Nepeta 22

Regarding modern dramas, on the romance front, I think there has been a deliberate shift away from the usual Boujee style content of unrealistic young CEOs or leads occupying fancy jobs like heading hotel chains or working in some PR style company to stand away from a Korean style romance drama, China has started to put the romance into 1970s-90s retro settings where they had their golden moment of growth, and now this is the new modern romance!

TBH it may work because it taps into a past that some international viewers may not have seen and in China, and there is enough time gap for a generation in China that feels a little nostalgia of a slower past due to the fast paced life that they live in today.

It remains to be seen if this works, but plenty of these dramas branded as retro dramas with young idol style leads. Hopefully, less of that physical and more of the spiritual which I think is China's unique content. It would be a shame if they were to go the route of being like Hollywood, having hard-nut female lead characters that are just performative and don't really have deeper meaning. It just looks cool. Nothing more.

Ha ha, I like that tree comment! Will be lost on those that haven't watched the drama.

I have avoided quite a few dramas in the last few years because I see the way the production promotes some dramas, I instantly get put off when I see "clips" filled with toxic style throat grabbing and editing of intimate scenes suggesting a promise of a lot of kisses. It means to me, these are the scenes that will grab potential viewers attention, or maybe entice them to reserve. It was a few at first, but nowadays, that sort of promotion seems to be pushed as a central selling point.

I don't know if viewers have forgotten Xianxia's base but I think they just want to bring modern thinking and elements to them, which is why, no kiss scenes or intimate scenes equals boring or no chemistry. A FL lead that may not be strong or all knowing is a failure for the drama. Why must that be? Do FL leads need to be strong and all knowing to highlight their strength?

There seems to be a closing down of variety, and in particular women. If you are a female, think about it. Why are you boxing yourself or other females into such a narrow and intolerant band? Being perfect just got a lot more harder.

Lighter and Princess is a prime example and after writing a review I was attacked non stop. It gave me a sobering perspective of how a portion of people have normalised this type of relationship as a golden romance. It's ok to see these types of relationships when the film or drama makers are not trying to create a moral spin on them, but when they make that as"the romance", it's glamourising. That drama stood out for me as a classic shift.

The irony is many Xianxias are meant to showcase a good message no matter what the end is, the underlying message is a good healthy message. And yes it also includes we can't have everything, there will always be a trade off.

But there has been a gradual shift to use abusive unhealthy relationships that glamourises toxic behaviour and re spin that as passion. Or filling scenes with unnatural twists where characters are locked together in a teasing manner just to get cuts for social media. These tactics are actually damaging the drama industry and story quality. This also fuels a short attention span and creates an almost false perspective of dramas that don't contain these elements can be deemed boring or old fashion.

I would have liked the story to use the same amount of time to show us FL's childhood friends for Heng Zhi's character as I felt his presence strange at times. Very little was shown about his background, his past life before arriving in Kashgar and his strange relationship with money. It was written almost as if FL dreamt of wanting someone there to heal her from her grieving which was played out in slow motion.

The vagueness of her father's death and where he was felt like a deliberate decision not to divulge also made the whole drama seem a bit fragmented. I feel, if these two bits were more clearer it would have been a more complete drama, otherwise it may as well be a documentary.

I meant that actor Wang Ming Yang has striking resemblance to Xiao Zhan. That's all, even down to how he laughs. I also think we may see more of this character since he may get his comeuppance soon.

No problem, everyone has their preferences. My view is to sometimes think why we view female characters harshly and in a sense, the drama makers in this drama is actually questioning us the viewers on female characters and if you make it to the end, it will be worth it. Anything I say beyond this would be spoilers.

I know a lot of people felt the same way. Because later on important details will undo everything you have seen or known. But, if you see past that, it is one of the best dramas around right up to the very last minute. 😊

I agree. And to then think back to the carefully crafted scenes where Fu Tian invites him to watch that opera show and the conversation they had afterwards. Then to see how the rest of the next few episodes unfolds is a well constructed arc. It ties up many things like the ML's pain and how he blocked it, which ultimately explains why he could not undo the memory wiping. Also the Tree spirit and of course, his earlier life and how he came to be. Very neatly tied up.

Regarding the titles, these are often given in China in part due to respect to certain actors that they deem have been around longer or have a loyal strong fanbase. It's quite common to see some labelled main role and hold very little screen time or significance in their roles. This was seen with Peng Xiao Ran in Tales of the Dark River recently. Most times, the side kicks or comical characters are really high SMLs as seen with Are you the One.

If you've seen him in A Dream Within A Dream, he is much more lively there, in fact a complete opposite to this character.

Me too. He has redeemed himself since I could not stomach him when he played a character called Pan Chi in Melody of the Golden Age, and that character stuck with me for so long. Loved the scene where he was given the chance to attack the Xiao Zhan lookalike (including that laugh) played by Wang Ming Yang. I suspect he may figure in the next few episodes.

😉Great!

I agree. It should really not be a crime drama because a large portion is psychological based and if it had been marketed as a family drama it may have been viewed a different way. Kudos to all cast members especially Deng Enxi & Xu Kai. Also Hu Ke's performance was a treat.

Yes, that Ye Xian... That set up is too tedious for me. But like you the political scenes with Yan Yun would have been the highlights for me, but I guess I am not motivated enough to sit through all that.

By some of the comments I read yesterday, a large chunk had been swallowed up by all the in-fighting and still they barely touched on the tax reform arc. I will have to rely on you to give me the updates! 😅

Only 6.5 rating on Douban. I think this drama should have been a bit higher than that. Never mind.

Yes, a really under appreciated drama. Hope you enjoy it right to the end because for me, it was worth it. Not an easy drama to make with the subject matter. But, I think they have done a pretty good job.

With these types of dramas, I'm afraid you will have to have the patience of a saint. These episodes will come out eventually but you may need to wait another week or so on Youtube's YouKu channels.

Looks like I'm missing all this as I had dropped the drama! Although I probably dropped it because I'm not a big fan of court intrigue that involves concubines and a lot of in-fighting, plus the SML looks too basic to sit through all that. But glad this is now working for you 😉

I would say it was more a class thing too, because by Ming Dynasty, it was already getting clearer the merchants were gaining clout in the system. But of course today, people put business owners very high up in social status. Often showing more distrust in politics over brands.