Ha, yes, I was thinking "Wang Shi'an and Chen Moqun" as complex, interesting antagonists and then you mentioned them. But dramas have a slightly unfair advantage because we get to see the characters as well. Yes on all counts! Wang Shi'an and Chen Moqun really are in a class by themselves, between writing, directing and acting--good examples, especially Chen Moqun of course, of antagonists who are deeply complex and without whom the story would fall apart, not just in terms of plot but of emotional resonance.
I think part of it is the reader being able to see that the outward personalities aren't all that there is; each character has an inward life that may also be flawed but more sympathetic or understandable. Yes! Sounds like good writing (so easy to describe, so hard to do...). And it's one of the joys of reading, getting to know people inwardly this way in a way we often don't in real life.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2023-04-10 12:11 pm (UTC)Yes on all counts! Wang Shi'an and Chen Moqun really are in a class by themselves, between writing, directing and acting--good examples, especially Chen Moqun of course, of antagonists who are deeply complex and without whom the story would fall apart, not just in terms of plot but of emotional resonance.
I think part of it is the reader being able to see that the outward personalities aren't all that there is; each character has an inward life that may also be flawed but more sympathetic or understandable.
Yes! Sounds like good writing (so easy to describe, so hard to do...). And it's one of the joys of reading, getting to know people inwardly this way in a way we often don't in real life.