[Mainland Chinese Drama 2015] The Four 少年四大名捕

[celebrianna]

On the current topic, look how shy Coldblood and Li Mo were acting when Chaser suggested that they act as the bait for the ghost lady who were killing bride grooms on the night of their wedding and he further suggested that they consummate their love so that the emperor could rescind his order for Coldblood to marry the princess.  They’re so innocent. 

 

Also, it was so funny how when they were choosing a couple as bait, everybody was acting like it was a death knell. ROFL.

[Guest]

@celebrianna 

 

I so agree,  I love that feeling of belonging and brotherhood that is so well shown in this drama. 

 

There is something so unique to me about Chinese Drama these days and the reason I watch it more and more...  It's not just the great writing or even the amazing characters.  Or even the beautiful scenery that seems to always be around them.  To me it's the way in which the story itself is presented as a total work of art.  Nothing is left undone.  I don't know how to explain it really....   It's as if other countries views are like watching black & white television and the way in which a Chinese Drama has seem to come a long way and feels so Emotional and so Colorful and it's the passion that just grabs your heart and shakes it until you tremble....

 

Although I hope one day voice subbing and fast endings or open ones are fewer and far between for that too would make a better presentation and the best kinds of dramas to view...

 

 

[themarchioness]

1 hour ago, USAFarmgirl said:

Although I hope one day voice subbing and fast endings or open ones are fewer and far between for that too would make a better presentation and the best kinds of dramas to view...

 

 

 

I agree with the fast/open endings, but voice subbing... I have to say.  People always complain about this but if you actually know the language, the dubbing can be a godsend.  It's frankly necessary sometimes.  

 

If you get used to it, it's not a big deal.  I grew up watching Chinese dramas and it's not something that bothers me at all.  At most, I'll comment on it just because it's something I've noticed.

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, I’m used to dubbing now. I even have a favorite male dub voice although I can’t remember his name now. I recognize him when I hear him though. I don’t know how many characters were dubbed in this but because I knew ZH’s real voice from another drama I knew he was dubbed. However, I must say the deeper voice for his character in this suits Coldblood. I don’t know the true voices for YY and WC though so I don’t know if their voices were also dubbed.

[themarchioness]

Honestly, dubbing is not something I ever noticed until I started reading online comments about it.  Like I mentioned, I've grown up watching Chinese dramas so it was just par for the course for me.  

 

Coldblood and Li Mo were both definitely dubbed in this drama and most likely all the other main characters in this drama as well because that tends to be the case for historical dramas.  (Actually, I've heard WC on Happy Camp and I feel certain he was dubbed as well.)  There's a very specific manner of speech in which people talk in historicals and it's better to use a trained voice actor for that.  Plus, with all the roping and whatnot that they use for the martial arts in them, I've heard it's easier for them to film without any concern to outside noises and then just strip the audio when they piece footage together and then add audio (including dialogue) back in when it's done.

 

Other examples:

 

Spoiler

 

- I don't think anybody was dubbed in "Here 2 Heart" because, if there was one person who would've been dubbed, it would've been Janine Chang.  As a Taiwanese actress, her accent was readily apparent to me and often pulled me out of scenes.  It's probably not something that would've been so jolting had I been watching a Taiwanese drama, because there everyone would be speaking more or less the same (strength of accents really fluctuates across the population), but here, everyone else was from China and Wen Nuan herself is supposed to be born/raised in Shanghai, so it was kind of like, "Um, why are you speaking like a Taiwanese person?"  in that regard, that's an example of where dubbing would've been a good thing.

 

- By contrast, Ariel Lin is also a Taiwanese actress who was not dubbed in "Old Boy," and it was fine.  Her Mandarin is actually pretty accent-less and I never felt pulled out of scenes when hearing her speak.  (Like I said, the mileage in accents can really vary in Taiwan.  It's typically dependent on your background.)

 

- In addition to Taiwan, you also have the Hong Kong actors who work in the mainland.  They're going from 6 tones in Cantonese to 4 tones in Mandarin, and shudder.  Let's just say that Yi Chen from "My Sunshine" would not have been so attractive to me if Wallace Chung had not been dubbed.  Not only is his real voice higher pitched, the accents!!!  Gah.  I think they used his real voice for "Bounty Hunters," and it was all I could do to sit through his dialogues.  Yi Chen, on the other hand, had that deep voice that suited his character so well.  Again, this was another time where I was super grateful for his dubber.

 

- Just because someone is from the mainland doesn't mean they can't be without accents either though!  Zheng Shuang, for example, is from China and after having heard her real voice through Divas Hit the Road, S2, I am also glad they dubbed her for "Love O2O."  She has a very whiny-sounding voice and she tends to slur her words together, which can be quite hard to understand.  The only thing is maybe they should've have picked such high-pitched, shrilly, giggly dubbers (as they did for her roommates)....   Yang Yang, on the other hand, I've never been able to figure out if he was dubbed for "Love O2O."  His real voice is remarkably similar so either they went au natural or they found a dubber with a very similar voice.

 

 

Really, the main takeaway is that dubbing can help make it easier for viewers to understand what the actors are saying on screen.  People tend to forget but China/Hong Kong/Taiwan is a large region with a lot of dialects and variance, which can result in people not understanding the next person at all.  But there is one standard, and that's what dubbing helps with.

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, I watched a YouTube video on why Chinese drama shows are dubbed. The video host made the same points you gave above. She gave an example of a well know movie which has actors from China, Hong Kong and possibly Taiwan and she said it will grate on the nerves of anyone who was a native speaker because of the accents and pronunciations. LOL The way she made it sound it seemed like a mess. I do understand the importance of dubbing though because I heard China have many different dialects. 

 

As to JC, I did wonder if she was dubbed in H2H because I knew she was Taiwanese too although born in Germany I believe.

[themarchioness]

15 minutes ago, celebrianna said:

... and she said it will grate on the nerves of anyone who was a native speaker because of the accents and pronunciations. LOL The way she made it sound it seemed like a mess...

 

It does and it can be.  That's why I said at the outset that for people who say, "But I want to hear their real voices," no.  No they really don't.  They don't know what they're asking for! 

 

Taiwan to mainland is not such a big deal (because at the end of the day they both speak Mandarin so it's more like listening to someone speak English with a southern accent, if you will), but Canto-to-Mandarin is the worst.  And that's not a disparagement against Cantonese speakers.  It's just, as I pointed above, they're going from a totally different dialect that has more tones than the other and it's how they're accustomed to pronouncing their words.  But nevertheless from a Mandarin speaker's perspective it's like nails down a chalkboard.  (To be fair, they'd probably feel the same if they were listening to a Mandarin speaker trying to speak Cantonese.)  Using another example from above, even if Wallace Chung had the same naturally deep voice as his Yi Chen character, his voice would still not be attractive because of the Canto accent.  Shudder.

 

Janine was born in Germany but I think she was still raised/grew up in Taiwan.  Either way though she'd have an accent to a mainlander.  

[Guest]

@themarchioness & @celebrianna  You know I never really thought about that and you all have some great points.  I guess it's like me having a southern draw or country accent  it would be odd to hear different kinds I guess...

 

It's a silly thing I know I guess for me it's just the pure interest in wanting to know how some of my favorite actors or actresses voices sound I know a few from watching award shows but still there is something personal about a persons voice I guess I often wondered too if in knowing your saying the words and they are being heard wouldn't there be more meaning and caring even in expressing oneself.  When acting I wonder?

 

Although I can't say from watching this drama they are lacking in anything...  Surly not in looks LOL just saying!!!!

 

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, thanks for the valuable information on dubbing. 

 

@USAFarmgirl, even though English is English there are some accents that I have had trouble understanding especially when I visit Texas or listening to the accents of the Scottish, Irish, Northern England, Australian, New Zealand, certain Islands in the Caribbean, etc. I confess I “sometimes” watch British crime shows with subtitles. LOL I also have an accent myself. So I suppose I can understand a bit of the dilemma in China. 

 

I do understand what you mean about voice being a part of the act but I suppose it’s something we have to accept for China. I fully appreciate Japanese voice artists for their work on anime shows I love. I don’t hear much about Chinese voice actors though. I guess it’s because the actors in front of the camera does most of the work.

 

As to this show, I’m totally fine with the voices. YY’s voice is the most playful. Chaser’s voice really suits his character. Actually, I think the voices fit the characters overall.

[themarchioness]

1 hour ago, celebrianna said:

As to this show, I’m totally fine with the voices. YY’s voice is the most playful. Chaser’s voice really suits his character. Actually, I think the voices fit the characters overall.

 

Totally agreed.  And if we're talking about dubbing, how about that time Li Mo "dubbed" herself to win over Chun Ping Jie to secure a place at the Bureau?  That was some quick on-her-feet thinking from our smart girl, LOL!  I also loved when she later forgot to alter her surprise because she was so surprised from her fall, and Chun Ping Jie felt scammed.  Haha.

 

@USAFarmgirl Voice actors get training too to learn how to emote and "act" through their voice alone.  I like to think of it as getting to see two acting experiences in one.  If you think of it as getting a bonus, that might help!  :)  Also, I thought this article was an interesting perspective from a voice actor: 

 

http://www.sixthtone.com/news/1700/q%26a-with-voice-artist-on-why-dubbing-will-never-die

[themarchioness]

6 hours ago, celebrianna said:

It made me wonder if Coldblood will inherit his adopted father’s estate after he dies. 

 

I tend to be partial to Coldblood and Heartless simply because their personalities attract me more but I also love Chaser and Iron Fist. I love the brotherhood of all four. 

 

I feel the same way about the four deputies.  But I think that divide is natural because they themselves divided their foursome in that way.  Cold Blood and Wu Qin tended to hang out more just as Iron Fist and Chaser were always together.  Similarly, as we later learned from Iron Fist when he  yelled at Wu Qin, the former were the planners/strategists when it came to their investigations and the latter were the ones who executed those plans.  That's why Iron Fist really needed Wu Qin to stop moping around after the Tribe Princess's death, especially since Cold Blood had disappeared to find Li Mo/ASG and Chaser had been poisoned to behave like a 3-year-old child.

 

As for your other pondering over Cold Blood and his adopted father's estate, I'm not sure if he'd be able to inherit it, because the adopted father is a member of the royal family and Cold Blood isn't an actual member of the royal family, just an adopted one (even if he is a Prince in his own right).  I could see the emperor (whoever is in power at the time) wanting to take back the estate to keep in his coffers and Cold Blood, knowing his personality, probably wouldn't care.  He's got the Bureau.  On the other hand, I could see if he won enough favors with the emperor that the emperor would be okay with Cold Blood inheriting it.  It could probably go either way, however you wanted to imagine it, but I like the idea of Cold Blood inheriting the Bureau anyway so haven't really spent much time wondering about how I would feel about him inheriting his adopted father's estate.

 

On the other hand, I have thought about where they would live after marriage and babies.  Haha!  @kokodus already knows but I often spend a lot of time thinking about dramas after they're over (some more than others) and end up creating what I've called "scenarios" in my head.  For "The Four," I go back and forth a lot.  It mostly comes down to me feeling sorry for the adopted father, living in his estate by himself.  I can just imagine the joy he'd feel upon learning that Li Mo and Cold Blood were expecting, particularly since he and his wife were never able to have children even though they really wanted one.  I'm sure he'd be a doting grandfather.  That's why, in an attempt to keep things fair, I've imagined it such that for Li Mo's confinement and first months after the baby is born, they are staying with the adopted father.  I think there'd be less foot traffic than at the Bureau, so more peaceful for Li Mo, and more dedicated servants on hand to help her.  But I think not being on hand at the Bureau would be difficult for Cold Blood, so eventually once the baby was old enough, they'd return to his quarters at the Bureau.  By then it'd be easier to go back and forth between the Bureau and his adopted father's home, so his adopted father would still be involved.  Plus, Cold Blood's got his plan to drive ZGWG crazy with their horde of children running around.   

 

I've already imagined that, like their future counterparts, they will have a boy, girl, and boy.  Of course they will all be trained in the martial arts, even their daughter (who will also be trained to mind read).  The oldest will take after his dad (he will be named Leng Mo, after all) and the girl will be named Xue Hua (snow flower - after Li Mo, the Tribal Princess, and Yao Hua).  Haven't come up with a name for the youngest, but I imagine he'll be closest to Wu Qin (who I also hope really find his match one day).

 

I've also imagined a scenario where Li Mo's father has figured out she is really alive and so against his wife's wishes, makes the long trip to come visit her, feeling very apologetic and sheepish over what happened in the past.  Of course Li Mo forgives him because that's the kind of person she is.

 

So um... yeah.... that's how I have spent my time, I confess....   DON'T JUDGE.   

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, since he’s not royalty that’s why I wondered if there’s a possibility that he could inherit the estate. If it was otherwise I assume the adopted father would no doubt leave it to him. I think whether it’s the bureau or the estate, both depend on the emperor’s grace though I suppose the former shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Coldblood to take over. Heh, I just wondered if there was enough space at the bureau for his family since he said he wanted a big one. 

 

Haha. It’s funny because last year after watching this I also thought it would be better for Li Mo to go to the estate after she’s several months pregnant. I mean they ended the show with them talking about the children they wanted to have so my mind naturally went there. However, I thought Coldblood could stay between both places but really staying mostly at the estate. 

 

LOL Oh, so Leng Mo will really be the first child’s name? I didn’t take Coldblood seriously but I guess I should. I can’t believe you actually came up with names too for the other children. So cute. 

 

I won’t judge. Once upon a time I wrote fan fiction with over 40 chapters so I’m not qualified to judge. About Li Mo’s dad, I wanted him to see how good she’s living. It’s funny how Li Mo’s mom didn’t think of him but went back to her home country. I want her mom to visit her grandkids.

[celebrianna]

By the way, was anyone else broken hearted when Ru Yan died?

[kokodus]

Ohhh the scenarios...And of course you have even got their names down...I'm not surprised. Will Li mo become the leader of the female deputies??? Her mom was one....Li mo doesn't know any martial arts but I want to ask whether it can be taught to her now...hmm or it has to be cultivated from the childhood?!?!?!?!!

@celebrianna Love your new DP!!!

[celebrianna]

Li Mo can be a female deputy in the cross examination department. I forgot what Chaser called that department. It might be the interrogation department. However, I would think she’d be occupied with raising her kids. Her mother only had a child after quitting her occupation. I guess Li Mo can do limited interrogations.

 

Speaking of Li Mo as a deputy, I laugh so much when she was using fighting words during the rapist tousle with the female deputies. She sure has a lot of spunk.

 

@themarchioness, I forgot to comment on Li Mo’s fake voice to fool Chun Ping. I laughed so much when she let out that long scream and then claimed her voice was cured. LOL

 

@kokodus, do you mean digital photo as DP? I like to do anonymous avatars so I’ll see if I can tolerate exposing myself for now. I much prefer to put what I love on my profile page instead or keep it private. Heh.

[themarchioness]

12 hours ago, celebrianna said:

@themarchioness, since he’s not royalty that’s why I wondered if there’s a possibility that he could inherit the estate. If it was otherwise I assume the adopted father would no doubt leave it to him. I think whether it’s the bureau or the estate, both depend on the emperor’s grace though I suppose the former shouldn’t be too much of an issue for Coldblood to take over. Heh, I just wondered if there was enough space at the bureau for his family since he said he wanted a big one. 

 

I pondered the same question as to space, which is another reason why in my imaginations they return (at least temporarily) to the adopted father's estate.  But on the other hand the Bureau seemed to have expanding walls in this drama -- no matter who came, there was always room for them.  I imagine if Li Mo's mother had wanted to stay behind that would not have been a problem and she'd have gotten her own courtyard to boot.   

 

Given Cold Blood's fame as a deputy, I also don't think it would be a problem for him to eventually take over from GZWG.  Of course, it would be dependent on whomever was in power at the time and how well he got along with him, but my imagination is not going to throw any roadblocks in his way in that regard!  I much prefer Cold Blood at the Bureau than being involved with the Royal family and having constant interactions with court business.  He'll always be involved to some extent in royal politics, as we saw in this drama, but at least he's not entrenched and can be somewhat autonomous and removed at the Bureau.  Chaser, on the other hand, I am more worried about since he'll end up with the Princess.  When it was Cold Blood whom she wanted, she always talked about him elevating his career through her/the royal court and I wonder if she expects the same of Chaser and whether that means he'd have to quit his job at the Bureau.  I don't want to see the foursome broken up, but I guess everyone has to grow up?  I don't know.  I just remember being really sad at the time when Wu Qin wanted to retire and go live out the rest of his days with Ru Yan.  Of course I understood his reasons for wanting to do so, particularly when they'd lost so much time already, but at the same time it was like, "No, don't break up the brotherhood!"  

 

And of course!  I totes think they will actually end up using Leng Mo as the name of the firstborn son.  It's so Cold Blood.    

 

10 hours ago, kokodus said:

Will Li mo become the leader of the female deputies??? Her mom was one....Li mo doesn't know any martial arts but I want to ask whether it can be taught to her now...hmm or it has to be cultivated from the childhood?!?!?!?!!

 

Not in my imaginations and, actually, even within the context I don't think she would - she doesn't know martial arts and now that she's married, she has that to occupy her time.  She was only gung ho previously about being a deputy to make a place for herself at the Bureau but now she has one without needing to prove herself in that way.   I suppose she could learn martial arts now - YY learned it belatedly - but I just don't see her having a need to.  I can see them bringing her in from time to time though if they had a particularly difficult case to crack and her mind reading skills was felt needed.

 

12 hours ago, celebrianna said:

About Li Mo’s dad, I wanted him to see how good she’s living. It’s funny how Li Mo’s mom didn’t think of him but went back to her home country. I want her mom to visit her grandkids.

 

Definitely, that's why it was important in my imaginations to have him come for a visit.  I totally envision this scenario where he shows up at the Bureau asking to see her.  The servants are dispatched to hunt down Cold Blood who's in a meeting with the other three and ZGWG.  He's surprised to hear someone claiming to be Yin Xue's father is at the door.  He then has to take him to his adopted father's estate because she's in the final weeks of her confinement.  He is afraid of shocking her given her current state, but of course she rushes out to greet her father.  At the sight of his daughter, he breaks down in tears - both in apology for what he did to her, but also gratitude to see she's obviously doing well.  He's always going to be in debt to his son-in-law for that alone.   Anyway, since her time is near, the adopted father will invite him to stay at the estate for the birth of the first child and so he'll get a nice long visit in before returning home.  Since it wasn't easy to travel long distances back then, I feel a long visit is appropriate and I imagine the adopted father would appreciate the company as they bonded over being grandfathers for the first time.

 

As for Li Mo's mother, because it's not easy to travel, I'm not sure.  But I feel she and Li Mo would be connected always through their mind reading skills anyway so even if she never visited, she would always know how Li Mo was doing and when she had kids, etc.  Rushing to end this post because I just got called down for a meeting so gots to run!  

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, you really meant it when she said you had it all worked out. LOL I bow to you.

 

I also don’t want Coldblood to get involved in the royal court. It’s too fickle and dangerous in a different sense. At a word heads roll. Emperors have been known to even slaughter their families. I really want Chaser to remain at the bureau too but I don’t know how likely that is. I guess I can console myself with the fact that when a princess marry they do leave the palace to live outside. Their husbands also can serve the court in a different capacity outside participating in the court. I have seen this in Nirvana in Fire and Legend of LuZhen.

 

When Heartless decided to retire, I was happy for him but sad at the same time. I think he only decided that way because ASG was still a threat to Ru Yan. Otherwise, he would have probably remained at the bureau. Well, but it all was a pipe dream in the end. I hope he finds someone who will love him in the future. At times it almost seems that he likes to languish in his tragic love though.

 

What did you think of Zhuge’s love story? It’s funny that the emperor seems to be a hindrance in many of these love stories. 

[themarchioness]

2 hours ago, celebrianna said:

@themarchioness, you really meant it when she said you had it all worked out. LOL I bow to you.

 

I also don’t want Coldblood to get involved in the royal court. It’s too fickle and dangerous in a different sense. At a word heads roll. Emperors have been known to even slaughter their families. I really want Chaser to remain at the bureau too but I don’t know how likely that is. I guess I can console myself with the fact that when a princess marry they do leave the palace to live outside. Their husbands also can serve the court in a different capacity outside participating in the court. I have seen this in Nirvana in Fire and Legend of LuZhen.

 

LOL.  Occupational hazard of being a fanfic writer?  I don't really have the time right now to write a story but that doesn't mean I can't still write one out in my head.  If asked, I'm happy to share at least the plot ideas I have.    

 

That's exactly how I feel about the Royal Court.  Cold Blood's safer where he is.  The only other benefit I can see to Chaser serving in the court in some capacity is that he would be a network link for the Bureau, to have somebody on the inside.  Kind of like how ZGWG had the adopted father.  So it'd be like he's still working with the Bureau (and the foursome was still together), just maybe not in the official capacity as a deputy.  

 

2 hours ago, celebrianna said:

When Heartless decided to retire, I was happy for him but sad at the same time. I think he only decided that way because ASG was still a threat to Ru Yan. Otherwise, he would have probably remained at the bureau. Well, but it all was a pipe dream in the end. I hope he finds someone who will love him in the future. At times it almost seems that he likes to languish in his tragic love though.

 

Yeah, intellectually, I understood all the reasons for him wanting and needing to retire.  I just emotionally could not handle the break-up of The Four.  I felt that way too though when Cold Blood commented on how it was actually kind of nice living in that hidden village within the city.  I totally understood and appreciated that it must be nice to be away from the radar, but at the same time i was like, "You can't stop being a deputy!  You're too awesome at your job."  I mean, who will keep the city safe!?  LOL.

 

And I totally agree about Wu Qin liking tragedy.  That's why even though I do hope that he finds someone eventually, if we're talking about solely within the context of the drama, I was okay with him ending up with no one.  (Not that I wanted Mu Xue to die, but you get my point.)  I just feel like he kind of brought that on himself.  

 

Speaking of Mu Xue, you asked earlier if anyone else was as broken hearted by Ru Yan's death and, you know, I can't say that I was . . . I was to the extent that it hurt Wu Qin.  I wanted her to be alive for him.  But that's because I care a lot about Wu Qin.  Ru Yan, on the other hand, simply wasn't someone we really ever got to know.  We knew who she was, how she was the love of Wu Qin's life, how she was unjustly trapped to go be with ASG, and that's mostly it.  We didn't know her.  The time we had with the actual her basically consisted from the moment Li Mo broke her out of her trance to the time she died, and that was a very short span.  In that time, we certainly got the sense that she was a good person and kind-hearted young woman who got screwed over by ASG.  Again, I felt for her, was sympathetic to her, but I don't know.  I still didn't form an attachment to her.  We just didn't get enough interactions with her.  But of course i did not want her to die and grieved with Wu Qin, but any affections I had for her were through Wu Qin.  

 

Mu Xue, on the other hand, I was really disappointed when she died.  We'd gotten to know her and I like how she fell into the group, and I felt like she would've been so good for Wu Qin, especially with the way she kept pushing at his boundaries and stuff.  When she died, it just felt like an utter loss/waste and I was so annoyed at Wu Qin for having closed himself off to opportunities and then having to regret it.  I really wish she'd lived both for her own sake and for Wu Qin's.  

 

ZGWG's love story was sweet and I really liked the Royal Aunt.  I'd like to think that eventually they can be together for good.  

[celebrianna]

@themarchioness, we really didn’t get to know a lot about Ru Yan but I guess the reason when I felt her death was because I really felt the tragedy of her story. I felt her loss because her life was basically taken away before she even began to live it. I also formed an attachment to her ever since she appeared in ASG’s manor and he was forcing her to learn the poem in order to become Butterfly. It was like he was terrorizing her. She seems like a quiet sweet person from what I saw in Heartless’ flashbacks as well as when Li Mo met her in her mind during the battle to free her from ASG’s mind control. Her family really tried to protect her but couldn’t. Also, since she tried to commit suicide on the day of the wedding to ASG and was forced to live afterwards in the shadow of Butterfly, I just really empathized with her. I confess I was enraged yet crushed when she was killed. I kind of suspected that there was no way a Heartless would leave the bureau so she would have to die.

 

As to Mu Xue, I liked her too but Heartless seemed willfully resistant to her. At times he frankly seemed discourteous to me and she was really patient with him. I don’t get him. He seem to fall a bit for Li Mo but felt opening up to Mu Xue was dishonoring Ru Yan’s memory. In a way I feel that even if he doesn’t find anyone to love in the future he’ll be content with living in his memories. 

 

Someone whom I didn’t feel an attachment for was that crazy wolf girl. Stubborn and unyielding to the end. No matter how Coldblood reason with her, in her eyes he betrayed his tribe. 

[themarchioness]

@celebrianna. totally understand your attachment to Ru Yan even if I don't feel it myself.  I was equally confused by Wu Qin falling for Li Mo, but not Mu Xue.  There just wasn't any good reason to not open up towards Mu Xue, but I wonder if Li Mo was subconsciously "safe" for him to like in that he knew there wasn't a chance with her anyway.  As for Nu Nu, ugh.  She drove me nuts.  I was so frustrated by her stubbornness and refusal to listen to reason.  What he said made sense.  You can't just go off killing people without verifying they are in fact the perpetrators, which is what she wanted to do.  On every level that doesn't make sense.  Not only might you end up killing innocent people (which is, in fact, what would have happened here) but also you don't end up punishing the people that deserve the punishment (which is what she wanted).  I just . . . gah.  Couldn't feel the least bit sorry for her fate. 

 

I have spent my morning rewatching a few episodes of The Four.  (I confess I'm totally avoiding H2H because I'm about to hit the London part and my heart can't take it.  Meanwhile, my friend has totes finished the drama already.  LOL.)  Anyway, some random observations from my rewatch.

 

- In that scene where Cold Blood finally steps up and tells the palace maids to stop bullying Li Mo by issuing ban orders in his name, I've always focused on his actions and the other maids' reaction but this time, I focused in on Li Mo's expression and I love how her eyes go big with the realization that he was never behind it in the fist place.

 

- When Li Mo gets tricked into visiting the men who are bathing behind the mountain, I always laugh a little bit at Wu Qin's reaction where he pulls his robe a little bit tighter.  I mean, how much tighter could his robe be?  It'd be one thing if his robe had been loose, but he was already covered in full.  LOL.  As for Cold Blood's reaction, you really have to wonder why he is *that* upset.  She'd already explained to him that she was innocent but he still gave her a hard time.  It's like he couldn't help himself from torturing her with orders to complete random tasks around his quarters.  And notice how when she finally escapes to her room off to the side, he follows her there.  Just admit it, Cold Blood, you care more than you think!

 

- Whenever I see Cold Blood arguing with the other three deputies at the Inn about how he doesn't think they should help Li Mo, I can only think about how grateful he's going to have to be towards them in the future.  Hee hee hee!  It's especially funny to hear the comments he makes knowing what will later happen.

 

- I finally looked up the name of Cold Blood's quarters at the Bureau.  Apparently it's some idiom, "Fei Yun Che Dian."  I think it means someone/something that is really swift. 

 

There was something else I wanted to comment on, but now I can't recall.