If you're curious about anything, I recently finished the novel, so everything is pretty fresh in my mind.
Zhuge Yue and Li Ce's portrayal was pretty spot on! Compared to their book counterpart.
Well, for Zhuge Yue, it's more complicated, 'cause a lot of scenes in the drama kinda happen in the novel. But again, not really, it's hard to explain lol.
This is what you've been robbed of, and why I mean the drama is so fragmented. A lot of the events in the drama did happen in the novel, but not really...
Great example, Li Ce's death did happen, but it was Zhan Ziyu, his sister, and his mother who ultimately killed him.
Li Yan rebelled, but Li Ce defeated him and killed him, which ultimately led to his death, as the queen took revenge on Li Ce for killing her son.
Chu Qiao took revenge and killed Zhan Ziyu, which in the drama she killed Li Yan instead (Queen kill herself)
In the novel, Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue were separated a couple of times after the ice lake incident, but they never really fought, as shown in the drama in episode 39. They never really had any falling out, actually.
What you saw when they married in Xing Me is probably close to what actually happened in the novel. But that was toward the end. Oh, there is no fake Xing Me king; Zhuge Yue was flat-out the real king. He survives the lake and secretly meets up with Zhao Che, who was his ally until the Xia Empire fell at the end of the novel (the Xia Empire is what Yong was called in the novel).
They also returned to the Xia capital. Chu Qiao actually lived with Zhuge Yue there for a bit, as Zhuge Yue became the grand marshal of the Xia Empire. Because he was the King of Xing Me and controlled a large army, he literally marched into the capital and kind of took control.
There was a line I remember specifically that Chu Qiao said: I left the capital for a man (Yan Xun), and now years later I’m returning to the capital for another man (Zhuge Yue)... I don’t know why it stuck with me.
Throughout all of this, Chu Qiao truly loves Zhuge Yue, and Zhuge Yue has always loved only her.
They get married, move to Xing Me, have 2 kids, and in the last chapter have another. There are also so many romantic moments between the two!
Xing Me eventually became an empire.
Yan Xun, in the novel, after the ice lake incident, actually rarely meets Chu Qiao again; they only meet twice, both times on the battlefield.
Honestly, after finishing reading the novel, I was left with a sense that the drama really tried but missed its mark (I was reading the novel as I was watching the drama)... Just read the novel, and it's so much better.
A story like this needs continuity and build-up. There are so many amazing moments between Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue, Yan Xu, Li Ce, and a variety of other smaller characters within the novel.
If you haven't read the novel and watched the drama... I highly encourage you to read it! As you will see, many of the events in the drama also occurred in the novel. But with the drama, it was really fragmented.
I understand why the drama is the way it is; a lot of the events in rebirth are so fragmented. since I just speed-read the novel to understand the beginning.... before the drama
Rebirth is roughly 90+ chapters long after the icy lake event. The event leading up to that point is the majority of the novel, and it is so important to the narrative of the story, so they have to create some events, and certain events did happen in the novel, but they were placed at different points in time for the drama.
I honestly really enjoy the novel, and wish it could capture the characterization of Chu Qiao, Zhuge Yue, and Yan Xuan better...
Li Ce, however, was pretty spot on compared to the novel.
People who watch this who don't know the event leading up to the frozen lake, it's so hard to capture what happened with Chu Qiao and Yan Xuan, even with those flashbacks.
Talk of an S2 but nothing confirmed: https://weibo.com/2949989907/5291313282156642
Interesting, where would they start are they really gonna pick up from the fragment of JY that we never knew it fate that when into the space time rift?
Mostly people complaint because they only start watching and get hit by tons of plot which actually as much as…
Sure, there is nothing wrong with what you are saying. I have been in your shoes. Watching a show like Veil of Shadows while focusing on logic read into all the finer detail and try to make sense of what was shown to you.
I have said this before, the time loop and time travel in VoS are not the best, as many C-dramas have tried similar ideas with varying degrees of success.
But a story is always there to convey a message. Often, that message is more important than perfect logical consistency. At time you should think about what they trying to conveyed rather then what happen.
Mostly people complaint because they only start watching and get hit by tons of plot which actually as much as…
Ji Ling being one of the few characters who comes up with plans, stays one or two steps ahead of others, or can be a bit manipulative does not inherently make him the most clever character.
Those traits can also come from caution, secrecy, survival instinct, or emotional self protection. Someone who has lived under pressure for a long time often learns to anticipate danger and control situations. That is different from being naturally brilliant.
In Ji Ling’s case, many of those behaviors seem less like genius and more like adaptation. He had to hide who he was, maintain a false identity, and survive loneliness for years. Of course, he became guarded and strategic.
So I would say those traits show that he became skilled at surviving, not necessarily that he was the smartest person in the story.
Now, back to your original point about why he made the decision to give his Lonescale to Lu Wu Yi.
Because that is who he is as a character. He was saving the person who always saw him as simply Ji Ling, not Long Shen, not a false deity, just himself. She was the one person who eased his loneliness.
As much as LWY would do anything to save JL, Ji Ling would do the same for her. He is not a purely rational character who always thinks logically. He is driven by emotion.
When he became Long Shen, that was largely him trying to cope with everything. You can literally see it in the flashback when he leaves A’Wu behind and tells himself it is time to grow up. That moment shows the stoic persona was something he forced onto himself, not who he truly was inside.
Mostly people complaint because they only start watching and get hit by tons of plot which actually as much as…
“First of all, Ji Ling is the most clever character in the whole series, on a par with Bai Zhe.”
I don’t think this is an accurate characterization of Ji Ling. We see this from the moment he transforms into a human, and in the flashbacks to Ji Ling and Puppet Ji Ling, whom Ji Ling (Long Shen) describes as a younger version of himself.
He was innocent, bright, and curious. We see this through his interactions with LWH and Chi Wen. He comes across as childish, and that was most likely intentional. We do not see the shift into a more stoic person until the loneliness and the weight of immortality truly set in.
Even then, he was still the same person inside. We see this in the moments when Li Jie and Lu Wu Yi break through Long Shen's stoic persona.
As for the plans, they were never really his ideas. He was largely following what Chi Wen had set in motion. In one of the flashbacks during the drought, he was crying to LWY and told her, “This was good enough for me,” and for once, a fox acted like the Dragon Deity.
That does not sound like someone who is highly calculating or exceptionally smart. It sounds more like someone struggling with deep insecurity and impostor syndrome.
The story lost all its steam since the time rewind thing was introduced, I swear every episode is like 75%-100%…
I can help clarify some of the confusion if you want to talk about it.
But as for Shi Guang and Ji Ling, I think some people are still confused about the message behind it.
In the show, the Dragon Deity is used as a title.
You have WSG, the rightful dragon who, due to his birth, is destined to achieve greatness.
Then you have Ji Ling, a nameless fox who was, by chance, saved by Chi Wen and, by circumstance, ate the Dragon Scale out of love for YWH, his “adopted brother.”
Throughout the story, you have a variety of characters trying to defy fate, whether because of love or obsession. Xiaowei, Wu Zhi Qi, Hanba, and ultimately Ji Ling and Lu Wu Yi are the most obvious examples.
The flashbacks, the slow motion, and the rewinding of time showcase the helplessness of trying to do the impossible and truly defy fate.
For Xiaowei, Wu Zhi Qi, and Hanba we see how their story end
As you can see, most of them actually fail. Even for LWY, though, she gets a happy yet bittersweet ending because of Ji Ling’s actions.
But the LWY who went through all the countless time loops and endless sacrifices never actually made it out. She died along with all those memories when Ji Ling when back in time and kill the queen and remove her from the timeline.
Even Ji Ling gets to reconnect with LWY in maybe another life or another timeline. But is she really his A’Wu if the time loop never existed and LWY never went through all the events of the original timeline?
The show and the story were never disconnected, if you look at it through this lens.
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Zhuge Yue and Li Ce's portrayal was pretty spot on! Compared to their book counterpart.
Well, for Zhuge Yue, it's more complicated, 'cause a lot of scenes in the drama kinda happen in the novel. But again, not really, it's hard to explain lol.
This is what you've been robbed of, and why I mean the drama is so fragmented. A lot of the events in the drama did happen in the novel, but not really...
Great example, Li Ce's death did happen, but it was Zhan Ziyu, his sister, and his mother who ultimately killed him.
Li Yan rebelled, but Li Ce defeated him and killed him, which ultimately led to his death, as the queen took revenge on Li Ce for killing her son.
Chu Qiao took revenge and killed Zhan Ziyu, which in the drama she killed Li Yan instead (Queen kill herself)
In the novel, Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue were separated a couple of times after the ice lake incident, but they never really fought, as shown in the drama in episode 39. They never really had any falling out, actually.
What you saw when they married in Xing Me is probably close to what actually happened in the novel. But that was toward the end. Oh, there is no fake Xing Me king; Zhuge Yue was flat-out the real king. He survives the lake and secretly meets up with Zhao Che, who was his ally until the Xia Empire fell at the end of the novel (the Xia Empire is what Yong was called in the novel).
They also returned to the Xia capital. Chu Qiao actually lived with Zhuge Yue there for a bit, as Zhuge Yue became the grand marshal of the Xia Empire. Because he was the King of Xing Me and controlled a large army, he literally marched into the capital and kind of took control.
There was a line I remember specifically that Chu Qiao said: I left the capital for a man (Yan Xun), and now years later I’m returning to the capital for another man (Zhuge Yue)... I don’t know why it stuck with me.
Throughout all of this, Chu Qiao truly loves Zhuge Yue, and Zhuge Yue has always loved only her.
They get married, move to Xing Me, have 2 kids, and in the last chapter have another. There are also so many romantic moments between the two!
Xing Me eventually became an empire.
Yan Xun, in the novel, after the ice lake incident, actually rarely meets Chu Qiao again; they only meet twice, both times on the battlefield.
A story like this needs continuity and build-up. There are so many amazing moments between Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue, Yan Xu, Li Ce, and a variety of other smaller characters within the novel.
If you haven't read the novel and watched the drama... I highly encourage you to read it! As you will see, many of the events in the drama also occurred in the novel. But with the drama, it was really fragmented.
It’s the journey, not the destination.
And that couldn't be truer for this drama.
since I just speed-read the novel to understand the beginning.... before the drama
Rebirth is roughly 90+ chapters long after the icy lake event. The event leading up to that point is the majority of the novel, and it is so important to the narrative of the story, so they have to create some events, and certain events did happen in the novel, but they were placed at different points in time for the drama.
I honestly really enjoy the novel, and wish it could capture the characterization of Chu Qiao, Zhuge Yue, and Yan Xuan better...
Li Ce, however, was pretty spot on compared to the novel.
People who watch this who don't know the event leading up to the frozen lake, it's so hard to capture what happened with Chu Qiao and Yan Xuan, even with those flashbacks.
I think this is what most people are caught up on.
https://kisskh.at/761731-the-resurrection-painted-skin/discussions/150530-detail-timeline-of-time-loops
I have said this before, the time loop and time travel in VoS are not the best, as many C-dramas have tried similar ideas with varying degrees of success.
But a story is always there to convey a message. Often, that message is more important than perfect logical consistency. At time you should think about what they trying to conveyed rather then what happen.
Those traits can also come from caution, secrecy, survival instinct, or emotional self protection. Someone who has lived under pressure for a long time often learns to anticipate danger and control situations. That is different from being naturally brilliant.
In Ji Ling’s case, many of those behaviors seem less like genius and more like adaptation. He had to hide who he was, maintain a false identity, and survive loneliness for years. Of course, he became guarded and strategic.
So I would say those traits show that he became skilled at surviving, not necessarily that he was the smartest person in the story.
Now, back to your original point about why he made the decision to give his Lonescale to Lu Wu Yi.
Because that is who he is as a character. He was saving the person who always saw him as simply Ji Ling, not Long Shen, not a false deity, just himself. She was the one person who eased his loneliness.
As much as LWY would do anything to save JL, Ji Ling would do the same for her. He is not a purely rational character who always thinks logically. He is driven by emotion.
When he became Long Shen, that was largely him trying to cope with everything. You can literally see it in the flashback when he leaves A’Wu behind and tells himself it is time to grow up. That moment shows the stoic persona was something he forced onto himself, not who he truly was inside.
https://kisskh.at/761731-the-resurrection-painted-skin/discussions/150530-detail-timeline-of-time-loops?page=last&p=3502622#p3502622
I don’t think this is an accurate characterization of Ji Ling. We see this from the moment he transforms into a human, and in the flashbacks to Ji Ling and Puppet Ji Ling, whom Ji Ling (Long Shen) describes as a younger version of himself.
He was innocent, bright, and curious. We see this through his interactions with LWH and Chi Wen. He comes across as childish, and that was most likely intentional. We do not see the shift into a more stoic person until the loneliness and the weight of immortality truly set in.
Even then, he was still the same person inside. We see this in the moments when Li Jie and Lu Wu Yi break through Long Shen's stoic persona.
As for the plans, they were never really his ideas. He was largely following what Chi Wen had set in motion. In one of the flashbacks during the drought, he was crying to LWY and told her, “This was good enough for me,” and for once, a fox acted like the Dragon Deity.
That does not sound like someone who is highly calculating or exceptionally smart. It sounds more like someone struggling with deep insecurity and impostor syndrome.
I know I can't convince people when it comes to their favorite actors or actresses.
Keep that in mind when watching it explain ALOT about each characters
But as for Shi Guang and Ji Ling, I think some people are still confused about the message behind it.
In the show, the Dragon Deity is used as a title.
You have WSG, the rightful dragon who, due to his birth, is destined to achieve greatness.
Then you have Ji Ling, a nameless fox who was, by chance, saved by Chi Wen and, by circumstance, ate the Dragon Scale out of love for YWH, his “adopted brother.”
Throughout the story, you have a variety of characters trying to defy fate, whether because of love or obsession. Xiaowei, Wu Zhi Qi, Hanba, and ultimately Ji Ling and Lu Wu Yi are the most obvious examples.
The flashbacks, the slow motion, and the rewinding of time showcase the helplessness of trying to do the impossible and truly defy fate.
For Xiaowei, Wu Zhi Qi, and Hanba we see how their story end
As you can see, most of them actually fail. Even for LWY, though, she gets a happy yet bittersweet ending because of Ji Ling’s actions.
But the LWY who went through all the countless time loops and endless sacrifices never actually made it out. She died along with all those memories when Ji Ling when back in time and kill the queen and remove her from the timeline.
Even Ji Ling gets to reconnect with LWY in maybe another life or another timeline. But is she really his A’Wu if the time loop never existed and LWY never went through all the events of the original timeline?
The show and the story were never disconnected, if you look at it through this lens.