I have finished ep 1 of Summer Desire

[dangermousie]

And there is NO WAY Xiamo/Luo Xi (i.e. Barbie Hsu and Huang Xiaoming) are not the OTP of this drama.

They are in the credits and inserts together, all their scenes together are filmed in an "OTP OTP OTP" kind of way, from their first meeting under the freaking cherry blossoms to his playing the piano and her singing just for him - getting rid of her stage fright issues, to that really really sexy kissing scene (two of them, actually). Their chemistry is out of this world. Also, Luo Xi has enough issues to be interesting (orphan with trust issues and tragic background, uses his looks and charm to get through with no trouble but doesn't really care about others, etc) but not enough to make a horrible boyfriend or a bad guy.

Plus, the other guy, Ou Chen (Peter Ho) is seriously scary. I don't mean in a 'bad boy, would be fun to reform' or 'tortured soul' way - no, I am seriously grossed out and freaked out by him - he comes across as a classic abuser both emotionally and physically (the scene with him forcing his screaming and pleading girlfriend to hold an apple so he could shoot at it - sick). The way he looks at Xiaomo does not denote love to me but a "hmmm, where shall I dispose of the body?" reaction. To be fair, that could be Peter Ho's limited acting ability, but I prefer to think of the makers sharing my take on Ou Chen - seeing the horror movie music they play whenever he is in her vicinity, they probably share my views.

Yikes. Shall one pick a non-psycho sexy smart superstar or a rich abuser who you blame for the death of your family. Let me think - hard choice. OTOH, I am not the target audience - I still remember fangirls going into mad frenzy over twdrama Knock Knock Loving You because heroine picked the nice guy she has always loved over the dude who blackmailed her into an engagement and then tried to rape her. (They were so pissed and I was so happy with the drama. Let's hope this will be a repeat).

I leave you with this. Ahhh, Taiwan, you know how to do kissing scenes right.

Comments

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

I'm almost positive Xia Mo and Chen will end up together. Taiwan isn't big on changing storylines, especially since the book it's based on is a hugely popular one.

The way he looks at Xiaomo does not denote love to me but a "hmmm, where shall I dispose of the body?" reaction

I think that's because he's trying to figure out how he knows her. According to plot, he lost his memory right after she told him she hated him. So it's probably confusion, with residual anger.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know the book plot but nope - it makes about as much sense to me as does Haou Airen (thankfully minus the raping). She may end up with Ou Chen for all I know but based on the summaries of the novel I read, I genuinely don't get how - it's not a 'I like her better with X but I can see she prefers Y', the way I was with BOF, it's genuine confusion. I just don't get it. At all. Oh well, we'll see.

I don't like Peter Ho in general (think he's not a good actor and he's not good-looking so I can get distracted and not notice) and in this role - yikes.

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to read the book, but I haven't gotten very far so I can't help with the why. I do know she ends up with Chen though. From what I'm getting, it's like one of those "you love me so much, therefore how could I not love you" type things that Asia seems to love.

I've never seen Peter Ho in anything before, so I have no real opinion. And while I don't find him as good looking as Huang Xiao Ming, I still find him attractive. Time will tell...

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

PH has a really weird nose - it keeps bugging me. I've seen him in a bunch of things before and was never impressed and he played likeable enough characters :)

I am just spoiled for stuff OC does in the present which is what makes me boggle. Ehhh, not the first time I uncanonshipped.

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

Totally understand, Xia Mo and Luo Xi are adorable. Especially the part with the cat... That made me all melty :D
What I'm trying to do is not get attached to him and Xia Mo, so I don't end up all broken heart-ed. I don't handle non-canon shipping well.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Re: OC, it's spoilery stuff he does later which makes me go o_O.

The cat thing - that was pure fanservice :)

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to read the book oooh, let us know how it goes!

[(Anonymous)]

Pete Oh I liked him a little in Yang Clan drama but at the same time he is not the center of the drama and other actors I like are in the drama. Lookwise, I don't like his lips and he does not appeal me.

PS : I feel the same about the actor who acted the lead character in Knock knock loving you. He does not appeal me lookwise that's why I have hard time to watch the show.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I am OK enough with his lips, it's his mouth that is weird.

I do adore the main guy in KKLY (which was a mediocre drama but OK enough) but I totally get what you mean - if I find the lead unappealing, I can't get into it at all.

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

I'm almost positive Xia Mo and Chen will end up together. Taiwan isn't big on changing storylines, especially since the book it's based on is a hugely popular one. noooooo, how is that possible???? I will kill myself:(

do you know how people view the couples in the book? IE some books are wildly popular but the majority of people/a large percentage ship the secondary couple - in which case there's a chance they'd swing that way with the drama. Or - almost worst case scenerio - maybe it's a Jacob/Edward Twilight thing where the movies always ultimately follow the book and Edward is marginally more popular but the secondary lead is so wildly popular, almost eclipsing the main lead, that they give us tons of fanservice with the secondary lead - the credits, the kissing etc?? NOOOOOOOOO. I would hate them for that - it would be like *gaps* the Taiwanese version of the Ji-hoo/Jandi/Junpyo triangle.

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

do you know how people view the couples in the book?
I don't know. Sadly most everything related to the book is in Chinese, and I can only translate so much of it before I get confused.

But I'm 99% sure they won't change ships. It's just not Taiwan's style to alter canon. It's hard to tell from the first episode, but from what I've gotten so far from the book, Chen isn't a bad character (he's a sort of anti-hero, if you can call it that - much darker than Luo Xi).

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

It's just not Taiwan's style to alter canon. I agree:( frell them!!

What about Xiao Ming versus Peter Ho? Is one of them definitely more famous than the other or are they about the same?

[uisceros.livejournal.com]

I'd say they're about equal, however Peter Ho is a lot more popular in Taiwan.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

That depends. HXM is a Mainland actor (one of the first to be in a Taiwanese production, in fact) and Peter Ho is a Taiwanese one. I know HXM is very popular in the Mainland but PH is very popular in Taiwan (no idea why, I don't care for him at all).

[ambergold.livejournal.com]

FRELL it. That settles it for me then - unless a miracle happens, Peter's gonna be her OTP. so much hate:( :(

[(Anonymous)]

I rarely watched Taiwanese idol drama since most of the stories look silly and childish. But this one really got a good cast and storyline. The direction is good too. The drama is not draggy so far like others. I'm particularly charmed by the female lead Barbie Xu and one of the male leads Peter Ho. The other male lead who seems winning the heart of the lady is pretty good at acting too. But somehow Peter Ho's character in the drama has kind of charisma - dark but deeply passionate - and Peter expresses pretty well that I'd hope Xia Mo actually ends up with him. I actually like to see more of his scenes in the drama. He just drew my attention.

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

I'm so looking forward to this drama and the scent of love. Those subbers need to get at it! xD

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Viikii has this one :)

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

Okay, I'm definitely checking this one out. *____*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's already on viikii subbed.

Btw, the Blue Lan drama you were asking about is P.S. Man

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I still remember fangirls going into mad frenzy over twdrama Knock Knock Loving You because heroine picked the nice guy she has always loved over the dude who blackmailed her into an engagement and then tried to rape her.

I remember they were so pissed! They were calling the girl and the guy she picked every name in the book. I believe they called her a whore and ungrateful. How could she not love that woobie who was loved her so much he couldn't control himself around her? Uh, easy. Let's see - do I pick crazy wannabe rapist Ming Dao, whose got that huge head or sweet, loving, good looking Dylan Kuo, whose my true love? I know - Dylan Kuo.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Leaving aside my love for Dylan Kuo, the fact that they fangirled the guy who blackmailed and almost raped made no sense to me. I remember them saying it's OK he attempted to rape her because she asked for it by being out with Dylan Kuo (who was her bf who Ming Dap blackmailed her into dumping in the first place) and hey, he didn't rape her after all - it was just to 'show her her proper place' (I directly quote a fangirl). That made me sick.

I've always been indifferent to Ming Dao (he was OK in Magicians of Love, the one thing I've seen him in before KKLY) but after this he is forever tainted because of the idiotic fangirls.

[village.livejournal.com]

I was planning to wait and see who she ended up with before watching but now I think I'll just for it and watch it with the rest of you guys. At least if they don't end up together, we can all rage together. Although, who knows? Maybe the canon pairing - if they are the canon pairing - won't actually be as bad as we all think. Ugh. I really hate shipping the pairing that's not canon. What to do? What to do?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Watch with me! The ranting would be fun even if the otp doesn't work out (and in any way it's an otp for the bulk of the story).

[village.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think I will. I do love a group rant. Isn't that why BOF was so fun half the time? lol.

[prdarkstar.livejournal.com]

I wasn't going to give this a chance because I haven't really liked Barbie in anything i've seen her in but....how can I resist actual lip movement during a kiss?!

But oh noes, not another drama where the OTP is unclear. I think i'll wait and see how it goes before getting invested.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Twdramas are good at kissing. MMMM.

[quaggy]

I still remember fangirls going into mad frenzy over twdrama Knock Knock Loving You because heroine picked the nice guy she has always loved over the dude who blackmailed her into an engagement and then tried to rape her. (They were so pissed and I was so happy with the drama. Let's hope this will be a repeat).

Seriously? I mean, I know the bad boy is always a popular choice, but that just makes me sad. Like they've all been brainwashed to think than manipulative, obsessive relationships are healthy. As for me, it makes me more interested in the drama knowing that the nice guy wins in the end!

As for Summer Desire, I don't see how there be a contest and couldn't from the preview I saw ages ago.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes - the guy was so despicable but almost everyone at af shipped him with the heroine. I do not get that. That is sick.

[(Anonymous)]

It reminds me a lakorn I watched this year called Prajun Lai Payak. God they played with our nerves. The end was shitty (I did not bother to watch it because I knew if I did I would break my computer). Now I still don't understand what girls saw in the male lead character... Everyone was insane in the drama (it was not even funny).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The one lakorn I tried recently (Autumn something) made me feel exactly like that. Sure, go ahead and fall for dude who kidnapped you for dimly-thought-out revenge while your loved fiance is in a coma.

[(Anonymous)]

And why Huang Xiao Ming and Barbie (who are not supposed to be the OTP here) are kissing here like that ?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOLOLOL from what I know the bulk of the kissing scenes is between the two of them. I approve but it is puzzling.

[iheartkleenex.livejournal.com]

Ok, totally need to check this out, do you know by any chance a link with subs?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

viikii.net has it. You have to use firefox

[(Anonymous)]

If you really have much exposure to novel reading, you'd realize good drama writing always starts with critical implication - or prediction from the very beginning. Remember in the first episode Xiamo saying something like "When Lou Xi first time showed up, I knew he's a predator." This indeed a very important implication. I never read the book. But if this was adopted from the book, I think the author meant what it was to be meant. Lou Xi's character is charming but aggressive somehow. I do not agree Ouchen is darker than Lou Xi. Just to the opposite. Let's wait and watch if he's going to reveal his darker side.

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

hi there! :D i know this is unrelated but have you seen this? http://asianfanatics.net/forum/topic/725999-da-s-plays-nymphomaniac-assassin-photos-exposed-from-reign-of-assassins/ this made me so happy! i suddenly remembered you since you love Barbie as much as i do :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

hi there!

[(Anonymous)]

well,,i just wanna say that...I LIKE XIAO MO AND LUO XI...and i want them to end up together,,,

Re: hi there!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I did too!