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I agree with Kokuto's comment. You have to go into this drama with no preconceived notions and just let the characters and plot take you on a ride. Both our mains are "flawed" characters, but the flaws are rooted in the way our society has shaped certain standards and the expectations on some of these characters, so they respond accordingly.

Episode 1 to me showed very clearly that these characters from the very start have VERY different POVs of the same events which affects how they think of certain things and how they see each other (and it is not just the main characters, the drama makes it their goal to show that every single character has on "filters" and see things differently because not one person has all the correct information or truth at a singular point in time). If you keep this in mind, it is super enjoyable because you are the "bird's eye view" that sees everything.

This is one of the few idol non-school modern romance genre C-dramas that I can write /essays/ on the individual characters besides just their romance because of how layered each of them are. This drama also doesn't smack it in your face either, it has a lot of "show, don't
tell" so you as the viewer have to pick up the clues.

I found some of the comments that went straight at bashing either the ML or FL were because they failed to pick up dialogues and scenes that explained their actions/thought processes or just tons of projection going on ("I would never do that!").

Dropping by again in May just to say this is still one of the BEST C-dramas released this year for sure (with a beautiful and well done wrap up too). In terms of storytelling, character build up, relationship development, the acting from the cast, etc.

Especially seeing some of the recent slop of a mess being released one after another in which you know the production really don't have a care in the world for its characters nor the audience watching it (not to mention the subpar acting and some of these actors'/actresses' inability to even say their lines clearly). It is all money grab.

I have checked out a lot of the recent historical ones like "Serendipity" but even that I dropped. Filter really was the last C-drama I watched while it aired and didn't drop. 🥲 I have no hope for S2 of "Fox Spirit Matchmaker" but I will check it out anyway just so I can be sure, and I will check out "Love Never Fails" since I do like both Liu Xueyi and Hu Yixuan (though I have been over the xianxia genre for a while since it is the same thing over and over).

Haha yes, I read about that. I did check out that drama, but I dropped it. Although I am interested in the genre, I don't think the drama did well enough with them expanding on the supporting characters/demon characters so their deaths/any pay off felt really flat in the drama version. Especially when you compare it to an existing drama (with season 3 done filming soon) like "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty" (the plot and acting are way above DHR).

Yeah, I think overall, people who get the drama gets it. I introduced this drama to a lot of friends who aren't Chinese, and they loved it (but they are also in their late 20s-early 30s so I think they are able to get the larger themes and catch onto the character development quicker).

I think I-fans with idol modern genre dramas in general tend to favor certain type of dramas that heavily focus on shipping and romantic moments (because if people want to analyze the characters of some of those highly rated romance dramas on here with traffic actors/actresses, they will realize those characters lack substance and have nothing going on besides romance or any career decisions made revolved around romance, it is also why those type of dramas are rated so low on Douban).

Not to say there aren't good ones that both I-fans and C-fans liked. "When I Fly Towards You" is one that did well here and also in China, and I liked that drama a lot too. But then, school romance genres are usually done well since they are forced to focus on the characters as students/individuals first.

Haha, I have seen the ending mess with that Demon Hunter drama. 🤣

Some more great updates:

1) Filter ranked #1 on the list of Urban dramas in Q1 of 2025 https://www.douban.com/group/topic/324318495/?_spm_id=MTgzMzU0MTkx&_i=5599477E0Yryo3

2) Filter hit 600 million effective broadcast views according to Maoyan https://x.com/FKShi/status/1915077429691117722

3) Filter is close to 700 million views according to Kuyun https://www.douban.com/group/topic/324287243/?_spm_id=MTkzNzYwNjky&_i=5600241E0Yryo3

4) Douban ratings is close to having 179K raters

Basically, Filter is still gaining traction after it has been over for a while. 🤭

It is just some people here tbh, the C-side loves this drama and that matter more than anything because this drama is really aimed for the C-audience and current societal issues over there. People who get this drama are super invested in it and this drama has a pretty long running effect in China right now with people tuning in even now with all the good words being spread about it.

Same, it is better for it to air earlier at this point than later since people will eventually get annoyed with all the waiting. This genre is still considered "fresh" so they should drop it while they can before all the other case-breaking historical dramas drop soon.

Now new melon is saying that this drama will be pushed to Q4 which did be Oct-Dec or even later... 💀 If that is the case, there is probably some internal conflict with pushing some other iQiyi dramas to get the summer slots instead, messy. This drama is filmed and wrapped up earlier than some of the other iQiyi revenge/crime dramas too. I guess we will have to see what happens.

Update: The official Weibo for this account posted to wait for official announcement so it is likely they saw all the posts going around about this drama being moved to Q4 and people being upset about it. I checked the list of the dramas supposedly being released in Q3 and Q4 and some of the dramas set for Q3 are not even done filming yet.

New trailer from the iQiyi conference: https://weibo.com/7899449534/5158544451305928

Melon rumors also narrowed down potential air date month to July 2025.

💯 Plus so many break ups happening recently in C-Ent industry already heh, it is just that year!

Yes, he is good at setting boundaries for sure. His fans are not left guessing and he communicates well. Fans really don't have to worry about him much and can just check in for his work. Even the recent Hi6 incident, he made sure his manager got the security guards to apologize to the fans.

Yeaaah, and that is why her fans see him as a terrible boyfriend LOL. LLD is also of Hui ethnicity, so she doesn't eat pork, but ZXC apparently eats pork in front of her. 😐 There are just too many incidents of her fans sharing how this man just does not care about her. And it seems like she held on (or took him back here and there) for sentimental reasons. She is someone that uses the same thermo flask for 7+ years and was using her phone even when the back was cracked open. She uses things until they are broken down to the bone, so it seems like she is like that with people too. 😔 But she is getting more confident/happier and as her career is rising, hopefully this is all showing her that this man is really not worth it (or that it meant she already broke off from him).

Yes, he seems very careful about his actions and words. As he should because he doesn't have strong backings, so people are waiting for him to make a mistake and take him down. The recent Hi6 Weibo trends with what he said to the fans about caring about their husbands was a big example. His fans are kind of green too and need to recognize they have to be careful too since he is a traffic star at this point, one little word out of place can get him hated on.

Yup, especially for actresses too because their careers get impacted with marriage and pregnancy. So many ended up divorcing especially if they are more popular than their husbands (the men tend to get insecure, and you have the men's side of the family aka the in-laws butting in too).

💯 People who likes her/her fans would be way more supportive if he actually protected her throughout their supposed relationship but instead, it just never seems to be the case. His ship fans from his other ships attack her too and he ever said a word. He only ever defended this other actress (Zhou Yutong) from his own fans, and it is said they have a thing (he wrote her a love letter, said how she is his soulmate, gave her wine every year with wine age that matches her age, etc.).

The current BL drama he is filming is "Southern Anecdote" with DYX, and it seems like he is already starting to fry ship for it. 💀 But DYX has a popular ship with Esther Yu, so those shippers are /not/ happy LOL. It is messy.

Like you said! May they break up if they haven't yet! 🙏

Haha, he does seem like a great dude. He has been so active for so many years and the boy group he is in (MIC) all seem like good dudes (they are all married now too except for TJC). People dug through his history when he blew up and they really can't find anything bad about him. And it seems like he is really good at taking care of his fans and I think because he blew up in his 30s, he treasures his fans and popularity a lot and is careful about it. It is not likely he will do anything to mess things up and cause a house collapse. He has the talent and ambition too, so he does deserve to have a big following.

Haha, everyone who ends up getting to know more about her wants her to break up with him permanently (she is too sweet and too sentimental, so they felt like he got to her when she was too young which then made it hard for her to cut off that relationship).

Her fans got so mad because their pics kept on being dropped when she had dramas/gigs out last year and this was no coincidence. It is one thing to date, but another to have it trending non-stop when you have a drama/gig out since now everyone is focused on that instead. And it is only ever when she had a drama/gig out, not when /his/ drama was airing. It seems like he doesn't care about her career being on the rise because if he really cared for her, he did never be so careless to let their pictures be taken or would have figured out ways to keep the rumors lid shut. But it seems like his side used it to promote him as this "great faithful 8+ years boyfriend" when they were on and off instead. And that /she/ is lucky to have him. 🙄

LLD is also known to not fry ships (she is sweet to her co-workers and is witty, but she doesn't do anything to purposedly fry ships nor do any intimate bodily contacts outside of filming/promo period). But ZXC on the other hand fry his ships like no tomorrow. The only reason he didn't get major backlash is because he is not traffic popular, so people don't care enough about him to drag him for it. He is a good actor, but he is not a threat to the other 95-gen actors because his visual is not seen as amazing and he doesn't have the height either.

Yeah, it is why her fans are always saying they don't want her to rest for too long, so she won't get a chance to see him and get PUA by him again. They were saying how she was in her emo phase for a while because of that tragic drama she filmed (and some other reasons), and it was Filter/TJC who made her feel better again, so ZXC seems useless as a boyfriend. Then there are always these YXH accounts saying how ZXC's parents don't like LLD, and you don't let those rumors fly if you actually care about your girlfriend.

Then around recently, ZXC dropped some new song he made with lyrics saying how he is a consolidation prize aka a break-up song. So, some people are wondering if he got dumped or if it is his tactic to make it seem like they are over so he can start focusing on his M/M ship because if he wants to attract BL fangirls, he did need to be single or act like it.

And LLD supposedly went to this specific temple that is known to cut off ill-fated relationships also recently. 🤷‍♂️

If you believe in tarot readings/birth reading too, so many have been done on these two and the result are always their relationship is muddy, there is potential 3rd party, and they are destined for failure aka ill-fated. 💀

A man's leg? 😭 No, that is part of her wrap up drama filming pictures. It is her leg and another actress's leg (Gao Lu). 😂

Honestly, it is better not to be too invested in male actors in C-Ent industry LOL. There are a few I like based on their interviews, but I don't stan because we really don't know their personal lives at the end of the day. And because I have access to Weibo, I see how their teams push out hashtags over certain things, so you end up getting annoyed on how they "promote" themselves. And then you have a bunch of them doing and saying stupid things here and there and you get a reality check that yeah, these are just dudes. 😒

Depends, because not everyone over there wants to become famous via M/M dramas and frying ships. Because if that is the case, half of the industry actors/actresses who graduated from acting colleges and doesn't play main roles won't be around LOL. There is a limit to playing these games to become famous especially if you are dating too because it backfires. It is a mix of luck but also whether you have sponsors/huge backers.

Yeah, a lot of people don't know their history because they aren't traffic stars so just assumed their relationship is a good one. These YXH accounts were pumping out how he is so amazing to have remain faithful for 8+ years to her which is just a marketing tactic to better his own image (he had other girlfriends through the years).

In addition, these relationships tend to fall apart when fame is involved and ZXC is someone who really wants to become famous (it is also the reason why he has attempted to do around 3 M/M implied dramas because those tend to blow up and elevate a male actor's status big time). He is doing one with Ding Yuxi right now and has been starting to fry that ship (and one of his other M/M dramas that was pulled is now airing in other countries/not in China).