![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jiggitI haven't really had time to sit and tease out the details, but I think they've pretty much messed up what they were trying to do with his character arc.
Part of it is because his actions are kind of opaque, for I don't really know what reason? Some people in the audience will of course know that he was written to fall from grace, but there are others who won't, and if you want to subvert something, you have to ensure that those who don't understand what it's subverting can follow along. It has to work not only extratextually, but also within the bounds of the story. Yang Kang's actions follow the book, which is fine, though I think changing things around could have been good too, but his motivation is supposed to have changed. So why is he doing the things that he does? There needs to be some explanation. What purpose does leading the Mongolians into ambush serve? Why isn't the time right to kill Wanyan Honglie? Why is it such a terrible thing when the Mongolians invade? I have no idea what Yang Kang's plan is.
And when he stabbed Guo Jing, there needed to be more of a build up to that. Something to show the viewer that his jealousy had finally boiled over into the desire to kill. Because I got confused as to whether it was a deliberate ploy to convince Wanyan Honglie that he was genuine, or whether it was jealousy. I think, since he revealed that his jealousy means he longs for Guo Jing's death, that it was meant to be ambiguous. It was ambiguous, but in the way where a first watch made it look like it didn't make any sense.
I really like the potential of this arc, but I think the execution of it was a bit draggy, and combined with other plotlines, it makes less compelling watching because it is so confusing.
It's not as bad as the arc after Wanyan Honglie carts Ouyang Ke and Mu Nianci off as hostages, though, because I literally have zero interest in any of those people except Mu Nianci. I love how expanded her role has become, and I wish they'd do similar for Hua Zheng. I also wish they'd cut back on the love triangle elements, because it's doing such a disservice to Hua Zheng's character. What I'd do, possibly, is have her, while she's presumed missing (and that was a badly missed opportunity because she came back with such little fanfare), coming into her own and growing a little apart from the idea of marrying Guo Jing because over the course of her travels and fighting, she's realised why how her father can make use of Song and Jin land, and she knows deep down that Guo Jing and his family would never countenance that. Have her see which way the wind is blowing, so to speak. Then when Guo Jing is asked to clarify which girl he's marrying, have her show mixed feelings, with Tolui being the one to press her suit out of respect for and indignation on behalf of his father's wishes.
Mu Nianci, to return to her, is a badass and is also being subsumed by the love story, fffffff. I don't know how to extricate her from it, though, because she is literally The Love Interest in the book. IDK, IDK, I do kind of like the idea of her wrestling with admiration for a capable Jin commander, but I hate Wanyan Honglie because he is a manipulative fuckass who was always shifting blame to Bao Xiruo for her inexplicable desire not to forget her dead husband. Also, that particular arc has Ouyang Ke trying to play love triangles with her, and I am just like no. MIXED FEELINGS. She's amazing, though. I love that she and Huang Rong are friendlier in this show and they talk to each other and confide in each other when they meet up.
Huang Rong is still great. I had a bunch of bad moments when she burnt Hua Zheng's letter (FFFFFF LOVE TRIANGLES!!!!!!!!!) but she and Guo Jing came through it intact. She is now the leader of the Beggar Clan, and it was so beautiful. It's one of my favourite scenes in the book and I liked how it was staged here.
Also, I wanted to note that Ouyang Ke stuck in a love triangle by himself is still really funny to me. NO ONE WANTS YOU, OUYANG KE. I WOULD FEEL BAD FOR YOU IF YOU WEREN'T GROSS.
Part of it is because his actions are kind of opaque, for I don't really know what reason? Some people in the audience will of course know that he was written to fall from grace, but there are others who won't, and if you want to subvert something, you have to ensure that those who don't understand what it's subverting can follow along. It has to work not only extratextually, but also within the bounds of the story. Yang Kang's actions follow the book, which is fine, though I think changing things around could have been good too, but his motivation is supposed to have changed. So why is he doing the things that he does? There needs to be some explanation. What purpose does leading the Mongolians into ambush serve? Why isn't the time right to kill Wanyan Honglie? Why is it such a terrible thing when the Mongolians invade? I have no idea what Yang Kang's plan is.
And when he stabbed Guo Jing, there needed to be more of a build up to that. Something to show the viewer that his jealousy had finally boiled over into the desire to kill. Because I got confused as to whether it was a deliberate ploy to convince Wanyan Honglie that he was genuine, or whether it was jealousy. I think, since he revealed that his jealousy means he longs for Guo Jing's death, that it was meant to be ambiguous. It was ambiguous, but in the way where a first watch made it look like it didn't make any sense.
I really like the potential of this arc, but I think the execution of it was a bit draggy, and combined with other plotlines, it makes less compelling watching because it is so confusing.
It's not as bad as the arc after Wanyan Honglie carts Ouyang Ke and Mu Nianci off as hostages, though, because I literally have zero interest in any of those people except Mu Nianci. I love how expanded her role has become, and I wish they'd do similar for Hua Zheng. I also wish they'd cut back on the love triangle elements, because it's doing such a disservice to Hua Zheng's character. What I'd do, possibly, is have her, while she's presumed missing (and that was a badly missed opportunity because she came back with such little fanfare), coming into her own and growing a little apart from the idea of marrying Guo Jing because over the course of her travels and fighting, she's realised why how her father can make use of Song and Jin land, and she knows deep down that Guo Jing and his family would never countenance that. Have her see which way the wind is blowing, so to speak. Then when Guo Jing is asked to clarify which girl he's marrying, have her show mixed feelings, with Tolui being the one to press her suit out of respect for and indignation on behalf of his father's wishes.
Mu Nianci, to return to her, is a badass and is also being subsumed by the love story, fffffff. I don't know how to extricate her from it, though, because she is literally The Love Interest in the book. IDK, IDK, I do kind of like the idea of her wrestling with admiration for a capable Jin commander, but I hate Wanyan Honglie because he is a manipulative fuckass who was always shifting blame to Bao Xiruo for her inexplicable desire not to forget her dead husband. Also, that particular arc has Ouyang Ke trying to play love triangles with her, and I am just like no. MIXED FEELINGS. She's amazing, though. I love that she and Huang Rong are friendlier in this show and they talk to each other and confide in each other when they meet up.
Huang Rong is still great. I had a bunch of bad moments when she burnt Hua Zheng's letter (FFFFFF LOVE TRIANGLES!!!!!!!!!) but she and Guo Jing came through it intact. She is now the leader of the Beggar Clan, and it was so beautiful. It's one of my favourite scenes in the book and I liked how it was staged here.
Also, I wanted to note that Ouyang Ke stuck in a love triangle by himself is still really funny to me. NO ONE WANTS YOU, OUYANG KE. I WOULD FEEL BAD FOR YOU IF YOU WEREN'T GROSS.
