Rookies’ Diary: Episode 2

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WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. If you DO NOT want to be spoiled, please DO NOT read. You have been warned.

This episode continued with the new recruits getting for bed. Bo Wen was seen holding a picture of himself and his girlfriend. (I guess it pays to have pictures since he could reminisce about his lost hair, lol.) Seriously, that was almost touching to see Bo Wen reminiscing back to the moment of departure between him and Tian Xin (Qian Bai Yu), and their exchanged words. (Though it wasn’t much but still thought it was sad, considering how CDL was sort of tearing up.)

And it seemed like poor Da Tong wasn’t so pitiful after all since he was seen playing a prank on his next door neighbor, Wu Yong. It got Wu Yong big time! Childish pranks but still funny. Too bad the latter was not able to take revenge on Da Tong since Shan Ren was back to monitor them. Not to mention their little ‘free time’ was up and they had to continue with the last bit of the day’s routine.

And I was getting ready to hate Shan Ren since he was almost on the border of breaking past his job duties to the brink of plain bullying the newbies yet he was seen being very kind and on the edge of considerate even with his tucking out of place pieces in for the newbies who were not able to straighten up in time. He was even helping the prankster Hai Sheng with placing his slippers into the right spot. And for the first time of the day, I even feel the united spirit of the new recruits just through their goodnight wishing to everyone. (It was like the atmosphere has changed though they were seen constantly pulling pranks on one another.)

It was then clarified and/or verified that the person writing the diary and telling the story was actually Shi Jun (Pan Bo Xi). So the story was actually told from his point of view? I actually like it that way since somehow it seemed relevant that he was able to capture various perspectives of the events and/or happening around them than any of the major characters involved.

Night had really sunk in and everyone was fast asleep. Yet Lai Hu was up and reminiscing about his departure. Reminiscence was popular among them all right but it couldn’t be helped. Still, it was interesting to see Luo Gang all nice and caring toward the grief-stricken Lai Hu yet was very cold toward others around him. (Possibly a bond between them since they came from the same place? Just like how it was with some parties in here when seen in the first episode.)

No wonder Yao Yuan Hao said that others were afraid of him afterward since his character, Sun An Bang, was so strict and technical. Even when Wang Wei and Shan Ren tried to persuade him to go eat, he was still fierce in enforcing rules. Even Wang Wei–who was quite strict himself–had to back down to An Bang’s authoritative aura.

Eh…Shan Ren looking all suspicious? So the scenes in the trailers were about to happen with Shan Ren attempting to ‘impress the beauty’, lol. Too bad Miss Beauty did not like Shan Ren’s way and poor Shan Ren was shot down. But it showed the casual routine and the bond between the superiors. Even Wang Wei was seen almost normal. Not that they were not behaving like human beings before but I felt like there was another side of them aside from what their job permitted them to do (be strict and enforce the rules aka training the newbies).

Moving on, after some shut-eyes, Day Two had officially begun for the new recruits and Wang Wei was back to his iron self, rattling out the usual codes. (Yes, Shan Ren was definitely back to his bellowing self again in front of them.) While some were struggling to straighten out their beds and getting ready for the morning, it was a breeze for others. (The usual, nothing new.) Yet what did the others do that made it way easier and/or faster for them? No one was sharing the tricks? Was it every man for himself once again? Like the moment when the sun rose, they were back to their monster-selves and so unlike their peaceful, united group from last night?

A surprisingly interesting thing happened since An Bang spotted Da Tong and Wu Yong carrying on their morning routines but did not scold them. (That sign in front said A LOT why An Bang should be yelling at them but he didn’t. Probably he was cutting those two some slacks.) But that passed briefly and did not allow for a time of pondering. Another hilarious scene was taking place at their public shared bathroom since one of their fellow new recruits had stepped out with a beauty face mask on, causing laughter all around (though they were supposed to stay still from Shan Ren’s order). Hey, even Shan Ren himself was laughing, how could the others hold back?

Lai Hu was actually the odd man out in this case since he managed to catch some more shut eyes and was caught wearing the wrong uniform. Not to mention he dragged Da Tong down major time with this one, considering how Da Tong was kind enough to wake him up, which inevitably delay Da Tong’s search for his name tag. Poor Da Tong again for being picked on. (Though Miss Fierce Leader was also laughing regarding the incident.) Lucky for Da Tong, the attention was soon diverted from him and the spotlight was shifted to the person causing his delay aka none other than Lai Hu. (I swear he kind of asked for it since he wasn’t prepared–even when Luo Gang called to him and then later Da Tong.)

During the push-ups routine, I especially like how attentive to detail the director was – or even the crew for doing it. I meant the part where they showed An Bang and Wang Wei taking off their rank strips before doing the push-ups along with the rest of the recruits. (It was like it was implying the message that it was an honor of their ranks so they should not let the strips touch the ground.)

It was not cheesy or overly showing signs of trying too hard either with the respect since it was seen that Wang Wei and Shan Ren were carrying on a conversation among themselves while during the push-ups. Though they were whispering, it was kind of funny in a sense that they would pull that one with An Bang so nearby. In a way, they were showing much more to each one’s characters and how their personalities were. They weren’t one dimensional in that they only knew the rules and operated in a robotic way according to the procedures. (Like it was shown many times in here with different characters but through an entirely different scene.) It was getting funnier when Shan Ren was cheating on his push-ups because he did not rise when An Bang counted to 2, but Wang Wei signaled with his eyes for Shan Ren to keep with it–since he (Shan Ren) was setting bad examples for the new recruits. Not to mention An Bang was so close by.

Another thing I like about that this whole drama has been carrying on all along is the whole message of unity. Like the part where they were doing the jog around the camp and An Bang had dropped back on purpose to help Lai Hu maintain his breath better. This showed that the authoritative figures actually cared and understood the hardships the recruits were going through–like An Bang and the others once had to go through. It was not all talks. Not to mention how it sort of implied they were not leaving anyone behind–regardless of strength and/or capabilities. They wanted the recruits to know that every one of them could do it if they had willpower and/or if they try. What was nicer was seeing how An Bang did not give up on Lai Hu or maintained his spot as the leader until Lai Hu finally caught up to the group.

I keep adding more and more reasons why I like this so much but it could not be helped since they had done it so well thus far. There were comedic moments yet it was just right–not too corny. Also, the serious parts were applied appropriately. Even just a gesture or a look could tell how or who cared. (Yes, the whole actions more than all talks thing.)

Intensity could be seen around the time An Bang took his place at the front again – since Luo Gang was seen trying to catch up, but Hai Sheng was also trying hard to compete with Luo Gang. The rivalry continued on the bars while Luo Gang and Hai Sheng were facing off to see who was able to do more. But the hectic moments were soon dissolved since more comedic moments erupted when Shan Ren was trying to impress ‘the beauty’ again. (LOL)

Okay, okay, so it was more like he was forced to demonstrate for the others because he was mumbling when he was supposed to keep quiet since An Bang was talking. (But it wouldn’t hurt to score some points at that moment, right?)

They made it to meal time once again with a very familiar scene but this time it was Da Tong who was acting strange. (And Shan Ren just had to ask.) But Shan Ren was not better off either since his hands were shaking too. Wang Wei was the only one that could have a say in it, considering how he was still full of energy–or it seemed that way. (But that was hilarious that Wang Wei had to whisper a warning to Shan Ren to stop shaking his hand because the ‘beauty’ was actually observing him from a distance. Major LOL!)

Training continued and it seemed never-ending yet their spirits were still high. At least for the trainers. However, Shan Ren was soon discouraged because of how his ‘good’ was soon over-ruled by An Bang’s correction in Hai Sheng’s pose. (Oh well, can’t win them all.) In fact, it disturbed Shan Ren so much that he had to pull Wang Wei aside for a ‘chat’ while the other recruits had to keep their pose and wait. (Great or what?) Too bad Da Tong had to choose that time to slack off. Bad idea since the field was so spacious that other trainers could seen their every action regardless.

Like things weren’t already so hectic for them. Somehow, Hai Sheng still found time to confront Luo Gang and questioning how An Bang was so easy on Luo Gang (or it seemed so). Luckily, Bo Wen managed to pull Hai Sheng away and avoided a possible fight between the two. (I honestly want to ask the same question as Bo Wen.)

The mumbling twosome was at it once again after the short break. They were definitely brave to not pay attention. Sure, they were part of the ‘powerful’ team, but they weren’t entitled to carry on side conversations while other trainers were trying hard to mold the recruits.

As things were going quite smoothly as the day went on, I almost thought there wasn’t going to be any more dramas unless the officers had to correct their poses, but Luo Gang decided to not obey An Bang’s commands. (Hey, did Hai Sheng’s words seep in?) And Shan Ren got his moment of glee for possibly two seconds and Wang Wei shot him down again. (LOL…)

Like there wasn’t enough excitement for the day already since You Shun had to go and stir things up again. What were they doing, gathering like that? Weren’t they afraid of drawing attention?

You Shun wasn’t the only one trying to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere either since Hai Sheng was at it again–against Bo Wen’s warning. What was with the accusation? Bo Wen was just giving him a friendly reminder that he should not cause more troubles. (And yes, he was WAY over by now, kept picking on Luo Gang. It was not funny anymore. Yes, he was curious and felt injustice IF some people got it too easy BUT Luo Gang did not want to fight, why was he continuing like that?)

Luckily that was shifted toward another comedic scene. Shan Ren caught Chen Tian Bin major time! And the others still dared to signal behind Shan Ren’s back. (Still funny that Tian Bin tried to sneak drink while Shan Ren was calling for Wu Yong!) Wu Yong’s answer–LOL! Yeah right, like Shan Ren was going to believe him! He just finished Tian Bin and sent him off, he wouldn’t mind delivering punishment toward Wu Yong. So they were quite in-sync with one another, didn’t rat You Shun out. Still funny! Honestly, they asked for it. Shan Ren actually made them demonstrate!

It was another long night indeed. Since Hai Sheng was made to stand outside again, but this time with the whole group, not alone. That did not improve his mood since he still wanted to cause trouble. They had more than enough already, did he have to start again? (Though I admit it was funny to see Tian Bin trying to kill the fly but ended up hitting Luo Gang in the process!)

Hai Sheng was not the only one breathing fire of frustration though since Shan Ren was also seen quite pissed off. Probably from what happened earlier in the day. Poor Wang Wei and the others who were forced to listen to his rants. But did he have to say it so loud? (Guess he didn’t care if An Bang heard since he continued on even after he was warned about An Bang’s presence.)

It was quite funny to see how Wang Wei took the initiative to cover for Shan Ren and then others followed suit. (Like ‘the beauty’ was buying it but still see some sort of united force among the guys.) That soon passed though since the others abandoned Shan Ren as quick as when they were defending him. (Shan Ren seriously needs help! Hitting is loving, scolding is loving? All right… No wonder the other guys could not endure it any more than that. They did cover his tracks for him!)

Intensity built up even more toward the end of the episode as the scene returned to the group who were punished. So someone else thought it wasn’t fair that Luo Gang caused them to stand yet he got to go make the call. Like Luo Gang wanted to be the first. IF only Hai Sheng hadn’t pissed Luo Gang off. And it seemed ‘the beauty’ was quite interested in Luo Gang’s matter also. Guess that was the wrong answer. But she still got her way since she had some power over him.

Overall thought? So far so good. Who said that everyday routine wasn’t fascinating or exciting to watch? Perhaps it was still in its early stage with everything still being introduced. The pace will probably pick up even more after they get the basic things out of the way. NOT that we don’t get to see more character developments all around.

Ratings broke 10 this week (10.19 to be exact) so Yao Yuan Hao will have to carry through with his words to propose to Sonia! We’ll see what happens. Jia you, Xin Bing Ri Ji!

*All images were captured by DTLCT

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