BearFightingFanBackAgain

As a C-ent star gets older, they’re expected to take on more mature roles in more “serious” genres such as urban romance, suspense, crime, period, or serious historical drama. Idol dramas are like training wheels for stars. Especially the romantic or fantasy ones. They’re all about youth and good looks and they are where an actor often hones their acting skills. Idol dramas are basically their own category of dramas and Xianxia usually falls under it as I understand. So older actors playing lead roles in a genre like xianxia are thought to have not progressed or are sometimes the subject of ridicule.

TY is technically is a traffic star if remember correctly so I think ageism played the biggest part. It was all I kept seeing as a passerby which is weird because I think actors in their 30-40s are the best suited to play gods. Love and Destiny and Eternal Love uses older leads and they do a brilliant job. Younger ones usually don’t have the gravitas, life experience, or aura to pull off a thousand years old being.

Visuals+Age Bias. The poor costume design in some of the filming leaks made people think it wasn’t a good production so it faced an uphill battle. Plus, many people think stars over a certain age shouldn’t act in idol dramas-that idol dramas should be played by leads younger than 30. I think this also came out after Fanhua which was a big production with more mature roles for TY so people might not be as interested in her idol drama role.

She did run away 😂but he caught her and she went back 😅That scene wasn’t necessary though and didn’t even make sense. Cangcang doesn’t have to runaway to show she’s worried about the reality of returning to the palace. They could still meet at the restaurant. Cangcang could voice her worries to Zhong Lin and then Xiao Huan can come pick her up after not seeing her since he woke up. And she voice her worries to him too. It’s actually a good opportunity for them to have a heart to heart and perhaps that could have been the reconciliation scene people were looking for. But it seems the screenwriter wants to make viewers angry at Cangcang so they’ll believe she’d stab Xiao Huan later on.

To tell the truth, this production was to probably digest an old IP before it expired + promote some younger actors. I didn’t expect it to be profound but it is sad to see pretty much everyone in the crew let down by a lousy screenwriter. I mean I’m not even a screenwriter and I can see that the entire story could be centred around the complications, struggles, and aftermath of a political marriage based on a transaction.

Yeah, the editing is a big problem too. It can make or break a drama. I think if the editor had more skill, they could have salvaged the script because editing basically shapes the story.

I thought Du Tingxin said he knew but maybe that was her assumption, not fact.

Yeah, I don’t get the rhetoric about it being the worst drama either. The only element that significantly impacts the quality of the show is the script to me. And even the script is not entirely bad as can be seen with the show hitting 9000 within the first few days of airing.
I hope they don’t drag out the airing schedule. I was hoping the express package would be released today.

I think some scenes either didn’t get filmed or got cut because I saw a couple of people complaining about cuts while browsing Weibo.

I think the reconciliation is at the post station. LCC agreeing to return to the palace is basically telling XH that they’re back together. And they also cuddle. They didn’t really do that when they were in the palace arc so it also suggests a shift in their relationship to a better one.

I like her character too.

I think Cangcang character is quite realistic and rational considering her circumstances, but she is not a character design many people can accept when the world tells women that the most important relationship in their life should be a romantic one. Family and friends are secondary to husbands and many viewers bring this viewpoint into the dramas they watch. However, Cangcang challenges this viewpoint with her priority being her family. Many can’t understand it and some have even demonised her for it but her familial affection is logical in the setting.

From a real world perspective, family ties have always been important throughout history. They often dictated a person’s actions and sometimes even their life. L&C follows this thinking otherwise Ling Xuefeng wouldn’t be able to use family affection to pressure Cangcang and the Empress Dowager wouldn’t have been so angry at Xiao Qianqing’s choice of wife. And it’s partially due to these family ties that there is so much friction between LCC and XH.

Ling Xuefeng and Cangcang embody the social media quote "It's ok for a father to spoil his daughter, that way no man can ever come in her life later and control her with money or gifts" but get rid of the money and gifts and that’s basically the drama’s situation. Before she realises her family is using her and things aren’t always as they seem, all of the men in Cangcang’s family will seem better than Xiao Huan who appears to be a constant source of hurt. And as her protectors for most of her life and her strongest backing, when she gets hurt, she will go back to them rather than a husband who seems unreliable. That said, no matter what, Cangcang would be in a difficult position because even though her family is her biggest backing, it is also Xiao Huan’s biggest threat. If he wants to rule in his own right, he will want to eliminate them politically, which is what he does and there’s nothing wrong with that.

As for the criminal elements in the Ling family, Cangcang clearly doesn’t accept them and she fights against them when she’s in the martial arts world. Her alignment with Xiao Huan after learning the truth also reflects this and if Xiao Huan did condemn them, I believe she would accept it even it upset her. I’m actually a bit annoyed the screenwriter chose to create such a black and white situation by using the stereotypical evil minister trope when LXF and XH were already set up to have a relationship of conflict. One is a traditionalist who wants to keep the status quo and one is a reformer who wants to change things up- they will naturally and very realistically butt heads. XH’s shift away from the Ling family to his own power base will also cause conflict as the Lings will want to hold onto power. There’s no need for the cheesy Lingbi storyline.

Cangcang’s good qualities were always there but maybe viewers didn’t feel the recipients were worthy of them. The same compassion LCC has for XY is the same compassion she had for LXX. And the same strength she is showing XH was the strength she had showed the Ling family when she became empress. It hasn’t changed. It’s just the object has become more acceptable.

I feel like the major problem with the romance of this show is that the screenwriter has thrown in a bunch of messy elements and scenarios to make the audience feel like Xiao Huan deserves Cangcang’s love but hasn’t done the work to make Cangcang as a character feel that love. Hence, the 10 episode long gridlock. It’s fair that maybe the palace wasn’t the place to rebuild a relationship but the screenwriter should have shortened that arc to spend more time in the Jiangzhou/Kumor arc where the two have more freedom to reconnect. That’s where the book handles it and I think that’s how the drama should have handled too.

I think it’s implied that he knew.

The OST is really good!

The parent child line is pretty good for all the characters. It’s kind of a shame. “The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children” would have been an interesting theme if they used it.

I posted it almost 2 years ago, right after the booting ceremony, so I’m afraid it will be hard to find. If I do find it, I’ll repost it though.

Yeah, I don’t get the hate either. I think the early pile on made it fashionable to come and hate on everything but truthfully other than some parts of the script, it’s okay.
Like people are hating on the makeup without realising this drama is quite filterless. The makeup however was done with the idea that it would need filters so it looks heavier than it should. I’d prefer seeing pores over level 10 filters that destroy micro-expressions and features.

Artists sometimes don’t get the full script. They changed the script on them after they joined the crew. When filming began, there were 10 episodes which all got scrapped with only the first episode having a completed script. Then everything else was written as it was being filmed.

Haha, the scene in your profile was so cute! I really wished the screenwriter had given XH and LCC more time together as a normal couple as they really work together well in normal and comedic situations too. I remember when the filming started, during the opening ceremony, there was a shot of RJL walking up the stairs with Xiao Ran following behind and it was really like they had stepped out of a book for a moment. He looked like a very serious emperor while Xiao Ran looked like a sweet and slightly mischievous empress.

Honestly the motivations of the father and most characters are quite logical. It’s been a very pleasant surprise.

Because it’s come up so much, I just want to talk about scripts. There has always been debate about Xiao Ran’s choice of scripts but things are not as easy or as simple as “choosing a good script”.

A lot of production companies directly hand over scripts to artists rather than do open auditions so first, Xiao Ran has to have access to good scripts but the competition for them is very fierce. Most of these scripts are snatched up by stars with good resources or powerful backing. Even really famous stars will not be able to get these type of scripts if they don’t have the right resources or some sort of backing. For someone like Xiao Ran, with few resources and little backing, the best way for her to get access to these kinds of scripts is through exposure by airing dramas.

Second, if a star performs well in a particular role, they will often receive similar scripts. Xiao Ran has stated in the past that she gets a lot of tragedy scripts. She probably also gets a lot of scripts with characters that share some similarities with Xiao Feng. Similarly if you haven’t performed a role and it popularity hasn’t been market tested, then you may not receive scripts for different roles. Xiao Ran has said that one of the reasons she hasn’t filmed many modern dramas is because she hasn’t been market tested for them so she doesn’t receive modern scripts. The only way to breakthrough typecasting is to take more varied roles like Mu Yumo or Pang Hongmei (this is probably also the reason for guest roles) with the hope they will be successful (aka go viral) and be seen by producers.

Next, even if Xiao Ran chooses a good script, it doesn’t mean it will remain a good script or that the end result will produce a good work. As we have seen with Love and Crown, the script can undergo massive changes while filming. And even if there’s a good script, the director has to be able to film it well, the costars have to be able to act it well, and the costume designer needs to style the character well. Most importantly, the editor has to be able to edit the story well. Also, as in the case of Mu Yumo not everything that is in the script or filmed will make it to the final cut. So, while the script is indeed important, it is only the basis.

Lastly, C-ent is becoming a more and more difficult landscape. There aren’t as many dramas being filmed. And it can be hard to even get a drama started. In this film and television winter, a lot of what an actor chooses to film is the best thing they can get at the moment. Quality is what everyone hopes for but if you’re not well established, very famous, and get most of your exposure through dramas like Xiao Ran does, you run the risk of falling behind and being forgotten and that can also be very detrimental to getting into good productions. Turn down too many scripts and you can even be blacklisted. That said, Xiao Ran seems like she’s finally gotten to a point where she can pick quality over screen time. And she has hired script consultants now. Hopefully with this resurgence in popularity, she’ll have more right to speak and get access to better scripts, teams, and productions.

PS> There is no such thing as a wasted role as at the very least it offers an opportunity for Xiao Ran to show her face to the audience. Access to better scripts may mean compromises in other areas such as billing order or screen time. In these situations, it’s better to focus on the quality of the role rather the quantity.

I’ve been following her for a few years and she is really lovely. Her response during Jun Jiu Ling’s airing was also really eloquent and during the airing of Blood River, she really made an effort to protect Zhang Shi’an (Tang Lianyue), a newcomer, from online backlash.
She sadly doesn’t have many translated interviews or livestreams but they’re usually down to earth and entertaining.