isn't that suppose to be the script,or should she ignore the script emotions then start acting according to the…
Heh, heh. We all have different tolerances for suspending disbelief. I agree that Li Ge was more impulsive in the earlier part of the series. Working with the prince helped her temper her impulses and taught her how to be more strategic.
But I’ll gently disagree regarding Li Ge’s inability to recognize Yi Kang–especially with that skeezy ’stache. Eye witness identification is extremely hard—especially under duress. As @Saffy88 notes, Li Ge never got a solid look at the Prince.
When she initially makes plans with Minister Lu, she only glimpsed the prince’s back at the dance hall. Later, during the assassination attempt (beginning around Ep. 1, 28:15), she's either too far away (dancing) or moving too fast (falling down off the roof) to make a reliable witness. All she knows is the location of her target—the audience experiences the scene in bullet time as she shoots her arrow *between* the soldiers protecting the Prince. You can barely make out his face—and *we* have the benefit of slow motion.
Whether I’m shooting my rifle or a compound bow, I try to be absolutely still and smooth as I aim at my target. When shooting skeet, my feet are anchored as my body swivels to match the clay pigeon.
So what does Li Ge manage to do? She’s not even on horseback— she’s *falling* while she aims at her target amongst a swirling cluster of soldiers. That’s super hero stuff!
But you know what I kinda hoped for? I half expected young general Shen Zhi to recognize Li Ge during a play fighting match. Perhaps she’d have a specific tell that he would recognize. Hasn’t happened yet and I have no idea how that part of her identity might be exposed to the Shen family.
There's no question that Shen Li Ge is a strong female lead. She is a heroic exemplar—equally beautiful, strategic, fair-minded and lethal. Initially impulsive, Li Ge grows wiser as she learns from her new allies. In a time when most women’s lives are severely circumscribed, Li Ge’s greatest strength might be her enviable ability to move through the world and amongst social strata.
For me, Li Ge’s physical mobility inadvertently highlights a weakness common to many historical or fantasy dramas.** Way, way down thread, someone astutely observed how characters just “show up.” THE SONG OF GLORY has many attractive sets but I don’t have a clue how they’re related to one another in space—even within the same manor.
I suppose its enough to know that Li Ge will be there when you need her.
**THE LONGEST DAY IN CHANG’AN (2019) is a rare example of a show’s hyperawareness of space. The city of Xi’an is a major character; it’s interconnectedness is what brings everything to life.
As others have said this definitely falls into your second category. It's got its hilarious and sweet moments…
I second the recommendation for MISS TRUTH's subs at Productive Procastinator's blog. That blog is in a category in of itself because they take the time to write contextual essays for the story.
I stumbled on the PP blog in 2017 when they provided the only Eng. subs for the short LOVE LOST IN TIMES spin off. The ML has a bit of an existential crisis when he falls in love with the FL, who's disguised as a man. (I didn't finish the show; I've had enough queer baiting.)
Can anyone explain who and where the Emperor is? The program description has me a little confused because it describes Lui Yi Kang as "the young emperor." I thought Yi Kang was more of a minister or something—he seems to be doing a lot of the work without the title. I'm not sure what his formal title is other than Prince Peng Cheng. The real Lui Yi Kang was never emperor either ...
I promised I will post if I find the OST with Eng Subs.Here is the Intro, called Shadow, sung by Zhou Shen with…
Thanks very much for this, @Alice Wang! Consider putting this in a DISCUSSION (see under the RECOMMENDATIONS above) so that it doesn't get lost as the thread goes longer. That way we can always find it.
Thank you for adding this Warm Caring Enlightening Drama. This has definitely made the top 5 listing as favorites.…
I loved Hae-kyung and Do-best when they bantered. Song Seung Heon and Seo Ji Hye had superb chemistry but you're not the only to detect something a little off about their physically intimate scenes. I suspect it's a combination of writing and acting. Many viewers (myself included) were frustrated by Do-hee's reserve towards skinship. But could the director have worked harder to improve clarity about expectations on set?
You wrote "... having someone with Song Seung Heon stature kissing me.. even for pretend, I would just melt in his arms." But speaking from my own limited experience on stage, performing intimate scenes are awkward AF.
SSH works very, very hard to create a positive, light atmosphere on set. He's well aware of his stature and wants his peers to feel comfortable.
But the Director-nim and SSH dropped the ball by letting Seo Ji Hye blame herself for the problems they had filming the couch kiss scene in Ep. 15. See the BTS here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCnKUYzJB-s/ .
If the director does a poor job explaining the choreography, actors will be awkward.
The profession of intimacy coordinators has been growing for since before the current social protests but the #metoo movement really brought to light the need to protect actors while doing good work. I think that Korean television and film productions could benefit from intimacy coordinators too. Not all actors (let alone directors) are trained in movement and having seasoned coordinators would really improve a lot of those creepy grab-em-by-the-throat kisses.
There've been many excellent articles about the value of intimacy coordinator or directors in western productions. Here are a three from the New York Times:
Thank you for adding this Warm Caring Enlightening Drama. This has definitely made the top 5 listing as favorites.…
Watch the BTS of those intimate scenes at https://www.instagram.com/dinner_couple/ . There's no doubt that SJH and SSH are comfortable with one another and have great rapport. But the production would have been well-served by an intimacy coordinator.
Director-nim knows what he wants but doesn't always communicate his vision to his actors. An intimacy coordinator would have analyzed the script, discussed the vision at length with the director and then worked closely with the actors to choreograph—step by step—how these intimate scenes would unfold. One wouldn't expect actors to muddle their way through a fight scene, without a stunt coordinator, right? Why not take the same care for intimate scenes?
1) 0:03 As the actors waited to perform their first on screen kiss, SSH nervously ramps up the goofiness and gets a bit handsy with SJH, repeatedly dipping her backwards.
SSH stated during the show's press conference that he's "mischievous" on set, to help break the ice and get closer with the cast. He acknowledged that SJH prefers his cooler Hae-kyung persona and often wants him to just chill out.
2) 1:38 While setting up a long shot, SJY protests when SSH actually kisses her. She'd incorrectly assumed that the camera couldn't actually see their faces. The actors bicker a little bit and Director-nim confirms her that the camera can see it. Isn't that something that should have been explained to the actors before they started shooting?
3) 3:08 The actors start filming the medium shot of the first kiss. SSH's head starts at the right, then moves to the left. Around 3:31, SSH shifts a third time, tilting his head to his right. (Admittedly, this is very sensuous, as his right hand slide down from SJY's throat, over her shoulder to her middle back.) But SJY suddenly halts and smacks him on the arm—they're laughing as the director exclaims in frustration.
Why did she stop? She thinks the kiss was supposed to end on his left but SSH insists that the kiss should end on his right (making for a longer kiss.) Why on earth would you do this scene without discussing the choreography? For the physical and psychological well-being of the actors, it just makes sense to plan this.
4) 4:34 Seo Ji Hye's laughter doesn't disguise her grimace at the very end of this clip.
Thank you for adding this Warm Caring Enlightening Drama. This has definitely made the top 5 listing as favorites.…
@msalazar1—You make an excellent point about Seo Ji Hye looking uncomfortable during her kiss scenes. I've suspected that it's a combination of SJH's actual discomfort AND the character's own reticence (the latter being a separate conversation). A couple weeks ago, I took a closer look at the behind the scenes footage of the first kiss scene in Ep. 11 and observed some issues. (See spoiler below.)
I've finally signed up with iQiyi because Viki is too slow...Just finished watching the last two episodes.
I am enjoying the series! I also know that I'm a lying liar who lies when I say that I'm going to try to pace myself. Fortunately, there's lots of Qin Hao goodness to enjoy on iQIYI while I wait for new episodes of SONG OF GLORY. I'll supplement with THE BAD KIDS (2020) and BURNING ICE (2017), a series Avenue X (youtube) had raved about years ago.
Many viewers found watching live frustrating because of excessive screen time spent on the exes. But the friendship and romance between the OTP is so attractive, so quirky and so charming that it's still worth watching. Now that it's finished, bingers will be able to enjoy the series at their own pace.
I've finally signed up with iQiyi because Viki is too slow...Just finished watching the last two episodes.
Good to hear the Viki team is working hard! I've always appreciated their extra effort to give cultural context. I also need to be more disciplined and will try NOT gobble up all the unwatched episodes in one week.
This is why I try to limit myself to one C-drama per quarter. I guess I should be grateful they're only pumping out six episodes a week.
I've finally signed up with iQiyi because Viki is too slow...Just finished watching the last two episodes.
Thanks for your offer! Fortunately, @Saffy88 explained how to clear my cache to get access to the links with my VIP iQIYI account.
Do you know how long the Viki subbing team is taking to fully sub new episodes? I'm currently on Ep. 7 will likely catch up to Ep. 18 by Sunday. (Then I'll switch to iQIYI). Subbing is real work—it should be paid.
I've finally signed up with iQiyi because Viki is too slow...Just finished watching the last two episodes.
Thanks—I've already tried ExpressVPN's Singapore and Hong Kong servers. I can see the two links that @Saffy88 posted below but the interface doesn't show me links to any other episode. I tested all the Asia locations without success (either I can see only specific URLs or I'm totally blocked due to "copyright" issues.)
I'm a few episodes behind anyway, so it's not the worst thing to stick with Viki ... I'm afraid I'll end up binging and will run out of episodes.
iQiyi links: Ep 19: https://www.iq.com/play/2ffkwyd3a0cEp 20: https://www.iq.com/play/2ffkwyd336s
Can you recommend a specific VPN region? I set my ExpressVPN to Singapore and can watch those links but the links to the other episodes do not appear. Nor does the show appear in search.
But I’ll gently disagree regarding Li Ge’s inability to recognize Yi Kang–especially with that skeezy ’stache. Eye witness identification is extremely hard—especially under duress. As @Saffy88 notes, Li Ge never got a solid look at the Prince.
When she initially makes plans with Minister Lu, she only glimpsed the prince’s back at the dance hall. Later, during the assassination attempt (beginning around Ep. 1, 28:15), she's either too far away (dancing) or moving too fast (falling down off the roof) to make a reliable witness. All she knows is the location of her target—the audience experiences the scene in bullet time as she shoots her arrow *between* the soldiers protecting the Prince. You can barely make out his face—and *we* have the benefit of slow motion.
Whether I’m shooting my rifle or a compound bow, I try to be absolutely still and smooth as I aim at my target. When shooting skeet, my feet are anchored as my body swivels to match the clay pigeon.
So what does Li Ge manage to do? She’s not even on horseback— she’s *falling* while she aims at her target amongst a swirling cluster of soldiers. That’s super hero stuff!
But you know what I kinda hoped for? I half expected young general Shen Zhi to recognize Li Ge during a play fighting match. Perhaps she’d have a specific tell that he would recognize. Hasn’t happened yet and I have no idea how that part of her identity might be exposed to the Shen family.
For me, Li Ge’s physical mobility inadvertently highlights a weakness common to many historical or fantasy dramas.** Way, way down thread, someone astutely observed how characters just “show up.” THE SONG OF GLORY has many attractive sets but I don’t have a clue how they’re related to one another in space—even within the same manor.
I suppose its enough to know that Li Ge will be there when you need her.
**THE LONGEST DAY IN CHANG’AN (2019) is a rare example of a show’s hyperawareness of space. The city of Xi’an is a major character; it’s interconnectedness is what brings everything to life.
I stumbled on the PP blog in 2017 when they provided the only Eng. subs for the short LOVE LOST IN TIMES spin off. The ML has a bit of an existential crisis when he falls in love with the FL, who's disguised as a man. (I didn't finish the show; I've had enough queer baiting.)
Since you liked THE UNTAMED, I recommend reading the essay they wrote to give context to homosexuality in ancient China: https://productiveprocrastination.site/2017/12/10/homosexuality-in-china-then-and-now-5-min-read/
You wrote "... having someone with Song Seung Heon stature kissing me.. even for pretend, I would just melt in his arms." But speaking from my own limited experience on stage, performing intimate scenes are awkward AF.
SSH works very, very hard to create a positive, light atmosphere on set. He's well aware of his stature and wants his peers to feel comfortable.
But the Director-nim and SSH dropped the ball by letting Seo Ji Hye blame herself for the problems they had filming the couch kiss scene in Ep. 15. See the BTS here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CCnKUYzJB-s/ .
If the director does a poor job explaining the choreography, actors will be awkward.
The profession of intimacy coordinators has been growing for since before the current social protests but the #metoo movement really brought to light the need to protect actors while doing good work. I think that Korean television and film productions could benefit from intimacy coordinators too. Not all actors (let alone directors) are trained in movement and having seasoned coordinators would really improve a lot of those creepy grab-em-by-the-throat kisses.
There've been many excellent articles about the value of intimacy coordinator or directors in western productions. Here are a three from the New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/14/magazine/sex-scene-intimacy-coordinator.html
Studios and theaters are hiring intimacy coordinators to help actors. The twist: They’re also making the scenes sexier.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/arts/television/normal-people-hulu.html
This adaptation of Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel is a rare TV show about teenagers that respects intimacy as a powerful storytelling tool, both on and off camera.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/theater/frankie-johnny-audra-mcdonald-michael-shannon.html
I love this quote from Michael Shannon: “What I always say about sex scenes, my dumb joke about them,” Mr. Shannon said, “is that they really are like sex. They have all the confusion and loneliness and anxiety and despair, just none of the pleasure.”
Director-nim knows what he wants but doesn't always communicate his vision to his actors. An intimacy coordinator would have analyzed the script, discussed the vision at length with the director and then worked closely with the actors to choreograph—step by step—how these intimate scenes would unfold. One wouldn't expect actors to muddle their way through a fight scene, without a stunt coordinator, right? Why not take the same care for intimate scenes?
@dinner couple posted three clips of the first kiss scene in Ep. 11. Here's what I see in https://www.instagram.com/p/CCDV3gspG0H/
1) 0:03
As the actors waited to perform their first on screen kiss, SSH nervously ramps up the goofiness and gets a bit handsy with SJH, repeatedly dipping her backwards.
SSH stated during the show's press conference that he's "mischievous" on set, to help break the ice and get closer with the cast. He acknowledged that SJH prefers his cooler Hae-kyung persona and often wants him to just chill out.
2) 1:38
While setting up a long shot, SJY protests when SSH actually kisses her. She'd incorrectly assumed that the camera couldn't actually see their faces. The actors bicker a little bit and Director-nim confirms her that the camera can see it. Isn't that something that should have been explained to the actors before they started shooting?
3) 3:08
The actors start filming the medium shot of the first kiss. SSH's head starts at the right, then moves to the left. Around 3:31, SSH shifts a third time, tilting his head to his right. (Admittedly, this is very sensuous, as his right hand slide down from SJY's throat, over her shoulder to her middle back.) But SJY suddenly halts and smacks him on the arm—they're laughing as the director exclaims in frustration.
Why did she stop? She thinks the kiss was supposed to end on his left but SSH insists that the kiss should end on his right (making for a longer kiss.) Why on earth would you do this scene without discussing the choreography? For the physical and psychological well-being of the actors, it just makes sense to plan this.
4) 4:34
Seo Ji Hye's laughter doesn't disguise her grimace at the very end of this clip.
Many viewers found watching live frustrating because of excessive screen time spent on the exes. But the friendship and romance between the OTP is so attractive, so quirky and so charming that it's still worth watching. Now that it's finished, bingers will be able to enjoy the series at their own pace.
This is why I try to limit myself to one C-drama per quarter. I guess I should be grateful they're only pumping out six episodes a week.
Do you know how long the Viki subbing team is taking to fully sub new episodes? I'm currently on Ep. 7 will likely catch up to Ep. 18 by Sunday. (Then I'll switch to iQIYI). Subbing is real work—it should be paid.
I'm a few episodes behind anyway, so it's not the worst thing to stick with Viki ... I'm afraid I'll end up binging and will run out of episodes.