One of my biggest problems with K-dramas is how they offer ahistorical portrayals of the Chinese to suit the geopolitical needs of the modern South Korean state. As Korean historian Ji-Young Lee makes clear in his contribution to East Asia in the World, which is relevant to the portrayal of the Ming in The Crowned Clown:
"Historian Kye Seung-bum shows that even when the Ming requested Chosŏn troops for its own campaigns against the Mongols or the Jurchens, it did not make the investiture conditional upon Chosŏn’s compliance with its requests."
The first dozen episodes were top-notch, some of the best Korean episodes I've ever seen. But then unlucky 13 has pretty much ruined the show. The most idiotic, unbelievable behaviors of pretty much any drama I've ever seen, totally erasing the rollercoaster ride the characters have been on over the previous episodes. The writer seemingly just said, "F it" and threw everything to the wall, with no interest in consistency or believability in the personas of the ML and FL and a couple support roles.
This is the most unsatisfying, unwatchable drama I've ever tried to watch. Even three of my favorite stars were powerless to make it worth watching just five episodes!
The drama's interesting so far but the dubbing is throwing me off... it's not just because the mouths moving and…
Completely agree, it's by far the biggest issue with this drama. I could have given up on it in the first couple episodes because Tang San's voice just absolutely does not match Xiao Zhan's body, but I am very pleased I didn't let that interfere with my enjoyment in the end
It's a shame that they haven't further explored the difference between elite and popular morality. I'm only six or seven episodes in, perhaps it'll happen more, but so far there have been only a few superficial references to value differences between Ha-sun's class and the ruling class.
The end of this drama nearly ruined it. He goes and beats up some guy to get her to come back to him? But they saved it by making him a bad guy. I didn't remember who exactly that bad guy was from the batch. Howi's poisoner? An associate of Yang? So confused.
Is it just me or does it seem like we missed so much in between episodes 30 and 31? Up to 30, I was very impressed with the pacing and continuity of this drama, but all throughout 31 I'm totally lost and confused and nothing's making any sense. Suddenly Chengling knows who Wen Kexing is?!? I was expecting the revelation would be a major dramatic moment, but it seems like it was cut. Suddenly Wen and Xie are allies? So much has changed, it really seems like at least one or two episodes were excised.
Finally watched Sanada Taiheiki to see if it's really better than Sanadamaru, so that I could make a fair comparison.TBH,…
If only I could find a historical text dealing with this. I have a novel in Chinese translation that includes Sanada Genjiro as a character, but other than that I've had very little luck finding anything whatsoever about the history behind the drama.
You are inconsistend in your own post, on one hand you say you cannot keep up with the subtitles and on the other,…
Where's the inconsistency? I watch all my English shows with subtitles, too. If I cannot even read the subtitles, despite being a very fast reader, then how am I going to hear every word? Your lack of imagination is startling. I would watch it with Chinese subtitles of it were slower, but with a combined Chinese audio and English half-read subs, I can get by.
I wouldn't exclude others from enjoying it. I don't think I know anybody who would be able to get past all the nonsense and watch it for the few moments where it shines. I appreciate it for the seriousness of the plot, I don't like romances or BL, so by virtue of its apparent originality I'll give it a shot, but I can have no doubt that everybody I know would turn it off within the first 15 minutes because they do the same for anything not as good as 雍正王朝 or 白夜追凶.
One of the most poorly executed dramas I've ever watched beyond the first episode. I knew right away, with all the extras jumping into the water by the dozen for absolutely no reason, that this wouldn't be the most thoughtful of productions, but it just keeps getting worse. The way the guards wandered around the streets like ants is another. It's looking like they're a bunch of NPCs in a game with a totally abysmal engine. Poorly choreographed, and I mean that broadly in terms of every little movement before the cameras, but also specifically relating to the fight scenes, with such visible wires and motions even more awkward than I have seen before, a very low bar to cross; also, it feels like it was sped up by like 25%, which makes it almost impossible to keep up with the subtitles and gives every scene such an amateurish feel.
That said, I'm enjoying the drama. Nowhere near as well as I should be enjoying it, it has tremendous potential, yet the failings are so pronounced that I can't imagine myself recommending it to anyone, but for a lone watch, it certainly beats a lot of the dramas of the year. Let's just say this is not why I learned Chinese (thankfully the Chinese have such a massive literary history, I don't need dramas).
Well.... the script follows the novel, and it was originally released in bits before compiling into novel form.
But it was edited twice again after being put into novel form, revised and updated and plotlines changed. For instance, Mu Nianci used to be one of two women vying for Wanyan/Yang Kang's affections.
Such a great drama. It tells the story of Yongzheng through an ensemble cast, with many characters getting a lot more screen time than the emperor during many episodes, but throughout it all, the emperor remains. Well, first Fourth Prince, then the emperor, for it takes half the series for the Kangxi Emperor to die (he was one of the best parts). Nian Gengyao, Zhang Tingyu, 13th Prince, Li Wei, Mister Wu, and all the others, such a great cast of characters, truly enjoyable.
What I heard is, that stuff for about ten episodes got demanded to be cut by the censors, so, that would explain…
If you can't stand the occasional bowdlerization, then Chinese dramas are not for you ;)
I think a lot of the reason for the hate on Douban (where it's like 3.8 last I checked) stems from nostalgia for the version people grew up watching. I've asked a few Chinese friends why they don't like any remakes, and it's always the same thing: "The 1994 version" or "the 2002 version" or whatever year it is for whatever drama, "is best." They don't even need to watch the trailer for the new adaptation to know that.
Also, the language sometimes feels pretty modern and out of place in an ancient setting. My Chinese is finally getting good enough to understand the spoken word and my ears have wanted to rebel at some of the dialogue. Also, watching Yongzheng Dynasty (highly, highly recommended) simultaneously, which seems more historically accurate as far as the language is concerned, the sudden burst of modern when I switch to this drama is all the more obvious.
"Historian Kye Seung-bum shows that even when the Ming requested Chosŏn troops for its own campaigns against the Mongols or the Jurchens, it did not make the investiture conditional upon Chosŏn’s compliance with its requests."
I wouldn't exclude others from enjoying it. I don't think I know anybody who would be able to get past all the nonsense and watch it for the few moments where it shines. I appreciate it for the seriousness of the plot, I don't like romances or BL, so by virtue of its apparent originality I'll give it a shot, but I can have no doubt that everybody I know would turn it off within the first 15 minutes because they do the same for anything not as good as 雍正王朝 or 白夜追凶.
That said, I'm enjoying the drama. Nowhere near as well as I should be enjoying it, it has tremendous potential, yet the failings are so pronounced that I can't imagine myself recommending it to anyone, but for a lone watch, it certainly beats a lot of the dramas of the year. Let's just say this is not why I learned Chinese (thankfully the Chinese have such a massive literary history, I don't need dramas).
I think a lot of the reason for the hate on Douban (where it's like 3.8 last I checked) stems from nostalgia for the version people grew up watching. I've asked a few Chinese friends why they don't like any remakes, and it's always the same thing: "The 1994 version" or "the 2002 version" or whatever year it is for whatever drama, "is best." They don't even need to watch the trailer for the new adaptation to know that.
Also, the language sometimes feels pretty modern and out of place in an ancient setting. My Chinese is finally getting good enough to understand the spoken word and my ears have wanted to rebel at some of the dialogue. Also, watching Yongzheng Dynasty (highly, highly recommended) simultaneously, which seems more historically accurate as far as the language is concerned, the sudden burst of modern when I switch to this drama is all the more obvious.