Still Bednaya Nastya
Sep. 16th, 2007 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieYup, still Bednaya Nastya *watches as major defriending happens*
Just finished ep 24 and it is so incredibly majorly addictive. It actually helps that by now I've gotten invested in almost all the storylines, even if not to the degree of Vladimir/Anna stuff. But by now I love all the palace stuff. I think I am just really keen on the mix of cynicism, and the battle of wills between Nicholas and Alexander, and the Empress about what Alexander should and shouldn't be and do. And I got totally sold on Alexander's angst when he saw his mistress Olga (who got sent away to marry some count far away, because she was politically inconvenient) for the last time. The desperate hugging and then tears on his face. Mmmmm. I have such a thing for crying men (see scenes with Vladimir later). And I like equally as much that he might have been very in love with Olga, but once she is gone for good, and there is no hope or mystery, he forgets and moves on. Realistic. Harsh, but realistic. I could get behind Alexander/Natalie (another lady in waiting) in a huge way though, because Natalie is strong and fun and she and Alexander interact as friends (as she was one of the go-betweens for him and Olga).
I am probably giving this show a lot more credit than it should have, but hey, I like to meta, so why not? I think a lot of love stories in this are reflections of the central one: Vladimir/Anna (they are taking their sweet time to get there, but now the old Baron is dead, it got going for good, YESSS). Alexander (and Natalie) both might be in the moment but they are capable of moving on rather easily. The feelings might be intense and real, but fleeting. That is quite different as Vladimir (as befits a Byronic hero, after all) is willing to go through hell and high water to win and keep Anna, and he won't stop. But a better juxtposition is actually probably Andrei/Tatyana. Andrei is the neighbor of Vladimir's. Tatyana is his serf. And there is also a high-born girl with whom he's been promised since childhood (it happens to be Natalie). So it's very similar to Vladimir-Anna-Lisa situation. And Andrei/Tatyana is one of my favorite strands in the story. Because it's the realistic approach, as opposed to the sort of 'star-crossed, epic love' thing they are doing with V/A. Because Andrei loves Tatyana. But he doesn't see her as anything but a serf. And he sleeps with her, but he still plans to marry Natalie, because that is a society proper thing to do, and it never occurs to him to go outside the bounds of the 'done thing.' And that's the thing. Andrei is a nice guy. And he does love Tatyana. But (as Tatyana puts it. She knows where she stands and she does not mind), men prefer duty (i.e. serf girl in bed, but marrying an aristocrat) to love. Andrei would never do anything as crazy as marrying a former serf. Or (like Vladimir) not lay a finger on his 'property' but treat her as fragile glass. It would never occur to him. Just as Anna (because of the old Baron) not a 'true' serf either, because she's been brought up as an aristocrat so she doesn't fit into any proper parameters.
But the love story is only beginning, proper. I am SO glad old Korf kicked the bucket, because it leads to the yummy and time-honored devise of Vladimir breaking down with angst, and Anna consoling him and so they get over their barriers, somewhat. I nearly squealed when I realized that they used to be childhood friends, before the whole issue of Vladimir's believing his father is indifferent to him and prefers Anna came up. Or before he grew up enough to realize that he feels things for her and so he has done everything to suppress it and to make himself believe she is despicable. EEEEEEEE!
I love LOVE LOVE the bit by the old Baron's grave, when he is almost weeping, and saying that he disappointed his father once again, as he has always done (he walked out during the funeral, because the weird local 'witch' showed up and he hates her, for various spoilery reasons, beyond any control. And since she wouldn't live, he walked out. Boy has a crazy temper). And she comes up to the grave, and he asks her why she is there and she says to say good-bye to the old Baron, and she apologizes for disturbing him but he says it's OK and they reminesce about childhood blah blah, and they are so not jumping down each other's throat. But are being at peace with each other and supporting.
It's totally clear that he totally builds barriers against her because she can cross them so easily. He loves being in utter control of himself, and with her, he never is: you can see it from their first scene in first ep, when he is ordering her about, but he is just dying to grab her and pull her into his arms, but it's not just a romantic thing, she just gets past his barriers in general. Just see the scene by the coffin of his father, when she actually manages to convince him in about ten minutes that his father loved him after all (something that he didn't believe for years) and he breaks down, weeping, and she comforts him, and he realizes and just jerks away and is all 'Why are you doing this to me?' MMMMMMMMM. Hot. I also love that even as jealous is he of attention his father paid to Anna, he doesn't believe she is the one who killed the old Baron, even when Shuller tries to sell the idea to him. He is only into certain kinds of self-delusion.
I do like Michael a lot, Anna's current beau. But he is like a non-psychotic version of Duncan from 'Veronica Mars.' Sweet, and good-looking, and nice. And I find him rather dull. The other person I ff scenes with are the bad guys (small doses is plenty), and Lisa, the neighbor's daughter. She is a little too drama queen for me.
Anyway, here is the scene at the grave that I mentioned. And a translation in the weird event you are interested but do not speak Russian.
V: I was late to your funeral. See, I disappointed you again. I always wanted to be like you, but always disappointed...What should I do with your medallion? I cannot forgive her [lady in the medallion]. I cannot. I tried. Couldn't...I so wanted for you to always be proud of me. How...
[to Anna]: Why are you here?
A: I came to say good-bye to Uncle once again. Forgive me for intruding.
V: You don't have to apologize for it.
A: He shouldn't have died!
V: While we remember him, he is with us. When he walked into my room in the mornings, he would always pretend he forgot something there.
A: And when he was thinking, he'd always be drawing with his finger on the table.
V: I would always try to figure out what on earth he was drawing. [both laugh] And when he would get good news, he would always pretend nothing happened...
A:...even though everyone could guess.
V: He would walk with a mysterious face all day [OK, this is a rough translation, sorry :P]
A: Do you remember how he would get mad at us when we were children?
V: He'd yell. And then give us cream cakes. I used to like to cause trouble on purpose, just to get those cakes.
A: I think I must have eaten a thousand of those cakes, you know?
Anyway, this user has tons of Anna/Vladimir vids. I have to say that Daniil Strakhov (who plays Vladimir) is so good-looking that I get a bit mushy in the head just looking at him and my vision begins to go if I look at him too much :P I wonder if his wife has to squint at him or wear sunglasses :P
Just finished ep 24 and it is so incredibly majorly addictive. It actually helps that by now I've gotten invested in almost all the storylines, even if not to the degree of Vladimir/Anna stuff. But by now I love all the palace stuff. I think I am just really keen on the mix of cynicism, and the battle of wills between Nicholas and Alexander, and the Empress about what Alexander should and shouldn't be and do. And I got totally sold on Alexander's angst when he saw his mistress Olga (who got sent away to marry some count far away, because she was politically inconvenient) for the last time. The desperate hugging and then tears on his face. Mmmmm. I have such a thing for crying men (see scenes with Vladimir later). And I like equally as much that he might have been very in love with Olga, but once she is gone for good, and there is no hope or mystery, he forgets and moves on. Realistic. Harsh, but realistic. I could get behind Alexander/Natalie (another lady in waiting) in a huge way though, because Natalie is strong and fun and she and Alexander interact as friends (as she was one of the go-betweens for him and Olga).
I am probably giving this show a lot more credit than it should have, but hey, I like to meta, so why not? I think a lot of love stories in this are reflections of the central one: Vladimir/Anna (they are taking their sweet time to get there, but now the old Baron is dead, it got going for good, YESSS). Alexander (and Natalie) both might be in the moment but they are capable of moving on rather easily. The feelings might be intense and real, but fleeting. That is quite different as Vladimir (as befits a Byronic hero, after all) is willing to go through hell and high water to win and keep Anna, and he won't stop. But a better juxtposition is actually probably Andrei/Tatyana. Andrei is the neighbor of Vladimir's. Tatyana is his serf. And there is also a high-born girl with whom he's been promised since childhood (it happens to be Natalie). So it's very similar to Vladimir-Anna-Lisa situation. And Andrei/Tatyana is one of my favorite strands in the story. Because it's the realistic approach, as opposed to the sort of 'star-crossed, epic love' thing they are doing with V/A. Because Andrei loves Tatyana. But he doesn't see her as anything but a serf. And he sleeps with her, but he still plans to marry Natalie, because that is a society proper thing to do, and it never occurs to him to go outside the bounds of the 'done thing.' And that's the thing. Andrei is a nice guy. And he does love Tatyana. But (as Tatyana puts it. She knows where she stands and she does not mind), men prefer duty (i.e. serf girl in bed, but marrying an aristocrat) to love. Andrei would never do anything as crazy as marrying a former serf. Or (like Vladimir) not lay a finger on his 'property' but treat her as fragile glass. It would never occur to him. Just as Anna (because of the old Baron) not a 'true' serf either, because she's been brought up as an aristocrat so she doesn't fit into any proper parameters.
But the love story is only beginning, proper. I am SO glad old Korf kicked the bucket, because it leads to the yummy and time-honored devise of Vladimir breaking down with angst, and Anna consoling him and so they get over their barriers, somewhat. I nearly squealed when I realized that they used to be childhood friends, before the whole issue of Vladimir's believing his father is indifferent to him and prefers Anna came up. Or before he grew up enough to realize that he feels things for her and so he has done everything to suppress it and to make himself believe she is despicable. EEEEEEEE!
I love LOVE LOVE the bit by the old Baron's grave, when he is almost weeping, and saying that he disappointed his father once again, as he has always done (he walked out during the funeral, because the weird local 'witch' showed up and he hates her, for various spoilery reasons, beyond any control. And since she wouldn't live, he walked out. Boy has a crazy temper). And she comes up to the grave, and he asks her why she is there and she says to say good-bye to the old Baron, and she apologizes for disturbing him but he says it's OK and they reminesce about childhood blah blah, and they are so not jumping down each other's throat. But are being at peace with each other and supporting.
It's totally clear that he totally builds barriers against her because she can cross them so easily. He loves being in utter control of himself, and with her, he never is: you can see it from their first scene in first ep, when he is ordering her about, but he is just dying to grab her and pull her into his arms, but it's not just a romantic thing, she just gets past his barriers in general. Just see the scene by the coffin of his father, when she actually manages to convince him in about ten minutes that his father loved him after all (something that he didn't believe for years) and he breaks down, weeping, and she comforts him, and he realizes and just jerks away and is all 'Why are you doing this to me?' MMMMMMMMM. Hot. I also love that even as jealous is he of attention his father paid to Anna, he doesn't believe she is the one who killed the old Baron, even when Shuller tries to sell the idea to him. He is only into certain kinds of self-delusion.
I do like Michael a lot, Anna's current beau. But he is like a non-psychotic version of Duncan from 'Veronica Mars.' Sweet, and good-looking, and nice. And I find him rather dull. The other person I ff scenes with are the bad guys (small doses is plenty), and Lisa, the neighbor's daughter. She is a little too drama queen for me.
Anyway, here is the scene at the grave that I mentioned. And a translation in the weird event you are interested but do not speak Russian.
V: I was late to your funeral. See, I disappointed you again. I always wanted to be like you, but always disappointed...What should I do with your medallion? I cannot forgive her [lady in the medallion]. I cannot. I tried. Couldn't...I so wanted for you to always be proud of me. How...
[to Anna]: Why are you here?
A: I came to say good-bye to Uncle once again. Forgive me for intruding.
V: You don't have to apologize for it.
A: He shouldn't have died!
V: While we remember him, he is with us. When he walked into my room in the mornings, he would always pretend he forgot something there.
A: And when he was thinking, he'd always be drawing with his finger on the table.
V: I would always try to figure out what on earth he was drawing. [both laugh] And when he would get good news, he would always pretend nothing happened...
A:...even though everyone could guess.
V: He would walk with a mysterious face all day [OK, this is a rough translation, sorry :P]
A: Do you remember how he would get mad at us when we were children?
V: He'd yell. And then give us cream cakes. I used to like to cause trouble on purpose, just to get those cakes.
A: I think I must have eaten a thousand of those cakes, you know?
Anyway, this user has tons of Anna/Vladimir vids. I have to say that Daniil Strakhov (who plays Vladimir) is so good-looking that I get a bit mushy in the head just looking at him and my vision begins to go if I look at him too much :P I wonder if his wife has to squint at him or wear sunglasses :P
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-17 09:18 am (UTC)But it's cool that you're into it. This is going to sound weird but y'know, I like us multi-fandom freaks. :P I like how you can get into basically anything from any country of the world that fits your fictional fancies or even when it doesn't, and I'm pretty much the same myself. While in the US I got all excited about upcoming and returning American TV.. And I still am! But I got back home and got back into all my Asian fandoms since I caught up with them, and the updated Bollywood happenings (still sad I missed Chak De India in NYC - the one morning I got up early to see it, the showing was an hour earlier than every other day!).
So many people on my flist are only into one thing at a time.. It's so refreshing to have a couple of people with eclective, varying likes. :D
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 01:05 pm (UTC)Yeah, basically I'll watch/read anything if it looks interesting, and one of the things I love about your LJ is that you would too!
TV this fall
Date: 2007-09-17 10:30 pm (UTC)I actually liked New Amsterdam better (well, the main character there is definitely- how should I put it more politely- hotter:), plus I like the concept and the book slightly better. There is another one coming this season, Journeyman. Has a little bit of Quantum Leap to it. Also, Pushing Daisies about this guy who can bring dead to life just once for a very short period of time, but cannot touch live people for fear of bringing them death. For some reason, most of the critics are betting of that one to survive the mid-season masacre. Probably because it is pretty original (do you know that joke about TV? TV is a medium because everything well done is rare:) and more of a comedy then a procedural...
Re: TV this fall
Date: 2007-09-18 01:06 pm (UTC)Guy=HOT.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 02:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 01:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 10:23 pm (UTC)