WK1

If you really feel this way, that each character is really close to the novel, then the adaptation has been a success. Everyone: actors, screenwriters, director, all did their job.

Enjoy being clueless might be fun.

How is your Chinese? Are you able to watch raw and understand quite a bit? Are you able to understand the dialogues/the Chinese substitles? Because, if you do, you can actually do an experiment.

If you did not read the novel and your Chinese is not good, best to wait for the subs. That way, you will understand more. I am told that all the current unofficial subs are not good.

Oh no!! I completely misunderstood you! My sincere apologies. So, that quote that you mentioned, it only happened in the novel?

So, in the drama, that quote in the novel (made by Ji Yunhe) was never mentioned? So, in the drama, it was changed to this: “I used to put up with lots of things, gave up a lot just to escape thousand flowers valley, because I think it’s all for freedom. But now I understand, that’s not the meaning of freedom and living. Whatever the future awaits, let’s go and see it together okay?”

I know all three actresses you mentioned. They are good actresses!! Unfortunately, just no time to go their MDL pages to comment or defend those actresses and their dramas. It is rather time consuming to do so.

So, I just picked Dilraba to follow after watching The Flame's Daughter. But, only started commenting in MDL starting from The Long Ballad. As a matter of fact, I did not even know that Dilraba has so many international fans till only last year.

Do you know why these other three actresses do not have so many international fans?

Oh, regarding the rating of TBW right now, yes, it is indeed low. But, not to worry. If this is good, and it is good, once more people view this drama, the rating will go up. I also know about those water armies that you mentioned. I was on the page of YAMG and saw the impact of the water arm first hand. But, over time, so many people who watched that drama liked it, so all the low ratings of the water army was negated. It will likely happen here as well.

Ok. If she did elaborate, can you recall, which episode in the drama? I want to go watch it again. I might have missed the elaboration if it occured in E8-E10, because I already watched the drama up to E10, in raw.

If the elaboration comes in a later episode, I will look out for it.

It varies. There is an airing schedule in the photos section above. I think it around page 3 or 4.

Interesting read. But I did not watch Ashes of Love and don't really understand that part when the author was talking about that drama. Her impression is based on 3 episodes of TBW. If it is good up to E3, it will be even better later, because it does better with each episode. Some of the CGI in the later episodes are really impressive.

Do agree with lots of you. Here is my take. For the moment, I think their romance is slightly heavier on one side, on Changyi's side. He seems to have more romantic feeling for her, than she does for him. So, she is not really kissing him with any passion (compared with what we see in You are my glory, the way QJJ kissed YT). She seems to be holding back, and hence maybe that is also causing Allen to hold back?

That is for the moment. But, things may change as the series progresses. The director did say there will lots and lots of kisses. So, perhaps, just perhaps, their kisses will be more passionate later on, when she is more deeply in love with him?? They need to show growth in their relationship, so the director may use the growth in their kiss intensity to reflect the growth in their romantic relationship. If they kissed too intensely or too passionately now, what will they have to show later on?? Bed scenes or like the bathtub in Eternal love of Dream?

However, if their kisses continue to lack in passion, it could well be due to Allen's respect for his wife. He will indeed do more kisses with Reba in later episodes, but will still not be able to kiss Reba the way Yang Yang kissed her in YAMG. Those kisses they do in YAMG, and some of the scenes there, they can break up marriages. At the very least, it will cause discomfort on the part of Allen's wife.

Someone mentioned that Allen's wife was there at the production set during the filming of TBW. How would she feel, if she was there during the filming of these scenes and the kisses were really passionate? To even persuade Allen to do kisses inTBW, did the director and Allen and Reba somehow promised Allen's wife that their kisses will not be too passionate? Allen could be really professional, but he needs to be cautious about his wife's reaction, and so do Reba. And Reba is really beautiful and a very good kisser - we saw that in YAMG; any woman who sees her husband kissing a beautiful woman passionately will have some discomfort; it is only a matter of degree of that discomfort.

These are questions and issues we need to ponder, even as we view those kisses.

I feel the same way. When I watched YAMG, I fastforwarded many of the games scene. But, I also understand they needed to show many games scenes. Tencent invested a lot of money in that drama. So, promoting that particular game is one way for them to recover their investment.

Maybe they were using the YangRe CP to market the drama, and the YangRe CP became so popular, it continued to linger in viewers' mind?

I do feel that there should not be much of that left, because the latest Youku promotional posters or video in China, lots of large photos and images of Dilraba and Allen all over the place.

We just wait a while. Maybe shortly, the Chinese viewers will come up with a new CP. Maybe a ChangHe CP to replace the YangRe CP? But, they also cannot promote the new CP in TBW, because Allen is married. Unless, for CP, we are only referring to the CP of their characters in the drama, and not in real life.

Wow!! Interesting!

That quote by Ji Yunhe, it is really 'deep'. In the novel, did she elaborate? Did she give examples of what she meant?

Will try, with everyone's help and encouragement.

Hang on for a while, the subs may be out soon. I was told that the subs on those unofficial channels are not good, so it may be worth the wait, just to get something accurate.

Some of us have waiting here since last September.

I am just curious, having not read the novel, these mermen, after they lose their tails, the lower portion of their body, it has the same anatomy as humans? Ok, people like Ji Yunhe, they aren't exactly like humans, but Changyi's lower body will become like those of Yunhe's species, once his tail is gone??

Oh. I used to do that for a living, before my retirement. Used to teach. So always challenged my students to think rationally. rely on evidence, think logically.

Some of these pretentious people, they are not aware, but lots of what they write lack evidence or internal consistency. If they insist on their illogical opinions, we cannot chase them from this place, as this is free space. Anyone can come here and say what they want.

But, we can create a bubble for them. Ignore them, till they get bored with no one to talk to. They will then go back to the page of their favourite dramas, their favourite actress and actor and leave us alone.

Our intention is not to make enemies out of them, but peaceful co-existence. They stick to their space and have their fun there, we have our space and have our fun here.

In some way, true. Armed with sharp eyes, keen nose, good memory. Looking out for potential infiltrators out to create trouble for us. Doing my best to keep out any 'enemies' who are here with the intention to destroy our harmonious space here.

Stayed many months on the page of The Long Ballad and You are my glory. Sufficiently trained.

More importantly, I am not alone. Lots of pals from the pages of those dramas.

When Reba or Allen or this drama is under any irrational attack, we will not sit still.

We don't respond to every negative opinion, though. Some of these are relatively harmless. They say their one liners and are heard no more. Most frightening are those in trojan horses.

Exactly! I am no threat to people who come here for fun. But an absolute irritant for trouble makers. Will do my best to make their stay here unpleasant, so the rest of us can have our fun, enjoying this drama and our discussions

Yup. Unpaid volunteer, doing my bit part to keep this place honest. Looking out for potential haters, pretending to be fans but actually out to sow discord. Encouraging those disappointed because of lack of English subs to wait for them. Consoling those felt the drama isn't following the novel. Yah, guardian would not be a wrong word to use at all.

Just saw in Weibo. Youku is promoting this drama very heavily in China. There are posters everywhere. Train stations, shopping malls, inside the malls as well on external walls, with giant video screens. They are doing all they can, to make this a great success in China.