[Current Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] Ming Dynasty 大明風華

[Le_Amarant]

There was only one new episode today??? I thought it's 2 new episodes every day.

[insertusernamehere]

18 minutes ago, Le_Amarant said:

There was only one new episode today??? I thought it's 2 new episodes every day.

I think 2 eps every weekday and Fri/Sat have 1 ep

[whome]

17 hours ago, insertusernamehere said:

wasn't he criticized as being stiff in that drama? I haven't seen it but I bet if that was the case, he has improved a lot!

This is the first drama I saw with him, he's really so good, this character was made for him! Would you recommend any other drama that he was in?

 

I've been watching ZYW for a few years now, and I like him. He's really funny (you can see this in Keep Running  [Chinese version of Running Man] when he was added as a regular member this past year. He seriously has a funny streak.

 

The other drama I like him in is "Across the Ocean to See You" (漂洋过海来看你). It's a modern drama and came out a few years ago. 

[Takingthehighroad]

Though I love this drama because of the slow burn, it lacks the smooth transitions between scenes. Actually, I get quite dizzy trying to put events in order. I'm becoming quite accustomed to Tang Wei in this role - she is so comfortable around the men (i.e., grandson, Emperor, monk); I would love to see more of her fighting skills but I suppose she's had to give that up since entering the palace.

 

Spoiler

So now the monk has left the emperor's side. From what I gather he'd been with the emperor since childhood & now is against this latest act of aggression, as are the CP & ministers. The following is only my interpretation of the conversation: He reminds the emperor how he (the emperor) has been haunted by how he took the throne & all the countless innocent deaths. But here once again, the emperor is wanting to do the same thing. 

 

The monk tells Sun Ruowei that he wants to seek nirvana or enlightenment in the cave at the cliffs. Whether he dies is up to our interpretation. But notice, Sun Ruowei  does as the monk asks & cuts the rope. That act alone demonstrates her understanding of his pain & disillusionment.

 

Someone correct me if I've interpreted this wrong.

 

Notice how the grandson is always with Sun Ruowei  & has very little interaction with her sister. Has the wedding even taken place yet? 

[moon-flower]

@Takingthehighroad  oh good, I thought I was the only one or watching some kind of edited version of the actual drama. Feels like the transitions are chopping and missing some scenes. The wedding is on ep 28 and sort of glossed over. 

[insertusernamehere]

I think there are several versions of episodes floating around - what I'm watching had the title granting ceremony and the wedding in ep 25-26, the ep number is the same as the one on YouTube. I've also seen online episode 29 or even 30 that has the first half as the ep 26 I watched. Very confusing! I'll be referring to the episode number that's on YouTube, FYI.

 

@crackaddict I think your interpretation is right. I was actually confused that 

Spoiler

Ruowei cut the rope. I know she didn't actually wanna kill him and he did ask her to cut the rope when he "arrived," but how would she know? Wouldn't it be best just to leave it be?

I've been refreshing the website like crazy waiting for the new ep today, I'm completely obsessed! I did skip a lot of the family drama and political talk which was actually interesting during my first binge, maybe I have to go back and rewatch lol

 

I really like how events, however small, are connected and have consequences on later events. Like the seemingly random story of that young concubine who ran away was a major plot point in driving the younger sister's story forward, and I suspect will play into the infamous real life "scandal" of the Yongle emperor later in his life (he killed an entire inner palace staff of 3000 people to bury the rumor that one of his concubines had an affair with an eunuch).

 

I'm waiting for the story of the guy who won the state exam but then got drafted to become the horse manager guy to pay off I know it will pay off eventually but it's taking its sweet time lol 

[insertusernamehere]

10 minutes ago, moon-flower said:

@Takingthehighroad  oh good, I thought I was the only one or watching some kind of edited version of the actual drama. Feels like the transitions are chopping and missing some scenes. The wedding is on ep 28 and sort of glossed over. 

The version with the weird episode number does miss some scenes, I would advise watching the version with the longer episode length (45 minutes instead of 30-35 minutes), but yes it does have some editing issues!

[believed]

15 minutes ago, insertusernamehere said:

The version with the weird episode number does miss some scenes, I would advise watching the version with the longer episode length (45 minutes instead of 30-35 minutes), but yes it does have some editing issues!

I wasn't aware there were two sets of videos on Youtube (is it on Youtube?) but thank you for making us aware of it! I'll be keeping an eye on the episode lengths.

[Takingthehighroad]

56 minutes ago, insertusernamehere said:

I'm waiting for the story of the guy who won the state exam but then got drafted to become the horse manager guy to pay off I know it will pay off eventually but it's taking its sweet time lol 

Spoiler

He actually assumes the emperor's side at the start of the battle, after a betrayal which leaves him the only one alive. That's in ep. 29 on another site - I'm guilty of searching for any place to watch or catch snippets regarding this drama. The battle actually begins in this episode (29) & a lot of things happen that show this is not going to be an easy battle. The 2nd & 3rd brother have these evil smirks, like they know something between them. The younger sis is using her evil eye again to intimidate a maid. Will she kill this one, too? 

I think things will now start to pick up -from a slow burn to a little-bit-faster burn. 

[Le_Amarant]

I want to watch the romance plotline, not this war plotline. Sigh.

 

The most up-to-date episodes are on Youku.

[insertusernamehere]

3 hours ago, believed said:

I wasn't aware there were two sets of videos on Youtube (is it on Youtube?) but thank you for making us aware of it! I'll be keeping an eye on the episode lengths.

This channel: 

捷成华视—偶像剧场 Idol & Romance

I believe is the official distribution in the US (they're the one with the google translate sub while slowly updating with somewhat-better subs, they have new eps daily). Their episode numbering/cut is also what dimsum.my and the Viet channel I'm watching have. I believe this is also what is being aired on Hunan TV.

 

The other youtube channels with a red episode number in the corner are "unofficial", and come from the youku cuts from the Youku, but their episodes are missing some scenes that youku has. The Youku app right now is up to ep 29 (only available for VIP), and the free version is up to ep 28, whose first half was the later half of ep 26 of the other version. I don't think the Youku version has more materials, probably just slight shorter eps? In both versions they jumped straight from the wedding to the conversation the night after lol I have so many questions...if he's supposed to sleep with just one person a night and supposedly the first wife first, what happened then? etc. etc.

 

[insertusernamehere]

1 hour ago, Le_Amarant said:

I want to watch the romance plotline, not this war plotline. Sigh.

Haha, actually I skipped a lot when I was first binging and didn't care for the politics/family/war plot lines, but when I was re-watching a couple of eps with the better English subs (to check for my friends), I really enjoyed the dialogue and the details of these plots. All these details build on each other and factor into later main story lines.

Spoiler

this war, if they're following history, is when the Yongle Emperor died. And the horse/state exam guy was an important figure later in court, so I'm sure this war plot will explain his relationship with the other characters as well.

I just skipped the fighting scenes and watched when they're talking  it's actually interesting!

 

I think my problems with the harem/inner palace dramas in the past was, while it was exciting at first, it gets really repetitive and tiring to see the same people fighting each other, and their world is confined to the inner palace - it feels small. Unfortunately, that was the role of women back then. So if we were just to focus on the romance, we will only get inner palace fighting and the Imperial Grandson will only show up to mediate/resolve conflicts . I like that we see the entire world in this drama, with each character having their own life doing their own thing, at the expense of less screen time for our main couple. 

 

Of course there are other types of dramas that focus entirely on the romance like 3 miles of peach blossom or Ashes of Love, which are great too, but I'm really enjoying the ensemble cast here. This drama really reminds me of Ming Lan, my favorite Cdrama probably ever (excluding old, old Jin Yong wuxia dramas), where we can enjoy both the main couple and the world around them!

[Le_Amarant]

I'm super curious about this scene at the end of the official trailer: 

 

I feel like it's a dream-scene that might come at the end of the series. Who is with RX on the boat? That might answer the question of who the OTP of this series actually is.

 

 

[insertusernamehere]

3 hours ago, Le_Amarant said:

I'm super curious about this scene at the end of the official trailer: 

 

I feel like it's a dream-scene that might come at the end of the series. Who is with RX on the boat? That might answer the question of who the OTP of this series actually is.

 

 

Ohh good point! I think that might be the case, unless it's just really bad CGI and they were really going somewhere real lol there was a boat dream/analogy scene when Zhanji was being introspective while Ruowei got severely injured from the arrow, so I hope this other boat scene will be a callback to that.

[crackaddict]

That guy, Nie Xing. Does anyone else find him unbearably stubborn, willful and a bit delusional?? I find this character be very insignificant to the story line. Is he just there to annoy us and serve as a wedge between the leads??

[skibbies]

Re: two version, the one with consistent 45mins is the DVD version and the original edit that drama team did. Hunan TV is known for cutting scenes AND shoving flashback to shorten or extend the show. TV version is generally 50 to 55mins, but you will get 35 or 20mins (it's usually friday iirc) if you are unlucky and the news have been extended thus cutting into the primetime slot this drama airs. 

[insertusernamehere]

Ep 34 (youku version) preview omgomgomg <3 finally some affection from Ruowei!!

[insertusernamehere]

It will be ep 32 for the official version. This preview is everything and more!

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

She's basically saying since they're husband and wife she'll stay with him no matter what!!

 

[Takingthehighroad]

This wait between episodes is a bummer! 

 

2 hours ago, insertusernamehere said:

Ep 34 (youku version) preview omgomgomg <3 finally some affection from Ruowei!!

Spoiler

Thank goodness. What I'm curious about, though, is this after his return from the war? His fighting skills are amazing (I mean that he plays his part so well). When the enemies had him chained on the battlefield & he broke free. Love him.

I'm watching it raw & with limited knowledge of the Chinese language, I have to rely on body language/facial expressions. I much prefer the serious historical dramas vs. the cutesy heroines/pretty-type ML.

[Le_Amarant]

Finnnnnnally. Cannot wait for the story to resume tomorrow.