Watching "Bu Bu Jing Xin," and am so in love
I know, I know, I am unbelievably late to the party, but when Bu Bu Jing Xin first aired in 2011, I really did not have the time/was not in the mood to entertain such an inevitably depressing drama. That's not to say I'm searching for something depressing now (if that were the case, I'd start reading A Song of Ice and Fire again), but I do have a lot more time to appreciate the nuances of BBJX, rather than just wallow in the sobtastic plotline.
I ended up marathoning episodes 1 to 7 these few days and will probably end up finishing the entire series within the next two weeks if I'm not careful. It's just that everything is so exquisitely wrought (both the sets/costumes and the storyline) that I can't look away. I was actually going to start on Easy Fortune Happy Life now that I finished The Girl in Blue, but that's going to have wait until my BBJX phase is over -- sorry, Roy!
Liu Shishi hits all the right notes as Maertai Ruoxi, the female lead who finds herself having time traveled back to the Qing Dynasty. I've never seen LSS in anything, apart from a brief traipse into Legend of the Condor Heroes 2008, but was always under the impression that her acting was like Tang Yan or Yang Mi's -- occasionally annoying, but mostly passable. Maybe she's just channeling all the other cast members' talent, but LSS is pitch-perfect in this. When I look at LSS, I see Maertai Ruoxi. And normally I'd be rolling my eyes at how all the princes have their interest piqued by her, but here... hey, I can see the appeal! She seems like she'd be great fun to hang out with, and it's nice that she's not completely brainless.
Right now, I'm not really too fussed with the Ruoxi/prince shipping, which is a little surprising, because what else is a drama fangirl supposed to root for??? I guess I can see all of them working out (to a certain extent), but for now I'm content with just seeing how everything plays out. Also, it's a lot of fun to see Ruoxi navigating her relationship with each one.
I would, however, be lying if I said my favorite character is Ruoxi. Right now I find myself inexplicably drawn toward Maertai Ruolan, Ruoxi's older sister, portrayed by Annie Liu. At this point, I can't say if she's my favorite character (I'm betting my fav will end up being 4th Prince, because Nicky Wu), but I do find her and her story very compelling. I guess she's also the type of older sister I'd hope to be: polite and quietly supportive, but knowing when to exact punishment.
Ruolan's storyline is pretty depressing -- she was in love with some other guy, but ended up married to 8th Prince, who found out about her previous lover and arranged for him to end up on the frontlines of war and get killed. Ruolan, who was three months' pregnant at the time, had a miscarriage and has pretty much lived in regret and self-blame ever since then. She also hates 8th Prince for getting her previous lover killed, even though she obviously can't be outright about it.
Now, before you crucify 8th Prince for being a total douchebag, let it be known that he's desperately in love with Ruolan, and has been ever since he saw her, and it basically tears him to pieces every time she's cold to him. Yes, that doesn't really excuse him for getting someone murdered, but I get the impression that he and Ruolan were happily married for some time, and then the whole previous lover situation messed everything messed up.
It also helps that 8th Prince is essentially The Perfect Gentleman. He is so freakin' well mannered! I guess it's a little scary when you stop to think about it, seeing as he's probably plotting something behind that polite and composed face (this is actually one of the first things Ruoxi thinks about when she sees him, since she knows how he turns out in real life), but you can't help but be drawn in by his quiet confidence and strength.
Oh, and Kevin Cheng is one of the only guys in the cast who doesn't look weird with the Qing hairstyle.
(I'm posting him in the above clothing, because the first time he wore it, I thought he was wearing something with polka dots and had to remind myself that I was watching a period drama. lol.)
'Course, my bias is showing, and I always look forward to 4th Prince's scenes, because Nicky Wu is the whole reason I was interested in this drama to begin with. It's a shame he looks unfortunate with the Qing queue, but hey, I've seen his hotness in several other dramas, so it's forgivable this once.
Plus, Nicky is hitting it out of the ballpark with the acting. I absolutely adored him in Xiao Shiyi Lang, where he played a happy-go-lucky wuxia warrior who is still really sexy when he has a serious turn, and definitely wanted to marry him in The Days when Morning Glory Bloomed, where he played an older brother who has to take care of his three younger siblings because the parents suck. He's pretty good with silly characters and serious characters, and while 4th Prince probably falls into the serious category, a lot of the character lies in the subtlety. I was sure Nicky would do an okay job, but I was not expecting to be blown away by his performance. And yet, here I find myself, staring at Nicky with his half-bald head, drooling over his every word.
How do you do it, Nicky!?!? Why do I always fall in love with your characters???
Anyway, I am quite liking the other princes, with the exception of the crown prince, who just rubs me in the wrong way, plus I have no idea how he's even related to the other princes, basing solely on outer appearance. Cruel, but I mean, look at these guys!
9th Prince, played by Han Dong, whom I cannot disassociate from Tian Boguang, his character in Swordman. 9th Prince hasn't really had much of a role in the drama so far, which is probably just as well, because Tian Boguang was a comic relief character and I'd probably just laugh at whatever 9th Prince gets up to. But I do notice Han Dong whenever he appears in this. How can you not?
10th Prince, played by Ye Zuxin, who will always be Xin Longzi from The Bride with White Hair to me. 10th Prince is the most idiotic of the princes, but also the most genuine and the easiest to get along with. Doesn't he look just like a puppy? Come to think of it, Xin Longzi was a similar character, although probably not as idiotic.
13th Prince, played by Yuan Hong, aka Yang Kang from LOCH '08. I'm not entirely sure how to describe 13th Prince... he's definitely the flightiest of the princes and he's a big fan of drinking. He gets along well with Ruoxi (the princes even give her a nickname similar to 13th Prince's), probably because they're both a little scatterbrained and eccentric.
14th Prince, played by Lin Gengxin, whom I am convinced looks like a taller, more angly Hu Ge from certain angles. Right now, 14th Prince is sort of just... there. More there than 9th Prince, but he hasn't really done much to stand out, except help out 8th Prince a bit. He did get into a nice argument with Ruoxi, which ended with Ruoxi walking all over him, but he's done nothing to endear me to him yet. But LGX got super popular after BBJX, so I'm awaiting awesomeness from him.
Anyway, while watching BBJX, a constant thought running through my head is that I am extremely happy that time traveling does not exist, otherwise I'd be shot to hell if I were ever sent back to the Qing Dynasty. I've watched Huan Zhu Ge Ge enough times to know how to curtsy, greet, and respond to the emperor, but uh... any conversation other than that would probably lead to my being brought to an insane asylum due to all the nonsense I would be spouting. And having to deal with palace politics... ugh.
I'm also no great shakes at history, so I'm betting if I were sent back to any historical period, I'd pretty much be dead meat. I might be able to fake it okay for American history, since I must have absorbed something in U.S. history classes, but anything else? Nope. Not unless I was sent back into the body of a hermit, who had absolutely zero interaction with other people and also happened to have a lifetime supply of food.
Maybe I should've paid more attention when reading those Magic Tree House books when I was in elementary school... I'm sure they had some sort of educational usefulness. lol.