MyLangyaList

In the quantum sense, yes anything is possible. But practically speaking, it's extremely unlikely as it's intended to be the conclusion of the story. And one of the good things about Cdramas is that they don't drag shows out into infinite future seasons.

I think this is perfectly reasonable route for this story, though I think the buildup and execution could be improved as it was very abrupt and wasn't wholly congruent with the episodes leading up to it.

There was also many perfectly reasonable ways to end the shows on a happier note that still preserves the theme of the story (letting go, etc.) and resolves the tensions (emperor issue, poison issue, quitting Jianghu issue, etc.).

I think Douban rating reflect the sentiment of Chinese natives or those who are linguistically/culturally fluent, with a broader age range. Most idol dramas languish in the 4.0-7.0 range as they are derivative and the audience have an idea of what exceptional shows should look like. 8+ is considered a very good rating as unfortunately the 8+, 9+ shows have become scarce in recent years.

There's still manipulation and upvoting/downvoting campaigns, but generally I find it a much better indicator than MDL. Where there is significant overrating on Douban is actually for foreign (US) dramas. It mirrors the overrating situation on MDL--because Chinese audiences also like the novelty of foreign shows and have less cultural acumen to be very stringent on quality. So a you have the likes of 2 Broke Girls rated 9.1, the same level as Breaking Bad, and much higher than most Chinese shows.

In many ways the lack of cultural fluency is also a gift, as it allows MDLers to enjoy many shows that natives find bland or trope-filled. Though that creates a situation where even the worst shows get avg rating of 7+ here. Older shows and culturally inaccessible shows are underrated, and there's little numerical differentiation between shows of varying quality in the top range.

I don't remember too clearly, but I think the image was uploaded to a cloud drive in the previous loop, and accessed for the final reset. If the upload time was before the start of final loop, I suppose there wouldn't be a direct contradiction.

Oh I see. I can see some merit to this policy as I'm sure many show would have no problem trampling all over history just to make money from shock value. At the same time, this could get really restrictive and hamper creativity.

Makes me kinda wonder about the Longest Day in Chang'an ending and whether this played a role.

Is there a hard, or soft historical requirement to pass review? Or more due to audience preferences?

Not sure how you came to this conclusion from the books or the show, if you actually read or watched at all. So much for defending authoritarianism and inhumanity when Book 1 literally puts the ghastly insanity of Cultural Revolution on full gory display. It's also written as the genesis of Ye Wenjie's pivotal decision to betray the location of Earth.

If you want to get really political about it, a far more reasonable reading would be that Liu Cixin wrote his magma opus on the anniversary of Cultural Revolution, and indicted CR for the destruction of humanity. And in the sequels, he repeated reflects on the destructive capacity of being too authoritarian alongside the sobering reminder that in desperate times some authoritarianism is needed for survival. So much for being a groveling misanthrope.

Does that mean his political views will completely align with yours? Or that he will go out of his way to put himself in political crosshairs? Of course not. But by having the courage to enshrine the Cultural Revolution in the Three Body Problem he will have already have done infinitely more for humanity and justice than a hate review on a book you didn't read, about a human being you don't know, regarding subjects you don't understand, using the time/effort you didn't invest.

If anything, your moral grandstanding is just perfect for authoritarianism. Go join the cultural revolution, you will feel right at home.

there's not much romantic entanglements, because there's not much romance. If that's really important to you, this might not be your cup of tea.

Correction, a bit of romance, but it takes a backseat to a lot of other things.

On ep7 and I'm actually liking S2 quite a bit. S2 may not have begun with as much humor as S1, but many aspects have improved. The acting is much better for both the younger actors, and older supporting actors. Production quality is better and I like the serious color grading to match the serious tone of the drama.

If you are nostalgic about the funny moments from early S1, it's not there yet but rumored to be coming in later episodes. If you finished S1 recently and is a little hesitant due to the limping finish in S1, definitely give this a shot.

IMO the best thing for me in S2 is that they quickly put the story back on solid footing.

To be fair, it might have been an upgrade. Even machine dictation might be more compelling and doesn't come with the permanent 'Droopy' (from Enigma) look.

CDL should get best supporting actress award for minimizing her own appearances in the show--addition by subtraction. I kid, I kid, she wasn't awful but also didn't bring much dimension or presence with her role.

Mostly because of a disappointing ending or were you already underwhelmed throughout?

You are not alone. Having just watched YB1, I'm more relieved that the beginning of YB2 is much improved over the end of last season and less focused on its lack of early YB1 humor.

Do keep in mind JOL *is* comedy first and drama second. It's definitely one of the funniest shows the last 5-10 years. But if you are not Chinese speaker, I can easily see how the humor will fail to resonate as most of it is based on puns or cultural references, the physical humor that's cross-cultural is a smaller part.

From the start, the screenwriter Wang Juan is telling you in his signature humor style to not take it too seriously, this is not NIF nor intended to be. The plot twists and political stratagems are there for variety, depth, and excitement. But make no mistake about it, it's the humor that provides the lubricant to keep the whole show running.

Sword Snow Stride is another example, where the humor is the essential component of the show.

Now if you are Chinese speaker, then I'd actually be curious about your comedy list, as they would be top tier.

This is not intended in any way to be an attack. I actually appreciate your rigorous review of shows, unlike the prevailing trend on this site of overrating every garbage drama.

The book trilogy is a great read, up there in the pantheon of SciFi classics, of any language.

As little confidence as I have in Dumb&Dumber's ability even outside of 3 Body, I was actually pleasantly surprised by the released trailer. Even though they are clearly not as faithful to the book.

And frankly I'm sick of the regurgitated responses of Chinese netizens getting all territorial over 3Body and shitting on others even attempting to make an adaptation. Netflix wants to adapt 3Body because it's beloved outside of China. So the more the merrier, and I root for others to succeed rather than dismiss and root for failure.

Frankly the best hope for high quality *Chinese sequels* will be if Netflix knocks it out of the park. Then there will be enough domestic and nationalistic pressure to give the sequels the necessary budget. The $10M for the 1st book was quite stingy, and it showed in the uneven production quality. And despite the inherent advantage of cultural familiarity and making a story set in China with Chinese people, this show was still undercut by the censorship buzzsaw.

And yes, it's specifically the cultural revolution scenes, parts of which were taken out, that hampered the story. Any readers of the book will know that the CR part was essential in setting the despair and decision of Ye Wenjie. This adaptation lack emotional punch and motivation because this part was heavily sanitized.

Don't even get me started on why the Wandering Earth received so much budget and focus, when the far superior/popular 3B Trilogy can only raise a pittance. Hint: one of them is more politically sensitive (and only mildly political at that) than the other.

/rant over

Likely an awful long time. Don't think they've even raised the necessary funding yet. Also Book 2 'The Dark Forest' will be far more difficult to adapt as it's far more futuristic and will require a far bigger budget. Three Body only had a modest budget of $10M.

Ironically, the best hope for a good S2 will be if Netflix does a great job with their adaptation. Then the race will be on and there will be pressure in China to not embarrass itself with the biggest Chinese Scifi IP.

*I'm not talking about pressing a button to release drones*

Lol. Wuxias of the future, with super dramatic and stylized button pressing. I'm already looking forward to a lot of blood being spat over buttons.

Does anyone know if the heat indices follow linear scaling, or something like logarithmic? Because 25k-30k is only 20% difference and I'd imagine the engagement gap between mediocre and super popular is far wider.

Here you go. There might be better character guides, but this is the first that came up. It pretty spoiler light, though there will be many characters that haven't showed up yet, but you can just scroll to ones that have already made appearance. https://lesbloggerables.tumblr.com/post/157788020760/nirvana-in-fire-character-guide.

And also episode synopsis that might help https://nirvanainfire.fandom.com/wiki/List_Of_Nirvana_In_Fire_Episodes

Not sure what episode you are on (tho you might need to start over anyways 😂), but here's a quick overview of what's happening and what's intriguing early:

TBoY is straight up happy ending, no romantic complications, all MCs live, except one whose fate is open-ended.