I'm REALLY enjoying the Changlin family and especially the brothers, but so far what makes this less enjoyable…
S2 is more fluid because there's a lot more action and also - romance. When it's romance, it just... gets faster, LOL. Maybe Hai Yan likes more ponderous charas and wants to spend more time on them :D
The guru is amazing not on himself - and his lost tribe and revenge silliness - but on his work with the Empress. Just compare her with the self-determined women of S1, or even some of those in S2, and she stands out. I like her part of the story, even if I despise her decisions and influence on the plot, but you can see why she's like that, poor woman, driven mad by her fears for her child.
He - Pu YangYing (haha, notice his name?) - was also particularly interesting with his ambiguos gender. He's obviously male but walks and talks with so many female mannerisms I did wonder if they meant to imply anything about him. I don't remember if he was supposed to be an eunuch, though maybe he was, considering he's around the Empress and the harem, generally, all the time...
While watching this I wondered if this drama made people in China hardcore jealous for Pingzhang and Pingjing,…
I don't know about other people, but I seriously envied everyone in the drama who ever was in contact with XPZ, LOL, I did - and still have - such a crush on him hahaha~
There's currently this editorial of green and red flags in dramas, I'd pick XPZ among the greenest flags in a drama, ever. He's just so wholesome. I seriously want to see more of that kind of character in a drama.
This is my first time watching, watched first episode just now and I'm a little confused but I think that's just…
MCS is the recognised chief of the Jiangzou Alliance of the Jianghu, which means pretty much all cultivators listen to him and try to obey his orders. Fei Liu is an orphan with great cultivation skills who just fell in with MCS and trains in the LangYa Sect, and who (also) doesn't like Lin Chen (the doctor, LOL).
MCS's old identity, Lin Shu, was the son of the Lin General, head of the Chiyan border army. Because people plotted, the then-Crown Prince, his whole family, the Lin family and the army they had were all involved in a fake rebellion and put to death. Lin Shu had been affianced to the Commandery Princess Nihuang but obviously that never happened after the plot. Nobody is supposed to know who MCS is, since he too has certain plots in his mind - you'll see soon enough.
The high jumps, the physics-doesn't-exist moves and all are all part of anything involving wuxia. NiF has a small bit of wuxia (though it's not the regular wuxia anyway) and is mostly a historical / costume drama involving politics (and action, too, don't worry).
Don't expect it to move very, very fast, at least in the beginning it takes its time to build a base then starts moving. But when it's in motion... it's an avalanche :D
Tantai Jin was a red flag? 😮I had so many thoughts over his character but I never considered him scarlet 😂I…
I mean... he plans to kill her, kidnaps her, wants to keep her hostage (or kill her, whichever comes first to his mind), wants to keep her a palace servant (or kill her, if need be), openly flirts with another in front of her despite knowing she's pretty into him already, wants to marry her (unless she kills him first in which case he just might have to kill her anyway), finally gets her killed (though she resurrects because of drama reasons), breaks her heart and manipulates her into destroying her own heart / love for him because she needs to get through nirvana, then he eventually leaves her alone for all eternity, all throughout having lied and lied and lied again to her (even about minor things like if he's hurt - for her sake, too! - or not, but also big things - like his problem with the SML).
She is also a pretty scarlet flag herself, LOL. But it's not one sided or a contest between them - they definitely deserve each other.
But a red flag? I have him as my pfp on my laptop, LOL, I'm addicted to poor hostage prince TTJ... but yes. The biggest red flag ever :D
ETA Other than Ming, I mean. But Ming is in a red class of his own.
So, just because some people got butthurt a lot about what women like in fiction, here's more to set you off.
The greenest green flag to walk the dramaland is obviously Lan WangJi - because he's caring, loving, trusting, and also a badass fighter who'll fight your battles with you. But he's off-limits, LOL, since he's in a danmei story. Too bad.
The reddest red flag to stain the dramaland (so far) is freaking Ming (from My Stand-In). I can't begin to count the ways he's colouring everything red in the world. And hey, also a danmei-made-in-Thailand (because Chinese censorship and all).
Are they both hot? Hell yeah! Are they both desirable? TBH I like both their looks, but either aren't for me (even if they had batted for my team) - LWJ is too cold and humour-free, LOL, and Ming is a psychopath. So, no, on both counts, LOL. I'd much more spend time with WWX, for example (but also, nobody wants to live with a whirlwind of energy, mayhem and carefree attitude, even when he's that DAMNED handsome - well, except for LWJ.)
And if you want het male charas for your own appreciation, after careful searching through my list of dramas and considering what is it that I like or don't like about them...
Green flags:
1. Park Dong Hoon (My Mister) - yes, I'll take someone who's mature, handsome, has emotions and can express them, and cares a lot for others, too. RIP beautiful soul Lee SunKyun. 2. Xiao PingZhang (Nirvana in Fire 2): he's the epitome of manly man, loves his wife and his family, fights for his country and cares for everyone he's responsible for. Let's have more of that kind of drama hero, shall we? 3. Li Ni (Wonderland of Love): so, let's do this - handsome off the charts, check, good at fighting, check, so in love he'll leave the throne just to keep a promise to his wife, check. Also, seriously, women actually do appreciate men who can emote.
Red flags: 1. Tantai Jin (Till the End of the Moon) - he's so handsome I can hardly breathe watching him, and his story is so painful I want to go in the drama and protect him - but OMG he's a walking disaster!!! Anyone with half a brain would stay away. This case needs a whole medical panel of psychologists and some psychiatrists to boot (empty the whole pharmacy while we're at it!!) 2. Kim Shin (Goblin) - I don't need to spell this out right? So he's handsome and quirky and I like all the OST themes and whatnot - but seriously, he's been around since forever and still hasn't had a normal relationship with a woman in all that time? Ain't nobody got time for that!! 3. Jung KooWon (My Demon) - hahahaha~ This drama is pure fluff, but still... another immortal (or as close as) who never ever touched a woman's hand or even tried to have a normal relationship so now at the ripe age of 200 or 300, who knows... finally gets to have an adolescentine love?! What is this, the Immortal Incel Club or what?!
There looks to be something dramatic about to go on in the middle of ep7 and I just don't care to watch it. Dropping after the first few minutes of the 7th ep - life's too short and there are better series out there. I appreciate the MLs acting (but not his partner's) and I think it says it all that the only character I actually like is the evil mobster woman.
There are dramas for everyone and this one isn't it for me.
To me, all six of them are the brightest red flags there ever were... (Yes, including DJX - nobody is that perfect, he's sending serial killer perfection vibes LOL).
Wow, they're making it a drama?! I won't say no, though it did work fine just as a movie. I wonder if they'll dilute the story to make it last 10 eps (and if they'll be brave enough to leave in the hints in the prison part of it).
I’m hesitant to watch this in fear of feeling unfulfilled since I’ve heard the leads never show any physical…
They end up married, with children. Take a look (ETA and no, the editor didn't force any edits, it all happens naturally. And yes, it's censored, but it comes through anyway).
It's a bit far fetched, trying to insert Christian themes into a definitely danmei-(censored)-adaptation. I particularly…
This is xianxia, nobody acts as if they would in real life, LOL. Whether the Nie clan survives or not doesn't depend on NHS only. And they had plenty of generations of new disciples despite them all knowing the stakes. The clan will be fine with or without NHS.
There's a side-character movie (two actually). If you watch Fatal Journey you'll learn more about the Nie brothers relationship. It's definitely not NHS being lazy - he just does not want to follow the same path he's supposed to, since he was born into the Nie clan. And TBH Meng Yao was, initially, two steps ahead of everybody and carefully hiding all his plots and web-weaving. After NHS found out what actually happened, it takes time to make the plot strong enough to ensure success. And he does get everything done as he wanted too - NHS is up there with WWX in the smarts dep't.
Meng Yao "cares" for LXC just as much as Xue Yang "cares" for Xiao XingCheng. Not for themselves but for the image they might have made in their minds about the villain - a mirror to a fictional better self. The one thing LXC prizes above all is his integrity - and Meng Yao made a mockery out of it.
JC was raised to be a clan leader. He can never take into account just the one person, even if it's his brother. He has to consider the good of the clan - WWX never had to bother with that, since he's an outsider anyway, and he could (and did) just up and leave the clan one day. JC doesn't have that freedom. And also he never joined the others in insulting and ridiculing WWX, where did that impression come from?! His hatred is very personal and warranted (if you read the novel you'll see WWX is not that clean himself, either, there are things he did that make him a bit gray, too, and JC's hatred - again - is earned). JC is not a power groupie, LOL. He's just mad and unwilling to let go of his anger at any point in his life. And at the same time... he's yearning for WWX, and missing him just as much as WWX is missing him, too. It's just that WWX can put it into words - he tries to explain to LWJ how JC is like, while JC can never even yell it out at WWX himself, he's that mad at him.
Yup, this is pretty close to a masterpiece in a study of human characters. And now you see why its genre (xianxia and not wuxia) or the level of fight choreography don't really matter actually, LOL.
Finished the drama and I get why people are saying this is a Masterpiece. There are still plot holes however and…
It's a bit far fetched, trying to insert Christian themes into a definitely danmei-(censored)-adaptation.
I particularly disagree with NHS being guilty of sloth - did you not catch the part where ALL Nie clan leaders eventually go insane and their swords go berserk due to their madness?! NHS is smart and he does NOT want to become a clan leader or cultivate his clan's disciplines, precisely because it would kill him but not before driving him into insanity! It's not being carefree, it's being a planner and seeing far ahead. THAT's what he's been using his intelligence for - he hasn't cultivated a lot so he's not a powerful fighter, he knows he's not a match for the rich and well-connected Jin clan, and he also knows who IS that careless about the power of others and their status and can get things done - WWX. They were fast friends in the school at Cloud Recesses, he knows what WWX is capable of.
There is no preventing the Nie clan madness, the only way to not get it is not cultivate that method, which is precisely what NHS does. But Nie MingJue is already going mad because of it - that's why he needs the Lan clan songs to pacify it - and it's already too late for him. Even without Meng Yao's intervention, he would've ended the same way, only later.
So yeah, NHS is a master manipulator - just as much, and at the end, better than - Meng Yao. His methods are also unorthodox (do you wonder why he chose WWX to come find out the truth - the one cultivator who didn't just talk about leaving the beaten path but actually went and opened up the new path all by himself? WWX is his inspiration.) Is it cowardly? Yes. Did he have other choices? Like, what?
So no, it's definitely not sloth. Years of planning every painful detail, and then making tiny course corrections once the plan is set in motion - he is better than Meng Yao, but his whole life has nothing to do with being slothful.
HA!! Meng Yao caring for LXC??? It was LXC who let him in the secret library where he took the Collection of Turmoil, it was LXC's trust he broke time and time again - how is that caring for him and for his opinion?! Even at the end he promises LXC to not do something and then does it not even ten minutes later - is that respect and care for LXC?!
Just a side comment on JC - he never does kill WWX (in the novel he's not close by when it happens, in the drama he doesn't actually hit WWX, WWX lets go because the rock LWJ is standing on can become dislocated and bring him down too.) And TBH, his attitude after the resurrection is 100% warranted. It was never WWX's intention to bring ruin to his foster family and clan, but that IS what happens due to WWX's actions - JC's clan, his parents, his sister - they all die because of something WWX did. It's not too much for JC to blame him for those deaths.
As for Xue Yang... it's not any human sin or even emotion other than him being a sociopath. Why he is that way - does it even matter? If he had a rough childhood and becomes a serial killer, should that rough childhood excuse the killings?! Even those he loved, he destroyed, because he doesn't really care for them, just for his possession of them. There is no sin in Xue Yang, he's beyond humanity, just a selfish killing machine.
If you can get the novel, you could try it and see if you like it (and it you get the same impression from it as from the drama). There's also a 3-season animated series, an audio drama, and a manhua based on the novel. It IS quite a phenomenon. And the novel, obviously, has all the danmei bits they removed :D
3 
The guru is amazing not on himself - and his lost tribe and revenge silliness - but on his work with the Empress. Just compare her with the self-determined women of S1, or even some of those in S2, and she stands out. I like her part of the story, even if I despise her decisions and influence on the plot, but you can see why she's like that, poor woman, driven mad by her fears for her child.
He - Pu YangYing (haha, notice his name?) - was also particularly interesting with his ambiguos gender. He's obviously male but walks and talks with so many female mannerisms I did wonder if they meant to imply anything about him. I don't remember if he was supposed to be an eunuch, though maybe he was, considering he's around the Empress and the harem, generally, all the time...
There's currently this editorial of green and red flags in dramas, I'd pick XPZ among the greenest flags in a drama, ever. He's just so wholesome. I seriously want to see more of that kind of character in a drama.
MCS's old identity, Lin Shu, was the son of the Lin General, head of the Chiyan border army. Because people plotted, the then-Crown Prince, his whole family, the Lin family and the army they had were all involved in a fake rebellion and put to death. Lin Shu had been affianced to the Commandery Princess Nihuang but obviously that never happened after the plot. Nobody is supposed to know who MCS is, since he too has certain plots in his mind - you'll see soon enough.
The high jumps, the physics-doesn't-exist moves and all are all part of anything involving wuxia. NiF has a small bit of wuxia (though it's not the regular wuxia anyway) and is mostly a historical / costume drama involving politics (and action, too, don't worry).
Don't expect it to move very, very fast, at least in the beginning it takes its time to build a base then starts moving. But when it's in motion... it's an avalanche :D
She is also a pretty scarlet flag herself, LOL. But it's not one sided or a contest between them - they definitely deserve each other.
But a red flag? I have him as my pfp on my laptop, LOL, I'm addicted to poor hostage prince TTJ... but yes. The biggest red flag ever :D
ETA Other than Ming, I mean. But Ming is in a red class of his own.
The greenest green flag to walk the dramaland is obviously Lan WangJi - because he's caring, loving, trusting, and also a badass fighter who'll fight your battles with you. But he's off-limits, LOL, since he's in a danmei story. Too bad.
The reddest red flag to stain the dramaland (so far) is freaking Ming (from My Stand-In). I can't begin to count the ways he's colouring everything red in the world. And hey, also a danmei-made-in-Thailand (because Chinese censorship and all).
Are they both hot? Hell yeah! Are they both desirable? TBH I like both their looks, but either aren't for me (even if they had batted for my team) - LWJ is too cold and humour-free, LOL, and Ming is a psychopath. So, no, on both counts, LOL. I'd much more spend time with WWX, for example (but also, nobody wants to live with a whirlwind of energy, mayhem and carefree attitude, even when he's that DAMNED handsome - well, except for LWJ.)
And if you want het male charas for your own appreciation, after careful searching through my list of dramas and considering what is it that I like or don't like about them...
Green flags:
1. Park Dong Hoon (My Mister) - yes, I'll take someone who's mature, handsome, has emotions and can express them, and cares a lot for others, too. RIP beautiful soul Lee SunKyun.
2. Xiao PingZhang (Nirvana in Fire 2): he's the epitome of manly man, loves his wife and his family, fights for his country and cares for everyone he's responsible for. Let's have more of that kind of drama hero, shall we?
3. Li Ni (Wonderland of Love): so, let's do this - handsome off the charts, check, good at fighting, check, so in love he'll leave the throne just to keep a promise to his wife, check. Also, seriously, women actually do appreciate men who can emote.
Red flags:
1. Tantai Jin (Till the End of the Moon) - he's so handsome I can hardly breathe watching him, and his story is so painful I want to go in the drama and protect him - but OMG he's a walking disaster!!! Anyone with half a brain would stay away. This case needs a whole medical panel of psychologists and some psychiatrists to boot (empty the whole pharmacy while we're at it!!)
2. Kim Shin (Goblin) - I don't need to spell this out right? So he's handsome and quirky and I like all the OST themes and whatnot - but seriously, he's been around since forever and still hasn't had a normal relationship with a woman in all that time? Ain't nobody got time for that!!
3. Jung KooWon (My Demon) - hahahaha~ This drama is pure fluff, but still... another immortal (or as close as) who never ever touched a woman's hand or even tried to have a normal relationship so now at the ripe age of 200 or 300, who knows... finally gets to have an adolescentine love?! What is this, the Immortal Incel Club or what?!
So yeah. That's all I've got for now.
There are dramas for everyone and this one isn't it for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLLumzo__GA
Intimacy and love doesn't need French kissing (nothing against it, LOL - romance works with or without PDAs.)
Ren JiaLun has a HEA in The Blue Whisper, doesn't he? Or are they talking averages? :D
ETA I also thought LYX defeated Cheng Yi in the blood up-throwing dep't, LOL :D
There's a side-character movie (two actually). If you watch Fatal Journey you'll learn more about the Nie brothers relationship. It's definitely not NHS being lazy - he just does not want to follow the same path he's supposed to, since he was born into the Nie clan. And TBH Meng Yao was, initially, two steps ahead of everybody and carefully hiding all his plots and web-weaving. After NHS found out what actually happened, it takes time to make the plot strong enough to ensure success. And he does get everything done as he wanted too - NHS is up there with WWX in the smarts dep't.
Meng Yao "cares" for LXC just as much as Xue Yang "cares" for Xiao XingCheng. Not for themselves but for the image they might have made in their minds about the villain - a mirror to a fictional better self. The one thing LXC prizes above all is his integrity - and Meng Yao made a mockery out of it.
JC was raised to be a clan leader. He can never take into account just the one person, even if it's his brother. He has to consider the good of the clan - WWX never had to bother with that, since he's an outsider anyway, and he could (and did) just up and leave the clan one day. JC doesn't have that freedom. And also he never joined the others in insulting and ridiculing WWX, where did that impression come from?! His hatred is very personal and warranted (if you read the novel you'll see WWX is not that clean himself, either, there are things he did that make him a bit gray, too, and JC's hatred - again - is earned). JC is not a power groupie, LOL. He's just mad and unwilling to let go of his anger at any point in his life. And at the same time... he's yearning for WWX, and missing him just as much as WWX is missing him, too. It's just that WWX can put it into words - he tries to explain to LWJ how JC is like, while JC can never even yell it out at WWX himself, he's that mad at him.
Yup, this is pretty close to a masterpiece in a study of human characters. And now you see why its genre (xianxia and not wuxia) or the level of fight choreography don't really matter actually, LOL.
I particularly disagree with NHS being guilty of sloth - did you not catch the part where ALL Nie clan leaders eventually go insane and their swords go berserk due to their madness?! NHS is smart and he does NOT want to become a clan leader or cultivate his clan's disciplines, precisely because it would kill him but not before driving him into insanity! It's not being carefree, it's being a planner and seeing far ahead. THAT's what he's been using his intelligence for - he hasn't cultivated a lot so he's not a powerful fighter, he knows he's not a match for the rich and well-connected Jin clan, and he also knows who IS that careless about the power of others and their status and can get things done - WWX. They were fast friends in the school at Cloud Recesses, he knows what WWX is capable of.
There is no preventing the Nie clan madness, the only way to not get it is not cultivate that method, which is precisely what NHS does. But Nie MingJue is already going mad because of it - that's why he needs the Lan clan songs to pacify it - and it's already too late for him. Even without Meng Yao's intervention, he would've ended the same way, only later.
So yeah, NHS is a master manipulator - just as much, and at the end, better than - Meng Yao. His methods are also unorthodox (do you wonder why he chose WWX to come find out the truth - the one cultivator who didn't just talk about leaving the beaten path but actually went and opened up the new path all by himself? WWX is his inspiration.) Is it cowardly? Yes. Did he have other choices? Like, what?
So no, it's definitely not sloth. Years of planning every painful detail, and then making tiny course corrections once the plan is set in motion - he is better than Meng Yao, but his whole life has nothing to do with being slothful.
HA!! Meng Yao caring for LXC??? It was LXC who let him in the secret library where he took the Collection of Turmoil, it was LXC's trust he broke time and time again - how is that caring for him and for his opinion?! Even at the end he promises LXC to not do something and then does it not even ten minutes later - is that respect and care for LXC?!
Just a side comment on JC - he never does kill WWX (in the novel he's not close by when it happens, in the drama he doesn't actually hit WWX, WWX lets go because the rock LWJ is standing on can become dislocated and bring him down too.) And TBH, his attitude after the resurrection is 100% warranted. It was never WWX's intention to bring ruin to his foster family and clan, but that IS what happens due to WWX's actions - JC's clan, his parents, his sister - they all die because of something WWX did. It's not too much for JC to blame him for those deaths.
As for Xue Yang... it's not any human sin or even emotion other than him being a sociopath. Why he is that way - does it even matter? If he had a rough childhood and becomes a serial killer, should that rough childhood excuse the killings?! Even those he loved, he destroyed, because he doesn't really care for them, just for his possession of them. There is no sin in Xue Yang, he's beyond humanity, just a selfish killing machine.
If you can get the novel, you could try it and see if you like it (and it you get the same impression from it as from the drama). There's also a 3-season animated series, an audio drama, and a manhua based on the novel. It IS quite a phenomenon. And the novel, obviously, has all the danmei bits they removed :D
... For some reason though this sounds like it'll have a sad ending...
I feel like doing a dance hahaha~