TV Thoughts // Heroes 說英雄誰是英雄 Episode 1

◐ Series Name: Heroes / 說英雄誰是英雄
◐ Director: Li Mu Ge / 李木戈
◐ Episodes: 38

◐ Synopsis:
Innocent Wang Xiaoshi leaves his reclusive mountain for the first time to see more of the real world. Along the way, he encounters lifelong friends and comes to realise the world is not so kindly as he is.

◐ Thoughts on Episode 1:
After The Untamed 陳情令 I have not watched a C-drama that I could get into. I figured I had lost my taste for Chinese TV shows and moved on. On a whim, I decided to try this one, and I (so far) am quite glad I did.

The story follows Wang Xiaoshi as he ventures out into the world from his very sheltered life in the mountains. He has been sent on a mission to deliver a white jade box to Su Mengzhen, a renowned warrior in the martial arts world. Of course, everybody ends up wanting this white box for some reason, believing it to be of great value because of who it is meant for.

In the very first episode, Xiaoshi meets with treachery as well as friendship, and I suspect this could be a recurring theme as he grows and learns more of human nature on his journey.

I have a thing for lovable, well-developed characters in anything I consume, and already Wang Xiaoshi and his new friends Wen Rou and Bai Choufei have so much life and personality to them, they have drawn me in more effectively than any brilliant plot could. I’m not completely invested, but I do want to know what’s going to happen to them.

Also, friendship seems to be a strong theme in this show, and I am never going to say no to anything that centers around friendships. There are not nearly enough friendship stories, and I think that is a significant detriment to our current society. I always enjoy strong friendships more than romantic relationships. There is just something deeper, more selfless about them

Did I also pick up this drama because there was a character with my Chinese name (Wen Rou 溫柔)? Yes, yes I did. It is such an unusual name, I had to do it.

For some reason, whether a drama is going to be tragic or happy never seems to show up in their descriptions. At this point, I think it could go either way. However, this is the same director who did Goodbye My Princess 東宮, which had one of the most depressing endings I’ve seen, so maybe this will veer in that direction. If nothing else, I expect we will be in for a lot of angst, which I am always down for.