First Episode Recap: Legend of the Qing Qiu Fox

Legend of the Qing Qiu Fox 青丘狐传说 is like the Monster Killer cast reunion sans Wu Xin. Separated into six arcs, the first part is called Ah Xiu starring Sebrina Chen Yao as Hua Yue.

Episode 1 begins with a Zelda-like sequence of lush greenery and upbeat music as a tribe of nine-tailed foxes sprint across the fields of Qing Qiu. Everyone has gathered for the once-in-500-year harvest and it is said that whoever consumes the sacred fruit can gain immortality. 

Suddenly, something or someone takes over Ying Ning's (Xiao Cai Qi in green dress) body compelling her to warn Hua Yue (Chen Yao in red) that they are under attack. As the tribe moves out in defense, a masked woman seizes the opportunity to steal the sacred fruit and a lone Fei Yue (Kiton in purple) runs after the thief to no avail.

Since the attack was just a ruse, Ying Ning and Hua Yue find themselves in a frustrating position of your word against mine while tribe leader Liu Chang Yan (Jiang Jin Fu in middle white) takes the task of finding the real culprit. A hot-headed Hua Yue cannot stand the accusatory eyes staring her down so she leaves her worries behind and heads back to the human world.

Turns out that Hua Yue is extremely popular, living out her dreams of passion and romance and breaking many men's hearts. 

In comes demon hunter Zhuo Yun gliding down from the sky to capture Hua Yue for all the lives that she has ruined. Seriously thought he was Hu Ge (Nirvana in Fire) at first glance, or at least his silhouette anyway. 

A fight ensues but Hua Yue narrowly escapes after she saves a girl named Ah Xiu. Despite seeing that Hua Yue is a nine-tailed fox, the kind-hearted Ah Xiu returns the favor by giving Hua Yue a place to stay and the two easily become friends.

First Impressions: The weird ears are trending and even upcoming cdrama Ice Fantasy sports the same pointed ears. It's interesting though that the show tries to make a distinction between the nine-tailed foxes when Hua Yue says that she is not a seductive demon nor an immortal fairy but somewhat in between called a fox spirit. 

Legend of Qing Qiu Fox goes out of its way to create a magical realm that's very pretty to look at but it runs the risk of being just that, a beautiful but empty casing. 

The opening scenes are fairly rudimentary with an all too simple plot causing an entire tribe of powerful beings to leave their sacred tree unguarded at the most critical moment. The fight scene that follows is hard to take seriously as well especially amidst all the fake lanterns and computer generated background. 

While I have my reservations, things gets more interesting towards the second half when the drama plays up the life aspect rather than the wuxia. Never mind that the concept has been done plenty and the story likely a cliche, yet what I think can make or break this drama would have to be the characters and so far, Hua Yue and Ah Xiu are really turning up the charm such that I want to see what will happen to the two friends once a common love interest comes along. But then again, it could be my heightened euphoria from a Monster Killer reunion that is clouding my judgment.

For synopsis, cast and ratings, see 2016 cdrama listing. 

Go Princess Go Episode 7-8 Recap

I'm only just connecting the dots that the censored version on LeTV contains many cut scenes after being flagged for inappropriate content (such a facepalm moment for me since I knew of this from the beginning). 

Good news is that I found the full eng-sub version on Viki and will be recapping those going forward. 

Episode 7

Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) visits Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) to apologize for the way he acted. He tells her that after some investigation, he realized that Yingyue perpetrated the whole incident and was playing victim to cause trouble for Peng Peng. 

Lucky for him, Peng Peng decides to be the bigger man and lets Qi Sheng off easy. I must be too petty because what Qi Sheng did shouldn't be forgiven just like that but the drama always has a no-frills approach to resolving misunderstandings so on to the next scene.

Yang Yan is sent by the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long) to invite Peng Peng out since he's worried that Peng Peng might still be upset over what happened. Even after Peng Peng politely declines, Yang Yan drugs and kidnaps her anyway.

Peng Peng wakes up in a Western-inspired dining room thinking that she must be back in 2015. Unfortunately she's not because she lays eyes on Yang Yan who carried her all the way to have a date with 9th Prince. 

9th Prince and Peng Peng end up sharing an enjoyable dinner drinking wine and having steak and the ever-gallant 9th Prince completes the evening by taking Peng Peng to see the rooftop view of lanterns stretching out into the horizon. Taken by the spectacular sight, Peng Peng verbalizes that if only there was music for the male and female leads to share a kiss. 

Halfway into her thoughts, Peng Peng in man voice does her monologue thinking that if things got any more romantic, 9th Prince is surely going to lean in for a kiss. Quick to kill the mood, she hurriedly changes the subject and 9th Prince takes the opportunity to confess that the feelings he had for her since they were younger haven't changed.

Once she gets home, Qi Sheng asks Peng Peng what kind of guy she fancies to which Peng Peng in man voice states that he has always been a pretty boy who likes women! 

Nevertheless, she answers Qi Sheng in a roundabout way saying that love transcends gender and if she were to pick a man, she would prefer the approachable romantic (ahem 9th Prince) over one that's cool and aloof (Qi Sheng). Cue sinister music as Qi Sheng eerily stares into the distance. The very next day, Peng Peng receives orders from the King to accompany Qi Sheng in a royal visit to Jiang Bei.

Episode 8

The guard accompanying Peng Peng turns out to be an assassin but thankfully, Yang Yan was quick to pick up on it so that he and 9th Prince save the day. Liking Yang Yan more and more who's more than just a comic relief because he's useful when he needs to be and effects a cute brotherly-relationship with Peng Peng as opposed to the two male leads who are trying to get with him as a her.

Again, this drama is quite refreshing in the sense that all the characters are practical and street smart. Peng Peng was no fool and she was already plotting her escape once she realized that the guard was purposely leading her astray. Modern people and our paranoid ways, we really can't be too trusting nowadays.

The next scene involves Zhao Wang, Yingyue's husband, which we will probably see more now that he has come out as the evil mastermind.

Qi Sheng finally arrives and enters into a a standoff with 9th Prince and Peng Peng who both think that he had orchestrated the assassination attempt. Their confrontation is interrupted by a sudden foray of black-clad men in masks and fire burning everywhere. 

9th Prince saves Peng Peng once again but gets seriously injured in the process while Qi Sheng frantically searches for Peng Peng. Cue sentimental music and flashback to the married couple's moments together. 

Despite liking the drama, I'm not sold on either love story since we all know Peng Peng is a man who likes women and hasn't show any feelings for the male leads so I'm getting confused on whether the flashback was meant to be taken seriously or not. No point overthinking though so I'll keep watching for entertainment sake.

Peng Peng is deeply touched by 9th Prince's sacrifices and after checking that he's not feigning unconsciousness that's so commonly done in dramas, Peng Peng saves him via mouth to mouth resuscitation, without any of that cheesy music accompaniment because it's nothing romantic, just saving a life here.

For Go Princess Go recaps:
Episode 1-2
Episode 3-4
Episode 5-6

Go Princess Go Episode 5-6 Recap

Episode 5

During their visit home, Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) learns that Qi Sheng's lover Jiang Yingyue is actually a distant cousin whose position in the Zhang household is far below hers. 

Since they're in Zhang family territory, Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) reminds Yingyue to be extra careful and to not do anything suspicious. Yingyue agrees but not without voicing her concerns about the growing relationship between Qi Sheng and Zhang Peng Peng, to which Qi Sheng vehemently denies.

True enough, Zhang Peng Peng's mother is out to get Yingyue and she is forced to kneel in front of the ancestors as punishment. Being the womanizer that (s)he used to be, Zhang Peng Peng can't stand to see a woman scorned so she pleads alongside Qi Sheng to let Yingyue off the hook.

Everyone clears the room leaving Qi Sheng with Peng Peng's mother and because of Lu Li's conspiracy theories that Peng Peng's mother might poison Qi Sheng, a frantic Peng Peng runs back to the room to save her husband.

Obviously, it was just a false alarm since her mother would never do such a thing. Instead, the mother-daughter have a heart-to-heart talk wherein Peng Peng admits that she just wants a life of leisure separate from Qi Sheng without a care about who he likes or who he is with. Her mother then warns Peng Peng that the palace is a dangerous place and she can only secure her safety by getting pregnant.

The realization puts Zhang Peng Peng in an awkward position of having to sleep with a man especially if said man also tells her that he is starting to be notice her.

Episode 6

The next morning, Peng Peng sees a hickey on Qi Sheng's neck and automatically assumes that Qi Sheng spent the night with Yingyue, which pisses him off and gets her kicked out of the carriage. Only after Lu Li tells her does she recall the horrific truth that the person he slept with was none other than herself.

She was initially wallowing in sorrow but there's no time for tears since the soccer event is coming up. Qi Sheng drags Peng Peng for some much-needed soccer practice and quality time between the two. 

Unfortunately, the devious Yingyue chooses to make her move at the soccer match by accusing Peng Peng of taking off her clothes. Clearly infuriated, Qi Sheng is unable to control his emotions in a public display of devotion towards Yingyue and he completely ignores Yingyue's husband Zhao Wang.  

On the other hand, Peng Peng is hurt from all the accusations being hurled her way with only the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long) willing to stand by her side. She exclaims that there's nothing she hates more than being wronged, which earns a slap on the face from Qi Sheng.

For Go Princess Go recaps:

Episode 1-2
Episode 3-4
Episode 7-8

Go Princess Go Episode 3-4 Recap

Episode 3

Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) dons a man's attire and is shocked when the madame sees right through her disguise, poking fun at the common perception that people in the olden days cannot tell the difference between a man and a woman. Nevertheless, her silver taels are ticket enough to gain entry to the brothel and Zhang Peng Peng has the time of her life.

I was cracking up at the scene where Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) comes home with arms wide open. Looks like he's asking for a hug if you ask me so a like-minded Zhang Peng Peng assumes the same and decides to give him a man-to-man hug since it wouldn't be right to leave Qi Sheng hanging. 

Of course, a hug is too scandalous back in those days and she just committed the biggest social blunder. As it turns out, what Qi Sheng meant was that he needed a change of clothes.

Back in the palace, crown prince Qi Sheng plays nice to Zhang Peng Peng in front of the Queen going as far as to engage in a drinking showdown with the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long). He belatedly admits to his mistress Jiang Yingyue that his actions weren't because of Zhang Peng Peng but rather an excuse to put 9th Prince in his place. 

Ugh men and their male ego but surely, a man must have sufficient confidence to pull off that ridiculous outfit while attempting to look cool, and those shorts.. wow. 

Zhang Peng Peng accidentally catches Qi Sheng and Jiang Yingyue's illicit affair in action when she runs into Yang Yan, 9th Prince's friend. As if watching a movie, the two hide behind the bushes silently cheering for the lovers until a careless Yang Yan gives away their location.

Episode 4

An indignant Qi Sheng punishes Zhang Peng Peng by putting her on a vegetarian diet and placing her under house arrest. Hungry and angry, Zhang Peng Peng lets out her frustrations on a helpless Yang Yan.

It is time for the married couple to pay a visit to Zhang Peng Peng's home so Qi Sheng comes to prep Peng Peng. As expected, she is completely clueless and unable to recognize her own parents' pictures so she finally comes clean with the truth. 

As far as time-travel dramas go, his reaction is the calmest one yet having observed for some time that Zhang Peng Peng really has changed. He half-believes in Zhang Peng Peng's time-travel story and decides to give her actual lessons before they visit her home.

For Go Princess Go recaps:
Episode 1-2
Episode 5-6

Go Princess Go Episode 1-2 Recap

Does it count as cheating if I chose to recap Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 mainly because it only has 35 episodes spanning 20 minutes each? It's a parody on period dramas and quite manageable since it's so short. After my half-baked attempt at recapping the 48-episode Hua Xu Yin, wish me luck.

Episode 1:

Zhang Peng is a notorious womanizer and on one fateful day, three of his ex-girlfriends crash a party to hunt him down. Amidst all the commotion, Zhang Peng accidentally pushes a woman into the pool and perhaps it's the adrenaline rush from wanting to run away but Zhang Peng hurriedly breaks free and dives headfirst to save the drowning woman. I was bracing for a heroic moment but no, the woman's knee jerk reaction deals a fatal blow to Zhang Peng and the scene goes black.

The world is still round but everything changed in an instance. Zhang Peng wakes up horrified, muttering to himself, "I didn't die?" In comes servant Lu Li and the imperial doctor and after a bit of digging, Zhang Peng finds out that not only did he time-travel but he also body-swapped into the body of a woman named Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai), the wife of the crown prince. 

Concluding that death is the solution to travel back into the future, Zhang Peng Peng tries to commit suicide albeit failing every single time, even after she asked and was given fake He Ding Hong, a poison often used in wuxia dramas. 

Despite being on the brink of exasperation, Zhang Peng Peng has a light bulb moment when she learns that whoever pushed the real crown princess into the water before the body-swap happened can be sentenced to death. She flees to the scene where where Zhao Wang and the Crown Prince (Sheng Yi Lun) are begging the Queen to release Jiang Yingyue, the woman accused of the crime and an indignant Crown Prince tells her to get lost.

Episode 2: 

As the Queen finally arrives, Zhang Peng Peng rushes to her side begging for her own execution. Her words translate to, "Queen, I orchestrated the whole thing. All the ji (schemes) such as 36 ji (a military strategy), Gong Xin Ji (a reference to popular Chinese palace drama), I planned it all! My heart is undoubtedly evil and I did everything to harm the Crown Prince." 

Seeing that the Queen was unconvinced, Zhang Peng Peng continues, "I'm no longer the kind, bright and cute Zhang Peng Peng. You just don't know but my heart is treacherous, I jumped willingly into the water, dragged the Crown Prince and even Jiang Yingyue down with me. Basically, everyone who almost died... it was me. Queen you have to order my death, Queen please." The dialogue is definitely funnier on screen but in a nutshell, Zhang Peng Peng fails again and is sent back to her quarters.

At this point, the dynamics among the royal family becomes clearer. Crown Prince hates the Crown Princess but is blatantly in love with Jiang Yingyue who is married to his 2nd brother Zhao Wang. There is also an ongoing rivalry between the Crown Prince (left) and his 9th brother (Yu Meng Long on the right) as seen by their silly competition of who's carriage moves faster. 

The two men face off in a stare down where the Crown Prince warns 9th Prince to stay out of his business especially since the 9th Prince was the man who saved Zhang Peng Peng from drowning. Resigned to her fate in the palace, Zhang Peng Peng decides to make the most of her stay by visiting a brothel. 

Continue to episode 3.

Remembering Xiao Shi Yi Lang 2002

Because the upcoming adaptation had me itching for more, I re-watched the 2002 version of Xiao Shi Yi Lang 蕭十一郎 starring Nicky Wu (Legend of Zu), Athena Chu and Yu Bo. Without further ado, below are the memorable scenes that turned this TV series into a classic. Warning: spoilers ahead.

Xiao Shi Yi Lang (Nicky Wu) and Shen Bi Jun's (Athena Chu) love story began after an accidental meeting when the happy-go-lucky bandit Xiao Shi Yi Lang crashes through the roof on his way to steal the Deer Carver Sabre (Ge Lu Dao). Even though Xiao Shi Yi Lang succeeds, he decides to return the legendary sabre that will be used as Bi Jun's dowry when she marries Lian Cheng Bi. 

Multiple kidnappings attempts later and the two have developed strong feelings for each other as Shi Yi Lang happens to save Bi Jun time and again. Despite having second thoughts, Bi Jun ultimately carries on with the wedding for the sake of the Shen family. 

What ensues is a series of misunderstandings exacerbated by a constantly suspicious Lian Cheng Bi (Yu Bo) who is determined not to be made a fool. Beneath his kind and gentlemanly exterior is actually a perceptive yet distrustful man whose lack of faith in Bi Jun causes their relationship to wither from the very start. 

Because of his mission as the protector of the Deer Carver Sabre, circumstances keep bringing Xiao Shi Yi Lang and Bi Jun together whilst her relationship with husband Liang Cheng Bi is pulled further apart. When the three were trapped in Xiao Yao Hou's territory, Bi Jun selflessly stepped forward to save Xiao Shi Yi Lang in spite of Lian Cheng Bi's warning that her actions will ruin their marriage. 

Yet the series is not without its flaws, thanks to a meddlesome Lao Lao, a prejudiced Tai Jun (Bi Jun's grandma) and even a quasi-intelligent Bi Jun who is often deceived into hurting Xiao Shi Yi Lang. One such instance is when she stabs him with a sword after believing that he conspired with Xiao Yao Hou to capture Bi Jun's grandma. 

At times, the plot contrivance can be as silly as Bi Jun rushing in between two men in the midst of a fight so that the highly-skilled martial artist Xiao Shi Yi Lang can end up injured, effecting a much more dramatic scene. 

Feng Si Niang and Yang Kai Tai's story is quite well-developed despite being on the sidelines. Love triangles are painful enough and for Si Niang to be the fourth leg of that triangle would have been overkill so I'm glad that as the series progresses, Si Niang slowly gets over her childhood friend Xiao Shi Yi Lang and finds purpose in helping Yang Kai Tai recover from the loss of his father.

The second half of the series is when Lian Cheng Bi completely turns to the dark side creating innumerable problems for the good guys. Enraged over losing Bi Jun, he is pushed over the edge after overhearing that Tai Jun coaxed Bi Jun into marrying him despite Bi Jun's pleas to call it off.

While I don't disagree that Tai Jun should bear the brunt of the blame, a diabolic Cheng Bi exacts his revenge in the most despicable way possible. He offers the oblivious grandma a cup of tea that will cause her to lose reason and kill people every night, knowing that the only solution will be for Xiao Shi Yi Lang to become the bad guy by cutting off Tai Jun's head.

Half a year passes and Xiao Shi Yi Lang returns with a pregnant lady named Bing Bing who is actually Cheng Bi's sister Lian Cheng Jin. However, the two go through great lengths to hide Cheng Jin's identity, puzzling even her uncles Bai Yang and Lu Liu.

Sure enough, Lian Cheng Bi had to confirm his sister's identity so that he can finish the deed to kill her. Although his second attempt remained unsuccessful, Lian Cheng Bi's identity as the big bad clad in red is revealed. 

I can't end the posting without talking about the interactions between Xiao Shi Yi Lang and the masked man. Their dialogues while short are fraught with humor bringing out a pleasant father-son dynamic, which is a much-needed balance to the drama in Xiao Shi Yi Lang's love life. 

At least one thing in his life is going well given that Xiao Shi Yi Lang always had the masked man to look out for him, and not a stupid person who can be easily manipulated to stab him in the back or anywhere else because that has happened one too many times. 

The much-awaited reveal happens towards the latter part of the series when the masked Er Guo Tou finally pulls out the Deer Carver Sabre proving that he is none other than Xiao Shi Yi Lang's long-lost father. On a sidenote, I find it hard to believe that Xiao Shi Yi Lang couldn't recognize his father's face. It's not like he was that young when they were separated?

Hands down one of the most exciting battles in the entire series occurs in the last episode when Xiao Shi Yi Lang walks into an ambush of epic proportions where he gets backstabbed by not one but two of his close friends and has to face a multitude of assassins. 

Having been misinformed about Bi Jun's death, Xiao Shi Yi Lang still fought down to his last breath determined to take down as many people with him amidst the thrashing of swords. Fortunately, Bi Jun arrives in the nick of time to save Xiao for his final showdown with Lian Cheng Bi.

What drama would you like to remember next?

First Episode Recap: Chronicle of Life

The opening scenes of Chronicle of Life evoke a sense of nostalgia befitting the pervasive theme of unspoken melancholy that was apparent from its promotional stills and music accompaniment. 

Episode 1&2 starts with an aged Emperor Kangxi (Hawick Lau) basking in all his glorious achievements yet not without a wave of sentiment as he looks back to a time when he fell in love. 

Flashback to a teenage Kangxi who he sets in motion an elaborate plan to defeat Ao Bai, a veteran official greedy for power after serving three generations of Qing Dynasty emperors. Undeterred by several close calls, Kangxi succeeds and issues an edict to capture or kill any of Ao Bai's followers that attempt to resist.

The traitor in question is none other than Liang Er's father and her entire family is slaughtered by the imperial guards on her tenth birthday. As the sole survivor, Liang Er wanders the streets and gets captured by conmen. This is also the moment when she meets Kangxi who also happens to be on the run from a group of assassins. They escape on a horse and become close confidants oblivious to their tragic connection.

In order to lure the pursuers away, the two part ways and Liang Er arrives at the Na La residence where her childhood friend Na La Rong Ruo vows to protect her despite his father's objections over harboring a fugitive.

To help Rong Ruo's father, Na Lan Yi tries to kill Liang Er if not for Rong Ruo who stops him in the nick of time. However, the damage is done and Liang Er has lost all recollection of her past. In a way, the circumstances helped her case as she can now thrive as a palace maid under the name Wei Lin Lang (Zheng Shuang).

First Impressions: The Kangxi versus Ao Bai storyline has been retold time and again and it's an exciting moment for Kangxi's reign as emperor. However, I wasn't expecting that the epic takedown will be handled by a bunch of kids. Sure, the mini me versions of the adult cast are cute and their performance solid but it feels odd to say the least especially with the not-so-subtle hints of childhood romance for a ten year old Liang Er. I mean - the horse scene - they're just kids!

The stage has been set in just two episodes and it's not hard to guess where the story is heading especially since the drama never fails to remind us with its indiscriminate use of flashbacks and rose petals. I definitely see the makings of a melodrama and I'm not sure if I have the bandwidth to watch it unfold. Given that two episodes are posted everyday on LeTV, it should be done in no time. 

For more synopsis, cast and ratings, see my 2016 Chinese historical drama listing.