NiF - please avoid this if it will annoy you

[frith_in_thorns]

I STILL haven't finished Nirvana in Fire, and have finally pinned down my reluctance to do so.


I'm pretty sure my entire watching of it has suffered from it being sold to me in SUCH an over-hyped way. Frustratingly, I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if I hadn't had managed to pick up the impression that it was completely Life-Changing, The Best Show Ever Made etc. Like, it's good? But people similarly tried to sell me on The Untamed as The Best Love Story Ever, The Saddest Thing They've Ever Watched, etc, and just nope.

Also, I guess when I watch things and talk about them as I go on Twitter (with hashtags) I tend to be pretty irreverent? Like, I talk about notable bits to me -- the things I enjoyed and also the things that made me laugh. But I definitely felt when I talked about NiF I hit a vein of "you are not allowed to say anything critical about this Perfect Show", I think unintentionally, but.... yeah. It definitely made me feel I wasn't allowed to enjoy NiF in the way that I was enjoying it, so I... stopped enjoying it.

I'm on episode 50, btw. I've been here for two months? Bleh.

[Edit: Comments now full of spoilers]

Comments

[philomytha]

Ah, that's a shame. I had it recced to me as twisty politics, loyalty galore and lashings of h/c rather than as The Best Thing Ever Made, which I expect helped when I got to the yeti beetle plot... also I loved it, but I did go and make a cup of tea whenever we got to the long love songs for MCS and Nihuang: it's not that I didn't like their romance, but my tolerance for that kind of musical interlude is very limited.

[sheron]

TBH as someone who's recommended this and other c-dramas to people, it really frustrates me to see them overhyped so much. Like, I love these shows, but they are just entertainment! And the way they're being sold to new people I'm pretty sure it's making some reluctant to even try it out of fear that they aren't "liking it enough", and then ruining it for those who have tried a few episodes because their expectations are misaligned.

I'm really really glad I watched all these shows thinking I won't like them, but might as well because I was bored. I had a really good time.

[shipperslist]

I haven't seen NiF and don't plan to but yes, I get you on The Untamed. It was incredibly pretty and yeah, it was a bit sad and yeah, it was kinda nice but overall? Nah.

[forestofglory]

I've had that happen to me with other things and it's so frustrating!

I'm glad I watched NiF a bit ago because I think I might of had this problem if I was trying to watch in now. Though I was bit skeptical of it when I stared because people kept telling me it was about revenge and I don't like revenge. (I consider NiF to be about justice seeking rather than revenge, but I get that that's a nitpick to a lot of people)

[xparrot]

Ow, I'm sorry it backlashed on you like that! The NiF hype actually worked well for me, because the way it was pitched I went in expecting Prestige TV which I sometimes like but sometimes really don't, but then it had so many wildly OTT fannish things with h/c and slashiness and all that I ended up enjoying it more than I really had expected to. (Which I think is why many of us do hype it so much, because it can be fun to have a show that you can rec to people and random non-fans as Quality, but at the same time brings the fannish feels...)

I've definitely had things I did not enjoy because of hype backlash (Umbrella Academy I bounced off hard) but it especially sucks when you actually were enjoying something, but in a way that clashed with how others fanned on it. You need to find a circle of "people who like NiF well enough but also happily fast-forwarded or laughed through a lot of the nonsense"!

[teyla]

Oh no, I'm sorry NiF got overhyped for you! I hadn't even thought about that being a thing that could happen--I tend to be one of the people who go <3__<3 whenever that show is mentioned, but I also got to watch it completely unspoiled and un-hyped, so was able to watch it without the pressure of feeling like I had to like it.

I get you on The Untamed, though. I watched it with a friend who's very much into it and I just. The slow pace killed me dead, I cared for very few of the characters, the love story was middling to all right, and I hated the exposition-in-a-bar scenes with a passion. All of which may also have been hype backlash, probably in combination with that show just not selling emotions in a way that works for me.

As for NiF, I think the thing that makes it stand out to me is the way the plot is constructed? I tend to consider it kind of a lesson in how to write plot in a TV show, because the way it makes all the loose ends come together did blow me away. That said, it's not a show I'd expect absolutely anyone to love. They sit around scheming and drinking tea most of the time; if palace intrigue isn't something you're here for, it's a tough one to sit through.

Edit: I just read your comment thread with xparrot and realized this might make you feel even more like you're doing it wrong somehow, so I'm back to add that the OTT fannishness is absolutely in there and I absolutely love it just as much as I love the way the plot is constructed. MCS is a ridiculous drama queen and Jingyan is a himbo, and I love them. Also Jingrui! I'm glad you enjoyed him; he and Yujin are my second favorite pairing on the show.