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Judging by his performance in this drama over various other seeming A-listers who cram projects: quality over quantity.

edit: though to be fair, now that I check, XZ has done his share of cramming. But it's clear he took a big step up here with his acting, at least to me.

In terms of recent I thought The Double was good and Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty II To the West was my fave drama of 2024. But yeh got nothing for 2025. Probably gonna start Dear Hongrang and am waiting on The Immortal Ascension.

The Story of Minglan maybe. Actually I think overall it's an even better production. I find Story of Yanxi Palace worse than both in terms of quality of production and acting but also enjoyed it the most of the three. Jewel in the Palace is still my fave, though.

Wow is that really a thing? Not sure I believe that but I understand your caution. Maybe it counts as spam if 10s are given out when the drama has barely aired but yeh dunno. If so it's kinda funny because there are so many 10 ratings from profile to profile.

Though your score says 9.5 teehee.

I'm waiting for The Immortal Ascension (Yang Yang).

I enjoyed the first 4 eps. 5-10 ish left me cold - many loved 7 but I found the whole sequence awkward, unconvincing, and even poorly paced in that block of episodes. 11-20 restored my faith in the drama but it still doesn't hit the heights, though there are some standout scenes. 21-40 is consistently compelling and roughly 22-30 or so was a purple patch with many memorable sequences. Overall I'd say this is a drama that more or less gets better and better, sustaining great intrigue in its second half. Some of the dubbing bothers me quite a lot, but they did a great job with Zhuang Luyin. If you look at this from a practical and logical point of view, you will often have to suspend belief, because in terms of presenting the human condition it is somewhat like Swiss cheese -- full of holes.

Everything you said.

it's a pointless retort isn't it. we both obviously think something. i didn't need to be reminded of the fact

The last 8-9 episodes consecutively is some of the highest peak you can find in drama. It will be difficult to match this stretch in the final 10 episodes but seeing as the drama only gets better the longer it goes on, maybe they'll reach even greater heights.

Not a chance. No fuzzy romance for hordes of girls to plaster this with their 10 ratings without even watching the episodes. This drama is consigned to the 8s.

There are many variations on the main musical theme in this drama and they are integrated magnificently and sensitively.

I hope you don't actually assume that of people in real life though.

Experiences will just open that up the breadth of life to him over time. Right now not only is he seeking revenge, but he was landed in a position where he was literally groomed for a revenge arc, trained as a revenge assassion of sorts, and by masters who seem to know more than they're letting on, might I add. So right now not only is that front and centre of his mind but it's the only thing on his mind. At first he could only see one man; now he sees three. I don't know what's gonna happen, but suspect that as this colossal game of chess opens up, Zang Hai will see remarkable growth. I'd hope for that anyway from the writers, as through his process of revenge he can now actually live a life outside of sequestered training grounds.

Needlessly aggressive. I'm sure through the course of this drama he's going to see a lot more to life than his personal revenge. He can still keep that and grow in a world that is now open to him after being cooped up in training for 10 years.

There's a life to be lived.

For the moment, Zang Hai's worldview is very myopic. It's grown a little bit upon understanding his task is more complicated than originally thought, but it's still a myopic drive for revenge. It will be interesting to see what experiences and revelations he encounters through the course of his journey which opens up his world and his mission.

Seems pretty fantasy to me. Some of the goings on from eps 5-7 were wild.

I'd say he's had a very sheltered life and it's showing, though frankly he's better with people than I'd expect after being cooped up for half his life.

Shifu became very suspicious in ep. 11 with his desperate urging of Zang Hai, as though he's more desperate for revenge than Zang Hai is himself. At the moment, Zang Hai is coming across more and more as one big pawn in an absolutely colossal game of chess.

2027? It's nonsense.

By 2050 they're going to take 10 years between seasons for shows.