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0denseI haven't actually watched a show in ages, so thank goodness for youtube! but also I don't know if it's because NiF is extra twisty, or that I've been a student so long, but I have to take notes on everything that goes on lmao. between reading the subs and tracking plots, it's not a show I can watch mindlessly!
Anyway, I've made it to ep 11 and I Keep Dying. Latest causes of death:
Ep 4:
And now, in ep 11:
tbh, I'm not entirely clear on the timeline of this story - episodes fade right into one another, but I think a good amount of time can pass within each episode itself. It keeps the pace at a good trot, but my sense of time is a little whacked. But whether it's five episodes or a few months, JY is becoming more confident in himself, and more aware of the shortcomings of his own nation. His brother, the Prince Yu, is being kind to him for the first time in their lives, or near enough - what kind of guy doesn't invite his own little brother to new year's?? Is that the kind of guy who should be emperor? Ha!
I wonder if it's the contrast that's making JY realise how dire it is, really. It's one thing to be used to being insulted in front of the throne, and to take it on the chin without blinking. But as soon as you realise you deserve better, it all becomes so much harder to bear. He spent 12 straight years out in the field with his army, of course he didn't have a grasp of what the country was being run like. But now that he can recognise that something is wrong, there's absolutely no way he can let it stand. And he's not just a high general, he's a the seventh son of the Emperor, an eligible prince, and power = responsibility.
wow, I'm love him!!!!!!!
Speaking of how dang upright he is, I love how both the good-guys and bad-guys are calling MCS out for being a manipulative bastard. Sure, it's his job as a strategist, but it's easy for JY to criticise him. Making MCS be honest as a condition of their cooperation is absolutely my kryptonite, knock me down with a feather. But when Qin Banruo is calling you out for using people without their knowledge, damn son.
As an audience, we can cheer him on, for knowing how people will act and placing them just so for his schemes. But that doesn't make it good, that doesn't excuse him.
Even MCS recognises it. He's going to do the dirty work, so that JY can keep his hands and heart clean.
But it's the fact that the narrative keeps pointing out that no, having a true code of ethics is commendable, and not naive. It's not immature, it's not overly idealistic. No matter what your intention is, if you treat people as means and not ends in themselves, you're cruel. There isn't an excuse for using anyone like that.
I'm only on ep 11 but wowowowow this show is gonna wreck me
Anyway, I've made it to ep 11 and I Keep Dying. Latest causes of death:
- MCS has tricked Prince Yu into being nice to his little brother. JY's so unused to his brother being friendly, this is a travesty??
- MCS: hey so, Princess. we're going to be pissing off Consort Yue, want in??
- JY IS GOING TO ENTER THE RUNNING FOR CROWN PRINCE, i'M SO PROUD OF HIM
Ep 4:
JY: So have you chosen to advise the Crown Prince or Prince Yu, Sir?
MCS: I've chosen Your Highness. Just you, Prince Jing.
JY: You chose me?
(JY laughs)
JY: So you've chosen me. Then you're surely lacking in foresight and judgment. ... What can you achieve with me?
MCS: I know Your Highness is in a weak position. But you're still the prince I choose to serve.
...
JY: Those with accomplished minds can harbor the strangest ideas.
MCS: Your Highness, let's be honest here. Do you really want to see what would happen to our lands, if either of them wins the throne?
CJ: Jingyan, is something bothering you?
JY: I have decided to join the fight for the throne.
CJ: Are you siding with the Crown Prince? Or with Prince Yu?
JY: I'll fight for myself.
JY: And I will achieve it. For my brother, Prince Qi, and for Lin Shu, for everyone I care for. I will obtain the throne for them.
tbh, I'm not entirely clear on the timeline of this story - episodes fade right into one another, but I think a good amount of time can pass within each episode itself. It keeps the pace at a good trot, but my sense of time is a little whacked. But whether it's five episodes or a few months, JY is becoming more confident in himself, and more aware of the shortcomings of his own nation. His brother, the Prince Yu, is being kind to him for the first time in their lives, or near enough - what kind of guy doesn't invite his own little brother to new year's?? Is that the kind of guy who should be emperor? Ha!
I wonder if it's the contrast that's making JY realise how dire it is, really. It's one thing to be used to being insulted in front of the throne, and to take it on the chin without blinking. But as soon as you realise you deserve better, it all becomes so much harder to bear. He spent 12 straight years out in the field with his army, of course he didn't have a grasp of what the country was being run like. But now that he can recognise that something is wrong, there's absolutely no way he can let it stand. And he's not just a high general, he's a the seventh son of the Emperor, an eligible prince, and power = responsibility.
wow, I'm love him!!!!!!!
Speaking of how dang upright he is, I love how both the good-guys and bad-guys are calling MCS out for being a manipulative bastard. Sure, it's his job as a strategist, but it's easy for JY to criticise him. Making MCS be honest as a condition of their cooperation is absolutely my kryptonite, knock me down with a feather. But when Qin Banruo is calling you out for using people without their knowledge, damn son.
As an audience, we can cheer him on, for knowing how people will act and placing them just so for his schemes. But that doesn't make it good, that doesn't excuse him.
Even MCS recognises it. He's going to do the dirty work, so that JY can keep his hands and heart clean.
But it's the fact that the narrative keeps pointing out that no, having a true code of ethics is commendable, and not naive. It's not immature, it's not overly idealistic. No matter what your intention is, if you treat people as means and not ends in themselves, you're cruel. There isn't an excuse for using anyone like that.
I'm only on ep 11 but wowowowow this show is gonna wreck me
no subject
Date: 2019-03-11 02:34 am (UTC)Taking notes is pretty understandable, since you mentioned that. I probably would have found it helpful the first time around. ;) I think the timeline gets a bit clearer as time goes on, though.
& agreed re: the narrative/characters calling MCS out on the manipulation/using people/so on. It's neat that this is part of it.
no subject
Date: 2019-04-03 02:30 pm (UTC)But he got better about it too, some!! He spent all his time in the shadows looking out for people, I came around to. If you're gonna have that sort of position, that's the right sort of use for it!!
Like, the earnestness levels are off the charts here though! It's so comforting, I think, to have a story where people say that goodness isn't weak, and the narrative agrees, and the characters who don't hold to kindness are tragic. I didn't realize how quite utterly I wanted a story where sadness doesn't have to mean boiling away sincerity.