Paunitka

Still remembering this show as one of the best historic c-dramas. Well-balanced between history and fiction.

Of course it's my interpretation - who else's?... Good movies/books allow for different interpretations. That's how you know they are good.

I read another interpretation that makes sense as fantasy: There is a parallel universe, where it is actually possible to have computer games that affect the real world. The characters who died, died in that parallel world, but can still be alive in our world. Fine with me.

This "is supposed to be" whatever you decide as a viewer, as long as your interpretation can be substantiated by the events in the show. The show works well as a psychological mystery, even though the book was, apparently, horror-fantasy (I haven't read it, but so it seems from the comments here).

"He chose Economics after he went abroad. He was still studying programming while in China." - this we know from LingLing only, who is not a credible source of information. Then again - why the hood?

Qianli was familiar with LingLing because they went to the same gaming cafe and must have seen each other there.

In order to change something in a game, you need to rewrite its script. You can't change a game just by playing it. Neither can you restore the lives of people after they die, with ot without memory deleted. This might make sense in a dream logic, but not otherwise. So I assume it was dream, until proven otherwise.

Yeah, I was aware that they were singing the intro and outro songs.
For me, an actor is a person whose tool of work is their body and their voice. An idea that an actor has a problematic accent is outlandish to me. China is a different world, and this is yet another occasion that reminds me about it.

For now, I'm just a reader. But I will write a book at some point of my life. That's a given! ;)

Wait, voice actor?... They used a voice actor here? Why? Both those guys are even singers, so I'd expect their voices to be pleasant. Weird.

Because thinking is fun, right? :D What's the point of consuming culture if you don't rack your brain as a result. :D

Yes, I remember all this! But please note that we learn about it while in the Door World.
In the real world, we later find out that it was not true that they studied programming together - Gao studied economy.
With this discrepancy, the shared dorm room might have been invented just as well, and the common dream might have been earlier, in their childhood.
Why do I insist on that? Because of that hood Gao wears all the time. If you have any other explanation why we never see his face, please share, cause I honestly have no idea how else to explain that.

And here I would disagree. I think that the ending vastly *improved* the quality of the show. ;)

A game killing people is not a dystopia, it's a horror. Out of these two genres, I prefer dystopias - I think they are more interesting and can inspire discussion.
Good point! LingLing becomes a god-like figure when he creates a new world with people who he needs as friends and a lover. Indeed, it raises questions about the freedom and wellbeing of the created characters - after all, their feelings are real.

I agree, the first door is, by far, NOT the best. Which I appreciate, because I can see the development.

I watched on Viki - all episodes have subtitles.

So this is when they get together in the book? I would think much earlier... I need to rewatch!

As I already stated, I am happy that some people see it differently than me, because I can enrich my perspective.
Love and peace!

I understand how you feel - I felt slapped in the face with this ending. But that's OK, I have lots of comfort shows, so I can bear with a "discomfort" show from time to time. ;)
Yes, many other points of interest, like this beautiful idea of striving for what you love regardless of the result - be it a prize for the best actress, or a prize for the worst actress...
The sad idea of having your life ruined by loving the wrong person...
The important idea of cherishing people around you, because they might be gone tomorrow and then you will regret your harsh words...

In the first episode, LingLing played a game known to cause hallucinations - the gaming arcade owner warned him about it. As a result, LingLing hallucinated a door in the middle of a street and had a car crash.
Then, in a coma, he dreamed all the events up to the moment he woke up in the hospital. Coming back home after the accident was already a part of his dream.
Gao Dawei was indeed his childhood friend, but their ways parted when they were still little. This is why LingLing doesn't know what adult Gao Dawei looks like. His brain evades this question by giving Gao Dawei a hood.
LingLing meets Gao Dawei's friend, with whom Gao Dawei went to study abroad. That friend tells LingLing that Gao Dawei studied economy and wasn't interested in creating games.

You can't say that people "misinterpret" this show. They simply interpret it differently than you. As long as you can justify your opinion, different interpretations are valid. I am actually happy that some people see it differently than me, because I can enrich my perspective.

I haven't read the book. My comment is about the drama.

There is something not right, though. Why do we never see Gao Dawei's face? When LingLing wakes up, he learns that Gao Dawei didn't even want to be a programmer - he went to study economy, and never created any games. The game was at first LingLing's dream and was only created by LingLing at the end of his life.

In Spirealm, the tropes are a perfect mix. LJS gives RLZ (who has a female nickname) a piggy-back ride. RLZ is better at fighting and protects LJS. RLZ is rich and supports LJS. LJS "saves" RLZ from non-existence by creating the game in the last episode. Putting them into hubby-wifey categories doesn't make sense.

I think this ending is actually very interesting. Gets you to ask questions: What's real? What's better: sad reality or imagined happiness?
LingLing dedicated his life to getting LanZhu back, so can anyone dare to say that his love wasn't real? Maybe his life was actually more fulfilled than that of other characters?
And where did we go wrong as a species that true love is easier to find in fiction than reality?

It's not even about control. It's about having a good influence on someone and getting them to grow.