Originally Posted by
poppies
Perhaps Yu Zheng had a different take on the place? It was not quite what I had expected too, but not something to take issue with. Partly because as the story progressed and took place elsewhere, I, too, moved on and forgot about it.
Many things were done well though and they made me smile in appreciation (figuratively; I did not actually smile at the screen). An example is this Guo Jing. The actor seems to act, look and feel so much like the Jin Yong character. I could totally see him as the GJ of LOCH having matured and developed into the ROCH period. I enjoyed quite a few of his scenes.
As for the protagonist, I thought this Yang Guo did well in that Jue Qing Gu scene in which he was devastated and threw up blood (when XLN said she did not know who he was). I particularly liked that part where he turned away with a bitter, hurt laugh, wiped his tears, and turned back to tell Fan Yiweng that he would accept his duel challenge. I thought the actor gave a good performance there. His demeanor, body language and depth of emotion seemed appropriate — in keeping with YG's prone-to-dramatics nature and yet not over the top.
Other notable YG scenes (to me) included 1) those scenes in which he was trying to treat XLN's injuries in the tomb, pretending to succumb to Li Mochou's poison and tricking her into the coffin, trying again to help XLN but was once again interrupted, this time by Guo Fu and gang, culminating in his despair and anger when XLN was beyond cure; 2) the scene in Jue Qing Gu after XLN has returned from her fight on the ledge with Gongsun Zhi, with the antidote; 3) the scene in which he had a brief tender moment with XLN in Jue Qing Gu, by the poisonous flowers, that was witnessed by Li Mochou just before LMC burned herself to death; 4) the scenes after he woke up the next morning and found XLN gone, confronting Huang Rong, jumping to the other cliff ledge, his distress, the whole nine yards. I thought the actor did well in those scenes. His performance was understated enough that the reactions felt realistic, how a person with YG's temperament would behave but not wooden — yet aptly portraying YG's (often extreme) emotions without resorting to overacting and hysterics.
Unfortunately, I often forget that the show is still airing. I find that adaptations of Jin Yong novels no longer keep me riveted to the screen. Maybe I am familiar with the storylines and so to me, there is no suspense, no mystery, no compelling plots?