TV
Back from LosCon, which was fun, and I got to see some old friends I rarely see. (One set, for over twenty years.)
Finished watching The Tale of Nokdu, a Korean sageuk (historical drama) that superseded Guardian for me, causing me to reflect on the drive home about narrative drive and how we respond differently.
The two shows both have terrific actors. Guardian was hampered by the Chinese gov't censorship, which forced the story into an awkward SFnal overlay that left logic holes like Swiss cheese, and required the two leads' relationship to be conveyed by wisecracks from the other characters, and subtleties of body language (though I have to admit I didn't really pick up on the chemistry the way other fans have; to me, they seemed to be watching one another intently for cues).
Whereas in Nokdu, there is a male/male kiss right on screen. Granted, one male thinks the other is a woman, and it's hilarious at the time because the audience is in the know but the characters aren't.
Then there is the jet propelled reaction a few eps later when the audience realizes they weren't in the know at all. As characters and audience catch up with reality after the jaw dropping twist a couple eps later, the intensity scale goes right up to the stratosphere. Koreans have a lot more freedom that way, and it showed in comparison. The political drama was made interesting by the complexity of the villains, underscoring the cost of power, as well as the interpersonal stuff that just gripped me and wouldn't let go. Great fights, too.
In comparison, Guardian's pacing seems more static, with a lot of standing motionless as info is handed back and forth. I'm three eps from the end, so I'll see if I get swept in, but I'm pretty sure I know where this one is going, whereas I had no. Idea. What was going to happen in Nokdu, after that mind-blowing twist at the end of ep 12.
Nokdu also has a bunch of gender bending; the main lead spends the first twelve or thirteen eps as a woman. (And his brief fan dance, in woman's mode, in ep 5 alone guaranteed I was gonna be hooked). There's also the female lead dressing as a boy for reasons; the female warriors were awesome--especially the three widows. Wow, they were terrific. Two of them were plus size women, all three fabulous actors who brought so much awesome to the show.
I need to rewatch it from the beginning, knowing what I know about later stuff. But Guardian gets finished first.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/1016140.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Finished watching The Tale of Nokdu, a Korean sageuk (historical drama) that superseded Guardian for me, causing me to reflect on the drive home about narrative drive and how we respond differently.
The two shows both have terrific actors. Guardian was hampered by the Chinese gov't censorship, which forced the story into an awkward SFnal overlay that left logic holes like Swiss cheese, and required the two leads' relationship to be conveyed by wisecracks from the other characters, and subtleties of body language (though I have to admit I didn't really pick up on the chemistry the way other fans have; to me, they seemed to be watching one another intently for cues).
Whereas in Nokdu, there is a male/male kiss right on screen. Granted, one male thinks the other is a woman, and it's hilarious at the time because the audience is in the know but the characters aren't.
Then there is the jet propelled reaction a few eps later when the audience realizes they weren't in the know at all. As characters and audience catch up with reality after the jaw dropping twist a couple eps later, the intensity scale goes right up to the stratosphere. Koreans have a lot more freedom that way, and it showed in comparison. The political drama was made interesting by the complexity of the villains, underscoring the cost of power, as well as the interpersonal stuff that just gripped me and wouldn't let go. Great fights, too.
In comparison, Guardian's pacing seems more static, with a lot of standing motionless as info is handed back and forth. I'm three eps from the end, so I'll see if I get swept in, but I'm pretty sure I know where this one is going, whereas I had no. Idea. What was going to happen in Nokdu, after that mind-blowing twist at the end of ep 12.
Nokdu also has a bunch of gender bending; the main lead spends the first twelve or thirteen eps as a woman. (And his brief fan dance, in woman's mode, in ep 5 alone guaranteed I was gonna be hooked). There's also the female lead dressing as a boy for reasons; the female warriors were awesome--especially the three widows. Wow, they were terrific. Two of them were plus size women, all three fabulous actors who brought so much awesome to the show.
I need to rewatch it from the beginning, knowing what I know about later stuff. But Guardian gets finished first.
This entry was originally posted at https://sartorias.dreamwidth.org/1016140.html. Please comment there using OpenID.