Saffy88

Hmmm well I'm overseas Chinese altho' admittedly with a Westernized background and I'm a firm fan of ZZS/ZZH. WKX's character is easier to connect with initially - less work to uncover his character's motivations, but ZZS character is far more intriguing. It may also be an age thing. I conducted a similar poll with my friends (all overseas Chinese) on ZZS and WKX and we split into camps with the slightly younger ones plumbing for WKX - LOL.

Definitely a brilliant screenwriter. Looking forward to more scripts from her. If only they would let her do a prequel with the Qi Ye novel for ZZS backstory - that would be so cool.

it's all overdubbed - but this drama production team has used the practice to put out original lines that would have been chopped by censors - see the real lines hidden under the dubbing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXK5voXh6fk&t=484s

If you watch Avenue X's first live stream on WOH she talks about how viewers gave feedback that the pacing of the WKX's scenes in the rain felt a bit too rushed. So what we're now seeing is already the re-edited version - the original version must have been watched by Chinese-speaking audiences only cos they were getting them so much faster.

Not only is the waiting torture - going on the internet and checking social media etc is suddenly super dicey cos everyone who's finished watching is talking about the ending..............I am also afraid that for us on VIP access it will end next week instead of this week. I'm not sure they will upload on the weekend.

Have been raving about them since the first week it was on air. It took me completely by surprise as well. Now deep in fandom esp over ZZS/ZZH. I've even been known to make my dinner guests watch a few episodes - LOL.

youtube (although I assume the youku ones would also carry similarly cleaned up subs). the ones they've released for VIP access on their site are still a little dodgy

You can read the novel - just be aware it's a little different from the drama but that is usual in adaptations. I think the screenwriter has managed to keep good faith with the novel and does use many scenes and lines from the novel but has changed some things for dramatic purposes which are totally justified. I think you can enjoy both equally - the screenwriter Xiao Chu is brilliant in her own right and is a big fan of Priest.

IKR? That's what I've been feeling these last few weeks..........it's just crazy!

Looks like youku is cleaning up their subs. Was rewatching the earlier episodes as I tend to do while waiting for the new episodes and noticed their earlier subs seem to be making more sense. Nice that they are diligent enough to do that. And also nice that the production team responded to viewer critique about the pacing of the emotional scenes in ep 14 and actually re-edited them. No wonder this is one of the top dramas of the year.........

OMG - I'm trying to avoid all discussion boards and social media in order to avoid spoilers as the last few episodes play out. But just had to say the look on ZZH's face when WKX pops back up from the dead to exact revenge on ZJ is PRICELESS! The leader of the best secret service in the land is the only one left in the dark - LMAO! Such a satisfying drama this is!

This is one of Priest's earliest novels, if not the earliest, and it's very short and as this is an adaptation for the screen with 36 episodes, the screenwriter has had to expand on certain elements and also changed the dynamics a little between ZZS and WKX. In order for eg to give WKX's character more of a motivation rather than just pop up as a random stalker, she's crafted a backstory where he and ZZS knew each other previously. But she's a huge fan of Priest so she has kept faith with the novel and also uses the novel's scenes in the main. She's also shown that she is a brilliant writer in her own right - I pointed out just yesterday she was able to put in a #metoo moment with 3 guys on a bridge while also at the same time interlacing the script effortlessly with classical poetry and idioms, some from the novel undoubtedly but some of which have been expanded/added by her.
As much as it about WKX it is also about ZZH. Watch that first episode carefully again to see why he too is damaged, wracked with guilt and has decided to just get wasted until he dies. WKX and CL entering his life is what gives him a motive to want to live on and an opportunity to redeem himself in his eyes and he hopes in the eyes of his shifu, his junior and the rest of the Four Seasons Manor.
As we haven't reached the end of the drama, we don't know yet how the story with ZZS and his former megalomaniac boss will play out but we know it's coming up cos of the previews - so again not quite correct to say that it's all just about WKX's revenge. I think it will complete ZZS' arc and give him some closure over his guilt as the Prince's enforcer.
PS. I'm reading the English translation of the novel, but have not yet finished.

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There're so many YT videos explaining these to non-Chinese speakers - it's worth watching them just to be able to appreciate the culture more and add depth to one's viewing - in particular check out Avenue X's videos on the poetry and other references: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvOzbhiiMNA&t=191s

Hi, you can get 3 months free on youku as a new subsciber I believe. Otherwise the lowest package is ¥10. There's no point going to the unofficial sites as I think I've seen elsewhere people complaining that they haven't updated beyond what's freely available on YT. Also these sites are quite fraught with phishing/trojans/viruses etc etc.

OMG I couldn't stop laughing at this fan-made parody crossing TU and WOH: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBw_IvAeDuI

Interesting that he still has time to read his fan's posts - responded to a fan who expressed her disappointment that she couldn't see him in person after making all sorts of arrangements through scalpers, by telling her to take care and get home safely. Can't wait to see how his career progresses from here onwards.

Join the fan club :)

He's not a celestial or godly immortal and he will die if he doesn't continue to live in the mountain and eat only certain foods - that's why he's already aging as he stuffs his face and moves around the jianghu.

He's the leader of the Ghost Valley. They killed his family in front of him and then took him in. His childhood was therefore completely brutal and miserable and he only survived by beating everyone else to get to the top. Now he's out for revenge against both the jianghu guys who abandoned his family and the Ghost Valley who killed them. In this drama version, WKX also knows ZZS from when they were kids and he was on the run with his family. ZZS's shifu had rescued them and given them temporary shelter - so their fates are intertwined.
Is he good or bad? You see from his backstory that he turned out the way he did because of what was done to him as a kid and what he had to do to survive. His redeeming features are the fact that he hasn't lost all shreds of conscience and is self-aware. He will also defend to the death those he cares about. I would say he's very human, he's made mistakes and some bad choices, but it's not entirely his fault either given how awful his childhood and his time in the Ghost Valley was. Could anyone stay completely sane in that place? The other major point of course is that the story is about him finding redemption in loving ZZS and having ZZS love him. You will also find that the real villain of the piece is far more psycho, calculating and ruthless than WKX.