![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieEps 14 and 15 of JPLH, a.k.a. "Qing Chuan plans her escape from the mortuary temple" were a bit slower/less fun than the previous eps but still good.
The reason I liked them somewhat less what a total absence of Eight. The thing with Eight is that he might not be the only decent person Qing Chuan meets in this new world, but he is the only one who seems to possess capacity for joy. Somehow, improbably, he's managed to maintain some degree of spontaneity despite the palace. And so when he's off the screen, the fun quotient goes way down - there are plenty of schemers to replace e.g. Four if Four got taken out of the story, but nobody to replace Eight's sense of fun.
But eps 14 and 15 are still good. You know why?
a. Qing Chuan is an entirely new but equally dangerous and harsh place. She has no Eight to rescue her, or Four's words to use a comfort, or even Su Yan's friendship. She's utterly isolated and alone. And guess what? With her usual optimism, inventiveness and strength of will, she manages to rescue herself. You have no idea how much I love it! In fact, it does prove that outside the palace, QC will do just fine. She won't have a royal prince to come to her rescue, but any danger outside the palace (i.e. the Emperor's whims) she can deal with. She doesn't need royal protection unless she's in danger from another royal in the first place.
b. It's a weird thing for an Eight/QC shipper to say, but I love that the time total she spends moping over either Eight (or Four, who she did have a bit of a crush on) is zero. I love that she doesn't regret her decision to tell Eight she doesn't want to be with him. JPLH gets right what the original Hanadan manga got right and so did the Meteor Garden adaptation, but every other version either diluted (Hanadan) or wrecked altogether (BOF). That is the very important notion that gratitude and love are different - Eight might have saved QC's life at the risk of his own and this entitles him to QC's gratitude but not QC's heart. She does not owe him to love him because he saved her. And that makes the OTP so much more satisfying when it does happen - she won't be with him out of gratitude or fear or self-interest or as a desire for protection - clearly she does not need him in any way unless she wants to be with him and needs him because she loves him. And that is so much more satisfying.
Side note - I feel desperately sorry for Two. He's rather sweet but so outclassed by Four. It's a wonder he's lasted as long as he has.
I keep wondering about the sequel btw - is it going to be set in modern day or the past? Because the former could be a lot of fun but it's going to lack to overwhelming stakes of the past - the fact that death for the slightest transgression is ever-present and attitude to it is so casual is what gives JPLH the sense of danger and darkness that underlays the gorgeous fun and makes it matter.
The reason I liked them somewhat less what a total absence of Eight. The thing with Eight is that he might not be the only decent person Qing Chuan meets in this new world, but he is the only one who seems to possess capacity for joy. Somehow, improbably, he's managed to maintain some degree of spontaneity despite the palace. And so when he's off the screen, the fun quotient goes way down - there are plenty of schemers to replace e.g. Four if Four got taken out of the story, but nobody to replace Eight's sense of fun.
But eps 14 and 15 are still good. You know why?
a. Qing Chuan is an entirely new but equally dangerous and harsh place. She has no Eight to rescue her, or Four's words to use a comfort, or even Su Yan's friendship. She's utterly isolated and alone. And guess what? With her usual optimism, inventiveness and strength of will, she manages to rescue herself. You have no idea how much I love it! In fact, it does prove that outside the palace, QC will do just fine. She won't have a royal prince to come to her rescue, but any danger outside the palace (i.e. the Emperor's whims) she can deal with. She doesn't need royal protection unless she's in danger from another royal in the first place.
b. It's a weird thing for an Eight/QC shipper to say, but I love that the time total she spends moping over either Eight (or Four, who she did have a bit of a crush on) is zero. I love that she doesn't regret her decision to tell Eight she doesn't want to be with him. JPLH gets right what the original Hanadan manga got right and so did the Meteor Garden adaptation, but every other version either diluted (Hanadan) or wrecked altogether (BOF). That is the very important notion that gratitude and love are different - Eight might have saved QC's life at the risk of his own and this entitles him to QC's gratitude but not QC's heart. She does not owe him to love him because he saved her. And that makes the OTP so much more satisfying when it does happen - she won't be with him out of gratitude or fear or self-interest or as a desire for protection - clearly she does not need him in any way unless she wants to be with him and needs him because she loves him. And that is so much more satisfying.
Side note - I feel desperately sorry for Two. He's rather sweet but so outclassed by Four. It's a wonder he's lasted as long as he has.
I keep wondering about the sequel btw - is it going to be set in modern day or the past? Because the former could be a lot of fun but it's going to lack to overwhelming stakes of the past - the fact that death for the slightest transgression is ever-present and attitude to it is so casual is what gives JPLH the sense of danger and darkness that underlays the gorgeous fun and makes it matter.
