Ning An Ru Meng (2023)

Bravo! Bravíssimo!

O roteiro é bom, os personagens bem construídos e o desenvolvimento do enredo bastante satisfatório.
Quando um drama tem capítulo especial, geralmente, é porque a finalização deixou a desejar, mas neste drama o especial é apenas um brinde da direção com cenas que não foram utilizadas na edição, pois em nada alteram o magnífico trabalho apresentado. Este drama, inicialmente, tinha a previsão de um número maior de capítulos, mas na edição ficaram apenas 38.
A direção conduziu o drama de maneira espetacular, as cenas eram bem acabadas, a coreografia das lutas impecáveis, edição sem erros graves, equilíbrio perfeito na emoção despertada nas cenas e cenário ou CGI maravilhosos. O efeito da borboleta utilizado no primeiro e no trigésimo oitavo capítulo é de uma sutileza indescritível. A ideia genial do diretor de refletir imagens no olho do cavalo e, também, nos olhos do casal protagonista, trouxe brilhantismo ao drama. A captação de cena de chuva no telhado no capítulo 6, remete a ideia de uma "tempestade" se aproximando para modificar os fatos. O diretor Chu Yui Bun costuma utilizar de recursos cativantes e prender a atenção logo nos primeiros capítulos, Neste drama ele tinha, além de seu talento indiscutível, um bom roteiro e um elenco de primeira grandeza. A finalização é bem elaborada e condizente com o desenrolar do trama.
O elenco esbanjou talento, não há nenhum personagem que não tenha sido muito bem representado. Bai Lu brilhou soberana do início ao fim, suas cenas foram viscerais. Senti cada emoção da personagem ao longo dos 38 capítulos, pude rir, chorar, sentir raiva, medo, desejo... A cena da morte de Fang Yin é de partir o coração, não só pelo seguimento da história, mas, principalmente, pela atuação de Bai Lu, seus olhos assumiram toda a dor da perda e depois todo rancor pelo assassino da amiga. Em várias cenas as palavras eram desnecessárias, pois os atores se esmeraram em incorporarem seus personagens.
O figurino é lindíssimo e a trilha sonora agradável.

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May the baddest man win.

This is the drama adaptation of a popular female harem web novel "Kun Ning" (坤宁) by Shi Jing (时镜) with an interesting approach; readers voted on who the female protagonist ends up with. It is a dark and gripping tale of intrigue, conceit, betrayal, revenge and redemption. Jiang Xuening is the alluring but resentful, selfish and ambitious daughter of a court official who ruthlessly parleys her charm and cunning into becoming empress. Her schemes lead to the downfall of the royal family and the ruin of both her childhood sweetheart Yan Lin and the erstwhile incorruptible Zhang Zhe. Desperate and full of regret, she barters her life with the blackbellied Xie Wei to save Zhang Zhe. She finds herself reborn as her 18-year old self with a chance for a do-over. She vows to do better this time, to steer clear of the bastions of power and the malevolent Xie Wei. She tries to use her preternatural knowledge to save Yan Lin and Zhang Zhe from their sad fortune. As she embarks on a journey of atonement, she discovers there is an element of destiny that pulls her towards the center of power. This time, with greater wisdom and insight, she uncovers hidden secrets and unexpected allies that help her better grasp the intrigue unfolding around her. Is that enough to change their destinies or are they doomed to the same tragic fate?

This story explores the causal links between the past, the present and the future.; the idea that if only knowing what we know now, we can go back and do what we should have, could have but did not do. It begins with a Ning'er who is already a fully realised character that is not yet revealed; a charming beauty who had the world at her feet and lived a wicked and self-indulgent life. Even though Ning'er's goals change, her innate nature stays the same. The past is told in flashbacks just before the moment plays out again in the present. This works in terms of the more detailed plot points but dilutes the character and relationship stories. Thus while Bai Lu pulls off her role well overall, the piecemeal telling of the backstory doesn't capture the depth of Ning'er's regret or the layers in her relationships with some of the main characters.

Where the storytelling falls short is in Zhang Zhe's arc. To me, it is the most pivotal love story in the drama. He was the best of men, a morally upright official who betrayed his principles for her. And she was a selfish person who was so moved she became selfless for him. Their emotions were so powerful it pushed them both outside of themselves towards a mutually destructive outcome. Sadly unlike the novel, their do-over relationship is shallow and barely scratches the surface of the unfinished affinity between them. It's a pity that instead sticking to the novel which better fleshes out this arc they wasted a bunch of time on the nasty Consort Shu's boring and tropey petty antics. Wang Xingyue delivers such an empathetic portrayal of Zhang Zhe that I was disappointed his character was short changed by the narrative.

As for Xie Wei, I have a weakness for unapologetic, unspeakably damaged, vengeful and morally ambiguous characters like this. Zhang Linghe delivers an intense portrayal of this dark and complex role. Although he overdoes some of the snarls and sneers, his performance overall deserves praise and is his strongest to date. Every time the full fury of Xie Wei's fiery death glare flashes across the screen, I go weak at the knees and my brain turns to mush. Yups, I am definitely a "may the baddest man win" kind of girl. Xie Wei is far from the best man but they are well matched, morally flexible ends justify means kind of people. Their romance arc only takes off later on but it is worth the wait. A mutual understanding develops gradually between them before things get really hot and steamy. When it does, their audacious chemistry explodes in a way that sets a new bar for passionate kiss scenes going forward.

Even though the political conspiracy is not that complicated, it is well told and riveting. Xie Wei's origins are a bit too obvious early on but I enjoyed how Ning'er and Xie Wei work together to uncover the conspiracy. They are both diabolical in how they manipulate the different factions around like chess pieces. The villains are no pushovers but they are overshadowed by the force of nature that is Xie Wei and Ningér's combined dark ruthlessness. This is not an action heavy drama but all of the fight scenes were well shot. I particularly enjoyed the vicious ferocity and absolute glee with which Yan Lin cuts through a melee. I hope this fight maniac Zhou Junwei's small indiscretion does not stand in the way of future roles in action intensive wuxias. Outside of one unnecessary and infuriatingly gratuitous death, the drama ends on a strong note after a bloody, intense and thrilling showdown.

While I enjoyed this drama immensely, the storytelling left me vaguely dissatisfied; as if I only watched the cliff note version of a story that had a lot more depth, nuance and substance than the drama managed to convey. This director is not great at knowing which plot arcs to give more weight to and has an unfortunate predilection for over-bright spot lights and spinning cameras. The production values are mediocre at best. This is a story that had so much potential it deserved to be in the hands of a better director and a better budget. I still rate this a highly reccomended 8.5/10.0.

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