I didn't think politics could be so funny with CXZ. That's another part I like about this drama. They don't dwell…
I didn't watch LYF as I don't like the FL, but I am very impressed with ZWY and became an immediate fan. I see that he attended Beijing Film Academy - his training shows.
I absolutely love both of the leads in this drama! Their characters are interesting, intelligent and very independent, and yet both are simultaneously adorable and have a definite comedic flair.
Both actors are new to me, and are already added to my favorites list. It's so nice to have a gorgeous FL like Wang Chu Ran (why are 2nd FLs usually prettier than the FL in so many Cdramas?), who has a mature, feminine voice and acts like an adult rather than a 13 year old girl. And while this is my first time seeing Zhang WanYi, he is fantastic and I became an immediate fan.
Everyone is doing a great job, and I love the story. The "twist" about LMT's identity was an excellent surprise, and although I understand her anger at CXZ, I am really ready for them to kiss and make up, because they are such a great couple, and both -but especially ZWY - are excellent with the comedic timing!
I am loving this drama! Zhang LingHe has been one of my favorite actors since I first saw him in Maiden Holmes, and I also like the FL in this drama. And the side characters - fox boy is annoying, but he has now changed his annoying ways so much that by episode 27 he's redeemed himself, finally!
I am loving this drama! Zhang LingHe has been one of my favorite actors since I first saw him in Maiden Holmes, and I also like the FL in this drama. And the side characters - fox boy is annoying, but he has now changed his annoying ways so much that by episode 27 he's redeemed himself, finally!
I have to say, I really love Zhang Ling He. I remember seeing him for the first time in Maiden Holmes, and immediately loving his acting and his character. And then finding out it was his first drama, and being amazed that he waltzed in and did such a great job - a lead role in his first drama??
Since then I can see how he continues to improve. People here are saying he now even uses his own voice and dubs himself, which is another big plus.
He and Wang XingYue are my current favorite Chinese actors - both are tall and have the types of bodies that look fantastic in the xianxia and wuxia styles, both are super charismatic on screen, both have beautiful, sexy voices, and - my personal thing - both have gorgeous hands with long, slender fingers. I also really like Neo Hou, who is gorgeous, but while he is certainly not a bad actor in any way, he will hopefully hone his acting skills . I think he does quite well in comedic roles - he was really cute and adorable in Back From the Brink!
Question!! To anyone who is closely following the plot -
I have watched Episode 27, but not 28 yet, and am confused about the supposed destruction of demon Sen Luo via the fox boy and his sister's spell that allows Ji Yang (and fox boy) to enter Sen Luo's mind and supposedly destroy him.
I feel like there was a big chunk of drama left out of Ep. 27 - it skips from Nan Yan visiting her (very attractive) uncle in the cave, to Ji Yang and fox boy inside - Sen Luo's mind? - and fox boy asking, do you believe what "he" said? And then them coming out of the cave and meeting up with old cultivtor and fox queen. Old cultivator said they succeeded, Sen Lua is gone, and Ji Yang is free of his spirit and presumably the curse of 100 years of torture then death from the 5 demon slaying knives.
Then Ji Yang asks old cultivator if what "he" said was true, and old cultivator says "yes."
Setting aside the fact that everything that happened once Ji Yang and fox boy supposedly entered Sen Luo's mind to destroy him is not shown, what did "he" say? Is "he" the now presumably destroyed Sen Luo, or is the "he" the old cultivator? I am assuming it's Sen Luo, and he must have said something pretty scary about Ji Yang's or Nan Yan's future.
Can I assume these very important missing scenes will be filled in when I watch Episode 28?
Also, I love how the "good guys" are "bad guys" when the leads are demons, or practice demonic cultivation. I hate almost all the cultivating sects. They are all suspicious. I think that the ultimate bad guy - the guy in the mask who is trying to get all the demonic power - is the revered head of the sect that Ji Yang was a member of. I think he is the one who killed all the sect members and framed Ji Yang for it. I mean, who else could it be? We know that Ji Yang didn't his sect members, but came upon the scene after they had been killed, and the "witness" is the cult leader. Who else can it be? I initially thought it was the head of the group who is hunting Ji Yang, but I don't think he is powerful enough.
Legend of Shen Li. one Drama with a very happy, loving ending...
OMG yes! And not only did we get a HE, but the director served up an entire final episode of their adorable marital bliss, with ShenLi still being a badass, and retired god Xing Zhi enjoying being her house-husband (and soon to be stay at home dad!!) I loved it!
The only explanation I can find is that he wanted to promote the actor, Ryan Ren (LYL)???The moment Situ wasn't…
It seems to me that the main motive for changing the one who changed MiLan from Situ to Shen was to justify killing off Shen. Once Mr. Mo figured out and told Shen that the stone could only belong to one person at a time, and once that person used it to save someone, then the person who gave the stone away would die, I knew it was going to be Shen who did the deed and thus basically killed himself.
It was totally fabricated by the director, so he could gratuitously kill the ML.
I was shocked the director kept *that* scene with Jing Xue AND had the guts to whitewash LYL !
The irony is that IMO he did Ryan Ren ZERO favors.
The character of LYL was unlikable and unsympathetic, because no matter what background story the director and writer came up with, the actor could not convey it in a manner that made him sympathetic. His OTT acting - which I imagine was praised and encouraged by the director - was terrible, and mostly made me laugh. (Like in the scenes where he was losing it, and singing Peking Opera, and dirtying up his face while Shen had him locked up - his acting was just laughably bad).
Take an unlikable character, add the bad OTT acting, and then draw attention to it by making that badly written, badly acted, unlikable character suck up half or more of the screen time in every episode, without advancing the story or developing the character, while cutting the leads' screentime and cheating the audience of their much more interesting stories, and bam! You've created a recipe for making the GP hate you, your drama, and the actor you promoted at the cost of the entire drama plus the screen time of the more interesting and/or likable characters/cast.
For a summary, the director had to close his weibo account. LYL is not an important character in the novel but…
This actually gives me some satisfaction, because I am furious about the way this drama devolved from fresh and exciting to repetitive, boring scenes that focused on a support character at the price of the 3 lead characters ,and changed a key part of the drama (the person who makes MiLan a vampire) for the sole purpose of having an excuse to kill of Shen.
The comments? I'm shocked. My friend said she smelled something fishy about Li Ying Lian's screen time from the…
Is there some inside scoop about why an actor listed as playing a SUPPORT CHARACTER had far more screen time than the three actors listed as Main Cast/Leads?
Why do you keep saying āwatch on goingā to every question? what does that even mean?
Agreed. There is always a risk in watching a currently airing drama. A risk that even though it starts out awesome, the writers/directors are going to screw it up beyond repair, and turn something that was, and could have continued to be, wonderful into garbage.
TBH, that seems to be the gift of over 50% of Cdrama directors, and really they should not be rewarded for it, It makes me so angry when I watch something like The Double - with a guaranteed HE based on the novel - and the director stabs the audience in the heart at the very end of the last episode, while giggling to himself. So infuriating.
what annoyed me the most was the fact that they gave li and yx more couple screen time that ml x fl i mean it…
I did not like Situ. At first he was cute and amusing, but as the drama went on his superficial, totally self-centered personality was more and more annoying.
However, I think it was intentional contrast to Shen, who was born and grew to his late teens as a human, and who was determined to maintain his humanity despite the fact that he was no longer human.
I guess in this drama, unlike in classic/traditional vampire lore, vampires can procreate, and so Situ was born a vampire and never at any time was human. IMO that completely defies the entire vampire mythology, so Situ is somewhat of a unique character as far as traditional vampire lore goes. (Every other vampire ever starts out as a human, because vampires are technically DEAD and no longer have bodily functions. (As an aside, I was always amused at how Ann Rice was so adept at using subtext - especially homoerotic subtext - in her vampire novels that many readers were convinced the vampires had sex. They totally missed a few KEY passages about the makeup and functions of vampire bodies, that made it clear they were incapable of having sex!)
So Situ was probably written - both in the novel and the drama - to be unlikable, in that he was totally self-centered and was incapable of empathy or understanding human emotions. For example, in his relationship with JJX, we see that he can feel desire, but he can't feel love. The idea that he would commit to being with someone forever was anathema to him. He only thought in terms of what he wanted in the moment.
Shen was the antithesis of this. He clung to his memories of being human, and maintaining human dignity and morals, which included not harming or killing others (Ergo denying himself blood, and when it was necessary, only drinking animal blood. We've actually seen this type of character in other vampire novels, such as Ann Rice's novels, where the occasional vampire lives on things like rats and other vermin, or where they prey solely on evil criminals).
I really hoped Avenue X reviewed this drama. Now, I hope not. If she does, it is gonna be a rant video. š
She already mentioned it, I think in her live video last week or the week before. She couldn't get into it from the start so I don't think we'll be getting any further review. Also it sounded like vampire dramas aren't her thing anyway.
I love AvenueX, but there was a time when her taste and mine were aligned about 95% of the time or even more. But lately she doesn't like anything Cdrama. It's rant after rant. She didn't like The Double (I loved it). She didn't like Joy of Life 2, and complained about 10 minutes about the constant ads, as if THAT were a legitimate criticism of the drama (instead of either the streaming service or either watching for free instead of being a paying subscriber). She was completely meh about Blossoms in Adversity, which I think is one of the best Cdramas of 2024, with a loveable, strong FL and a ML who respects and - gasp - communicates with her! (And I've never been a Hu Yitian fan, because I never like his characters, but I loved his character in BiA). I really can't think of a drama she liked that I also liked this year - if she even liked any at all!
I watch far more Cdramas than I do Kdramas, and people who use this site are far more into Kdramas, so I really rely on her to give me good info about what to watch, but I just feel like she needs to maybe take a break for awhile, or stop watching so many bad Cdramas!
Both actors are new to me, and are already added to my favorites list. It's so nice to have a gorgeous FL like Wang Chu Ran (why are 2nd FLs usually prettier than the FL in so many Cdramas?), who has a mature, feminine voice and acts like an adult rather than a 13 year old girl. And while this is my first time seeing Zhang WanYi, he is fantastic and I became an immediate fan.
Everyone is doing a great job, and I love the story. The "twist" about LMT's identity was an excellent surprise, and although I understand her anger at CXZ, I am really ready for them to kiss and make up, because they are such a great couple, and both -but especially ZWY - are excellent with the comedic timing!
Since then I can see how he continues to improve. People here are saying he now even uses his own voice and dubs himself, which is another big plus.
He and Wang XingYue are my current favorite Chinese actors - both are tall and have the types of bodies that look fantastic in the xianxia and wuxia styles, both are super charismatic on screen, both have beautiful, sexy voices, and - my personal thing - both have gorgeous hands with long, slender fingers. I also really like Neo Hou, who is gorgeous, but while he is certainly not a bad actor in any way, he will hopefully hone his acting skills . I think he does quite well in comedic roles - he was really cute and adorable in Back From the Brink!
I have watched Episode 27, but not 28 yet, and am confused about the supposed destruction of demon Sen Luo via the fox boy and his sister's spell that allows Ji Yang (and fox boy) to enter Sen Luo's mind and supposedly destroy him.
I feel like there was a big chunk of drama left out of Ep. 27 - it skips from Nan Yan visiting her (very attractive) uncle in the cave, to Ji Yang and fox boy inside - Sen Luo's mind? - and fox boy asking, do you believe what "he" said? And then them coming out of the cave and meeting up with old cultivtor and fox queen. Old cultivator said they succeeded, Sen Lua is gone, and Ji Yang is free of his spirit and presumably the curse of 100 years of torture then death from the 5 demon slaying knives.
Then Ji Yang asks old cultivator if what "he" said was true, and old cultivator says "yes."
Setting aside the fact that everything that happened once Ji Yang and fox boy supposedly entered Sen Luo's mind to destroy him is not shown, what did "he" say? Is "he" the now presumably destroyed Sen Luo, or is the "he" the old cultivator? I am assuming it's Sen Luo, and he must have said something pretty scary about Ji Yang's or Nan Yan's future.
Can I assume these very important missing scenes will be filled in when I watch Episode 28?
Also, I love how the "good guys" are "bad guys" when the leads are demons, or practice demonic cultivation. I hate almost all the cultivating sects. They are all suspicious. I think that the ultimate bad guy - the guy in the mask who is trying to get all the demonic power - is the revered head of the sect that Ji Yang was a member of. I think he is the one who killed all the sect members and framed Ji Yang for it. I mean, who else could it be? We know that Ji Yang didn't his sect members, but came upon the scene after they had been killed, and the "witness" is the cult leader. Who else can it be? I initially thought it was the head of the group who is hunting Ji Yang, but I don't think he is powerful enough.
It was totally fabricated by the director, so he could gratuitously kill the ML.
The character of LYL was unlikable and unsympathetic, because no matter what background story the director and writer came up with, the actor could not convey it in a manner that made him sympathetic. His OTT acting - which I imagine was praised and encouraged by the director - was terrible, and mostly made me laugh. (Like in the scenes where he was losing it, and singing Peking Opera, and dirtying up his face while Shen had him locked up - his acting was just laughably bad).
Take an unlikable character, add the bad OTT acting, and then draw attention to it by making that badly written, badly acted, unlikable character suck up half or more of the screen time in every episode, without advancing the story or developing the character, while cutting the leads' screentime and cheating the audience of their much more interesting stories, and bam! You've created a recipe for making the GP hate you, your drama, and the actor you promoted at the cost of the entire drama plus the screen time of the more interesting and/or likable characters/cast.
TBH, that seems to be the gift of over 50% of Cdrama directors, and really they should not be rewarded for it, It makes me so angry when I watch something like The Double - with a guaranteed HE based on the novel - and the director stabs the audience in the heart at the very end of the last episode, while giggling to himself. So infuriating.
However, I think it was intentional contrast to Shen, who was born and grew to his late teens as a human, and who was determined to maintain his humanity despite the fact that he was no longer human.
I guess in this drama, unlike in classic/traditional vampire lore, vampires can procreate, and so Situ was born a vampire and never at any time was human. IMO that completely defies the entire vampire mythology, so Situ is somewhat of a unique character as far as traditional vampire lore goes. (Every other vampire ever starts out as a human, because vampires are technically DEAD and no longer have bodily functions. (As an aside, I was always amused at how Ann Rice was so adept at using subtext - especially homoerotic subtext - in her vampire novels that many readers were convinced the vampires had sex. They totally missed a few KEY passages about the makeup and functions of vampire bodies, that made it clear they were incapable of having sex!)
So Situ was probably written - both in the novel and the drama - to be unlikable, in that he was totally self-centered and was incapable of empathy or understanding human emotions. For example, in his relationship with JJX, we see that he can feel desire, but he can't feel love. The idea that he would commit to being with someone forever was anathema to him. He only thought in terms of what he wanted in the moment.
Shen was the antithesis of this. He clung to his memories of being human, and maintaining human dignity and morals, which included not harming or killing others (Ergo denying himself blood, and when it was necessary, only drinking animal blood. We've actually seen this type of character in other vampire novels, such as Ann Rice's novels, where the occasional vampire lives on things like rats and other vermin, or where they prey solely on evil criminals).
I love AvenueX, but there was a time when her taste and mine were aligned about 95% of the time or even more. But lately she doesn't like anything Cdrama. It's rant after rant. She didn't like The Double (I loved it). She didn't like Joy of Life 2, and complained about 10 minutes about the constant ads, as if THAT were a legitimate criticism of the drama (instead of either the streaming service or either watching for free instead of being a paying subscriber). She was completely meh about Blossoms in Adversity, which I think is one of the best Cdramas of 2024, with a loveable, strong FL and a ML who respects and - gasp - communicates with her! (And I've never been a Hu Yitian fan, because I never like his characters, but I loved his character in BiA). I really can't think of a drama she liked that I also liked this year - if she even liked any at all!
I watch far more Cdramas than I do Kdramas, and people who use this site are far more into Kdramas, so I really rely on her to give me good info about what to watch, but I just feel like she needs to maybe take a break for awhile, or stop watching so many bad Cdramas!