PeachBlossomGoddess

Yeah I think Youku is going to take their time in terms of releasing the rating bc the watch numbers on Netflix are still going strong.
Well I can't really comment on TLP bc I dropped it at ep 3 or 4. I just saw it was panned left and right but I don't remember why and c-netizens were saying the Douban score was so bad Tencent didn't dare to release it.😅😂🤷🏻‍♀️

Yeah its hard to break 8.0 on Douban, much less 3 seasons in a row.

When Youku is happy with the score, they will release it. In general, airing platforms don't like to release the score before its "stable" (ie got enough "real" votes) and the rating in their opinion is "fair". Bc if they release it too early, the rating can influence how people who are still watching rate it. Usually if it is a good score, the platform releases it early, even before airing is complete. If they are not satisfied and think it can go up if they wait, then they wait. If they hope people forget about it, they also wait - for example, Tencent held up the score of The Longest Promise for 4 or 5 months bc that super high budget drama bombed out so badly they were hoping everyone forgot about it. I don't think that is why TVOA is taking so long. I expect the score to be pretty good judging from the Douban comments. That is why I suspect the Netflix licensing agreement is holding it up. But that is just speculation on my part. It could also be just that Youku isn't satisfied with it yet and since a lot of people are still watching and discussing it, they think they can get a better score by waiting.

The airing platform, in this case Youku, decides when to open the score. If I had to guess, its bc Youku licensed it to Netflix and Netflix is holding it up.

Happy New Year!!! Happy drama watching with your mom and more importantly, many good blessings and exciting developments in real life.

I think its up to your interpretation - I am 100pct sure Huaián died bc even if someone walked out of there alive, they are Liu Zhi. I think this will get a second season for sure bc its doing well on Netflix. So most likely Liu Zhi is alive, its just a question of whether Cheng Yi will star in it.

I don't think all of his friends know he is alive - if he has another mission, it will be need to know basis . Maybe only the two girls know bc they don't seem too sad and he needs them to heal his gut stab.

For “borrows a corpse to resurrect the soul” (借屍還魂) - I believe they mean they borrowed YFS's corpse to resurrect Liu Zhi's soul. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

It was a storm drain.

Yes I came across that too but if it were true then Huai’an’s vendetta should have been directed solely at the imperial family and not YFS and Huben who were in that case simply carrying out the orders of the monarch. It would make his revenge misguided and misdirected. I do think the ruling emperor did feel threatened by Liu Ziwen so he didn’t really punish YFS or Huben for their mutiny. That is very different however from giving the kill order.

Hmmm... much appreciate the color. I think I will wait for the reviews to see if its worth picking up again. I am a bit lazy to start anything new. I have to rewatch a few parts of dramas I completed so that I can wrap up the reviews I am behind on.

Actually The Promise of Chang'an is probably his best early role. But it is a super depressing story - I dropped it for that reason. No waterworks. He conveyed sadness without it.

Me too! That's why I put off the review for so long.😅

I did check out the first episode of Light of Dawn but as much as I love ZRY, I felt he has aged out of this kind of youth role. Is it worth continuing?

Its a drama act of social conscience comparable to putting up a warning sign - Quicksand Ahead.😅😂 Happy New Year!!!

😂😂😂

Technically my new year is in mid February this year but agree with you, more is better!👍

Ah geez - spoiler comments are the worst. I think (fingers crossed) by now I have blocked most of the people who like to post unmarked spoilers. 😅

Yes it was still interpretive bc you can also say that the Liu Zhi part was imagined.

The director likes to show imagined scenes - like the earlier scene where YFS imagines that he sees Huai'an walking down the street carrying his sister's plaque. Similarly Huai'an blowing up in the granary is what Liu Zhi sees in his mind, symbolising he left his sadness and obsession behind, i.e. he let his Huai'an identity die.

Thank you for your comments and Happy New Year!!!
I had a busy year and am behind on my reviews but will catch up before I start watching anything else.
I dropped Zanghai at whatever early episode it was that the dude ugly cried. That kind of waterworks from a man is a hard no for me.

Happy New Year to you too! May 2026 bring you many blessings and joy!
Falling off a cliff and not dying already pushes the limits of suspension of disbelief for me. Stabbing vital parts... I don't think I can get there...😅😂
Thank you for your terrific comments and the fun chats through the year. Hope to enjoy many more dramas together in the year ahead.

It is a definitive sad ending. It describes Wuyang's entourage reentering Chang'an and running into Wenjing, Ye Zheng and Xiaoqing carrying Huai'an's dead body. It is a definitive ending where he dies protecting Chang'an. Based on the Douban comments, there is more on Xiaohungshu detailing how he died sealing Tiemo king in the granary but I didn't track it down to read it.

They probably shot 2 or 3 bc the director mentioned they shot a few but it’s expensive to shoot too many so my guess is no more than 3. I don’t think more than one good ending is needed.

Demon Hunter’s novel is ongoing and has not ended. The scriptwriter who is not the novelist wrote an asinine ending that was never filmed. It was rejected by the entire production. Not at all the same thing as an alternate ending that is actually filmed and yes it is common to film more than one. Thats why Cheng Yi also commented that no one knows the ending until it airs. The other version that did not air shows Huai’an stone cold dead dead propped against the granary door with flies swarming around him. It’s described in the script in quite some gruesome detail.