Nirvana in Fire
11 Nov 2017 22:26![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
extrapenguinOnce more, I am late to the party, and have started watching Nirvana in Fire. (Thanks, scheefink!) So far, I've watched eps 1-4. If you're interested, they're here, subbed.
The martial arts is loltastically up to 11. Physics need not apply! My sorta-partial faceblindness that manifests as inability to keep live action characters straight is a bit of a problem, but I can recognize Mei Changsu, Prince Yu, the Crown Prince, Mu Nihuang, and Meng Zhi now! (I keep notes about who's who. I still occasionally miss characters, and I have no idea who's related to whom.)
So far, the first few lines of description on Viki made me guess that Mei Changsu is Lin Shu, confirmed by Meng Zhi talking about the Lin family. IIRC he was also betrothed to Princess Mu Nihuang? And got exiled or something for some crime thingy, and he's now seeking revenge by putting Prince Jing on the throne. Okay, sure; I agree with him that Jing's got some actual morals to him. Speaking of, I thought Tingsheng was Jing's bastard son, but apparently he's the deceased Crown Prince Qi's son? On the one hand, this was kinda unexpected; on the other, having Jing be motivated by brotherly loyalty is maybe a bit more appealing to me than having it just be paternal urges. Hmm.
Of the various wives and concubines, I cannot keep them straight – I can recognize second-rate concubine medic lady in white and the Grand Princess, but not the rest, and I've probably missed the part where they tell us exactly who's whose mother. I wish I had some sort of family tree, tbh. Also the bit with the aphrodisiac wine was unclear – the Marquis used it on the Grand Princess to ... get her to marry him? Is the idea to weaken the Princess Nihuang enough that she will lose to the next opponent?
Speaking of Mu Nihuang, her introduction scene was like the best ever, lol. She also looks really good in her armor, and I kinda ship her with Xia Dong the special investigator from Xuanjing Bureau. Too bad Xia Dong was sent elsewhere. She'll probably return eventually with news of the plot-relevant development. Other potential ships so far include Mei Changsu/Meng Zhi and Mei Changsu/Prince Jing.
All in all, so far it's competent enough intrigue with a cast list of mostly very attractive people. Highlights include Mu Nihuang and Meng Zhi (I don't usually like facial hair, but apparently I have exceptions). The clothes are nice and ornate and qualify as costume porn, especially the armor. I might miss some things due to not being aware of Chinese drama narrative conventions, but hey, exposing oneself to novel stimuli is a good thing.Even if one is drowning in work.
scheefink!) So far, I've watched eps 1-4. If you're interested, they're here, subbed.The martial arts is loltastically up to 11. Physics need not apply! My sorta-partial faceblindness that manifests as inability to keep live action characters straight is a bit of a problem, but I can recognize Mei Changsu, Prince Yu, the Crown Prince, Mu Nihuang, and Meng Zhi now! (I keep notes about who's who. I still occasionally miss characters, and I have no idea who's related to whom.)
So far, the first few lines of description on Viki made me guess that Mei Changsu is Lin Shu, confirmed by Meng Zhi talking about the Lin family. IIRC he was also betrothed to Princess Mu Nihuang? And got exiled or something for some crime thingy, and he's now seeking revenge by putting Prince Jing on the throne. Okay, sure; I agree with him that Jing's got some actual morals to him. Speaking of, I thought Tingsheng was Jing's bastard son, but apparently he's the deceased Crown Prince Qi's son? On the one hand, this was kinda unexpected; on the other, having Jing be motivated by brotherly loyalty is maybe a bit more appealing to me than having it just be paternal urges. Hmm.
Of the various wives and concubines, I cannot keep them straight – I can recognize second-rate concubine medic lady in white and the Grand Princess, but not the rest, and I've probably missed the part where they tell us exactly who's whose mother. I wish I had some sort of family tree, tbh. Also the bit with the aphrodisiac wine was unclear – the Marquis used it on the Grand Princess to ... get her to marry him? Is the idea to weaken the Princess Nihuang enough that she will lose to the next opponent?
Speaking of Mu Nihuang, her introduction scene was like the best ever, lol. She also looks really good in her armor, and I kinda ship her with Xia Dong the special investigator from Xuanjing Bureau. Too bad Xia Dong was sent elsewhere. She'll probably return eventually with news of the plot-relevant development. Other potential ships so far include Mei Changsu/Meng Zhi and Mei Changsu/Prince Jing.
All in all, so far it's competent enough intrigue with a cast list of mostly very attractive people. Highlights include Mu Nihuang and Meng Zhi (I don't usually like facial hair, but apparently I have exceptions). The clothes are nice and ornate and qualify as costume porn, especially the armor. I might miss some things due to not being aware of Chinese drama narrative conventions, but hey, exposing oneself to novel stimuli is a good thing.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-12 12:57 (UTC)I love all the armor and costumes too, especially Jingyan's and Nihuang's. Nihuang is just overall fantastic, as is Xia Dong, and you are not the only one who ships them :)
Yeah, the characters are a bit confusing in the beginning, but you seem to have the important parts figured out. There are family trees etc. on Tumblr, but they tend to be spoiler-y for the mid-season big reveal, so if it doesn't hugely impact your ability to enjoy watching I'd wait. Imo it gets much easier to keep important characters apart soon. I'd be happy to help you out with details if you want.
About the wine plot, yes, many years ago the Marquis used it on the Grand Princess (or rather, her mother did) so she had to marry him. And now the Crown Prince's mother tried to use it on Nihuang to engineer a situation where Nihuang would be forced to marry a follower of the Crown Prince in order to increase the Crown Prince's influence.
no subject
Date: 2017-11-12 13:35 (UTC)I was starting to get the hang of the characters when new ones appeared! Is nefarious "eliminate Xia Dong" guy the Marquis Ning? Is Son #2 involved in this? (Zhuo Qingruo is, but IIRC he's not Xiao Jingrui's little bro but some ... other brother??? Halp.) In any case, Xia Dong's being too infirm to ride a horse but hale enough to do over the top backflips in the air was kinda hilarious. Now, I'm off to see how she interrogates her defeated opponent!
no subject
Date: 2017-11-12 14:24 (UTC)it will become even more complicatedit will be explained again. Short version: babies might have been switched and it was unclear if Jingrui was the biological son of the Xie or the Zhuo family, so the Emperor declared that he belongs to both (and gave him the last name Xiao.) That means that the Zhuos (a family of martial artists) and the Xie family (headed by Xie Yu, who is the Marquis Ning and married to Grand Princess Liyang) are allied, and that Jingrui has two brothers, one from each family side.I always love Xia Dong being badass, and Jingrui and Yujin being there was a nice bonus ^^
no subject
Date: 2017-11-12 15:21 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-11-12 15:51 (UTC)