BearFightingFanBackAgain

RJL also has the natural aura of an emperor. It’s good casting. I’m really looking forward to two powerful auras facing off.

Ah, I see. The two you mentioned were male centric dramas and were classed as big male leads and they usually have high demands to put as much of the screentime on the ML as possible. There’s a female equivalent but it’s not usually as extreme. I haven’t heard of Love and Crown being marketed as a big ML or FL drama though.

They don’t but they have a lot of content outside the show and it’s really good looking.

There is romance but it is not the focus. However, there are 3 main official couples:
Su Muyu x Bai Hehuai
Mu Yumo x Tang Lianyue
Mu Xuewei x Mu Qingyang

Each couple has their own flavour and characteristics which is nice but they have different levels of screen time.

Cangcang is beautiful and elegant 🥹 Peng Xiao Ran was made for playing the queen.

The original work wasn’t. It was a heroine focused novel though a newer 3rd person perspective version has been released. But the drama should be quite different from the novel plot according to rumours but it was said to be an improvement over the source material. I don’t know what route the show is taking or the ending but if it follows the book, Cangcang will be an interesting character because despite her imperfections, she’s proactive and sincere. If you’re talking about Blood River, then no it shouldn’t be like that. Mu Yumo didn’t have many scenes in the source material but Love and Crown should be different because the book was from Cangcang’s perspective.

Does anyone follow Hupu? I wonder if this video of the Hupu ranking of BR characters is accurate? 🤔 If so, the rankings are interesting and unexpected. I wonder if they have or will change:
1. Su Muyu - 9.0 (282 votes)
2. Mu Yumo - 8.6 (76)
3. Su Zhe - 8.6 (65)
4. The Patriarch- 8.6 (38)
5. Su Changhe - 8.1 (99)
6. Li Hanyi - 7.6 (34)
7. Mu Xuewei - 7.2 (45)
8. Tang Lianyue - 7.2 (32)
9. Bai Hehuai - 7.0 (79)

Source: https://m.bilibili.com/video/BV1M62gBfE1P

Sorry no. I only follow Xiao Ran and saw this on her page in a post for Cangcang. I’m sure a RJL fan will post Xiao Huan’s version when they come across it.

I think the role was really beautifully done too considering how little the actress had to work with. I got the feeling the author who was also the screenwriter didn’t care too much about Mu Yumo and it’s only Peng Xiao Ran’s performance that brought her to life.
I suspect the criticism came from haters. People criticised the fact that a good chunk of her storyline revolved around romance but the show cut some of the scenes that give her greater context outside of her relationship.

At first I was annoyed by everyone saying Mu Yumo is lovestruck but after much thought, who cares? Her character setting fits within the ethos of the BR world- Blood River doesn’t need your approval and neither does Mu Yumo.

In a story about self-determination and choices, what’s wrong with someone choosing love once they get the opportunity? She already has a career-one that makes her walk between the edges of life and death every day. So, what is wrong with her taking a break from it and chasing that tiny slither of a normal life? At least it’s her choice. Whether Mu Yumo wants to be an assassin or house-wife, all that matters is that she has the choice of either option and the ability to achieve whichever option she chooses.

Because she didn’t choose to be an assassin. She didn’t choose to be chased by others for most of her adult life. She didn’t choose to be stuck in the initial power struggle between SMY and SCH. And, I don’t think engaging Tang Lianyue in combat was her choice either. She was just going through the motions to survive but suddenly this nerdy guy appears in her life. He’s fun to tease and although he complains, he listens to her every request. For someone who has always had to submit and take orders from others, how thrilling such a situation must be- that little taste of power wrapped up in affection must be a tantalising morsel for someone so starved of autonomy. So, she chases it. Others might call it simping but for a member of Blood River, where sentimentality is worse than disease, and where they are always under someone’s boot, the ability to indulge in emotions when and how she wants to must feel like freedom to Mu Yumo.

Goodbye My Princess and Rise of the Phoenixes both have red flag MLs who are very much morally grey. They’re old but good. There is also a vampire show by Li Muge that has a pretty dark vibe.

I don’t think Su Changhe is in love with Su Muyu either. Dark River isn’t originally a BL story. Su Muyu loves Bai Hehuai and Su Changhe has a secret and unrequited crush on Mu Yumo. When I watched the anime, I got the sense they had a strong brotherhood vibe but it was completely platonic. I feel like this at the end of this show too. Dudes can have deep and long lasting relationships without them being romantic.

This character bio I found from a marketing account sounds like Cangcang from the book:

Character Background: As the daughter of the Grand Secretary, she yearns for freedom. She rebels against entering the palace to become Empress, then leaves home to found Fenglai Pavilion, becoming heroine of the martial arts world.

Character Traits: She is straightforward and seemingly carefree, but extremely persistent in her love for what she loves and who she loves.

Ren Jialun and Peng Xiaoran.

Love and Crown wasn’t its original English title. It was Phoenix Fly and they changed it because it was obviously terrible. It’s original name, Phoenix Stage, hasn’t changed.

No, this is good information 👍It’s very useful. I had heard the screenwriter worked on the FDM series and was a novelist too. I think she may even be acquainted with the original author of My Queen.
I’ve heard mixed reviews about the script quality but the common theme is that it should interesting. It will depend on how everything was filmed. There might have been changes to the script. There are also two directors- a male and female director- so I wonder what the final effect will be.

I didn’t watch it but I think that’s when they are able to be together again.

I was joking about the BL and brawls🤣 I don’t know his strengths but I’m guessing it’s pacing and narrative ability. There weren’t very many comments about it being too slow or people being too lost to follow. For a story and cast as big as BR this is what you want. They were trying to catch the male audience and book/anime fans as well so the key was action too. The emotional parts are all secondary. And by emotional, I don’t just mean romance.

As for a director’s influence on an actor, all actors no matter how good they are, will be influenced by the director because the director has the final say on what the audience sees. If you don’t believe me check out the opening scene of Romance of a Twin Flower and you’ll see a perfect example of how a poor director can pull down even an excellent performance. That said having seen GJ in work before Word of Honor, he’s definitely progressed, especially to play a character like SMY, who is so different from himself. My only regret is that Yin Tao cut one of the scene that would have set up SMY’s character.

BR is still good without this. I still think if you’re into wuxia it’s worth a watch because it has a lot of charm points. The story gets from A to B despite a massive cast without really losing many key storylines. The SFX are good . It delivers what it says on the tin. And, Yin Tao’s comedic timing is good. He got the dark humor GJM wanted in FoF but did it seamlessly.

Directors are very key - imho 2nd only to editors in the ability to make or break a show. I think BR is alright overall but I think some people had trouble connecting because it was weak when it came to displaying the more delicate aspects of the human condition needed to world build- a key component for fictional words. A lot of that relied on the actors whereas Yin Tao seemed to focus on BL and brawls.

Me neither but they seem to be from a consortium and I think that consortium/partnership is who was posting insights to characters during LiP. I could be wrong though. Anyway, the script is only a part of a good show. It also depends on the director and the actors.