Personally, I’m not a big fan. It has no realism at all. It’s supposed to take place in 1914, but the characters…
It is a romantic fantasy drama, not a gritty period piece. I don't need to know what's going on in the war, I don't care about realism, if so, I would go watch a gritty war drama. I want gorgeous period fantasy. And that's what this series is giving.
Oh my gosh, I am so afraid! I feel like the pain is coming in these next few episodes! The last two have been so beautiful but I don't know what's going to happen! Side note: Great has the perkiest nipples 😍
I’m gonna be as honest as I can about this series. I’m cutting it some slack because it’s from China.I know…
I haven't seen much of them, just the gangster guy showing up at the clinic and coming on to the doctor. I see them in the fan vids occasionally. The doctor is super cute.
Complicit in human trafficking? Where'd you get it? CC is involved in the ring of illegal snake fights non-existent…
He wins another human in a bet as a sex object. That is human trafficking.
Also, I am not delving deeply into spaces that talk about this series, but I acknowledged that some people are talking about the complexity of the characters.
I also said that this is not what the algorithm is showing me, it is showing me cute sappy fanvids with hearts.
If you are engaging more deeply, maybe your algorithm is showing you other takes on it (which is good, but I'm not going down that rabbit hole just to train my algorithm haha).
I’m gonna be as honest as I can about this series. I’m cutting it some slack because it’s from China.I know…
Oh, lord. That makes me think of Ohm Pawat's character in Make It Right, where he basically rapes his ship partner, to the point where his partner has to go to the hospital the next day because he is bleeding from his anus... and I'm pretty sure Ohm (in real life) was only 15 years old when he filmed that.
So I get where you are coming from. There is an evolution that happens for sure in the industry in different countries. And I get that when things are underground (like gay stuff in China), there is not the same kind of public response that pushes people to remove problematic stuff or portray it in a way that reckons with the wrongness. In Make It Right, they played sappy romantic music and the character (who was bleeding from his anus) is smiling in the shower like he just got asked to the prom.
But, this one is a miss. If Chi Cheng is going to do those things, they need to be acknowledged and there needs to be consequences and I haven't heard anything about that happening.
Or if we are all going to collectively say, "Yes, he is a rapist, but his relationship is cute" (which is what seems to be happening), I think we have to grapple with what that says about us as people....
I've commented something similar and one person just get pissed of and start asking me to watch another series…
Good debate, I appreciate the responses.
I don't think *every* story needs a redemption arc (although in the words of the Wizard from Wicked, "none is as celebrated as the rehabilitated") but I do think that the morally problematic choices of the characters need to have consequences. You referenced many series in your post and while I haven't watched every episode of every one (or even any episodes of You, I just hear about it from my friend), I find it hard to believe that those characters don't have to deal with the consequences of their choices.
Does Tony Soprano not have people lined up around the block trying to kill him for his criminal decisions that hurt others?
In Game of Thrones, pretty much everyone dies haha so they definitely have to face a reckoning.
I also think the comparison you are making with most of these series doesn't really apply because they are not romantic dramas. I think You is probably the exception.
I don't see a hundred fan vids a day of people shipping Tony Soprano with another dude and gushing about how cute it is. (I have seen those about You, however).
Honestly, that probably is the crux of the issue for me. I do not see people engaging with the moral complexity of the characters. I see them gushing about how cute they are. I see fan vids with pink haze and hearts and sweet sappy love songs.
I'm sure you can understand how jarring it is to watch a scene where a man orders another to be gang raped and then a day later, see that same character in a cute sappy fan video where someone is gushing about his romantic prospects.
So, I guess my question is, do you think people really are grappling with the moral complexity of the character. Presumably some people are, even some of my friends have posted about it (and when I get a chance I am going to have this convo with them, too). But, be honest, if you hadn't watched the series, and had only watched what people are posting about it on social media, would you have any idea that Chi Cheng has done such terrible things?
If we are going to dig deep into morally wrong (not gray, there is nothing unclear about gang rape, chi cheng is not morally gray, he is morally *wrong*) characters, let's dig deep. But again, I don't think that's what is happening here. I think people saw it, said, "dang that's mean and wrong" and then chose to pretend like it never happened because cute guys...
And hey! I'ma add myself to the list who tells you— you can always ignore this series and watch other dramas…
Haha, as I mentioned in my post, this series is *everywhere*. It's not possible to avoid at this point. If it were easy to get away from it, I wouldn't have posted. But I would have to delete all of my social media to avoid seeing multiple posts about this series per day.
Also, I am not delving deeply into spaces that talk about this series, but I acknowledged that some people are talking about the complexity of the characters.
I also said that this is not what the algorithm is showing me, it is showing me cute sappy fanvids with hearts.
If you are engaging more deeply, maybe your algorithm is showing you other takes on it (which is good, but I'm not going down that rabbit hole just to train my algorithm haha).
So I get where you are coming from. There is an evolution that happens for sure in the industry in different countries. And I get that when things are underground (like gay stuff in China), there is not the same kind of public response that pushes people to remove problematic stuff or portray it in a way that reckons with the wrongness. In Make It Right, they played sappy romantic music and the character (who was bleeding from his anus) is smiling in the shower like he just got asked to the prom.
But, this one is a miss. If Chi Cheng is going to do those things, they need to be acknowledged and there needs to be consequences and I haven't heard anything about that happening.
Or if we are all going to collectively say, "Yes, he is a rapist, but his relationship is cute" (which is what seems to be happening), I think we have to grapple with what that says about us as people....
I don't think *every* story needs a redemption arc (although in the words of the Wizard from Wicked, "none is as celebrated as the rehabilitated") but I do think that the morally problematic choices of the characters need to have consequences. You referenced many series in your post and while I haven't watched every episode of every one (or even any episodes of You, I just hear about it from my friend), I find it hard to believe that those characters don't have to deal with the consequences of their choices.
Does Tony Soprano not have people lined up around the block trying to kill him for his criminal decisions that hurt others?
In Game of Thrones, pretty much everyone dies haha so they definitely have to face a reckoning.
I also think the comparison you are making with most of these series doesn't really apply because they are not romantic dramas. I think You is probably the exception.
I don't see a hundred fan vids a day of people shipping Tony Soprano with another dude and gushing about how cute it is. (I have seen those about You, however).
Honestly, that probably is the crux of the issue for me. I do not see people engaging with the moral complexity of the characters. I see them gushing about how cute they are. I see fan vids with pink haze and hearts and sweet sappy love songs.
I'm sure you can understand how jarring it is to watch a scene where a man orders another to be gang raped and then a day later, see that same character in a cute sappy fan video where someone is gushing about his romantic prospects.
So, I guess my question is, do you think people really are grappling with the moral complexity of the character. Presumably some people are, even some of my friends have posted about it (and when I get a chance I am going to have this convo with them, too). But, be honest, if you hadn't watched the series, and had only watched what people are posting about it on social media, would you have any idea that Chi Cheng has done such terrible things?
If we are going to dig deep into morally wrong (not gray, there is nothing unclear about gang rape, chi cheng is not morally gray, he is morally *wrong*) characters, let's dig deep. But again, I don't think that's what is happening here. I think people saw it, said, "dang that's mean and wrong" and then chose to pretend like it never happened because cute guys...