I'm on epi 40 and I still think 'The Long Ballad' is the best in this genre.What did you think guys?The struggle…
This is a better show by far. It is more cohesive and better executed in general. The Long Ballad was fun and immensely watchable for most of the drama but it's by no means close to being one of the best C historical dramas produced in the last decade. There's honestly no comparison whatsoever. There are aspects of the Long Ballad that were really not needed and didn't contribute to the overall plot whereas nothing's really wasted in LLTG which is overall leaner and tighter. Moreover the bad guy plot at the end just didn't impress all that much. The actions sequences in The Long Ballad are also nowhere nearly consistently good as the ones in this show.
TLB had a lot of potential to be sure but the final act was a definite disappointment.
I've just watched Ep 45 and how tragic. I feel there has been no justice for Lou Ben's arc. Yes, he chose his…
This is the first time in the entire drama that I've felt so upset about the perpetrator being caught. I got a bit choked up and so angry with the Uncle. Why is it that everyone around the Crown Prince ends up being so awful? It speaks to his leadership and judgment.
I didn’t understand that part when he talking, how would LY not meeting CSS change the course of events? Is…
It's the mirror that he made for his wife that helped Niaoniao to pin the crime on him. She remembered it from when she visited the first time and were engaged.
My main criticism of the drama at this point is the juggling act. It's trying to do far more than the format is…
I don't think the coming of age story only started in the last few episodes. I can't see how that's true when the romance and her naivete about the neural-typical world was set up right from the start. The cases and the legal aspects were meant to highlight social issues and the lessons that she would gain from interacting with the so-called real world via these cases. If you're arguing that the romance could have been better developed -- I may concede the point after what transpired more recently. But from a writing perspective the romance between Young-woo and Jun-ho was always foundational to the storytelling.
An episodic drama relies heavily on having strong core characters who can provide the cohesion that's not there with the cases. I think the weakness of this show is that it often allowed the individual cases and guest characters to command the stage to the detriment of the core characters. This is why people can't relate to Min-woo or buy into his growth arc because he's not in it enough.
The writer here has nowhere near the experience or finesse of the writers of Hospital Playlist or Racket Boys.
Far be it for me to be putting a damper on things but life in a rural village isn't always all that it's cracked…
I guess they're just answering a question that's put to them and the viewers interpret things accordingly. Maybe they're just preparing viewers for the angst that is to come. :D I don't imagine that the intention is to create doubts. But to me it's a one-sided perspective that doesn't really explain the complexities of the character fully.
The thing is I have a completely different perspective on Ling Buyi because to me he's a deeply sympathetic character. There have been people in the entirety of human history who have dual identities because they do things so that the rest of us can live peaceful boring lives. He is the guy that takes out the trash and he pays a price for it every time. He needs a bit of love in his life so that the darkness doesn't completely overwhelm him.
Far be it for me to be putting a damper on things but life in a rural village isn't always all that it's cracked…
I'm not sure if you're new around the forum but this is a conversation that we've had on other occasions here and in Part 1. I've addressed this point even on my blog.
To be honest, I'm not sure what the actors are trying to achieve with those sorts of comments. Maybe they're just trying not to romanticize the relationship between the leads too much or downplay Ling Buyi's heroic qualities. Or anti-hero qualities. But it's loud and clear from the actual storyline that the two of them are destined to meet. There's no two ways about it. Regardless of whether we think it is wise for Ling Buyi to propose marriage to Shaoshang, he met her, he fell for her and he did whatever he could to protect her even when he thought she was going to marry some other guy. When the actors or other viewers say that it would have been better that they hadn't met -- my question is: Better than what? What are we comparing her relationship with Ling Buyi to? Knowing what Shaoshang is like, do we really believe that if she was somehow shipped off to a village somewhere that trouble will stop following her.
Would she be happier with some other guy? Maybe. But that's moot because we simply don't know. We only have hypothetical situations to consider.
I'm agreeable about not idealizing her situation with Ling Buyi, the Dark Knight but the assumption that she would be better off with A'Yao is predicated on the fact that nothing tragic or perilous would happen to her in the future when there's no Ling Buyi around to save her. Shaoshang is prone to getting herself into all kinds of scrapes. Who's to say that she will suddenly become passive and keep her thoughts to herself?
Besides, this is a work of fiction which features two larger than life characters as romantic leads. Cheng Shaoshang is not some ordinary girl like Yangyang who will sit still and do what she's told. It's obvious from the whole show. Ling Buyi knows this too and that's why he fell in love with her in the first place.
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https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/love-like-the-galaxy-2022-episodes-47d
Happy reading. Thanks!
TLB had a lot of potential to be sure but the final act was a definite disappointment.
Why is it that everyone around the Crown Prince ends up being so awful? It speaks to his leadership and judgment.
https://40somethingahjumma.substack.com/p/love-like-the-galaxy-2022-episodes-b03
Thanks for reading.
An episodic drama relies heavily on having strong core characters who can provide the cohesion that's not there with the cases. I think the weakness of this show is that it often allowed the individual cases and guest characters to command the stage to the detriment of the core characters. This is why people can't relate to Min-woo or buy into his growth arc because he's not in it enough.
The writer here has nowhere near the experience or finesse of the writers of Hospital Playlist or Racket Boys.
The thing is I have a completely different perspective on Ling Buyi because to me he's a deeply sympathetic character. There have been people in the entirety of human history who have dual identities because they do things so that the rest of us can live peaceful boring lives. He is the guy that takes out the trash and he pays a price for it every time. He needs a bit of love in his life so that the darkness doesn't completely overwhelm him.
As I've said, I can understand that they don't want to over romanticize their relationship but it oversimplifies things somewhat.
To be honest, I'm not sure what the actors are trying to achieve with those sorts of comments. Maybe they're just trying not to romanticize the relationship between the leads too much or downplay Ling Buyi's heroic qualities. Or anti-hero qualities. But it's loud and clear from the actual storyline that the two of them are destined to meet. There's no two ways about it. Regardless of whether we think it is wise for Ling Buyi to propose marriage to Shaoshang, he met her, he fell for her and he did whatever he could to protect her even when he thought she was going to marry some other guy. When the actors or other viewers say that it would have been better that they hadn't met -- my question is: Better than what? What are we comparing her relationship with Ling Buyi to? Knowing what Shaoshang is like, do we really believe that if she was somehow shipped off to a village somewhere that trouble will stop following her.
Would she be happier with some other guy? Maybe. But that's moot because we simply don't know. We only have hypothetical situations to consider.
I'm agreeable about not idealizing her situation with Ling Buyi, the Dark Knight but the assumption that she would be better off with A'Yao is predicated on the fact that nothing tragic or perilous would happen to her in the future when there's no Ling Buyi around to save her. Shaoshang is prone to getting herself into all kinds of scrapes. Who's to say that she will suddenly become passive and keep her thoughts to herself?
Besides, this is a work of fiction which features two larger than life characters as romantic leads. Cheng Shaoshang is not some ordinary girl like Yangyang who will sit still and do what she's told. It's obvious from the whole show. Ling Buyi knows this too and that's why he fell in love with her in the first place.