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history3_trapped2020-03-03 02:40 pm
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[Character Discussion Thread] Zuo Hong Ye

Following doctorskuld's wonderful Jack post with my thoughts on Hong Ye. Like that one, this has spoilers! I warned y'all I have A Lot of feelings about Hong Ye, so buckle up.
Before I dig into her character, I wanna take a moment to appreciate Dianne Lin's acting. Because talk about expressive. She's amazing. And I gotta be honest, it took a good actor to sell a love interest with Dao Yi--not that he's bad (at all! I think that actor is great, too), but he's so understated (appropriately) that it's difficult to imagine someone as driven and vivacious as Hong Ye would be drawn to him. I absolutely believed, it though. The way she plays it, I completely get why she wants/needs someone who has an equally strong will but not as strong a personality.


How is this even the same person?
Seriously, just look at her. She's fantastic. Ok, on to character discussion!
I was worried by Hong Ye's first appearance, on Tang Yi's bed, in her shorty pajamas. all flirty-like. We've all (well, I have, anyway) seen how this sort of bait-and-switch never puts the woman character in a good light. I was annoyed by the "Little sister!/Little Sister?" exchange, but once it became clear that a theme of her arc was breaking out of being seen as a child, it made more sense. I think maybe this scene plays better within their cultural/language context? In the U.S., most first-language-English people don't casually call their siblings "Brother" and "Sister" and since this was only the second Chinese drama I'd seen, the connotations of that exchange we lost on me. In retrospect, I find it charming and it sets up her arc nicely.
Once that bit was established, and we moved straight into the scolding, I was sold.

You think you're being funny, but you're not.
That is not the face or gesture of a woman who is here to be infantilized, either as an actor or a character and I suddenly felt very... idk, safe? with this show. Like, "Oh, okay, the director is actually on board with complex women. Neat!" (I did not know at the time how many women were on this production team). So yeah, this was the moment I opened up to liking her and if it wasn't for Andy Bian's amazing acting and chemistry with Kenny Chen, she'd be my favorite of the secondary characters.
The fact that she's the delinquent who stole the bike is charming as hell. It says a lot about her character, and love that we don't get that information for the first several episodes. The reveal wasn't a surprise to me so much as an "ah! of course!" moment. Very fulfilling--good writing and acting. Also the bit about her eating three bowls of food that first night in the house. She's an opportunist! The girl is not a fool and who knows when she might eat again?
I firmly believe that she would have been a better mob boss than Tang Yi. I think Tang Guo Dong might have realized that and it was one of the reasons we never see her involved in Tang Guo Dong's talks with Tang Yi (that and misogyny). He knew what kind of ingredient she was, and he (rightfully) had doubts as to her ability to stay motivated to eventual legitimacy. Her internal moral compass is not great. As we can see, she's quite willing to use shady tricks to get rid of people she doesn't like. Just because she's doing it because of her concern for Tang Yi doesn't excuse her methods (and I like how we see her questioning her behavior when she tells Ah-De she's done with him).
We see women cops, in positions of leadership even, but not a single woman in the mob in any capacity other than the one serving Cheng Wen Hao tea. That had to affect what kid Hong Ye thought of herself and her value. I think it's the main reason she never forced herself into managing the illegitimate side of the business. Which, imo, she totally could have done if she'd been willing to undermine Tang Yi for his safety. But women aren't even visible in the mob. It's not an option. (And we can all breathe a sigh of relief for that because seriously. She would have set stuff on literal fire to get to the top and probably never gone completely legitimate.)
Hong Ye and Tang Yi
Even though she's younger, she's Tang Yi's protector, just as much as his bodyguards.

Though she be but little, she is fierce.
She's emotionally aware, despite being raised in the mob environment, and navigates the changing landscape of Tang Yi's feelings (and her own) so well. She chides him when she thinks it will help (Stop seeing Meng Shao Fe!) and stops when it becomes undeniably clear that it won't (I'm glad you'll have him here to protect you when I leave). Which brings us to:
Hong Ye and Meng Shao Fei
Hong Ye doesn't like cops (see: better mob boss potential), she doesn't like people endangering her brother, and she especially doesn't like cops endangering her brother.

SEAWEED! My favorite moment from the show that doesn't involve kissing.
There was no way Meng Shao Fei was gonna fall easily into her good graces. I like that she didn't try to seduce him away from Tang Yi (ugh), and that she didn't tone down her personality to manipulate him. Nope. My girl just hires some dudes with bats to take him out. Like a, you know, A Boss. I think eventually she'll warm to Shao Fei, but I don't think she'll ever change her attitude or behavior toward him (and I think Shao Fei will love/hate that).
Hong Ye and Guo Dao Yi
I'm not generally into age differences as A Thing, but it absolutely works, here. In fact, I think it's crucial to their successful relationship. Let's face it, nobody Hong Ye's age is even close to being her peer and she knows it. She needs a partner who is an equal, even if that equality isn't apparent to an outside observer.

Take it and like it.
Hong Ye knows what she wants, and except for Dao Yi, she's probably gotten nearly everything she wants. I think her affections probably started as a crush, and if I were Dao Yi, that'd make me nervous, too. What he doesn't understand (for a while, anyway) is that at some point she grew into her emotions and her feelings didn't change. Dao Yi is right to be concerned about the age difference and power dynamic, though. Not that he minds her being in a position of authority over him (there is a definite non-zero chance that he'd be into it), but it's Just Not Done. Luckily for everyone, Hong Ye doesn't give a shit about what's Done or Not, and she gives him every last chance until she's done.I think it's important to talk about the parking garage confession and how with another show/director/character that could've gone really poorly. We're all over the no-no-no-no-yes game and on the surface that's how this plays. But I think it works here, and works well. Because at that point, she needs some major damn evidence that Dao Yi is willing to fight for her love, even if that means fighting her. Watching her realize and accept that he's not going to pull away this time was lovely and removed the "ugh" factor (for me) of watching him not let her go when she asked to be released.
Okay! There's my Hong Ye treatise! I look forward to hearing other thoughts and observations!
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Maybe a safety deposit box in Helsinki. =D
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I watched this show LAST WEEK.
My memory, sheesh.
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