Saffy88

I think human beings just like to compare things - helps them puts things in context maybe or make sense of experiences. I think both are quite distinct and both have their merits and we're lucky to have them especially when it brings different audiences to the world of c-drama.

The most memorable love stories generally go to those lengths. But I've also always found Chinese lovers in period dramas depicted as very trigger-happy or cavalier about their mortality - they're ever so ready to die with /for the other - I always have the image of Maggie Cheung skewering herself to Tong Leung in the desert, after he allows her to kill him.....and I'm like "Really? There wasn't a better way to work out your relationship angst and philosophical differences?"

Also there's a theory that there are only really 7 stories in the world- 7 basic plot structures in all storytelling. And honestly with the prolificness of chinese novels, manga etc, inevitable that certain things get repeated, feels repeated.

Don't all love stories come down to willingness to sacrifice for the other at some point? :)

Ummm apologies then for posting about the wuxia/xianxia stuff but hopefully it will be useful for others reading this discussion.

However as Kai points out, WOH was indeed written earlier than CQL so then it comes down again to recycled storylines and conventions.

Even so, I still think WOH still retains a very distinct and different feel to TU mainly because of the 2 characters and their different life experiences. A secret service head /enforcer for a prince meets up with a PTSD'ed head of the valley of misfits and abandoned people......

Even without taking into consideration wuxia/xianxia again I feel that the whole feel of WOH is quite different from TU. The WOH protagonists when we first see them have lived and seen more. In ZZS case worldweary and ready to die; in WKX's case somewhat obsessed with revenge and wanting to take everyone down with him. They're at a very different stage of their lives than the protagonists in TU.

Adding on: Wuxia (武俠 wǔxiá) – literally means “Martial Heroes”. Fictional stories about regular humans who can achieve supernatural fighting ability through Chinese martial arts training and internal energy cultivation. Themes of chivalry, tragedy, revenge & romance are common.

Xianxia (仙侠 xiānxiá) – literally means “Immortal Heroes”. Fictional stories featuring magic, demons, ghosts, immortals, and a great deal of Chinese folklore/mythology. Protagonists (usually) attempt to cultivate to Immortality, seeking eternal life and the pinnacle of strength. Heavily inspired by Daoism.

If there are scenes which feel really similar it's because they're conventions in c-drama - for eg. I would be really hard pressed to think of a wuxia story or any story with just a smidgeon of wuxia, where the characters do not fall off a cliff (and they always, but always survive). The cliff scenes are practically baked in, part of the DNA.

Yes am making a wuxia/xianxia distinction here. And I think the whole feel of WOH and TU are different because of this distinction as well.

WOH is wuxia (grounded in the very mortal world, no demons, ghosts, spirits, gods and everything grounded/based/connected to the jianghu) whereas TU is closer to xianxia (more fantasy elements, supernatural elements, gods, immortals, spirits and so on). This is the most basic description. One can write whole essays about wuxia etc.

We recently had a whole discussion here as to what wuxia is all about and that a lot of viewers don't realize the very established conventions that are part of any wuxia story and even think that WOH plagiarized scenes, which it absolutely did not. Some of us have been watching wuxia since we were kids so we kind of know these things by heart so to speak - the same as when someone in the West goes to a pantomime and understands how that is supposed to work.

I will defer to other people here who are far more expert than me and hope they can chime in as well and share the links to the collection of wuxia elements in WOH and what wuxia is.

You can also watch Avenue X explanation about wuxia:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUjL70Mg3os

For us wuxia fans, WOH has come as a godsend because it is such a great example of wuxia (albeit new wuxia).

Have to disagree with you re the story similarity. They're not even the same genre. But happy that you liked it.

Scream emoji, scream emoji, scream emoji............LOL

No. Xiao Lian married Deng Kuan and had the kid in ep 37. We do not know if the daughter of CL is biologically his or adopted or came about in some other way...........

No that would not make WKX die as explained here: https://manggaetteokkie.tumblr.com/post/646677760420478976/broadcast-version

Chengling: To master the LiuHe skill, the two must share the same heart/feelings, watching over and protecting each other. They must also whole-heatedly recognize the other as their soulmate, for only by maintaining their love can they pass the most critical stage by transmitting their internal qi (energy) to the other, thereby getting through the difficulty. Once the skill is mastered, the two will then become each other’s immortal protector.

Kid: So… they both survived?

YBY only wanted to know if WKX was willing to give his life to ZZS because he must wholeheartedly want to do so. But YBY also says no one is going to die (before him). Watch ep 36 and 37 again after reading the above post.

After being saved, the 2 of them do not have to live on the mountain forever, if they get tired one day like YBY they can go down back to the world and age together and die.

I believe they use dual cultivation to save each other cos of references to cauldron in the script indicate that. (needless to say we're never going to see that on screen in a c-drama) https://immortalmountain.wordpress.com/2017/06/07/dual-cultivation-human-cauldrons/

And reposting this: Everyone who just watched the ending, please also note that there are hidden lines again in ep 36 when CL is telling the story to the new cohort of disciples which will help you understand why the ending is so wan mei..........see real lines here: https://manggaetteokkie.tumblr.com/post/646677760420478976/broadcast-version

A useful link: https://manggaetteokkie.tumblr.com/post/646677760420478976/broadcast-version
This deciphers the hidden lines in ep 36 when CL is telling the story to the young disciples. This adds to the perfection of the ending.

Yes, they are both "immortal" as long as they don't leave the mountain. WKX saved ZZS and ZZS saved him back cos that's the secret of the liuhe method - it only works between soulmates who are willing to sacrifice themselves for each other. It probably also involves dual cultivation :) YBY knew this cos he used it on Rong Xuan's dad once upon a time. See the Recent Discussions above for more info on the ending.

Neither of them died for even one teensy moment. Both ZZS and WKX are "immortal" as long as they live on the mountain, or else they will start aging and die. WKX saved him and then ZZS saved him back because they are soulmates and the liuhe method only works between soulmates - dual cultivation is probably also involved :) - see Recent Discussions above for info and debate on the ending.

It's already out on Viki and probably will be up on Amazon soon

welcome to the mountain fellow haizhe

don't stop at ep 36.......watch the bonus clip 37. As the saying goes "It ain't over till the fat lady sings."