WK1

I love all of these!! What I like most, are the reasons you gave for liking these characters. They are selfless, wise, honest, cute, light-hearted.

Situ Lang Lang was not only light-hearted, he taught Changge sword fighting skill, a skill that will come in very handy later on. And he was also protective of Changge, as a typical Sifu would be. He showed his protective instinct, when he first met Changge when she was injured and helpless. You could say, she would have been killed, without him.

He was also very non-imposing. He gave her space, to decide if she wants him as a Sifu. Later, when he knew that AS would be a far better protector than he could ever be, he stepped aside.

All of the supporting cast did great. Even those who played the bad characters. If we not like them, it just means that they did a good job. They helped to make the entire TLB very memorable.

“Young girls are told you have to be the delicate princess. Hermione taught them that you can be the warrior.”

This quote is from Emma Watson.

One of things I learned most from TLB. Li Changge was Hermione in motion. Do not let your age or your gender limit what you think you can or cannot do. Be brave to follow your heart and your dream

Truth be told? I am not even interested in debating about who has more fans.

To me, TLB was more about Li Changge. I wanted to see how Dilraba portrayed her. Whether she will do a good job. I am not even, technically speaking, her fan. If she does not do a good job, like many of you, I will know it. The way many said she did not do that great a job in Flame's daughter, or that her role in ELOD was not challenging enough.

I knew that this was going to be a complex role. Far more complex than what she needed to do in ELOD. I did not have expectations for Wu Lei, because I did not watch any of his previous dramas. And he is so young, even if he did not do well, we can always say, he did not well because of his age.

But Dilraba has no excuse whatsoever. She has been given many opportunities in the past. We can say that in those past opportunities, the role given was 'bad'. Too one dimensational. Too childish. But not here in TLB. This is a plumb role that will put all her acting abilities (or the lack of it) on full display. We can truly say, Dilraba, if you fail, no more excuses

But we do know, she succeeded. All of those awards she has won so far speak for themselves.

So, coming back to your question? I am not really interested in where this debate will lead us to. I came here to find out Dilraba's acting progression. Did she improve in her acting? Or will she forever be labelled as an actress with a pretty face but cannot act. After watching TLB, I found my answer. Everything else is a bonus

I don't actually. I know how popular that is. And that is why it is used so often. I just felt the way I do purely from a number perspective.

The amount of time used to create that trope is far less than the amount of time the director used to convey why AS loved Changge. If they could 'feel' for the way Leyan fell for Hao Du when so little screen time is doveted to that, why is it the cannot 'feel' for the way why AS fell for Changge?

Is it because the good girl change guy stuff is easier to understand? And easier to understand because it has been used so many times and they just love to see this stuff being repeated? If so, I am really tempted to conclude, as one commentator did, Haoyan couple is simpler to understand, compared to the GeSun couple which is far more unique and complex, and require far more observationary and listening skills from viewers.

I do not wish to spell it out. Read between the lines, and you can tell what I am driving at.

Just for the record, I do not write any stuff about Haoyan in twitter or youtube. Only here. Don't really have the time and cannot be bothered. I have better things to do

As to why do we need a poll? Because I am a number driven person. It will be nice to know for a fact what % feel that the story for GeSun is better written compared to the Haoyan. At least viewers will know how many % out there are aligned with their feeling and how many not.

There are numbers everywhere. Rating of drama is a number. Lots of numbers are used in MDL. Number of viewers, number of people who rated it, etc.

So, why not a number to show % people feel that the GeSun couple is better written? Or how many % feel that the dialogue is better written for Haoyan than GeSun

Lots of stuff in the drama world are done via numbers. When they vote for the best actresses and actors, that is also done by numbers, through live audience voting. So that even if you are a supporter of the losers, at least you know how just many more supported those winners. If the actor you support lost by a great number, you will say, ok, while I am entitled to my opinion, I admit defeat. If it just a slim margin, you will certainly conclude differently (the person I supported was not bad at all. So many still supported him or her)

While I do understand the concern of NRTA, it is also true that very very few in the population would believe the 'history' they see from a drama. People watch a drama to be entertained not to learn history lesson. If they wish to learn history lesson, they will watch a documentary.

Please do not think I am critizing you. I am directing my critique at the way the people at NRTA make decisions.

All the more we should just ignore all those comments and the rating

I would say that is an extremely good reward!

For me personally, I don't belong to any Reba or Wu Lei fan club. Prior to TLB, I did not even watch any Wu Lei drama at all. And Reba's performance in Flame's daughter and other other historical dramas were just so so.

I like TLB purely because her portayal of Li Changge was believable. I walked away convinced that Xia Da herself would have said, yes, Dilraba portrayed the Li Changge I had in mind in the manhua. Fearless, intelligent, determined. Bend on revenge but eventually realised that a nation's interest is more important than personal goals.

And then talking about story being well written, Li Changge is the main protaganist. Her screen time with AS overwhelms the HaoYan screentime. Screenwriters will surely have paid far more attention to writing her story with AS, compared to the Haoyan couple.

So, the storyline for Haoyan better written than GeSun? Sure. It is possible for an individual here and there to feel this way.

But, if we do a large sample poll in this forum or any forum, and see how many say which story is better written, I know where I will put my bet on.

I do believe many are LYN fans and many who love the haoyan couple come from the Yuning fanbase

I am talking about large number, not so much an individual here and there, like yourself, who may not be Lusi's fan or Yuning's fan, but still end up liking the Haoyan couple more.

Say, if you take a large sample of Haoyan lovers and ask them if they are Lusi fans or Yuning fans or not fan of either of them, statistically, you will find a much larger number coming from those indivduals, than those who are not Lusi or Yuning fan.

Those coming from the Lusi orYuning fan base will prefer the Haoyan couple regardless of what they do, or how little screen time they have in the drama. Those not from those fan bases but prefer the 2nd couple to the 1st are likely to do because of any other reasons (and there indeed many, like the love triangle trope and so on).

Sorry. Do you mean Douban? All those comments in Douban??

True!

When we think of the grasslands and what guys do: they fight each other all the time Whether in unarmed combats or horse riding competitions. And then imagine what guys do in the central plain, for pass time at least. They write poems, paintings or visit tea houses. That is for the cultured one and the well to do. Poorer ones are always at the market, selling their stuff to make a living. Those in the middle, maybe farming their land, planting crops.

That is why lots of Mongolians end up as good Sumo wrestlers in Japan. Part of their culture. Always love a good fight, compared to a good poem or a good painting.

And AS's kicks are always going to be more lethal than Hao Du's.

Someone even commented that people have been paid just to downrate dramas in Douban, dramas that have stars that they see as a threat to actors and actresss that they favour. SInce TLB has many big stars, it will attract many of these proxy raters. And the more there are, the lower the rating.

But, I think we need not worry too much. Acting awards are dished out differently. These proxy raters should have little impact. If Reba and Wu Lei win acting awards next year, and they will, who cares about the rating in Douban? All the afford of anti fans and proxy raters will have been wasted, and our GeSun couple still emerged winners.

No wonder! All the best for your next two exams. And the important thesis in July. You will do well. Be inspired by the can-do attitude of Li Changge and Leyan's new found self-confidence

That is what we are here for. TLB lovers, supporting each other. Linh and I are only two such individuals. There are hundreds here.

Not to worry. I know perfectly what is your true intention. And this truly IS a good place to vent it out, as you are completely surrounded by TLB lovers,

We will hold the boxing bag for you, so that you can keep boxing and let out all your disappointment. Very therapeutic.

Oh boy! You could hardly recognise them!

I definitely agree with you. As a package, TLB is always going to be unique and unreplicable. I will give the Imperial Coroner one more try. Thing is, I have watched quite a few dramas of this genre, at least 3. What I fear most is that the story line is the same or similar to those. If later episodes makes this refreshing and somewhat different, for sure I will continue. I don't really care too much that the ML and FL are less famous than Reba and Wu Lei. So long as their acting is good, I am contented. We shall see.

And pray very very hard. Some kind of divine intervention is needed for that to happen.

When that happen, Zhao Lusi fans could be very angry. They are always going to feel that she is a bigger star than Liu Yu Ning.