Peony
Enjoyable if you are into any of the actors, Suzhou aesthetics and dynamic characters
I'll get the negatives out first
1. Show has choppy editing and transitions sometimes, some parts feel hasty and rushed for no reason
2. Plot is sloppy and the spy parts sometimes feels only a little bit better than child's play
3. Xiao Ruotong's character feels way too weepy and all over the place for someone with her responsibilities, sometimes.
Good things
1. Really enjoyable acting from everyone of the veteran cast, and Zeng Shunxi and Chen Duling also gave compelling performances.
2. Chen Duling's character felt like a very good example of how a woman can be physically weak, not skilled/knowledgeable/involved in the ML's line of work, but can still be strong-willed and an active participant of the storyline.
3. A beautiful visual feast of Suzhou architecture, Ming-Qing style furniture and elegant qipaos and suits.
4. As expected of a WW2 freedom struggle drama, it was very dark and brutal at times, but somehow not oppressively so like I found some other big shows about this era were: for example The Disguiser, which was like 5x ahead of A Lonely Hero's Journey in lots of aspects but I found it VERY difficult to root for the characters there and enter their headspace/relate to their povs. That didn't happen here. Most of the characters were pretty likeable to me in their own ways, even though they all stood on different spots of the morality spectrum. Which leads to my next point:
5. Huge kudos for making 90% characters so 3D regardless of their alliances. This show had baddies, traitors, opportunists who were treated empathetically nonetheless, and also the people on the "good" side who were not all that likeable all the time. If you see people spouting that Cdramas always have clear cut black and white censored portrayals of stories that take place in sensitive historical time periods, that they bend over their back to ensure the audience wouldn't root for the characters in the wrong side, just slap a show like this in their face. And this show isn't even the best China has to offer in this genre but it still has this basic quality.
Bonus:
This really beautiful old gramophone song
"Teach Me How Not to Think of Her (教我如何不想她) by 赵元任 (Zhao Yuanren)" was used in the bgm, and it made for a haunting, immersive experience of that time period's atmosphere. Even if you don't watch the show I HIGHLY rec you at least look that song up on youtube. The drama used two versions of the song, the og and a softer, modern cover by Zeng Shunxi.
And lastly, if you are a DMBJ fan, you'd especially enjoy seeing ZSX, who played the DMBJ hero Wu Xie before, flaunting architecture knowledge and going through a "curious and energetic youth to broken down and steel-willed" arc 🤭 It was quite like seeing an alternate universe Wu Xie lol
1. Show has choppy editing and transitions sometimes, some parts feel hasty and rushed for no reason
2. Plot is sloppy and the spy parts sometimes feels only a little bit better than child's play
3. Xiao Ruotong's character feels way too weepy and all over the place for someone with her responsibilities, sometimes.
Good things
1. Really enjoyable acting from everyone of the veteran cast, and Zeng Shunxi and Chen Duling also gave compelling performances.
2. Chen Duling's character felt like a very good example of how a woman can be physically weak, not skilled/knowledgeable/involved in the ML's line of work, but can still be strong-willed and an active participant of the storyline.
3. A beautiful visual feast of Suzhou architecture, Ming-Qing style furniture and elegant qipaos and suits.
4. As expected of a WW2 freedom struggle drama, it was very dark and brutal at times, but somehow not oppressively so like I found some other big shows about this era were: for example The Disguiser, which was like 5x ahead of A Lonely Hero's Journey in lots of aspects but I found it VERY difficult to root for the characters there and enter their headspace/relate to their povs. That didn't happen here. Most of the characters were pretty likeable to me in their own ways, even though they all stood on different spots of the morality spectrum. Which leads to my next point:
5. Huge kudos for making 90% characters so 3D regardless of their alliances. This show had baddies, traitors, opportunists who were treated empathetically nonetheless, and also the people on the "good" side who were not all that likeable all the time. If you see people spouting that Cdramas always have clear cut black and white censored portrayals of stories that take place in sensitive historical time periods, that they bend over their back to ensure the audience wouldn't root for the characters in the wrong side, just slap a show like this in their face. And this show isn't even the best China has to offer in this genre but it still has this basic quality.
Bonus:
This really beautiful old gramophone song
"Teach Me How Not to Think of Her (教我如何不想她) by 赵元任 (Zhao Yuanren)" was used in the bgm, and it made for a haunting, immersive experience of that time period's atmosphere. Even if you don't watch the show I HIGHLY rec you at least look that song up on youtube. The drama used two versions of the song, the og and a softer, modern cover by Zeng Shunxi.
And lastly, if you are a DMBJ fan, you'd especially enjoy seeing ZSX, who played the DMBJ hero Wu Xie before, flaunting architecture knowledge and going through a "curious and energetic youth to broken down and steel-willed" arc 🤭 It was quite like seeing an alternate universe Wu Xie lol
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