Nepeta 22

😂

Well, this is the comments on the whole drama, good and bad 😋.

For me, the drama's story line has not kicked in much, so I am distracted with other things like hair and make up, excessive background music so loud, I ban barely hear some of the dialogue. Hopefully, the drama will pick up from episode 5.

The previous comments about biting was not really related to just Li Qin, and as you say, this has nothing to do with her performance. She is like a work horse. Give her a job, she gives the character 100% of her attention, even how contrived. Here, the character is just not as interesting as her character in Snowy Nights, Timeless Love. Fair enough you didn't like that drama, we will have to agree to disagree there.

But for me her stand out performance has to be in War of Faith.

Well, CZY has said in past interviews he wanted the make up artist here to make his eyebrows look more fierce and dominant! It looks like he got his wish, but judging from your opinion, not in the good way...

As for eye make up, I think this was done to make him look more masculine (ironically). Without it, he may look too boyish and unlike a commanding general type character. This is an issue with a fair few MLs that do idol style costume dramas. They end up with a lot of eye-shadow, more on the undersides of eyes than the lids. Here, they've gone for the extension at the ends of the eyes to try and create a phoenix style shape 😉.

But you know that in these dramas you always need contrast, so some characters are there to uplift the leads. Others are there for the leads to lift them up. The whole point is she either goes through the journey and learn or dies. We're just here to watch how that pans out. Yes, characters like this can be hard to watch. The drama will get extra points if she's not going to go through what I have listed. Since these storylines are very common in idol style dramas.

I don't think it's the make up here, it's the excessive smoothing filters they add on with specific lead characters.

Here, ML's upper lip is stiff and affecting his facial features when he needs to use his lips. I suspect that upper lip (it's taking over his face) has had temporary fillers which paralyse the skin around the area. If you watch properly, his upper lip does not move or flap much. I know some stars want to achieve duck-lips but if done wrong, you end up with the lip being on the protruding side.

I actually think her role in Snowy night Timeless Love is more commanding and better suited to her general demeanor. Here, it feels forced that she's doing all this biting stuff, flitting from deranged to helpful. Doesn't flow at all. In fact all the biting stuff feels forced and contrived when you look at the general storyline and the pacing/music. It doesn't fit.

It is available with kissasian if you can't see it through the normal routes. but I only recommend that if you have a pop-up blocker set up.

Well I'm on only episode 3 and cannot understand why there is so much music playing non-stop in the background. It's so loud, in some scenes I can barely hear any dialogue.

I also notice that everytime the camera is on ML, a wind machine is going on and it looks out of place in scenes when he's indoors where there is minimal wind to get those flyaway hairs to move. I get one or two scenes to indicate swashbuckling ML, but here, it's excessive and devalues his character. I'm thinking instead, does he need all the help he can get?

It doesn't work like that. She had a break-out role whether that is luck or not and the role suited her to the max. Guo Jing Ming has a knack of creating heat for new up-coming actors as seen with Tian Jia-Rui, Yan An & Cheng Lei. That role had opened doors for her. This is no different to other actors that may have been in the background and then thrust into the limelight like Gong Jun or others that suddenly got fame from a BL type role.

The rest is now to see how the public likes them (which seems to be going well so far) and whether they can gather more recognition for their acting.

This will be arguably her first main role if you discount Serendipity which showed her poor crying in the acting department. I have seen her in Romance In the Alley & Parallel World and she faded into the background in those roles. These new roles will hopefully see her grow more and branch out of her comfort zone of playing soft, quiet and meek characters. She has the package. it's whether her acting can be more varied. If so, she could have a good career.

I might be in the minority, but I loved the other 2 arcs too. It's true that each arc can almost be a stand alone drama in itself. I would try and see how you feel.

The first arc feels more moody and stylised which makes Cheng Lei smoulder in his role which is a bonus for Cheng Lei fans.

Second arc is more a mature relationship, but also very touching and emotional.

The third couple is more dramatic and like a soap opera. The FL is strong character and a bit insensitive. Brash if you want to be more direct and honest. ML is more meek and bookish. I liked the story but some didn't.

OK, maybe I have got too cynical over time.. I agree that some of these netizens and international fandom are going wild themselves. It's true that some of these elements are picked up on dramatic dramas!

But I find it interesting they don't make much noise when similar police statements are read out (almost every week) when they punish netizens that slander 'live' stars. The statement reads pretty much similar, only the subject is of live actors being talked about. A shame they can't see that it's just the same way of delivery and same way of naming and shaming.

Thanks for that. I missed that part of the conversation. It's good to know that part of the story is closed off. He was instrumental in the last arc in this drama. Plus, he saved her when she was much younger so it's nice to know he has been a silent protector in the background. It would be a shame if she was unable to see him again.

Someone asked why poor Alan Yu's passing was not even mentioned originally. Only to then post this attention grabbing headline using words like "authority". The statement is by the police and a police matter. Quite rightly, questionable images and lies need to be investigated, and in this case resulted in 3 arrests. Those that choose to believe these stories as fact can do so but don't have a go at those that choose to sit on the bench or even disagree with the dodgy looking source.

This is classic dog whistle politics and not an accident. The article and MDL are singing to the portion of viewers they know will pounce on this. It will bring out those that are already anti-China in general. Then ones that are not so clued up on how the Chinese entertainment industry works.

Rational people who follow these matters closely keep an open mind rather than believe questionable (world of AI and doctoring of images) images being put out. It's not as if many are unaware in today's world, the online community is subjected to plenty of deep-fakes from people who have the know-how on doing this. Even in China, many netizens partake in this activity inside the entertainment industry, already overusing filters.

It would have been nice if MDL originally put out a notice of Alan Yu's passing instead of now using his death to try and generate hate and whip up conflict in an already sad death.

Well, I only saw it here saying it's from a web novel. Yes, it feels very original and if someone said it was original script, I'd believe it. Many of the web novels are fast becoming quite predictable.

They did not put any emphasis on interiors of Qin Yu & Madam Tong's houses. It's nothing like the 1990s, more 2010! So distracting.

I would say the early parts, I really liked the hair and clothing more and it looked really rich and well researched. When they moved to Shanghai part, visuals weren't as appealing to me, but the storyline does start to pick up half way and I think for someone who has not read the novel, the drama stands up and looks pretty original and not at all predicable like some other similar dramas that suffer from dragginess.

This drama has plenty of drama to keep going but most of all, the FL stays true to her principles and refuses to sway for others. It's a hard role to play since the lead actress had to play a far younger version of herself in the early parts and I think she did very well.

I agree with much of what you wrote if we are talking about likeability and audiences being able to resonate with the FL in the last arc. This goes with continuity and the feel of the whole drama. So yes, the last couple seemed to not fit with the rest of the drama. I said elsewhere before it felt like another drama altogether.

I have a feeling that the last couple is work-in-progress, because it's very close to home for China today. Corruption and the return of greed and success through individual instead of team-work is very much still part of the culture there, and in the last 15-20 years, that type of thinking is still quite dominant.

In a recently aired drama "This Thriving Land", the audiences were more softer or sympathetic towards those that wanted to better themselves rather than look at a bigger and wider picture, and some were even critical of one of the characters joining the communist party as causing harm to their own family line. It's becoming a balancing act. Maybe, in this drama, they started to try and change the narrative in a half hearted way, and resulted in a couple that on paper would not be a match. Who knows. But I liked it because it was realistic and it also reminds us, we cannot always compartmentise everything into neat presentable boxes.

If any of you are not able to watch on Youtube Youku app, try the link below on this one. I can watch on this channel. The episodes can sometimes be a bit messed up, but generally it works for me.

https://www.youtube.com/@TV_SeriesSHOW

Agree with you on that. Was a page turner and as you say neat ending. Gotta say, as a drama on female empowerment and business, I prefer this drama much more than Flourished Peony. I hope more get to watch this. Loved and hated in equal measures all the characters (a compliment to all the actors in their roles). It will linger with me for a while, especially the music!