Frost_edelweiss

There's still no mention about voice actors on the Baidu drama page.
It's the same director, company, and ML Dai Gaozheng as for Maid's Revenge, which was a short-episodes hit (snack to be consumed in large bites for binge - not too time consuming) in 2022, with its spectacular show of abs -lol.

I have a feeling this one will be titillating as well, although set in different period. Reaching ep.6 here, while sipping my late afternoon tea with lemon and pumpkin pie. :)

only until ep14 w Eng subs on dramacool 15-23 are in Raw there.
kiss doesn't have it nor dramakey nor Youtube.
And as you wrote, WeTV doesn't have it even for vip subscribers abroad.
It's really frustrating that the better shows be kept away from international audience who have to be content with dregs or over syrupy stuff.

btw if you have found S&HG with a vpn setting, I'm interested.

Just a reminder, already posted by Enigma05 : https://kisskh.at/photos/x4ygmj_3.

Just a reminder, already posted here : https://kisskh.at/photos/QJgpjv_3

Angsty? I found The Eternal Love very comedic, laughed so much in many scenes! Well, there were some villainous supernatural villains and a brother who was not very brotherly, that's true too, not to mention the awful matron of the "birth family" of ancient Qu XiaoTan... ;)

My reply to pycz 3 days ago went along the same lines :)
https://kisskh.at/745353-the-first-shot#comment-18889341

It's also a bit like in The Eternal Love 1-2-3 with Qu Tan'er waking up in the body of a girl of same name in a not very historical past empire, to be married but wanting to flee, divorce, whatever. Always fun premise.

iQIYI

Lovely start! With a fun take on Wagner's Bridal march to open the revelries!
I'm already at episode 6, will perhaps binge the rest of the 12 released today.

Hah! In an earlier comment (where I admitted to wishful thinking), I expressed that he might wake up later, so we should not think the drama as it being with a sad end 😆. As long as he was not declared brain dead, there was hope for the future, even if the production did not treat us to the hoped for wedding.

I have reworked the part about the drama into a stand-alone "companion piece" with information about dates of filming, location, OST music, where to watch with direct links, many pictures and GIF with links to the videos, trailer, BTS... All organized into 7 shorter sections, grouping the 5 mazes from the actors/actress's Weibo, with added info, notably a GIF for the Avenue X review, which for once, is quite positive! (GIF linked to video, to view in full). and the 7.1 Douban opening rating that landed today September 25.

https://kisskh.at/discussions/the-first-shot/130515-the-first-shot-companion-piece

(That Douban rating is a bit low in my opinion, but Avenue X expressed which gripes some nitpicking reviewers had which caused them not to rate as glowingly as Escape: a gripe about platforms airing schedule, some who criticized the lacking Cantonese by part of cast, since that language was featured, some who have bias about actors, some who didn't like transitions, which they found abrupt, some who thought the hairstyles too modern : there is always something to criticize even when a drama is good enough to stay #1 in weekly viewership!)

Except for keeping watch on the weekly standing in viewership after 3 weeks (last two as #1 in China), I will probably leave this piece now, to enjoy other dramas, in other settings, with or without familiar leads (quite tempted to check more of the Johnny Huang and Zhang Yu filmography, since Wang Ziqi was already familiar to me from a handful of other dramas).

btw, please add a spoiler tag to your comment, as a courtesy for those who still have not got to that episode, ok ?

...my wish thinking. Yes, the last shots are Zheng Bei's wistful memories of the time when they set up the team, and shared the premonitory parting song.... But since Xiaoguang is not declared brain dead, he might wake up later. Can't kill all hopes, can we ?

Thanks for your input and correction that he is not what people think usually about idols. As you said in another message, he doesn't rely on fans to hype his works, hasn't had fan meetings for a long while, concentrates on improving his understanding of roles and his acting career.

To me "idol" is not a derogatory word, and there are many sort of "idols", it's complicated to find a specific word to express nuances: "celebrity" may seem more neutral but can be less positive than "idol" which means people who follow are admiring and liking the professional, not just in one role on screen, or as pin-up poster visual quality for commercials and brand ambassadorship.

From his debuts in a big brother role, to his roles as soldier and cop, he has been seen as a specialist actor of those "serving the people" roles of the "ordinary greatness", muscle man for some who just look at the strength needed to perform that, figurehead for patriotism and security for others. But he did not only act in this typecast and has had a reputed and remarked on diverse acting experience, including sentimental romance roles that are usually the playground of romance idols. This time, he brought a relatable human touch to his role with distinctive individuality traits and feelings beside his charisma as leader of squad and team.

It looks like Johnny Huang certainly aims to join the ranks of "great actors" who did not all go through acting school but refined their natural gifts through experience. With already 25+ screen works in his filmography, he certainly shouldn't be slighted. He does have a genuine presence that radiates through his acting, can move audiences to feel emotions, and the two testimonies you drew attention to (which provide access to adequate machine translation, although the mention "not relying on big IP" may puzzle; meaning I think "commercial hype for popularity" through events and ads) are indeed proving that this is the growing perception of him. Kudos to him to have embraced his chosen profession with dedication and to have chosen some quality over only fishing for popularity projects that can stay memorable, like this one!

I need to watch or rewatch more from his filmography. 😊

So, did you watch it? It's all out now, and worth the watch! Both a thriller and a quality drama.

and he will wake up. The drama has a happy end for the team.

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.