GBA Race: Light the Night is praised as the Taiwanese Squid Game | Opinion
Netflix’s Light the Night is shortlisted for a total of 11 awards at 57th Golden Bell Awards, but in fact, it has already won its first recognition.
Given that Taiwanese dramas now enjoy relatively abundant production resources, what are the advantages of the five nominees competing for Best Television Series at this year’s 57th Golden Bell Awards?
Light the Night is praised and known as the Taiwanese “Squid Game,” which represents a significant moment for both the audience and the industry. One should note that the well-rounded excellence of Light the Night often overshadows the depth of its script. But, the death of Su Ching-Yi (Sue, played by Yang Chin-Hua 楊謹華) not only accelerates the conflicts among the hostesses but also activates the formation of a comradeship between Pan Wen-Cheng and Lo Yu-Nung (Rose). If Su Ching-Yi hadn’t been murdered, with her manipulative personality continuing to develop and cast impacts on the surrounding characters, it’s hard to tell who would survive the struggle in the end.
Su Ching-Yi is characterized as a white rose who innocently falls into various humble situations. She reminds us of an archetype of “a servant girl who only lives like a princess” marvelously featured in The Bold, the Corrupt and the Beautiful. This girl with humble background leads a life of vanity while being despised in private. She can only be briefly infatuated with “the princess’ lover,” and once she gets a chance to marry up in Japan with a brighter life ahead, she’s reduced to a vengeful soul, yet continues to haunt everyone despite her death. The brilliant characterization of a female character is rare in the history of Taiwanese/Chinese drama, and is hard to be outshined by any male character, if not dark and complex like Hannibal. If a sequel to Light the Night is filmed, only a storyline of Pan Wen-Cheng becoming a villain can make it surpass the previous season.
Light the Night marks a popular drama that draws on various facets of human nature. Like Squid Game, each character bears a vivid personality and believable motivation and is highly relatable to people in real life. Yet, due to limited budget, Light the Night barely manages to lay out a group portrait without grandly recreating the dazzling night-scape of Linsen North Road. Nonetheless, if every Taiwanese drama can reach the level of Light the Night as it pleases refined and popular audience alike, then Korean drama will not always take the lead in East Asia in a few years.
Read the other analyses for the nominated Best Television Series of the 57th Golden Bell Awards.
The Making of an Ordinary Woman 2: A cure for the maladies of contemporary civilization
Gold Leaf: the uplifting warmth among Taiwan dramas
Danger Zone: the overlord that breaks the convention in every way
Seqalu: Formosa 1867: the most unstoppable period drama
Light the Night: praised as the Taiwanese Squid Game
Will, one day, Taiwanese drama march on to the Emmys?
These are my analysis of the nominees of the 57th Golden Bell Awards for Best Television Series. Looking at the major TV and movie awards around the world, we would find that the logic of the awards varies. No matter how much big data and professional analysis are conducted, it is impossible to precisely predict the considerations of the committee composed of different professional fields. The saying of “being shortlisted equals gaining recognition” is not created to comfort the nominees, but to reflect the committee’s dilemma when decisions are hard to make.
Would the Golden Bell Awards signify the Taiwanese Emmy Awards? Or, as we’re always asking, “will, one day, Taiwanese drama march on to the Emmys and win big like ‘Squid Game’”? The answer is a resounding yes. It took 20 years of hard work for Korean dramas to fully blossom. For now, it only took two or three years for Taiwanese drama to embrace its revival.
If we keep up this momentum with resilience, a wider global audience will surely appreciate and embrace the beauty of Taiwanese dramas in five or ten years.
Original text from Dramago.
Written by Cheercut
Edits by Chen Shan-Shan
Copyedits by Yang Lee
Translation by Maggie Sur-Han Chang
Editorial review by Whitney Hung
