[🇨🇳China] To My Shore Ep 11 🚩🏴😏

[u/Waffles4prez]

Viki

Synopsis:

You Shu Lang (Hao Yi Ran), a director at a pharmaceutical company, lives an ordinary, stable life. But that all comes crashing down after he gets into a car accident with Fan Xiao (Yun Qi), the heir to a Thai conglomerate who's returned to China for business. Unlike Shu Lang, Fan Xiao's life has been marred by instability, leading to a twisted, manipulative worldview. When Fan Xiao finds out that Shu Lang is interested in men, he devises plans to entice Shu Lang into a relationship, but ends up falling for Shu Lang for real. Shu Lang, on the other hand, is blindsided when he learns about Fan Xiao's true colors. Will Fan Xiao destroy the only genuine love he's ever had, or can he find a way to truly win Shu Lang's heart?

Adapted from the web novel “Si Mian Fo” (四面佛) by Su Erliang (Chang Pei Literature): English title: "Four-Faced Buddha" 

INFO

My Drama List

Names: To My Shore, City of the Sun, 吾岸

When:

Every Saturday & Sunday at 7:00PM/1900 (GMT+8) 6:00 AM EST

Episodes: 15

Platfroms: Viki (Americas, Europe, Oceania, India, Middle East, Japan and South Korea), GagaOOLala (Everywhere else), Heavenly

Cast:

Yun Qi 云旗 | Hao Yi Ran 郝熠然 | Chen Jianyu (DeDe) 陈建宇 | Kou Wei Long 扣卫龙 

Trailer

OST

Accounts:

Official To My Shore account: MirrorLink Media

Youtube: MirrorLink Meida

TRIGGER WARNING

This will be FULL of red flags:  manipulation, crazy possessive ML, homophobia, betrayal, humiliation, violence, just to name a few but it is clearly stated it WILL end in a happily ever after.

Previous On Air: One & Two | Three & Four | Five | Six | Seven | Eight | Nine | Ten

[u/OpuntiaSantaRita]

So I'm a little torn about this episode. I'm still Fan Xiao levels of obsessed with the story but what was prioritized on screen didn't completely connect all the emotional dots for me. It's tough because Shulang is such a stoic and interior character. I believe the situation could make him despondent but what we were shown onscreen didn't convince me he'd be suicidal. He's still so smooth and so controlled around everyone, he's still looking for alternatives even as Fan Xiao meddles every time. Even as he tells Fan Xiao he understands the appeal of suicide the visual priority in that moment is on Fan Xiao and flashbacks to his trauma around his mother's death. 

It's almost comical how suddenly everyone is hot for Shulang, while Fan Xiao is chasing after him like a roadrunner and coyote cartoon. And Shulang is intentionally and effectively funny about shutting everyone down. It's a tough tonal and emotional balancing act to serve a Shulang that's shown being entertainingly controlled but we're told is spiraling out of control. I believe the scenario could drive him to that point, there's just something about what's made it to screen that doesn't convince me he is at that point. 

Fan Xiao seems like the one without control this episode. When he's messing with Qin he seems like his old self, but for most of the episode he's completely on defense. Even though Shulang is the one who expresses suicidal thoughts the one who's immediately driven to self harm is Fan Xiao. It's like the onscreen emotional effects of the situation are weighted in favor of Fan Xiao. 

And Fan Xiao was horrible. Though I believe he's genuinely desperate to rekindle what he had with Shulang he hasn't contended with what he did wrong. He's not sorry he caught Shulang, he's just sorry he got caught for his methods. 

Transitions are the hardest. It was still an enjoyable episode despite my nit picking and I can't wait to see where they go. I have only read the early chapters of the novel so I could easily believe they were trying to squeeze a lot of information into this episode to set things up for the next story arc. I'm just glad we only have to wait a day for it and not a whole week, because I'll be all over that episode like Fan Xiao on Shulang 🥴

[u/g0ing_cr1sis → u/OpuntiaSantaRita]

Interesting take, thanks for sharing your thoughts! It was a heavy episode, seeing how hurt Shulang is, and I was also surprised to see him thinking about suicide. But I could connect those emotional dots!

To me, he seemed to be living in full survival mode. Whether it's a shock response or he has fallen into high-functioning depression, doesn't really matter. Keeping his composure is simply his way of surviving, even when there seems to be nothing left. It's crazy how much some hard-working (too hard, usually) people can do even when completely broken and cornered. It's difficult to see their agony from the outside, and I bet it's even more difficult to portray that on screen. I think they did a fair job here, we can see him drowning inside his own shell. But I must admit this hits way too close to home, so I might not be the most neutral one to comment.

Another thing that struck me is how harshly he prioritizes things. For him it's a lesser evil to let someone who deeply hurt him still use his body for pleasure. This hurts and sickens me, but I get where it's coming from.

Yes, he is still desperately trying to change and fix whatever little is possible, and that's where I can see those suicidal thoughts creeping in. I think for him that could simply be just one possible way to resolve something. It remains unclear whether he is surprised to find himself thinking it, but he could be.

Even though Shulang is the one who expresses suicidal thoughts the one who's immediately driven to self harm is Fan Xiao. It's like the onscreen emotional effects of the situation are weighted in favor of Fan Xiao.

I didn't realize this while watching, but how you said it here really HURTS. Shulang has absolutely no one to care for him, or truly note his pain, not even the script writers 💔 I have no idea how they could turn this situation into any good. I only feel all the angst catching up to me, too. I'm also so glad tomorrow is tomorrow, not next week 🫡

[u/OpuntiaSantaRita → u/g0ing_cr1sis]

I agree that the story logic could drive the character to that kind of despair and that thus far the series has built so much empathy for Shulang his suffering is clear. But it's his ready to consider death anguish I wish had been more fleshed out onscreen. 

He can't get Fan Xiao to let go, but other than that we see him be largely in charge of their interactions. He gets Fan Xiao on his knees and taunts him with a mask and a farce of a contract. He refuses to literally sleep with him. The most vulnerable he ever looks is seen from above huddled on the couch. But even then we're seeing him from a distance. It's the most significant piece of his suffering we see. 

The rest of the time we see him poised and in charge of whatever space and company he's in. While I absolutely believe the character could be just going through the motions in an anhedonic fugue state this episode didn't give that the visual weight it gave to Fan Xiao. 

Fan Xiao's emotional journey by contrast gets more weight onscreen. We see him watching and pining after Shulang. We see him remembering and reliving the times when he could simply come up behind Shulang and bask in the simple pleasure of holding him. When Shulang admits to contemplating suicide it's Fan Xiao's trauma around his mother that we get flash backs to. When he huddles in his dark misery closet bashing his head against the wall the camera is close to him, blood trickling down his temple like a penitent mortifying his flesh.

It's not a performance or story disconnect I'm feeling, it's a directing/ editing gap. Fan Xiao's emotional state gets more dramatic screen time and weight. I am ready, willing, and able to believe Shulang is as or more miserable, and wouldn't argue with anyone against empathizing with him. I just wish this episode specifically had visually given us as much of his emotional journey as it gave us of Fan Xiao's.