Discussion post - episode 1

[yantantether]

I've just started a rewatch, and I thought it might be fun to put up discussion posts for anyone who's also rewatching, watching for the first time, or just has random thoughts. I'm watching on Viki, where there are 10 episodes of 45 minutes each, so I'll start with a short summary and then some brief thoughts of my own (and then hopefully everyone can join in in comments!) I'll aim to get these up twice a week, on Saturdays and Wednesdays.



Episode 1

We meet our leads! Tang Yi's efforts to move his gang into legit business and Meng Shao Fei's long-standing obsession with him are both sketched very vividly. We also get a quick picture of Jack's insouciance, Captain Shi and his hilarious exasperation with Meng Shao Fei, Zhao Zi and Meng Shao Fei's friendship, and Tang Yi's close relationship with Hong Ye. Following Tang Yi's confrontation with Wang Kunchen and the latter's murder, we learn that Chen Wenhao is returning from Cambodia and the joint police and Interpol investigation into him begins. The episode ends with Meng Shao Fei looking sadly at his mentor's ID card as he thinks of her.



I love just how quickly the vibe between Tang Yi and Meng Shao Fei comes across, with TY seemingly as cool as a cucumber and MSF all peacocky, frantic energy - maximum efficiency in a short show and a great credit to the writing and acting. I also love the lift scene for many reasons, but one is that we briefly see TY flustered. Having MSF all up in his face is clearly having an effect on him, before he turns the tables so delightfully.

It's clear from his comments about Tang Yi that Zhao Zi is already finding men attractive, even before Jack turns the mega-wattage of his flirting on him. I really like this - it's one reason that the drama feels so grounded in its queerness. Zhao Zi isn't "gay for you" he's just gay, even if he hasn't necessarily articulated it to himself yet.

MSF is SO EXTRA that the character could have potentially been a bit annoying, but he's just so funny and charming. The "again" in "I, Meng Shao Fei, am not afraid of getting sued by you again" really cracked me up. OH MSF.

JAAAAAAACK (that is all.)



(Mod, could we please have a rewatch/discussion tag?)

Comments

[doctorskuld]

I sort of love that he wears it, though, because to me this shows both that MSF is confident in himself and doesn't really care what others think (see also the frog sweatshirt),

That is a good point, actually. MSF does not give any shits about what others think about him, whether he's dating the head of an organized crime syndicate or wearing a matching pink kermit shirt his co-worker designed for a stakeout.

Or that awful, awful bowtie. JEEZUS.

It just seems unusual for a martial guy to be so open and honest about his feelings and to approach a person they're interested in and thus a potential relationship with a sense of joyous, exploratory wonder (which has been my read of things so far).

I think one of my favorite things about Jack is that he is one of those characters that defies expectations. You would expect him to be this stoic badass, given his competency, his place in the syndicate hierarchy, and his obvious skill at killing people and getting away with it. But instead he is this smirky trickster who plays for chaos and navigates his own feelings with surprisingly high emotional intelligence.

I feel that Jack is one of those people, like MSF, who likes what he likes (it does take a certain amount of flying in the face of convention to do what he does, including the killing in cold blood) and is honest to himself about that. The way that I see Jack is that he realizes he has never fallen in love, and what he sees is an opportunity to do something new and different and fun in being with Zhao Zi, something he's never done before. And he doesn't want to pass that up. He's been a mercenary, he's been a spy, he's killed people, had thrilling adventures, and put his life on the line, and that's what normal for him. Having a family and staying in one place isn't normal, and so that's what piques his curiosity.

But yeah, I agree that he approaches a possibility of a life with Zhao Zi with exploratory wonder. He literally doesn't know what that feels like, and I imagine it's that different thrill he wants to explore and embrace. And this is one chance.

I have a lot more thoughts on this, but I will save it for when we get to the right places in the rewatch...

ETA: Oops, there was more I wanted to say, sorry!

There's NO way Kenny/ZZ could be 28 in my mind.

I think ZZ is supposed to be the "looks like a cinnamon roll and is a cinnamon roll" character for age 28? Apparently they had a really, really hard time finding the right actor for ZZ. They needed someone who was the correct height, but also had the naive innocence that Zhao Zi possesses. They went through 70-something auditions before they found Kenny Chen, and they were holding his audition as they were already starting to put together the costumes for Jake, Chris, and Andy, so apparently it was really down to the wire! The director really wanted to find somebody who was just right. Apparently, Stanley Mei (who plays Li Zhide) originally auditioned for Zhao Zi.

For the other three, on looks alone I'd plump for early to mid 20s,

At the time of filming, Chris was 28-29, Jake was 27-28 (Chris and Jake had their birthdays during filming, and they have their birthdays on the same day, just one year apart) and Andy was 27.

I think East Asians just look younger?

[her_cool_aunt]

I think one of my favorite things about Jack is that he is one of those characters that defies expectations.

I like this more layered take on Jack, as compared to my more simplistic view on just one way in which this manifests. Nice!

[doctorskuld]

♥♥♥

...I should really try to hold my Jack feelings in for the rest of the rewatch and the inevitable character discussion post I will put up after.

[her_cool_aunt]

MSF does not give any shits about what others think about him, whether he's dating the head of an organized crime syndicate or wearing a matching pink kermit shirt his co-worker designed for a stakeout.

This reminded me that I wasn’t sure (possibly I’m being dense here, though) whether MSF knew he liked men before being attracted to TY. If - as I suspect from his lack of experience and lack of self-knowledge in regards to this attraction initially - this is a revelatory moment for MSF, then his embracing the desire for a relationship with TY makes him even bigger and bolder in his not giving any shits. Hurrah for MSF!!

[yantantether]

I *love* that they had to audition 70 people before finding Kenny, awwwwww. I just can't imagine anyone else having that same vibe with Andy. (And if they'd settled on someone a few auditions earlier, I bet Andy wouldn't now be going on a cruise with whoever it was ❤️)

[doctorskuld]

I just can't imagine anyone else having that same vibe with Andy.

I know, right? They have such a special and unique chemistry, the fact that they're actually friends and hang out together this long after filming...they genuinely connect with one another.

So much so that Andy bought them a cruise ticket to Okinawa. I mean...TWO DUDES. On a cruise.

If that's not gay, I don't know what "gay" is anymore.

They are so cute.