lisbei

 So, I suddenly realised that I've watched so many of them, and rarely say anything about them - I've reviewed one or two on dramalist, but there you run the risk of getting attacked by fans of actors.

So, I will begin.

Rewatched a few episodes of Nirvana in Fire 2, mostly to settle Pingjing cravings. See, it's still great, and has one of the most shocking WTF moments I've seen so far in one of these. But I still find it difficult to not scrub through all the evil High Priest moments. It's such a cliche - the villains are those not us, who are not from around here. Even what happened to Meng Xianxue was in a way, related to 'those foreigners and their evil ways' and it bugged me.

Also, it's really obvious how bad Pingzhang and his father are at politicking - they have Pingjing, who should be married at his age, but isn't because Tingsheng is still holding onto a marriage promise made when  Pingjing and Lin Xi were babies.

Also, the Emperor is good at this shit - he should have arranged a marriage between Pingjing and Xun An Ru (Prime Minister's niece) once he realised how much the PM hated the Changlin people.

Since watching the first time, I had an idea for an AU of what if that happened - depending on my mood at the time, it either ends up with a new power couple, or with An Ru betraying Ping Jing (or being persuaded to do so: the way she was portrayed did not suggest a whole lot of brains).

Also on a rewatch of The Story of Yanxi Palace, as well as the random snippet of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, which are mirror images of each other (i.e. everything is the other way round).

The Story of Yanxi Palace:

Basically, Nie Yuan is the best Emperor Qianlong I've seen in one of these - think Yul Brynner in The King and I (which I am 100% convinced the production team watched and made the actor watch too - among many other similarities, he and Wei Ying Luo dance a waltz together . . . in the 1750s. Yeah, right).

Wu Jin Yan is an amazing Wei Ying Luo / Concubine Ling as hilarious trickster spirit, who catches the Emperor's eye (without wanting to - she entered the palace as a maid for a completely different reason) and it seems he can't rest until he has her or kills her. Yes, he does some pretty heinous shit to her before he realises that he doesn't really hate her . . . it's the other thing.

But it's mainly a comedy: in the c-drama sense, where you can have tonal dissonance up the wazoo, and it would still be a comedy. One of the funniest moments is their first meeting, where she's punching a tree out of frustration, unaware that it's a 'spiritual cypress'. Just watch for the look on Hongli's face when he realises Wei Ying Luo just spun him some bullshit, and then sends the head eunuch on a month-long investigation to find the maid who committed such a crime, not realising that the cheeky palace maid who's serving his Empress (Fuca) is one and the same!

I'll have more to say about the counterpart, Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, later on - but be warned. Without spoiling, even though the alliterative title makes it sound like a happy romp through the Qianlong era . . . it is not. It is a harrowing tragedy in slow-motion, and the only worthwhile thing about it, besides some minor roles, is the stunning performance by Zhou Xun, in the title role. 

They are both Qing Dynasty dramas, which was a massive hurdle for me to overcome (also probably the reason they were both banned after airing - some bullshit about the corruptive influence of luxury etc was given - but Qing dynasty drama is always on the edge of being banned, even if they end miserably), because I hate:

• the hair - both on men and women. The half-bald look is ghastly (though Nie Yuan has such arresting features, he actually looks better here) and the women's dos are just urgh. Ruyi's best look was when she was Empress and wore a sort of flower crown extended pill-box hat. Her worst was what I like to call the "hammerhead shark look". It's exactly what it sounds like.
• the clothes. "Hey, do you like wearing shapeless tents? Well, have I got news for you!" for men and women, though the men were allowed belts, occasionally. Also shoes for women. Google 'flower-pot heels' - they are ugly AND dangerous! Hooray! The only good thing is that Kangxi (I think) outlawed foot-binding; but none of the Tang/Song/Ming etc etc dramas I've seen even mention foot-binding, so it has been rightfully excised from escapist drama.
• the interiors - how much useless stuff can we cram into a room? YES.
• This only counts for Palace dramas, and it can happen in any era, but I'm not a fan of the concubine feeding frenzy storylines.

So, credit to both these dramas that I persisted in spite of all of the above.