my mom and i put this on to clown the show as we often do with bao qing tian remakes (the 1993 cast and production just reigns superior!) and well…. the story is actually great. and douban has absolutely roasted huang weide for his supposedly poor acting (the way he like widens his eyes perpetually) and i think they’re a bit remiss for it. wasn’t bao qing tian always known for its operatic performances? maybe huang weide and the director’s choices are a bit dated but i feel like the criticism is excessive! i really enjoyed it. just the first few episodes are a bit of a tearjerker already, really touching! i may continue watching this passively alongside my mom in the meanwhile and update thoughts here as i go.

i think a general warning for anyone going into any of the bao qing tian dramas is the abundant colorism and brownfacing. every actor who has portrayed bao qing tian has painted their skin darker for it lol, because, i believe, when he was originally portrayed in operas, his skin was especially dark/almost black to show that he is a symbol of uprightness and honesty, but also that he’s “ugly”! the first episode is filled with people calling him “little black (xiao hei)” and recoiling at how scary he looks, partly because he has dark skin. speaking as an asian i absolutely despise colorism in asian culture and it’s utterly inescapable in the bao qing tian dramas, so… yeah! here we are.