#8 episodes in and....well. i know who jin ling is now

[friedwizardwhispers]

List of the questions we had this season

After episode 8, I made a list of questions we had this season (you can find it HERE if you want to check it out) and I figured I would return to it at the end of it to see if they did answer and.... I'm going to break it down and see what questions are left to answer after season 2

Here are the list of questions we had after episode 8 and how they answered them:

Who gave Lu Guang the photo and wrote “save my good brother” in childish letters ?

Li Tianxi wrote "save my good brother" and Li TIanchen gave the photo to Lu Guang.

How does Red eye’s power work ? Is there more than one person being Red eyes ?

Red eyes was mostly Li Tianchen with Li Tianxi's help. Li Tianxi can see a person's memories and feeling through photo and Li Tianchen can control them by touch, if they work together, they can control someone through photos in the present, they can't go back in time like Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang though.

Does Li Tianxi has powers ?

Yes, she did.

Who killed Liu Lan, who was possessing her when she finally defended herself and what happened before the end of the night ?

We got so much answers in the last episode. The husband killed her by stabbing her and she was possesed by LI Tianchen because he wanted her to defend herself, making the whole thing even more tragic.

What is the end of the fox story and what is the significance of said fox story for the plot ?

Well... The fox story was just Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi's story so technically it only ended for one of them, "she returned home" by dying (we think ? is she confirmed dead ?)

What happened during the investigation of his wife’s murder to make Qian Jin so resentful and so okay with killing his ex-colleagues ?

I was so sure this was going somewhere. turn out I asked the wrong question. The question I should have asked was, what happened to his wife ? He killed her after he assumed she was cheating because this guy was genuinely the worst and he was okay with killing his ex-colleagues because he is just awful.

Who is the unnamed friend ?

Hat guy, Yay.

Which leads me to who is hat guy ?

Liu Xiao, Liu Min's younger brother.

What was the vision of Cheng Xiaoshi dying in Lu Guang’s arms ?

Well... We had that answered.

Lu Guang is from the future and is actively trying to change it and that was his memories (or did change it and is now living in the changed present, a bit unclear ?)

All of this options means another question, what are Lu Guang’s power actually ?

That we don't really have the answer. He clearly had, at some point, Cheng Xiaoshi's powers but considering we think Qiao Ling just got Li Tianxi's power after she died, it is pretty likely that the original power belonged to Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang got them after he got shot and died in the first timeline and his original power where seeing 12 hours in the past with a photo.

What else is he hiding from us and Cheng Xiaoshi ?

Well.. a lot, see above answer. Let's just say he is a teeni tiny bit of an hypocrite who couldn't deal with Cheng Xiaoshi's death and went back in time to save him.

Who saved Cheng Xiaoshi the first time ?

Who knows ? Not that important in the grand scheme of things actually. I think now it was always Cheng Xiaoshi and Lu Guang's intent was to always sacrifice himself anyway.

Was the phone and the photo for Cheng Xiaoshi or was it a way for Lu Guang to see what happen in the next 12 hours (or both) ?

I think it was for Cheng Xiaoshi, Not really answered though.

Are the numbers of the code significant ?

They are. The time and date of Cheng Xiaoshi's death. Lu Guang really is out there torturing himself by putting that on his phone so that he can see it everyday.

What are the significance of the other objects in the opening ?

The gun was both a foreshadowing of the last episode and it is what killed Cheng Xiaoshi in the first timeline.

The diary... I don't really know, maybe I'm forgetting something.

What is the significance of the entire opening actually ?

Well...foreshadowing that big twist at the end of episode 12.

Leftover question from season 1

What happened to Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents ?

We still don't know

What happened during that summer vacation ? Can we have more information on this ?

Well that's not answered yet but considering the date on the phone was in early (ish) september, it is possible this is when Cheng Xiaoshi died the first time.

Here is some unanswered questions left after episode 12:

How, when, where Cheng Xiaoshi died and who killed him in the first place ?

It was hat man in the study with the chandelier. I think it's been pretty much confirmed that he was killed with a gun and I think he died during the summer vacation (but that's just a theory as far as we know) and we have no idea who killed him in the first place and why.

Did Lu Guang save Cheng Xiaoshi from death several times ?

I got the impression he did it once and just continued living with him in that reality but timeline shenanigans could still be at play here.

How will Cheng Xiaoshi react to the twist ?

Probably very badly.I hate to say this. I have a bad feeling that would make him very furious (I mean that's fair I think) and he might get dangerously reckless/sacrificial ? (how do you deal with living a life you were never supposed to be living because you are supposed to be dead)

Did Qiao Ling actually get Li Tianxi's powers ?

I want her to get them. I think she did.

Is Qiao Ling going to be the one figuring out what Lu Guang's vision is and what she saw ?

Yes more proactive Qiao Ling. Gimme it.

Is Li Tianxi even dead ?

I mean she was shot and looked pretty dead to me but they didn't really confirm it.

What does Hat man want (I know he has a name but hat man is funnier) ?

Is he going to target Cheng Xiaoshi because he is supposed to be dead ? Is this what happening ?

And the biggest mystery of them all...How did Xiao Li get a promotion when he is terrible at his job and one of the civilian who was under his supervision got killed under his watch and two others got kidnapped, tortured and/or shot ?

Like How ?

[elvesofnoldor]

.

[franniebanana]

CQL Rewatch - Ep 37

Most fake dead cat ever. Also, if it was dead, why did it meow on the way down?

Debating whether I should spend time actually looking this up, but even if that is how they make that particular dish, that rice must be super crunchy. Five minutes of cooking (without even starting with hot water) is not enough to soften rice.

Okay, now we get into the horror part of the story. I like how spooky they made this part.

I can’t help but get Scooby Doo vibes out of this part. All the kids trying to solve the mystery. And poor Wei Wuxian having to babysit them.

It’s so cute to see them all offer their own blood for Wei Wuxian to use in a summoning charm. It shows how quickly they’ve all come to depend on and trust him. It’s less surprising for the Lan juniors, but for the others, as well as Jin Ling, to offer their blood really shows that they have come to trust Wei Wuxian with their lives. Maybe it’s because he’s the only adult around, maybe it’s because he saved them from poisoning—either way, it’s obvious that he has earned their trust in a very short amount of time.

I think this is the first time we actually see someone take out an object that has been magicked into a pouch or sleeve, so thank you, Lan Sizhui. I think the only other person who does this is Lan Wangji, and his guqin just seems to appear out of thin air when he waves his arm a certain way. So, it’s a little detail to show Lan Sizhui opening the pouch, but it helps understand that they aren’t, in fact, magicians.

Jin Ling telling Lan Sizhui that he must be wrong is funny, because for one, what does Jin Ling even know about spirit association, and two, this kid grew up under Lan Wangji’s guidance. Look, all he needs to say is, “I learned from Hanguang-Jun, and he is never wrong, therefore I am never wrong.”

Agreed. Enough of your villain monologuing, and let’s just get on with it.

Commentary in this episode will be sparse. But I do want to talk about Xue Yang a bit. I like how overtly evil he is and how committed to being a villain he is. “If I say I’m going to kill the entire clan, I will. I won’t even leave a dog behind.” Yes, it’s all well and good that he’s just that bad, folks. I just get bored with him. And this whole side story that’s largely irrelevant to the plot that’s coming up. I just find that I don’t really care much about any of the characters, except for A-Qing.

I like this little conversation. Wei Wuxian first says Wen Ning is going to win the zombie fight—he has absolute confidence in this fact that he even scoffs to Xue Yang. And then he defends Wen Ning, saying that Wen Ning is not a thing. He isn’t just that dagger, a tool for other people. To Wei Wuxian, he’s a person, an ally, a friend. We saw this in the last episode, and we see it again here, reiterating that Wen Ning is an equal.

This is super cute: the place Wei Wuxian is needed is here, with the juniors. Despite what he’s done—or maybe because of what he’s done, he’s actually in a very good position to teach them. He’s learned so much, and a lot of times, it was the hard way, that it makes him the perfect teacher and guide for them.

“So you think Hanguang-Jun is not good?”

Haha, I love this little exchange. And Wei Wuxian, who has this weird little giggly moment where he affirms that Hanguang-Jun is very good, the best, even. I think it’s clear that “good” doesn’t really cover what Wei Wuxian thinks of Lan Wangji.

Wow, that was short! Um, I think I’m going to skip the Empathy section, because I don’t really see the point of watching it. I vowed to watch it at some point, and I already did, because I watched it with my friend. Oath fulfilled.

Other episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |

Or just check out the #CQL Rewatch hashtag

[watch-grok-brainrot]

Jin Guangyao's Violation of 忠孝仁义

So I had written about WWX and his strong sense of 忠孝仁义 last week. While I was writing it, I kept on thinking about JGY and how he managed to violate all of these virtues. I wanted to go into this characterization of him because I find it so interesting how opposite he is to WWX in the decisions he made. (Warning: i’m not nice to JGY here so if you don’t want him dragged, don’t read?)

忠- loyalty, devotion, fidelity (usually for country or monarch)

(Can I take a moment to talk about how much I LOVE THIS SHOT?! The blood of WRH on the camera lens, WRH falling over, the sudden shift to brightness that mirrors the scene in ep 50 where JGY obscures the sun in his bow (picture above the read more cut)! I can’t get over how much I LOVE the lighting and the way WRH collapses, making way for JGY to become the new sun. Foreshadowing much CQL Crew?!)

This one might be a stretch depending on how you read JGY. I fully believe he went to work for Wen Ruohan as Wen Zhuliu did -- seeking someone who will value his skills. However, WZL died for WRH and JGY just bided his time. (Note: While we know very little about Wen Zhuliu, we know he was at least 忠 and 义. He died for WRH and Wen Chao and refused to let WC desecrate Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan’s bodies. For that, I have to give him respect. He, despite everything, still had that jianghu sense of 义. Also, the man can count. And knows what a golden core feels like.)

So we know JGY gave Lan Xichen the maps, but he also lured them to Nightless City where the puppets were waiting. Had WWX not brought out the Stygian Tiger Amulet, would JGY have murdered WRH? Or would he have stayed in the shadows forever? As a viewer I have no idea what JGY is thinking, what he’s doing, or what he’s hoping for. He hides so well his intentions that there is debate about if he really was helping with the Sunshot Campaign or not! That isn’t something you can say about someone with loyalty. 

What upsets me further is that Nie Mingjie, having been JGY’s superior officer, sees JGY more clearly than LXC can. NMJ has seen JGY murder and has seen the level of self-serving vindictiveness JGY is capable of. In the case of the Sunshot Campaign, this self-serving attitude made JGY become a double agent uncommitted to either side. Too bad NMJ could not convince LXC of JGY’s duplicity. I’m gonna blame those dimples. 

The fact that we do not know JGY’s intent really shows his lack of 忠. If You Stand For Nothing, JGY, What Will You Fall For? (Answer: Himself and that is not 忠)

孝 - filial piety (deference to your lineage)

So for 孝, you’re supposed to respect your parents, honor your parents, and defer to your parents. What are you not supposed to do? Kill you father. That’s what.

So this should’ve been a really short section because that’s pretty cut and dry. But I want to look at what JGY says to JGS when JGY brings in Sisi and the other women. 

(He’s so creepy in this picture! *shudders*)

“父亲,我给你找来了你最爱的女人. 有很多个. 你高兴吗?”

“Father, I have brought you your favorite -- women. There are many. Are you happy?”

(Translation note: you can translate the line as your favorite women or your favorite -- women. I chose to translate it as the latter due to the context.)

First of all, the tone. JGY’s voice is breathy. I can almost hear a smile. He has zero moral qualms about this. He addresses his father as father, not dad or anything close. But he does acknowledge that relationship. And then he says he’s brought JGS’s favorite. There’s a slight emphasis on the favorite there. And it’s creepy. JGY adds the next line and goose bumps start to form on my skin. He knows his father’s sins and he’s punishing his father with it. Why are you doing this JGY?! And at the end, when it asks “Are you happy?” his voice is so sinister I want to scream. JGY clearly knows what he’s doing. He knows exactly what it means to be 孝 and chooses to make a mockery of 孝, to make a mockery of his father, and to kill his father. 

And then, after he watches JGS die, he tells Sisi and the other women to continue -- to desecrate JGS’s body. This is about as un-孝 as one can get! Remember, WWX and JC were willing to die to get JFM and YZY’s bodies back so they could be cremated and honored. The difference here is night and day! Yes, JGY was very good to his mother, including building a Guanyin Statue in her likeness and sparing Sisi who was a friend of his mother’s, but I cannot get over how much of an abomination he was toward JGS (even if JGS deserved an awful death).

仁 - benevolence, humanity, love of man

JGY has no 仁. Does JGY love anyone other than himself? Maybe his mom. (He might have some 仁 towards Su Sh*t She but that’s only suggested by the last couple of episodes.) That’s really it. He might have loved Jin Ling as his nephew. He might have loved LXC for LXC’s kindness and brotherhood. He might have loved Qin Su as whatever relationship he thinks they had. But when push comes to shove, JGY has zero benevolence towards anyone. He’s willing to kill Qin Su, take Jin Ling hostage, and take LXC hostage. (He also has no 义 but that’s the next section!)

And there’s ep 23. When LXC, JGS, and NMJ were discussing what to do with the Wens,  JGY suggested the Wens be imprisoned at QiongQi Path. Since WRH had ordered the slaughter of multiple clans, including the Jiangs at Lotus Pier, doing the same to him would not be considered unreasonable. Ruthless, yes, but a good show of might and order. This acceptance of murder is due to the concept of 诛九族. 诛九族 (zhū jiǔ zú) is one of the most severe punishments in ancient China. The character breakdown makes it fairly self explanatory:

诛 - to execute, kill, put to death

九 - nine

族 - family, clan,ethnic group, or tribe

诛九族 condemns you and your entire family to death (Depending on the source, some say it’s you + 8 types of relatives. Some say it’s everyone related to you from 4 generations above to 4 generations below).

By suggesting the Wen remnants be imprisoned and not slaughtered, JGY presented himself as 仁. However, by turning around and slaughtering the people per JGS’s wishes, JGY knowingly chose the immoral path where blood flowed like rivers. 

(Also! The way this shot pans down makes me think about how JGY is descending into a hell of his own making...)

义-  righteousness and code of brotherhood

Good god, 义. I have so many feelings about 义. Let’s start with some history because CONTEXT is so important. So when you ask a chinese person on the street to give you an example of 义, I’m willing to bet one of the most common answers you will get is 桃园结义 (tao yuan jie yi, or peach garden/grove establishment of brotherhood). This is THE story of fraternal love between non-blood related men. 

So quick and dirty synopsis of 桃园结义 and the three kingdoms story (I actually haven’t read it and it’s been a while since I actually tried to figure out the plot… so hopefully this is all correct!). Three men (刘备、关羽、张飞/ Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei) met on the streets, fought each other, became besties, and decided to start a rebellion. They took over one third of the country with the oldest (刘备) being the monarch and the other two working at his side (a little Yunmeng bros feel there, right? You’ll be the leader, I’ll be your right hand man). And they died for each other. 关羽 was the first to go. To seek revenge, 张飞 worked his men to the rebellion. Two of 张飞’s subordinates ultimately decapitated him while he was sleeping and brought it to their enemy. 张飞’s head and body are buried in two different cities in China (doesn’t this make you think of NMJ’s fate? Because it did when I was thinking about this and I wanted to cry. Also, 张飞 started out as a butcher. SERIOUSLY CQL/MDZS, can we pretend to be SUBTLE!?). 刘备 continued seeking revenge. Prior to 关羽’s death, the three kingdoms were in semi-equilibrium where the two smaller ones were allied against the larger. However, 关羽 being killed by their kinda-ally destroyed the delicate balance between the three kingdoms. 刘备 could’ve tried to make peace but he wasn’t going to let his sworn brother’s murder go unavenged. They all died in the end but with honor and brotherhood intact. 刘备 and 张飞’s determination to avenge 关羽’s death epitomizes the virtue of 义. They are willing to die for eachother. 

In CQL the parallelism to the 桃园结义 imagery is obvious to anyone who has a cultural background that screams Romance of Three Kingdoms at you. Let’s take a look, ok?  

A quick Google image search yields these images (I couldn’t choose): 

You know what they look like? This (from ep 40): 

You know what 桃园结义 looks like when mainland China made a live action? This: 

And you know what that reminds me of in CQL (ep 23)? 

Are you freaking out now about the visual parallels? Ok. Good. Because we’re moving onto a tiny bit of text comparison because i’m excited and i can. 

Per Romance of Three Kingdoms (note: historically inspired novel, not history), 刘备、关羽、张飞 swore the following oath: 

“念刘备、关羽、张飞，

Hope that Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei

虽然异姓，既结为兄弟，

Even though we have different last names,since we have sworn to be brothers

则同心协力，救困扶危；

Then let us unite our hearts and efforts towards helping the needy

上报国家，下安黎庶。

Repaying our country, bringing peace to the people.

不求同年同月同日生，

We do not ask to be born on the same day of the same month of the same year

只愿同年同月同日死。

But hope to die on the same day of the same month of the same year

皇天后土，实鉴此心，

Heaven and earth, verify our hearts

背义忘恩，天人共戮！”

If we turn our backs to righteousness and forget charity, may we be slaughtered by all. 

Now, let’s look at the oath said by the 3zun:

“神明在上。

Brilliant gods above, 

今日我兄弟三人在此立下重誓，

Today, we three brothers swear a solemn oath here 

上报仙门，下安黎庶 ， 

To repay our cultivation sects, To bring peace to the people.

天地同证，如有异心，

Heaven and earth be our witnesses. If we become disloyal, 

千夫所指，天人共怒”

May a thousand men point their fingers at us and may we be incite the anger of all

Even some of the wording is verbatim. The parts I bolded are what I was excited by since they’re either parallel or verbatim. 

The first set of lines: 上报国家，下安黎庶 and 上报仙门，下安黎庶 . (Remember when I guessed in my WWX post that since there are no countries, the cultivation sects are the target of 忠? This is my proof that I was right!) My hubris aside, this is the part of their oath where they swear to be both 忠 and 仁 together. The wording is verbatim except for the part that doesn’t apply to the CQL universe! 

The second set of lines: 天人共戮 vs 天人共怒. The sentence/phrase format and message is identical-- betray this oath and incur wrath.  (I can’t help but headcanon NMJ wanted to say 天人共戮 because it’s so much more metal but JGY was like, that’s really severe and convinced LXC to side with him to get it changed.)

Even the structure of the oaths are similar. Both oaths start with an introduction (we are three who want to be brothers), both oaths ask the heaven and earth to see them (Heaven and earth, verify our hearts & heaven and earth be our witnesses), and both oaths call upon the wrath of the people for vindication in case of betrayal. The CQL version is an abridged version of the three kingdoms oath and the writers set that up along with all the imagery because they want us to be constantly thinking about the three kingdoms bros and their amazing “even after death we’re still brothers” sense of 义.  They want us to compare JGY’s 义 with that 义 and find JGY lacking. 

The obvious betrayal of 义 is NMJ’s death.  Not only is JGY the cause of NMJ’s death, he butchers (i’m cringing at my own pun... but it’s so accurate) NMJ’s body so that NMJ’s spirit cannot rest. 

But, to me, what JGY does to LXC is betrayal on par with what he does to NMJ (and not dissimilar to what Xue Yang does to Xiao Xingchen). As we went over in the section about 仁, JGY says one thing so that LXC suggest JGY handles the matter. When everyone leaves, JGY does the un-仁 thing, essentially with LXC’s blessing. JGY kills NMJ but he does it by asking LXC to teach him how to play guqin. LXC becomes an unknowing accomplice (like XXC who becomes the killer of tongueless victims of corpse poison). 

So remember in my WWX post how I said WWX took on what he perceived as JC’s debts so JC doesn’t end up 不仁不义? JGY says one thing and does another in front of LXC. He knows LXC cares deeply about being righteous and kind. He knows LXC wants to do good. And he leads LXC down a path of self doubt and regret. LXC ends up teaching JGY the techniques that kill NMJ. LXC lets JGY handle the Wen remnants. Thus, unlike WWX who tries to absolve JC, JGY intentionally puts LXC into the position of 不仁不义. 

Can WWX and JGY be more diametrically opposed (foes)?

[fillingthescrapbook]

Rewriting The CW's Kung Fu, Part 9: Reflections and Moving Forward

And we have reached the end of our Kung Fu journey. If you haven't seen where we began, here's a handy guide to the previous posts:

Part 1: The Characters

Part 2: The Pilot

Part 3: The Mythology

Part 4: The Story Map

Part 5: Act I

Part 6: Act II

Part 7: Act III

Part 8: The Finale

Before I start with the lessons I learned and my other reflections, I want to thank @flailingbloo for all of her help and support in this endeavor. Without her to talk to and commiserate with, I would probably have gotten stuck in Act II forever and everything I've written would've been riddled with spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. So my eternal gratitude to flailingbloo. And now, we begin:

Lessons.

Going into this writing exercise, I already knew it was going to be hard. Writing stories is time-consuming, it's nerve-wracking, and it takes a lot of research...and patience. Writing, especially for television, is also not a solitary task. I mean, sure, the writing itself needs to be done alone--but everything that comes before, during, and after the writing needs input from so many people.

Although I have a lot (and I mean A LOT) of complaints about how The CW's Kung Fu was handled and written, I do have a lot of respect for the work that the writers put into their scripts. And I do appreciate all that they have done to have a show like this produced.

Doing this rewrite, I learned that it's really important to make the main character likeable. Like, every episode I broke down, I had to ask myself: is Nicky likeable here? Is she someone who viewers would want to root for? Like, for me she is, but only people who read what I wrote can say for sure. My perspective is now a bit skewered because I have bias.

Second, story maps are very helpful. There were times, especially during Part 6 (where I wrote breakdowns for Episodes 6 to 9) where I kept getting road-blocked by where I want the story to go. So I went back to the story map over and over again, to remind myself--where does the story itself need to go? How do I help the characters get to the point where they're ready for what needs to happen? (This is also where flailingbloo helped the most for me. Like, she really reminded me why I was doing this rewrite in the first place. Because I care about Nicky and the show. I wouldn't have funneled so much of my time and effort into this if I didn't.)

Another thing I learned, or rather re-learned, is the art of letting go. I created the character of Stanley to recur throughout the series as a reminder of who Nicky was and who she is becoming. And then I finished writing the first act without even mentioning him. By the second act, I was ready to use him finally--but, after multiple false starts, I realized Stanley was one of the reasons why I was having a hard time pushing Nicky's story forward. Because I kept trying to go back to the past. So I decided in the writing of the second act to shelve Stanley completely, only to find him popping up in the second to last episode in a, at least I hope, more organic way.

The last thing I learned in this exercise was that, whenever a new character needs to come in, I have to look at my existing characters first to see if any one of them can fulfill the role I needed for the story. Like, creating new villains for Nicky was fun, sure--but, at the same time, I realized that there were already existing villains that could recur. Like the Triad, who played villains in two more episodes after the pilot; and Henry's martial arts class at the community center became the source of two existing storylines from the actual show.

Reflections.

Do I think what my rewrite is better than the show? To me, yes. But, again, I am very biased. That said, I am proud of how I utilized the characters that the show created and didn't really give much importance to. Dennis, when he was introduced, felt like a rich character that could provide a very different point-of-view from the Shen siblings--but he was mostly relegated to being eye-candy. And I thought I gave him more meat by making him more involved in Althea's sexual harassment storyline, while also involving him in Nicky's stories.

That said, I also realize that I wasn't able to play up Nicky and Evan's past relationship as I was writing the episodic breakdowns. I was able to give them a lot of opportunities to explore their chemistry together, as I did with Nicky and Henry, but I kind of dropped the ball as a writer on guiding those planted moments into something more significant. Granted, I only wrote breakdowns and not actual scripts. Maybe I could've explored the romance angle more with a little sprinkle of direction and dialogue.

As I went deeper into the rewrite, I do see how easy it is to fall in love with characters as you write them. It's very easy to trap yourself into wanting villains to be more well-rounded. I keep having to remind myself that I don't have to redeem everyone. Just Nicky. Which became harder and harder as I went further and further into the story.

Another thing that became difficult as I went on? Keeping the mythology from just bursting open. That's how Henry, as I wrote him, evolved into becoming the son of a guardian--just so there's a reason for him to be so invested in Nicky's quest, while also having someone who can explain things to our main character. I'm actually really proud of that evolution.

All that said, I also have to recognize that I rewrote the show with the benefit of hindsight and the lack of budget constraints. In the real show, there's a group of writers who each have their own ideas of what the show should be. (This is where a head writer--not a show runner--would come in handy, so they could reel in the story to what needs to be told.) With more writers comes more chances for inconsistencies to happen. (And this is where a script supervisor, or a writing assistant, could come in handy.) And then there's production notes and budget. Not to mention, you know, the whole pandemic that's still happening. I didn't have to think about those things while doing this rewrite.

So, again, I want to give the writers kudos to actually producing scripts. I hope they haven't lost their minds--or their will to write--just because there are people like me who nitpick at everything. That's what people who love things do. We nitpick because we care.

Moving forward.

I do plan to stick with the real show for Season 2. I hope it's planned better. I hope they get researchers (plural!) and a writing assistant to help in the writing room. I hope the writers would sit down with the cast to discuss and develop the characters more. And I really hope they hire a better fight choreographer and fight director for the second season. (Like, rehire the people who choreographed and filmed the flashback scene in... Episode 11? The one with Nicky's maternal grandmother and Pei-Ling's own mother?)

I hope that the Nicky-Henry relationship gets explored realistically, and if a potential new love interest is ordered, they get introduced in a way that isn't antagonistic. Make them more well-rounded characters too, please. Make us want to root for their success. And while I think Nicky doesn't have an iota of chemistry with Evan, I do like Evan himself as a character. So I hope they get him more involved in future storylines--as an outsider looking in, sure, but also as an honorary member of the Shen family.

With regards to the Shen family, I do hope that we get to explore their relationships and dreams more before the show drops the reveal about Mei-Xue's daughter. I want Althea to have a cohesive storyline that doesn't pause for no reason. I want Ryan to explore being Asian AND gay as a first-generation Asian-American. And give the Shen siblings some recurring friends. They don't have to be semi-regulars (unless there's a story that can be explored) but let's not keep the Shens in a bubble. It was weird in the first season. Especially for Althea whose friends only showed up for her bachelorette party and never again. Not even when she was panicking about wedding preparations, which, considering how rich Dennis's parents were? They wouldn't let Althea be in charge of anything. They would hire a Chinese wedding coordinator. And an expensive and hard-to-book one at that. They donated an entire hospital wing, for crying out loud.

I want Jin to have an actual character, and not just be the supportive dad who loves his kids very much (admittedly my own rewrite also made this same mistake). And I want Mei-Li to be consistent as a character. Like, no more surprise twists about being the descendant of a legendary warrior without proper foreshadowing and plot-planting please.

Dennis shouldn't just be eye-candy. The same applies to Kerwin. Sure, I get that shirtless men are a must in a CW series, but please give their characters some meat too. Dennis's nerd-side was never showcased in the show, and Kerwin had that poor little rich boy background that didn't get explored either. Because the show was too busy keeping him and Zhi-Lan tearing each others' clothes off--when they're not tearing other people down.

Also, don't drop the ball on the tease that Bian-Ge is now everywhere. If I understood correctly, Bian-Ge is Kung Fu's version of Qi. If yes, then I hope they treat it respectfully as a force of nature--and not just the source of magic. The flowers from Bian-Ge itself can be magical, sure, I have no problem with a fictional flower being a McGuffin.

Finally, I hope the show also explores other Asian communities and cultures. Like, Kung Fu is great--but imagine if Nicky had to face someone who is versed in Silat Melayu? Or someone who uses Arnis? Someone who practices Kalaripayattu or Lathi Khela? Or Kuntao? Imagine Nicky having to use Wing Chun against someone who uses Karate or Krav-Maga? Asia is a big continent and there are so many different types of martial arts found from the Middle East to Southeast Asia. Kung-Fu is an umbrella term, so it'll be great to see the different styles found under it.

... This went long again. Sorry about that. Funny thing is, when I started this whole rewriting plan? I thought it would take three posts, tops. And look at us now. Nine posts deep, and it seems I still haven't run out of things to say. So I'm cutting myself off before I completely wear out my welcome.

But if you've read all my Kung Fu posts, please do reach out. Let's discuss the show and what it can do to produce a better second season.

[yibo-wang]

okay so the song is supposed to come out 12pm china time right? well, ant anon has decided to FUCK SLEEP SCHEDULE (who needs it anyways) and i will stay up until it's 6am bcs that's the time it will come out where i live and i'll probably need to wait for someone to put it on youtube or tumblr. so i'm playing ghost of tsushima and TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT LAST MISSION IS SO THAT I CAN GET TO THIS OTHER ISLAND (also idk but my brain started to list similarities between lwj and jin and 🥺🥺😔 1. raised & trained by their uncle (i mean, ig trained by lqr?? partly maybe) 2. mothers died (of disease?? suicide?? who knows for madam lan? but jin's mother died of illness and the thing he missed the most is her voice calling his name and this man is a baby 🥺) 3. tradition. loyalty. honor. (do i need to specify?) 4. protecting the weak and doing the right thing (this also lines up with wwx) 5. fighting at the front in a war (jin doesn't really have a choice tho) 6. idk but like.... you can dress jin (partly) in white and that's cool 7. oh yeah dead fathers!! both of them got killed!!! just different circumstances..... also jin's dad seemed to be close to jin? idk we got a second of him and that was a flashback of his death scene 8. a lot of people seem to die in their life 9. BETRAYAL idk how that fits lwj too much but BETRAYAL 10. they're good looking 11. ohhh you know about how in some games you have to level up right? well for jin there's something similair, it's called something like "legend status"? and one of them is called something along the lines of "hope/light bringer (of his people?)" and yeah that reminds me of sunshot campaign lwj!! 12. gay duhhh (i don't think jin is canonly gay but let me tell you, HE FUCKING IS) 13. part of a noble and well respected family aka the lan clan and the sakai clan 14. uncles that seem to be a bit too much into their teachings 15. uncles that still care for them deeply and want them to remain on the ~right~ path and yeah idk i'm just trying to come up with something to talk about. their personalities don't match too much, except maybe that jin kind of likes poetry ig and that they're good at controlling their emotions!!! - ant anon

idk how this went from me talking about staying up bcs of wang FUCKING yibo but i love my boy jin, can you tell? also i'm trying to catch up with the wolf and argh i need more xiao zhan thank you very much. also a week or so ago i watched the first episode of lof and idk it feels so weird :(((( ngl i only made it through the first episode because of yibo, my brother might be slightly concerned for my mental health now but what's new about that? also my birthday is coming up soon (in like... a week) and i still don't know what i want. i thought about wishing for a poetry book by sappho bUT idk i haven't even finished the mdzs novel or tsoa 😔😔 AND i am reading the silmarillion a bit so fuck it - ant anon

Ant anon hi hello!

Ahhh I heard the song fjfkf it's been on repeat since and RAPPER!YIBO RISE. I really like the lyrics, they're really nice. But also please go to sleep, yibo's song will be there when you wake up.

Also I had no idea which jin you were talking about, I thought maybe it's jin ling or jin zixuan lol but all the similarities didnt match with either, but then I realised it's the guy from the game.

Ahh I still havent started wolf but i miss seeing xiao zhan. Ahaha really? I actually liked it, the jumping scenes were a bit weird but that's how most period dramas are but I'm looking forward to watching the rest of the ep, especially looking forward to watching fei in action. I really love her!

Ooh happy birthday in advance!💛 I hope you have a good one!

Hmm as for the gift fjfj I'd say go ahead and ask for it lol cause like book hoarding is a thing,, in fact book buying and book reading are two completely different hobbies,, or so I've been told lol.

[captain-aralias]

Things I think it’s worth knowing about ‘The Untamed’ that I didn’t know before watching

i know some people from my fandom are thinking about watching this show - in part i have posted gifs from it onto my blog BECAUSE i thought i should encourage you to watch it (and i like the gifs). so i thought - maybe i will write some things that... well, i think you might benefit from knowing. 

there are probably lots of posts that are like this - but since i’m not really in that fandom, i don’t know where they are. anyway, this is the list i made. 

if you like ABSOLUTELY NO SPOILERS this is not the list for you - although it’s just spoilers for the first two episodes. i’ll put it below a cut anyway. 

1. the first episode is super confusing. it’s because they changed it from the book and didn’t quite make it work properly. most of the rest of the series isn’t nearly this confusing, but there are a few times when it still is. if you think - what is happening? it’s probably because they changed it from the book and it doesn’t make sense. the flower lady (episode 6?) is a GOOD example of this. what happened? it’s not you - it’s the adaptation. i still think the adaptation is really good. 

2. the left arm thing makes sense in the book - it doesn’t make sense in the show because they changed it, so that it’s not an evil arm attacking (like in teh book), it’s an evil sword. it’s fine. just accept that wei wuxian is smart. 

3. in the book, wei wuxian takes over someone else’s body and doesn’t look like himself - that’s why it’s plausible that no one would recognise him. in the show, he takes over the guy’s body and now he looks like wei wuxian. and dresses like him. that’s why he has to wear the mask.  

4. most of the characters you meet in the first two episodes are important. except the Mo clan. they are completely not important and you can completely forget about them. the scars are not important. 

4b. you see jiang cheng in the first flashback in episode 1 and hear his name in the gossip, which tells you that he killed wei wuxian. but when he showed up again in episode 2 as jin ling’s uncle, i’d completely forgotten whether he was the same guy who killed wei wuxian - or just someone who looked a bit like him. it is the same guy. he’s wei wuxian’s adopted brother - they have different surnames. part of the point of the flashback is to show you how they got to a point where jiang cheng could have killed him. 

here they are together as bros. jiang cheng is rolling his eyes. that’s how he is.

5. every time someone plays the theme song, it is important - it’s not just because they didn’t have any other music. 

6. wei wuxian is what’s called a ‘courtesy’ name - which means that you call him that if you don’t know him well and you respect him. lan wangji is the equivalent of wei wuxian - even though his brother calls him ‘wangji’, which you’d think would mean that is the affectionate one. wei wuxian’s family call him wei wuxian, though, so. nobody seems to use jiang cheng’s courtesy name - which is jiang wanyin.  lan zhan is the name only elders, people who knew him as kids, or people very close to him use. wei wuxian uses it way early because he doesn’t care about formality/is being a dick. wei ying is the same as lan zhan - it’s the personal name. 

when they use these names, it means they love each other.

7. there are lots of other names used for all the characters - often the netflix translation will flatten them out into one name to (presumably) help you keep track of the characters. this means that you pretty much never hear ‘yanli’s name said out loud. mostly people are calling her ‘shije’ - which means ‘sister’. but the subs will say ‘yanli’.  

8. the flashback is 30ish episodes long. don’t expect to be back in the present before you understand almost all the context of what you’ve just seen.

9. when our heroes go to the lan clan ‘lecture’, it’s actually something that will last for 6 months. 

10. they’re supposed to be teenagers in the beginning of the flashback. nobody has aged after 13 years (or whatever) because they have high levels of spirtual power and it keeps them young. 

11. everyone’s job is to supress evil spirits. this confused me a lot because i’d heard that we wuxian was a necromancer and i thought - all of these guys are necromancers, but actually... they’re the opposite. that’s the point.

12. lan wangji’s brother - who we’ll call lan xichen even though he too has many names - is the actual head of his sect, not his uncle. even though it really seems like his uncle is in charge. this is lan xichen: 

13. if you read the book at the same time as you’re watching the show, you will get spoiled and vice versa, as the book and the show do their flashbacks in very different ways at very different points in the narrative. 

14. wei wuxian’s sword is called ‘suibian’ - which means ‘whatever’ ;)

15. lots of people are going to die. but you should get clued into who they are in episode 2. they’re not hiding it from you - it’s about how it happens. 

[akatsuki-shin]

[REVIEW] The Untamed: The Living Dead

Before anyone asked, for those of you who wanted to watch this movie:

Download iQiyi apps to your phone

Register as VIP Member (there's a 1 month free trial for Gold Member)

Pick the movie and watch it from your phone

If you don't want to continue the membership, remember to cancel it before the date of renewal

WeTV said it will be available in their apps, too, but I'm not sure when they are going to release it, so just keep an eye on it.

If it's really on WeTV, then it means the movie can be watched from web, as well, via WeTV's website.

*** Spoilers ahead! You've been warned. ***

STORY: 7/10

Nothing outstanding, but not that bad either. Let's just say it's like one of those Extra Chapters in Mo Dao Zu Shi, a story of one of their night hunts after the end of the official story. It just happens that this night hunt is a tad bit more difficult than the usual, with a dash of existential crisis for Wen Ning.

So in summary, there was one servant in a prominent family's house who was apparently delusional enough to think that the Young Lady of the family cares deeply for him, and he fell in love with her. He hated the fact that there was a new disciple coming into the family, favored by the family head, became a couple with the Young Lady and they would soon get married.

Sounds like your usual soap opera drama......except this servant got black magic on his hands with a shard of Yin Iron which allows him to control others like a puppet.

Hence when he got found out, he destroyed the whole family and framed that disciple guy. But to his misfortune, he accidentally killed the Young Lady in the process. After that, he started using the disciple like a puppet to terrorize the people of the surrounding village, taking their souls in order to resurrect the Young Lady using his shard of Yin Iron.

Despite the plot being pretty much cliche, for a 90 minutes movie, I think the story itself is pretty solid. The fact that this servant being the actual villain was the big plot twist at the end because since the beginning (heck, even since the promotion of the movie), we were made to believe that the disciple guy was the root of the problem.

Also, since this movie took place after the end of the official story, when Wen Ning decided to go independent and no longer depending on Wei Wuxian, I think it's nice that there is a part of the movie when Wen Ning was trapped in that illusion, having his own self doubting his existence, trying to influence him to berate Wei Wuxian for making him a, well, living dead.

And although it happens inside the illusion, for The Untamed fans, it was a pleasant surprise when Wei Wuxian's figure appeared to save Wen Ning from the trap, ensuring him that he is different from all those controlled puppets ("WU JI" PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND, DAMN BRUH)

Still, there are a few things that - I'm not going to say "bad" - is quite questionable and probably could've been done differently.

I'm not going to ask how Zhao Yi got his hand of Yiling Laozu's manuscript. I'll take it with a grain of salt that probably when the Lanling Jin Sect was in chaos after Jin Guang Yao's dead, maybe someone really did able to snuck out a few things from Fragrant Chamber's Treasure Vault......although even if someone can do that, I don't think it's going to be Zhao Yi since he literally has no connection at all with the characters in The Untamed's main story.

But fine, let's just believe that he was somehow able to get it.

Then comes the next problem. How the heck is this guy able to create a shard of Yin Iron? Mind you, even Wei Wuxian didn't create his own shard of Yin Iron to make the Stygian Tiger Seal. He just happened to stumble across that Yin Iron Sword in the Xuanwu of Slaughter's Cave.

If even the Yiling Patriarch couldn't do it, how could a mere servant create a shard of Yin Iron from nothing?

Three of those shards were with Wen Ruo Han, and were destroyed after his death.

One shard was hidden by Xue Yang. Idk where this one goes, tbh, but I am inclined to believe Jin Guang Yao was the one who kept it in the end (CMIIW).

The last shard was within the sword Wei Wuxian found, then used to create the Stygian Tiger Seal.

Did the shard hidden by Xue Yang actually fell to this Zhao Yi's hand? Did he create it from scratch by following Yiling Patriarch's manuscript?

Either way, none of those sound logical for me, which is the biggest flaw of this movie in my opinion. They could've just said the villain was a sorcerer using black magic/demonic cultivation and it would've been fine. No need to put Yin Iron into the story.

Also it's a bit unclear to me how they handled Zhao Yi at the end. Wen Ning and Sizhui were shown walking in Gusu during the ending, but just before that, we clearly saw Wen Ning seemingly sending Zhao Yi into the same illusion trap that he experienced before.

So they just punished Zhao Yi based on their own judgment? Or did they still at least deliver his physical body to be imprisoned in Gusu?

And how the heck could they just finish the story with Wen Ning being the one who got to hold the Yin Iron, wtf?

Last but not least, this usually happens to most 90 minutes movies that I've watched - which is the pacing problem. Especially in the first half of the movie, the pacing was way too fast, they kept changing from one scene to the other as if they're in a rush. I know it's probably because of duration, but still it made me feel a bit uncomfortable following the flow of the story.

CHARACTERS: 7/10

Again, not bad, but nothing spectacular, as well.

I'm going to start with the 3 new characters: Zhao Yi, Xiao Qing, and Zhou Zishu.

Aside from Zhao Yi who got decent screen time due to him being the villain, I don't think the other two characters even got to do anything except dying after they finished telling the past.

A pity, considering that they were put in all promotional materials since the beginning. At least I had expected them to be a little bit more important.

As for Zhao Yi himself, I guess he did a fine job in the handful of screen time he got for this 90 minutes movie. I think his part is pretty solid despite the fast pacing of the movie. At least his background, his motive, and his way of doing things were all explained without any holes.

Now moving on to Lan Sizhui. I don't mean anything bad by this, but I feel that - despite the heck ton of screen time he got - he is barely any different from the rest of the side characters.

To be blunt, I feel like he's just there so Wen Ning got a friend he could talk to. True, he's matured compared to his self during The Untamed. He fought so much better. Heck, his action is really really REALLY cool.

But that's that. He's just there to be Wen Ning's sidekick. Even if he wasn't there, Wen Ning could've solved the case on his own, really.

Sorry, Sizhui. It ain't your fault. The plot makes you like this. :')

But again, as I said before, this story feels like another Extra Chapter after the main story, just another one of their night hunts. If we think about it from this perspective, it's not strange for Sizhui to simply be Wen Ning's sidekick. It just means that they happened to stumble upon the same case and worked together to solve it. Since Wen Ning is older and more experienced, he's "leading" the investigation while Sizhui is following and learning from him.

Now, Wen Ning.

If there is one thing I was more scared about before watching this movie, it's that I was afraid they would destroy Wen Ning's character. It's pretty clear if we see their promotional materials. Even from the make-up, Wen Ning looks so much cooler compared to his appearance during The Untamed. I was scared that they would destroy the Wen Ning that we know to create a brand new, super cool protagonist for this movie.

Well, in the end they didn't really destroy his character - which is a relief. In some aspects, Wen Ning did still retain some of his original nature. For one, he still listened to Wei Wuxian's words and kept it in his heart, hence why he insisted for Sizhui to start calling him "Senior/Brother" instead of "Uncle Ning" because Wei Wuxian said being called "Uncle" sounds old.

However, his demeanor still feels kinda foreign for me, including his interaction with Sizhui which feels like Wen Ning is being too blunt with him. Granted, we can argue that during the span of idk how many years since the end of the original story to here, Wen Ning must've matured and gained confidence in himself.

But the thing is, we did not see any of those happenings that made him the way he is right now, so it just feels strange to see a Wen Ning who does not stutter, does not doubt, and often speaks bluntly.

ACTION & SPECIAL EFFECTS: 8/10

I'm going to say first hand that during the climax battle, I was actually snickering throughout the whole fight because it feels like one of those Tokusatsu movie where Wen Ning and Sizhui did a henshin and suddenly become super powerful. x'D

But aside of that, the action of this movie is just SUPER DUPER GREAT, at least compared to The Untamed. You can tell that they got high budget for this movie, finally.

The fights no longer feel awkward. You know there are people being hung and flung about by wires, but their movements overall look natural. At least you don't see them forgetting to completely erase the traces of wire from the final product, unlike when Jin Ling was fighting against the Goddess Statue at Dafan Mountain in Episode 2 of The Untamed.

And the CGI/special effects completely support this. First of all, Wen Ning's chains look mighty fabulous and the animation is perfectly in line with his body movement.

Then there's Lan Sizhui. Damn this boy is really killing it. No wonder he is Han Guang Jun's child. The way he fought with the Guqin is just A++++ 

The only downside is that Gusu CGI at the end which look totally unnatural. Like, man, I can totally imagine them just walking on green screen there.

OVERAL SCORE: 7.3/10

Not exactly spectacular or mind blowing, but it does have some surprising elements and the actions exceeded my expectations.

I don't think non-MDZS/The Untamed fans will be able to fully enjoy this movie, but otherwise it's a good watch. I think they really went all-out for the actions. It's simply the winning element of the entire show.

Bottom line is, I will treat this movie as an Extra Chapter of The Untamed/MDZS. Just our beloved Uncle Ning and his nephew going out on a night hunt and happened to stumble across a difficult case, hence they worked together to put an end to it.

And last but not least:

Wei Wuxian when he saw this translation:

I mean... WHAT THE HECK IS MASTER OF YI TOMBS??? x’DD