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rogueslayer452So I've been completely consumed by Guardian lately, like incredibly deep into it.
I thought about writing a full review, which I might in the future, but for now you'll forgive me for simply just giving my brief incoherent fangirlish ramblings about it.
First of all, you know those characters that you know instantly the second you lay eyes on them that not only are going to be your favorite, but also are absolutely your type in a very specific and predictable way? That's Shen Wei for me. He is my type to a fucking T, to the point that it's just ridiculous. (Note: this traces all the way back to being imprinted at a very young age by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Captain von Trapp from The Sound of Music, so of course I was doomed to fall for this bespectacled fashionably suit-wearing reserved professor who has a secret job/identity, of course.)
Secondly, I cannot get over the whole time travel loop paradox angle of the story, like that kind of thing is my jam. I know they had to rework the background plot due to censorship reasons and strict rules about what they could or couldn't include in their media, so while they had to Frankenstein things together I think making the Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan story be a cyclical one not only works it actually makes their story, their entire connection with each other, even more romantic. It enhances the fact that Shen Wei fell in love with Yunlan in the past was because Yunlan had already fallen in love with Shen Wei from the present because Shen Wei was already in love with him, etc. It just works. They fell in love because the other was already in love with them, and that shit makes me go fucking feral, I love it. The "it took me ten thousand years to find you" line is just top-tiered romance. And while the ending was sad and bittersweet and utterly tragic and many fans did not like it (understandably so, hence all the fix-its), there's something about it that just gets to me. Yes, I agree that they deserved their happy ending, they deserved to live and not die so tragically after having just found each other, but I think it adds more depth to all the time they spent together, how deeply they affected one another and how, although tragically bittersweet that ending was, it also has a hopeful note? That somehow, someway, they will meet again.
I don't know. It's hard to explain, but I think having gone through this with Word of Honor and with The Untamed having an open-ended yet optimistic ending, and plenty of others that have bittersweet endings, not to mention having been warned about this one, it prepared me so it softened the blow a little bit. Just, the tragedy hits very specifically to that they found each other, it's cyclical, and yet somehow this timeline they're in treated them so unfairly because of how events played out. It's heartbreaking.
(Although, I'll fully admit it did take me a little while to warm up to the pairing in the beginning, I knew it was canon but I had zero knowledge beyond that and was just feeling things out as the story unfolded, so it took longer to catch on unlike some other canonical BL pairings, but once I did, oh boy.)
Also, in terms of the story being reworked, I was completely taken aback but pleasantly surprised by having it be aliens and mutant genetics. You have to admit, that's a pretty unique idea, and it makes me want more scifi elements in cdramas.
And lastly, but certainly not least, it just needs to be said: Zhu Yilong was absolutely phenomenal in this. I think all the actors did an amazing job, but man, Zhu Yilong is just on another level. I know that he's credited as playing three characters (because Ye Zun, oh my precious unhinged Ye Zun, I love you, you need all the hugs and so much therapy), but I'd argue that he technically plays multiple: Shen Wei (himself, his professor persona and him as Hei Pao Shi), Ye Zun, young!Shen Wei and young!Ye Zun, and of course Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei. There is a reason why I've been saying he Tatiana Maslany'd all over this drama, just way all of these versions can be differentiated just from the mere micro-expressions alone is so utterly mesmerizing, he's just that good. Again, on an entirely other level, and it's amazing to watch. Also, can you believe this is me first discovering Zhu Yilong? Seriously, you'd think he would've been on my radar and seen him in passing among certain fandom circles. So now, of course, I'm going to go down that rabbit hole of looking into his other works.
I thought about writing a full review, which I might in the future, but for now you'll forgive me for simply just giving my brief incoherent fangirlish ramblings about it.
First of all, you know those characters that you know instantly the second you lay eyes on them that not only are going to be your favorite, but also are absolutely your type in a very specific and predictable way? That's Shen Wei for me. He is my type to a fucking T, to the point that it's just ridiculous. (Note: this traces all the way back to being imprinted at a very young age by Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones and Captain von Trapp from The Sound of Music, so of course I was doomed to fall for this bespectacled fashionably suit-wearing reserved professor who has a secret job/identity, of course.)
Secondly, I cannot get over the whole time travel loop paradox angle of the story, like that kind of thing is my jam. I know they had to rework the background plot due to censorship reasons and strict rules about what they could or couldn't include in their media, so while they had to Frankenstein things together I think making the Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan story be a cyclical one not only works it actually makes their story, their entire connection with each other, even more romantic. It enhances the fact that Shen Wei fell in love with Yunlan in the past was because Yunlan had already fallen in love with Shen Wei from the present because Shen Wei was already in love with him, etc. It just works. They fell in love because the other was already in love with them, and that shit makes me go fucking feral, I love it. The "it took me ten thousand years to find you" line is just top-tiered romance. And while the ending was sad and bittersweet and utterly tragic and many fans did not like it (understandably so, hence all the fix-its), there's something about it that just gets to me. Yes, I agree that they deserved their happy ending, they deserved to live and not die so tragically after having just found each other, but I think it adds more depth to all the time they spent together, how deeply they affected one another and how, although tragically bittersweet that ending was, it also has a hopeful note? That somehow, someway, they will meet again.
I don't know. It's hard to explain, but I think having gone through this with Word of Honor and with The Untamed having an open-ended yet optimistic ending, and plenty of others that have bittersweet endings, not to mention having been warned about this one, it prepared me so it softened the blow a little bit. Just, the tragedy hits very specifically to that they found each other, it's cyclical, and yet somehow this timeline they're in treated them so unfairly because of how events played out. It's heartbreaking.
(Although, I'll fully admit it did take me a little while to warm up to the pairing in the beginning, I knew it was canon but I had zero knowledge beyond that and was just feeling things out as the story unfolded, so it took longer to catch on unlike some other canonical BL pairings, but once I did, oh boy.)
Also, in terms of the story being reworked, I was completely taken aback but pleasantly surprised by having it be aliens and mutant genetics. You have to admit, that's a pretty unique idea, and it makes me want more scifi elements in cdramas.
And lastly, but certainly not least, it just needs to be said: Zhu Yilong was absolutely phenomenal in this. I think all the actors did an amazing job, but man, Zhu Yilong is just on another level. I know that he's credited as playing three characters (because Ye Zun, oh my precious unhinged Ye Zun, I love you, you need all the hugs and so much therapy), but I'd argue that he technically plays multiple: Shen Wei (himself, his professor persona and him as Hei Pao Shi), Ye Zun, young!Shen Wei and young!Ye Zun, and of course Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei. There is a reason why I've been saying he Tatiana Maslany'd all over this drama, just way all of these versions can be differentiated just from the mere micro-expressions alone is so utterly mesmerizing, he's just that good. Again, on an entirely other level, and it's amazing to watch. Also, can you believe this is me first discovering Zhu Yilong? Seriously, you'd think he would've been on my radar and seen him in passing among certain fandom circles. So now, of course, I'm going to go down that rabbit hole of looking into his other works.
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Date: 2022-06-22 12:27 pm (UTC)Give a try to Z1L in the Lost Tomb Reboot. I actually saw that one before seeing Guardian.
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Date: 2022-06-22 01:22 pm (UTC)Hee, welcome to the club! Four years later I'm still incredibly deep into it. *g*
while they had to Frankenstein things together I think making the Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan story be a cyclical one not only works it actually makes their story, their entire connection with each other, even more romantic
RIGHT??? They worked with severe limitations on what they could do, and what they did with it was such a stroke of brilliance, it would have been stunning anywhere. I've been flailing over their Moebius strip of a relationship for four years and it still sometimes hits me how incredibly neat and romantic and perfect it is.
Yes, I agree that they deserved their happy ending, they deserved to live and not die so tragically after having just found each other, but I think it adds more depth to all the time they spent together, how deeply they affected one another and how, although tragically bittersweet that ending was, it also has a hopeful note? That somehow, someway, they will meet again.
Yes! And their sacrifice to save the world, THAT THEY MANAGE TO SHARE IN THE END despite each of them separately deciding on it independent of the other, is just - the ultimate confirmation of who they are, and how much they're on the same page and share the same values, and - I just love it, okay? And it's so well earned and thematically resonant. And yes, I 100% believe they'll find each other again, because look, we have superscience and mutant powers and alien devices and everything, and we have precedent for dead people coming back in Wang Zheng and Sang Zan, so if you want me to believe they're dead for good, sorry, I just can't. The ending is so open and hopeful for me.
Also, in terms of the story being reworked, I was completely taken aback but pleasantly surprised by having it be aliens and mutant genetics. You have to admit, that's a pretty unique idea, and it makes me want more scifi elements in cdramas.
I love the spaceships and aliens, and the way the aliens/mutant theme engages with discrimination, and the illegal immigrant aspect - all things that are tied up in making it sci-fi. They really made gold out of the censorship nonsense they were handed, I'm still so impressed.
And damn, yes, I would love to see more sci-fi cdramas!
Shen Wei (himself, his professor persona and him as Hei Pao Shi), Ye Zun, young!Shen Wei and young!Ye Zun, and of course Ye Zun pretending to be Shen Wei
It really is amazing. You can tell immediately which one it is, just from how he changes his facial expressions.
So now, of course, I'm going to go down that rabbit hole of looking into his other works.
You totally should! For proper Zhu Yilong whiplash, look at the drama he filmed immediately after Guardian, Granting You a Dreamlike Life. He literally drove down and started filming it right after Guardian ended, and he's playing a cocky gangster with a heart of gold. The drama isn't great but he's brilliant in it. Or, for even more whiplash, look at the trailers for his new movie that's coming out in a few days. Here's the latest one. *g*
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Date: 2022-06-22 02:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-23 03:11 am (UTC)I also kind of feel this way about Shen Wei, and yet curiously enough, I think it's for almost totally different reasons from yours. Maybe he's multifaceted enough to be everyone's type. XD (My type is more like, "fragile-looking, stoic outsider with a heavy burden of responsibility and tendencies to self-sacrifice." The goth Envoy outfit doesn't hurt, either...)
Zhu Yilong was absolutely phenomenal in this.
Right? For me this is really the thing. I like Guardian a lot, I love the main pairing, I agree with you that the ending is tragic in a way that beautifully suits the story and characters -- but mainly I'm just so glad this show introduced me to Zhu Yilong, because he is simply amazing. I'm just stunned by how good he is. I've still only seen him in a couple of other shows besides Guardian, but he's been just as good in both of them.
(The ones I've seen are The Lost Tomb Reboot, which I love and would recommend especially if you're already into tomb-raiding adventures, and Granting You a Dreamlike Life, which I can't exactly recommend because it's really not a good show, but Zhu Yilong does truly beautiful work in it anyway.)
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Date: 2022-06-23 06:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-24 12:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-06-25 06:52 am (UTC)But yeah, Guardian was fantastic. It took quite a while for me to get to it, being late to the party as always with these dramas, but I'm glad that I finally did. :)
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Date: 2022-06-25 11:16 am (UTC)Thank you! :D Late to the party, but still happy to be here nonetheless.
RIGHT??? They worked with severe limitations on what they could do, and what they did with it was such a stroke of brilliance
That's something I've noticed a lot with these kinds of dramas that, due to strict limitations and censorship, they really have to find roundabout ways of telling the story even if it means shifting certain aspects from the source material to make it work, and sometimes you get something miraculous by happy accident because of it. And I absolutely loved what Guardian did, they essentially enhanced the love story in such a creative and beautiful way.
the ultimate confirmation of who they are, and how much they're on the same page and share the same values, and - I just love it, okay? And it's so well earned and thematically resonant.
It really is, and it's just about how everything comes full circle.
I liked what you said about Wang Zheng and Sang Zan because their story almost nearly mirrors theirs in a way. In fact, there were quite a few examples of characters throughout the drama that mirror Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan, but Wang Zhen and Sang Zan especially. Made even more so because it was the Hallows that kind of connects them all together. But yes, because of this it makes me believe that no matter however long it will take, in whatever way possible, they will find each other again.
It really is amazing. You can tell immediately which one it is, just from how he changes his facial expressions.
He is just so good at his facial expressions, subtle yet effective without saying much at all. Also, the physicality that he embodies as well, it's just so mesmerizing to watch.
Oh believe me, I've seen some clips and fanvids on YT of his character on Granting You A Dreamlike Life and, whew. I can already tell he's just selling it, giving it his all. I know that people have opinions on the drama itself and say that he's literally the best part, and I believe it. Again, the way he embodies the characters he plays is nothing short of amazing. (Also, him in the leather and the knives and the fighting? Hello~) There's definitely a list of things I'll be checking out of his filmography, for sure. And I've seen the recent stuff about his new movie, including the interviews and promotional material which he is just adorable with his child costar.
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Date: 2022-06-25 11:35 am (UTC)It certainly seems that way. ;)
There's a lot of good actors out there, but there's something about ones like Zhu Yilong that just absolutely embody the character that they're playing. I cannot envision Shen Wei being portrayed by anyone else but him. He placed a lot of thought and care into how to play him, especially Shen Wei being around Yunlan versus everyone else (how he is just silently pining, my god, it's so subtle yet so loud at the same time), how to differentiate between Shen Wei and Ye Zun, especially when playing Ye Zun who has to pretend to be his brother and do it badly.....seriously, I can gush about his acting all day.
And I'm right there with you, I'm thankful to Guardian for introducing me to him. How come I hadn't known about him before this is a mystery.
(The Lost Tomb Reboot I've heard good thing about, less so about Granting You A Dreamlike Life aside from him being amazing in it which, y'know, I've suffered through a lot of projects for some of my favorite actors so it'd be nothing new for me to test those waters, if nothing more than just to see him in action.)
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Date: 2022-06-25 10:24 pm (UTC)