Dabosil

Really curious about the value of a silver leaf though-cause damn them exchange rates are really changing often.

Few things to note:
Edit:
1. Good job to team for putting Yang Yang back in his long ponytail look the last two episodes, at least for a short while
2. I praised the fast pacing earlier, but their retrieval and journey in the cave was a little too quickly mastered imo. And to that you cannot tell me that a worldly, wise, experienced old man who wants the best for this world could not get to the highest levels of lyby, and then was touched and gained singing from the cooperation of FL and ML? Like that scene and his expressions just really brought me back to reality.

As for the recent two episodes,

1. I hope to god that super cool scroll thing was also energy-photocopied by FLX and team, or are they going to make it so that this technique only works on certain papers or ink types, idk.
2. I do love the red green sets as said before, but like a bunch of historicals, argh the blurred green screen background close up shots reallllly get me.
3. Okay you’re telling me a MILITARY GRADE HORSE is at max inflation like ten silver leaves, and then Chang Yu told FLX that it’s going to cost them everything they made worth their establishments the last eight years to pay for all the horses if they went with the original plan thing, BUT FLX told BFX to take anything at one of the establishments under a thousand silver leaves? Boy have you been checking your accounts lol

I think the current queen’s character is indeed not as well developed as it could be, but her set up is also pretty interesting. Her romance with the emperor was not well received and had to be put to the side while the emperor married the designated princess. She earned her power and I presume put a bunch of her family members in high ranking positions, albeit all corrupt. From her perspective, it is unjust that she had those years stolen for her, as well as the scrutiny she had had to face during those years powerless.

I’m pointing this out because I’m pretty sure there’s some historical dive seen where the legit same predicament had happened to the female lead. Who knows, maybe the queen was empathetic previously too, but lost her touch over the years and learnt that ‘ruthlessness is the only way’ like all emperors do in the dramas. I also think her having an inadequate son is quite a common theme (but I guess here her son is supposed to be secretly not stupid (though there are so character loopholes there)). Either way, I think this is one of the cases where the emperor and queen, who are the older generation of actors on the show, are actually very interesting to me. Of course, she definitely is just taking up the role of the designated villain, but I did like her backstory bits.

Do you mean in dramas? It isn't common at all, but it's one of the more beloved and widely used surnames for protagonists in these stories, especially since 'feng' itself refers to wind, so I think this works with certain symbolisms for name meanings.

That does make more sense-though I'd say generally there's an overabundance of white/pale clothing in Chinese dramas which have just caused an aesthetic turnover for me. The male lead also spends quite some time in pale colours), which overall doesn't hold your attention so much.

Not to be picky, but if we do go into colour coding, the male lead wheres hues of blue most of the time with the darkest being just navy blue, so I don't see so much of a contrast with the two on screen.

Actually, the show's aesthetic, apart from the lighting, is kinda blue-toned, from the poster to clothing design. Maybe that's its own colour scheme?

So after watching 12 episodes, the drama is definitely much better than expected (no hate). The acting is much better than I thought and it seems like the two roles are right in the leads' comfort zones (additionally, their personal vibes go well with the character setup, at least in the drama, something I was worried about initially). I really like many of the side characters and the fast pacing is very much appreciated. However, there are definitely some plot holes (mostly it's character logic), but as I know this drama isn't going (very) seriously in the heavy politics direction, it's fine to brush over it. Also, if you watch it without thinking too much about the concept, you don't really feel it. It's engaging and I look forward to the next few episodes.

Though I still think there's a bunch of fast cuts with the martial arts directing. this is definitely much better than a load of faux wuxias and historicals the previous years, and the fight scenes have had interesting and creative sequences (like the female lead surfing/dragging on a body). In that regard, the dubbing also hasn't been very irritating, though of course I would still encourage live audio (and that's the end of my point for that, nothing else).

I do wish the palette wasn't so light for clothing. I like a lot of the sets and uses of red/green in the background, but so many of the clothing is light, white, pale, pastel-I definitely enjoy the court scenes where the male lead w/ brothers wear much more colourful and detailed outfits. This also applies to the female lead (and I don't mean red, like one particular scene, but just, well, brighter colours).

Edit: By brighter colours, I also mean, well, darker colours. For example, the male lead has a dark blue number I really like, but it isn't seen so oftenn. I more broadly mean more...colourful colours that accentuate the lighter surroundings/palette of the drama, which includes the cast members themselves.

Certain plot elements have been seen in other dramas but that is expected within the same genre (again, fast pacing has worked out well here).

That is a more neutral stance on the overall drama, but I am definitely enjoying it.

Lastly...
for one particular scene involving falling and saving in episode 1, I am SO GLAD the particular characters in said scene did not spin around and gaze at each other for ten seconds, and kept it relatively short. Not sure if anyone has picked up on that particular trope exit.

I am PRAYING this is good because I want Yang Yang on a good trajectory-but insider news has been on the negative side, so I'm lowering my expectations. I hope the show has something to offer.

Unfortunately, she kinda...died-not sure that they're going to play with the supernatural in the next lol

In a CDrama slump tight now and this is in the top airing Chinese shows list with a rating of 9.5...how? Is it as good as the ratings are? Can someone give a little introduction? Thanks so much.

Have fun! And yes, you did for sure haha

This had be laughing so hard haha, and I totally relate

Oh, I agree-and iQiyi really seems to be in the dumps. And with Deng Lun's tax evasion scandal, we won't be seeing 'The Night Wanderer' soon sadly (That was one of the only shows I had been looking forward to)-but kinda more importantly, loads of lost investment on their part. Yikes.

Thanks for the insight. I think you're right-most people around here don't sign up for Youku as much as Tencent and iQiyi. Whatever is going on with iQiyi, I hope it gets resolved, as in my view, iQiyi generally has petter colour palettes and cinematography with their dramas, and they shake off some of Tencent's power in the market too. I know the platforms just sell whatever drama to Netflix and Prime Video, but in my honest hope I really would rather they not take some of the dramas-the quality for some dramas is just embarassing and a horrible reflection of the best of Cdramas. This is a really long thread too, btw.

Tbh I feel like all three major streaming platforms have suffered with their slates recently. Though regardless Youku is making better decisions (it would seem).

Disagree with certain things, but you are correct when you say that they are definitely prioritizing Chinese viewers (and that is where Youku's majority market is). They won't lose out on profit so much on the international side and won't care as much either, and yes, they can make it up later. And true, deciding not to split investments with Tencent is a good idea, since Youku historically have not made great decisions on that front. They've also been allocating more budget to dramas recently, so they seem to have a roll out worth anticipating for the upcoming year. Youku is usually regarded as third fiddle to Tencent and iQiyi, so maybe they'll hit it big in 2022.

Can anyone who likes this show give a rec? I watched the first episode but I'm a little confused to be honest and I don't have a lot of confidence in HZT's acting, though SZE has been pretty good in previous works. Is it very standard-tropey?

-Also, again with grammatically questionable titles lol.

Uh, took a look at your list and tbh I have no idea how to interpret it because you haven't rated all the dramas you've finished watching. But based on what you've finished and rated highly, like Hikaru No Go, Nirvana in Fire, Sword Dynasty, and Legend of the Condor Heroes, your genre is more serious and also historical.

BUT-At the same time, you rated Go-Go Squid highly, which is more of a romantic comedy. This drama is faux-historical (fake setting), like some you watched and also has romance elements. So you should give it a go.

-And based on the comments, maybe you should wait until after it's finished airing since English subs don't seem to be out for a few episodes and don't have the best quality.

As for tropes, there are usually tropes in every historical romance drama, and I haven't watched far so I can't comment, but you can expect them. Can't comment on the execution, maybe someone will help you out there. Can't say anything about love triangles either.

Dilraba became famous for her second leading role in 'Diamond lovers'-where she plays a quirky, social, and dramatic actress for comedic effect (and is kind of regarded to be one of the better factors of the show), so you could watch that or check out clips (there's one super funny supermarket one on Youtube).
She also has a couple of dramas this year coming out that I'm personally more excited for, and I think you'll like Legend of Anle based on your watchlist patterns.

As for Allen Ren, I haven't watched much of his works, but he also became popular for lead role in 'Under the Power'-so you could check that out (also, many people love this show, and he supposedly looks great in costume).

Agreed, I'm not in particular a fan of both of them, but I always check out YZ's works. I was very much surprised about how the nuances in acting and their performance really brought out the plot and moved it over from cliches and previous impressions of the trope.

wooooo, DRAMA

I understand what you're saying. I didn't read the book, but a lot of book to tv material didn't give me the right vibes either even when I knew its prior material-plus, I think that a show shouldn't have to be enjoyable based on whether I have prior feelings to a source material or understanding, as they are different media, and so the show should try to accentuate all of that by itself. I understand the building trust part, which is what I've gathered so far, as with most dramas. Sometimes I like dramas with long 'building trust' periods in the start as well, but this one doesn't have enough to hook me in. This is also a huge problem for these dramas, how to avoid the audience from getting bored if the start is a lot of exposition and background set-up. So I reconcile that though this show isn't for me, it's probably loved by someone else. From an objective standpoint though, I think it hasn't done well enough on expanding upon the male lead (the show), because we know nothing about this guy, and we can only see things from Dilraba's character perspective, so I as a viewer don't know why I should care about him-for example, his struggle is mostly shown through the lens of the FL and could be skewed/ Potential minor conflict to get the audience interested could be to show it in his perspective, some of his struggles through quick and vague (confusing, to pique interest) flashbacks. This would make a contrast for both leads' perspectives and give audiences a reason to care.