Because it's a difficult time, even in my country, there were heroes who sacrificed everything during British…
That is really sad and I hope none of us have to live through that. I absolutely understand standing up against cruelty and fighting for something you believe in, don’t get me wrong. I also understand that in doing so may put your family and anyone close to you at risk but you do it anyways to fight for a better future, not just for your family but also for the people you’ve seen who’ve had atrocities committed against them. But my problem is they are always trying to sell the concept that “country/party decisions above all else”. I mean, as a human with a family that you love, would you honestly kill your husband/child/brother/sister because the party you have joined gave you the instruction to do so? I’ve not been in this situation but I don’t think I would even consider it. Would you really do nothing if the party’s “upper management” made a decision to execute someone you loved and still follow this party and their decisions? What makes one party’s decision right over the other if both sides have killed and made decisions that resulted in millions dying? There are definitely situations where you see clearly “these people are pure evil and need to be gone” but I think there are many a times where it’s a grey area and not so clear cut.
This show actually had some great Nationalists in Tu Nan who digressed throughout. I guess this is what sets it…
Oh no, I’ve watched way too many republican dramas to watch another one, I only watched this one because I was told it started off less like the others (had more a Wall Street vibe than party vs party vibe) and I was running out of things to watch. But in the end, it still ended up being party against party. My problem with this narrative is that it’s just been done too many times with the same storyline (main character struggles with his identity/purpose, main character always ends up joining Communist Party, they are the only good for all party, someone close/in the family is part of the other party, an integral character gets sacrificed, etc). I think there are many human elements on all different sides that can be explored and not just these same tropes which I think has a lot to do with censorship. I mean, would you honestly kill your brother or sister or let them be executed without doing anything if you knew about it just because of your faith in one of the parties? I never lived through those times (fingers crossed I never have to) but I can’t imagine these are the decisions I would make. But that’s what every republican drama has shown: country/party decisions above all else.
This show actually had some great Nationalists in Tu Nan who digressed throughout. I guess this is what sets it…
Yeah I agree, it’s just I don’t like the theme they are always selling in every republican drama, that the “right” party is about country above anything else.
Loyalty to political parties in dire times are different than in peace times
Maybe but in my eyes, I’m fighting for this country because I want it to be better for myself and my family. If I have to sacrifice my family for the beliefs of a certain party, what motivation is left for me to be part of this party? It’s what irritates me most in many of the republican dramas - the idea is always country is bigger than anything, even family but families are what makes the country.
My pet peeve about republican dramas in China is that it’s always about Kuomintang and Communist Party and always Communist Party being the amazingly good guys. And how the country’s interests always above everything else. I mean, for me it will definitely be family over any party. Why would I follow any party’s instructions if it will lead my family members to die?
Everybody here is raving about XZ’s character while I’m here thinking the gold standard is SL, such strong and consistent characteristics that puts so many other series main characters to shame!
I must ask, is this worth the watch? Ive seen great reviews of this on douban and mdl, but these dramas always…
Same as you, I get so annoyed with the “communist is always the good and guomindang always the bad people”. Like can we just have some different perspectives for a replublican drama and not always so damn one sided. This one seems to be going the same direction but still interesting to watch I guess as there’s a Wall Street vibe.
Agree with you, I’ve watched a few dramas with her and I definitely would not classify Zhou Ye as one of the…
No I haven’t but I don’t think it will change my mind, because I’d expect actors and actresses to be consistent with their work no matter what kind of role they play in. Or actually just improve as time goes on. I’m actually not the type to notice someone’s acting unless it’s really good or really bad and the fact that I noticed Zhou Ye’s means it really stood out bad for me.
I really don't like FL when she tries to speak in an almost breathless way to act demure. Just be natural, gal!…
Agree with you, I’ve watched a few dramas with her and I definitely would not classify Zhou Ye as one of the best actresses of this new generation of actresses. I’ve seen people rave about her acting but personally I’m just flabbergasted to see such compliments coz I feel her acting has too many traces of acting that it’s unnatural sometimes. In contrast to actresses like Zhao Lu Si, Yang Zi, Zhang Zi Feng and Zhao Li Ying, she needs to improve by quite a bit to be on par with them in my opinion.
Wow I never expected this drama to have so many watchers, it’s really not that great. I feel like maybe many watchers are the actors fans? The script is what makes me irk, angst is created through deliberate no communication, it’s pathetic. And the rating for this show, definitely much lower for me.
I actually enjoyed this series after putting it down after episode 1 and coming back to it a few years later. I read most of the spoilers and still watched all the episodes without skipping which has not been the norm for me lately (have been dropping series like flies). Contrary to others, I actually liked Prince Zhou. I never liked Yan Zi Fang. And man I hated the Crown Princess! And Fu Shui, he just came out of nowhere being a big pain in the arse. I think that’s actually where it started getting a bit lame/inconsistent but still kept me watching to the end.