#ding yongdai

[endlessthoughtsofafangirl]

"Everyone, just share your thoughts on this case, okay? Let's start. Who is going to speak?"

[feng-huli]

Old Men of Youth, with background eunuchs

[chineseredcarpet]

Ding Yongdai for 2024 Television Series of China Quality Ceremony

[lasenbyphoenix]

Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 38 Breakdown

In the cave Ji Danyang pleads with Dr Bai to help convince Nurse Bai to do the right thing but she dismisses both of them and reveals Dr Bai's Ghost Owl codename in retaliation. Dr Bai argues with Nurse Bai about kidnapping Ji Danyang and his fear that he'll die before Nurse Bai decides to change her mind.

Dr Bai convinces Liu Simao that getting the camera is their chance for leverage to survive, so when Liu Simao is told to guard the door Dr Bai steps up as well and they attack Fake Li Qiuchen and his contacts. Nurse Bai intervenes, shooting the man who is attacking her father and Fake Li Qiuchen uses the chance to shoot Liu Simao and stands off with Nurse Bai. Fake Li Qiuchen orders everyone to leave the cave in case the gunfire alerts the police. Officer Hongmei finds the cave shortly after they've gone and the doused fire is still smoking.

As they march through the forest fake Li Qiuchen tells Nurse Bai not to let her father disrupt anymore of their plans, and Dr Bai secretly tells Ji Danyang to be ready as he will create a chance for him to run, but Ji Danyang wont leave without the camera.

When they come to a narrow steep path, Nurse Bai refuses to part with the camera or split up and Mu Sen tells fake Li Qiuchen that Nurse Bai's demands are going to make trouble, so fake Li Qiuchen plans to kill her and Dr Bai when they get to the ferry. The group pauses for a break and Ji Danyang declares it's pointless as he would rather die than give up any data and Dr Bai takes the chance to snatch the camera from Nurse Bai and tries to run for it but is shot in the back by Mu Sen. Dr Bai manages to throw a scalpel at Mu Sen before falling down the steep hillside with the camera. Nurse Bai screams in anguish, turning to shoot the already dead Mu Sen several times until the fake Li Qiuchen holds a gun to Ji Danyang and yells at her to stop. Composing herself she says that she can still complete the mission and he gives her one last chance and continues up the trail.

Officer Hongmei hears the gunshots and they run towards the origin, finding Dr Bai shot but still alive. He gives them the camera, telling Officer Hongmei that her father saved his life and recruited him to the CCP but her father was the only person who could confirm it. He tells them to hurry to the ferry as they still have Ji Danyang before dying in her arms.

She gives the camera to Officer Xu and tells him to take it back to the factory and goes on ahead. He quickly runs into Police Captain Chen and tells them what they've found and he is sent to take the camera back alone while they run to catch up. Alone in the forest, Officer Xu is shot by Nurse Leader Ge who takes the camera from him.

At the riverside, fake Li Qiuchen leaves to find the radio equipment to notify the KMT of their progress, and Ji Danyang challenges Nurse Bai that she took the film out of the camera and still has it, and that she'll have to shoot him because he won't let her leave with the film. Officer Hongmei reaches the riverside and Nurse Bai hold Ji Danyang at gunpoint, refusing to take Officer Hongmei's offer of leniency if she repents. Fake Li Qiuchen returns, shooting at Officer Hongmei but she dodges and fires back from behind a tree. Ji Danyang escapes Nurse Bai's grasp and lunges for fake Li Qiuchen's gun, but is soon overpowered and is held hostage again as both Officer Hongmei and Nurse Bai turn their guns towards fake Li Qiuchen. He demands that Nurse Bai hand over the film and she eventually capitulates, throwing it towards him. Ji Danyang jumps to catch the film instead and both women shoot fake Li Qiuchen dead before standing off against each other. Ji Danyang tells Nurse Bai it's over, pulling open the film roll and ruining the photos. She screams and shoots at them but Officer Hongmei pulls Ji Danyang away, taking bullet to the arm and shooting Nurse Bai, and the police team arrive as Nurse Bai dies.

The police Chief receives the report of the successful rescue, and they find the last information the need to identify the seamstresses former boss, the female doctor. Nurse Leader Ge goes to the expert office but is stopped by Police Captain Chen and the police team. After learning her identity is exposed and her lover fake Li Qiuchen is dead, she reaches for the camera in her bag but they grab it from her and toss it over the balcony where it explodes and they take her away in handcuffs.

The KMT General Kou is forced to report his failure to his superiors and step down from his position.

Officer Hongmei celebrates their success with Ji Danyang and contemplates the future.

.........................................................

AND THAT'S ALL FOLKS.

What do I like about how it ended?

True to form, all of the enemy agents died or were arrested, as were anyone who assisted in treacherous deeds like Secretary Lu and Dr Bai. I would have much preferred to see Secretary Lu and Nurse Bai arrested rather than dead for their characters sake to own their actions, but it doesn't change the story.

What don't I like?

Why the fuck was Officer Xu sent back to the factory alone when he was carrying something as important as the camera?? Come on Captain Chen you had plenty of men to spare!

What do I feel about Nurse Bai's ending?

As Nurse Bai said, she was only concerned about repaying 2 people, General Kou for saving her when she was kidnapped, and Dr Bai for raising her since. So she was serving two masters in a way, but not any political cause. She negotiated for Dr Bai to come with her and having Ji Danyang was a valuable asset, but clearly the KMT guys only planned for a certain number of people to go. Sure, fewer people are easier to hide and transport secretly, but the KMT used a very "scorched earth" approach which has some reason to it, in that if a spy is dead they can't compromise anyone else, but at the same time they also lamented having limited numbers of agents on the mainland. Surely China is big enough that they could give them new identities and place them elsewhere?

It did seem that that was the initial plan but the situation got tighter and Nurse Bai started making demands and not following orders, which turned her into a liability. If she'd followed orders, would she have lived to go to Taiwan? She clearly didn't want to risk being left behind once fake Li got the camera hence her demands.

It got..... messy. Nurse Bai in the end was clearly serving herself and her personal loyalty to Dr Bai and General Kou. But she had no strong conviction for the cause of either side beyond wanting revenge for her parents.

Did she truly believe she could be free from her debt in Taiwan? She told Ji Danyang that her path only led to death and it was the only one she had but she kept talking about living in peace in Taiwan.

Once Dr Bai died she started unraveling, which is to be expected, and she only had one master left so had to see it through for her own sanity.

What do I feel about Dr Bai's ending?

It was interesting to see how his relationship with Hongmei developed into a semi fatherly one, and he was trying to do as much for her as for Nurse Bai. I was going to say that I didn't like that he put so much towards searching for Snow Wolf when it only served Hongmei's father and not Nurse Bai's parents as well but I realised that it actually was a good parallel to Nurse Bai - he also had a split debt of loyalty which took him in two directions.

I don't like that he died because I really liked him, but I'd predicted it and I understand. I don't imagine he would have been ok being free if Nurse Bai died or was imprisoned.

He very much got to the point of realising Nurse Bai was too far gone, and even though he kept trying to convince her to turn around, in the end his dying act was not to protect her physically, as I half-expected,  but to try and do the right thing and reverse some of the damage she'd done by stopping the camera falling into enemy hands. His last act wasn't personal, it was for the cause.

Also - he WAS undercover CCP with Hongmei's dad!

What do I feel about Ji Danyang and Hongmei's ending?

While it is expected that a patriotic show like this would end on a high note focussing on the success of the experts and the police team, I personally would like to have seen some of the aftermath of Nurse Bai and Nurse Leader Ge's betrayal. How does Hongmei feel after killing her sworn sister? How does our math man reconcile his fond memories of Nurse Bai with what he witnessed at the end? If she'd been arrested maybe they could have been able to speak to her and get some closure, but with her dying that will never fully be closed off.

[kimboo-york]

There is SO much to discuss. Every gif in this set deserves a thousand words.

But, if I have to boil this down:

Meng Zhi, over and above all others there, is sworn to protect the emperor. I don't think it's so cut and dried as protecting the position over the person, but nonetheless, his job is "imperial guard."

Meng Zhi cares for Jingyan and would do a lot to protect him, but I argue that was only partially his motivation here.

Meng Zhi, over and above most of the observers to this stand off, is reacting to the passing of the torch from the old emperor to the new.

Meng Zhi's primary instinct is to protect the emperor, and that emperor is not Xiao Xuan but Xiao Jingyan.

Meng Zhi was totally prepared to fight the emperor to save Jingyan. Discuss. 

[rainbowsky]

Has the competition for ranking in the domestic entertainment industry reached the Magnolia Awards?

Original Entertainment Management Studio 2024-06-01 06: 30 Beijing

On May 30, after the shortlist of the Magnolia Awards for the 29th Shanghai TV Festival was announced, not only "xx was nominated" but also "xxx was not nominated" caused heated discussion.

The controversy centered on the two awards of "TV King" and "TV Queen". Among them, among the nominations for best actor, there are Ding Yongdai of "South and North" and Wang Yang of "War of Faith". However, some netizens discovered that when the official lineup of "War of Faith" was announced, Wang Yang was ranked third as the leading star, while Wang Yibo, who was ranked first as the leading star, was not nominated. The topic #白Magnolia was nominated without Wang Yibo# became a hot search on Weibo.

The same situation happened in "South to North". When the official Weibo announced the cast, the first leading actor was Bai Jingting, and the second was Ding Yongdai. #Bai Jingting is not nominated for Magnolia Awards# also became a hot search.

In the eyes of some netizens, "No. 1" is equivalent to "protagonist", and "No. 2" and "No. 3" are supporting roles. So, is this "ranking" trend in the domestic entertainment industry really equivalent to the judging logic of Magnolia Awards?

How to apply for a Magnolia?

As one of the three major awards for Chinese TV dramas, the Magnolia Award has always been regarded as an "industry award" and represents the vane of the domestic TV industry. The annual Best Actor and Best Actress awards are the highest recognition of actors in the field of TV dramas, and have become the focus of attention of various actors and fans.

Under the official Weibo of the Shanghai TV Festival's announcement of the shortlist, you can see countless fans' Amway* copywriting. In addition to actors such as Hu Ge, Yang Zi, and Tang Yan who have been nominated, fans of artists whose related works have been nominated also want to "get involved" in this joyous occasion. For example, the variety show "The Heart-Stirring Offer 5" was nominated, and fans of He Junlin, one of the guests, also congratulated He Junlin in the comment section.

*RBS note - 'Amway' essentially means 'intense and over-the-top, cult-like'.

On the other hand, although "War of Faith" was nominated for multiple Magnolia Awards, fans of the lead actor Wang Yibo were not happy. In their view, when "War of Faith" was officially announced, Wang Yang was the "third" male supporting role, and Wang Yibo was the first male lead, but Wang Yang was submitted for "Best Actor" and was nominated. As a result, fans began to protest on a large scale under the relevant Weibo of Magnolia, the film company, and the producer.

The Yuli Studio read the "2024 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award TV Series Category Regulations" and found that in principle, the male and female lead awards are filled in with 1 person each, that is, the first male and female lead. The first male and female lead must play a pivotal role in promoting the plot and have an indispensable and important role. If there are indeed multiple male or female leads, the maximum number of people to be filled in is 2, and both must occupy a relatively large part in the play.

2024 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award TV Series Category Rules

A film producer told Yuli Studio that because the Magnolia Award has requirements for the role, the film producer will definitely nominate the two leading actors with the most roles, and will not select them according to the ranking, nor will there be a situation where the "second male lead" is not reported but the "first male lead". If there are really not enough places, supporting roles will be reported.

The case of "Flowers" can also prove this application logic. When the official Weibo of "Flowers" announced the lineup, the ranking of the three actresses was Ma Yili, Tang Yan and Xin Zhilei. But according to The Paper, when the "Flowers" film producer applied, he believed that the three actresses in the play were all heroines, and each of them was very outstanding, so he communicated with the organizing committee and registered all three. In the end, only Tang Yan was shortlisted for the best actress.

It can be inferred from this that Wang Yibo and Wang Yang are both the leading actors in "War of Faith" and are also the top two male actors with the most roles, so the film crew will also report these two actors when submitting. Similarly, the crew of "South to North" should also report the top two male actors with the most roles, Bai Jingting and Ding Yongdai.

On May 31, Nandu Entertainment reported that an insider said that the "War of Faith" crew did report Wang Yibo and Wang Yang for the best actor. Both Bai Jingting and Wang Yibo appeared in the second round of voting for the best actor of this year's Magnolia Award, but after the review vote, they did not enter the final shortlist.

At the same time, in terms of the submitter, the "2024 29th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award TV Series Category Regulations" stipulate that the registration is by individuals or institutions that own the copyright of the program, and one party must be determined as the applicant. Generally speaking, the submitter is the first producer, that is, the video platform. So the submitter of "War of Faith" should be iQiyi.

However, even with the written rules and industry reports, fans don't seem to buy it.

Where did the controversy come from?

Judging from the protests of Wang Yibo's fans, the biggest controversy is that fans believe that Wei Ruolai, played by Wang Yibo in "War of Faith", is the absolute and only male lead. Whether it is investment promotion or popularity, it is all carried by Wang Yibo. Therefore, the film company should not submit the best actor for Wang Yang, who is the "third lead", and compete with the "first lead" Wang Yibo in the same award.

So, are the rankings recognized by fans consistent with the "leading role" recognized by the industry? In addition to the first leading actor on the official list, the "first lead" recognized by fans also includes whether the script content revolves around the only protagonist, whether the protagonist has the most scenes, whether the various trailers released spend the most time on the first lead, and whether the above recognition has been mentioned in the interview with the main creators, etc.

However, in the selection rules of the Magnolia Awards, it is mentioned that if there are indeed multiple male protagonists or multiple female protagonists, the maximum number of people to be reported is 2, and all must occupy a relatively large part in the play. It can be found that when the official Weibo of "War of Faith" announced the lineup, Wang Yang was one of the leading actors. Secondly, the plot synopsis of "War of Faith" also mentioned that Wei Ruolai's plot mainly unfolds after he meets Shen Tunan, and forms a control group with Shen Tunan. Therefore, whether it is the title or the plot, there is no problem for the film company to apply for the Magnolia Award for Wang Yang as the "leading actor". And since the Magnolia Awards officially announced the shortlist, it also means that Shen Tunan, played by Wang Yang, meets the Magnolia Award's "leading actor" standard.

War of Faith original casting announcement from 2023: Starring in the leading role: Wang Yibo, Starring in the leading role: Li Qin, Starring in the leading role: Wang Yang.

Judging from the list of winners of the Magnolia Award for Best Actor in previous years, Lei Jiayin, who won the 28th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award for Best Actor for "The World", is not the only leading actor. Yu Hewei, who won the 27th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Award for Best Actor for "Awakening Age", is one of the protagonists, and was even ranked after Zhang Tong, who played Li Dazhao, when the official announcement was made.

The application of "Fang Hua" also proves that a drama can have multiple "protagonists". It can be seen that the "protagonist" standard recognized by the Magnolia Awards is not the same as the "ranking" standard in the minds of fans.

How do "the male protagonist" and "the female protagonist" influence creation ?

Therefore, the so-called "number one", absolute male protagonist and female protagonist are more of a self-entertainment statement of the fan circle, which is unprofessional and does not respect the rules of creation.

When the main creator is creating, if they are disturbed by the "male protagonist" and "female protagonist", the role will become to serve the actors rather than the plot and the characters. Under normal circumstances, the male and female protagonists and even the main supporting roles should have a complete growth line to show how their personalities are developed? What are the relationships between the characters around them? But if you blindly give way to the "male protagonist" and "female protagonist", other characters will lose their normal behavioral logic and become tools of "what the other party needs me to do, I will do", and the logic of the whole drama will collapse.

For example, "Changyue Jinming" was questioned by netizens that in order to set off the male protagonist, the female protagonist was arranged to fall in love with the male protagonist who had a "grudge against the extermination of the family", and the tragic female supporting role was also reduced to the "background board" of the love between the male and female protagonists, and was devalued by the protagonist as worthless; in order to make the male protagonist have a righteous aura, he, who was originally a villain and wanted to kill everyone, suddenly became a benevolent king in the middle of the series, and was criticized by the audience for his illogicality.

Secondly, the trend of "fighting for ranking" also forces the film producers to "perform" all kinds of fancy words when making official announcements in order not to offend artists and fans. For example, when Yu Zheng officially announced "Five Fortunes", in order to prevent all parties from tearing up the rankings, he designed a "Ferris wheel rotating ranking". This kind of effort that is not beneficial to creation is a practice of chasing "face" without looking at "inside" under helplessness.

It can be found that whether it is the past "Awakening Age", "The World", "Kuangbi", or 2024's "Flower" and "Celebrating Yu Nian 2", these hit dramas that have been authenticated by multiple data are not "big male lead" or "big female lead" dramas centered on one person, but "all members are on the table", triggering group portrait dramas that break the circle of discussion. At the New Wave Forum on "How to make a hit drama and a hit person", Sun Hongzhi, director of TV drama operations at Tencent Video, also mentioned that the industry's effective broadcast standards are user value, economic value and industry value. And these three types of value cannot be brought by "big male lead" or "big female lead" alone.

Essentially, the controversy is still the "disease" of the "rank cancer" in the domestic entertainment industry. People who are keen on "ranking" mistakenly equate the rank with the value of the actors, and regard the ranking as an important capital for business negotiations and rights protection. However, the rank is only the "face", and what is truly recognized by the industry or even passers-by is the "inside". The so-called "number one" and "only male and female protagonists" do not equal achievements, nor can they directly bring exposure, growth opportunities and business resources.

In this year's Magnolia Awards, Liu Lin, who was not nominated but was on the hot search, also "running with" for ten years. Under the entry #Liu Lin has been running with Baiyulan for ten years#, many netizens expressed their regret for her and mentioned her countless classic roles.

It can be found that although excellent actors have not been nominated, they have long been uncrowned kings in the hearts of the audience. As Liu Lin once said, "I am not in a hurry to be famous or popular, but I can still work diligently in the acting industry."

[fandomside]

Nirvana in Fire Rewatch Episode Twenty-Seven

The emperor makes a surprise visit to the Eastern Palace. He finds the crown prince drunk and playing with dancing girls. Music and dance is forbidden because of the mourning period for great-grandmother. He overhears the crown prince cursing him out. The emperor has an emotional attack of anger and regret. He orders Meng Zhi to seal the Eastern Palace closed. Meng Zhi asks for an official decree but Gao Zhan helps the emperor fob him off.

Meng Zhi is under a lot of pressure with only a verbal order. He goes to Jingyan and they go through the secret passage to MCS. Fei Liu meets them and tells them Prince Yu is with MCS.

Fei Liu's name for Prince Yu is 'poisonous snake'. Questioning him, Jingyan learns about 'water buffalo'. MCS recovers by blaming it on Nihuang.

Meng Zhi is wearing a horrible brown robe that looks like curtains.

MCS and Jingyan explain to Meng Zhi that he owes Gao Zhan for not letting him insist on a decree, because an official order would be an irreversible step to the Crown Prince's downfall and Meng Zhi doesn't want to be the one responsible for that. (During this scene, MCS and Jingyan are exchanging glances and doing married-couple telepathy.)

Meng Zhi makes a very clumsy attempt at getting the travel book back from Jingyan.

It's the mid-autumn festival soon after. Jingyan and his mother spend time together and he retrieves the book from her.

The emperor's actor, Ding Yongdai, is doing great work in this episode.

[movienized-com]

Feng shen Di yi bu: Zhao Ge feng yun (2023)

Feng shen Di yi bu: Zhao Ge feng yun (2023) #Wuershan #BoHuang #HsiangFei #XuejianLi #YuXia #KunChen Mehr auf:

封神第一部：朝歌风云 Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms Jahr: 2023 Genre: Abenteuer / Drama / Fantasy Regie: Wuershan Hauptrollen: Bo Huang, Hsiang Fei, Xuejian Li, Yu Xia, Kun Chen, Quan Yuan, Le Yang, Yosh Yu, Terry Hou, Bayaertu, Bayalag, Luke Chen, Yongdai Ding, Shaofeng Feng, Dongping Gao, Shuguang Gao, Swanson Han … Filmbeschreibung: König Zhou (Kris Phillips), der letzte Herrscher der…

[madetolove-gifs]

[trisshawkeye]

Ding Yongdai does a good line in monstrously terrible fathers

[akatsuki-shin]

Review: 狼殿下 Láng Diànxià (The Wolf)

I’m finally done marathoning this show in the past week, so I thought I’m gonna write my comments on this drama here.

Summary: As a teenager, Ma Zhaixing, daughter of Kuizhou City Governor, Ma Ying, met a young boy at the mountain near her hometown who was raised by the wolves. A severe misunderstanding caused the boy to be implicated of murder and the two were separated, with the boy falling off a cliff, thinking that Ma Zhaixing had betrayed him, and Ma Zhaixing, with her leg broken, continued to live her life ridden with guilt.

Eight years later, the boy, who was apparently saved and adopted by their Emperor, Chu Kui - given the title Prince Bo (Bo Wang) - encountered Ma Zhaixing again after her family was suddenly massacred by an unknown assailants in the middle of the night.

However, their relationship was no longer as how it used to be and the two were tangled in the political conflict between the warring nations.

Main Cast(s):

Li Qin as Ma Zhaixing

Wang Talu as Bo Wang

Xiao Zhan as Ji Chong

Xin Zhilei as Yao Ji

Kuo Shuyao as Yelu Bao Na

Ding Yongdai as Chu Kui

Lin Yowei as as Chu Yougui 

Notes:

This review contains my personal view on the drama and does not represent the entire audience

There are spoilers

THE GOOD(S):

1. Action

Realistic, believable action and fighting scenes, both in small and large scale. A few weren't exactly perfect, but the majority of it is more than good enough to cover for the flaws.

Bo Wang's solo fights, his duels with Ji Chong, and Ji Chong's first battle in the forest (when he and the bandits were trying to kidnap Bao Na) were among the best; those are super cool and intense. They do use quite a lot of CGIs, and while it isn't exactly marvel (as in, you can tell it's fake), the visualization and movement are quite smooth so it doesn't disturb the atmosphere and our watching enjoyment.

Though, I'm a bit sad that Ji Chong's eagle, Zhui Ri, turns out to be a CGI, as well. It looks so real, I thought they were using a real bird. :'))

2. Supporting Characters

With the exception of the two main leads and a few other characters, I can say with confidence that I love the characters of this drama.

The charming, smart, and kind-hearted second male lead, Ji Chong.

The loyal Night Fury Trio - Wen Yan, Mo Xiao, and Hai Die.

The spoiled princess Yule Bao Na, whose first impression was nothing less than annoying, but grows to be the most lovable, supportive girl ever that makes me want to keep rooting for her.

They also have two of the best father characters I've ever seen in awhile, the King of Jin and Ma Ying.

Even a considerably minor character, like Grand Supervisor Shi, was nothing less than lovable, especially when he scolded Ji Chong like a worried mother after the latter finally returned home in seven years.

3. Music

The Wolf has some really beautiful soundtracks, and the songs are placed perfectly in every corresponding scene

4. Cameraworks

This is something quite technical and to be honest, I'm also not an expert in this. But I think the cameraworks in this drama were really good. The angle, how they switch the focus when taking certain characters in a certain scene further emphasizes the atmosphere, and it often serves as a great shot to the breathtaking outdoor sceneries where they shot this drama.

5. Visualization of how the story starts and ends

Xing-er and the Wolf Boy playing in the forest of Wolf Mountain.

------

THE BAD(S):

1. The Main Leads' Relationship

Generally, the big plot and conflict are actually pretty interesting. The politics, the wars, the betrayals, how the opposing sides are trying to trick and outsmart each other are all a classic that we've often seen in many historical dramas and movies. Personally, I never get bored with this theme as long as it is executed perfectly and I think The Wolf executed this in a good way.

Unfortunately, the main pairing ruins this for me and this ends up becoming the biggest flaw that destroys the enjoyment of watching this drama.

"Childhood sweetheart turns enemies" is something we've seen pretty often, and it's not something bad. If anything, when they finally fixed the misunderstanding and reconciled, it would be the climax, the best part of the entire development.

But The Wolf sadly dragged Ma Zhaixing and Bo Wang's relationship to the point that it became annoying.

When Bo Wang first discovered that Ma Zhaixing has never betrayed him in the past, the scene when he rescued her from the kneeling punishment at the palace was so moving I was almost in tears, more so because it finally looks like they can rebuild their relationship despite Ma Zhaixing still hasn't figured out that Bo Wang was the Wolf Boy from her childhood. It should've ended right there. Maybe later, they could add a plot where Ma Zhaixing would finally find out the truth.

But no, they just have to keep switching between love-hate-love hate right to the last few episodes. At this point, there was no more character development, no more relationship growth. It's just a purely unnecessary drama that makes Bo Wang look inconsistent, that strips Ma Zhaixing of any character development that she should've had as the main character of the story.

And speaking of relationships, although Ji Chong being paired up with Bao Na was the best conclusion for the two of them, the development was way too fast, it looks like the drama team is just forcefully pushing it to happen as soon as possible.

At the point where there are only 3 episode left, they didn't have to add that bit of drama between Ji Chong and Bao Na, because 1). They weren't the main characters, 2). The story was nearing its climax, why would you slow down the pace for an unnecessary drama of two side characters?

It almost looks like Ji Chong and Bao Na are taking the spotlight from the main characters. It would've been perfectly fine to end it when Bao Na was accompanying Ji Chong at the bonfire after he let go of Ma Zhaixing to return to Bo Wang; the audience would understand that these two would end up together, and the closing scene where Ji Chong invited her to travel the world with him can still be shown without the intervening drama.

2. The Main Leads’ Hero Complex

Both Ma Zhaixing and Bo Wang keep sacrificing themselves for others and putting themselves at the bottom as if they have no value. It might look heroic the first time they do it, but since they repeated this pattern way too often, it looks to me like they're playing victim instead.

What's more?

Whenever they're about to sacrifice themselves 1). They would always put a burden on the side characters who genuinely love them by asking them for some "one last favor"', 2). They would just end up being saved by the others after all those big talks.

But of course, all of the other characters ideally will still cry for them every single time they're about to do this whole sacrifice thing.

This is seriously the first time I'm watching a drama where the main characters barely have any character development from start until the end.

In fact, I think the main character of this drama is supposed to be You Zhen, the fourth, youngest prince of Yang. He was ever only a supporting character here, but he's got the most character development among others and if you've been paying attention to his story from start to finish, you'll see that is very fitting to be the main character of a political/war drama:

"An innocent, youngest prince who was doted on by his three brothers, but this brotherhood was severely broken by a misunderstanding caused by their own power-thirsty father, and after many struggles and suffering, he found out the truth, fought for the truth, and became the last surviving member of the royalty who would finally govern his people in peace."

3. Inconsistent Character(s)

First of all, the second female lead, Yao Ji.

From the drama's opening, to the first few episodes where she appears, it feels like we are getting this super big villain vibe from her. I really thought she's going to be one of those people the main characters would have to defeat, or maybe turn into an unexpected ally, later near the climax.

But no, she was only strong in the beginning. For the rest of the story, she was only a woman who actually loves the main male lead and wants to keep him safe.

Secondly, Chu Yougui.

What even is his motive to be a villain?

First, he wants to frame and kill Bo Wang because he thought Bo Wang caused their eldest brother's death. But this has since been proven to be wrong because their father, Chu Kui, was the one who set up his own eldest son's death (for whatever reason I don't remember because I don't think the drama ever told us clearly). And then when he was brought back later, suddenly he wanted to overthrow his father and become the King? Just where and how does all this motive come from?

It would've been fine to make Chu Kui the main villain because he's been portrayed as such since the beginning, the power-thirsty tyrant who would stop at nothing to gain authority and glory.

4. Some Technical Things

Ma Zhaixing kept wearing that keepsake of a bell on her belt, even during undercover missions. How come she doesn't get caught?

Ji Chong keeps accidentally hearing everything over the wall in the most perfect timing far too many times

Also, there are many instances where the characters could travel so fast between places, you'd think they are all living in the same town

------

My Verdict: 6/10

Honestly, I almost drop it before I'm even halfway through... o(-(

It has great concept. It has interesting conflict. The actors all did amazing job, I have no complain about their acting. But the execution is just ugh...

[olivierdemangeon]

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION (2017) ★★★★★

EXTRAORDINARY MISSION (2017) ★★★★★

[feng-huli]

Water and Wood, Fire and Metal

[golinkjiasuqi]

Overseas unlock Youku regional restrictions to see who he is

Overseas unlock Youku regional restrictions to see who he is

Co-produced by Youku and Wanda Film & Television, supervised by Ding Hei, Bao Chengzhi, Zhang Yi, Chen Yustron, Ding Yongdai, Yu Haoming, Zhao Yang, Liu Guanlin, Zheng Crystal, Qi Kui, Shi Liang, Fan Lei, Xu Fangyi, Who Is He?, first official release. Today, the show released a trailer for "Shift on a Rainy Night" and a personal poster of Zhang Yi. The suspenseful atmosphere and large-scale cases of Shift keep audiences interested.（翻墙回国）

"Who Is He?" mainly tells the story of Wei Guoping (Zhang Yi) led by the perseverance of the Interpol and the criminal group battle of wits. 1988, an Interpol Wei Guoping in a serial murder case, witnessed the death of his companion, and the murderer's escape, also became a knot in the heart of Wei Guoping. Eight years later, Ningjiang City had an earth-shattering blood case, Wei Guoping as the leader of the criminal investigation team, in a series of investigations, found many clues, Wei Guoping and his teammates together, pursuing the murderer's trail. The trailer for "Rainy Night Shift" gives a real bleak feeling. It began with: "The famous throat-slicing devil, don't you know?" The strong sense of rhythm, rapid playback, and scary music made the audience curious about the unsolved cases from 1998 to 1992. In the trailer, where old crimes are unsolved and new ones are raised, how much of the "I think he's back" line is going to involve old cases? Through the suspenseful serial murders, the audience can glimpse into black and white, showing humanity and human struggle. The single poster released on the same day shows the unique style of the show. Zhang Yi stands in the dark gray background, arms folded chest, eyes closed, brow furrowed, seems to be in deep thought, while the details of the case, file and so on, cleverly connect the content of the plot, let people think. It is understood that Zhang Yi played a brave, just, persistent detective captain Wei Guoping in "Who is he?", he in "The Gate of Rebirth" and "Raging" after, will bring you what kind of thrilling detective story. Chen Yustron, Ding Yongdai, Yu Haoming, Zhao Yang and Liu Guanlin have all been announced, with a strong cast that is eagerly awaited for Who Is He?

"Who Is He" has not been officially broadcast, it has already caused hot debate, so for overseas users, real-time synchronization of domestic time watching TV series is not a simple thing, in addition to the problem of time difference, but also the transmission distance caused by the delay, or regional restrictions, so overseas Chinese want to watch "Who is He" in real time on Youku, what should they do?（加速器vpn）

Youku is one of China's largest online video sites, offering various types of video content such as TV series, movies and variety shows. However, due to copyright and geographical restrictions, many overseas Chinese may not be able to directly access and watch Youku content. In this case, the use of return accelerator is an effective solution, and golink return accelerator is one of the better choices. Here is how to use golink accelerator to unlock the region limit of Youku to watch Who Is He?（回国vpn） Step 1: Download and install golink Homecoming Accelerator Download and install golink Homecoming Accelerator on your computer or mobile device. You can download the client from the golink website and choose the appropriate version for your device and operating system. Step 2: Sign up for the golink Return Accelerator account After the installation is complete, you will need to register the golink Return Accelerator account and log in. You can choose a free trial or purchase related packages to enjoy better service quality and higher Internet speed acceleration. Step 3: Connect to the golink Home Accelerator server After successfully logging in, you will need to connect to the golink Homecoming Accelerator server. After you open the golink client, you can choose a server with the fastest speed or a server connection that is closer to your area.

Step 4: Go to Youku and watch Who Is He? After connecting to the golink accelerator back home server, you can now open the Youku official website and search and watch the TV series Who Is He? Since golink Homecoming Accelerator can hide your real IP address and simulate a Chinese IP address, you can easily unlock Youku's geographical restrictions to smoothly watch your favorite TV series and variety shows.

Note that while golink Homecoming Accelerator can help you unlock Youku's geographic limitations, you'll need to make sure you have enough broadband and Internet speed to stream videos smoothly. In addition, if you encounter any problems or queries while using the golink Homecoming Accelerator, you can contact golink customer service at any time for assistance.

Check it out: www.golinkcn.com

[lasenbyphoenix]

Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 36 Breakdown

Nurse Bai runs into Nurse Shanshan inside the hospital and welcomes her back, asking if she's ok and Nurse Shanshan tells her that she intends to prove her innocence.

Late at night, Secretary Lu is awake and remembering his conversation with Factory Chief Han and all of his encounters with Nurse Bai. He writes a confession, considers ripping it up, reconsiders and eventually leaves it on his desk before going to bed. That night Nurse Bai creeps into his room.

The KMT can't make contact with their team in Lumen and assume the radio station is compromised but their main agents are still in play.

At home, Dr Bai talks to Nurse Bai about the project being over and counselling her to let things go back to normal, hinting at knowing that she's changed. She denies hiding anything from him, but he pulls out the music score book, demanding she return it and have nothing to do with it again. Nurse Bai ignores his advice and collects another coded note on her way to work the next day.

That morning Secretary Lu is found dead in his dorm room with a suicide note about having "lost his love forever". The police team are suspicious that he wasn't carefully dressed and a high heel print is found on his doormat that doesn't match Nurse Bai's shoe size. Officer Hongmei questions Nurse Bai about her relationship with Secretary Lu and the altercation that was seen between them, and she advises she firmly refused him that day and he got angry.

Nurse Bai visits Nurse Leader Ge to discuss Secretary Lu's suicide, revealing that she knows he died by a drug injection not by hanging and that her medical review of the expert who collapsed was altered to clear her for the experiment. She suspects Nurse Leader Ge is her superior Snow Wolf, and Nurse Leader Ge commends her on her intelligence, revealing she doctored Nurse Bai's timesheet and killed Secretary Lu to protect her, burning his letter of confession as proof. Nurse Bai makes it a condition of her last mission that her father leaves with her, and Nurse Leader Ge agrees.

Officer Hongmei remembers the music scores in the Snow Wolf's cellar and Nurse Bai's room, and along with Officer Jiang they find a copy at the library and eventually break the codes on the papers left in the cellar which detail the order for the Lumen massacre.

Nurse Shanshan accidentally spills some medicine on Nurse Bai's white coat and offers to swap coats so Nurse Bai can attend Expert Chief Chu, but she remembers she left the music note in her pocket and sees Nurse Shanshan find it and tells her to throw it away. Officer Tongbin later comes to find Nurse Shanshan and apologise for the investigation and she gives him the music note from Nurse Bai's pocket.

Nurse Leader Ge learns that Expert Chief Chu is leaving for Beijing the next day, and advises him to visit Factory Chief Han who is distraught after Secretary Lu's suicide, giving Nurse Bai the opportunity to search his office for the camera with the photos of the experiment data. Nurse Leader Ge gives her a knockout drug and a poison to use at her discretion.

Fake Li Qiuchen visits Dr Bai to tell him that Nurse Bai has a final mission and it's up to him if he joins her or not at 3 Jump Gorge.

...............................................

Oh goddammit they just straight up killed off Secretary Lu! Poor poor man. He really deserved better than that. That breaks the rule of the coerced traitors being imprisoned, but I guess he both knew too much and was threatening to tell. I do like the mention of Secretary Lu being very particular about his appearance and how his clothes were pressed and ready for the next day but he died in his sleep/under garments, which was spotted by Captain Chen.

I'm glad we got a little bit more of Nurse Shanshan and Officer Tongbin together, but it was bittersweet and it must have hurt her to have to suspect her friend of the sabotage and of framing her.

I find it interesting how the confrontations between Dr Bai and Nurse Bai are written. He only asks her if there's something she's hiding, and warns her sternly to have nothing to do with the music score - which would be a weird thing to be angry about out of context! - but he never explains outright why it's dangerous and she never calls him on it. They dance around the fact that they each know at least a portion of the other's involvement with the KMT, and may or may not have the other know about their involvement, but never confront the other fully for fear of having to fully out themselves as well. Dr Bai is totally willing to forgive any involvement of Nurse Bai's because he loves her and he knows he doesn't have a clean slate either. They each want the other to hold onto some innocence or normality and will fight to let the other have it, and if they are completely open with each other then the illusion that they can remain normal breaks. For all I'm angry about Nurse Bai's choice of actions, I absolutely love how the Bai family relationship is written and these characters are so amazingly well acted.

Snow Wolf is Nurse Leader Ge!!! Holy shit. She's been hiding under their noses this whole time! I dont know if I feel betrayed or impressed. But then I felt the same about Nurse Bai at first and now I just want her in handcuffs. And we know that Snow Wolf has done So Much Worse.

No math man in this episode, but Snow Wolf's reveal did give us a lovely collection of homoerotic close ups.

2 episodes left!

[the-precise-chinese]

Chinese television series on “Republic of China” period (1912 - 1949) 民国剧

The “Republic of China” period generally refers to the period during which the government of the Republic of China effectively ruled Mainland China from 1912 to 1949, after inheriting the Qing Dynasty's legal system. Chinese television series about that period makes a popular stance in nowadays Chinese television film broadcast. Below is some most popular series in this line that are recently released on screen: 

1. Spy Hunter (2019)  天衣无缝

Spy Hunter is directed by Li Lu, starring Qin Junjie, Xu Lu, Hu Haifeng, and specially starring Lu Yi, Zhang Zhixi, Zhu Gangriyao, Mo Xiaoqi, Ding Yongdai, Ding Haifeng, Sun Quan, Sun Tianyao starring in an era spy war drama. The series tells the story of a bloody battle in the period of war, where everyone is in danger, and a few aspiring young people have the ideals of defending the motherland and peace. The series premiered on Zhejiang Satellite TV and Jiangsu Satellite TV on January 10, 2019, and was simultaneously broadcast on Tencent Video, iQiyi, Youku, and Mango TV.

《天衣无缝》是由李路执导，秦俊杰、徐璐、胡海锋领衔主演，陆毅特邀主演，张芷溪、朱刚日尧、莫小奇、丁勇岱、丁海峰、孙佺、孙添垚主演的年代谍战剧。该剧讲述了在战火纷飞的年代里，人人自危，几个有抱负的年轻人怀揣着保卫祖国、捍卫和平的理想，浴血奋战的故事。该剧于2019年1月10日在浙江卫视、江苏卫视首播，并在腾讯视频、爱奇艺、优酷、芒果TV同步播出。

In the spring of 1931, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China established red transportation stations in Shanghai, Guangdong Dapu, Harbin and other cities. The transportation stations are directly under the Central Transportation Bureau. A group of red agents "Ashtray" and "Celadon" tried to establish a new underground route, build secret warehouses, escort important materials from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and escort important underground party intelligence personnel to their destinations. "Tianjin" temporary red station was betrayed by traitors, "Ashtray" Gui Wan sacrificed, and the team members were designed and replaced one by one. Gui Wan’s half-brother Zi Liping meticulously planned a plan of revenge, and set up a plan to draw his brother Gui Yi into the game, and use Gui Yi’s power to solve the mystery. The real "traitor" emerged, and the brothers worked together to eradicate the traitor. Rebuild the red station. Once the mystery of life and death was revealed, it was shocking.

1931年春天，中共中央在上海、广东大浦、哈尔滨等城市建立了红色交通站，交通站直属中央交通局。红色特工“烟缸”与“青瓷”一组人马试图建立一条地下新航线，建立秘密仓库，护送中共中央重要物资及护送地下党重要情报人员抵达目的地。“天津”临时红色交通站遭到叛徒出卖，“烟缸”贵婉牺牲，小组成员一一被设计清换。贵婉同父异母的二哥资历平精心策划了一个复仇大计，设局引其兄贵翼入局，借贵翼之力破解谜团，真正的“叛谍”浮出水面，兄弟同心铲除叛徒，重建红色交通站。生死迷局一旦揭晓，石破天惊。

2. Arsenal Military Academy (2019) 烈火军校

Link to watch: https://www.iq.com/album/arsenal-military-academy-2019-19rri0c58t?lang=en_us

Arsenal Military Academy, a drama in the early Republic of China made in 2019. Starring Xu Kai, Bai Lu, Li Chengbin and Wu Jiayi, iQiyi premiered on August 6, 2019.

《烈火军校》，2019年中国大陆民初剧。由许凯、白鹿、李程彬、吴佳怡领衔主演，爱奇艺于2019年8月6日首播。

The kind and righteous girl Xie Xiang disguised herself as a man, under the name of her deceased brother to enter and study at the Military Academy. She became classmates with the cynical wealthy young Gu Yanzheng and the calm and steady Shen Junshan, and gradually developed into comrades fighting side by side. Under the strict and cruel training at the military academy, Xie Xiang not only worked hard to conceal the secret of disguising herself as a man, but also overcame all the inconveniences in her life as a woman in the military academy. More importantly, she must overcome her weak physique and work hard. Completed all the training in the military academy and graduated successfully. In the process, Xie Xiang and her classmates experienced a series of important events, which also led to a series of funny stories. In the end, Xie Xiang not only achieved outstanding results through her unremitting efforts, but also won the respect of her instructors, and at the same time, she also got the hearts of two outstanding male classmates. After that, the Japanese army increased its troops to Shunyuan, and Oda Xianrong, who admired Shen Junshan, returned from overseas as the president of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce, and a series of conspiracies and traps followed. Xie Xiang fought against the Japanese with the help of her classmates, grew up in the bloody wind, shattered Oda Xianrong's conspiracy, and finally got together with Gu Yanzheng.

善良正义的少女谢襄代兄从军，女扮男装进入烈火军校学习，与玩世不恭的富家子顾燕帧和冷静沉稳的沈君山成为同学并渐渐发展为并肩作战的战友。在军校严格残酷的训练机制下，谢襄不但要努力掩饰自己女扮男装的秘密，还要克服自己作为女性在军校生活中的种种的不便，更重要的，是要战胜自己柔弱的体质，努力完成军校所有的训练，顺利毕业。 在此过程中，谢襄和同窗好友们经历了一系列重大事件，也引发了一系列啼笑皆非的故事。最终，谢襄通过自己的不懈努力不但取得了出色的成绩，还赢得了教官的尊重，同时，也俘虏了两位优秀男同学的心。之后，日本军队增兵顺远，爱慕沈君山的织田显蓉化身日本商会会长从海外归来，一系列的阴谋和陷阱随之而来。谢襄在同学们的帮助下与日本人做斗争，在血雨腥风中逐渐成长，粉碎了织田显蓉的阴谋，并最终和顾燕帧走到了一起。