommend it?
I guess? Especially if you go in realizing that the main character is extremely self-sacrificing even when she truly does not need to be. So I'm giving it a 2 out of 5.
Queerness level
Subtextual but I see it. I'm pretty convinced that [Character close to Ruyi] is in love with her.
Here's the trailer:
Story of Yanxi Palace (YouTube)
The premise
Wei Yinglou (played by Wu Jinyan) is a commoner who gets a gig at the Imperial Court with the intention of finding out who murdered her beloved older sister (who also worked for the court) and bringing her killer to justice. Whenever someone tries to mess with her, she gets them in trouble first AND always comes on top. Eventually, her meddling does catch up to her--which leads to her getting demoted. But then, her fortune changes for the better...or does it?
Wu Jinyan's acting has a lot of sassiness that's playful instead of outright mean. I liked her character's first romance (which was a starcrossed one) fine.
One of the most interesting things happen when she finds two soulmates. The bad one is a whole mess BUT her connection to that character is a mirror for her to realize that too much meddling will destroy her. Prior to that connection, she does meets her good soulmate. IMO, the truer soulmate out of the two. It's such a beautiful (if unrealistic) relationship. There's a lot of non-romantic/sexual love between Wei Yinglou and her good soulmate.
Do I have any criticisms?
Well, I didn't finish this drama, LOOOOL. It's 70 eps long and I quit it around ep. 46. By then, the storyline changed into a Wei Yinglou/Emperor thing and I lost all interest. *HANDS*
Gonna try to sidestep any major spoilers to explain this point a little better.
A little past episode 41, there's something that occurs with the sole purpose (plotwise) to lay down the foundation for Wei Yinglou's main romance to happen. Thing is, I wasn't super into the Wei Yinglou/emperor relationship. Their dynamic was shown as "cute": with Wei Yinglou as a brat and the emperor being amused/intrigued by her behavior. This then led to him slowly falling for her. FWIW, Wei Yinglou joining the harem was inevitable even though the character hadn't seem interested in the idea for the first half of the drama.
Once Wei Yinglou became a wife, though,all of her cleverness and self-confidence just dissipated into the ether. Whereas before she'd be more assertive while also giving some deference to the emperor, now Wei Yinglou would spend a lot of her screentime pining after him. Lots of wringing her hands/acting jealous/being actually worried abt no longer being the emperor's favorite EVERY. SINGLE. TIME the emperor wouldn't be able to visit her/spend time with her.
I was super disappointed to see a character who'd been fun to root for DIM HER OWN LIGHT IN HER OWN SHOW (AND FOR A MAN!). #HowEmbarrassing
Legit couldn't continue watching her fretting over this guy and not fighting back the way she'd done in the previous 40 eps. IJS. It was a total sad downgrade for me. THAT SAID, folks who shipped Wei Yinglou/emperor would probably enjoy those moments. IDK.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
SUPER HIGH
Wei Yinglou was someone I was never worried abt her getting permanently harmed or killed. She had the THICKEST plot armor from the get! I'll admit that I handwaved a lot of the lines she crosses (especially during the first 40 or so eps) cuz I was enjoying the messiness of it all. However, once the story began to turn, I did 🙄 whenever she'd start worrying abt anything cuz I already knew she was gonna make it even if the 'verse had to bend backwards and sideways. IJS
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
There's some stuff that comes up in the last third of the drama. I didn't watch it, but a friend who did finished it told me abt it and confirmed I'd made the right decision by dropping this show. Basically, mehhhh.
Do I recommend it?
It's a fun watch up to ep. 40-41 and then the plot goes way off track. So I don't quite feel like giving a full rec. This drama gets a 1.5 out of 5 solely based on what I watched. I watched it on YT, but I also know it's available on Netflix. Per what I've heard, there's at least one sequel (also on Netflix.)
Queerness level
There's a character who I read as asexual since [character] is not interested in anyone in a romantic or sexual way. They mention this a few times. That said, the character IS a villain almost from the get go and so it wasn't someone I wanted to root for? Personally, I wouldn't tune in to watch this solely for this ace character.
Here's the trailer:
Final Thoughts
OK, so given the choice to be able to only watch one (1) of these dramas out of these three, I say Empresses in the Palace is the no. 1 pick. Yes, it's the oldest one, BUT it's engaging without jumping thru too many logic hoops. One thing I appreciated abt Zhen Huan was seeing her become wiser as the drama progresses. She overcomes all of the obstacles that the villains throw her way, again, in a way that is satisfying and not too outlandish, IMO.
Meanwhile, Ruyi's show is v. pretty visually speaking. Also, if you like SCHEMING, this is the show to sit thru. 3 out of the 4 Main Villains are HORRIBLE and you'll be SHOOKETH TO THE CORE at both what they do and how they set their plans in motion. OTOH, you just have to deal with a main character who is spineless by choice for most of the drama, and an ending that's a total bust.
As for The Story of Yanxi's Palace, this is the one drama whose tone fits v. well with the present time culture. So I get why a lot of ppl gravitated toward it. I'd say that it has a few things that feel a little TOO contemporary for a historical period drama. But seeing Wei Yinglou get depowered at the halfway point is depressing.
Then I kinda forgot abt them until Pandemic Year One, a.k.a. 2020, which reignited my interest all over again. This post will the first in an ongoing series where I jabber on abt them dramas. FTR, the bulk of what I watch are Chinese, Korean, and Thai series with a mix of things. Occasionally, I'll sneak a Japanese drama. Anyways, let's get started!
ADDING A CUT CUZ I'M GONNA JIBBER JABBER A TON. SO, I'LL BE NICE THIS ONE (1) TIME. :D
What ended up bringing me back is what I like to call the Empresses in the Palace Extended Universe, LOL.
Actually, before I begin, I gotta give a heads up for the following dramas.
All three shows are palace dramas that center around the inner court, i.e. the empress, the wives, and concubines. As such, one of the recurring themes has to do with the emperor's heirs. Subsequently, I have to give y'all a warning that all three shows deal with:
* Instances of child harm--including death by poison, suffocation, and drowning. Nothing is shown onscreen, but it happens enough times for me to mention this.
* Several of the female characters in all three shows have miscarriages. Sometimes by accident, sometimes is provoked by a rival.
* Fertility (who gets preggo the fastest, who has a hard time conceiving, etc) is something that comes up again and again in all three shows.
None of these things, aside from the child harm, are triggery for me, but I'm aware they're sensitive topics for others.
OK, let's go!
Empresses in the Palace (YouTube)
This is a historical harem drama that aired back in 2011 and, I gotta say, it still holds up!
The premise
In hopes to bring in new blood into the emperor's harem, all government official's daughters of marriageable age are presented to him and his mother. The "lucky" ones are offered a place in the Imperial Harem. The losers get a flower as a consolation prize before being sent home. #SadTrombone
FWIW, Zhen Huan (played by Sun Li)--whose father is a govt. official.--isn't too keen on the whole thing, but she's agreed to show up. Otherwise, her significantly younger sister would've taken her place. So Zhen Huan goes to the 'harem audition' with two of her best friends Shen Meizhuang (Lang Xi) and An Lingrong (Tao Xinran). OFC, all three end up among the newest Ladies. From then on, the story follows the ups and downs of Zhen Huan's life as she figures out the politics of the harem, overcomes her enemies' schemes, and tries to survive for as long as she can.
This drama works really well as in intro to the v. specific historical palace trope. As in explaining the rules, depicting everyone's struggles whether they're the Emperor's favorite or not, etc. The sets and costumes are neat and the acting is superb.
I like Sun Li's portrayal of Zhen Huan. She is smart and cool-headed. At times, she has to restart from rock bottom; viewers can't help cheering her along the way. She's also got a super amazing BFF (Shen Meizhuang) who has the most fascinating character story arc.
Oh, and depending on how you feel abt this specific type of love affair, Zhen Huan has a really swoonworthy yet ultimately doomed romance. Like, the second I saw the sparkage between her and her TRUE LURVE, I knew it was not gonna have an HEA, and quickly made my peace with that. It's soooo good, tho. 😭
That relationship left me crawling on the wall, rolling on the floor, pretty much embracing the full power of the emotional highs and lows. The CONNECTION between those two characters… LORRRDE. I think what I liked the most abt that ship is that Zhen Huan is V. AWARE (FROM THE START) how things are gonna shake out. It is NOT going to last. She's MARRIED TO THE FREAKING EMPEROR for starters. AND YET! *Clutches heart*
Although this drama doesn't have what I'd call a "traditionally happy ending", it certainly has a triumphant one.
Do I have any criticisms?
THE EMPEROR IS CRUMMY AF. I was also v. creeped out by him (especially during the second half of the drama.)
OTOH, Chen Jianbin (the actor who got cast for the role) has the poise and regal vibes when the show wants to depict the Emperor as someone who takes his role as ruler V., V. SERIOUSLY.
Unfortch, though, he has ZERO CHEMISTRY with all of the women he's meant to be romancing. I 😬 a lot (in the worst kind of way) during the romantic scenes (which are extremely mild due to Chinese TV censorship.) According to my calculations, Chen Jianbin was 41 at time of filming. Perhaps due to how young the majority of the actors in concubine roles are, he projects as being way older. So, he ends up giving what (to me) felt like slimy pervert vibes. YMMV abt this last point.
Also, this series is LONG (76 episodes total). The pace and story line begins to draaaaaag around ep. 53 or so. IMO, the drama peaks around episode 58-60, tho.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
LOW.
Zhen Huan's plot armor remains at below 20%. Bad things do happen to her (being mistreated, there are scenes when she's slapped, there are several murder attempts against her, etc). She DOES go thru some v. difficult moments before her luck turns for the better. Maybe due to the drama being so long, the PD team felt confident on giving her the necessary time to regroup and start fighting back? IDK.
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh Noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
The emperor gets a sudden personality change that coincides with the mini-arc abt him trying to find his actual successor from among his remaining living children. So there are less actual!battles than expected, but way more bullshittery from him aimed at Zhen Huan especially. FWIW, I actively began to cheer for him to be taken out. XD
Do I recommend it?
Yes. It's kinda of a prototype for Palace/Harem drama and, despite the MUPPET FACE of the last 7-6 eps, the story is engaging. I'm giving it a 3.80 out of 5. Watched it on YT (with English subtitles) I think it's also on Amazon Prime and Viki. Full disclosure: I've seen commentary that the Amazon Prime episodes are more like recaps, so I urge you to watch it on YT or Viki instead.
Queerness level
Present but subtle. Per what I saw, there's NO on-screen queerness. However, I did feel in my heart that Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang have V. STRONG queerplatonic relationship. Shen Meizhuang is a true Ride or Die; it's fairly clear that she's not really interested in having a sexual or romantic relationship with the Emperor. However, she actively chooses to keep her position within the Imperial Harem SOLELY DUE to her affection for Zhen Huan. At one point, they are raising a child together in their own palace too.
Sadly, the ONLY trailer available is one with a bad voiceover that is giving the wrong information as to what the premise is. So I refuse to link it. :|
OK, so now we enter a Twilight Zone-esque setting in which the two dramas I'll be talking abt aired within months of each other in 2018. They also were set in the same time period, featuring the same characters, and the same storylines. Both are one generation in the future from the ending of Empresses in the Palace. I watched these two dramas back-to-back which made me feel a little loopy at times, NGL.
Having said that, they do have two differences. One, the casts aren't the same ppl. The real MAIN difference is the perspective. In one show, characters ABC will be villains, but in the other show they'll be the heroes. That flipped perspective was a big reason that kept me watching.
Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (YouTube)
The premise
Ruyi (played by Zhou Xun) is an 18-y.o. noblewoman who is close friends with the Fourth Prince (played by Wallace Huo). When the Fourth Prince ascends to the throne, now-Emperor Gaozong's wants Ruyi as his First Wife, i.e. the Empress. This plan goes tits up due to manipulations from other people. So Ruyi becomes the First Consort instead--which means she's up in the rankings but she's not the Main Squeeze.
From there, the story follows the usual story of Ruyi and the Emperor being in LURVE, other women doing their darndest to take over Ruyi's position, etc.
One of the drama's strengths comes from a specific character who has a close friendship with Ruyi. This character has the BEST storyline outside of everyone including Ruyi herself. The WAY that character manages to carve her own space within that court without sacrificing her humanity? *Does a slow-clap-to-standing-ovation*
Three out of the four main villains are excellent! I looooved hating on them due to how ruthless and Machiavellian they are. Me: "Y'all doing all of these terrible things for a man. A MAN!" (LOL) I was v. enthralled by their villainy, NGL.
Do I have any criticisms?
The fourth (and last) main villain SUCKS. IMO, the actor cast for that role lacks the heaviness that's needed to show true evil. She is v. weak. Especially when compared to the true Main Villain who played a long and nasty game.
Also, this drama has one of the WORST ENDINGS EVER. I kept hoping against hope that the ending would turn around in time to land properly and yet!
The even crummier thing is that the poor ending was due to RUYI HERSELF!
FWIW, I started watching the show because of her but then, by like ep. 10 or so, I began watching it because of [Character who is close to Ruyi that I raved abt earlier] and the villains. Watching a show for everyone EXCEPT the main character was a new experience for me, but I couldn't help it. Ruyi got on my DAMN NERVES.
Zhou Xun's approach to the role of Ruyi was to show her as a super honorable woman who is extra classy and uses her kindness as a (rather poor) shield. Unfortch, this means that Ruyi becomes the WORST kind of doormat character ever. The saddest part is that there are moments in which Ruyi shows her backbone and outsmarts the folks who are literally trying to kill her. But those moments are too spread out. Which means that she spends the majority of the drama actively choosing to not speak up or avoiding coming up with plans to get herself out of a tight spot time and time again. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING, Y'ALL!
The most RIDICULOUS aspect in the romance between Ruyi and the Emperor (because the story
SPOILER
flips things up a little since this is a story of how to people fall out of loveLike, she KNOWS that the emperor has a harem AND must get busy with all of the women (however that's all scheduled) because he's gotta have as many heirs as he possibly can. And yet, Ruyi gets jealous and acts hurt when the emperor is hopping from bed to bed. GIRL, YOU CAN'T CLAIM IGNORANCE AFTER YOU'VE WALKED INTO A SITUATION WITH EYES WIDE OPEN!!! Please keep in mind that Ruyi did grow up in the milieu of the Imperial Court. Therefore, she's culturally aware on the importance of the emperor having many wives. So...why the push for monogamy when it's a literal impossibility?????
🙄🙄🙄 Let me move on… 😅
This series is also 87 episodes long and that was a lot of time watching her getting (metaphorically) stepped on by nearly everyone. IJS.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
LOW.
I'd say it's around 18.5-19%. Ruyi suffers a lot (considering she's the main character).
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
Just like with Empresses in the Palace, this part of the story was all abt line of succession w/o any war or other armies vying for the throne, etc.
Thing is I HATED the emperor! (hahah). Even now, I'm not sure if he'd been a fuckboi all along who holds onto the idea that Ruyi is his true love for drama-rama reasons OR if he'd been truly in love with Ruyi and THEN becomes a fuckboi as his time on the throne goes on. In any case, he turned to be A COMPLETE AND UTTER LOSER.
Do I recommend it?
I guess? Especially if you go in realizing that the main character is extremely self-sacrificing even when she truly does not need to be. So I'm giving it a 2 out of 5.
Queerness level
Subtextual but I see it. I'm pretty convinced that [Character close to Ruyi] is in love with her.
Here's the trailer:
Story of Yanxi Palace (YouTube)
The premise
Wei Yinglou (played by Wu Jinyan) is a commoner who gets a gig at the Imperial Court with the intention of finding out who murdered her beloved older sister (who also worked for the court) and bringing her killer to justice. Whenever someone tries to mess with her, she gets them in trouble first AND always comes on top. Eventually, her meddling does catch up to her--which leads to her getting demoted. But then, her fortune changes for the better...or does it?
Wu Jinyan's acting has a lot of sassiness that's playful instead of outright mean. I liked her character's first romance (which was a starcrossed one) fine.
One of the most interesting things happen when she finds two soulmates. The bad one is a whole mess BUT her connection to that character is a mirror for her to realize that too much meddling will destroy her. Prior to that connection, she does meets her good soulmate. IMO, the truer soulmate out of the two. It's such a beautiful (if unrealistic) relationship. There's a lot of non-romantic/sexual love between Wei Yinglou and her good soulmate.
Do I have any criticisms?
Well, I didn't finish this drama, LOOOOL. It's 70 eps long and I quit it around ep. 46. By then, the storyline changed into a Wei Yinglou/Emperor thing and I lost all interest. *HANDS*
Gonna try to sidestep any major spoilers to explain this point a little better.
A little past episode 41, there's something that occurs with the sole purpose (plotwise) to lay down the foundation for Wei Yinglou's main romance to happen. Thing is, I wasn't super into the Wei Yinglou/emperor relationship. Their dynamic was shown as "cute": with Wei Yinglou as a brat and the emperor being amused/intrigued by her behavior. This then led to him slowly falling for her. FWIW, Wei Yinglou joining the harem was inevitable even though the character hadn't seem interested in the idea for the first half of the drama.
Once Wei Yinglou became a wife, though,all of her cleverness and self-confidence just dissipated into the ether. Whereas before she'd be more assertive while also giving some deference to the emperor, now Wei Yinglou would spend a lot of her screentime pining after him. Lots of wringing her hands/acting jealous/being actually worried abt no longer being the emperor's favorite EVERY. SINGLE. TIME the emperor wouldn't be able to visit her/spend time with her.
I was super disappointed to see a character who'd been fun to root for DIM HER OWN LIGHT IN HER OWN SHOW (AND FOR A MAN!). #HowEmbarrassing
Legit couldn't continue watching her fretting over this guy and not fighting back the way she'd done in the previous 40 eps. IJS. It was a total sad downgrade for me. THAT SAID, folks who shipped Wei Yinglou/emperor would probably enjoy those moments. IDK.
What's the FMC's plot armor level?
SUPER HIGH
Wei Yinglou was someone I was never worried abt her getting permanently harmed or killed. She had the THICKEST plot armor from the get! I'll admit that I handwaved a lot of the lines she crosses (especially during the first 40 or so eps) cuz I was enjoying the messiness of it all. However, once the story began to turn, I did 🙄 whenever she'd start worrying abt anything cuz I already knew she was gonna make it even if the 'verse had to bend backwards and sideways. IJS
How does the show handle the inevitable "Oh noes, the emperor's in danger of losing his throne!" storyline?
There's some stuff that comes up in the last third of the drama. I didn't watch it, but a friend who did finished it told me abt it and confirmed I'd made the right decision by dropping this show. Basically, mehhhh.
Do I recommend it?
It's a fun watch up to ep. 40-41 and then the plot goes way off track. So I don't quite feel like giving a full rec. This drama gets a 1.5 out of 5 solely based on what I watched. I watched it on YT, but I also know it's available on Netflix. Per what I've heard, there's at least one sequel (also on Netflix.)
Queerness level
There's a character who I read as asexual since [character] is not interested in anyone in a romantic or sexual way. They mention this a few times. That said, the character IS a villain almost from the get go and so it wasn't someone I wanted to root for? Personally, I wouldn't tune in to watch this solely for this ace character.
Here's the trailer:
Final Thoughts
OK, so given the choice to be able to only watch one (1) of these dramas out of these three, I say Empresses in the Palace is the no. 1 pick. Yes, it's the oldest one, BUT it's engaging without jumping thru too many logic hoops. One thing I appreciated abt Zhen Huan was seeing her become wiser as the drama progresses. She overcomes all of the obstacles that the villains throw her way, again, in a way that is satisfying and not too outlandish, IMO.
Meanwhile, Ruyi's show is v. pretty visually speaking. Also, if you like SCHEMING, this is the show to sit thru. 3 out of the 4 Main Villains are HORRIBLE and you'll be SHOOKETH TO THE CORE at both what they do and how they set their plans in motion. OTOH, you just have to deal with a main character who is spineless by choice for most of the drama, and an ending that's a total bust.
As for The Story of Yanxi's Palace, this is the one drama whose tone fits v. well with the present time culture. So I get why a lot of ppl gravitated toward it. I'd say that it has a few things that feel a little TOO contemporary for a historical period drama. But seeing Wei Yinglou get depowered at the halfway point is depressing.