Sollenbum

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai That’s a good plan! I’ve just watched a bit of the first episode of “Guess Who I Am” and it’s fun. Wang Ziqi and Zhang Yuxi have good chemistry. The plot is silly, though, but that is hardly the point 😄

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai At 60% you are further than me 😄 I never jumped on the bandwagon so I’m thinking that I’ll wait until season 2 is released and then watch them in succession. Save myself the heartache of the cliffhanger ending that has been talked about so much.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai OK, now I remember that scene from Sword and Brocade but is it good enough to re-watch the whole drama for that?

If you are collecting such scenes, you might also take a look at this one from “A Tale of Love and Loyalty” https://youtu.be/cNorluLjsPk?si=d_jFTYeztWn4zlrq

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai Well, the two options aren’t mutually exclusive 😄 To be fair, Liu Xueyi is a major part of what makes this drama good.

You have seen him in “Love at Night” (2021), right?

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai I somehow don’t remember that 😄 It’s a light and fluffy modern romance. Definitely not something to be taken seriously but very entertaining and his visuals and charisma are not bad …

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai OK 😄 Now that’s not my main memory of him in this drama … But I can see the humour!

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai He really does look very different here. Is he the baddie in that drama? With all that eye make-up he looks shady 😄

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai That’s interesting. I get the sense that there is a strong anti-Ju Jingyi faction out there. She’s not my cup of tea and I definitely wish that the first actress were the main lead but since that isn’t the case, I just appreciate the drama for what it is.

I like this drama a lot, despite the main female lead. Her character is nice and I like that the men in her life actually respect her even before they realize who she is. It would have been nice with more female agency, though.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai I think it is a slight overreaction to be deeply disappointed in the drama. It is good and better than so many others. The costumes are very good, especially the male costumes flow really well.

It looks like this drama might help Liu Xueyi break into the next tier of fame. He was famous before but this role is a bigger and more romantic role than his earlier dramas. He has looks, acting chops and a sense of humour so let’s hope he is given more lead roles in the future.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai Sometimes a mob mentality develops where people run with an idea and keep expanding on it without thinking about what they actually think. People can feel satisfaction in saying the same thing as the group think.

It’s like the Solomon Asch study.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/asch-conformity.html

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai How interesting! I have also stopped listening to Avenue X’s reviews. She knows her stuff; no doubt about. But her negative reviews sway me and I noticed that I was missing out on dramas that I liked but she dismissed.

We are all different people so it is obvious that we like different things. I use dramas for escapism so I don’t need high art. I appreciate good acting and scripts, but I can enjoy the fluffy dramas, too.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai I agree with you entirely. I teach literature and so I can recognize quality when I see it. However, I also want light and fluffy dramas in my life and so I have found that her hard stance on these lighter dramas makes me enjoy them less. She’s not wrong as such but when we apply serious, critical analytical technique to fluff, both the serious and the light-hearted suffer. Therefore, I protect myself by not watching her reviews even though I respect her skill.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@liztai We are so on the same page. You are right that it is a little sad that she can’t find joy in the more simple and lightweight dramas. But hey ho, each to his and her own 😃

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@SusannaShore @bookstodon Great review! I’m looking forward to seeing the plot unfold. Even though the series is light on romance, there is a good understanding of human relationships of which romance is only one.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@geraineon Just finished the first volume of #ThousandAutumns 🌸 It takes a while to acclimatize to all the information that’s thrown at the reader but it all seems to have a place and purpose. The relationships between the characters are well done and so the betrayals & conflicts feel real.

There is a nice teasing aspect to the nascent relationship between Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi. They are very different but they respect each other even though they don’t really like each other at this point.

Sollenbum, 2 months ago

@geraineon Agree entirely! The characterizations are round which allows the relationships to be fleshed out. It’s also fun that there is sub-text and humour.

For example, at this point Yan Wushi likes to give the world the impression that Shen Qiao is a kept man. It amuses him to mislead everyone and annoy Shen Qiao but it is also dramatic irony, because it seems like there is a romance in the cards for them in the future.