One Of My Fave Cdrama Production Teams So I'll Need To Check Be Your Knight Out! (Although I Do Miss

One of my fave Cdrama production teams so I'll need to check Be Your Knight out! (Although I do miss the dreamy visuals of Director Zeng Qingjie.)

To @renewedmotionforjudgment's point about maximizing the creative potential of the short drama format, I think something A Familiar Stranger also does well is it picks a theme and unpacks it not only in the writing but in the visual storytelling. It's a very layered but efficient approach to communicating the show's main ideas.

I talk about this a little in my visual analysis here, but it's incredibly striking how Director Zeng uses camera close-ups, parallelism, fourth wall breaks, and other techniques to illustrate the theme of trusting our intuition versus what we see on the surface. The visual storytelling gives insight into things like the ML's character (e.g., all those direct stares into the camera) and the sister's relationship with the prince (e.g., the difference in intimacy with how the sex scenes between the two couples are shot) without needing to spend time on exposition. We can feel (and therefore know) all this through our eyes instead.

was just telling @renewedmotionforjudgment I'm 2 episodes into Be Your Knight and I love this short drama production team (Familiar Stranger, Provoke, Hard to Find, Butterflied Lover). They GET IT.

Republican drama?

Dark, wet streets! Grimy alley ways! Close-up on high heels stepping out of a glossy black car.

Waking up tied to a chair. Flipping coins to decide your fate. Secret twins. Snow falling over the slow-mo princess carry of a woman he knocked out.

Suits suits suits! Fighting a gang of men with a bat. Mysterious gangsters. Burning a secret file in a room lit by candles.

Pose as my fake husband or one of us will DIE

Did you kill the real one? ... ominious vague flashback so the viewer is unsure

This is exactly what I want. 100% dream logic.

So who has a gif of Hae-yeong whalloping that piece of shit with Bruno?

The Language of Tea, Unspoken Words, and Their True Meanings

This brief scene in My Journey to You EP 22 is so beautifully framed and everything about it is so good ... the feels ... omg it's almost too much. The entire scene is only about two minutes long but like it's overflowing with brotherly love. ❤️

The scene starts with Gong Yuan Zhi (GYZ) presumably at his residence just minding his own business, cleaning his deadly little weapons, and looking the most chill he's ever looked since EP 1. Like you never see him this calm and still. Like EVER!

Then ...

Enters Gong Zi Yu (GZY). The man just waltzes into GYZ's private sphere. And GYZ didn't protest. He didn't make a fuss. He didn't hurl insults. He didn't tell GZY to get lost or go away. He didn't didn't even look up. Just kept his focus on cleaning his little weapon.

This is like not what you'd expect after 22 episodes of conflict between these two cousins/brothers. In this private sphere, there is no pressure to perform. No one is here to observe their interactions. So. It would be the perfect place to reveal one true self. But family is a complex institution and things are not what they seem which also makes perfect sense.

GZY picks up the teacup and drinks from it ... unprompted and uninvited. Although to be fair, GYZ didn't tell GZY that he couldn't drink the tea. In traditional Chinese culture, tea is kept warm and comes with bajillion meanings.

One: Power, Status, and Serving Tea

Serving tea comes with its own set of rules. Generally speaking younger and lower social status people serve the tea. This is a sign of respect. So for GZY to simply pick up the teacup without asking GYZ who is younger and has a lower status meant that GZY considers the two of them to be peers. Like he doesn't expect his brother/cousin to serve him tea just because he holds a higher position within the family. And that little smirk ... like he knew his little brother was demure for reasons.

Two: Cold Tea is Reserved for Enemies.

GZY then commented that the tea was cold. This was done with a touch of sarcasm and a bit of humor but it's packed with hidden meanings. There is a saying that cold tea is reserved for one's enemies and that when the tea has gone cold, it's time for people to depart/move on. Personally, this could also mean people drifting apart from one another. Here GZY is joking that GYZ is serving him cold tea (being enemies) on purpose. It's a lighthearted comment because GYZ never offered the tea to begin with. This is also the first time GYZ address GZY by his title. Another sign of respect given in the private sphere where no one is watching them.

Three: You Might be in Danger [aka Your Life is Important to Me]

GZY then proceeds to warn his cousin/brother about a potential security threat ... that GYZ's secret weapons may have been compromised. Basically saying that the weapons and the poisons may no longer be effective. GZY is explaining all this calmly and without blaming GYZ for anything. He could have said hey BRO ... your little poisoned weapon might not protect you anymore ... so yeah you might wanna take a look into changing it. But, that's NOT what GZY did. The warning was done with great care. Like genuine care.

Then GZY gifts his little cousin/brother with a brand new weapon crafted by their official blacksmith. I mean GZY is so very worried here that a simple warning is not enough. No. His little cousin/brother needs to be able to protect himself and so he needs a new secret weapon. GZY tells his little cousin/brother that he has complete control over the weapons/poisons he wishes to use and that there is no need to inform him of it. This is an sign of complete trust that his little cousin/brother won't harm family members and that when the time comes, GYZ would help protect the clan. GZY could have demanded to know the details but he chose trust instead. GYZ was not expecting this blind faith from his older cousin/brother.

Just look at GYZ's face. He was definitely not expecting this level of care. Sure. They're both from the same clan but this level of attention just SCREAMS brotherly love. It's all familial love.

GYZ lost his immediate family when he was very young and he always thought that the only one who genuinely cares for him is his adopted brother. But even with the special bond with Gong Shang Jues (GSJ) GYZ never felt he was loved for who he was. Always thinking that he could never be the brother that GSJ lost and so he's filled with self-doubt and uncertainty. But here, you can totally see that he finally realizes that GZY also cares for him ... the way an older brother might look out for a younger brother [cries ... so much feels right now!!!]

Four: It's No Big Deal. DO NOT Make This into a Big Deal

Unprompted GYZ got up to make tea. I cannot get used this demure little killing machine. GZY understands this gesture and so he said nonchalantly that there was no need to thank him. Like this is no big deal bro! I said it's no big deal. I repeat ... do not make our little interaction into a big deal because little cousin/brother ... it is not.

Action speaks louder than words and that is what we see here. GZY, as an older cousin/brother is just doing what he believes older brothers do. Like this is no grand gesture. Like what else was he supposed to do ... watch his little brother's life dangling in the danger zone? Yeah no thank you.

Five: Serving Tea as an Apology

GYZ brew a new cup of hot tea with the intention of serving it to GZY. The act of serving tea is a sign of respect from the junior member. One can also serve tea to elders and people with higher social status as a form of apology. GYZ brew a new cup of tea with this intention in mind.

By this point GYZ realized that he was wrong about GZY. Their conflicts stem mostly from the belief that GZY would be a terrible leader for their clan since he lacks motivation, drive, skill, and a bunch of others demerits. However, all of it proved to be a personal bias/misunderstanding on GYZ's part. So now that everything has been cleared up and GYZ is basically giving his cousin/brother the respect that is due.

GZY exited out before receiving the tea from GYZ is also a tell in their relationship. GZY is saying, without saying a word, that he's not here to gloat or lord over GYZ. That he understands why the misunderstanding took place. I mean GZY was not exactly shinny leadership material for most of his life and his daily behaviors prior to the leadership change never actually inspire confidence in the clan protection department.

Siblings will fight. Siblings will squabble. Siblings will have misunderstandings. These are just normal things that siblings do. and so GZY didn't need that tea from GYZ. There was no hard feelings despite their numerous spats. That they were doing what brothers do because they're family.

The fact that GYZ matures enough to want to apologize with tea is also another character development.

And the love ... both fraternal love and familial love. There's so much of it in this two minutes scene and my heart ... so much feels ... feels tidal waves everywhere.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Look buddy, i’m just trying to make it to Friday.

No Gain No Love: Final Thoughts

No Gain No Love is a great example of "vibes over everything" but I'm really going to miss this morsel of a drama come next Monday. Despite its many flaws, it was fun and touching--the perfect pick-me-up to start your week.

Would recommend if you enjoy dramas that:

Are committed to being deeply deeply unserious

And yet at the drop of a hat can become heartfelt about difficult topics in a refreshingly unfussy way

Have women characters who feel modern and real, and who get to be unapologetic about what they want despite what society might think

Talk frankly about sex and relationships

Don't rely on the main couple for the emotional beats of the story and instead explore the many types of love between friends, family, and everything in-between.

And if you're looking for something complex, meticulously plotted, and, you know, not borderline insane? Maybe save it for a rainy day. Like Hae-yeong’s box from the attic.