Meari21

So are we kidnapping him now? lol

Get in line! lol I also love his hair accessories. Whoever thought of those little clips that look like horns is a genius! Can somebody make a line of hair accessories just like those? I would totally buy them.

But why is it that the other goddesses didn't have demon partners? And wouldn't that fact actually be a good reason for the balance to be disrupted? I just feel that I'm staring at a huge plot hole here. I mean I see a lot of plot holes in this drama but this is the most glaring one for me. It's like they shoehorned this Baize goddess plot in order to give more importance to Chen Duling's character. If you think about it, even without this Baize token macguffin, they still have a pretty solid plot revolving around Zhu Yan and the relationship between mortals and demons. The ever-burning wood, which is another macguffin can be one of their central plots instead. Wen Xiao could be the scholar member of the team, the strategist who possesses knowledge of demons, spells, and potions. That way her so-called weakness can be more understandable as she's no warrior and she doesn't possess a token that contains the power of a goddess. Not that I have a problem with her being physically weak. She doesn't strike me as a damsel distress. I take issue with the Baize goddess subplot and their usefulness to the grand scheme of things, and why demons are allowed to travel to the mortal world when they can be dangerous and humans discriminate towards them. That whole thing doesn't quite make sense to me. I'm hoping it'll be explained in the succeeding episodes.

Not without the token, no. But the way they hype up that token, that thing should be powerful enough to give the goddesses the ability to truly bring balance between the realms.

Yes, I know they're mortals and not invincible. What I mean is if they don't possess the power to fight powerful demons on their own, then what are they good for? The Baize token is supposed to give them the power of the real goddess, but we don't really see how powerful that thing is, we're just told. Not to mention none of the goddesses seem to know how to properly use it because they can't really control the rogue demons and chaos still happens in the mortal world. I would've understood it if there was peace and balance between the two realms when the goddesses reigned but the balance was severely disrupted when the last one died and the current one doesn't have the power of the token. But even then, there was no real balance. Demons were being hunted by humans, humans were being harmed by demons, the goddesses were easily killed. That's why I said for now that token is nothing but a macguffin. It's just there to move the plot forward. This is my main beef with the drama so far, the subplot about the goddesses and their function.

The goddess should be powerful enough to contain demons without needing the help of another demon. What the drama has shown us so far is they are useless without a demon partner. So when their demon partner goes berserk like Zhu Yan or betrays them, what then?

The Baize Goddesses are all kinda useless imho. The previous one died just like that. The first one died of a plague. If I'm not mistaken, this is the same goddess that accidentally let a calamity demon enter the mortal world and start a plague there because she was careless. The current goddess didn't even know she possessed the Baize token, barely knows how to use it and lost it again. I honestly don't know how they can supposedly maintain balance when they have very little power or even knowledge. When faced with a powerful demon like Zhu Yan, they can't hold their own. So I don't get the point of having a goddess at all. We're just told they are needed and that the Baize token is sacred and important, but the drama doesn't show us why. Hopefully, they'll correct that in the coming episodes because as of now, this whole deal about the goddess is a mere plot device and that token is a macguffin, nothing more.

I think it's because nothing much happens in the beginning and most of the scenes are dialogue-heavy. I never thought the drama dragged, though. I thought those scenes were necessary and they made me feel more attached to the characters. I've seen C-dramas that literally put me to sleep I had to drop them. Those are the kinds of dramas that made use of so much filler.

Yep. But it's not worldwide. Most of their C-dramas and J-dramas are available for purchase only. Netflix is a much bigger and more widely popular streaming service, though. One of the reasons why some C-dramas become more known internationally is because of Netflix. The Untamed and Word of Honor certainly benefitted from that.

It's quite possible that when he and Li Lun had a falling out, he started hanging out with the Baize Goddess and disguised himself with a wardrobe change and different hair. After all, he started using the name Zhao Yuanzhou and pretended to be human. He was named after the goddess' brother so maybe he started pretending to be him and looking like him. Just a speculation.

So The Story of Pearl Girl and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy are being released on Netflix worldwide. I did expect that. I wish iQIYI would start releasing their dramas on Netflix as well so dramas like Fangs of Fortune could get worldwide exposure. iQIYI should really consider signing a contract with Netflix like Tencent and Youku. Most people have Netflix but not all of them have subscriptions to these other streaming platforms so it would be a good opportunity for them to showcase their dramas internationally. I'm pretty sure Mysterious Lotus Casebook will blow up even more if it gets a Netflix worldwide release.

Isn't the Baize Goddess the one doing the checking whether these demons can travel to the mortal world or not? Doesn't she have the power to know their true natures no matter how hard they try to conceal them? If she can't figure that out, then she's not really doing her job don't you think? And if demons aren't welcome in the mortal world, then why are they allowed to go at all? I know I'm nitpicking but it doesn't quite make sense to me. It would've made more sense if both humans and demons can travel to either worlds and create problems there as the drama suggests that demons are evil but the humans are more wicked.

Yes, I do notice that recurring theme in stories where there are demons and spirits. But the idea of the Baize Goddess being an immigration officer cracks me up. lol

If that's the case, why are demons allowed in the mortal world then?

There will always be people who would go to these places, just like some folks will go to countries that are under martial law, dictatorships, or at war just for kicks.

For the view??? It's like people from first world countries visiting third world countries, I suppose.

Unless I've missed it, I don't think people in this comment section have openly spoken about the strong political messages in this drama about racial discrimination, immigrants, and illegal aliens. The demons wanting to live in the mortal world can be compared to immigrants looking for greener pasture. I made a joke with my friend the other day that the Baize Goddesses are basically immigration officers and those marks given to demons when they get permission to travel to the mortal world are like passports and visas. lol I wonder, though. Do mortals also travel to the Wildnerness? And if they do, do they also need to get permission?

She's a double agent.

The thing is, the relevance to the story that you mean is subjective. For you it may not be relevant, but for others, it is. This style is often used in manga and anime. I've often referenced the anime Frieren when it comes to the storytelling style that was adapted for this drama. The flashbacks in that anime are about characters that have long perished and an adventure that happened a hundred years before. Some of those are no longer relevant to the present story and yet they add more context to who Frieren is, what her motivations are, and what may occur in the future. The side characters in Fangs of Fortune are meant to show what could possibly happen to the main characters as they supposedly share their fate. As someone else mentioned, the drama's central theme is about the freedom of choice, something that most demons do not possess because they are slaves to their own natures. It's a cycle that repeats and something that the main characters must break, and that is why it seems repetitive.

As I told the original poster, that long flashback in The Untamed screams lazy writing to me. Unlike others, I had no issues understanding the narrative. In fact, I would've preferred they told the story in a more non-linear way instead of doing one long exposition dump in the form of a flashback, it would've made it more interesting for me. That's one of the reasons I didn't enjoy The Untamed as much as most people did. I got a lot of flak simply for thinking it's overrated. But that's just me.

As for Zack Snyder, I beg to disagree. Most of his known works are adaptations of popular comic books like 300 and Watchmen so naturally they would have to get permission from the publishers and authors. Frank Miller was not too happy about those movies, though. But his original works do not give credit to the popular IPs referenced. One very good example is Rebel Moon. That movie has references to several IPs including Star Wars, Dune, Seven Samurai, and even the video game Warhammer. The Star Wars reference is obvious because he actually pitched that script to Disney but was turned down because of how bad it was. But the rest, he didn't even admit to taking inspiration from those. And Zack lingers, oh yes he does! Rebel Moon part 1 and 2 would've been only one film if the slow motion scenes were cut out. The scenes are so slow you practically see how badly the action sequences were executed. The plot progression is even slower despite the fact that the whole thing is held together by a flimsy plot stolen from Akira Kurosawa. He has 6 movies planned for his "Star Wars for adults franchise", three of those are extended versions that he claims are completely different from the cut versions. WTF?! He likes to stretch out his plots, putting in filler scenes after filler scenes and call them "relevant" to his tale. And I always find plot holes in his stories. Always. He's the kind of filmmaker who needs 4 hours of runtime to tell a decent story. Some of the best filmmakers in the world could do it in 2 hours or less, why can't he? Every time he tries to make something seem deep and complex, it comes across as pretentious and contrived. I did enjoy 300 for what it was but it was the best he could do. He had to adapt Frank Miller's comic panel for panel to make a decent piece of cinema. Synder would've made an excellent cinematographer, but he's a subpar filmmaker. At least, for me, Guo Jingming has the ability to create a dramatic atmosphere that doesn't seem forced or meant to play with your emotions. But again, that is subjective. People see things differently as we enjoy different things as well.

In terms of the plagiarism accusations, some Chinese fans cited similarities to The Legend of Exorcism, a popular danmei novel/donghua. I can't really be sure as I only saw the first season and that was a long time ago, but the only similarities I could find are the demons and demon hunting aspects. But that sort of plot is common in many Asian stories. The idea for the Cloud Light sword that they say was taken from that series can also be taken from Flame of Recca, Mikagami's ice sword. That is a common trope in anime as well. Those are not enough to call something plagiarized. While it's true that he was found guilty of plagiarizing a book many years ago, we don't know how much he actually copied and how similar those books are as we haven't read them. But this I know, in China, if someone with power wants to destroy you, they can. Also, we don't know how the law works there and what they would consider plagiarism. I mean, Snyder is still working and getting millions to make his passion projects but he has blatantly copied plots and elements from popular works. If he's a Chinese filmmaker, he would have a worse reputation than Guo Jingming.

Your comments have been cracking me up! Please do keep it up. We will need more of your quips and wisecracks in the days to come. 🤣