[Mainland Chinese Drama 2015] Nirvana in Fire 琅琊榜

[Guest binfen]

Please, please spoil me! Explain to me the end of Nivana on fire? Red handkerchief is fall down-it's a sign that Su Zhe is dead?

Yes, I don't know if you have noticed, but in the previous episode, Jingyan covered Xiao Shu's ancestor tablet with a red handkerchief (the scene where Chiyan's army and Prince Qi's funeral altar is restored). Apparently, the red handkerchief symbolizes that the person whose name is written on the ancestor tablet has not passed away yet in tradition, but you could also see it as a gesture of Jingyan to cover up Xiao Shu's ancestor tablet which is only given to those who have died. So for Jingyan to uncover the tablet and the fall down of the handkerchief means that the tablet is now officially being used (Xiao Shu's name is on the tablet). You can compare the tablet with a gravestone.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I'm crying right now! But i read there and here and some said there some another epiloegue when Xiao Shu is alive?

I like this ending better. MCS, with the help of the herb, spent the last three months of his life in fighting for his country like someone like him should do, instead of hiding somewhere with his friends for a longer life. Moreover, as he told the Emperor, all he had done wasn't due to a desire for power, wasn't for fame, wealth, the revenge itself or anything else. It was purely for those who died in Meiling, those who love and care the country most, for the long overdue justice that they all deserve. No room left for people in the future to misunderstand or misinterpret it. It's the same as when they said the wrong must be righted when the Emperor is in power, also when they insisted that the Grand princess Liyang herself wants to stand up appealing for a re-investigation on court, she is not forced neither out of a backdoor deal. I love how it's handled there.

[autumn93]

FREE THOUGHT FRIDAY #4: NIRVANA IN FIRE (LANG YA BANG/琅琊榜) BTS/MAKING OF/promotional Goodies

https://dramapenchant.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/free-thought-friday-4-nirvana-in-fire-lang-ya-bang-bts/

[lilhanh]

@outsanity  Did you see this?  Watch from 4:45 on...   Can you tell me what Wu Lei is saying when he was making fun of Hu Ge please?

 

[lilhanh]

This made me happy:  It's all the bts recaps...

 

[lilhanh]

This is why NIF is SO GREAT and why Hu Ge is equally amazing:

 

[ventilator]

Let me start by saying I a not a fan of any of these actors. The title sounded hilarious and I thought I'll watch it to laugh at the costumes, poor acting and plot that is all around 'love couples waiting to get married' which is the usual deal.

Boy, was I wrong.

This is one of the best asian dramas I ever watched in the past 10 years since I started following asian dramas.

I give it 10/10 till the episode where flame poison and beetles explanation happens.

I laughed so hard. It was building up such tension as to what happened to him, I really was wondering what intelligent thing they will come up with and then.....no comment.

So the hairy guy and Fei Liu. are cartoon characters or anime at best. But hey I watch and read both so I could handle it. I thought some of the scenes with Feil Liu were cute (hint:peacock) but I just couldn't swallow the entire 'he's dumb but fights better then anyone routine'.

The failed trio, Li Chen &Fei Liu& Lin Shu..listen guys this show has some golden moments. I feel for these three &wish they could have lived happily ever after forever. I wished for: crown prince Wang Kai gets his cousin back, Lin Shu's fiance to get her man back. Steal him from the embrace of death, he's yours girl ahahahah

This show really makes you connect with every actor in it ( except Fei Liu  and the hairy beetle dude, I'm drawing the line there).

It dedicates episodes  to character development, has good plot, mystery and etc. Everything we so yearn for in other drama's that bore us so we comment on who's fat and who has chemistry  with who since there is literally nothing else to comment in most dramas that's how cliche and washed up they are. Predictable too.

And the end is perfect. What an impact. Such class. The symbolism of the final scenes with crown prince hinting at the end. No bloodshed  scenes or tacky closeups of characters dying like in the beginning of the drama. They don't even give you the chance to call it whiny, boring gory or pathetic trying to squeeze out tears.

No they just leave you dazed&confused&out of words& wishing that long life and meaningful life can be achieved for all characters in this drama.

And yes, this show show show important loyalty is. To your family (royal family in this drama e.g), to your friends.

Happiness is not in 'forever' but in the moments of true loss when you can't cry because you're so thankful and happy to have had so many good ppl around you and with you in your life.

Like I said the show isn't perfect. Most interactions between Hu Ge and Ji Dong (Li Chen) are so waxen, those two look so forced (Hue Ge especially) in scenes where they're supposed to be close. Hu Ge had better bromance moments with the Wang Kai crown prince and taht with lack of romance saved this show and made it great most of the time imho.

Another failure for Hu Ge is interaction with the kid actor. Fei Liu and Hu Ge..jesus I felt nothing watching the together. Don't get me wrong. I was amazed at Fei Liu fighting skills, and my heart would flip when he would show up to protect Lin Shu. But those little moments when Hu Ge fake smiles and is supposed to say 'ah that little rascal' are so flat, without real warmth. Made me think he hates the kid actor in RL. And the kid jesus pulling out your bottom lip and stomping your feet is the most you can do as an actor? Boy, wisen up and you better shine in your new drama  do you hear?

But the show had some scenes that make it up for me.

1.I'm sorry we never got to find out who was marquis Yan son supposed to marry if he was  born as a female. I swear that conversation between Yan Ju Jin and the royal uncle had me smiling like a cheshire cat. First time I found a conversation about arranged marriage while the child is still in mothers womb funny&endearing.

2.The way the princess (Lin Shu finacee)  brushes off Fei Liu with 'what would you understand? you know richard simmons, kid' ahahahahahahahahaha before going crazy and politely requests that the kid goes to with Lin Shu.

3. the scene where Fei Liu interupts a conversation between  Li Chen& Lin Shu using water ahahahahahahahah That is how you explain to others why is it pointless to compete after game no one listens to you anywayXD

4. the scene where Lin Shu can't take it anymore and accepts a candy from his great grandma and takes possession of his fiancee. Poor girl,she didn't see that coming. The desperation in his eyes. That he's finally here /home and that his grandma recognized him but his woman didn't. Better show her what she was waiting for all those yearse Su Zhe huh *wiggle eyebrows*

What made this show 'real' was the ability of Hu Ge and the  Wang Kai (crown prince) to stare seriously into each others faces ahahahah and not look gay at all.

Jingyan(Wang Kai)  was so serious about everything and righteous to get justice for his dead brethern.

And Hu Ge did a decent job walking very slowly and  holding a warmer in his hands. Huddling from the cold he looked so real (like he went to hell and back and now he's cold   that I wanted to scream their heads off (J. alliance,crown price,Lin Shu's fiance) 'Get the man a blanket! Get the fire ready!Can't you see that the man is freezing?! Hug him, girl he's your man. Jesus you ppl step aside I'll help ahahahahahahahahahahah

And I thought that best scenes would be between Hu Ge and Wang Kai  but in the last two episodes (and in the first two) Ji Dong  as Li Chen stole my heart...the conversation where he yells at Lin Shu (btw I'll never forget his 'leave the question in the box, you'll get your answer'&give them the same answer genious mindfuck richard simmons-handling of royal family and anyone because the man truly doesn't gives damn about anything but keeping company to Lin Shu till his last day' So the way he yelled at Lin Shu...boy that was good acting but then he said something that made me laugh. Something like how he has to make it to army barracks before the close them...way  to ruin his character story line. He should have up&left back to L. valley.

Anyway I don't even know if anyone will read this since I wrote too much.  I watched this nonstop for three days and I'm really sorry it's over. This is one show I wouldn't mind if it was 300 episodes long. I'm truly sad that it'd over and am feeling a little bit lost.

I can't believe this topic is only 10pages long, this show deserves at least a hundred.

I'll give it 8/10

It was a big turn off for me to hear such nonsense spouted as a plot twist and I really thought that Hu Ge didn't interact well with anyone besides Wag Kai and that thing that he held in his hands ahahaha

I would have given it 6/10 but Hu Ge with his scars,  and holding himself true as a bed ridden prince did  a very good job ( maybe if someone else played Fei Liu it would have been better ahaha).  And we must not forget Wang Kai using his  (face) profile to cut through the richard simmons of the 'beetle mystery' thank god he was kept in the dark about it since his serious face and love for logical explanations would stop him to believe it.

Those two, man my heart aches when family is apart.

PIus I feel sorry for Lin Shu's finacee too. Asking for promises ahem  asking him to lie because the girl was desperate and hope dies last. Their promise to each other in the end is heart crushing.

I didn't need a kiss scene he showed his feelings enoughby grabbing her hand in front of his grandma. Now girls, when they do that ot means YOU'Re THE ONE&ONLY Talk is cheap, and kisses are just licking as in saying hello to anyone you feel like.

 

I loved Li Chen when he proposed that Lin Shu, his fiancee, Fei Liu and him should go sight seeing. The way he walked around and layed out the itinerary...it is something only a true friend would do. It was one of my favourite scenes in this show.

Does anyone know whose bride Yan Ju Jin was supposed to be?

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2015 by ventilator
typos from being tired&lack of sleep

[ventilator]

Ok, I 've just read these 10 pages ( I was to excited so I just wrote my impressions a day ago).

I did not know this was a novel first.

I guess considering that maybe Fei Liu actor couldn't do much if he was supposed to be mentally challenged but a trained assassin/bodyguard.

 

SPOILERS AHEAD

I'm sorry that not even the novel explains what happens to Lin Shu's friends after he dies, but this show wasn't about happily ever after. It was more about showing how many steps you have to climb, how many ppl you need to lean on to get something done before you die.

I realized they put in heterosexual romance, but I don't mind it. In my opinion these scenes did not damage the drama and were well done with good taste.

I like bromance, a lot. Since ppl are mean to females (always finding flaws in them but while commenting males they're always handsome or manly or etc) it's easier to watch male actor correlate to one another the correlations between genders.

It's like this: some ppl don't match well as the main romance couple.

They're either too tall or too short, she's shorter but her her head is bigger then his and kisses are weird to look at.

Or his hands are too small for her face.

Now I was being polite here and focused on stuff that really doesn't look good in scenes. You can also give mean comments on how someone looks older, more fat etc.

I really don't like it when they pick short girls just because the main lead is short so they have to cast someone shorter then him. Specially if the girl is supposed to be a fighter. I've been in fights my entire life and trust me if you're small, you mostly lose them. I'm talking from personal experience. So wearing an armour to be sexy or 'look strong' in a drama is just *facepalm*

 

So ppl critize female actors.

And blame them if there is no chemistry. And mostly there is no chemistry what so ever. I mean c'mon guys. No matter how popular, handsome or pretty a guy is are you srsly telling me that you can muster up some love feels in a couple of months while shooting a drama. These romances they're supposed to act out are written on storylines of couples that develop feelings for at least 10 years.

If you hadn't had that kind of romance in your life, you can't fake it imho.

 

So thank God that this was bromance, since I did not like how these two looked together at all.

But I was cheering for them, regardless. Since I thought they could be good companions for each other in life. She seemed like a sensible woman that just wanted to find some happiness with Lin Shu. ( I'm ignoring the novel ending here, guys.)

 

It's okay to joke around homosexual connotations of bromance between Prince and Lin Shu. I'm not Asian, nor am I chinese, haven't read the novel so I don't know if the author of this is gay ( like that guy in Tiny times franchise) or a straight dude that wanted to write this as a gay novel but couldn't for some reason so left it in bromance.

 

I'll just say that romance annoys me in dramas that aren't rom-com. It's only good if it's funny.

You have porn, and then you have rom com. We westerns mix them together and mostly we traumatize ourselves with it.

Since after a couple of tv shows it's neither funny or revealing (what's there to see, when we've seen EVERYTHING)

So even if this is a gay coupling ( in the drama and novel) thank God there was no touching and etc. since it would ruin everything.

Because, kisses&bla bla are cool for teenage angst dramas&movies but adult ppl (normal ones) don't slobber each other every chance they get. Life is hard, there is plenty of drama (ppl close to you die, you go broke, you lose your house etc) and what you really need is support and Lin Shu had many ppl to support him.

 

I agree that I would like to see a prequel to this. Forming of J-something alliance and all. But I don't think I'll get it.

I started watching The Disguiser to see more interactions of these actors (although it is not a prequel).

The bar is set high for chinese dramas from now on.

They showed they can throw some serious money to make pretty shows. And this one had good script too. The actors did a decent job. It would all fall apart if it weren't for an excellent supporting cast imho.

 

But I agree with you the show could have been so much better. This wasn't perfect.

I can't get over the beetles&flame poison. The stupidity of it.

I did not know Hu Ge liked cats ( I love them too) or that he was friends with Wallace Huo.

I watched four Huo's drama's and they were pretty bad. Like you get bored watching them, and it takes too long for something to happen.  I liked the first 16 episodes of the Perfect couple. Love me if you dare is blah. I found that new drama Journey of the Flower something where he is Shifu boring as hell. Not hot at all. richard simmons ridiculous if you ask me.

As I said I don't follow any of these actors.

I like them now ( Wang KAi, Hu Ge, Ji Dong) but only because of this drama. That doesn't mean I would like to watch anything they star in. I would however watched a show that this producing company did ( they do such lovely work) and any drama this script writer and series director did.

In the novel do they say whose bride the Yan son would be if he was born  female?

 

 

 

 

 

[ventilator]

p.s where can I get (download) english  subtitles for this show? My videos are raw:(

[lilhanh]

@ventilator  

 "agree that I would like to see a prequel to this. Forming of J-something alliance and all. But I don't think I'll get it.

I started watching The Disguiser to see more interactions of these actors (although it is not a prequel)."

 

LOL  Man, talking about passion and being critical.  But it's nice to hear another perspective even if it's different and I don't always agree.  I love the bromance in this story and am weak for ALL the characters interacting with Hu Ge.  How come you didn't mention the Commander (actor Chen Long).  I enjoyed all his scenes in the show shared with Hu Ge and Wang Kai.  I grew up with Asian drama and am Asian so it's easy to understand the rooted belief system and history.  I'm also use to dumb scripts with cliched plots and have accepted it because, well, I love Asian drama so what can I do?  

I love Fei Liu (aka Wu Lei) and he's a good actor but still developing.  Hu Ge and Wu Lei go way back since he was 6 years old.  They love each other lots.  

Tell me your thoughts on Disguiser.  I've been flipping back and forth between these 2 dramas and re-watching because the bar has been raised beyond hope that I think I'll never be able to truly enjoy any Asian drama anymore.  Jin Dong who played Li Chen will blow your mind away as Ming Lau.  The cast are top notch actors and Hu Ge has never really earned my respect until now.  I'm now hopelessly stalking him online to learn more about him.  And I'm not disappointed.  Since you love cats, Hu Ge owns 5 cats.  He recently shared a story where he received a bedding with a huge cat head given to him by a fan.  He thought it was adorable.  His cats are out in the balcony.  He thought it would be funny to scare them with the pillow.  It works.  He did it again.  They jumped like crazy again.  Then he realized that they were really, I mean REALLY scared, so he threw the pillow down to run over to comfort them.  However, the minute he stepped on the balcony he smelled a strong, foul odor and realized his cats got scared to the point they peed.  He said he won't ever take that pillow out again for fear the cats would be peeing again! lol  Here's the clip:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E2Eg3ho0WA

[trueTamao .]

On 12/3/2015, 5:15:26, ventilator said:

p.s where can I get (download) english  subtitles for this show? My videos are raw:(

watch online watch at viki or http://myasiantv.se/

[40somethingahjumma]

While I know we all have our own thoughts on such things, I struggle with the view that the only bromance that worked in this show was between MCS and Jingyan. 

To me one of the more delightful aspects of the show was seeing MCS interact with every single person particularly the men he was closest to. The genius was in how they were all different and how each brought out a different dimension to his character. Fei Liu was not just his bodyguard but a younger brother that he indulged in. His interactions with Fei Liu showed that even if he was the masterful, scheming strategist to the rest of the world, he could also be the doting and playful brother figure. Likewise his relationship with Physician Yan, the only person he was in actual fear of.

Hu Ge to his great credit was able to bring out all those aspects to the character. That's why I think this is the best thing I've ever seen him in. I haven't seen The Disguiser yet and I hear he's pretty good there too.

[outsanity]

The bromance between MCS/JY is just the most touching. I admire his interactions with everyone, especially with Meng, and all the "I don't understand" haha

[lilhanh]

Did you see the recent award ceremony with Jin Dong, Hu Ge, and Wallace?? It's so funny and great!  So proud of our actors for taking the prize this year!!!

 

[Immortal_Angel]

16 minutes ago, lilhanh said:

Did you see the recent award ceremony with Jin Dong, Hu Ge, and Wallace?? It's so funny and great!  So proud of our actors for taking the prize this year!!!

 

 

haha yes I love Hu Ge and Wallace interaction. So proud of Hu Ge for winning the best actor for the drama too! The actor for Fei Liu was cute too appearing on stage with the fur cloak to put on for Hu Ge like episode 1 of the drama

[xiaodan4869]

A newbie here, 又有可以和大家讨论榜砸的地方了

Always good to see familiar people @Outsanity @IMOmusings

[Guest severus]

On December 10, 2015 at 2:05 PM, xiaodan4869 said:

A newbie here, 又有可以和大家讨论榜砸的地方了

Always good to see familiar people @Outsanity @IMOmusings

 

榜砸是什么？

我就是现在还在为霓凰心疼 

 

[sugarplum892]

Hello everyone!  Great to see more new faces here! As a friendly reminder, please provide English translations if you would like to use a different language when discussing. Thank you @severus @xiaodan4869

[xiaodan4869]

3 hours ago, severus said:

 

榜砸是什么？

我就是现在还在为霓凰心疼 

 

…琅琊榜

并不心疼 本来也不站殊凰 挺反感删了聂铎而强行殊凰 

Not at all. Never ships Shu/Huang. Feel antagonistic they deleted Nie Duo but forced Shu/Huang together.

[EllieSummer]

Recently just finished watching this! Here's an unofficial fan made cut ending. Just thought I'd share it here for people who didn't know about it! Enjoy! 

 

I'm not sure which is better, but the impact of the official ending was definitely much stronger for me than this one. I guess this can be a personal preference type of thing. 

[syntaxerror]

Really love this drama.

Can anyone recommend any similar dramas? Wuxia drama that are heavily political?