Novella

I think the only member who is entirely human is Pei Si Jing.

The logic behind censorship can be hard to grasp. Ancient dramas can utilize supernatural themes that wouldn't never pass the censors in contemporary dramas. If you look at Korean dramas, it's pretty common for contemporary dramas feature supernatural elements but a literal god, ghost, vampire, or demon in a contemporary drama would never pass the mainland Chinese censors. But, even in ancient settings, these elements have to be handled carefully. I think you might see people say that you can't have ghosts in Chinese films and television. My sense is that you theoretically could use ghosts but you have to tread carefully since there is a film regulation against "propagating cults and superstition." There's a rich history of ghosts (and other supernatural creatures) in Chinese folklore and a lot of traditional practices/rituals that the CCP would frown upon as superstitious. Spooky stuff, generally, needs a logical explanation. Anyway, that's probably the reason that, despite all the cool ghosts in folklore, mainland Chinese horror movies aren't made.

Yeah, he still managed to stand out. His "baby!" at 3:08 offered quite the contrast to his Li Lun.

He did not need to lean down that closely! It was like the ancient equivalent of the ML leaning over to help the FL put on her seatbelt.

Try looking up "metal wind spinner." You can find something similar on Amazon.

That mask is unique. At first, I couldn't focus on it. It was like my brain couldn't process what it was seeing. lol. I'm pretty sure I've seen wind chimes like that before...edited to add: I remembered where I saw them. They are called wind spinners. If you look up "metal wind spinner" you may find something similar.

He was hiding in a rather large Kpop group.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu2yQ1zYDYU
Can you find him?

oh, I think I remember... You're a Peng Xiao Ran fan, right? Her storyline looks interesting. I hope it lives up to your expectations!

You're right. When the show starts, it will probably be easier to maintain a conversation in the discussion forum (especially if spoilers are allowed.) Right now, though, it's still a black hole.

The problem with the discussion forum is that hardly anyone looks at the discussion forum. It might as well be a black hole for discourse.

I think that two will survive.

This is reasonable and I appreciate your response. I apologize for coming off unhinged. I find fan wars frustrating and fan wars meta doubly so. Right now, there's not much to discuss so I get it ... but I just hope, after the drama starts to air, we'll be able to talk more about the drama itself than external controversies.

(I do get what the latest fan war was about and I know that it sucks HMH probably saw those negative posts. I don't follow actors closely but he seems like a really nice gentle guy so I get why his fans are protective of him. I think fan support is awesome. However, I really hate fan wars because, at the end of the day, they're stoked by the egos of the fans.)

My minority opinion about the main leads of MJTY is that the real issue is they just didn't work together as a romantic couple and I think that dragged them down as individual characters. The contrast with the 2Ls did not help matters. Sure, I think you can lay some of the blame on GJM's writing but I don't think that he intentionally wrote bad characters. The characters had a lot of potential and maybe would have worked better in another form of media (Yu Shu Xin's character would have worked really well in a novel.) I understand that some of the scenes Zhang Linghe filmed did not make the final cut. I guess since I'm used to the wonky editing common in Chinese dramas (due to censorship), I'm not sure it's safe to assume the cuts were intentional.

Honestly, I'm not trying to defend GJM, I'm just trying to be optimistic about FoF. I've never followed a drama's production this closely before. I want it to be good and I don't want viewers to be disappointed. I hate to see so much negativity.

To be honest, if Zhao Yuan Zhou's character doesn't live up to his potential in FoF, I will probably, hypocritically, hop on the GJM hate train. I will 100% start seeing him as the evil little gremlin who, inexplicably and intentionally, undermines his own creations to troll the masses. To create such as interesting character with a moving backstory and striking visuals and ultimately have him playing second fiddle to bird man (sorry, Zhuo Yi Chen) would be criminal.

Why bring the Weibo bullshit over here? Why don't we use this forum to discuss, you know, the Drama (the actual show), instead of arguing about the drama (fan wars and irrelevant variety show appearances!)

Handwringing over screen time in an effing MV was honestly pushing it for me. The show hasn't aired yet! Proclaiming this show is MJTY 2.0 and that GJM is screwing over HMH and CDL ... the show hasn't aired yet!

Look, I'm not some GJM apologist and I wouldn't argue that he does or doesn't have "favorites." I don't know the man and I've only watched MJTY. I just think it's silly to believe that he would intentionally sabotage his own productions by undercutting the 1Ls to buoy up the 2Ls. To be frank, in my opinion, the 2Ls (characters, not necessarily actors) in MJTY were simply more charismatic than the 1Ls (again, characters). I think there are multiple ways to speculate/explain why it turned out that way. (I would get into my thoughts on the subject but I'm reluctant to ruffle feathers more than I already have.) My main question is: of all possible explanations, why are so many people stuck on screen time?

I'm going to say something that is apparently very controversial. There are more important considerations than screen time. The actor with the most screen time is not automatically the most interesting, memorable or meaningful character. The actor with the most screen time is not necessarily playing the character with the best character development, scenes or lines. The actor with the most screen time will not necessarily deliver the best performance.

Screen time just seems to be a good bludgeoning tool for fan wars. Why else would someone bother to determine and compare screen time in an MV? *warning: incoming sarcasm* I know the first thing I think of when I watch a trailer or MV is "Who has the most screen time?!!! If XYZ doesn't have the most screen time I'm going to login to Weibo and sling mud!!!!!" I'm certainly not listening to the song or taking in the visuals or trying to piece together the plot or characterization. I'm not just, you know, enjoying the MV. That would be silly!

What's the point of fan wars anyway? Do you imagine your favorite actor logs onto Weibo (or whatever) and sees what's going on and is pleased? Do you think he happily chuckles to himself and sends a link to his mom? "Look at all the hate I've inspired Mom! Isn't it great? All these people could be doing something productive with their lives but instead they are having apoplectic fits over me online. I've finally made it to the big time!" Fan wars don't benefit the actors. Fan wars just give the actors headaches.

(I'm tempted but I won't dip my toe right now into fan wars over billing as there seems to be cultural differences as to how top billing vs second billing etc. is perceived. )

I'll shut up after saying this: from day 1 the character of Zhao Yuan Zhou has held my attention. I think his character design (backstory and styling) is the most interesting. Of all the characters, I want to learn more about him. I want to see where this story takes him. I honestly don't think that the character of Zhuo Yi Chen having 12 minutes and 47 seconds more of screen time (or whatever) would affect how I perceive either character. I don't think I would even notice if he does end up with more screen time...because I don't watch dramas with a stopwatch.

https://kisskh.at/photos/eYVlwK_3

This will answer your - sorry, your "friends" - questions.

Now I'm reminded about how the comments on that site are always so unnecessarily mean. Unless you want to be annoyed, never read the comments on that site.

There are pics/Reuters of him without the mask. I assume that the FL will "cure" him in a future episode. We'll just have to suspend our disbelief and believe that's possible. Who knows...maybe she'll develop a cream that regrows noses!

I'd like to see CL without the mask too, so hopefully this is resolved sooner than later.

My impression is that they use a guest actor/actress when she first changes her appearance but, since Jiang Xin Bai is face blind, Song Yi just plays the character most of the time.

The QD isn't biologically related to Lee Geon. She isn't biologically related to the king, queen, or grand prince, either. As I understand it, she was the previous king's "step mother" (like the current queen is Lee Geon's "stepmother"). The previous king was an a**hole who imprisoned her in the "cold palace" and had his half-brother (QD's biological son) killed. She has a soft-spot for Lee Geon because he reminds her of her dead son.

It makes more sense if you think of "Grandmother " as a hierarchical title. The QD is at the top of the family structure so she has some degree of seniority over the king and would be considered his "mother" in a nominal if not biological sense. In this case, they are not related biologically or, really, familially, since it seems he was a distant relation of the previous king that she helped put on the throne.

The poster strongly implies that TJR and CDL's characters are "childhood sweethearts." There is a Chinese idiom for childhood sweethearts taken from a poem: qing mei zhu ma meaning "green plum bamboo horse." In the poster, CDL is holding a bowl of green plums and TJR is touching bamboo. I don't think that necessarily means strong romantic feelings between the two but could explain the protective vibe TJR's character gives off.