dangermousie | LOCH2008 rewatch - ep 40, ak.a. piggyback heaven (Reply)

As if I wasn't watching enough things (half of them seemingly starring Hu Ge :P), I decided I was in the mood for Legend of Condor Heroes 2008 rewatch. More specifically (because LOCH is 50 eps and most of it is so good I dare not fast-forward), I decided to rewatch the last eleven eps: eps 40-50, because when I was doing my epic LOCH marathon, I got so obsesssed/strung-out/sleep-deprived by that point, I didn't post much on them and also sort of sped through them like a maniac without having a time to reflect.

And LOCH is a good enough drama to deserve it. I am sure anyone on my flist with any interest in the topic already knows what LOCH is about but just in case - this is a 2008 adaptation of the famous Louis Cha novel, the first part of his trilogy. LOCH centers on the coming of age of its protagonist - the good-hearted but rather simple Guo Jing. The plot really is very complicated (those 50 eps fly by at a crazy pace) but there is revenge and the emotional toll it wreaks, politics, martial arts (of course), friendships found, betrayed, and found again, multi-faceted villains, and two very different yet amazing OTPs.

If I had to pick one, LOCH2008 would be my favorite wuxia ever (my favorite cdrama is The Myth but that's a pure period drama with a little fantasy thrown in). Everything in it just works. It is not as visually beautiful as Return of Condor Heroes 2006, which remains the single most beautifully filmed drama I have ever seen, but it's still gorgeous and it possesses the strong narrative coherency, the perfect pacing (the first two eps of backstory aren't my thing but after that it never lets me down, not once), and the casting - ah, the casting. This drama's biggest strength is its cast. They are all good actors, of course, but it's the way they play off each other that really makes a difference. Casting Hu Ge and Yuan Hong as friends turned enemies was perfect. Apparently, the two have been friends in real life for years and so their chemistry really is something. The same goes for two OTPs - Hu Ge and Ariel Lin as Guo Jing and Huang Rong are effortlessly warm and perfect together - it's not their first drama pairing and, let's just say, I can see why they have RPShippers. And what can I say for Yuan Hong and Liu Shi Shi as Yang Kang and Mu Nianci? If Hu Ge/Ariel Lin are sweetness and friendship and joy, they are all tormented dark passion and dependence and the edge of sanity. Their chemistry is off the charts. I have rarely seen anything in dramaworld to match it. And then there is Lee Jia, who plays the ambiguous, smart, tragic villain Ouyang Ke, and steals the show entirely, and my heart with it.

It's interesting what such a specific rewatch does to skew priorities - obviously, I remember all the stuff that happened but my emotional connection to what happened in e.g. eps 10-20 is much less. It mainly affects my relationship towards Yang Kang - it's been a long time (emotionally, for me - months, when I last watched early eps of LOCH) since he's been a good person who was forced to slide into darkness and thus my patience with him is less than it was upon initial watch. But, ah, Guo Jing and Huang Rong are as perfect as ever. One of the reasons I love their pairing so much is that it is so rare to see a drama where the leading man wins over his OTP through sheer goodness. Smart, tricky Huang Rong falls for Guo Jing because he's a good person. How wonderful and healthy is that? GJ/HR is a gender-reversal in so many ways, though. Sure, GJ is on his way to becoming the top dog of the martial arts world, but he's the unworldly one, the trusting and kind one, who's mentally not HR's equal. Huang Rong is the brains, the cynicism, the worldly knowledge. It's the typical "good girl wins over prickly/ambiguous/problematic woobie who is super smart and has a troubled background, simply through simplicity and goodness" only the genders are flipped.

I don't particularly like Yang Kang at this point in his arc (he's about two steps from rock-bottom, which happens in the next couple eps) but, no matter what, I cannot stop feeling sorry for him. He started with as much promise and hope of a good, worthy life as Guo Jing, but was backed into a corner and tormented enough, he decided snapping and becoming a power-hungry villain was the only way to protect himself. I guess no matter what horrors he perpetrates, I still can't fully forget the young man who gave up being a prince to live hand-to-mouth, performing in the streets to earn money for Nianci and the man who would rather die than surrender to his family's enemies. Plus, his actions are his own worst punishment in a way - he tries to reach for power in bad ways to protect himself and become not ever vulnerable, so does bad things/deals with bad people who obviously don't like him or trust him or treat him with honesty, and that confirms to him the world is out to get him and the cycle continues.

I love how well GJ takes care of sick HR and how gentle he is. Also love that she barely reaches his shoulder, but that is by-the-by.

This is a ridiculously pretty drama, and no, I am not just referring to Hu Ge's face :P

I think I just love all the piggy-backing - he basically carries her around for most of the ep. And I love how desperate he is to heal her. And seriously, she's a total tiny doll next to him. Awwww. It's my huge kink.

This scene just killed me. It really did. They are so amazing together.

Bonus:

I can't help but alternaship Nianci with Ouyang Ke (even though I am a rabid Nianci/Yang Kang shipper). They have wonderful chemistry and it's clear there is a better chance for a happy life with OYK, whose issues aren't nearly as crippling as YK's and who would always treat her right.

Yup, he's my crush. His story is about to end and I feel pretty sad about it though, in a way, it's justice - OYK brought this entirely on himself. If it wasn't for his sadistic plan to break Yang Kang and drive him to despair and no other option but Honglie's side, Yang Kang would be living in that village with Nianci and raising a passel of brats or travelling the world with Guo Jing and co, and not planning to take OYK out as competition. You reap what you saw. The irony being, of course, that OYK of then is such a different man than OYK of now.