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Of Boobs and Manly Men
Your requisite well-*I*-thought-it-was-funny link of the day.
Also: started rewatching last disk of Woxin so![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
incandescens can have some closure finally (and I can get my disks back to start watching again.) Missed these guys. Am still wondering about
1. Gou Jian gets religion, in the Grain Castgation scene. I truly think he means it. It's Gou Jian's way of making sense of what happened to him. As always when people get religion, they become very scary in consequence.
2. Fan Li says farewell to Xi Shi. Precisely, Fan Li says farewell to Xi Shi before Xi Shi can say whether she wants to leave him. (Much as he says 'thanks for sending me back to Yue' when the king isn't about to do anything of the sort.) Howcum? Is it that he reads the secrets of her heart in her rather bland face? Is it to remind her that Her Work Here Is Not Yet Done? (but that's the historical Fan Li, and this is not he.) Subtitles conceal meaning, as ever. Is there a double sense to Xi Shi's speech about 'I don't love the King of Wu. I love the hero all the world admires, the generous man' that would make the latter mean Fan Li rather than Fu Chai? Rather undercut by the immediately following 'If you will let me stay and serve you I'll be the happiest woman in the world.'
Anyway, *why* does she choose to stay? Because Her Work Here Is Not Yet Done? Or because she thinks pretty presents and fumbling ill-conceived attempts to make her happy really do indicate a generous nature, in spite of all evidence to the contrary--.
'Please send Fan Li home.'
'Mention his name again and I'll have him killed.'
Uhh, yeah. IOW-
She: This is what I really want, can I have it?
He: Nope. If you ask me to send my rival away from you and this country I'll refuse, only because you asked me to do it.
Large manly generous, yeah sure. I really expected the wine to be poisoned, and bet that Fan Li expected the wine to be poisoned, and bet Fu Chai knew Fan Li expected the wine to be poisoned, is why he drank half of it first. And Fan Li's allusive parting remarks remain midnight opaque as to emaning. Shall have to look at them with Chinese subtitles on, for all the help that'll be.
I have a horrible feeling Xi Shi's supposed to find Fu Chai's attitude of You Are My Reward For The Slaughter of Thousands moving and romantic, and I am too. Cause if her motivation's not 'Can't leave yet, I still have to destroy Wu', it really is Hmmm hegemonist wrapped around my finger cool. Granted a woman back then is the man she's hitched to, and granted that from a practical perspective a rich powerful dweeb has it over a wibbling indecisive dweeb, still.
Still. Gou Jian taking Fan Li's hand to draw him into the stable. Sniff sniff snerf. To our muttons, guys. Scene would have been hotter if there'd been a few maps laid out, is my perverse feel, but trading personal stories of the last three years will do.
(Shall note also the horrible hack job of cutting in this last disk that obscures the politics of Wu liek woah. Wu Zi Xu is wrong about the invasion, WZX moans about being old and no longer able to advise king, suddenly WZX is sent off to Qi-is-it? and we're told it's a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern mission because Fu Chai wants someone else to kill the old minister that last ep he was chiding Bo Pi for dissing. Urr- and just when did this irreparable rupture take place? Couldn't we have had one last lovers' tiff?)
Also: started rewatching last disk of Woxin so
incandescens can have some closure finally (and I can get my disks back to start watching again.) Missed these guys. Am still wondering about 1. Gou Jian gets religion, in the Grain Castgation scene. I truly think he means it. It's Gou Jian's way of making sense of what happened to him. As always when people get religion, they become very scary in consequence.
2. Fan Li says farewell to Xi Shi. Precisely, Fan Li says farewell to Xi Shi before Xi Shi can say whether she wants to leave him. (Much as he says 'thanks for sending me back to Yue' when the king isn't about to do anything of the sort.) Howcum? Is it that he reads the secrets of her heart in her rather bland face? Is it to remind her that Her Work Here Is Not Yet Done? (but that's the historical Fan Li, and this is not he.) Subtitles conceal meaning, as ever. Is there a double sense to Xi Shi's speech about 'I don't love the King of Wu. I love the hero all the world admires, the generous man' that would make the latter mean Fan Li rather than Fu Chai? Rather undercut by the immediately following 'If you will let me stay and serve you I'll be the happiest woman in the world.'
Anyway, *why* does she choose to stay? Because Her Work Here Is Not Yet Done? Or because she thinks pretty presents and fumbling ill-conceived attempts to make her happy really do indicate a generous nature, in spite of all evidence to the contrary--.
'Please send Fan Li home.'
'Mention his name again and I'll have him killed.'
Uhh, yeah. IOW-
She: This is what I really want, can I have it?
He: Nope. If you ask me to send my rival away from you and this country I'll refuse, only because you asked me to do it.
Large manly generous, yeah sure. I really expected the wine to be poisoned, and bet that Fan Li expected the wine to be poisoned, and bet Fu Chai knew Fan Li expected the wine to be poisoned, is why he drank half of it first. And Fan Li's allusive parting remarks remain midnight opaque as to emaning. Shall have to look at them with Chinese subtitles on, for all the help that'll be.
I have a horrible feeling Xi Shi's supposed to find Fu Chai's attitude of You Are My Reward For The Slaughter of Thousands moving and romantic, and I am too. Cause if her motivation's not 'Can't leave yet, I still have to destroy Wu', it really is Hmmm hegemonist wrapped around my finger cool. Granted a woman back then is the man she's hitched to, and granted that from a practical perspective a rich powerful dweeb has it over a wibbling indecisive dweeb, still.
Still. Gou Jian taking Fan Li's hand to draw him into the stable. Sniff sniff snerf. To our muttons, guys. Scene would have been hotter if there'd been a few maps laid out, is my perverse feel, but trading personal stories of the last three years will do.
(Shall note also the horrible hack job of cutting in this last disk that obscures the politics of Wu liek woah. Wu Zi Xu is wrong about the invasion, WZX moans about being old and no longer able to advise king, suddenly WZX is sent off to Qi-is-it? and we're told it's a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern mission because Fu Chai wants someone else to kill the old minister that last ep he was chiding Bo Pi for dissing. Urr- and just when did this irreparable rupture take place? Couldn't we have had one last lovers' tiff?)
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Augh, yes. Hu Jun thinks so too. Esp. after the I will be back when the icicles melt!! and I rushed back to see you instead of staying to pillage my vanquished foe!! scenes. It's ridiculous, it makes no sense whatsoever.
Discs not with me now so can't comment on the others.
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Speaking as Fu Chai or speaking as Hu Jun? Because Boo Hiss if it's the latter.
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To put paid to any notions she might have that he would actually choose her over
Gou JianYue? I think that double sense is there, though.*why* does she choose to stay?
1) Because she wouldn't leave until her mission as been accomplished.
2) She infers that's what Fan Li would want (interests of country >>> personal love affairs etc etc etc).
3) And as you say, rich powerful dweeb trumps wibbling indecisive dweeb.
(Though if I remember correctly she didn't actually manage to show any of this in her face or body language. Alas, my disks are doing the rounds of the cubicles.)
Scene would have been hotter if there'd been a few maps laid out
ah, surely you could rememdy that to your preference...
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You remember quite correctly, alas, but it's at least inferrable that she might be thinking that. This isn't quite the vacuity of her first appearances, so we're probably to take it that she's matured and thought a bit. (And for my money, Fan Li's acting here is no hot hell either. Just as obscure but a lot showier so it looks like 'keep 'em guessing' rather than flat can't do.)
(posting too fast)
In my first working of the reunion I think I did indeed see Gou Jian and Fan Li looking at maps and crop yields, but I can understand some people might not find that romantic at all.