murder couple fan blog

the obvious choice is scarlet heart but given that i am still dragging my ass toward that trop ending and have two dramas on the docket that cannot possibly end happily, i am genuinely scared of that one.

others still on the list:

chinese paladin 3: from scoping the tag, everyone's favorite xianxia from their childhood? (were y'all children in 2009???) anyway, banger cast though i don't think this one helps my tragic ending quandry.

lost love in times: she plays a badass witch? say less.

the imperial doctress: lss reunion with wallace huo does sound appealing.

legend of the condor heroes (2008): if i'm going into the archives why not go the furthest i've gone yet? (the way they all look like babies in the stills. let's not talk about what i looked like in 2007-08, okay.)

Chinese Paladin 3 - I love that drama, not so much for mains who annoy me but for Tang Yan x Wallace Huo tragic secondary OTP. Liu Shi Shi plays Hu Ge's sister so it's not a huge role. I like this drama a lot but you have to like gonzo high fantasy for this to work. The ending is tragic for everyone fwiw.

Lost Love in Times - really fun, really long, actually a happy ending.

The Imperial Doctress. I adore this one so much! Both as a drama and for her character. The slowest slow burn ever. Imperial family that is allowed to be evil (we meet two emperors and one of them is pure hate on my part.) Not sure if it's something you need to be warned for, but if you do, she does get raped at one point.

LOCH2008 - my favorite Jin Yong adaptation ever. She is one half of a couple with Yuan Hong and they are hot and tragic together and my n1 thing about this drama, which is impressive since it also has Hu Ge and Ariel Lin. Highlight - them fucking by the body of a dude they killed. Also his and her torture crosses they get stuck on at one point. I am old enough to remember when LSS and Yuan Hong had Real Life Shippers.

I will add another two to the list - The Young Warriors (2006) - one my my faves, big hit back then, starred a lot of IT people, she is very young and plays a lady doctor who has a great love story with also young Peter Ho, who is the fourth Yang Brother. If you are familiar with the Yang Family legend thing, you know it ends well for very few people so if you are looking for a happy ending for her, look elsewhere. But it also has Hu Ge AND Yuan Hong and that hot general from NiF and and and. I have a pusher post for it somewhere.

And A Weaver on the Horizon (2010) - another one with her and Yuan Hong, this is a proper costume historical, has stuff about textile industry and just is a solid old school period epic that is pretty woman centric.

Some of these men treat gold like it's not important at all. For Ban Cha - even those 100 taels he got aren't as precious as two jars of rare highlander wine. For the inspector, 200 taels weren't enough to sell his pride and dignity and drop a case on the spot. It is my understanding that even those 150 000 taels (if he ever gets them) won't help Yu Hou feel alive and well again (maybe she could, but she probably won't, and it's not the path he's choosing anyway).

And for the innocent, kind-hearted Xiao Fang, gold is merely a presence - the adventure of life is much more important to him. Likewise, for Luyao, as traumatized as she is by her poisonous life, gold is merely a means to an end - what she's seeking is freedom, and life itself with a side of cold vengeance for her people.

This is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. I don't expect a good ending for any of the characters in the show, frankly speaking, with the way the narrative is unfolding. Maybe a Tarantino-esque showdown, where all the survivors finish off each other for the money (or the meaning they associate with it), but I might be wrong. I wouldn't mind it if the show weaves in some hope into that bleakness))) But I'm not counting on it.

ban cha is the only one who seems above it, but we know there’s something else going on with him. (i’m wondering if he’s one of the guardians, maybe? if they actually exist?)

It also paints a dreary picture of how meaningless and pretty much worthless all those titles are that mean everything in the capital. There's less order in these faraway, barren lands, and the fittest and smartest (or stubbornest) survive the longest. Or, in the case of some people, also the baddest and more vicious ones. This is truly the Jianghu world, unabridged edition!

Some of these men treat gold like it's not important at all. For Ban Cha - even those 100 taels he got aren't as precious as two jars of rare highlander wine. For the inspector, 200 taels weren't enough to sell his pride and dignity and drop a case on the spot. It is my understanding that even those 150 000 taels (if he ever gets them) won't help Yu Hou feel alive and well again (maybe she could, but she probably won't, and it's not the path he's choosing anyway).

And for the innocent, kind-hearted Xiao Fang, gold is merely a presence - the adventure of life is much more important to him. Likewise, for Luyao, as traumatized as she is by her poisonous life, gold is merely a means to an end - what she's seeking is freedom, and life itself with a side of cold vengeance for her people.

This is absolutely mesmerizing to watch. I don't expect a good ending for any of the characters in the show, frankly speaking, with the way the narrative is unfolding. Maybe a Tarantino-esque showdown, where all the survivors finish off each other for the money (or the meaning they associate with it), but I might be wrong. I wouldn't mind it if the show weaves in some hope into that bleakness))) But I'm not counting on it.

ban cha is the only one who seems above it, but we know there’s something else going on with him. (i’m wondering if he’s one of the guardians, maybe? if they actually exist?)

Having a drink together (while everyone else is fighting)

I am adoring Goodbye My Princess precisely because the hero is so messed up, but it made me think of Listening Snow Tower because it had one of the ultimate ride or die for heroine heroes as in he always puts her first and would probably turn himself into a carpet if she asked, while remaining the deadliest thing on two legs. Plus, it’s visually stunning, tragic and angsty (in fact constantly whumpy), but with a happy ending. What more can one ask for? Oh, yes, a hero who is arguably Mousie’s cdrama boyfriend.

LST is about two star-crossed lovers and a hell of a lot of fights. Our heroine is a daughter of a famous fighter who gets taken in by the Snow Tower sect once her father is killed by the bad guys. Our hero is the son of the then-master of Snow Tower and eventual master of it.

He wears all white and furs, has been deathly ill since childhood (he basically has a wuxia magic version of pneumonia) but still can fight like nobody’s business. She is pretty much cursed and he is doomed to an early death.

Yet despite the tragedies in both their pasts, her prickliness and his usually being cold (haha pun) and ruthless, they fall in love. By that I mean, she falls in love while he basically goes into the next dimension and almost destroys himself for her repeatedly.

Together they are gorgeous…

There is so much angst, internal and external. If you love basically never-ending hurt/comfort fest (the only time he’s not collapsing or suffering is when he’s either fighting or she’s collapsing in his arms), this one is for you.

A typical day for our hero:

I kid, I kid, this is a more typical day for our hero:

OK, fine, if unlike me this isn’t as much your bag, there are a lot of spectacular fights and delicious villains and all that.

But you know me.

Anyway, they were amazing and gave me ulcers as I was watching lives terrified of a bad ending. But I got lucky.

Have a MV:

And a trailer:

And a representative day in the life :P (He must cure some horrible wuxia condition by an even more painful method, heh.)

If you love fights and romances, a large cast most of whom are fascinating (there are a bunch of secondary OTPs too), morally complex protagonists, a sickly badass ML, a heroine who is bloody and deadly, an insane (in every sense of the word) OTP, etc etc, you can’t miss that one!

I think if you enjoyed e.g., Generation to Generation, this might also hit with its lack of hinges, its dark world, its impossible couple who becomes possible. The sect politics is way less prominent and anodyne in this one though.

Also, Qin Jun Jie who plays the ML here was Cheng Yi before Cheng Yi was Cheng Yi, in terms of amazing levels of aesthetic suffering in costume.