I would love for someone to tell me what they thought of this episode without talking about the love triangle. (It sounds like that might be hard to do, but that's what I'm looking for, please). 😉
I had to do some careful work the first 1/3 as I watched, but it pays off down the road, never fear. Season 2…
Also, Lin Shu/Chang Su was born for court politics and machinations, and is obviously a master at all things strategy. Ping Jing is very smart and talented, but he's a free spirit, and his heart was never in the capital. That becomes an important part of Ping Jing's arc.
One last thing: it's really fun to see the way Ping Jing rides the wave of thoughtfulness, goodness and reputation carefully and painstakingly crafted by ChangLin (i.e. by his father and brother and even by Chang Su/Lin Shu decades prior). And it's so enjoyable to see the way they tie little moments at the end of Season 2 into things we know from Season 1. It's masterful, and obviously very carefully thought-through by the writer/director.
I was wondering why he has so few main roles in dramas after Nirvana In Fire and it looks like it's because he's been doing movies instead. He's great! Would love to see more of him in dramas. 😏
I had to do some careful work the first 1/3 as I watched, but it pays off down the road, never fear. Season 2…
It's also SO good!
It's a generation removed from NIF, Season 1. In NIF there's a young slave boy at the beginning who does the sword dance/fight. Have you seen that part? His name is TingSheng, and he gets adopted by Prince Jing (NIF in fire teases his real identity, but I won't say more since I don't know how much you've seen).
Season 2 is about TingSheng (now probably in his 50s or so?) and his two sons and their growth (but particularly the youngest brother, PingJing) as they navigate having immense power and influence in the army and court. All three characters are wonderful, and TingSheng (the father) and PingZhang (the oldest son) are just the best. I LOVED them. PingJing is the younger brother and the baby. He kind of got to play around and have fun, while letting his older brother shoulder the heavier responsibilities with their dad. But soon PingJing's youth gets ripped from him because their family (they're called "ChangLin"--the end of NIF explains where this name comes from) and the military power they lead start to get mistrusted by powerful officials in the royal court (and someone with a vendetta against them who wants to bring them down). These suspicious officials start trying to frame ChangLin as a threat to the Emperor's power, ultimately seeking to dismantle Changlin's influence (despite the Emperor being Prince Jing's son, and a close friend of TingSheng as they grew up together).
So it's about what happens to Ting Sheng's family/ChangLin years after NIF. And like what happened with the Lin family in flashbacks in NIF, you see something similar repeated in real time with this family. It's more heartbreaking (but it's BEAUTIFUL), and more about family, brotherhood, coming into one's own and standing up for what is good and virtuous even when it comes at a personal cost. It still has a lot of strategizing and intelligent planning, but it has more fighting, some romance, and expands to more settings and scenarios. It's less contemplative, has more action and has lots of things happening (and more growth for our leads). The villains are kind of the weakest part, but it's still amazing.
I was a blubbery mess several times in Season 2, more because it was beautiful than because it was sad (though, it is both 😅). It has a happy ending (in some ways happier than NIF), but PingJing goes through a lot to get there.
NIF's ML (Mei Chang Su/Lin Shu) is already a fully formed and accomplished strategist. He forces everyone around him in NIF to grow, but the suffering and growth that shaped who he is all happened before we meet him in NIF. Season 2 is getting to watch someone (PingJing) become a kind of Chang Su. What would it look like if we watched a version of Shin Lu's growth arc into Chang Su? That's essentially Season 2. 😉
But there is very little below a 7 on MDL, so, I'm not sure saying "anything above a 7" means a whole…
Reviews can be helpful if people who write them share my taste (e.g. I love @PeachBlossomGoddess's reviews, but that's the only reviewer I consistently look for; I also liked @coolforthesummer's reviews till she got embroiled in a weird dispute on a drama that was a controversially censored BL and she got her account removed by mods 😬 ), but I find ratings super helpful when taken together with the number of watchers, comments, seeing how long ago it aired/maintained it's score, and the popularity ranking. Unless it's a currently airing drama, all these indicators have really helped me find dramas I like. I rarely land on a miss when I use these tools, though it does happen from time to time. 😉
One last thing: it's really fun to see the way Ping Jing rides the wave of thoughtfulness, goodness and reputation carefully and painstakingly crafted by ChangLin (i.e. by his father and brother and even by Chang Su/Lin Shu decades prior). And it's so enjoyable to see the way they tie little moments at the end of Season 2 into things we know from Season 1. It's masterful, and obviously very carefully thought-through by the writer/director.
Anyway, hope you enjoy it!
It's a generation removed from NIF, Season 1. In NIF there's a young slave boy at the beginning who does the sword dance/fight. Have you seen that part? His name is TingSheng, and he gets adopted by Prince Jing (NIF in fire teases his real identity, but I won't say more since I don't know how much you've seen).
Season 2 is about TingSheng (now probably in his 50s or so?) and his two sons and their growth (but particularly the youngest brother, PingJing) as they navigate having immense power and influence in the army and court. All three characters are wonderful, and TingSheng (the father) and PingZhang (the oldest son) are just the best. I LOVED them. PingJing is the younger brother and the baby. He kind of got to play around and have fun, while letting his older brother shoulder the heavier responsibilities with their dad. But soon PingJing's youth gets ripped from him because their family (they're called "ChangLin"--the end of NIF explains where this name comes from) and the military power they lead start to get mistrusted by powerful officials in the royal court (and someone with a vendetta against them who wants to bring them down). These suspicious officials start trying to frame ChangLin as a threat to the Emperor's power, ultimately seeking to dismantle Changlin's influence (despite the Emperor being Prince Jing's son, and a close friend of TingSheng as they grew up together).
So it's about what happens to Ting Sheng's family/ChangLin years after NIF. And like what happened with the Lin family in flashbacks in NIF, you see something similar repeated in real time with this family. It's more heartbreaking (but it's BEAUTIFUL), and more about family, brotherhood, coming into one's own and standing up for what is good and virtuous even when it comes at a personal cost. It still has a lot of strategizing and intelligent planning, but it has more fighting, some romance, and expands to more settings and scenarios. It's less contemplative, has more action and has lots of things happening (and more growth for our leads). The villains are kind of the weakest part, but it's still amazing.
I was a blubbery mess several times in Season 2, more because it was beautiful than because it was sad (though, it is both 😅). It has a happy ending (in some ways happier than NIF), but PingJing goes through a lot to get there.
NIF's ML (Mei Chang Su/Lin Shu) is already a fully formed and accomplished strategist. He forces everyone around him in NIF to grow, but the suffering and growth that shaped who he is all happened before we meet him in NIF. Season 2 is getting to watch someone (PingJing) become a kind of Chang Su. What would it look like if we watched a version of Shin Lu's growth arc into Chang Su? That's essentially Season 2. 😉
Hopefully I didn't say too much.