Early Access: A Journey To Love E1-4 (Patreon)

E1-4. Honestly, the key reason this show's been on my radar in such a significant way, is because I was struck by the dark, stylish vibe of the trailers that Show had been putting out.

At the time, I was watching My Journey To You, and loving that show's dark, stylish vibe, and this show seemed to have the same style sensibility.

Based on this reason alone, I promptly put this on my list as a drama to watch out for; like, I literally didn't even really pay much attention to what this show was about, oops. 😅

Now that I've actually checked out the first 4 episodes, I'm happy to say that I'm pretty into it.

This wasn't love at first sight, though, I have to clarify.

For context, I consider myself quite the wuxia noob, as in, I feel like the various shows I've watched don't quite qualify as true wuxia?

In my head - please correct me if I'm wrong, wuxia experts (hi Rita!) - a true wuxia isn't just a show where our character practice martial arts; there's also a strong adventure element to the story.

And so, a show like Love Like The Galaxy, while featuring characters who practice martial arts, doesn't feel like a true wuxia to me, because the adventure element doesn't feature very strongly.

Here, however, I'm getting the sense right away, that we're in for some potentially rollicking adventures, because there's a core group that forms in our first handful of episodes, and this core group is off on an assignment that will require them to set off on a journey.

Therefore, I feel refreshingly in unfamiliar territory, story-wise, and I'm guessing certain things may feel fresher to me than to a wuxia connoisseur, because I may not recognize a trope when I see one.

Of course, this also means that I may not be able to identify any meta jokes, if there are any. But perhaps you guys might be able to help me out there? 😅

With that clarified, I did find it a little effortful, to get through episode 1.

Mainly, it felt like I was suddenly being thrust into a world with many moving pieces, and I found it confusing, because there seemed to be so many characters, and I had no idea who was who, and whether they were significant, and what they had to do with one another.

I will say, though, that hanging in there, and just giving it some time, ought to help everything to fall into place in your head, more or less.

I found that I was able to get a grip on the main picture by the time I finished these first 4 episodes, and that feels sufficient for now, even though I'm still hazy at this point, on the not-so-main characters and their significance to our story.

And the hook for me?

Well, that's gonna hafta be our potential OTP, because they are both interesting and badass in their own ways - and they promise to be even more interesting and badass, together. 🤩

And, it strikes me, as I'm writing this, that both leads begin this story hiding their true identities - and their true abilities.

Ruyi is hiding the fact that she's a much more skilled assassin than her colleague believes her to be, and she's also hiding her true identity, as the legendary, practically invincible Ren Xin.

And Yuanzhou is hiding, period, pretty much, using his alleged death on the battlefield (where he was sent as a chef, of all things, when he'd previously been head of the Hall of Darkness, at Six Realms Hall) as a cover to leave everything behind, and live far away from power struggles and politics.

They are both clearly very savvy and streetsmart, with excellent survival instincts. And, I also love how calm they both tend to be, even when they find themselves in danger.

We see this in how Ruyi survives, when all the dancers - where she was undercover - are given a death sentence; the way she fights her way out of it, and the way she handles her subsequent poisoning, shows how seasoned she is, at living with danger.

And we also see this in how Yuanzhou survives, by pretending to be dead, and then fighting his way out, with just him against the whole bunch of soldiers who're trying to wipe out any last survivors.

It's hard not to be impressed by the amount of skill that these two display, especially when it all looks so seasoned and effortless, like this is all coming from their fingertips.

On a tangent, I will say that I personally find the fight choreography in this fancier and showier than what we got in My Journey To You, though, style-wise, we also get very similar slo-mo touches and flourishes.

I personally prefer the comparative restraint in the fight scenes of My Journey To You (so far, anyway 😅), and I rationalize that it perhaps makes narrative sense for a true wuxia adventure, to have a greater emphasis on the action scenes.

I'm also drawn to the fact that even though both leads seem to want to leave everyone and everything behind, they both have a deep sense of loyalty.

We see it when Ruyi goes back and saves Yuanzhou and Yuan Lu, even though they'd just said their goodbyes, after determining that Yuanzhou is not keen to strike a deal with Ruyi.

This, when she really hasn't spent much time with them, and therefore doesn't know them very well.

And, we see this quality in Yuanzhou too.

When the Prime Minister tries to persuade him to go on that mission to save the Emperor of Wu, Yuanzhou flatly refuses, no matter what the Prime Minister says.

It's only when the Prime Ministers says that Yuanzhou's comrades have died there, and have been labeled traitors, that Yuanzhou changes his mind.

He changes his mind, only to clear his comrades' names, so that they will be remembered as heroes and not traitors; it's out of loyalty to his comrades that he's taking on this dangerous mission.

With Yuanzhou being such a loyal person, it's no wonder that all the men from Six Realms Hall (iQIYI subs say "Liudao Hall") are so eager to have him back, and as their leader.

Also, can I just say, I'm beginning to see what the fuss is about, when it comes to Liu Yu Ning. 😉

There's something about his relaxed features, and that little smile-smirk that he tends to wear, that manages to be cheeky and warm, at the same time.

Putting that laidback sort of vibe together with his extreme intelligence and badassery, and it comes together in quite a charming, effortlessly charismatic sort of package.

As for Liu Shi Shi, I have to confess that I'm pretty new to Liu Shi Shi (I've only ever seen a handful of episodes of Scarlet Heart, before wandering off, despite it being a solid show), and so far, I'm really enjoying her as Ruyi / Ren Xin.

She exudes this cool, almost ice queen-like aura, but at the same time, she's equally believable, whether she's playing it as a weak, dainty maiden in need of help, or she's being her sharp, strong, confident self.

And then, there's the sparks that show up, when Yuanzhou and Ruyi / Ren Xin are together and interacting in the same space.

The sparks are flavored differently, depending on the situation.

When they're wary of each other and circling each other, like when she's pretending to be a random maiden, but he sees through her and pegs her correctly, as a member of the Crimson Guard (iQIYI subs say Scarlet Guard), the sparks are tense and antagonistic.

But when they're helping each other and therefore fighting on the same side, the sparks are much more collaborative, as they demonstrate how they can instinctively work together.

I likey.

For this reason, I like the idea of Ren Xin joining Yuanzhou's team on their mission to An; the more they are together, the more interesting I'll find my watch, I'm thinking. 😁

And, I'm with Yuanzhou, in the belief that Ren Xin would likely make a much more useful tutor to Princess Yang Ying, than the assigned female official.

I do love that scene where Yuanzhou and Ren Xin negotiate the terms of their agreement, while in the back of that cart, it's such an incongruous sort of picture. 😁

More than that, I love how their conversation comes across as low-key, calm and restrained bickering between two very sharp and very intelligent individuals who both realize - but don't really want to admit - that they each need the other, and will benefit from this partnership. Cute. 🤭

On another note, I'm intrigued that Show reveals that Tongguan, the An official who'd captured the Emperor of Wu, is actually Ren Xin's disciple.

Ooh. I feel like this is significant? Because this means that he's not actually an An official, but a Crimson Guard plant, and this has to have implications to our story - though I still don't feel like I have enough grasp of this story world just yet, to accurately predict what those implications might be. 😅

Still, I feel nicely drawn in, 4 episodes in, and I'm looking forward to see what Show serves up next.

Next episode notes will be out on: Monday, 18 Dec 2023!

* This show will be covered on the Ultimate Early Access (US$25) tier! *