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cybernaght · 2 years

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The Oath of Love, known in my house as the Oafs of Love: a half-way review of sorts.

余生，请多指教 s is a long-awaited adaptation of the novel of the same title which details common-or-garden “boy meets girl” romance, in all its silliness and glory.

The trailer for it was shown as early as spring last year, when the leads won the King and Queen of Weibo night. A year later, the drama itself dropped without any fanfare on not one but two streaming services. Rakuten Viki shows original cut of forty-five to fifty minute episodes, and WeTV streams TV edition episodes about seven minutes shorter than that. While the content is largely the same (there might be micro differences in editing, but this is not the Untamed Special Edition situation), the cuts between episodes themselves differ. As usual, the VIP streaming is a few episodes ahead of the free release. If you want to shill out for just one of the platforms, WeTV, while being an inferior cut with no theme song, is slightly ahead of Viki; and also has an advantage of having insta-subs, while Viki takes a while with their community-sourced subtitles.

As an adaptation, it’s an interesting one, at least judging by what had been translated of the source material, which is the first 54 chapters of the novel. Seemingly, the producers decided to licence the book and then change everything about it. The novel is this sedate, glacial, cozy and almost cryptic in its narrative tale of fated love, written as a diary. The main characters meet, they like each other, the get together, the stay together. That's more or less it.

The drama, while keeping some dialogue from the novel (as in the gif above) is more of a Regency romance story wrapped in layers of contemporary rom-com tropes. There are a hundred misunderstandings per minute. There is an enemies to lovers relationship. There is a conniving romantic rival. There is a scheming BFF. There are no less than three sets of overbearing parents.

There is a child who ships the main couple. There is inherent romance of bandaging a head wound, followed by, in no particular order, by inherent romance of sharing a jacket, headphones and an umbrella. Basically, think of a single trope of the genre and I guarantee that it will be here.

Our heroes are Lin Zhixiao (Yang Zi), a music student who seems to do no course work but is hell bent on being the world’s greatest cellist. One day she bumps into Doctor Gu (Xiao Zhan), and then, due to her father’s illness, she keeps bumping into him again and again. The way he is introduced was best described by @supernovasimplicity as “Mr Darcy vibes”, which was right on the money.

In the B-plot we have Zhixiao’s best friend Sansan (Li Muchen): a foxy, fierce kind of a sidekick; and Gu Wei’s cousin Gu Xiao (Zhao Zilu), who is your typical rich oafish playboy with a heart of gold. The later have a very Stalking For Love kind of courtship, which would have been very yikes, if not for a sparkling chemistry between the actors and Zhao Zilu’s bountiful charisma.

The weirdest thing about this whole show is that, if you look at it on paper, it sounds kind of trashy. The main relationship is built entirely out of misunderstandings, and the secondary one entirely out of red flags. The world of the show, so to speak, has nothing to do with reality. This includes, but not limited to: really weird scheduling and lifestyle of the leads; all but cackling maniacally antagonist; hospital setting which has so little in common with the way hospitals actually operate that counting all the laws it breaks per episode makes a special kind of entertainment.

And yet, for all of that… this show is incredibly charming.

The characters are not always consistently written (love how out girl Zhixiao fluctuates between being a filial child that is a mistress of all housework to not knowing the first thing about basic chores), but they are a joy to watch. You end up rooting for all of those silly humans because they are just so gosh darn adorkable. All the cast members seem to have a lot of fun with the material and bounce off of each other beautifully. For all the overbearing parents tropes, the familial relationships are very well developed. A lot of the scenes have a wonderful detail in writing and directing that makes them feel real, operating largely on subtext. The show is decently shot and snappily paced. it’s saccharine, but not at all indulgent, and not afraid to poke fun at its own romantic notions. The comedic elements of the show are genuinely laugh-out-loud funny. It’s just plain fun to watch.

Is the Oath of Love the best drama known to mankind? Hell no. But it is, ultimately, a moreish, enjoyable, giggle-worthy romp. Sometimes, that’s more than enough.

#余生，请多指教 #the oath of love #review of sorts #cdrama #xiao zhan #now with gifs

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begrudginglytumbling · 3 years

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Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

Part Five!

Now with gifs!...since I’ve learnt the most basic of basic gifmaking and it was actually quicker than trying to pause at just the right moment, which has been enough of an issue previously to make me swear through gritted teeth.

Time for Love O2O - that’s both the film and the series since the little overachiever just had to get cast in both.

Ready?

Bai Yu plays a character called Cao Guang in both the film and drama. In the film he seems to be a smushed together version of what in the drama are two separate people.

Now then do you see this slightly bewildered expression while looking at a computer screen? Because this was basically me watching Love O2O, both film and drama.

Why the bewilderment?

Well, I’ve come to expect a certain level of odd sitting and leaning from Bai Yu. I almost expect all his characters to be some form of Bi Disaster now. But Cao Guang? So far I’ve never seen Bai Yu sit so straight. It’s slightly unnerving, in a similar way to if someone went into your house and moved things just slightly to the left. There’s not enough of a difference to cause major problems, but there’s enough for your mind to feel uncomfortable and twitchy because something is just off.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, he still does his Bai Yu thing, but it’s almost muted, I suppose is the best word to use for it.

We’ll start with the film version, which also has the alternate title of One Smile is Very Alluring apparently.

Before this moment, he’s actually sitting properly at the desk. Both feet were on the floor and everything which was just weird. But then he stood and transitioned into a lean, that made it a little less weird.

This is, technically, also further evidence that if something is at Bai Yu butt height, he will lean/sit on it. I think I’m going to have to start capitalising it since Bai Yu Butt Height now seems to be a Thing.

(I could not get this paused at just the right moment, so here, have a gif)

And look here! He’s sitting kinda properly and only vaguely uncomfortable looking, but that has more to do with the situation than the sitting.

Seriously, so weird.

If we stick with just the general premise of ‘does he sit or doesn’t he’ then being on a horse counts...even though watching the game scenes hurt me in a major secondhand embarrassment way. Just...the outfits, people, and the hair...I just...I can’t.

At one point he gets his arse handed to him multiple times, which leads to quite a bit of time on the floor.

Even the set refuses to let Bai Yu get up and support his own body weight apparently. The weirdness of him standing under his own power is obviously just too much.

Too odd.

Too strange.

He must be returned to his natural state of being.

The car magnet he’s got implanted in his backside did manage to do its job though...even if it was in the background and barely lasted a couple of seconds at most.

Now then, the drama. Admittedly I only got to episode 11 then I started skipping because I got a bit bored with the main pairing and general story. But the bits I skipped to? Yeah...I may have gone a little over fixated on the whole way of sitting thing since I found myself analysing the degree of leg bend when his feet weren’t in shot to gauge whether or not both feet were planted on the ground or if one was on top of the other and...yeah, let’s just say it was a good thing when I got to the end of this drama. For what remains of my sanity if nothing else.

Look, most of the time, if he’s not standing and walking, he’s like this.

Sitting properly, feet on the floor. And yeah, it counts as not supporting his own weight. But what happened to the floor is lava? How hard was it for him not to cross his legs, or put one foot on top of the other, or rest his feet on something else?

He does cross this legs sometimes, and you can even see it fully a couple of times.

Like here, this is what I’ve come to expect. This is a normal seated look for this man.

He sits.

He flicks one leg over the other.

He’s happy.

Simple.

But most of the time, he doesn’t have his legs crossed in this drama. Which led me to leaning forward and squinting at the screen when moments like this came along.

Because those legs are crossed. I’m sure of it.

Cao Guang, as a character, is not the kind of person to sit like this often. Bai Yu, as a person, can’t seem to stop himself fully though.

And look at this.

When it comes to this desk, this is the weirdest he sits. Which isn’t weird at all! It’s still kinda sitting properly!

And then this. This is one of those moments where I spent way too long staring at his legs trying to determined if he had one foot on top of the other.

From the angle, and the shadows, and the different heights of his knees, I have decided that yes, he does had one foot on top of the other. He is playing the floor is lava when the camera can’t see his feet.

(...don’t judge me for diving off the deepend on this one. I’m already judging myself hard enough)

Cao Guang might not be much of a weird sitter, but he is still a slight leaner if the opportunity presents itself.

Especially in Bai Yu Butt Height circumstances.

But in general, he’s less of a full body lean, and more of a light, quick lean. And it always seems to be on things he himself has placed there.

Like a moped,

or a camera.

He does sit on the floor in a sweaty mess after having his arse handed to him in a 1 on 1 basketball game.

Seriously, if you want a sweat physically dripping off of him Bai Yu, then this is the scene for you.

Further sittingwise you have some general sitting in what I think it meant to be a foreign country(?).

And the delightful lift-and-turn he’s got going on here.

(and I’ve only just realised that ErXi has her hand up as though if she can’t see the teacher, then the teacher can’t see her. I adore this woman, she’s just so cute)

Hospitals.

Every character of Bai Yu’s I’ve encountered so far has a different way of sititng in hospitals.

Zhao Yunlan looks like he’s barely seconds away from either sliding to the floor or giving himself back problems, Xie Nanxiang is partial to a lean or a cross legged sit. Cao Guang? I would describe it as he sits like a bloke - legs spread, elbows resting on his knees. This might honestly be the straightest Bai Yu character I’ve ever encountered.

Of course he also has an in-game character in this. The wig is less cringe worthy than in the film, but there is something about his eyes in this that freaks me the fuck out so you won’t be getting on the floor pictures or looking in the direction of the camera pictures because looking at it too much seems to trigger a mild fight, flight, or freeze response in me. And I’m in no mood to deal with such ridiculousness.

So, in game character. He does spend time on the floor, only a little though. Most of his time is actually spent walking. But then they get in a boat and Bai Yu gets to indulge in his favoured elbow hook seated position generally reserved for benches and breakfast bar surface things when he’s on a stool.

Ok, last but not least, the moped!

This is a moped that birthed a headcanon for me.

It would seem that regardless of character, if something is a form of transport with wheels, then Bai Yu will find some way to sit or lean on it.

And y’know what? He is fully capable of looking damned good while doing so.

So that’s it? I think the conclusion I can draw from this one is that Bai Yu’s sitting, leaning, and lounging habits are things he can either turn up or tone down depending on the character. It’s just that more often than not the characters he plays allow him to turn it up. But Gao Guang was one of the more subdued ones, more straight blokey vibes, than Bi Disaster ones.

Both film and drama are available on Netflix (at least here in the UK they are).

They’re also on YouTube - film - drama - with subtiles and pretty good quality.

And both are on DramaCool - film - drama

The drama is on Viki too.

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

#Bai Yu #Bai Yu Sitting Project #Cao Guang #Love O2O #featuring the straightest Bai Yu character I've ever encountered #and yes #I'm including the military bloke who got blown up #and the Fa Hai dude #and the 8 seconds of screen time deskmate #that I am clearly /not/ still salty about #but honestly what even /was/ that film?#everything about it was just.../ugh/!#...ok...breathe...we're not going down that road again #if I could scrub that film's existence from my mind I would #just look at the pretty Bai Yu and breathe

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