BTS of SWAK Miniseries: The Comedy

-
Hi all again! Sorry I haven't been very active lately since I'm swamped with work this week and can only find time to drop a few comments on this blog. Hopefully my schedule can free up a bit more this weekend and I can do recaps again for the miniseries. In the meantime, you can enjoy this newly release BTS video while we wait for Episode 5 to come out next week. There are some already seen footage, but we do get to see a longer clip of in the shooting process for the "bed scene."

Popular Posts

When mushroom soup turns into sexual innuendo in Sound of the Desert

-
Image
Although I am having a blast watching Wei Wuji and Xinyue's romance unfolds onscreen, I actually have very mixed feelings about the execution of some of the most anticipated scenes in the novel. Scenes that I expected the director to execute well did not produce the "after-effects" that I hope. The climatic moments in the novel ended up "anti-climatic" onscreen. The musical score, execution, and film cutting/editing were subpar and wasted the onscreen chemistry of the two main leads. Surprisingly, the drama succeeds in some "less important scenes" of the story that I least expected anything beyond some "lines recital." 
Read more

Fanshipping a historical couple: Li Shimin and his beloved Empress Zhangsun

-
Image
I have a strong habit to "ship" people together. This involuntary desire to ship couples can range from real life celebrities, characters in dramas or movies, characters in manga/books to famous historical figures! Fortunately, I have no interest to ship individuals I know in real life. PHEW! There are quite a few historical couples that I shipped, but my ultimate favorite is the Tang Dynasty Emperor Taizong 唐太宗 (personal name Li Shimin 李世民) and his Empress Zhangsun 长孙皇后. I'm not sure if you've heard of this couple since many existing Chinese period dramas tend not explore their relationship. They are often written as major characters in a series but Li Shimin ALWAYS gets paired up with some fictitious female character. -_-
Read more

"I'll kill you, I'll throttle you, I'll kiss you" Recap

-
Image
I've been a little bored with the recent dramas lately, so I went back to rewatch some episodes from SWAK and decided to do a little recap of some "intense" scenes. Our lovely but angsty main couple certainly falls under the "I'll kill you, I'll throttle you, and I'll kiss you" category. One moment, they're are at each other's throat, and the next moment, they can start kissing. In Thai Lakorn term, it's a slap-kiss drama. LOL. Anyway, SWAK definitely has quite a few kissing scenes, but most of the kisses are quite chaste, nothing too passionate. I think Wallace Chung's Too Late To Say I Love have more kissing scenes and passionate ones too. Out of all the kisses Mo Shaoqian and Tong Xue shared, my favorite is probably the last kiss initiated by Tong Xue. It's rare that we see this shy girl returns the favor back to Mo Shaoqian. Oh, on a side note, I realize that throughout the drama, Mo Shaoqian and Tong Xue never hugged each oth...
Read more

Character Guide to Nirvana in Fire 2: Wind Blows in Changlin

-
Image
Like Nirvana in Fire I, Nirvana in Fire 2: Winds Blow in Changlin has a plethora of characters that are not strictly good or evil. In terms of story execution, the sequel can be split into three phases, each driven by one of the three leading male characters. The central figure of the first phase is Huang Xiaoming's Xiao Xiaozhang whose intelligence and political shrewdness are well exhibited from Episode 1 to 25. The second phase is led by Liu Haorang's Xiao Pingjing. Although Xiao Pingjing also figures prominently in the first phase, his moment to shine is actually from Episode 28 onward. The focal character of the last phase is undoubtedly the antihero, Wu Haochen's Xiao Yuanqi. His slow progression into darkness and moral conflict bring the story into a new climate. This drama is officially being subtitled by DramaFever and Viki. You should go check out the series if you want to watch something that is not cheesy and has substance. Xiao Pingjing 萧平旌 - Second Yo...
Read more

Understanding the final episode of Sealed with a Kiss

-
Image
Are you unsatisfied and frustrated with the final episode? Expected a happily ever after? Apparently, the scriptwriter succeeded in getting us all hooked onto this series for 28 episodes and suddenly bombarded us with a really CRAPPY open ending. My reaction when I first finished watching the final shot of Mo Shaoqian  walking lonely toward the police station was like this...   I so expected the last scene to be the novel's ending where Tong Xue cried at the airport, and not Shaoqian at the police station!  At minimum, I think they should have put Shaoqian's police station scene before Tong Xue's airport scene. Then show us Shaoqian at the airport watching Tong Xue's cries from a distance, as described in the epilogue. To cure my poorly frustrated mood, I rushed to reread the dreamily happy epilogue that the author wrote for Sealed with a Kiss novel. After reading various analyses by different viewers online and the scriptwriter's comments about the endin...
Read more