What Dramas I’m Watching, Week of September 2nd, 2023
Welcome to my weekly blog post where I give thoughts on dramas I’m watching but not recapping.
This week I recapped episodes 9 and 10 of Oh No! Here Comes Trouble! Which means I’ll finish the last two episodes next week! Probably after that I’ll revisit Our Dining Table and recap it for fun.
This week I have three shows to talk about. First off, a show I started that is probably my favorite current watch:
The Legend of Zhuohua – 灼灼风流 – 2023
A currently airing Chinese historical drama, I’m at 20 of 40 episodes.
An ambitious young woman seeks to be an official of the court and meets a general seeking the truth about a battle that went wrong.
I’m surprised how much I like this show because I have a mild allergy to the drama conflict staple of “job or love”. I’m not particularly career-driven myself and know very few people who love their jobs. It doesn’t do much for me.
But this show does that, and a lot of other things, in a way that works for me.
Our female lead, Mu Zhuo Hua, is determined to be an official in a world that isn’t kind to women. She’s hard-working and very, very clever. Thankfully she’s not brilliant at everything, but she knows she needs to work the system and manipulate people in order to protect herself and get what she wants. Despite this, she is a fair-minded and kind person who wants to do the best for everyone when she can.
Enter male lead, Liu Yan/Lord Ding, and one of the few Chinese historical generals I’ve found believable. His entire demeanor is that of someone who has been through a lot. He’s calculating and brilliant and careful. And he recognizes that Mu Zhuo Hua is special right away, though that doesn’t mean he trusts her right away.
The two of them enter into the kind of relationship I love, where at various times they know they are lying to each other, but they understand there must be a good reason. To me, it’s so much better than the big-misunderstanding-blow-up conflict commonly used in stories.
Then there’s the way he takes care of her and stares at her in wonder and delight. Heart. Melting.
On the subject of looks and melting, their poor faces. Unfortunately, one of the big drawbacks to this show is the production. They’ve done something horrible to try and make the actors look… something? But they look terrible in some shots, white and shapeless. Also, our male lead is dubbed with a voice that clearly isn’t his which fits the character OK but it would have been nicer to just hear the male lead.
Another thing that might bother people is this is 100% a slow, slow burn. The characters don’t just meet and fall in love, it’s a gradual build. I love this, but your patience levels may vary.
As always, with longer series, I’m crossing my fingers the second half won’t turn into a disaster. For those who watch more Chinese dramas, so far this is what I wanted Dream of Splendor and Under the Power to be.
And this week I finished up:
Wedding Plan – แผนการ(รัก)ร้ายของนายเจ้าบ่าว – 2023
A recently aired Thai BL with 7 episodes.
A wedding planner is attracted to a groom-to-be, even worse, the groom returns his interest.
You can read my initial review here.
I thought this was a solid, enjoyable, cute show from beginning to end. It’s definitely not amazing and it’s not going to be everyone’s thing.
The biggest turn-off for people will likely be all the lying, in particular with one of our leads, Lom. For me, it was an interesting brush of realism mixed in with the silliness of the show. The reality is that many people lie to their parents, particularly when they are strict, unreasonable, and hold financial power over their children. There are a lot of reasons children may not just cut ties with parents like that.
For Lom (groom) and Wa (bride), lying about who they are is how they have survived. Unfortunately, they aren’t going to get over it right away and become great communicators. This show is far from social realism though, so this unfortunate reality happens in the midst of a lot of sweet silliness and ridiculous dating centered around a sponsor with some golden arches.
I like salty and sweet, but it’s not everyone’s taste.
As far as everything else, I thought our lead actors were adorable and had good chemistry and their acting worked most of the time. They’re also young and attractive with nice smiles. I also appreciated that both characters were gay and into each other from the start.
The show just isn’t that deep or serious, and it is only 7 episodes which is just right for this kind of show.
I also finished:
Stay By My Side – 免疫屏蔽 – 2023
A recently aired Taiwanese BL with 10 episodes.
A young man haunted by the voices of the dead finds that being around his surly roommate silences them, and you’ll be surprised by how little a part of the plot this is.
Speaking of not-serious shows, this one is pretty silly. I’ve mentioned before how Taiwanese BL can be the most down-to-earth, and this show is quite an illustration. There’s this supernatural aspect that feels like it should be the main thrust of the plot but it’s a subplot. So is our sweet, goofy ghost-hearing guys being on the basketball team. And our surly guy studying law and escaping his family.
None of these things are THAT big a deal compared to two guys living together and accidentally, at first, touching all the time. Don’t sweat the big stuff, what really matters is skinship.
So it’s pretty nonsense but it’s also fun. The guys are a nice sunny/grumpy miss-match for those who like that. Our grumpy guy falls in love first and what he thinks is going on versus what is really going on is pretty funny.
It’s a great turn-off-your-brain and watch show, and if you want more than that you probably won’t be satisfied. So save it for when you need it.
I also find it amusing that this show came out at the same time as China’s not-BL Stay With Me, and people kept getting them confused online. Heads up, they are very different.