I'm a bit of a nerd so I routinely check DB scores for anything airing and stumbled upon this one. I was also…
Tone doesnāt always translate through the internet and Iāve had people on here take me the wrong way so fair enoughā¦ but I do have to say that Chongzi wasnāt an unmitigated disaster eitherā¦ Its word of mouth might not be good but from what Iāve understood of the data I last saw (though data is always changing), its broadcast effect was good. It, as an S level webdrama, was even beating out the broadcast effect of an S+ drama in the same genre that was multicast on a major TV station. And, it was also #1 on Tencent for awhile too. Word of mouth matters to some extent, but quantitive data matters more to most investors so beating out an S+ xianxia with a star that aired during the same time is nothing to sneer at either. Maybe Douban has been more careful in recent years but it definitely had a reputation for being gamed. It got to the point it got chastised by the government for the antics going on the site. And although there might be more mechanisms in place as a result such as locking, the showrunners have to be smart enough to work them. Given the overall level of promotion of RoaTF, this crew might not care enough to enact them.
I'm a bit of a nerd so I routinely check DB scores for anything airing and stumbled upon this one. I was also…
Lol, who said it was a disasterš ? 6.6 is not a bad score for this type of drama at all. Personally , I think the score is a bit low but a high 6 for a rom-com is nothing to sneer at considering itās a costume drama that basically threw out the costume bitš. MDL tends to score pure rom-coms lower but its score doesnāt affect the dramas grades. My surprise was more at what dramas it has beaten out. I generally donāt trash dramas so I didnāt name any specific dramas, but some of them have been used to trash this drama and yet the Douban score is lower, hence the surprise. Iām not surprised at it doing better in China than overseas necessarily either. That happens quite a lot. Jun Jiu Ling is the perfect example of the reverse. A lot of the low score had to do with anger at the casting, which wasnāt the case overseas. And its actual performance couldnāt have been terrible if itās been picked up by not one but two TV stations (and itās ratings on the first station beat out a S+ drama with big stars that was also on the second run). With RoaTF, I can definitely see how it can do better in China than on MDL though (It was/is still doing well on Tencent overseas. Still #1 in my region. Still seems popular on Tencent YouTube with its announcement earning a like amount just under the level of first line stars despite only advertising for a month). But back to why I think thereās a difference. I think the Chinese audience seems to understand the type of drama this is much better than the MDL audience, their expectations are more inline with what the drama delivers. The Chinese audience also understands where the drama is anti-cliche (even though some of that hurt its reputation) whereas a lot of the MDL viewers arenāt familiar enough with either cultural aspects or the tropes theyāre reversing/innovating. MDL viewers also seemed to miss/not care about how much setup and foreshadowing was going on while Chinese viewers didnāt miss it and quite a few commented positively about it. Plus, the emotional development line, the pairing, Nie Sangyu, and the ending seems to resonate more domestically. I think message and theme also carries a lot of weight, moreso than on here so that was another plus. Tbh, if the makeup and costumes for the actresses were on the detail level of the setting, the opening kept serious, and the show was shot by whoever shot episode 16, Iām pretty sure this show would have broken at least 7. Also, Iām not surprised at the demographics being female. Mostly female viewers makes sense because Xiao Ranās fans are mostly women too. What surprises me is the age range as I thought it would have skewed younger because of Ding Yuxiās age. Iām also not bothered by the number of ratings either. PXR fans donāt really do data in comparison to other fan groups and the show didnāt really get advertised beyond a few trailers and some hot searches. Other shows get front page, press conferences, variety shows, and magazines etc but this show has only done small things with the biggest being live broadcasts. Iām not sure Tencent even does building sweeps but if it does, the show didnāt even do that. And bombing is totally a thingš .Thatās why shows get locked now and possibly why this show didnāt release its score until the end. GBMP got bombed by another show competing for the best BE drama title and its score never quite recoveredā¦Iām pretty sure itās since been locked. And this show doesnāt have to be āpopularā to be bombed, there just needs to be a competitor interested in giving it a low score as was the case with GBMP. I havenāt watched Royal Rumors but perhaps just like Jun Jiu Ling what works overseas might not work as well domestically.
What is the latest costume series that she will be playing again? Will it be released this year?
This is her last ancient costume drama for now. The last two left to air are a modern one and a 1960s period drama. Thereās a chance she may be in a costume for the Jackie Chan movie, but no stills have come out yet.
I donāt disagree with your opinion because you have a right to express it but why look for more plot in a light…
Haha, I understand. I guess we have different criteria. For me, itās does the story deliver the genre it sells, which I argue this show does. It says itās a marriage first, love later romantic comedy and that to me is what it delivers so it passes. The rest is just padding for that delivery, I could take it or leave it I guess. But anyway, thank you for the conversation. Itās fun to talk about plot and understand different mindsets.
I donāt disagree with your opinion because you have a right to express it but why look for more plot in a light…
Yeah, I can agree itās a personal taste thing. Itās just strange to see a show say this show is vanilla and so many viewers be surprised itās actually vanilla and wanting it to be chocolate. Comparison is fine as Iāve seen someone else compare the two shows though they seem different to me. I havenāt watched the show youāre comparing it to but I know the basics of it and from what I understand, the female lead is a detective? In that case, it would make more sense for the intrigue and suspense to be a higher level because thatās part of the package that show seems to be selling. It also seems that that show might be more plot driven and trying to catch a wider audience whereas I feel like this show is more character driven and more focused on romance lovers and trying to drive certain themes home. I still have to disagree about the identity plot line because many people in town seem quite loyal to Ji Ming so if the big baddies of the area have been wiped out, why would the regular folk talk to randoms from somewhere else? Especially if Jiman and Ning Yuxuan having been improving the quality of life of the town, as we saw with the competition, thereās going to be a desire to help them. Add to that that Yuan Lang has taken over the local areaās gang and is well liked, and there seems less of an incentive to squeal. And if someone says that Jiman is Nie Sangyu how can it be proven? In that case a family member/close friend stumbling on it seems the most likely. And the baddies are following the situation, theyāre the ones who find the memorial tablet after General Nie visits the temple Ning Yuxuan set up. And theyāre the ones who present the evidence. Where Tao Siwei comes in is a trope reversal of the āloyal until the end 2nd mlātrope by giving the supporting evidence that Jiman is not Nie Sangyu. In a cliche story, he would have lied for Jiman out of love for Sangyu but instead he becomes an antagonist which fits with the hints given earlier in the story that heās not quite right. For the cliff fall, it must be enough because according to the World logic of the show cliff falls are survivable. Nie Sangyuās fall doesnāt kill her. She drowns willingly. This sets the tone for JiManās survival and Tao Siweiās death.
Just finished the series, wetv made an express package to finish the last few episodes but I'm not interested…
I donāt disagree with your opinion because you have a right to express it but why look for more plot in a light plot? Isnāt that just a setup for disappointment? And why would the suspense and intrigue aspect outweigh the comedy and romance when this show has mostly advertised itself as a romantic comedy? The core will be about the romantic relationship developing, the rest is just extras to get the relationship there hence the real ending being about the couple getting back together. As to Ji Man and Ji Ming meeting, she explains that heās her godfather in public to explain their relationship. And when Ling shows up, Ji Ming purposefully doesnāt let him see Jiman. The show isnāt wuxia so it doesnāt make sense for it to follow wuxia rules. The cliff fall I can agree is probably plot armor but itās more about symbolism and Jiman does fall differently from Tao who wants to die and her layers of skirts are shown billowing so could have had a slowing effect. And she actually does rest, there are stills of her dirty and sitting in the woods eating wild fruit but the editor cut to running for more dramatic effect.
The ending really is beautiful and I really love the message this show sends about love being about mutual achievement…
Yeah, itās really rare to see a female lead realised so well in a Cdrama. Same for Ning Yuxuan. You can really see how the relationship developed and really feel like the characters grew up.
I love both main leads, Iām a huge huge fan of FL from GMP and Iām a fan of ML after I saw him from Tiger…
I wouldnāt worry about it. Not every story will be for everyone and some roles just wonāt click. A lot of people liked Sangyu but Iām guessing the show had to play a fine line between her being too sympathetic and a bad guy, and in the book she essentially ādisappears ā as well. It was a good hook to draw in viewers, but it also backfired a bit because it messed up the comedy tone of the show and none of the others scenes are as explosive and none of the other characters get as intense as Sangyu in that scene. She also has the most beautiful shots in the show. Judging from this reaction and the reaction to the 2nd FML from the TtoEM drama, there is an huge appetite for this type of character possibly because theyāre beautiful, bright, and tragic? I agree if they were going to make Sangyu so brilliant, costuming should have paid more attention to Jiman. Then, I think there wouldnāt be such a big gap in feelings for some viewers. Although I like the simpler look and think it suits the character, details are important and her being better styled probably would have brought the drama closer to a 7 on Douban. If they used the look in the makeup video, I think the transition wouldnāt have so drastic. Jiman in the makeup video is a warmer type beauty compared to Nie Sangyuās coldness, but it doesnāt lose to her styling.
I teared up now and then since episode 29 til episode 35 and felt tortured for the last 3 episodes. Phew so glad…
The ending really is beautiful and I really love the message this show sends about love being about mutual achievement rather than sacrifice, especially for women.
I rewatched it and the ending is still so beautiful. š„¹The bracelets and the lines about the winds being stronger in Haifang will get me every timešš¤§
There is the picture of all the cast, but I dont see PXR
From what fans say, sheās on the poster. Sheās currently in training right now so maybe thatās why she didnāt attend the film festival. Zheng Yecheng didnāt either and he is also a special guest star.
Finally trying to complete this before Sunday. Bought the express package but wasted didnāt use it š . I have…
She doesnāt have many dramas out compared to other actresses her age but if youāre interested, she plays a princess/doctor, Jun Jiu Ling, in Jun Jiu Ling. She plays an ice skater, Li Binghe, in To Our Dreamland of Ice. Her most famous role is a princess, Xiao Feng, in Goodbye My Princess.
2 
6 
Congrats to Hua Mei for passing the review!
It also kept all 40 episodes which is amazing. Canāt wait for Officer Hongmei!
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4893672896992206
Maybe Douban has been more careful in recent years but it definitely had a reputation for being gamed. It got to the point it got chastised by the government for the antics going on the site. And although there might be more mechanisms in place as a result such as locking, the showrunners have to be smart enough to work them. Given the overall level of promotion of RoaTF, this crew might not care enough to enact them.
6.6 is not a bad score for this type of drama at all. Personally , I think the score is a bit low but a high 6 for a rom-com is nothing to sneer at considering itās a costume drama that basically threw out the costume bitš. MDL tends to score pure rom-coms lower but its score doesnāt affect the dramas grades. My surprise was more at what dramas it has beaten out. I generally donāt trash dramas so I didnāt name any specific dramas, but some of them have been used to trash this drama and yet the Douban score is lower, hence the surprise.
Iām not surprised at it doing better in China than overseas necessarily either. That happens quite a lot. Jun Jiu Ling is the perfect example of the reverse. A lot of the low score had to do with anger at the casting, which wasnāt the case overseas. And its actual performance couldnāt have been terrible if itās been picked up by not one but two TV stations (and itās ratings on the first station beat out a S+ drama with big stars that was also on the second run).
With RoaTF, I can definitely see how it can do better in China than on MDL though (It was/is still doing well on Tencent overseas. Still #1 in my region. Still seems popular on Tencent YouTube with its announcement earning a like amount just under the level of first line stars despite only advertising for a month).
But back to why I think thereās a difference. I think the Chinese audience seems to understand the type of drama this is much better than the MDL audience, their expectations are more inline with what the drama delivers. The Chinese audience also understands where the drama is anti-cliche (even though some of that hurt its reputation) whereas a lot of the MDL viewers arenāt familiar enough with either cultural aspects or the tropes theyāre reversing/innovating. MDL viewers also seemed to miss/not care about how much setup and foreshadowing was going on while Chinese viewers didnāt miss it and quite a few commented positively about it. Plus, the emotional development line, the pairing, Nie Sangyu, and the ending seems to resonate more domestically. I think message and theme also carries a lot of weight, moreso than on here so that was another plus.
Tbh, if the makeup and costumes for the actresses were on the detail level of the setting, the opening kept serious, and the show was shot by whoever shot episode 16, Iām pretty sure this show would have broken at least 7.
Also, Iām not surprised at the demographics being female. Mostly female viewers makes sense because Xiao Ranās fans are mostly women too. What surprises me is the age range as I thought it would have skewed younger because of Ding Yuxiās age.
Iām also not bothered by the number of ratings either. PXR fans donāt really do data in comparison to other fan groups and the show didnāt really get advertised beyond a few trailers and some hot searches. Other shows get front page, press conferences, variety shows, and magazines etc but this show has only done small things with the biggest being live broadcasts. Iām not sure Tencent even does building sweeps but if it does, the show didnāt even do that.
And bombing is totally a thingš .Thatās why shows get locked now and possibly why this show didnāt release its score until the end. GBMP got bombed by another show competing for the best BE drama title and its score never quite recoveredā¦Iām pretty sure itās since been locked. And this show doesnāt have to be āpopularā to be bombed, there just needs to be a competitor interested in giving it a low score as was the case with GBMP.
I havenāt watched Royal Rumors but perhaps just like Jun Jiu Ling what works overseas might not work as well domestically.
I understand. I guess we have different criteria. For me, itās does the story deliver the genre it sells, which I argue this show does. It says itās a marriage first, love later romantic comedy and that to me is what it delivers so it passes. The rest is just padding for that delivery, I could take it or leave it I guess.
But anyway, thank you for the conversation. Itās fun to talk about plot and understand different mindsets.
Comparison is fine as Iāve seen someone else compare the two shows though they seem different to me. I havenāt watched the show youāre comparing it to but I know the basics of it and from what I understand, the female lead is a detective? In that case, it would make more sense for the intrigue and suspense to be a higher level because thatās part of the package that show seems to be selling. It also seems that that show might be more plot driven and trying to catch a wider audience whereas I feel like this show is more character driven and more focused on romance lovers and trying to drive certain themes home.
I still have to disagree about the identity plot line because many people in town seem quite loyal to Ji Ming so if the big baddies of the area have been wiped out, why would the regular folk talk to randoms from somewhere else? Especially if Jiman and Ning Yuxuan having been improving the quality of life of the town, as we saw with the competition, thereās going to be a desire to help them. Add to that that Yuan Lang has taken over the local areaās gang and is well liked, and there seems less of an incentive to squeal. And if someone says that Jiman is Nie Sangyu how can it be proven? In that case a family member/close friend stumbling on it seems the most likely.
And the baddies are following the situation, theyāre the ones who find the memorial tablet after General Nie visits the temple Ning Yuxuan set up. And theyāre the ones who present the evidence. Where Tao Siwei comes in is a trope reversal of the āloyal until the end 2nd mlātrope by giving the supporting evidence that Jiman is not Nie Sangyu. In a cliche story, he would have lied for Jiman out of love for Sangyu but instead he becomes an antagonist which fits with the hints given earlier in the story that heās not quite right.
For the cliff fall, it must be enough because according to the World logic of the show cliff falls are survivable. Nie Sangyuās fall doesnāt kill her. She drowns willingly. This sets the tone for JiManās survival and Tao Siweiās death.
And why would the suspense and intrigue aspect outweigh the comedy and romance when this show has mostly advertised itself as a romantic comedy? The core will be about the romantic relationship developing, the rest is just extras to get the relationship there hence the real ending being about the couple getting back together.
As to Ji Man and Ji Ming meeting, she explains that heās her godfather in public to explain their relationship. And when Ling shows up, Ji Ming purposefully doesnāt let him see Jiman.
The show isnāt wuxia so it doesnāt make sense for it to follow wuxia rules. The cliff fall I can agree is probably plot armor but itās more about symbolism and Jiman does fall differently from Tao who wants to die and her layers of skirts are shown billowing so could have had a slowing effect. And she actually does rest, there are stills of her dirty and sitting in the woods eating wild fruit but the editor cut to running for more dramatic effect.
This kiss compilation videoššš
https://m.weibo.cn/detail/4893325696701773
A lot of people liked Sangyu but Iām guessing the show had to play a fine line between her being too sympathetic and a bad guy, and in the book she essentially ādisappears ā as well. It was a good hook to draw in viewers, but it also backfired a bit because it messed up the comedy tone of the show and none of the others scenes are as explosive and none of the other characters get as intense as Sangyu in that scene. She also has the most beautiful shots in the show. Judging from this reaction and the reaction to the 2nd FML from the TtoEM drama, there is an huge appetite for this type of character possibly because theyāre beautiful, bright, and tragic?
I agree if they were going to make Sangyu so brilliant, costuming should have paid more attention to Jiman. Then, I think there wouldnāt be such a big gap in feelings for some viewers. Although I like the simpler look and think it suits the character, details are important and her being better styled probably would have brought the drama closer to a 7 on Douban. If they used the look in the makeup video, I think the transition wouldnāt have so drastic. Jiman in the makeup video is a warmer type beauty compared to Nie Sangyuās coldness, but it doesnāt lose to her styling.