Lost Tomb - ep 5 and ep 6

[marycrawford]

Lost Tomb is really fun - I see ppl are racing through it but I am plodding behind, and I just watched ep 5 and just enough of ep 6 to see the cliffhanger resolved. Sometimes it feels a lot like watching someone play Skyrim for the first time, very badly:


I want to yell, don't step on the trapped tiles, no don't poke the undead in the face, leave the statues alone already! That bit with Pangzi trying to smuggle the statue out under his coat did make me laugh though. A lot of the humor is too broad for me, just like in Guardian, but that was fun, mostly because Wu Xie is treating him in such an indulgently fond way.

AND THEN both his friends got killed right in front of him - or at least he thought so at the time, and wow, that felt like they just opened up a whole big bag of delicious tropes and shook some out to please me. I particularly loved Kylin (do we call him that? these names, help) shoving Wu Xie away and taking the hit for him, and then giving him that little smile. I am a giant sucker for self-sacrifice, especially this noble heroic kind, I eat it up with a big spoon. So many gorgeous closeups on Zhu Yilong, AND all the angst, I am delighted and I expect both to continue!


ETA some spoiler-free screencaps from ep 6 just For Reasons:

Comments

[naye]

AAAAAAAAAA THOSE EPS!! I totally get the delight of savoring these - they bring so much goodness! ♥

I particularly loved Kylin (do we call him that? these names, help)
Since Wu Xie and Pangzi call him "Xiaoge" I like using that...it's less confusing than a character called Zhang Qiling being romanized "Kylin". ^^;;

Sometimes it feels a lot like watching someone play Skyrim for the first time, very badly
100% agreed. (And then someone has brought their super leveled character in to help their less experienced friends and he can totally clear most dangers that would've killed them.) Which is part of the charm! IDK, I do love my competence porn but there's something charming about the way these dorks keep putting themselves in harm's way. Oh wait the thing is that the harm is delicious!

That scene in 5/6!! Wu Xie's literal worst nightmare being seeing his friends die in front of him! AAAAAAAAA!!!! The way he keeps shaking Xiaoge telling him he can't be dead...and staring at the blood on them? The way he's actually crying and trembling without even noticing? AHHHH. Yes. So good.

[marycrawford]

Since Wu Xie and Pangzi call him "Xiaoge" I like using that...it's less confusing than a character called Zhang Qiling being romanized "Kylin". ^^;;

Ha yes thank you, I could call him Qiling instead, or Xiaoge (that is just the sweetest). It's funny because I don't know anything about Mandarin, but typing Kylin does feel wrong, like, that's not a combination of letters that looks right to me anymore! Also, if you will indulge me: when Wu Xie is running through tunnels yelling for Pangzi, what he calls out doesn't sound like Pangzi at all - it sounds like "Pao da?" sort of? Is he saying something else?

Oh wait the thing is that the harm is delicious!
LOL yes that helps, and Wu Xie manages to be competent enough (theorizing about the murals, etc) that I don't get embarrassed by how they're giant dorks a lot of the time. Plus, as you said, they have their supernatural ninja Qiling to bail them out. :D

Wu Xie's literal worst nightmare being seeing his friends die in front of him! AAAAAAAAA!!!! The way he keeps shaking Xiaoge telling him he can't be dead...and staring at the blood on them? The way he's actually crying and trembling without even noticing? AHHHH. Yes. So good.
Hi yes now rolling around in this with a big happy sigh! SNIFF. I have a feeling that saying "poor Wu Xie" would be premature at this point...

[naye]

typing Kylin does feel wrong, like, that's not a combination of letters that looks right to me anymore
Same! And good instinct - it's not part of the standard way to romanize Mandarin at ALL. (And when I see it I think "Kayleen" which is so wrong.)

when Wu Xie is running through tunnels yelling for Pangzi, what he calls out doesn't sound like Pangzi at all - it sounds like "Pao da?" sort of? Is he saying something else?
I can, because I have the Chinese subs so even if I don't know I can look it up! Could you give me a timestamp?

LOL yes that helps, and Wu Xie manages to be competent enough (theorizing about the murals, etc) that I don't get embarrassed by how they're giant dorks a lot of the time.
Agreed! This part of it I also really appreciate. And it kind of helps that they fell into the tomb by accident so they've gotta get by with what they have. And they're so curious! Of course they're gonna poke all the things!

I have a feeling that saying "poor Wu Xie" would be premature at this point...
He does SO WELL at the getting hurt and needing to be cared for and everything. :D

[marycrawford]

I had a look (wow this ep had a lot of Wu Xie just wandering around with a flashlight :), and at 30:33 for example, 30:42 too - the subs say Pangzi every time, so maybe that's just what it sounds like? That last syllable sounds so much like da to my ears though.

[naye]

He's saying Pangzi! But slurring it a bit? (Skuld finds Zhu Yilong hard to understand sometimes because of his Wuhan dialect...)

[marycrawford]

Aah thank you! Good to know, I was wondering if there was another nickname he was using instead, but clearly I need to finetune my unschooled ear (and not just for Mandarin but for Wuhan accents, hee).

[umadoshi]

(Skuld finds Zhu Yilong hard to understand sometimes because of his Wuhan dialect...)

...I keep forgetting that I probably shouldn't be focusing on Zhu Yilong's dialogue when trying to figure out how to pronounce something. ^^;

(Seriously, I've spent the entire show so far--and not just from ZYL's dialogue!--trying to figure out even the broadest idea of how to pronounce "Pangzi", and my ears are just not remotely getting it. ;_;)

[marycrawford]

This is cracking me up, I feel supported in my inability to hear what ZYL is saying - I swear though, sometimes he does say something I could vaguely recognize as "Pangzi" when he's talking to other ppl about him. I am an utter noob though, I'm already pleased enough that I can hear ppl say "Xiao-ge" and know what it means. :D

[trobadora]

Kylin (do we call him that?

I don't understand that Romanisation, and it looks like it should be pronounced nothing like his actual name, so I'm not using it at the moment. Like Naye says above, Xiaoge will have to do. *g*

I just love all three of them together so much. I hope we won't get too much of them being separated, because their dynamics are just awesome. :D

[marycrawford]

I'm glad that my misgivings about Kylin were justified - the subs can be misleading sometimes.

And yeah, their dynamics are great fun! They're so comfortable together, aw.

[xparrot]

I love that this show doesn't hold out, just BAM presumed dead in ep 5!!! (with that red lighting too, woooow~~~)

I have no idea how these guys survived tomb raiding for any length of time at all -- oh wait I do, it's all Xiaoge. I love them. And how trouble-prone they are.

A lot of the humor is too broad for me, just like in Guardian, but that was fun, mostly because Wu Xie is treating him in such an indulgently fond way.

That fondness gets me so bad! The humor is all over the place for me, but there's a lot of stuff that's unexpectedly cracked me up (a lot thanks to Chen Minghao's portrayal of Pangzi; he can change mood from dumb comedy to pathos on a dime, and he's got great dork-BFFs chemistry with Zhu Yilong. And then Xiaoge so enjoys watching them be dorks together...!)

[marycrawford]

just BAM presumed dead in ep 5!!!

YES this!! That was very much my response, like, okay then, I guess it's ON. I love ittt - presumed dead and sacrifice and cradling the beloved and allll the things. They can just keep pulling out the stops now.

Yeah, Pangzi's actor does have fantastic chemistry with Zhu Yilong, and they had such great little moments so far already, like the flashlight-jedi fight and things like that. Dork-BFFs is a very suitable term, heee.

[umadoshi]

he's got great dork-BFFs chemistry with Zhu Yilong. And then Xiaoge so enjoys watching them be dorks together...!

This is possibly my favorite element so far. *^^*

[sakana17]

I have nothing to add, but (a) I am also rationing my consumption because I'm enjoying it too much for it to end soon and (b) episodes 5&6 FLAIL FLAIL HALLUCINATIONS WU XIE THINKING HE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS BFFS DYING FLAIL FLAIL CRYING AND SUFFERING FLAIL.

I cannot with "Kylin." WTF. I think of him as Qiling or Xiao Ge.

I could so easily dislike Pangzi but I don't. Like other comments said: his chemistry with Wu Xie is terrific. I love the dynamic between the three of them so much.

[marycrawford]

FLAILING ALONG WITH YOU aaahhh this was just so satisfying and so unexpected? I didn't think they would drop such a huge ball of angst and delicious tropes so early. And Zhu Yilong's trembling shock omgggggg ;_;

I love the dynamic between the three of them so much.

SAME. They are just so sweet together. <3

Also, admittedly, I am secretly hoping for magic-ears guy to get eaten by a monster, but I suspect not because he just got an angsty nightmare illusion of his very own, so I'm assuming he's going to stick around and maybe Learn Things that will improve his attitude.

[onemuseleft]

I am way behind everyone else, too - I've been doing an ep a day to make it last a little bit. But I am loving everything about Wu Xie and his silent suffering, Zhu Yilong is just so GOOD at it.

[marycrawford]

Yes 100% agreed - he is SO GOOD, he conveys so many nuances of feeling and I just can't tear my eyes away from him. I love that this role gives him so much to play with, from the happy camaraderie to the shock and angst of this presumed dead moment.