GE: TWIN DRAGONS

You can find the subs for Liu Hao Ran's web minidrama, Great Expecations: Twin Dragons (远大前程：双龙会) here! It was a Liu Hao Ran project that I had literally no expectations for because it's not really an "official" drama, but I was pleasantly surprised and we're excited to share it with everyone.

Two things to remember when it comes to Twin Dragons: it was meant to be a "preview" of what would have been the third part of Great Expectations, its parent drama. The other purpose that it served was fanservice for Liu Hao Ran fans, because this is quite possibly the closest we've ever gotten to seeing him in an idol-like lead role (just because of how cool the character Huo Zhen Xiao is).

As a companion guide of sorts for the drama, we've created a Q&A which will help make the viewing experience better as it will give some historical and story context. If you have a question on what the drama is about, you can find the synopsis here.

If you want to skip the Q&A, proceed to the bottom of this post for the video links! Yes, download links are included!

Why is Twin Dragons so short (6 episodes, 20 mins each)?

Twin Dragons is meant to be a side story minidrama to its parent drama, 2018's Great Expectations (远大前程), which starred Chen Si Cheng, Yuan Hong, Tong Li Ya, and Amber Kuo, and featured an impressive list of veteran actors including Zhao Li Xin and Ni Da Hong. The story is about a young ruffian who chases his dreams in Shanghai in the 1920s and gets caught up in the world of Shanghai's most powerful business tycoons/mob bosses.

Chen Si Cheng (Liu Hao Ran's boss and the director of the Detective Chinatown series) wrote a three part screenplay for Great Expectations back in 2015/2016. The drama covers the first two parts, and a third part would've be filmed at a later date. Twin Dragons essentially served as a bridge for the drama and the third part.

And yes, that meant the original intention would've been that Liu Hao Ran would've appeared in the final act of Great Expectations in a major supporting/main role. However, because the drama performed below expectations ratings-wise (it was praised for being rather refreshing in tone), it is highly unlikely that the third part will be filmed at this point.

Will I be able to follow Twin Dragons without watching Great Expectations?

Yes! There are a couple of things that would be helpful to know though.

Historical context

Unlike the parent story, which is set in Shanghai, Twin Dragons is set in Tianjin in the mid to late 1920s in a section of history that isn't often seen in Chinese dramas. The story takes place shortly after the May Thirtieth Movement, which was when the British Shanghai Municipal Police and allies open fired on Shanghai protesters in a protest gone wrong (you can read more here). This led to public outcry across the then Republic of China, including in Tianjin, where there was a huge foreign presence due to the concession territories there. While tensions with the foreigners were already at an all time high, the incident led to a lot of rage among the Chinese public, and contributed to further violence and chaos across the country.

Story context

Huo Zhen Xiao (played by Liu Hao Ran) is one of the two protagonists in the story. He is a fascinating character and his background explains why. When we are introduced to him, he is a student at the Tianjin Military Academy, but he's also the estranged son of Huo Tian Hong, a character in the main story, who is one of the most powerful business tycoons (and mob bosses) in Shanghai.

Huo Zhen Xiao's mom, Gui Sheng, is originally from Tianjin and is descended from a line of mob bosses herself, but moved to Shanghai for her husband. When her husband decides to take a concubine, Gui Sheng, in a fit of anger, leaves her husband and takes her young son with her back to Tianjin.

(None of this is explained in the drama so that's why I wanted to clarify before you watch.)

So what you have in Huo Zhen Xiao is a young man who grew up in wealth and privilege, but decided to enroll in military academy as he has rather idealistic views. And oh - he's also the son of mob bosses on both sides, which means he has a rather warped sense of right or wrong (and he's a bit cocky and likes to fight, ha).

Is Liu Hao Ran in the main drama? Why is he listed in the credits on Wikipedia?

Liu Hao Ran is not in the main drama, but there's a lot of confusion there because he participated in promotional photos and was also seen at the shooting site a couple of times back in 2016. He also attended the Happy Camp x Great Expectations special to help promote the drama.

As to why he's involved in this production - it's because of Chen Si Cheng and Tong Li Ya, aka Liu Hao Ran's bosses and unofficial godparents in the industry.

It wasn't until Great Expectations aired that everyone realized that Hao Ran wasn't actually going to be in the drama (Huo Zhen Xiao is only mentioned in passing by his father, played by Ni Da Hong). Twin Dragons would only be released as a web-exclusive once the parent drama finished its run.

When was Twin Dragons filmed? How's the quality?

It was filmed in the summer of 2017, shortly after Nirvana in Fire 2 wrapped up (so we get to see Hao Ran's improved acting here) in a two week period. It was actually supposed to air at the end of 2017, but Great Expectations ran into some issues with SARFT, so it wasn't able to air until April 2018.

Although it didn't take long to film and isn't a formal drama, the production team took it very seriously. The screenplay was written by Chen Si Cheng, which means you can expect it to be commercially appealing: fun and fast paced, with a slight twist on what you'd normally expect. The director is a cinematographer by birth, which is why the drama has a very film-like feel to it.

The veteran actors used in this drama aren't necessarily that well known, but they're excellent. The young supporting actors, despite limited screen time, are also not just random extras casted from Hengdian - they are by and large drama school graduates. The action scenes were also done by the actors themselves, and you can see from the BTS and the ending credits that filming was quite intense.

Who is the other main actor in this drama? I don't think I've seen him before?

Chen Hao, who plays Chen Zheng, is a '94er who is a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama and is currently signed to Chen Si Cheng's company. The "female lead" Shang Yu Xian (who is in this for like five minutes max) is also an actress signed to CSC's company - you may recognize her as Kiko from Detective Chinatown 2.

Pretty obvious - but CSC also wanted to use this minidrama as an opportunity to debut some of the other young actors in his company in addition to promoting Great Expectations. Liu Hao Ran is just along for the ride as a favor to CSC - but not even C-fans will begrudge that since everyone knows how good Chen Si Cheng and Tong Li Ya are to Hao Ran. Plus, the final product is excellent fanservice to Nuan Yangs.

How are the reviews for this webdrama?

Not that many people watched it because it's more like a "special spinoff story" than anything else, but those who did, including non-fans, were quite positive about it. Mostly because of Hao Ran, but also because the storyline is fast paced and decently written.

Not sure if you'll be able to tell, but this drama is also a lot more daring than the usual c-drama fare. This is where being a webdrama is good, because it means the regulations are a lot more lax and Chen Si Cheng was able to push the boundaries a little bit. For those who are used to Hollywood films and Western dramas (or Stephen Chow's brand of humor), it might not be that alarming, but for a C-drama, especially one starring a "little fresh meat", this is on the risky side. Kudos to CSC for being bold, and to Liu Hao Ran for being up for it.