Frost_edelweiss

joining the crowd to congratulate Bai Lu on her 30th birthday 🥳💖
and thanking for the link to the birthday talk snippet and translation on X:
she looked pretty and happy about her fans' cheers.
(thought i had already posted this, but perhaps did not click the right button)

So, actually I find Lucifer adequately puzzling as a name there, but have more trouble with the English title of the drama : The First Shot.

OK "shot" can mean a bullet into a target, like the ones featured in the drama and main leads' Weibo pages, to refer to a police themed drama, or to a "shot" of drugs, injected or drunk unawares or not with "shots" of alcohol. Or to the first shot, picture of the team in their then new office, which was reminded of in the last episode, in Zheng Bei's memory as the team moved on to new offices, and hung the picture on the wall.

But the original title was Snow Maze (not Snow Angel). If Snow Angel was not kept in translation for meth, then a more appropriate title, to stick with meanings, could have been simply : Ice maze.

Unless they were worried that it might be mistaken for an acronym like "Immigration and Customs Enforcement" and the drama would have been thought to be about something else 🤣

Not being a user, I've read in other sources that 雪天使 is the generally known vernacular name for methamphetamine in Chinese, not a particular upgraded version of it. The drama wants it to be a special type, with a "secret" recipe, for dramatic effect.

I have no idea whether the translators talked with the creators before getting Lucifer into it, but I am certain they were not unaware of the devilish connotation.

If the creators had an objection, they probably would have made it clear and asked to stick with "ice". Everybody knows about "ice" since the American series Breaking Bad, which has also been watched in China (all American series have been watched there, either officially or on bootlegged DVDs 😊). So if the creators didn't object, they probably approved or even suggested the "brand name".

Most people of western culture don't really know about the "lightbringer" Lucifer anyway, instead they only know about him being equated with another name for the Devil -- if they have a tinge of Christian culture, more pregnant in the Americas, in subsaharan Africa, some parts of Europe, Russia, and in the Philippines, now : target audiences for export of c-dramas.

Amicable banter between friends. Sure the guys wanted him to stay once he had proven his value as an expert needed for the team. Always good to have reliable colleagues, and be able to pride in it.

In love may be pushing it too far, but yes he becomes totally integrated as he strives to blend in through appreciating food and adopting some local ways of speech. So he becomes "part of the family".

Translations are sometimes difficult. I also saw Halan city becoming Harland... ;)
Perhaps it would have been better to just use the English nickname of the drug, "ice", but the translators found it more interesting to use the name of a fallen angel, enrolled in the demon hosts : Lucifer is the other name of Satan for the Latin Bible school educated. It does fit a bit with the theme of Mr Ma, who is a former victim turned vicious -but never touches the stuff except to make and market it.
Indeed the literal translation of 雪天使 is Snow Angel.
And yes, I know Lucifer was not the same as Satan who also was thought as Beelzebub and Moloch, in biblical inspired lores : but most people view them as one multiple aliased devil ;)

Perhaps; he was more or less forced to transport for the drug lords, but they were arrested. On the other hand it was not for making the slopes cleaner but for paving way to new drug lords who have already (the conference) agreed to share resources with Uncle Cai... So that may also be one reason why he let Shen Xing fly home - although since his guanxi tentacles reach far, that does not necessarily mean he couldn't enlist Shen Xing again. In actual real life, Shen Xingxing cooperated with the Chinese police to bring down a drugs ring after he escaped, so that could also happen.

But in actual real life, drug lords have been known to "change profession" on the surface and to live a comfortable retirement, backing the people in power at elections, and being protected in return, perhaps not really retired either. The political relationships are very convoluted and opaque, there, perhaps not only there: everywhere. I once discussed with some people in Europe who held that the drugs traffics yield indirect revenue for the states and is included in the GDP! But I am not into that sort of accountancy. ^-^

If you want to stay with drug dealer rings busting, head over to The First Shot. It is really good. Some actors from Escape also played in "Snow maze" (the name refers in fact to the Chinese name of methamphetamine : "Snow Angel", translated as "Lucifer" in the other drama.) QinJunJie is a surprise actor still not included by MDL in cast for murky reasons. The other celebs are first Johnny Huang, very nuanced acting there, no need to condescend to "bear with him", Wang Ziqi (no bromance, although some clamor for it, just good colleagues friendship) and Zhang Yu, who is very remarkable there; ladies include Lin Boyang (funny and sweet sister of the captain), and Xie Keyin ("mad dog Yao" fond of fighting at every occasion") alongside a handful other types. The drama has a lot of twists before final reveal of kingpin, that should not be spoiled too much: there is a choice between 3-5 candidates along the episodes!
It is like moving through a maze indeed, with dead ends, pitfalls, and mirrors!
Cheers for drama watching !

I have tried to add QJJ in cast, together with forgotten Li Wen Long, but MDL is very difficult to convince, when it is not already on dramawiki! I have added the two posters as reference and proof, let's see if they will accept it or wait until imDB has it. (fwiw I've noticed mistakes on imDB pages... so using that as official is --well, I won't elaborate....)

Last I posted a cast addition, I got rebuked that "machine translation" of the official Baidu cast list was not accepted... I almost decided never to try add cast elsewhere than in my companion pieces where you often can find a bigger selection from the total cast -- not for this drama, because I am a bit tired these days, and there are 112+ on the Baidu list, not even including (yet) the "surprise" guest, so I only added some chosen information and no character/cast gallery. Instead, there is the total 28 B&W poster collection as a GIF with added names and role names, and some other pictures with details of who is on them.

And as for your query : no, he won't ruin your experience. QJJ is very good, lots of micro-expressions and ease: a good choice for a "dark horse"!

I have really enjoyed this show, which is not just another run-of-the-mill gangster-cops story or copy of The Godfather. The details are really impressive and realistic, and the pace was good for me. I could feel Zhang Yimou's influence in both cinematography and choice of storyline/dialogues ; the director Lü Xing clearly is his disciple, both are attracted to fiction and to slice-of-life : LX already directed 2020 Ordinary Glory, a story about a suburban police station "public security office", just like ZYM filmed unforgettable movies such as To Live, Raise The Red Lantern, Ju Dou, Qiu Ju, Not One Less... I missed 2022 Snipers which features Zhang Yu; I'll be off to watch it on "cool", 马上, 立刻, 现在 lol

Actually Huang Jingyu is quite an idol with a good fan base... 23.319 million fans on Weibo.
The other ones in cast are perhaps less prominent as idols, but fine pros and for a few (Zhang Yu) already known to be top-rate. Not to forget rising star Wang Ziqi 7.72 million fans, who also has a fandom (name "Hot Air Balloon"!)
And.... did not you notice who played Mr Ma ?
Qin Jun Jie. Fandom name Qing Tian / 晴天 12.315 million fans on Weibo
I can't fathom why his name is still hidden from cast list, although he got a character poster which he added in his own Weibo page : https://weibo.com/u/1827234850.
That's perhaps a major mistake from production, not to have cashed in on his popularity even if it meant have to wait for long before seeing him appear.

Yes, it is more difficult to access, but possible on Youtube with English (and perhaps more languages) subtitles. Although Youku posts the episodes more slowly than on their original site, here is the link to the Youtube channel to watch it on, here : https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIPiKkS-FpK_iveEy2xJ9hWjZCxqiMNGk

Episode 2 had 22k clicks and other episodes averaged 10-15k clicks on YouTube (so perhaps more views than recorded on the MDL drama page). For more info on popularity etc, I have compiled some here : https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-first-shot/130149-a-mazing-johnny-huang?pid=3137151&page=1#p3137151

It is also possible to find a subtitled version on kiss for those who look for a Youku unofficial mirror platform... Among other ones. Of course, best would be if those fine White Nights Theater dramas could be found on Viki.
I am sure they would appeal to more international audiences interested in c-dramas.

You can find more information (no spoilers) about the production, the places, dates, cast, crew, OST music, popularity of the drama, and GIF excerpts + more pictures, 5 characters' personal mazes, a map... in the "hidden in MDL maze" Discussion section, here :
https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-first-shot/130149-a-mazing-johnny-huang?pid=3137151&page=1#p3137151

I have also rearranged and put in additional info and pictures / Gifs in the mini-profile. To find it, just boldly click on "Create a Discussion..." in the box above the Comments section.

Yes, I was not absolutely sure it was Lian Lian, and also was thinking Bai Ling, despite it would have made sense to have the three main ladies there, instead of a lesser important support actress... So, was waiting for better hawk's eye to confirm or correct ;)

Wrap picture with crew around Lin Boyang, Xie Keyin, Lian Lian

Wrap picture in Changchun studios (October 25, 2023)

Wrap picture (winter 2023)

Screenwriter Mai Li Ya Si

Screenwriter Zhang Yuan Ang

Director Lü Xing

Executive producer Zhang Yimou

Actor Liang Guan Hua as Zheng Bei's father