QUESTION: In Ep. 23: So, we then had the kiss in the rain scene with WQ. I don't understand why ZS said that WQ was bullying her? After the kiss the translation was "Why did you bully me?" and then WQ says "I was wrong. I won't bully you anymore". And then they hugged each other while ZS cried. To me, WQ wasn't bullying ZS, he was trying to comfort her. Since he was trying to comfort her, why would ZS accuse WQ of bullying? And then why would WQ say sorry I won't bully you? It was very strange to me.
I really enjoyed your article. Well done! I'm new to lakorns myself. My first lakorn was Full House Thai which I watched due to several recommendations saying it was better than the Korean original. I loved Full House Thai and quickly looked for other lakorns, where I saw Ugly Duckling: Perfect Match on Youtube. So cute! Oh, yes, I totally fell in love with Push while watching that series. I think the biggest obstacle to watching lakorns is the lack of subs in general and also the scarcity of Thai lakorns with subs on legitimate streaming sites. It's great that Netflix has a selection of Thai dramas now- I hope they will expand their offerings. My all time favorite lakorn is Prissana (2000) starring Tik & Taya. It's based on a novel which is known as "Thailand's version of Pride & Prejudice", so if you like historical dramas you must watch this one. Yes, it's older and the quality of the videotape isn't that great, but it is truly worth seeking out.
Female lead does get a little better in the second half of the drama
@Jeanette I understand where you are coming from. The male lead's attitude definitely improves in the second half of the drama. There is a confrontation with the female lead and after that he starts to change. I'm on Ep. 24 and he is a real friend to her by this time.
Very interesting article. Thanks for writing it. It is rare for a female lead to be obsessive, since she is dealing with the obsessive male lead in most dramas. I think this is because it's a more common fantasy of women to be the sole object of a man's attention than vice versa. Not too many women would fantasize about being obsessed with a man to the exclusion of all else. The only drama I could think of where the female lead is obsessed with the male lead is Playful Kiss/Mischevious Kiss. She displays many of the behaviors you listed.
Q1: yes it's Xiao Fei's name on the other side. My theory is that Wei Qing probably my doesn't want Zhou Shi to…
@Alice Thanks for your response to my questions. I really appreciate it. Yes, your theory that it is a shrine to WQ father makes sense. When I first watched the scene, I thought that the room was another studio space used by WQ Father, since it had a lot of his paintings, including the one on the easel.
regarding Q2; i assumed it was just WQ's room where he put his paintings and/or continued to paint in private...not…
@JoanneSmith Thanks for your response to my questions. I appreciate it. Yes, I thought it must be WQ room too, but then all of the father's paintings in the room confused me so I wasn't sure what the secret room was. it makes sense that it would be WQ "secret space" where he paints and he doesn't want people to know because of the reasons you gave.
1) Why are Chinese Historical Dramas so long? A: Economics. Unfortunately, the Chinese TV industry pays for dramas according to the number of episodes. So, a drama that is 25 episodes will receive a lower payment from the broadcasters than a drama with 60 episodes. This is why Chinese dramas are very long in general (both historical and modern). The production companies are looking for maximum profit. Historical dramas often have high production costs because of the elaborate costumes, sets, etc. As a result, the producers try to have these dramas have high episode counts in order to recoup the costs and have as much profit as possible. A recent example of this is Historical fantasy drama Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy. Originally, this drama was slated for 40 episodes. However, production costs spiralled out of control leading the drama to be extended to 75 episodes in order to try and recoup costs and make a profit. Another example is currently airing Historical fantasy drama GoodBye, My Princess. Drama was originally slated for 30 episodes, then suddenly extended to 52 episodes. No one knows the reasons behind the additional episodes other than producers are greedy for maximum profits. The downside to this is that storytelling often suffers with slow pacing, repetitive flashbacks, and filler scenes. The sad thing is, from what I understand the TV industry did not use this "pay by episodes" model in the past. Many great older historical dramas have a much lower total episode count. An example is critcally acclaimed drama Dream of the Red Chamber (1987) which has a total of 36 episodes. A lot of money was spent on this drama to recreate many scenes with incredible historical accuracy, but the total episode count is much less than today. Another example is 2002 historical drama Ripening Orange with 25 total episodes.
I really enjoyed this short film. The story was interesting and how often do you see a BL film where the main leads are hitmen? The acting was good all around and there was a nice chemistry between the 2 leads. The romance side of the storyline was great. It was so nice to see a healthy, functional, and consentual relationship between 2 adult men depicted on screen. Love scenes were nicely done and the kisses were natural and organic. I could feel the passion and emotions between the two main leads. Kudos to the actors and the director for giving us those great scenes. And it has a happy ending. This short series is definitely worth watching. You won't regret it.
QUESTION 1: In Ep. 21, what names or words are written on the stick Wei Qing uses to teach Zhou Shi? He says it's the stick his father used when teaching him and it has his name on it but then Zhou Shi looks at the stick and says "there is another name-what is it?" or something like that and WQ snatches the stick back and says "never mind". Did anyone see what was written on the stick?
QUESTION 2: At the end of Ep. 21, Zhou Shi finds the secret room in the basement of WQ house, but I am confused about what is the secret room? Is it supposed to be another studio/workspace of WQ father? Are the paintings there painted by WQ father, or is it a place where Wei Qing paints and the paintings are Wei Qing's? I thought when ZS first entered she looked at some of the paintings and said Wei Qing's name, but then she looked at a different painting and said that it was Wei Qing's father? Does anyone know what that scene was about? Also, were those blood stains on the chair or just red paint?
Wow! Thanks so much for translating this drama! Please let us know how to watch the episodes when you are ready.
Thanks for the update, @DreamingViolet. Much appreciated. I looked at the drama raw and read the synopsis-not my cup of tea, but I'm sure others will be interested.
In Ep. 23:
So, we then had the kiss in the rain scene with WQ. I don't understand why ZS said that WQ was bullying her? After the kiss the translation was "Why did you bully me?" and then WQ says "I was wrong. I won't bully you anymore". And then they hugged each other while ZS cried. To me, WQ wasn't bullying ZS, he was trying to comfort her.
Since he was trying to comfort her, why would ZS accuse WQ of bullying? And then why would WQ say sorry I won't bully you? It was very strange to me.
I understand where you are coming from. The male lead's attitude definitely improves in the second half of the drama. There is a confrontation with the female lead and after that he starts to change. I'm on Ep. 24 and he is a real friend to her by this time.
Thanks for your response to my questions. I really appreciate it. Yes, your theory that it is a shrine to WQ father makes sense. When I first watched the scene, I thought that the room was another studio space used by WQ Father, since it had a lot of his paintings, including the one on the easel.
Thanks for your response to my questions. I appreciate it. Yes, I thought it must be WQ room too, but then all of the father's paintings in the room confused me so I wasn't sure what the secret room was. it makes sense that it would be WQ "secret space" where he paints and he doesn't want people to know because of the reasons you gave.
https://productiveprocrastination.site/category/about-is-love/
A: Economics. Unfortunately, the Chinese TV industry pays for dramas according to the number of episodes. So, a drama that is 25 episodes will receive a lower payment from the broadcasters than a drama with 60 episodes. This is why Chinese dramas are very long in general (both historical and modern). The production companies are looking for maximum profit. Historical dramas often have high production costs because of the elaborate costumes, sets, etc. As a result, the producers try to have these dramas have high episode counts in order to recoup the costs and have as much profit as possible. A recent example of this is Historical fantasy drama Tribes and Empires: Storm of Prophecy. Originally, this drama was slated for 40 episodes. However, production costs spiralled out of control leading the drama to be extended to 75 episodes in order to try and recoup costs and make a profit. Another example is currently airing Historical fantasy drama GoodBye, My Princess. Drama was originally slated for 30 episodes, then suddenly extended to 52 episodes. No one knows the reasons behind the additional episodes other than producers are greedy for maximum profits. The downside to this is that storytelling often suffers with slow pacing, repetitive flashbacks, and filler scenes. The sad thing is, from what I understand the TV industry did not use this "pay by episodes" model in the past. Many great older historical dramas have a much lower total episode count. An example is critcally acclaimed drama Dream of the Red Chamber (1987) which has a total of 36 episodes. A lot of money was spent on this drama to recreate many scenes with incredible historical accuracy, but the total episode count is much less than today. Another example is 2002 historical drama Ripening Orange with 25 total episodes.
https://www.viki.com/tv/36096c-history-2
Thanks so much for your response to my questions. Really appreciate it.
QUESTION 2: At the end of Ep. 21, Zhou Shi finds the secret room in the basement of WQ house, but I am confused about what is the secret room? Is it supposed to be another studio/workspace of WQ father? Are the paintings there painted by WQ father, or is it a place where Wei Qing paints and the paintings are Wei Qing's? I thought when ZS first entered she looked at some of the paintings and said Wei Qing's name, but then she looked at a different painting and said that it was Wei Qing's father? Does anyone know what that scene was about? Also, were those blood stains on the chair or just red paint?
https://productiveprocrastination.site/2019/02/05/about-is-love-ep-18-19/