Adventures in drama watching

[maggie33]

Damn it, work. Couldn’t you stay peaceful and quiet for this month at least? I will be so swamped with work for the next two weeks, gah. Thankfully I finished the first draft of my RMSE assignment already. It’s a very rough first draft and it needs a lot more work, but it’s done. But that treat I was thinking about – not happening.

Also thankfully I found the good drama to watch in the evenings after work – details below.


My kdramas watching is more miss than hit lately. I enjoyed Bring It On, Ghost a lot. But every drama I started later was disappointing one way or the other.

The biggest disappointment was Doctor Prisoner. I managed three episodes and I couldn’t watch more even for Nam Goong Min. Objectively it’s not a bad drama, but it is so, so boring to me. I’m completely uninterested in any other character but Nam Goong Min’s Na Yi Je, and even he isn’t that compelling to me.


Then I tried The Bad Guys – the crime drama about a detective who forms a team of three criminals, who are currently in prison, and who are let out to work on cases and hunt down other more violent criminals.

I started watching it mostly because I wanted to see Ma Dong Seok, who was fantastic in Train to Busan, in something else, and also because it’s short (just 11 episodes). And I really enjoyed the first 7 episodes, and then they dropped the case of the week formula (which I liked) completely and focused on explaining the mystery from that past that connects the three bad guys (which I didn’t like). Also because of this – when I’m getting a young and pretty guy being a super intelligent psychopathic serial killer I want him to stay a psychopathic serial killer to the end, you know. And not find out that oops he was set up and he is not a serial killer after all. So, yes, I got very bored and stopped watching after the 8th episode.


Then I started Dream High for Taecyeon and it’s fine, I guess. I watched 7 episodes and Taecyeon is very cute, but it’s just brainless mind candy and I don’t really know if I want to continue watching it.


And then sakana17 wrote the enthusiastic post about Zhu Yilong’s new drama The Rebel, so I decided to give it a try in hope of finding a drama with Zhu Yilong other than Guardian that I could enjoy. And it’s a success, because I do enjoy it a lot. I watched the first three episodes on Sunday, and the next two yesterday. :)

The drama takes place in 1936 in Shanghai in the middle of The Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (the nationalists) and the Chinese Communist Party. Zhu Yilong’s character Lin Nansheng is a gifted military academy student, who gets recruited by the nationalists’ secret service to spy on the communists. Yes, it’s propaganda from the 1st scene. But it’s not really blatant propaganda, at least for now. The nationalists aren’t cartoonishly evil, and most of the characters are complex and interesting. But it’s there, and for me personally – I just don’t really mind that much. I admit I find it more amusing than disturbing or irritating. It reminds me of watching some movies and shows made in communist Poland. :)

And The Rebel being propaganda doesn’t preclude it from being a good drama. And it is a good drama – well written, well-acted and beautifully filmed. It already made me very interested in the historical events it portrays. After I finished the 1st episode I instantly went and read a few articles, and I ordered a book about it, too.

Zhu Yilong is beautiful and very good. And those expressive eyes of his, wow... But what made me watch the first three episodes in one day was Wang Yang as Chen Moqun – Lin Nansheng’s superior and mentor. Chen Moqun is such a fantastic and fascinating character. He’s handsome and cool and intelligent and ruthless, and manipulative, with that calm, quiet voice. And Lin Nansheng is so idealistic and obedient and eager to please. I admit my mind went places, dirtybadwrong places. :) I hope there will be at least a few fics when I’m done watching. And it will take me a while to finish it. Three episodes a day is not the norm for me, and that drama has 43 episodes.

The first four episodes with English subtitles are on Youtube here. The whole drama with subs is on iQiyi here.

You know, I like this drama so much that I’m seriously considering paying for iQiyi subscription just to watch it without commercials and in better quality. :)

Comments

[china_shop]

Ugh, sorry work is so busy! *hugs*

[maggie33]

Thanks for the hugs. ♥

[trobadora]

Yay, I'm glad you're enjoying The Rebel! After all the spoilers I got from sakana17 it's definitely on my list as well, as soon as I find the time.

[maggie33]

It's really good and I'm ecstatic to have another drama to admire Zhu Yilong in. :D

[nnozomi]

The acting in The Rebel is so good. It's like, wow, this is what it looks like when everyone is Zhu Yilong-quality.
He’s handsome and cool and intelligent and ruthless, and manipulative, with that calm, quiet voice. And Lin Nansheng is so idealistic and obedient and eager to please.
This is spot on, and Wang Yang is amazing (also it looks like almost all the Chinese fics on the AO3 page are Chen Moqun/Lin Nansheng, so you have some company over there ;).)
I admit I find it more amusing than disturbing or irritating. It reminds me of watching some movies and shows made in communist Poland. :)
I'll be curious to hear more about how it looks to you from this perspective, as you go on watching it. I'm not feeling totally fannish over the show as with Guardian or Lost Tomb Reboot, because of the propaganda aspect and even more because of its basis in real history, but I'm really enjoying watching it, both for the actors/acting and the history.
Zhu Yilong is beautiful and very good. And those expressive eyes of his, wow...
and this is always a plus! (With every new drama he does I keep thinking, well, they can't whump him any more than in [his last show], and then every time it goes up a level.) I love watching him act.
Anyway, sorry to ramble at you! I keep meaning to post more about this on my journal, so come chat there when I get around to it ;)

[maggie33]

The acting in The Rebel is so good. It's like, wow, this is what it looks like when everyone is Zhu Yilong-quality.

Ha, yes, it's hard to find someone who's not good in this drama. :)

This is spot on, and Wang Yang is amazing (also it looks like almost all the Chinese fics on the AO3 page are Chen Moqun/Lin Nansheng, so you have some company over there ;)

Good to know. :) I hope there will be a few fics in English, too, later.

I'll be curious to hear more about how it looks to you from this perspective, as you go on watching it. I'm not feeling totally fannish over the show as with Guardian or Lost Tomb Reboot, because of the propaganda aspect and even more because of its basis in real history, but I'm really enjoying watching it, both for the actors/acting and the history.

I will write more about it for sure. As for propaganda - I guess I just learned the ability to ignore it while watching a lot of movies and shows made in Poland under the communist regime.

And yes, please post about the drama in your journal, too. I'm very interested in your opinion.

[sakana17]

And it’s a success, because I do enjoy it a lot. I watched the first three episodes on Sunday, and the next two yesterday. :)

\o/

well written, well-acted and beautifully filmed

It really is. I'm rewatching it now, and am even more impressed with the acting during the rewatch because I'm noticing details and subtleties I missed the first time. Just...wow. Everyone is so good in this! I love watching Zhu Yilong have these great scenes with such an excellent cast.

Chen Moqun is such a fantastic and fascinating character. He’s handsome and cool and intelligent and ruthless, and manipulative, with that calm, quiet voice. And Lin Nansheng is so idealistic and obedient and eager to please. I admit my mind went places, dirtybadwrong places. :)

Yes to all of that! My mind went places, too! :D

[maggie33]

Thanks for the rec, really. I knew Zhu Yilong had a new drama, but I kinda forgot about it, so I'm very grateful to you for reminding me. :)

[tinny]

It reminds me of watching some movies and shows made in communist Poland. :)

Heee, yeah, that is a good comparison.

I agree that it's obvious, but not cartoonish or headdesk-inducing. I guess it might feel worse if it accumulates as it goes on, but for now it's bearable.

And, yes, it is very well acted, and of course doesn't suffer from censorship in the way all his other shows did, because it was written with the exact ideal in mind that censorship loves. *shrug*

p.s.: achray already wrote a fic. It's absolutely dirtybadwrong, but spoilery for episode 23, so maybe wait a little.

[maggie33]

I saw that fic and yes, I'm waiting to read it. I watched episode 20 yesterday so there's good chance that I will watch the 23rd tomorrow. :)

[tinny]

wow you're fast.

there's another fic now, yantantether wrote it. It's more explicit than achray's and not spoilery.

Wow, our fandom has two fics! *is proud*

[maggie33]

Heh, apparently with this drama three episodes a day is the norm for me. And yes, I saw that other fic and read it already, since it's not spoilery. I hope there will be more fics soon. And if not it's a perfect small fandom to request in exchanges. :)