So I finally checked out the first two episodes of Arthdal Chronicles: The Sword of Aramun and I love it! Season 2 starts off by being directed better, less squinting of the eyes needed to see in dark scenes and a steadier hand in letting characters breath and flow. It’s an 8-year time jump in the drama narrative and picks up with the world building boring stuff basically FF’d so now Tanya is a high priestess, Saya is more established in Arthdal, and Eun Seom is leading the rebels as their leader the Inaishingi. And yes, this drama still has a shit ton of people, tribes, alliances, and weird weird titles and names. Lee Jun Ki is seamless taking over for Song Joong Ki who had to thankless job of playing Saya/Eun Seom as teenagers but now the twins are all grown up so the shit stirring angry Saya is basically the dark twin to rebel leader Eun Seom and Shin Se Kyung is wonderful as expected in a sageuk taking over for Kim Ji Won. If you liked AC season 1 I think this sequel will still work and if you didn’t like AC1 this may be able to draw you back in.
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Hi Koala, just wondering if you're going to post about Kim Hieora bullying scandal? Curious what would the discussion be like in the comments. Thanks!
I just started to watch AC II after finishing Sunshine BY My Side and found no more interesting C dramas for me to follow at the moment. SBMS has huge flaws with boring fillers in the plot even though two main leads and some supporting actors are really good. Nepotism might have some negative impact on the casting of undesirable actors as well as the scriptwriting of SBMS. I'm a bit disappointed at the drama, which isn't as good as The Youth Memories even I think BBH is a better actress than all other FLs of Xiao Zhan so far.
I basically checked out all other C dramas recommended by ppl and found zero interest in following any of those after skimming several eps.
K drama saved me from boredom once again. SAC II is unexpectedly intriguing so far. I'll move on to next episodes. Without watching AC I nor any knowledge of the prequel, I was surprised to find the plot of AC II easy to digest after 15-20 minutes into ep 1. Acting doesn't embarrass me as a lot of C actors do. I have no idea how K-ent trains actors. But in general, there's more overacting or poor acting by C actors than K actors, specifically those who were trained as theatre major in China. SBMS for example, has too much screen time for two not-so-relevant supporting actors who can't act although they are alumni of a well-known drama school in China. C drama is prolific nowadays but the average quality is not up to par with K drama. Like my complaint about SBMS, lazy writing and nepotism for poor casting are the main culprits to blame for less than satisfying watching experience. If the filming culture doesn't change, it will be hard for C drama to catch up with K drama.
Came back to rave about AC II again. The plot is so intense that has no fillers. That's exactly what I like about antient fantasy drama in which there're so many incredible fighting scenes with surprising twists and turns. Each ep ended with suspension that made you want more. The battle fields were filmed so well equivalent to those classic King Arthurian legends. In comparison, cheap CGI used for most Chinese battle fields look like a joke. Predictable storylines and slow pacing made C dramas unbearable to watch without favorite actors in the cast. C-ent should stop using extravagant costumes and settings to woo viewers but fall short of interesting plots. Ppl will eventually get fed up with lazy writing and poor directing.