Nepeta 22

Sounds traumatic. But I'm glad you can look back at it in a more refreshed way to see that individuals when sometimes given the upper-hand will and can abuse the system. Very sad but unfortunately, this happens to all societies the world over. Your mum did so well to remain calm and measured throughout these hard times and still keep her composure. Like you said, there is light at the end of the tunnel!

It's been like that for a while. In War of Faith, most characters are grey including early days communist party members. In A Love Never Lost, it goes further painting some of the earliest pioneers as disgraceful towards women in general and treated loved ones in horrible ways. They killed a lot of innocent people through terrorist style bombings in the name of change. In Fearless Blood, some of the main characters were shady as hell and violent as hell. Put it this way, you wouldn't want them living near you. In modern day standards, they're simply criminals.

I understand. Sometimes we want escapism, not all doom and gloom. In regards to propaganda/politics, I felt like you when I first started watching some of these republican dramas, but soon I realised, I'm just putting my own views and ideas onto another country that simply had a far different history to the one I grew up in and realised, the cynicism I have grown accustomed to and the distrust of politics in general may not be so for those living in other countries, including China.

After all, they are really a new country with a relatively new system. With such a big upheaval and war not so long ago, it's not at all unusual for a young country and system to be very proud and have massive pride.

Collective trauma can make some countries unite even if there are minor discord. The general feel is everyone is working and going in the same direction to make it work. Some of us outside China may look at that as propaganda, but in the end, I see it as more national pride more than propaganda. So whenever I see these types of storylines, I re-think it again. It's just a lot pride and China's quite proud right now.

BTW, this word is used positively in China but the word is often negative outside of China, something to think about on that one!

Thanks for sharing this. I can now see how the latest storyline can be quite relatable for you. I like how you have processed this and don't harbour any deep seated hatred to those that bullied your family. To also know how lucky you are when compared with the orphaned.

In the end, this is the same the world over. Jealousy, and insecurities are normally the key drivers of this sort of behaviour. That bubbles to the surface at the first instance when given a chance, be it a war or new ruling parties that edges in these people's favour.

I'm glad to hear your family came out the other side and that there is light at the end of the tunnel as you say.

I think her demeanor and the way she seems a bit distant to others that may make some feel she's unlikeable. But for me, I completely understand.

Yes her arc will be possibly complex because of the time it's set in and her complex relationship with her sister-in-law, which I feel will also play a big part. With her husband missing and she's left with not grieving, but a changing environment that makes her an easy target for those more small-minded that want to settle old scores and feel they can do so hiding behind the new ruling party.

I was looking forward to this part of the drama to be honest, but very happy with Ryan Cheng and Lin Yun's parts too.

You have to remember, he once told others on another drama he is the spokesperson for YouKu international! 😁

I have my front row seat here to see how this unfolds. I will see from today up to the 20th to see what happens. The melon accounts on Twitter are not reliable by the way. The one that put this up is the same one claiming a producer did a runner and drama has been pulled according to them, only for Tencent to post something with lead actor the next day to dispute lies made up by paid accounts. That's the extent of the reliability.

No problem, thanks for being so honest. Many say she resembles actress Zhang Ziyi, and some say the latter has a bitch-face. Maybe this may play into the sub-consciousness 😅!

To be honest, there is saturation of dramass over there, and unless there is proper in-yer-face daily promotions, people just cannot be bothered to seek them out. It's sad as I have seen many very good productions missed in China alone. I believe if more eyes were on this, then more will be discussed and talked about.

But even the top promoted dramas are normally fake, as many bought searches are just to inflate chatter and not genuine organic viral stuff. From that they do get watchers there. but the peak is often quick and they never sustain their place. Only This Thriving Land did this with very little promotion and through word-of-mouth it started to gain momentum,

I think this drama, "Twelve Letters" will have a more cult like status that will grow very slowly.

No problem, I misunderstood your original post. I remember a quick scene of Cha Dong on his boat. Not sure if that was a dream sequence or real, but I suspected the director wanted us to know he's fine but strategically left out his childhood sweetheart.

May I ask why you don't like her niece? I'm curious as I'm not finding her character unlikeable yet.

Sorry to hear your family went through something familiar. I also agree with you that sometimes, the dark times wakes you up to realise later how to learn and improve. Many that haven't been through that may not fully understand why some things are the way they are and why some behave or view things so differently to those that didn't live through that time in China or similar countries of that background.

China today is not China back then, and everything has a history, so that's why I end up always needing to explain to some that they are putting their background and maybe even culture on China where collectively they have been through a far more different upheaval than a lot of other countries, particularly former coloniser countries that try to bury their past or even re-paint it using new words and creating unlikely allies.

I don't agree with you that the way it's cut is due to budgets. I think one episode was nearly 2 hours long near the beginning. I think the director wanted the drama to also have exactly 12 episodes. There is talk about extending the end to give more space and time for the 2026 characters. I personally feels it's just right on how they ended it. Less is more. It allows us to think or wish on how we want.

From what I can see, she's been bullied and there is a big effort to cart her out of the area. It would seem a few are simply uncomfortable with her presence because of what her past represents. It's prejudices mixed with subtle jealousy and hatred towards those that they deem more elite in the past.

And that's the point. Many of the so-called extremism is often rooted in personal jealousy and old scores being settled. This sort of thing happened and intensified throughout the 1960s. A very difficult time in China. It would be interesting to see what actually happened to her husband. I feel they won't leave that storyline open.

Sorry, I just saw your reply to me now! Regards to storyline, not sure who or which characters may be romantically linked. I heard both Shen Jia Yu and Zhou Yu Ran are sort of romantically linked in different ways but they are only subtle background plots.

I'm sure Zhou Ye and Xiao Zhan may work alongside each other soon. Anything is possible, but I think XZ has slowly moved into the broader mass market dramas whereas ZY is still in her infancy in her career and will act in more idol-led dramas which tend to be rom-coms and costume dramas.

Finally about bringing hate. To be honest, in China, the fandom will not be satisfied unless they have something to moan about or hate about. Age gap is just another excuse. I just ignore them. I hope soon, some changes will be made to put fandom in their place as they interfere too much on production and pose a danger to stars and the wider public in the pursuit of their so-called "loved" ones. Purely parasocial of course.

Some have said Zhou Ye looks like a younger Zhang Ziyi. I'm a bit behind but looking forward to Tong Yao's parts.

It's implied that he kept her remains and evidence somewhere and when he heard about the police, he was spooked and begged that other guy to dispose of it properly. In short, the mum he kept saying ran off never did run off. He intercepted her and killed her and also stole the money from her work and passed that off as her stealing it and made up the story of her running off with the money. This is what Hai Tang had to deal with.

I must admit, I disagree with you there. To me, Tong Yao always remind me of Zhang Ziyi.

Bless you all, but please do put some of your posts in spoilers for late comers to this drama 😉

The posters are a little deceptive. This drama is more hard hitting and violent. Within that environment, a love story blooms behind that. No triangles, they get together quite soon. I would say 1/3 into the drama and it is a short drama compared to other dramas. No break up. The ending is bittersweet on sweet being first and a bitter after-taste, just my opinion. Watch 1 episode to get an idea to see if you like it.

For me, it's a drama that lingers in your mind for many weeks and music is great and also haunting at the same time. Cinematography is great, like how you feel when you watch The Bad Kids. It has that retro feel.