Meari21

They could've shared that responsibility and died together instead of him dying alone. They could've written it in a way that it would require both of them to sacrifice their lives. After all, they did carry the Baize order together at some point. That would've made more logical sense than just his malicious energy triggering the Baize cycle thingy.

I don't get why some people are saying that Neo didn't get as much screen time in this because Guo Jingming was playing favorites and wanted to bring Tian Jiarui to the forefront. Did we watch the same drama? While I do agree that Wen Xiao takes a back seat and was cheated of a more prominent role in the drama because Zhuo Yichen plays a far more important part in the story, I cannot agree that he was given more importance than Zhu Yan/Zhao Yuanzhou. Even in the boss fight, it is Zhu Yan who deals the killing blow and saves Yichen. Yichen going through an existential crisis is tied to Zhu Yan's narrative. It allowed him to finally understand the one person he had despised for years and it solidified their friendship. Everything Yichen goes through is connected to Zhu Yan, from the loss of his family to his ultimate destiny. It was his character arc but everything revolves around Zhu Yan. I think people complain when the focus isn't on their favorite actors even if it's for the development of other characters, yet they also complain if a character is underdeveloped because the drama concentrated on the leads too much. This is what I've noticed in C-ent, most of the fans only care about whether their favorites get the spotlight or not.

Yep, we've been saying that since it became apparent that the second male lead has a bigger role to play than the female lead. lol

This is probably a hot take, but I would've preferred it if Wen Xiao was given a chance to have her hero moment by allowing her to die to save the people as the Baize Goddess. She and Zhu Yan could've died together instead of him sacrificing his life for hers. This would've been better than her being bound and crawling on the floor screaming "Zhao Yuanzhou!" the whole time. She was nowhere to be found during the last big fight, both Bai Ju and Ying Lei died to protect their loved ones and contributed to the cause, even Pei Sijing got her moment, but Wen Xiao never did. Her dying for everyone would've given her more value. I honestly wouldn't have minded a sad ending as long as it makes sense to the narrative.

Yes, I get your point. But my point is, they cannot market the drama as BL/bromance nor make a BL drama because it will not be released at all. They did not have any choice. The Spirealm, which was another iQIYI drama, was marketed as a bromance but since it was based on a danmei, it was taken down in just one day. Winner Is King, which stars Tian Jianci and Chen Zheyuan and based on the popular danmei Sha Po Lang, never got its broadcasting license. Other bromance/BL dramas were shelved because of their government policies and censorship. We wouldn't have seen Fangs of Fortune at all if they had gone that route.

I had a feeling it was. His weeping and fear felt so real. Guo Jingming may be a lot of things but he knows how to draw these raw emotions from his actors.

We all know that BL dramas are banned in China and with Guo Jingming's not so desirable reputation, a BL or even bromance-centric drama from him would never see the light of day. I agree that they tricked their audience by putting in a female lead for censorship purposes but I can also understand why they did it. I also heard that the script for this drama went through several rewrites and actually had 5-6 writers who worked on it. I am inclined to believe that that's the case. The writing is pretty messy riddled with retcons and inconsistencies. It became more apparent to me that this was probably a totally different story in the beginning when Zhuo Yichen's character proved to be actually more important to the story than Wen Xiao's. If only BL dramas were allowed in China, this could've been so much better.

No, it isn't. It's the scene where Li Lun appears to help them. Zhu Yan is holding Yichen when Li Lun's leaves come, but when he materializes, Zhu Yan is in a different position. Then the next scene shows Zhu Yan holding Yichen again when the camera focuses on them.

Pei Sijing's character really grew on me as the drama went on. I was indifferent to her and her brother's story in the beginning and just thought she was just serving a purpose to the plot. But as she starts to really integrate herself into this ragtag team of demon hunters and loosen up, she slowly becomes more endearing. I'm glad she got her moment at the end.

Maybe. Or maybe they had to refilm some of those scenes or added them later.

Anyone else notice the inconsistencies in the shots in the fight between Li Lun, Yichen, and Zhu Yan versus Wen Zongyu? One minute Zhu Yan has his arm around Yichen, shielding him, the next minute he's holding the Cloud Light Sword, stopping Yichen from killing himself, then in the following scene, you see him embracing Yichen again. Then when Qing Geng appears before them, you don't see Li Lun behind her shielding everyone from Wen Zongyu's attacks. I just found it funny. Editing mistakes. lol

Thankfully, I'm watching the other drama on Netflix and they haven't released all the episodes yet so I can still watch it for another week or so.

Hahaha!

That's not a token, though. lol

Exactly! Zhu Yan gave Yichen immunity to his spells, he gave Li Lun his truth eye, even taught him his spells and tricks, both made him vulnerable to their attacks. With the exception of him saving her life, what else did he give Wen Xiao that would've made him vulnerable to her if she wanted to harm him? I can't seem to remember.

Yes. And I'm guessing Li Lun was Zhu Yan's ex. They did exchange gifts and Zhu Yan gave him his truth eye, and he gave him his pagoda root. Also, Bai Ju and Ying Lei was supposed to be the other BL couple with Bai Ju written as an older character.

I can only wish they wrote a danmei version of this.

My theory is this was originally written as a bromance or maybe even a BL story. The reason why Wen Xiao's character lack development and her role in the demon hunting team is not clearly defined is because the part was just added later. I've mentioned this several times before, the Baize Goddess plot line feels like an add-on, as if it was something they just thought of at the last minute. The focal point of the drama is the bond between Yichen and Zhu Yan, their tied fates, and their growth as characters. All the major events in the drama involve them. If she was supposed to play a bigger role in the story from the start, then she would have been the one who held the power to kill Zhu Yan the great demon, not Yichen. She would've been the one who was given the immunity to Zhu Yan's spells, the one he owed a blood debt to, the one he would later call his soulmate, the one who came to comfort him at his time of great distress, the one who fought with him in every single battle, and the one who has the biggest character arc, apart from Zhu Yan, in the drama. Again, this is just a theory. I'm pretty sure others will disagree and call me a BL shipper. I don't deny that I enjoy BL and danmei, but it doesn't mean I only want to see BL pairings. It's precisely because of the fact that I enjoy danmei and BL stories that I see these obvious BL tropes inserted in the drama. I mean, the two male leads themselves are archetype couples in BL. Then there's the "cutting sleeves" comment and the "hairpin giving" instance. If you're not familiar with this kind of symbolism, you'll dismiss it as nothing.

I agree with you completely. That drama is not my cup of tea at all. I watched it for the bromance between the two male leads but the story itself bored me to death. I also found the teen bride thing creepy and gross. Zhu Yan and Zhuo Yichen's characters are actually BL archetypes. One is a tsundere and the other is playful and even flirty.

I watched Goblin and they are nothing alike. He was cursed and became immortal. He needed to find a bride (an 18-year-old, I might add) who can end the curse by killing him. Zhu Yan is a demon who owes Zhuo Yichen a blood debt because he murdered the latter's family. Zhuo Yichen comes from a long line of demon hunters descended from a powerful demon that can manipulate water. These two characters are natural foils and their fates parallel those of Bingyi and Ying Long. The Cloud Light Sword of the Bingyi clan is the only weapon that can kill demons outright. Demon-slaying weapons are common in these type of stories. Guo Jingming was accused of plagiarizing the danmei/donghua The Legend of Exorcism. I saw that too, the only similarities I can see are demons and demon hunters. But that type of plot is common. Omnyouji, Demon Slayer, Chainsaw Man, and many others have that type of plot. So which of them did he plagiarize exactly? There's nothing wrong with being inspired by other known works, writers borrow ideas from others all the time. Heck, even popular music artists copy someone else's work and get sued for it. But they're still famous and they don't get crucified for it. Guo Jingming was found guilty for plagiarizing one novel back when he was in college. I'm not defending him nor am I saying he's a brilliant writer because I don't think that at all. I'm just saying that a person should not be crucified for the rest of his life for a mistake he made many years ago.