WK1

There are anti fans or people who do like either Dilraba or Allen or even both. So, they have rated it really low. Since you do feel that you would give this 10/10 for the first 8 episodes, you should do that. And you can certaintly do that even right now. Just go to the page and rate it. If you are not sure how to do it, let us know. Someone will teach you.

Oh, please do not say that. I don't think they are smarter than you. Maybe they could be older than you, watched more dramas and therefore able to interpret the story better.

For sure, if you did not read the novel, and your Mandarin is not very good, it is not easy to understand the story at all.

Did you read the synopsis above? It gives you a rough idea what the story is all about. Perhaps if you have a general idea what the story is all about, you will find it more interesting.

Indeed. If he felt no pain, he will also not feel any hurt or anger. That is what the screenwriter and director wants us to experience, the extreme hurt and therefore pain felt by Changyi.

Very very good analysis of her character up to this point in time.

But, I think the screenwriter and director will create pain between the two by making Changyi feel deceived by Yunhe. Lack of communication is the usual trope in Cdramas. That will lead to mistrust, resulting in hate and anger on the part of Changyi.

That, is a separate matter, of course. Your analysis is spot on.

That is my strategy too! If there is any pain, I want it to be induced by the good acting of Dilraba and Allen, and not by the good writing of the novelist.

I saw that arc in one of the trailers. Can see how painful it is.

I guess that must be one of the main plot lines in the novel. Let's watch and see how that gets played out in the drama.

It is ok to rant. Releasing one's emotion is a very healthy thing to do. And I sensed a lot of released emotion in your writing.

Also, have you read the novel? If you did not read the novel, and your command of mandarin is not good, you will not get much from watching on that site.

So far, all who have read the novel, even when they watch in raw, have found it interesting. Especially all Dilraba fans. And Allen fans as well.

It does look that way, from one of the trailers. Or even from the opening sequence of E1. He was really angry with her, so must have felt badly hurt by her.

Sounds like a lot of pain and sadness.

I see. But 6 years is a relatively short time frame in a Xianxia drama. Not too long at all! So, it is good.

Ok, I caught an episode of Song Zuer's new drama as well! So far, it did not grip me the way To Fly with You did. Nothing wrong with her acting. May have to do time travel? I am not too much of a fan of time travel dramas. But, I just checked the MDL score. At 8.4, it is not doing too bad at all! Maybe I will resume watching that when I finished watching TBW.

Her roles so far are typical of a young star. More toward the rom-com variety. I can see her acting style, the typical way she tends to tilt her head upward, and her facial expressions. I definitely see more acting talents in her than in many actresses her age. Lots of potential.

I do think that is way they are writing the script in the drama. Less dark. I suspect there is also more humour in the drama, compared to the novel. Watching the drama in raw, I sensed a lot of humour in the dialogues, as well as in the interactions between some of the characters. Yet, I also sensed pain, in so many ways. So, I think the drama is mixing it up really well, to give us a more balanced diet.

That is true. Also Chinese Xianxia does have it own 'brand ' of CGI. It has certain look, that is different from Hollywood CGI. Most of Hollywood CGI are done in more futuristic settings. Avatar is one good example. Others could be those in the Marvel Universe, like the Avengers series or Captain Marvel.

On the other hand, Xianxia dramas are done in historical settings. They seem to emphasis more on the sceneries, how beautiful they look, how realistic, etc. In this regard, I think TBW did very well. You have already pointed some examples. Another aspect is the CGI used in all the Xianxia fight scenes. CGI in lower budget Xianxia dramas tend to look more 'cartoonish' and somehow less impactful. But here, in TBW, so far, the CGI used has been great. When someone is supposed to be powerful, the CGI used give you that feeling. Could be the way people have been flung around, swaying of trees, etc. All these details, you do feel that the spell used by that particular person is powerful.

So far, maybe only one or two scenes involving CGI has been slightly below par, the speed or movement of people looked too fake or too fast. But, in general, while it is not perfect, it has been great. Comparable to the CGI used in some of the best Xianxia dramas in recent years.

Really nice to know this!

You sound really 'deep' my friend. Maybe because you are indeed deep? Thinking all the time? Analysing all the time? There is another novel reader right below, Onceuponatime; she, too, does not feel that that Ji Yun He is manipulative.

I am suspending my judgement for the moment, because we are early in the drama. I want to see how they play this out in further episodes. I want to see how Changyi inteprets Yunhe's action. Maybe this is how the director wants the story to be told? He may first portray Changyi as really angry with Yunhe, thinking she has deceived him. And then, when she starts to explain her reasons for doing what she did, he understood her and did not feel being manipulated.

I fully agree with you about novels being able to use descriptive narratives, and to communicate what is in a person's head. But, I would like to think that a good director will be able to do the same thing, Not using soliloquies, and I hardly use that word so I had to google to make sure I understand it, but perhaps through a series of conversation between the two?

Chinese drama love to use the lack of communication as a trope to create misunderstanding between two persons. Maybe the director will use this same trope? Yun He is now keeping lots of stuff to herself. Her motivations for doing many things are not clearly communicated to Changyi yet. He seems to be moving at a faster pace in their relationship and she is still trying to figure out her own feelings toward him.

So, I am prepared to wait. I want to give the director the benefit of the doubt. That he will be able to sequence the scenes such that all misunderstanding between the two of them will be eventually cleared up. How long will this misunderstanding last? How long will Yunhe continue to keep things from him? I have no idea. But this being just 22 episodes, I do not think the director will allow it to drag. I just feel that very soon, Yunhe will open up and disclose her motivation for doing what she did.

I notice that she is constantly probing. She is constantly asking Changyi questions. She is trying to understand how would his species react to certain thing, certain events. She wants to make sure that he is ready to hear what she has to say; and also be ready to respond, should he react negatively to what she did in the early episodes.

This drama is indeed complex. Many of the dialogues are full of rich understones. When the subs are out, I will understand better. Right now, it is still a struggle, as my Mandarin is not all that good. And I did not read the novel.

He said he gave her the Jiaozhu as a token of his promise. I think it is an implication or indication of his affection for her and she knows it.

Don't worry. You are doing ok. I think they are very likely to make changes. Because the two medium (novel and drama) are very different. Certain things that work for a novel may not work for a drama.

But, please do not worry. We are still at the very early stage. And I will stay with you all the way. To discuss and exchange views. Maybe toward the end, you will feel very happy about the changes they made.

Dilraba is likely bored of playing Mary Sue too! So, this drama fits her bill. She said she like to try new stuff, right? This is new for her! A cheeky and slightly less than wholesome character at the beginning, but slowly changing to something much better, as the series progresses. I think it is called character development.