Sol1056

Uhhh... is the guy who seems to be totally besotted with a certain princess the same guy running the entire court with an iron fist, aka Yu Cheng An? Or did I mistake two actors and end up accidentally turning a side bit of lovesick older servant into a really bizarre subplot of lovesick evil eunuch?

Ep16 must've been exhausting to film. I was exhausted just watching it. It just did not let up.

We could be here for years if we want to get into nature vs nuture, but this is a fictional story, not a biogenetics dissertation. It doesn't matter what science says; it matters what the story wants to say, and how that story is told determines whether it supports or undercuts its apparent thesis.

I'm up to ep12 and man, TXW can do crazy like I haven't seen crazy in a long time. I thought ZLH was the master of unhinged characters, but TXW is managing to pull off a character that was never hinged in the first place. Zero hinges.

As for people looking alike, there are plenty of cases where similar ancestry and pure luck of the genetic draw and complete strangers look remarkably alike, to the point of near-identical. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility (plus being an old trope, cf. The Prince and the Pauper), but the question is whether the show will fall into the twins-separated-at-birth trope or subvert it by saying there's zero relationship between the two.

If the drama at all wants to support its thesis that you can create your own fate, best way to sabotage that is by having a heroine originally born to a noble family who reveals her nobility. Best way to argue is it to reveal our heroine really was always a commoner, with no noble blood, who fought that fate and proved to be more noble than her so-called noble look-alike.

It's not little brother, it's (literally) small elder brother. It means something like 'young master,' and is used to refer to the eldest son of the next generation. A native speaker would have to confirm, but it sounds to me like the director was teasing that LYX is both like an elder brother (to the main cast) and a young/future lord/master (while it also positions the director as an elder in the same family or possibly a loyal retainer, it's kind of a flexible term).

Ep8: Cool motive. Still murder.

In a broad sense, I agree. Demon or not, in FOF and LITC (and LIP, come to think of it) he plays roles that enter the story incredibly super-powered but either facing an inevitable tragic end or severe trauma from a horrific background (or both). Aside: I haven't started TUC yet so I don't know if the through-line here is 'overpowered', 'traumatized', or just 'demon', but if nothing else, the teasers for all three certainly create an expectation the roles have a high level of similarity.

Looking at HMH's track record, but he doesn't seem to be someone who insists each new role should be completely different. Instead, I think he repeats a basic concept a few times, then moves to the next, sometimes with wildcards between. His first handful of roles were all over the map, until he tried 'smart (if weird) kid trying to solve seemingly supernatural shenanigans': DMBJ, PH. I don't get the impression either was a breakout hit, just like the wildcard AGLM wasn't. He then moved to 'innovative young man who played a role in creating modern China': FMG, PP, RC, HT. 2023-24 are a mixed batch, as if he's trying out new genres to see which one fits him best. Coming-of-age wuxia, retrying 'supernatural shenanigans', retrying boy-next-door.

Since then he's done fantasy-esque wuxia or wuxia-adjacent series, with only the first (DY) being a character who actually goes through some kind of learning/growing process. The rest are variations on an overpowered role (traumatized or sacrificial or both). Seems now he's moving into real-world/quasi-historical with upcoming TG, KTTPH, and Immortalis.

Which I guess is a long-winded way to say, if HMH sticks to his pattern of spending four series exploring a genre before moving on, at least we can expect TUC to be the last of this type of character for him. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if LITC is the crossover, in that he wasn't just OP but also sharp-witted, canny, even sardonic -- and from what I can tell, those are hallmarks of his characters in his upcoming non-fantasy dramas.

The question is whether "hey, can we film it in a way so we look intimate but without actually kissing?" out of respect for a much-younger actress is sufficient to be considered violating your contract. I doubt it, especially with HMH's current star power. It's possible upon learning who'd play the FL, he asked for minor script revisions, or made a point of supporting AM if she asked for script revisions.

Okay, so who's the guy talking like he's lived off whiskey and cigarettes for the past thirty years?

It's so nice to finally hear CY's actual voice. It's distinctive, with a dry tone that's perfect for more mature roles like this.

There's a definite irony in posting on a public forum and then insisting replies mind their own business. If you want to post without risk of hearing other people have different opinions, get a blog and set it to private.

Oh, right, the block button. How could I have forgotten? So much nicer around here suddenly.

Does the distribution license mean they've already gone done all their cuts/edits/etc as needed to pass the censorship board?

The user said no such thing. Your reading comprehension skills need serious work.

if nothing else, people are very good at making clear they're a candidate for blocking.

it's injury already that netflix doesn't even respect the usual opening volley of 4-6 episodes (or the final express) and instead makes you wait a week for each episode. it's just insult on top that netflix subtitles are almost as bad as mangotv.

but maybe viki will be able to get this one, so we at least have one option for decent subtitles.

I'm pretty sure she spends her time not filming doing photography, instead -- I've heard her described as a photographer who just moonlights as an actress!

background music question: at the beginning of ep25, when Puzhe & whats-her-face are talking, does anyone know the name of the bpm piece? It sounds so familiar, plus a step up from the usual wuxia bgm. (Note: instrumental; not a part of the OST.)

Thing is, this drama isn't about average in terms of musical motifs. Most of them rely on OST lyrics-based songs to be themes, and the instrumental pieces seem to feel selected at random. This particular one has a nice haunting quality, so it's standing out to me. I just wish I knew where to find the entire track!

oh nvm, it's Riley Wang, just Riley Wang a bit more grown up. And not so scrawny.

It's a joke. Send-up of the naming patterns for wuxia/xianxia/etc cdramas over the past 12 months.