Some people mentioned they wondered who was who among the characters. Trawling through sjadvocates's excellent and long thread in Discussions, I found a nice poster which could well serve for a game of who can pinpoint which characters are depicted there. We could start giving the names of the characters from bottom of poster upwards, writing them in as "reply" ? Is anyone up to the challenge in the 5 hours gap until episode 27 of 2024.05.27 airs ? It could be a team game too.
PS. And since most people here watch with some delay, let's say we have until May 31 to complete the challenge ? The winners will surely be happy to be awarded a shiny virtual medal of honor as grand masters of c-drama watching, lol
I've added the "Family group"picture / Ensemble cast poster from the Baidu page, in the already respectably sized Photo Gallery, above this Comments section.
BEWARE *** MAJOR SPOILER UNDER ***(when I say major, it is MAJOR. Some may like mild spoilers but not the big…
Interesting views : thanks for writing them down at length. Of course, as you say, major spoilers too, so best not read by those who find themselves disengaged when having been a little or a lot spoiled. Personally, I don't mind, so I'll keep them at the back of my mind to understand some reactions. :)
Had a peek at Marcus' reporting. So : Joy of Life S2 already had its opening Douban rating : 7 from around 65,500 ratings. But it ended the week as #1 "most watched" with "634 points" (for the first time since it premiered). 700 points and above are very satisfactory, if I remember, so 634 is maybe a bit disappointing ; but it may rise until next Sunday. We shall wait and see. Actually, peeking here https://movie.douban.com/subject/34937650/ it is now standing at 7.1 from 113,266 ratings.
100% true. I think FX wants to leave too.. but FX has too many friends and relatives that he needs to protect…
and sadly, this empire is a bit like the "Hotel California" : .... "Relax, " said the night man, "We are programmed to receive ; You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCfLZXxvgVM
I just hope the emperor doesn't have Minister LIn killed. That seemed like a final farewell to his son.
It did look like he had ordered a team of hit men that barely got stopped by FX and first prince, who happened to ride in the vicinity. Is the threat completely gone, I don't know... The emperor had a nasty habit of benevolently greeting goodbye to departing courtiers, to get them totally "departed" on the way to retirement.
Hmm I laughed happily at this scene, rather leavened a rather depressing set of events, and not entirely inconsistent…
It was comedic enough in that episode, yes, with the brief loss of mask/face : was it Jing "No Name" that FX wrote in his inscription in the Poetry Book ? I suddenly thought of a song that could echo Minister Lin's apparent erasure : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsaUIs9JUXI... He still made fireworks with that brush and ink lending those as he did (why not a seal, since he was at it? btw I wondered why FX did not simply carry a name seal to sign : that's quick and comfortable, no?)... From then on, I have a hunch FX will be navigating into uncharted deep waters, and there's no sure bet that more of his elders will not be sacrificed too, perhaps.
well, it was explained - during night hours students would go there with candles... so kerosene + a single spark…
Kerosene is not nitroglycerin. "Kerosene is liquid around room temperature: 25 °C (77 °F). The flash point of kerosene is between 37 °C (99 °F) and 65 °C (149 °F), and its autoignition temperature is 220 °C (428 °F)." I also don't really understand why "coal oil" would be readily available if the method for lighting was candles, and heating was on wood stoves mostly? Of course, "Petroleum has been used in various forms for at least 70,000 years. Prehistoric hunters used bitumen to attach flint spear points to wooden shafts. From around 6,500 BC, petroleum was widely used to caulk ships, pave roads, cement buildings, waterproof canals, heal skin diseases, kill lice, and preserve mummies." As for military uses, "Greek fire" did indeed make use of coal oil aka kerosene, but there were some other ingredients needed to blend in, not sure the inside of a hollowed candle would be enough to make it into a crude Molotov cocktail, unbeknownst by the loo users.
So, I assume the loo had first been laced with hidden containers of conveniently leaking methane gas, that is not so difficult to extract from cow or similar dung. "Methane forms explosive mixtures with air and the loudest explosions occur when one volume of methane is mixed with 10 volumes of air (or 2 volumes of oxygen) (Windholz et al., 1976). Air containing less than 5.5% methane no longer explodes." "Methane is an explosion hazard in enclosed areas. Liquefied Methane floats on water and boils. The vapor cloud produced is FLAMMABLE. POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE." (There: you got the recipe for your next revolutionary activities, lol)
That said, some upper middle school classmates of my dad (he was in an elite school at the time) once tinkered in the chem lab and made some nitroglycerin around 1938-40. Apparently it is not that hard, but harder to keep the stuff stable, so .... the kids did not repeat the feat, sadly. Real booom. It was an event that caused a novelist to write about a "neglected youth" (translated as Stolen Spring), which embodied the social criticism of the times of his country, well into the 1960s. It was not the only time such things happened to the curious DIY-ers who are a bit careless.
The emperor was lucky he did not lose at least an eye with his gunpowder making experiments.
I just caught up with 21. This is such a riveting story, that it's hard to be forced to pause 🤣 The exam part was quite something. I was thinking : could a loo explode ??? methane gases.... Where did the sabotage team get the kerosene ? As for making papers anonymous method, this is a problem that was (still is?) causing nightmares and headaches to many exam sitters and designers. So much can be translated into modern day concerns. Time for a walk to rest the eyes with living greenery and renew the qi.
You could also read this for starters ; it may convince you to give S1 a go first instead of half blindly rushing into S2... https://www.soompi.com/article/1379259wpp/bask-in-the-joy-of-life-7-reasons-to-watch-c-drama-joy-of-life S1 is so packed full of twists that "cheat sheets" may not be enough to skip jump into s2. But some background info is not totally superfluous. MK916 has posted a translation of the e-novel in Discussion, but just looking at the number of chapters shows that this will not be a light read for one evening ! I will tackle it to alleviate probable drama nostalgia when S2 ends. The drama version is not just blind translation into pictures of the novel, so I expect it will be an interesting read on its own.
It may sound much to add 46 episodes first to these 36, but they are extremely enjoyable, so don't skip them. Just take your time to enjoy or binge watch : it's fully worth the time spent ! It's a continuing story, from start of s1, so you won't regret the weeks set aside to stay in that universe.
I can't believe there are people who write reviews of a drama before it's over. Especially I can't understand…
Agree. Up till now, I'm more than satisfied. (Finished S1 less than a week ago, and my only regret is that the old dowager (but the actress is 88, so can't blame her for retiring) and Xiao Zhan did not participate (but the guy who took up his role is not bad). And we got some new angles to explore, some new princes and ladies, some old coots to make fun of (o, how politically incorrect to disrespect the elders - I should be offended, being almost as old as the dowager 😂 - but can't help laughing at the puns and jabs). Prince 2 and his shoes that he mashes the heels of, and Crown Prince who'd like to dance barefeet, clueless Dai being dragged off a boot before getting one... Fan Xian dragging the subdued incorruptible official to return to his original ideals. Many amusing and sometimes scary or thought provoking images. With all his bluntness, I thought Fan Xian might have stood up to his real father to have him acknowledge him as prince ; he's got the bearing for sure. He's proved that he's also as slippery as an eel, able to wiggle his way through cracks and wells and be unpredictable, appear where he is not expected, while being less snaky than the recognized princes. This S2 is colorful and eventful enough, although differently from S1 where Fan Xian had to fight the Level9s.
Yes I think in some polls the 2nd Prince's actor is leading because everyone adores him soo much!! :P
ah, second prince topping. But three spots at least are taken by JOL characters 😊. I also like that Batai (new actor Yu Shi, who played in the very short 8 episodes To The Wonder, is at #5)
Yes, and To The Wonder opened at 8.5 before skyrocketing to 9.4 settling at 8.8 from 100,000 ratings... (Loved that little gem, myself; I had taken it as an interlude between JOL S1 and S2 which need to be watched one after the other - had missed JOL back when - , and got hooked so started later than folks here, but am catching up probably tomorrow for up to date.)
Personally, with the dedication of return team, interesting story script and dialogues, and fireworks of jokes and play on words (even if some are very basic), I'd have awarded it at least an 8. I'll just give it a provisional 10 on MDL (can always change that if it really disappoints me - not yet).
Completed info about this mini series in the TO THE WONDER - Notes, above in the Discussion section. Illustrations, background info, BTS links, Music links, you have it all. Of course one can watch it naively, but it is also worth it to read for more info. Anyway, it is beautiful and worth the time spent on it.
2 
5 
1 
1 
1 
Trawling through sjadvocates's excellent and long thread in Discussions, I found a nice poster which could well serve for a game of who can pinpoint which characters are depicted there. We could start giving the names of the characters from bottom of poster upwards, writing them in as "reply" ?
Is anyone up to the challenge in the 5 hours gap until episode 27 of 2024.05.27 airs ?
It could be a team game too.
https://kisskh.at/discussions/joy-of-life-season-2/59937-jol-season-2-casting-filming-broadcast-air-dates-discussion?pid=3060253&page=30#p3060253
PS. And since most people here watch with some delay, let's say we have until May 31 to complete the challenge ? The winners will surely be happy to be awarded a shiny virtual medal of honor as grand masters of c-drama watching, lol
Personally, I don't mind, so I'll keep them at the back of my mind to understand some reactions. :)
Joy of Life S2 already had its opening Douban rating : 7 from around 65,500 ratings.
But it ended the week as #1 "most watched" with "634 points" (for the first time since it premiered). 700 points and above are very satisfactory, if I remember, so 634 is maybe a bit disappointing ; but it may rise until next Sunday. We shall wait and see.
Actually, peeking here https://movie.douban.com/subject/34937650/ it is now standing at 7.1 from 113,266 ratings.
I suddenly thought of a song that could echo Minister Lin's apparent erasure : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsaUIs9JUXI... He still made fireworks with that brush and ink lending those as he did (why not a seal, since he was at it? btw I wondered why FX did not simply carry a name seal to sign : that's quick and comfortable, no?)...
From then on, I have a hunch FX will be navigating into uncharted deep waters, and there's no sure bet that more of his elders will not be sacrificed too, perhaps.
"Kerosene is liquid around room temperature: 25 °C (77 °F). The flash point of kerosene is between 37 °C (99 °F) and 65 °C (149 °F), and its autoignition temperature is 220 °C (428 °F)."
I also don't really understand why "coal oil" would be readily available if the method for lighting was candles, and heating was on wood stoves mostly?
Of course, "Petroleum has been used in various forms for at least 70,000 years. Prehistoric hunters used bitumen to attach flint spear points to wooden shafts. From around 6,500 BC, petroleum was widely used to caulk ships, pave roads, cement buildings, waterproof canals, heal skin diseases, kill lice, and preserve mummies."
As for military uses, "Greek fire" did indeed make use of coal oil aka kerosene, but there were some other ingredients needed to blend in, not sure the inside of a hollowed candle would be enough to make it into a crude Molotov cocktail, unbeknownst by the loo users.
So, I assume the loo had first been laced with hidden containers of conveniently leaking methane gas, that is not so difficult to extract from cow or similar dung. "Methane forms explosive mixtures with air and the loudest explosions occur when one volume of methane is mixed with 10 volumes of air (or 2 volumes of oxygen) (Windholz et al., 1976). Air containing less than 5.5% methane no longer explodes." "Methane is an explosion hazard in enclosed areas. Liquefied Methane floats on water and boils. The vapor cloud produced is FLAMMABLE. POISONOUS GASES ARE PRODUCED IN FIRE." (There: you got the recipe for your next revolutionary activities, lol)
That said, some upper middle school classmates of my dad (he was in an elite school at the time) once tinkered in the chem lab and made some nitroglycerin around 1938-40. Apparently it is not that hard, but harder to keep the stuff stable, so .... the kids did not repeat the feat, sadly. Real booom. It was an event that caused a novelist to write about a "neglected youth" (translated as Stolen Spring), which embodied the social criticism of the times of his country, well into the 1960s.
It was not the only time such things happened to the curious DIY-ers who are a bit careless.
The emperor was lucky he did not lose at least an eye with his gunpowder making experiments.
The exam part was quite something. I was thinking : could a loo explode ??? methane gases....
Where did the sabotage team get the kerosene ?
As for making papers anonymous method, this is a problem that was (still is?) causing nightmares and headaches to many exam sitters and designers. So much can be translated into modern day concerns.
Time for a walk to rest the eyes with living greenery and renew the qi.
S1 is so packed full of twists that "cheat sheets" may not be enough to skip jump into s2. But some background info is not totally superfluous.
MK916 has posted a translation of the e-novel in Discussion, but just looking at the number of chapters shows that this will not be a light read for one evening ! I will tackle it to alleviate probable drama nostalgia when S2 ends. The drama version is not just blind translation into pictures of the novel, so I expect it will be an interesting read on its own.
And we got some new angles to explore, some new princes and ladies, some old coots to make fun of (o, how politically incorrect to disrespect the elders - I should be offended, being almost as old as the dowager 😂 - but can't help laughing at the puns and jabs).
Prince 2 and his shoes that he mashes the heels of, and Crown Prince who'd like to dance barefeet, clueless Dai being dragged off a boot before getting one...
Fan Xian dragging the subdued incorruptible official to return to his original ideals.
Many amusing and sometimes scary or thought provoking images. With all his bluntness,
I thought Fan Xian might have stood up to his real father to have him acknowledge him as prince ; he's got the bearing for sure.
He's proved that he's also as slippery as an eel, able to wiggle his way through cracks and wells and be unpredictable, appear where he is not expected, while being less snaky than the recognized princes.
This S2 is colorful and eventful enough, although differently from S1 where Fan Xian had to fight the Level9s.
I also like that Batai (new actor Yu Shi, who played in the very short 8 episodes To The Wonder, is at #5)
Personally, with the dedication of return team, interesting story script and dialogues, and fireworks of jokes and play on words (even if some are very basic), I'd have awarded it at least an 8. I'll just give it a provisional 10 on MDL (can always change that if it really disappoints me - not yet).
Of course one can watch it naively, but it is also worth it to read for more info.
Anyway, it is beautiful and worth the time spent on it.