[[Drama 2017-2018] A Korean Odyssey/Hwayugi 화유기]

     Ordinarily I just lurk, basking in the fun everyone has analyzing these shows.  I have to admit to being confused about the confusion re. whether SOG's feelings are real or not, however, so I figured I'd de-lurk and put in my own two cents. 

    If we go with the original Journey to the West template, of course his feelings are real; they always have been.

    In Journey to the West (Anthony Yu's revised translation, which is long and highly footnoted and very cool for people who are hopelessly curious about everything but don't read Chinese–yet– like me), the GGG was really just a catalyst to get Sun Oh Gong back on the path towards enlightenment, which was his intended destiny all along.  Two people had the key to make it work: the monk [Xuangzang/Sam Jang] and the bodhisattva Kwan Yin who was in charge of the GGG to begin with (well, three, if you count the buddha who originally gave the GGG to the bodhisattva). Both Kwan Yin and "Sam Jang" used the GGG to control SOG when he refused to control himself– but by the end, he had mastered self-control and attained enlightenment, so that he could no longer be bound by the GGG.
     By this light, SOG's feelings have been real all the way along (they have been since JSM freed him from the prison). His sense of self-preservation (okay, his bad temper, which was one reason he ended up in prison to begin with) prevented him from acknowledging those feelings at first, but through the course of the series we've seen him come to terms with the idea- mostly because of the GGG.
     The GGG, whether in the classic story or in the current drama, is a means of controlling SOG's bad temper until he learns to control it himself. The more he acts in harmony with his own true nature, the less the GGG will need to work.  Eventually, as we saw glimpses of in episode 10, the GGG will have no control over him because he will be acting in complete harmony with himself. The fun part for me is seeing how the characters may not even know that this is happening, not consciously, but are using the GGG as an excuse to do what they want to do anyway. (It's like a kid telling friends "I can't go to the party my parents will kill me" when they don't have the courage yet to say "not my thing, no thanks".)
.... so no need to worry about whether or not the feelings are real. They are. Always have been. There's a lot for the Hong sisters to play with in that dynamic, still, but I've learned to trust the writers. They're not gonna screw that up– it's one of the founding premises of the whole story.  <picks up popcorn and goes back to lurking>

[[Mainland Chinese Drama 2017] Princess Agents 特工皇妃楚乔传]

Hi all, delurking for a moment...

... I think I am very glad that nobody on this thread (well, that's a huge exaggeration...) knew me when I was in my late teens/early twenties.  I love the way CQ is being portrayed– she reminds me so much of me once upon a time, and yes that includes her faith in YX in spite of what he has become and her mistrust in YWY no matter how nice he is.  Her mistakes are real and painful (literally torturous, and I'm so glad I don't have to live with THAT kind of trauma), but she's doing the best she knows how.   Of course, I'm here mostly for the fighting and military sequences (I'm dreadfully bored by all the politicking intrigue, even though I know it matters to the story)...
... oh, while I'm here anyway, I might as well confess that I have no patience for stubborn spoiled twit princess who is really as manipulative and stupid as her father, or for her equally spoiled brother who tries to get out of everything by grinning sweetly and being cute.  I might even go so far as to point to this story line as "what happens when spoiled rich kids don't get their way" (and that includes YX, who has always been narcissistic and manipulative, he just hid it).  What saves YWY is that he wasn't ever spoiled that way, has survived a VERY difficult education, and is absolutely stiff with honor– ditto the general Prince (7th Prince?) who I have started to really admire... And there's CQ stuck in the middle, a pawn being transformed into the queen whether she wants it or not, all because she thinks that people deserve to be treated like people instead of things.  Compelling characters all of them, even the ones I hate.

[[Mainland Chinese Drama 2017] Three Lives Three Worlds Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms 三生三世，十里桃花]

De-lurking for a few reasons.  1- obligatory sharing the love.  2- gratitude for those who feed the addiction  3- wanted to comment on the BQ as mom question.  Disclaimer, Yup, mom myself. My perspective: a mortal wife who discovers that her husband's family treat her like the mistress not the wife, the wife who tells her that she is just a stand in, the loneliness that comes from being lower in rank and powerthan the lowliest of maids, pregnant and hormonal.  By the time she gives birth, she can pretty much guess that her child will be taken from her anyway (remember, that is what the emperor did to YH and his mom too). She knows that her son will be well cared for, and decides to keep what is left of her self respect by returning to her own place, of her own volition.  Even when she remembers that AL is her son, she doesn't have custody rights or even really visitation rights because nobody wants to give her that.  Remember, the sky people are pretty full of themselves and don't appreciate the honesty of the fox clan.  So, the best thing she can do is not make things more difficult.  It. Is entirely possible that if her mother-in-law had brought AL to her she would have snapped out of it, but the sky people blame her for everything they can get away with, particularly since they should be embarrassed about her mortal life and can't deal.  So is she a bad mom,for trying to keep the drama of her own situation out of her sons life? I don't think so. I think she's doing the best she can in a horrible situation.