Rants and Weekly Raves (RAWR) #466

Anne: Hello Drama Lovers! Ok...I was going to post a pictures of the error message that I've been getting for the last THREE days that I was attempting to download the Minecraft launcher for my son. 

Why? Because he is doing a Minecraft summer camp, where I'm sure they do nothing but play Minecraft all day... But he needed the Java version of the game (apparently he can't use the version on his tablet), and he needed this multiplayer mode turn on. Understand Microsoft is our corporate OS, I use this thing ALL day long. And I know how to search topics online. I can find almost any information. I even fixed my stuck freezer using Google. I was fairly confident. But THREE days later, I was pulling my hair out, and I CANNOT figure out why the launcher isn't downloading, and I couldn't figure out how to turn on multiplayer mode.

Now... why did I say I "was" going to post the error message? Because, today, I called my brother for help. I swear the ONLY thing he did different was have me to enable my Xbox account to modify his (since I created his account as a child account), and whatever else happened after that, I have no idea. Because all of a sudden, even though the launcher still didn't appear to have downloaded, it suddenly appeared in my apps. Hm. WTF!?

Anyway...since somehow he fixed my issue over the phone, I have no error message to post for demonstration.

Since my problem has been resolved, let's discuss some of the shows I've watched the last few weeks, starting with my current obsession!

(Update: I have been in training all day, and this has to be one of the oddest statements I have heard in these things. We were talking about motivators for doing better work, and money, while important, is not a motivator for work. It's a basic need that if it is unmet to the individual, it can act as a demotivator. This back ground is important because the very next thing our trainer said was, "If money was the motivator, we call all go into prostitution and make a lot more money." I was thinking...well...not the men...hehe.)

The Double 

I was just about to start posting last week, when I decided to check this out. And then I finished all the episodes in two days. I have been chasing this ever since.

The story is based on a book entitled "Marriage of the Di Daughter". While the book is a rebirth story where the soul of the FL transmigrated into the eldest daughter of Jiang family, the drama just skipped the transmigration portion. 

The drama starts with Xue Fang Fei, who wakes up with a strange man in her bed, being accused of adultery by her mother and sister-in-law. After a few confusing scenes, she is then "killed" by her own husband (Shen Yu Rong), and buried in the middle of the forest. She fights her way of out of her grave and is saved by Jiang Li (who was cast out into a "women's correction facility" when her step mother sets her young self as a "murderer" who tried to kill the step mom and her unborn brother). In order to help Xue Fang Fei, Jiang Li gets caught breaking the rules of the "facility" and is beaten quite badly. By the time Xue Fang Fei finds Jiang Li, the younger girl dies due to her injuries and Xue Fang Fei vows to get revenge for Jiang Li and herself. Xue Fang Fei discovers that her downfall led to her brother being killed by bandits and her father accused of embezzling of government funds.  

As she schemes her way back into the Jiang family, she runs into Xiao Heng (Duke Su), an man, according to the author of the book, with a personality disorder who didn't care for anyone until he met the FL. 

The drama captured his dress colors and his fan, which is his primary weapon of choice. In the drama, Xiao Heng is a man who is helping the emperor from his scheming uncle and aunt. (In the book, Xiao Heng actually helps the emperor's enemies in a bid to make the emperor sees himself as the most trusted subject. Yes. Xiao Heng in the book is has a deeper mental disorder.) Xiao Heng is a man who loves beautiful things, raises exotic flowers, and loves to watch plays. (This "play" watching is a running theme, explaining how he is the always the person who sets the stage but never participates in the play.) This quirk is not as pronounced when portrayed on screen. On either side of this man are his two "helpers".

They are kind of like Xiao Heng's comic relief, when the Duke gets a little too into himself. These two characters didn't really exist (as they are portrayed) in the book, and I really do enjoy their addition to the over tone of this show.

It becomes clear really quick that Fang Fei's husband and his family did all this because the First Princess (the Emperor's Aunt) fell in love with Shen Yu Rong and wanted to get rid of his wife. (Because obviously a princess cannot marry someone who already has a wife.) Even after 21 episodes, I cannot tell if Shen Yu Rong is really conflicted about what he had to do, or is he just acting because he has no choice with the threat of the royal family. (He's not on screen a lot, so it is hard to tell.) Yes, the First Princes is crazy mean, but she is also crazy for Shen Yu Rong. (In the book, it is clear that Shen Yu Rong is a power hungry man who is able to act "righteous" to fool the public.) Either way, these two make one GREAT pair of arch-enemies of the main CP. And they are pretty to boot!

Now, because this isn't a rebirth story, Jiang Li still "looks" like Fang Fei, so the drama does a good job in explaining how everyone who knew Fang Fei would still go along and act like she is Jiang Li. Jiang Li was able to raise her standing in her family after she forced her father's hand to bring her back home. She outsmarted her step mother who is constantly trying to get rid of her, and her younger sisters who are helping her step mother. It doesn't explain it in the drama, that Jiang Li is the Second Jiang Miss, the explanation of who is the "First" wasn't really flushed out. (In the book, the First Jiang Miss was a child of a bedchamber maid of her father's before he married Jiang Li's mom. Because Jiang Li's mom was a good person, she elevated the bedchamber maid to a concubine when she gave birth to a daughter. This First Jiang Miss was killed by the step mother, who is the current main wife of the Jiang family, when she was young. It is clear that Jiang Li's step mother is getting rid of all her husband's "other" children.)

By now, 21 episodes have aired, and Jiang Li's real identity is probably no longer as well hidden as before. Even Xiao Heng at this point knows that she is Xue Fang Fei. I really love this plot like, and let's see if they can keep the same tone until the end. (The only weird thing was the visualization of the "song" being played during the contest at school. That was a bit over-the-top, and not sure why it was needed.)

There are a lot of differences between this drama and the novel, which gives both their own unique tone of voice. (And I like them both!) One of the main differences is by this point in the plot, in the novel, there is really no real "romance" between the main CP, partly because the FL is only 15-16 years old, and our ML (even though he's only at a ripe age of 20) sees her as a young girl. The ML is constantly surprised at her outlook, schemes, and understanding of the world around her, despite being a very sheltered girl, as far as everyone knows. Unless something else distract me...I'll be chasing this closely until the end.

My Wife's Double Life

This was actually the drama I started before the one above, but once I started watching the other one, I didn't keep up as quickly. I could have sworn this drama used to be named something else. This drama is about Liu Rong, who works as a thief (kind of like in the Robin Hood style) for her benefactor, who saved her when she was little. From the very beginning, we know that Liu Rong saved Xu Mu Chen and he is indebted to her since that time. And because he "saw" the keep sake he gave to the little girl who saved him on the "thief", he ends up both trying to help her and catch her at the same time.

Due to a royal decreed marriage, Liu Rong, under Lord Su's order, takes his daughter's identity and marries Xu Mu Chen. Liu Rong is ordered to find a certain token that is hidden somewhere on her husband's estate.

While the plot is fairly engaging, the chemistry of the main CP is not as good as the show mentioned above. This is a good drama to keep an eye on in between new episodes of the other one.

The Player 2: Master of Swindlers

I spend a lot of time, watching season 1, which I really liked. The crew reminds me of the Leverage. Kang Ha Ri is the con man, Im Byung Min is the IT/hacker guy. Do Jin Woong is the muscle. And the girl as the driver. In season 1, they worked with the police to go after those who escaped justice. Season 1 had a purpose, the plot surrounded Ha Ri's father's death and the plot behind it.

Season 2 started very unfocused, and there doesn't seem to be a purpose. I haven't made it past the 1st episode yet, but because I like the crew, I will continue.

This is all everyone. Hope everyone has a great week! 

(BTW...Bridgerton second half is ALMOST here!!!)