First things first, I want to say this show is pretty good (and also this
ramble is not spoiler-free so beware)—I mean it's the first I've completed in
years hahaha I think the last show I watched was a chinese drama, "The Romance
of Tiger and Rose", but the last one I actually finished was "Kill me, heal
me" so yeah it's been a while.
I don't read Priest so not much comment on whether or not they changed too much from the original and ruined whoever's laogong/laopo. No matter how much people (I mean the production team) try to say that they stayed true to the novel, it is ultimately an adaptation, there are bound to be changes. Hell,
even Harry Potter movies had to cut out and change stuff from the novels and I
still thoroughly enjoyed the movies so… And honestly, like seriously, if you don't like it, just X out and move on quietly lmao. Just like I did with
S.C.I. because I couldn't accept that my favourite couple (BJT x GS) got changed (not referring to the gender but as in the change in the dynamic between the couple).
and lowkey also because the dub was absolutely horrendous zzz
Just looking at the plot of the drama alone, I think it's decent. It's
pretty cliché but I feel like it's some of the best quality china has released in
recent years. The pace is actually quite fast and I actually wished they would
add scenes of Gu Xiang and Cai Weining dating lol and also cutting it such
that it's longer (maybe 40 eps) because I personally feel that the second half
felt really rushed even though it's supposed to be heavy plot exposition
stuffs.
I think a big part of why I enjoyed this show so much is because I think a lot of my preferences match up with that of the scriptwriter's. I do feel a little sad that while she gave Zhou Zishu the wifely quality which I love, she also nerfed him like fk, why can't my laopo be OP af and also wifely tskk So Zhou Zishu is more wifely personality wise while Wen Kexing is more wifely actions wise, like he takes on all the cooking and the "soft touch" when teaching children pfft. When I say wifely I don't mean fem, (but honestly, even if they're fem, so what?) I'm talking about that quality of having a home in someone. I really like the slice-of-life genre, so I really enjoyed the scenes at the Four Seasons Manor (四季山庄) where you have two dads teaching their son, one focusses on filling their bellies while the other one focusses on healing their hearts (lol sorry cringe). But yeah, Wen Kexing makes the home feel like a home while Zhou Zishu is the home they (Wen Kexing and Chen Ling) found in someone when they lost their own.
I do agree to some extent that Zhou Zishu was getting a little too saintly for my liking. Wifely ≠ Saintly + damsel in distress alright urghhh
I was so peeved (but I've already calmed down so no worries it's still an okay
ending) by the ending of the drama I went to read the last three chaps of the
novel lmao In a way, the team was not lying when they said they recreated a lot of the famous scenes, it's just that the process of getting to that point was a little different. The ending is a little confusing and I believe they had originally prepared a bad ending so that it's easier to get through censorship ahahaha Fans in China were complaining about how they had to pay 3 yuan (for the extra) only to be given an MV and barely any sweet pfft
The thing is, it looked like Wen Kexing died in order to save Zhou Zishu in the "actual" ending (ep 36) but after much analysis by Chinese fans, even if you don't watch the extra, it is still a happy ending. Because the scriptwriter did drop hints about how Ye Baiyi became an Immortal. I'm not that big on Xianxia, but according to avid readers of Xianxia, there's this dual cultivation thing which is basically "leveling up" by doing *censored* ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) hohoho And it's so hilarious because there's this screenshot of this scene where they have random ancient characters flying around and there were two characters that when translated to modern chinese gives "生子" which is giving birth ehehe As the Chinese fans say, you really need to be freaking well-read and educated in order to understand this drama in it's full glory (゜∀゜)!!!
Here are the differences between the drama and the novel that I can tell from three chaps of the novel.
- Both Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu are severely nerfed in the drama version.
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I think it's so they can ups the
dogblooddrama component ahaha - ZZS's IQ is and fighting ability is so severely nerfed sighs I want a cooler ZZS that's not so damsel-in-distress-ly like in the drama
- Like novel ZZS infiltrated into Scorpion King's and saved novel WKX when he was gonna be killed by Scorpion King. And there was this really cool part when WKX ask why he's here and he said is to save WKX while in the drama, he says he's here to die with WKX… Tsk when I watched the drama I thought it was q cute but damn the novel version is so badass. And technically, I feel that drama ZZS can still say "to save you" instead of "to die with you" because he took out the nails and regained like 70-80% (sorry I don't really rmb) of his real power
- Wen Kexing "took" some of the good traits from Zhou Zishu (this I saw from comments)
- This one I guess I can understand even though I've seen Chinese fans bitch about it on weibo saying that the scriptwriter ruined WKX. But like please understand that censorship exists. The way I see it, the novel WKX feel to me to be more of like evil and he more or less embraces that evil while drama WKX is more of like a good boy who desperately wants to be good but is forced to be evil.
- Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishu became childhood friends
- Another one I saw from fans' comments. I believe it's because there's a phrase in the novel that's something along the lines of "I regret not meeting you sooner" and some fans have suggested that the scriptwriter changed it as such to fill in(?) this regret.
- Though however, I did notice this phrase still appearing in the drama when WKX discovers that ZZS doesn't have much time left to live.
- I think this might also be a way the scriptwriter is trying to get through censorship by emphasising on the "bro" in "bromance"
- This line that pissed so many people off it even got its own hot search on Weibo lol: "I'm not your Master, I'm your brother"
- This I read since it was in the last three chaps lol: Don't call me Master, call me Brother. And now for why I think this change is okay and makes sense. As mentioned in the previous point, WKX's character had changed and the vibe novel WKX gives me is super badass while the drama WKX is more softboi. That's why in the novel version, you still see him talking in this rather authoritative tone rather than a softer tone as in the drama.
- So if you're one of those people pissed off by this change, feeling that it ruined an amazing scene, think of whether or not it would match the personality of this new WKX. (think of it in a parallel universe/multiverse(?) way if it helps make you feel better)
- My impression of Scorpion King from the last three chaps: pure NPC
- Scorpion King has a new backstory now where he's the adopted son of Zhao Jing.
- Personally, I think this is q a nice addition to the story because it kinda made Scorpion King into a parallel of WKX in the drama. And through it, it kinda shows you that life can change if you meet the right person and you're willing to change. Scorpion King unfortunately did not get that.
- I think this whole parallel is also very interesting when you put it together with the fact that the actor for Scorpion King was supposed to play WKX but pulled out and played Scorpion King instead because he felt that he isn't that suited for WKX. THANK YOU VERY MUCH SINCERELY (人´∀｀).☆.。.:*☆彡I don't think I would've liked WKX or Scorpion King as much if the actors didn't switch roles.
And lastly, let's end it off with some funnies :>
Xie'er (Scorpion King)→ Share
Yi Fu (Adoptive father, Zhao Jin) → Eve
I forgot to save the images but that same set is used for all the scenes like the Heroes Conference, the place where Rong Xuan died, the Snow Mountain where Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing lived happily ever after, etc (*^ิ艸^ิ*)
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| meow meow laopo | meow meow laopo x2 |
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| Gong Jun being too long for the mattress and blanket ahahahah |
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| Spot the diff XD |
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| "It's over for you once I put my eyeliner on" |
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| mi happy family |
peace lilies~