WK1

Need not be. They may change the sequencing of events, compared to the one in the novel. So, we cannot tell right now. Too early.

Nothing like watching on Tencent's platform. Last year, while watching You are my Glory, we could see the view counter. It was so much fun 'chasing' it, as the view count is tabulated with each 10m views. And we celebrated with each milestone, when it hit 3B view and then 4B.

It is Youku. So, we need to get used to new ways of looking at responses in China.

Indeed the first couple of weeks are so important. They know that we have waited for a long long time. Impressing us at the launch will impress us so so much. Likewise, disappointing us now will just leave us with lasting negative memories.

The marketing people at Youku ought to be held responsible for this blunder.

I did not read the novel, but judging from the comments of those who did, they likely find the drama far more humourous than the novel, as the novel seems so full of darkness and pain, and humour is just sporadic. I sensed lot of humour in the first 4 episodes. It is so clear from their facial expressions and also from their dialogues.

Here is what I suspect is happening. They probably do not wish to begin this drama with too dark a tone. It might just be too heavy, especially for non-novel readers. But, the darker and more painful episodes will come later. That, I am pretty sure.

Understand where you are coming from. Early raters come in two packages. Extreme haters who rated it down, so dramas that they love will look good; extreme lovers who make sure the extreme haters will not get their way.

Most of us are going to be somewhere in-between, but closer to the lovers' segment, cause, judging from the first four episodes, there is very little to hate about this drama.

Many of us stayed on the page of TLB and YAMG for months. Based on that experience, it is likely that final average for TBW could be between 8.7 to 8.8, depending on how the rest of the drama perform.

Now you know why some of us prefer to watch without reading the novel first. When I knew the number of chapters, I raised the white flag. If I do not understand anything in the drama, I prefer doing re-watch, as I can watch all the amazing acting one more time.

But lots of people were not frightened by the number of chapters. I salute them.

E1 was slightly confusing for me, as I did not read the novel. But, by E3-E4, everything was crystal clear, plot wise. So, the director really did a great job in story telling. I was able to tell who did what, and why. There are no major plot-holes; not even minor ones. But, this may change. Usually, with more and more episodes, here and there, something may slip up. These slip-ups should be minor, as we are dealing with a very experienced director. He will never miss any of the important plots in the novel, nor be tempted to change any of them.

That would be good. In case, some official channels spring a last minute surprise. Someone here will surely let the rest of us know. So, checking in from time to time makes sense. You can also see where all the discussion are headed toward and be able to join us seamlessly later on.

It alright. I understand. So will many others, will not be here much, till the subs are out. But, I can wait. When more people have watched with subs, we can revisit all the episodes. Even on the page of TLB, it was still burning hot, months after the last episode. It will be the same here.

But, TLB was unique, in the sense that the source material was incomplete. Hence, there was more open areas we can discuss.

TBW is based on a completed novel, and a very popular one at that. It is likely to limit the scope of our discussion, hence we are unlikely to generate that many discussion topics. But, we shall see, when the subs are out.

Yes Linh. Visually, this drama is a feast for the eyes!! When you watch it later, with the subs, you will be amazed!

Indeed, it is big surprise that a big company like Youku cannot get its act together, for a big budge project like TBW. It is as if, we, the international viewers, do not exist in its universe. Are we really that unimportant? Do they not care about their international reputation as a film maker and distributor?

The two of you are here, even without the subs? Wow!

That would indeed be a big and pleasant surprise for all of us.

Youku can easily do it too. With so many people who are effectively bilingual in China, it would not have taken them much them to do it, time or money wise. Since it is just 22 episodes, good subbers should be able to do everything in a day or two. And it is not like they needed to do this at the last minute. Lots of the subbing could have been done much earlier, leaving only fine tuning of questionnable or uncertain subs for the final one or two days before broadcast.

For some reasons, they just wanted to broadcast it in China on 17 March. International broadcast drew a blank, not even the raw episodes could be found anywhere, and we had to take shelter in those unofficial channels.

This early in the broadcast, the number we see may not mean much. It will keep jumping up and down. But, if the drama is good, and all signs point in that direction, over the next several weeks, people who love this drama will far outnumber those who don't.

Anything between 8.7 and 8.8 (and above) will indicate an excellent drama, a drama that an average international viewer would enjoy.

There are exceptions, naturally. Some really good ones have been underrated, and not so good ones overrated.

Totally agree with all that you have written. Especially that last sentence. The colours they use are so rich, if this is watched on hi definition and big screen tv, and a good sound system, it is going give viewers the feeling that they are watching something from a movie, and not just a web drama.

I am not surprised. Top class CGI. The fake muscle completely masked and looked every bit a part of Chanyi's body. His tail is big and powerful. Whatever fight scenes shown thus far, the CGI is well done. Does not look cartoonish. The acting by everyone is excellent. The dubbing is great. Even as a non-novel reader, and merely comprehending about 50% of the dialogue, I can understand the gist of the story, the overall plot. This shows that the director has done his job, as do all the cast members. The pace may be fast, but greater concentration while watching can take care of that. Novel readers likely find the pace totally alright, since they already know much of the story, and merely look out for major changes from the novel.

All in all, this drama should be a big success in China. When the subs are out, it should be very popular for international viewers like all of us.

It was not just a slight scratch. Whatever she scratched her with has poison in it. Left untreated, it would have killed Yunhe. That is why Haoqing brought a bottle of antidote to Yunhe.

Seems that all of you who have watched it in raw are able to handle the pace of the drama and are really enjoying it. My earlier fear was unfounded. So happy to know that.

Have you and your mom already watched The Long Ballad?