Nirvana in Fire II
The last two episodes turned up early this morning, so before the sun rose, I sipped tea and watched.
Then I watched them again over lunch.
Below general talk that might get spoilery, so stop here in case the cut tag doesn't take. SPOILER ALERT!
Really, SPOILERS!!!
First of all, the last episode is 100& better than the mess that the last ep of Nirvana in Fire I was. The climax was just as powerful, in completely different ways, and yet shot through were the same ineffable bonds of loyalty, justice, and love, with again a different slant on what it means to be sovereign.
There were some stunningly badass scenes, and some heart-strikes that go back to NIF I, in totally unexpected places. One was right at the climax, just jaw-droopingly perfect.
Actors, camera, sets, all were terrific. And yet it took me a long time to warm to it. I know why. I alluded to the main problem in a general discussion earlier, but here I'll say it right out, that it's difficult, maybe almost impossible, to match the effect of Mei Changsu. Some of that was the actor, of course, but a lot of it was the fact that he drove the action.
So much of the beginning of NIF II was the heroes reacting and reacting and reacting, always two steps behind, to what, for me, was a seemingly omniscient and yet boring villain. There was plenty of good characters stuff around that, of course, but the plot engine was reaction for the first twenty episodes. Whereas in NIF I, we see MCS taking action (covertly) by the third episode, setting up a chess game sort of plot, with him winning, his opponents winning, the tension balance shifting back and forth as the emotional stakes shift in orthogonal swings.
In NIF II, once the chess game aspect of villain and heroes settled in, the series became exponentially better, truly engrossing, and I couldn't predict anything. There were lots of complicated emotions, some humorous interludes, particularly one general, who then brought out one of those terrific heart-grabbing moments, call backs, and great martial arts scenes.
I would have liked to see more badass women in this one, but the male characters were all terrific, including the oldsters. It was smart, and heart-felt, and manages to give one hope in spite of the sordid shamble of real life politics hammering us every day.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/975024.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Then I watched them again over lunch.
Below general talk that might get spoilery, so stop here in case the cut tag doesn't take. SPOILER ALERT!
Really, SPOILERS!!!
First of all, the last episode is 100& better than the mess that the last ep of Nirvana in Fire I was. The climax was just as powerful, in completely different ways, and yet shot through were the same ineffable bonds of loyalty, justice, and love, with again a different slant on what it means to be sovereign.
There were some stunningly badass scenes, and some heart-strikes that go back to NIF I, in totally unexpected places. One was right at the climax, just jaw-droopingly perfect.
Actors, camera, sets, all were terrific. And yet it took me a long time to warm to it. I know why. I alluded to the main problem in a general discussion earlier, but here I'll say it right out, that it's difficult, maybe almost impossible, to match the effect of Mei Changsu. Some of that was the actor, of course, but a lot of it was the fact that he drove the action.
So much of the beginning of NIF II was the heroes reacting and reacting and reacting, always two steps behind, to what, for me, was a seemingly omniscient and yet boring villain. There was plenty of good characters stuff around that, of course, but the plot engine was reaction for the first twenty episodes. Whereas in NIF I, we see MCS taking action (covertly) by the third episode, setting up a chess game sort of plot, with him winning, his opponents winning, the tension balance shifting back and forth as the emotional stakes shift in orthogonal swings.
In NIF II, once the chess game aspect of villain and heroes settled in, the series became exponentially better, truly engrossing, and I couldn't predict anything. There were lots of complicated emotions, some humorous interludes, particularly one general, who then brought out one of those terrific heart-grabbing moments, call backs, and great martial arts scenes.
I would have liked to see more badass women in this one, but the male characters were all terrific, including the oldsters. It was smart, and heart-felt, and manages to give one hope in spite of the sordid shamble of real life politics hammering us every day.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/975024.html. Please comment there using OpenID.