Growling Tiger, Roaring Dragon (2017)

Only the good die young.

The second instalment of Sima Yi's story opens with his uncomfortable return to the capital to serve under the most unworthy Cao Rui, the ingrate he saved as a boy and put on the throne. Cao Rui grew up to be a monster and what he did to Empress Gao was a great historical injustice. The symbolism of Cao Rui being carried by Sima Yi is strong, suggesting their dynasty was held up by Sima Yi and most of this drama makes the case that the treacherous Cao family was unworthy and deserved to be toppled. I usually like Liu Han but did not enjoy how he portrayed Cao Rui. I was unmoved by his childhood trauma over being the product of an indifferent father who executed his mother and just drummed my fingers impatiently through his theatrics and unseemly antics with his vile eunuch. I did appreciate some aspects of his acting - he seemed cunning and slightly unhinged in the most dangerous of ways that made me feel fear for the Sima family.

The highlight of the second season is without doubt Sima Yi's rivalry with Zhuge Liang, the greatest strategist of Three Kingdoms lore. It was heart wrenching to see two soulmates with such profound mutual understanding, respect and admiration locked in a ferocious life and death battle. Both bound by oathes they swore to dead emperors, one is handicapped by a strong master and the other by a weak one. It was just war brutal and simple; there was no right, or wrong, or good or evil; just opposite sides. The writer does a commendable job making the sophisticated military strategies exciting and accessible to viewers. This version of Zhuge Liang's famous Empty City Ruse/Kōngchéngjì/ 空城计 suggests Sima Yi was not really fooled, he just had a very strong sense of self preservation. Their encounters capture the essence of a resting dragon/wò lóng/ 卧龙 reclaiming the central plains from a hidden tiger 冢虎 (zhǒng hǔ), a rising talent. Alas, time was not on Zhuge Liang's side or history may have been different. Nonetheless, his trick from the grave on Wuzhang Plains left no doubt in peoples minds that " a dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda". It is remarkable that till this day, Zhuge Liang is the most revered strategist of Three Kingdoms lore and it remains almost a footnote in history that Sima Yi actually "won" Three Kingdoms. This arc broke my heart; I couldn't bear how Sima Yi exhausted Zhuge Liang and how unworthy both their emperors were.

The narrative inevitably peaks at the Zhuge Liang arc; their battles were the pinnacle of Sima Yi's accomplishments. After that, the drama really dragged. It wasn't necessary to dive into so much detail into the Cao Shuang arc. We really didn't need another long and boring example of what imbeciles Cao Cao's descendants turned out to be. The arc was incredibly predictable with repetitive ploys to try to indict the much older Sima Yi only to see him deftly turn the tables on his enemies yet again. The only highlight of that arc was the wild speculation around Sima Zhao's role in the death of Sima Shi's wife's death but that sub-plot didn't get wrapped up in a satisfying way. The only thing that kept me watching was Tan Jianci and Xiao Shunyao's excellent portrayals of the Sima brothers. I also found it quite cool that they cast an actress to play the treacherous and effeminate He Yan.

After the Zhuge Liang arc, it struck me that even though I was fascinated by Sima Yi and often empathised with him, I just didn't liked him. I was not surprised that he became darker in his later years; this is foreshadowed from the beginning and was an insidious process throughout. The second half of this drama seemed to go on for an eternity. That ruthless, cowardly, cunning, wicked old tortoise Sima Yi just would not die! It offends my sense of justice that he lived to such a ripe old age. I guess it must be true that only the good die young.

This drama had at least 10-12 episodes too many. We really didn't need such a detailed the blow by blow of Sima Yi's much less interesting later years. Up to the Zhuge Liang arc, I rate this 8.0/8.5 but after that it's a 6.0/7.0 so overall this a 7.5 for me.

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honestly i like the first one better because of the relationship between characters although plot wise this is better. i dont understand SMY relationship with ZGL his no 1 rival, SMY relationship with Cao Rui (his character is a little offbeat), oh and the eunuch(i forgot his name) seriously i dont understand the connection between him n CR. the only character i care about is Bai Ling Yun. shes the most rational and sensible one in this drama.

also the fight between SMY and ZGL is a little bit on a stretch. i think almost half of the drama is just about them fighting which is suuuuuper slow (hence the 8.5 rating). i personally think the drama doesnt start until episode 29.

i have 2 problems with the sequel:
1. How SMY is partial towards his sons. for instance during war, he kept the other generals in the dark and only discuss military plans with his sons. that leads to dispute and loses. worst he didnt even bother to explain when one of the generals asked him of his refusal to attack. it did not just happen once but all the time!!! the war with ZGL was so frustrating to watch due to SMY attitude and his sons especially zhao.
2. I know the writer is trying to lighten up the mood by throwing in a bit of humour into the drama but often times it feels out of place especially to SMY character. like they are in a serious discussion then suddenly SMY being all goofy. bummerrrr. it was well done for the first one but not in here because the sequel is heavy in war/politics

but the gush of emotions towards the end is so real. maybe if i were to rewatch id just rewatch the last 15 episodes XD. also Shi and Hui is super loving they remind me of Ping Zhang and Qian Xue <3 my fav couple in NIF2

still a good watch tho

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edit:

after watching "Three Kingdoms", i have just realised how poorly done this drama is (plot/ character wise). my view on the war between SMY and ZGL still stand, the three kingdoms does it better. i was not at all bored like i was in this drama. and i finally understood the significance of "the dress", and ZGL relationship with SMY. i was emotionally connected to their rivalries after watching that drama. but there are also things shown in this drama that i really really like, like the dynamic in Sima Jia

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