I’m looking forward to this, I’ll just give it a chance and see.
Being that I’m planning on giving this a totally blank slate, I will try to avoid theories, spoilers, and any other preconceptions regarding the writer/story that many people are already judging this show for. I just want to see (and hopefully enjoy) how it is as a stand-alone show, regardless of the opinions already surrounding it in advance of airing.
It’s an interesting topic, and very much helpful to have used a survey.
For me, I guess the question isn’t so much about a “happy”, “open”, or “sad” ending, but rather whether the ending fits the overall tone and direction the show carried throughout. So, I guess my battle with endings is very much based upon consistency, if the show has been consistent with a tone and dynamic, then that should carry through, regardless of whether that makes the ending “happy” or sad”.
If the ending fits, I’m usually content, so I don’t mind if when watching horror, action, psychological, crime, or thriller if things go wildly wrong towards the end; sometimes that makes it more fun. Whereas, if it’s been 100% light, fluffy, rom-com, I may complain about sudden random tragedy that has no apparent explanation or reason (if you’ve seen it you’ll know).
Lastly, on the topic of mismatched evaluations, that’s the main reason I never ask anymore, because the few times I did ask, there always seems to be varying amounts of mismatch. The worst culprit was some films based off of a novel, and they (several people) all said the novel had a happy ending, but to me, the novel ending was the most tragic ending I had ever read, even if it was fitting, it would have been a happier ending if the leads had died or been separated. (It’s a long story...)
Loved (and totally agreed with) this article! The tone of it was fun. I also spent most of Itaewon Class thinking the same thing, I just wanted to give that Jang Dae Hee a good yelling at followed by a sock in the jaw! Equally, I get it that that isn’t a viable or legal approach, and unfortunately, prison time would be likely for anyone who dared attack the untouchable Jang Dae Hee that he was.
I’d love to see more of this, with any tone you want to go with, it works well with a light fun tone, but could probably be equally interesting with a more serious one. Dark and mysterious dramas could be fun too, especially if they’re ones with difficult choices. XD
Love you for making the cookies for those who disagree with you though! :)
If I'm getting this right, they will resolve their misunderstanding in the next episode. So they have to work…
I got the same vibe, and it made me think about how good Lin Pei Yu and the director’s decisions were here. They gave us some very angsty trailer that caused genuine worry that most of this would be explosive misunderstanding between the leads, but actually, the things they didn’t reveal were the big positives, and left room for some surprise along the way.
Also made me think of how far Lin Pei Yu’s writing has evolved, because it’s still getting better with each new show; feels like I was right to watch this because of her. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d watch it because of how it looked at first, it seemed at a glance to be a miniseries with similar length and format to HIStory’s first season. Then, I saw Lin Pei Yu credited as writer and decided it was a must watch. Glad I started it.
"... better subtitles; not because they’re incoherent, but because they are often changed so that the impact/emotion…
I can agree with the language switching too, from my recollection Viki (and some other networks) often will put a note when language changes, which makes the specifics of dynamics like that more understandable and effective.
I think my pickiness began with novel translations of all things, because I began reading several Chinese novel translations a few months ago, and after reading a few with some awkward translations due to frequent regional slang and expressions used in the original text - so they were littered with notes trying to explain where there was not any comparable equivalent in English.
After this, I read a translation of A Round Trip To Love’s first three volumes where the translator didn’t use notes, but stated at the beginning that they wouldn’t use literal translation. Instead. They’d rework entire paragraphs to preserve the overall meaning and emotion. This was by far the best translation I’ve ever read. That being said, the same cannot be done in the context of shows for a number of reasons. Essentially, I was spoilt by the quality of that translation and I’ve been a bit more focussed on details in translation since, which has lead to my pickiness here.
You mentioned being multilingual, out of curiosity what languages do you focus on/speak?
I think the Japanese translations were pretty accurate this episode. Where did you think there was a poor translation?…
The one that stuck out to me was right at the end; where Shu Yi’s dad says in the English subtitles “No...” where he said “知らない/Shiranai” which would more closely be associated with “I don’t know / What [promise]” meaning wise. Please do correct me if I’m wrong here though.
Although it’s in the vein of denial; the type of denial in the English subtitles comes off more firmly and aggressively (choice of word being definitively negative) whereas it feels more an attempt at evading guilt with his son in a pleading way (more neutral choices above).
That’s the only one that stuck out like a sore thumb, there was more Mandarin phrases that bothered me to be honest (as I mentioned before, pronouns being the major giveaways).
I hope this doesn’t come off as overly picky/passive-aggressive, it’s just what I got from it.
Having finished episode 2 now - I got interrupted shortly after my earlier comment, so I barely reached the halfway mark before said interruption. I’m relieved. Quite frankly, it seemed like Shi De wasn’t going to tell Shu Yi, but now his father owes him an explanation. I’m suspecting and hoping that at least some of his anger will be redirected and it looks like it can only go up from here.
SUBTITLES! PLEASE GIVE ACCURATE/MEANINGFUL SUBTITLES! I’m by no means fluent in Japanese (although I am studying it), but even I could tell the subtitles were further from the original meaning then necessary in the moments it was spoken. From my (very) limited understanding of Mandarin, there’s still places where me, someone with no official study/grasp of the language, can spot where the translation is not that close to what is said. The biggest giveaway is when someone uses pronouns (me/I/we/you etc.) when none are seen in the translation.
I have reached the point of stopping to translate a few parts of the episode myself. That shouldn’t be happening with official translations. I hope that at some point this either gets updated with better subtitles, or that someone goes out on a limb and does their own translation.
On the topic, I’m pretty new to watching things on WeTV, so I don’t know if this is representative of their usual standard for English subtitles or not. I’d appreciate if anyone could tell me if this is normally the case. I’ve only seen Manner of Death on it prior to this and don’t understand enough Thai to get picky about subtitles.
Apologies if this seems like a rant. I am actually really enjoying the show, just frustrated that I could be getting so much more from it with better subtitles; not because they’re incoherent, but because they are often changed so that the impact/emotion of the original line is lessened.
Did somebody else noticed that the roof scene (when Shu Yi says he wants to take revenge on Shi De, and Shi De…
Nice observation, I hadn’t noticed that here or in the HIStory4 trailer, I was probably not thinking much about it. Maybe it’s a go-to location for BL rooftop scenes? XD
I did notice recently that at least one scene from Someday or One Day was shot in the same place as HIStory : Obsessed though. There may be more later on, but I’m rewatching and still not very far in.
know u posted this comment months ago and this is more a question - is the novel the same title as the drama?…
This may sound odd, but it depends upon where you are reading it. The source I had been reading it from at the time I posted the original comment called it “Loving the Rival”. However, novelupdates has it under the titles of “Counter Attack”, “Falling In Love With A Rival”, and “ 逆袭”. This is may be a better translation than the one I had been reading but haven’t used it, so I don’t know.
I originally found the translation I read from a link somewhere in this comment section I think.
I have to disagree. I feel strongly that a capable, committed actor should be able to portray states of drunkenness…
Ah, I wasn’t trying to say it’s a good thing to do. I was just surprised by that choice and am curious to see how it turns out. It isn’t clear whose idea it was (it isn’t like people volunteer to be drunk on set), and I honestly wondered how someone can have enough control to act while drunk; although I do worry a bit for Sam because it seems like this project has really drained him. The extreme weight loss as well as this, doesn’t seem like the project has done him much good besides how popular it is.
Of course I would not support people taking drugs when playing the part of a junkie etc. it was more out of surprise than anything else, and impressive (not necessarily in a good way) to me that it even happened. I also thought that it must have been awkward for Yu in particular because of having to deal with Sam being drunk while staying in character and doing what the scene demanded.
I don’t disagree with your points on professionalism or the obvious (potential) issues here. Apologies if my previous comment caused any offence. Also, it did initially make me worry that the overall approach here seems dangerously close to method acting, especially having seen more interviews.
so many are already watching this?? for me it's still vip D:
The episodes are VIP for 1 week and everyone else can see it after that, although a lot of people have mentioned getting VIP just to watch this, and some got it during Manner Of Death and the first season of We Best Love and plan on keeping it until this finishes airing.
The airing schedule is different to usual on WeTV because instead of giving VIPs 2 episodes on day 1, it gave VIPs one episode and is making everyone else wait. Non-VIPs can watch episode 1 the moment episode 2 is uploaded for VIPs on Friday.
Hearing about Sam having a lot of whiskey before filming the drunk scene (scenes?) in episode 2, I’m even more curious as to what that performance will be like. It seems impressive to be able to act well having had a significant amount of alcohol beforehand. I was already curious and excited for next episode, but just got a whole lot more curious - could Friday please come sooner?
And, although I’m confident the scene will turn out well, I’m seriously impressed by that level of commitment.
Can most people even tolerate that much straight whiskey? I don’t drink so I wouldn’t know, although I know whiskey is very strong.
I’ll almost certainly watch this; I have huge respect to the creators of Nana, it’s a beautiful story. I also love the soundtrack/songs from previous iterations. Looking forward to it!
I really don't understand why the HIStory team decided not to work with Lin Pei Yu but this woman? The writer…
I think Lin Pei Yu chose to leave, and I think it had something to do with wanting more freedom in her work - as far as I can tell, she had more freedom over writing the story for We Best Love, and she’s done very well with it. It’s clearly her writing style there too.
Back when HIStory had been announced to be over after the end of season 3*, I do recall hearing that at least one of the main writers had left the network, and it adds up that it was Lin Pei Yu because she now has an original with WeTV.
* This was floating around but I never got a source on it, so can’t say if it was true that they announced it was over or not, but the stuff about people leaving the network appears to have been true.
My heart stills pounding after watching Ep 1 of Season 2. Does anyone know are there any novel to read? ????
I’m pretty sure this is an original work written for screen by Lin Pei Yu. So the downside is there’s no novel to read, but the bright side is it’s impossible to spoil it for yourself before it airs. It’s also less limiting for directors, cast and crew because being that it’s original, it can take any direction without worrying about it staying true to an original. There’s more overall room for creative freedom with it done this way.
What reference to Castle in the Sky? Can you explain?
For the set of the office they’re in towards the end of the episode, next to a picture frame on the desk is a model of the robot from Laputa. It’s visible for a while between 26-27 minutes in to the episode. I only mentioned because I wondered if anyone else spotted it, it really distracted me in that scene.
Maybe it counts more as an Easter egg, or it could just be set design? It isn’t completely clear whose office it is; although (judging by size of room) I’m inclined to think it belongs to one of the leads. Either way it’s a nice touch on the set. It probably means nothing and I almost certainly just read too much in to it.
Sorry if I got too excited in my original comment there...
Being that I’m planning on giving this a totally blank slate, I will try to avoid theories, spoilers, and any other preconceptions regarding the writer/story that many people are already judging this show for. I just want to see (and hopefully enjoy) how it is as a stand-alone show, regardless of the opinions already surrounding it in advance of airing.
For me, I guess the question isn’t so much about a “happy”, “open”, or “sad” ending, but rather whether the ending fits the overall tone and direction the show carried throughout. So, I guess my battle with endings is very much based upon consistency, if the show has been consistent with a tone and dynamic, then that should carry through, regardless of whether that makes the ending “happy” or sad”.
If the ending fits, I’m usually content, so I don’t mind if when watching horror, action, psychological, crime, or thriller if things go wildly wrong towards the end; sometimes that makes it more fun. Whereas, if it’s been 100% light, fluffy, rom-com, I may complain about sudden random tragedy that has no apparent explanation or reason (if you’ve seen it you’ll know).
Lastly, on the topic of mismatched evaluations, that’s the main reason I never ask anymore, because the few times I did ask, there always seems to be varying amounts of mismatch. The worst culprit was some films based off of a novel, and they (several people) all said the novel had a happy ending, but to me, the novel ending was the most tragic ending I had ever read, even if it was fitting, it would have been a happier ending if the leads had died or been separated. (It’s a long story...)
I’d love to see more of this, with any tone you want to go with, it works well with a light fun tone, but could probably be equally interesting with a more serious one. Dark and mysterious dramas could be fun too, especially if they’re ones with difficult choices. XD
Love you for making the cookies for those who disagree with you though! :)
Also made me think of how far Lin Pei Yu’s writing has evolved, because it’s still getting better with each new show; feels like I was right to watch this because of her. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d watch it because of how it looked at first, it seemed at a glance to be a miniseries with similar length and format to HIStory’s first season. Then, I saw Lin Pei Yu credited as writer and decided it was a must watch. Glad I started it.
I think my pickiness began with novel translations of all things, because I began reading several Chinese novel translations a few months ago, and after reading a few with some awkward translations due to frequent regional slang and expressions used in the original text - so they were littered with notes trying to explain where there was not any comparable equivalent in English.
After this, I read a translation of A Round Trip To Love’s first three volumes where the translator didn’t use notes, but stated at the beginning that they wouldn’t use literal translation. Instead. They’d rework entire paragraphs to preserve the overall meaning and emotion. This was by far the best translation I’ve ever read. That being said, the same cannot be done in the context of shows for a number of reasons. Essentially, I was spoilt by the quality of that translation and I’ve been a bit more focussed on details in translation since, which has lead to my pickiness here.
You mentioned being multilingual, out of curiosity what languages do you focus on/speak?
Although it’s in the vein of denial; the type of denial in the English subtitles comes off more firmly and aggressively (choice of word being definitively negative) whereas it feels more an attempt at evading guilt with his son in a pleading way (more neutral choices above).
That’s the only one that stuck out like a sore thumb, there was more Mandarin phrases that bothered me to be honest (as I mentioned before, pronouns being the major giveaways).
I hope this doesn’t come off as overly picky/passive-aggressive, it’s just what I got from it.
SUBTITLES! PLEASE GIVE ACCURATE/MEANINGFUL SUBTITLES! I’m by no means fluent in Japanese (although I am studying it), but even I could tell the subtitles were further from the original meaning then necessary in the moments it was spoken. From my (very) limited understanding of Mandarin, there’s still places where me, someone with no official study/grasp of the language, can spot where the translation is not that close to what is said. The biggest giveaway is when someone uses pronouns (me/I/we/you etc.) when none are seen in the translation.
I have reached the point of stopping to translate a few parts of the episode myself. That shouldn’t be happening with official translations. I hope that at some point this either gets updated with better subtitles, or that someone goes out on a limb and does their own translation.
On the topic, I’m pretty new to watching things on WeTV, so I don’t know if this is representative of their usual standard for English subtitles or not. I’d appreciate if anyone could tell me if this is normally the case. I’ve only seen Manner of Death on it prior to this and don’t understand enough Thai to get picky about subtitles.
Apologies if this seems like a rant. I am actually really enjoying the show, just frustrated that I could be getting so much more from it with better subtitles; not because they’re incoherent, but because they are often changed so that the impact/emotion of the original line is lessened.
I did notice recently that at least one scene from Someday or One Day was shot in the same place as HIStory : Obsessed though. There may be more later on, but I’m rewatching and still not very far in.
However, novelupdates has it under the titles of “Counter Attack”, “Falling In Love With A Rival”, and “ 逆袭”. This is may be a better translation than the one I had been reading but haven’t used it, so I don’t know.
I originally found the translation I read from a link somewhere in this comment section I think.
Hope this helps. :)
Of course I would not support people taking drugs when playing the part of a junkie etc. it was more out of surprise than anything else, and impressive (not necessarily in a good way) to me that it even happened. I also thought that it must have been awkward for Yu in particular because of having to deal with Sam being drunk while staying in character and doing what the scene demanded.
I don’t disagree with your points on professionalism or the obvious (potential) issues here. Apologies if my previous comment caused any offence. Also, it did initially make me worry that the overall approach here seems dangerously close to method acting, especially having seen more interviews.
The airing schedule is different to usual on WeTV because instead of giving VIPs 2 episodes on day 1, it gave VIPs one episode and is making everyone else wait. Non-VIPs can watch episode 1 the moment episode 2 is uploaded for VIPs on Friday.
And, although I’m confident the scene will turn out well, I’m seriously impressed by that level of commitment.
Can most people even tolerate that much straight whiskey? I don’t drink so I wouldn’t know, although I know whiskey is very strong.
Back when HIStory had been announced to be over after the end of season 3*, I do recall hearing that at least one of the main writers had left the network, and it adds up that it was Lin Pei Yu because she now has an original with WeTV.
* This was floating around but I never got a source on it, so can’t say if it was true that they announced it was over or not, but the stuff about people leaving the network appears to have been true.
It’s also less limiting for directors, cast and crew because being that it’s original, it can take any direction without worrying about it staying true to an original. There’s more overall room for creative freedom with it done this way.
[please someone correct me if I’m wrong]
Maybe it counts more as an Easter egg, or it could just be set design? It isn’t completely clear whose office it is; although (judging by size of room) I’m inclined to think it belongs to one of the leads. Either way it’s a nice touch on the set. It probably means nothing and I almost certainly just read too much in to it.
Sorry if I got too excited in my original comment there...