WK1

If you wish to discuss, come back after the official subs are out. Should be any day after 18 May. Lots of people are waiting quietly to do just that. Watch and discuss.

Here is my take. If both IS and LOA received airing license about the same time, LOA will go first. Why? There is another Reba drama around: Prosecution Elite. And that is a national project that is scheduled to air around Oct. Youku will not want offend the Chinese government by showing LOA around Oct and make two Reba dramas fight each other, when PE is a national project.

So, Youku will air this first, if both LOA and IS get their broadcast license about the same time. Showing LOA around July/August will be ideal for Youku. Or else, they may well have to wait till the end of the year.

Just how important is this role for Dilraba? As a public prosecutor? Very important. Here are my reasons:

1. This is role she has never tried before. It is a serious role in a modern Cdrama. Compare it with YAMG, Pretty Li Huizen, etc. and you will agree with me. Succeess in this role will silence all her critics both domestic and international. So many have said she just played the same kind of role again and again. This is her answer to their allegation.

I read an online article which claimed that some viewers in China felt that a role as serious as this should have gone to actresses like Zhao Liying or Sun Li. Interesting. Does it not show that CCTV has lots and lots of confidence in Reba's acting abilities?? That she is not just a pretty face who cannot act? So yah, we should be really happy CCTV placed so much faith in her acting abilities and she will repay that confidence with a superior acting performance.

2. This project is a CCTV project, and CCTV is the national TV, supported by the Chinese government. I feel that they are trying to do several things by casting her. She is an Uyghur means they could be making a political statement that they do not discriminate against ethnic minorities in China. Two, they are using this drama to promote public prosecutors as an important career choice for women in China, the same way the Chinese Aerospace used YAMG to promote the Chinese aerospace industry.

3. That this drama will be shown on national TV (in addition to Tencent's platform), means she has the chance to shine big time in China, in front of millions and millions of viewers. I think both CCTV and Tencent will promote this drama heavily in China, and Tencent will do likewise internationally, getting it to stream in as many countries as possible.

Her success on such a grand stage will cement her as a top tier Chinese actress, forever put to rest those who claimed that she was undeserving of those awards she won in 2018. Even if they look down on her performance prior to 2018, all the recent performances would have justified her 2018 triumph retrospectively.

Shine, Reba, shine. Put on a great show for the whole world to see. Show to the world, not only do you look gorgeous, your acting abilities are just as incomparable, that there is not a single role you cannot handle.

Concerning Dilraba, I share your sentiments 100%. For us who are her hardcore fans, there is so much fun, tracking her career.

I just confirmed. Filming wrapped up for Legend of Anle on Nov 12, 2021. The Long Ballad finished filming on 27 July 2020 and aired on March 31, 2021. It took them about 8 months to work on post production of 49 episodes. Legend of Anle and TLB are same genre, historical Wuxia, so post production should take about the same time, even if TLB has more episodes.

8 months from Nov 12, 2021 will mean around July 12, 2022. Even if we assume that there is a slight delay of one month, that will place it around August 12, 2022, which will still be Summer.

Now, it is only a question of getting the airing license. If it does get the airing license before Immortal Samsara, I will not be surprised if we get to see the LOA in the July/August period.

IS finished filming in Oct, 1 month ahead of LOA. But IS is a Xianxia drama, which usually means lots of CGI involved, which usually means longer post production time. LOA can easily finish its post production ahead of IS or at about the same time.

Meaning, it is really a question of which drama gets it airing license first, and, in the event that both gets airing license about the same time, it is really up to Youku.

Should be surprised if LOA were to air ahead of IS? Hardly.

Being a Hero is a modern drama. Youku will have no concern about that one clashing with LOA. The Zhao Liying drama is also a modern drama. Hence, Youku would not be concerned about both those dramas airing at the same time as LOA. Youku aired a Yang Yang modern drama same time as TBW.

A few days after 18 May. They are likely to release the official subs for Part 1 and 2 back to back, on Croton Media's YouTube Channel

So sorry. I forgot to keep my earlier reply in spoiler box. I did now.

I was thinking along the same line as you!! SP is shorter. Can easily finish it in a day or two if we binge. Yes, you are right. The FL in SP is Reba's friend from her Uni days at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and one online article said they have been keeping in touch with each other for the last 12 years or so.

She was relatively unknown, until L&R. If she looks familiar, you might have watched her in Ever Night, which was also a very popular drama.

I think I figured out why Youku could not stream this drama internationally, despite being the largest investor in this drama. The rights to the novel (for drama adaptation) was sold to Huace/Croton Media. In short, if they want to make this drama, they have no choice but to team up with Huace/Croton. But, being the largest investor, they got the broadcasting rights for the domestic market, and Croton Media the international market.

Hence, we have less to be fearful for Legend of Anle, that the same thing might happen. Youku need not team up with anyone anymore. If they choose to, they can stream LOA exclusively in China, as well as internationally, via its own streaming platform. Monalex, below, mentioned that Youku already streamed dramas on its platform in the past. They know how to handle all the issues related to international broadcasting.

This is very hard for me to compare. I mean, between SP and WRTW. I think SP is something like a historical rom-com; but it does have good fighting scenes. And the ML was praised for all his fighting scenes. WRTW is supposed to be a more serious drama. So, comparing across the two is always going to be very difficult.

If you are asking this question in order to decide which to watch, my humble suggestion would be, try a couple of episodes for each of those dramas. See which one appeals more to you, in terms of storyline, acting, etc.

SP griped me more than WRTR, but that is totally subjective, I must add. WRTR has a higher rating here in MDL, but somewhere else, its rating is lower than SP.

I started on SP, before WRTR was out. So, I am more likely to resume watching SP. And then, when I am done, I will resume WRTR and see that one goes.

Ok. Much thanks for the clarification. So, yes, you have more or less confirmed that Youku does have the ability to stream dramas internationally via its streaming platform.

So, why then they even bother to team up with Huace/Croton Media. Now I recall. Someone mentioned that Huace/Croton Media actually bought the rights to the novel. Hence, Youku does not have much of choice.

Ok, if Youku was able to show those three dramas in China and in the international market with only a short difference of a few days, it does show that they are indeed able to do it.

Let us take My Bargain Queen as an example. On MDL page it shows Youku as well as Viki. Do you recall using Youku or Viki to watch this drama? Because the Viki platform is also a very popular platform used by Tencent, Youku and Iqiyi to stream their dramas.

Regarding YAMG, Tencent showed it via Tencent Video in China, and via WeTv internationally. WeTv is also owned by Tencent, so they made a lot of money from YAMG. They controlled all the platforms that that drama can be shown, because they know that it will be a great success.

Let's just say I love to solve complex puzzles?? The complex the puzzle, the fun it is for me.

My Sassy Princess is a very decent drama. I started on it, but stopped to watch TBW. I also started on Who Rules the World, but also stopped to watch TBW. So, now, while waiting for subs and there are no more new episodes of TBW, I might go back and resume watching both of those dramas.

Ok. Let me share with you something about this particular director. He does have the habit of leaving something open, something for viewers to figure out by themselves. It is as it he is saying, ok, I have done lots for you in all these many episodes. Now, for the very final 5 minutes of this drama, I leave you with a puzzle. Not a very difficult one. Can you solve it??

So, I have no doubt that is a happy ending. I mean, Yunhe certainly came out of that lava lake. they did have that conversation by the cliff, against the beautiful sunset. And she did have that mermaid tail. The puzzle that was left for us, how did she do??

Now, between the director and the scriptwriter, I am not sure who actually left this puzzle for us. I see some exchanges on the social media in China, that some people are actually blaming the scriptwriter for not letting us know how she got her tail.

These days, when I watch a Chinese drama, I do not even read the Chinese subtitles at the bottom. I just concentrate on their dialogues and watch their actions. That usually works for me. If I have to listen, watch, and then read the Chinese subtitles as well, that will be too difficult.

So, when I watched YAMG, I just listened to what YT and QJJ were saying. And also observe their actions. If I do not understand anything, like you, I will rewind the sences, and this time, just read the English subtitles to get full understanding.

Ok. I do not have all the information. But this is what I suspect happened, between Youku and Croton. Youku did not pay for ALL the investments for TBW. They pay the bulk of it. Let's say, around 80%. And Croton did pay around 10%, with the rest contributed by other investors. This is why Youku is still obliged to let Croton have the international rights. Croton did contribute and hence is entitled to ways and means to recover their own investments.

If Youku paid a 100% of all the investment needed, I suspect they would not even want Croton to have the international rights. They might as well just do the international broadcast themselves.

One factor I do not know is whether Youku has done this before. Meaning, have they kept everything to themselves, and just let international viewers view their drama via Youku app for a previous drama. If they have not done this before, it may show their preference not to do it. Maybe there are legal issues involved and they would rather let another party do it, a party that is more familiar with legal issues involving international broadcasting.

It is not just legal issue involving other countries. It could be legal issues involving China itself. I think that why Tencent up WeTv, so Tencent will broadcast their drama via WeTv for the international markets, while Tencent will stream it via Tencent Video for the China market.

Not all.

Let me give you an example. Look at this drama Love and Redemption (2020). It is definitely a Youku production. Yet, they allowed it to stream on Tencent Video, when it was first aired. Why? The two leads there were not really popular prior to L&R. That drama was really successful in China and overseas, and turned both Cheng Yi and Yuan Bing Yan into really big stars in China.

TBW is really different. Reba and Allen were already big stars in China, when the contract for this drama was signed. And the script was based on a very successful novel; they also managed to get a highly successful director; even though the main scriptwriter is relatively young, she is also up and coming and has done some good work.

And once Reba and Allen signed on the dotted lines, other good actors/actresses were also willing to join the cast. For instance, we saw just how good Cristy Guo Xiao Tong is as the evil Shunde. The other supporting cast members are also really good.

So, they basically knew they had a sure winner. All the ingredients for a big success are there. If they know they have a sure winner, why would they want to share this drama with Tencent or Iqiyi?? They'd rather just air this exclusively on their own platform and earn and keep all the revenue.

After the great success of TBW, you can be sure that Youku will adopt a similar strategy for Legend of Anle. Whether they will again delay the international release, I cannot tell. But, for airing in China, they likely will not share with Tencent or Iqiyi.

We can also observe Immortal Samsara. Both the leads are big stars. Very likely, Youku will stream it exclusively.

Actually, since we are on this topic, I went to check. For YAMG, Tencent streamed it exclusively on their platform, and did not share with Youku either.

So it seems like a business strategy for these streaming giants in China, whether we are talking about Tencent, Iqiyi or Youku. If they feel that they have a sure winner, they keep for themselves. Or else, they share.

Unfortunately, the person from Croton said they cannot commit to a specific release date. I think they are still negotiating to sell the rights to many other countries. Perhaps, once many of those negotiations are concluded, they can tell us a specific date of release.

I did not watch 'Again my life'. But the ML, Lee Joon Gi, I know that he is a very good actor. I watched one of his dramas years ago. I think it is Ijimae (2008). He was supposed to be the main star of that show, and he did really well. But, the interesting thing is that, that drama made a big star out of Han Hyo Joo,

I used to watch lots of Kdamas years ago. The person who switched me from Kdramas to Cdramas is, you might have guessed it, Dilraba. From 2017, when I watched The Flames' Daughter, there was no turning back. I left Kdramas, and started watching Cdramas.

Since watching cdramas, my Mandarin improved significantly, making it even more attractive for me. That means, when I watched it with English subs, I could figure things out even more. And even the subs are no good, my Mandarin will take over and help understand things.

Is your Mandarin good enough to watch TBW raw?

I do not know why some people still feel that it is an open ending.

People are complaining about why there is no explanation for Ji Yunhe's fishtail, precisely because they see this as a closed and happy ending. Just that the drama did not explain that tail. If it is an open ending, if Changyi was merely dreaming about what could be, we do not even need an explanation for Ji Yunhe's tail. It is, after all, just an imagination.

I have read lots of articles now, and posts in Twitter. Can hardly find anyone that says the final 5 minutes are just imagination by Changyi.

Whichever way I look at this, it is a happy closed ending, and a very very creative one.

About the ending, whether it is closed or open ending.