Xiang83

if you didn't know their ages before watching, would it make a difference in how episodes 1 and 2 impact you?

Edited to add that I am genuinely curious to know, and not throwing shade at you. I ask this because in "The Double" (C-Drama whereby the ML and FL had more than a ten-year age gap but based on the acting and looks), you wouldn't know the ML was significantly younger than the FL because he acted his role very well as a powerful authoritative Duke.

Rewatching ep 2, full of little gems different from episode 1. At 36:32, watching those stuffy old men start having foodgasms is hilarious. Also makes me want to find steak this similar this week.

And I feel sorry for the governor trying to protect his granddaughter. Emotional rollercoaster watching the king and the governor interact.

I hope Gil-geum gets a happy ending. She is an adorable feisty sidekick.

I haven't watched a K-drama in years. This is a welcome blast. But waiting for episode 3 and beyond is going to be a mini-torture.

This is a very fun K-drama (loopholes and all) XD If this drama were adapted into C-Ent as a costume drama (but remove the loopholes), I wonder who C-Drama fans would nominate for the equivalent roles of tyrant king Lee Heon, chef Ji-young and consort Mok-Ju.

I'd go with Li Yunrui or Ding Yuxi for the tyrant king, He Landou or Zhang Zifeng for chef Ji-young, and Ma Qiuyuan for consort Mok-Ju.

The user changed her comment to use spoiler tags, but I don't know when. Perhaps she is new or has learned how to do the necessary. Maybe give her another chance?

BTW, over in Coroner's Diary, the culprits blatantly spoiling everything each episode after episode 10 via multiple comments were not new MDL users (including at least one VIP account). It got to the point that comments started indirectly taking potshots at those users. I haven't figured out how to use the "block" button, but I probably should.

Consider using the spoiler tag. Too many comments without spoiler tags can result in later watchers not wanting to read comments and stating that as a comment, such as in "Coroner's Diary".

Don't forget the sageuk cliff of mercy. It's wonderful that there's always a river or lake deep enough so falling from that height somehow saves the day and the duo.

Their chemistry has me holding my sides with laughter. Spot-on comedic timing. That said, I am very conflicted about making this tyrant lovable, although episode 2 will likely change that because the FL finds out-

Very glad to see them having fun and enjoying themselves on-set XD

Ps. For the ladder scene, Neo Hou's character deliberately jostled the ladder and unsettled Ai Mi's character, then proceeded to immediately scoop her off the ladder (observe his smirk). As to why he did that, I don't have any further context.

Xing Fei as Susu gave a standout performance. But I'm going to talk about the novel versus the drama and why this ending is considered happy. I don't know how much experience you have with mandarin dramas and movies, and I am referring to not just China productions.

Could the director have put in one minute of Xiuxiu with her children and grandchiildren before the final ending in ep 36 which starts at 7 minutes from the song? Yes. At least one happy event would have helped.

Could Susu be in such pain from giving birth that she should refuse dinner with her sister-in-law? This part should have been better expanded slightly to at least show that it had been more than one month after giving birth, before the sister-in-law invited Susu and Humpback Guo for dinner.

And then the ending for Susu and Humpback Guo would have been understandable. Susu is too trusting, too gluttonous at times, and has eaten many years of meals with the sister-in-law. Susu would never suspect her sister-in-law of wanting to harm her, even if the sister-in-law is mentally unstable at this point. The one time Susu was drugged with Fei Wendian by the sister-in-law on the wedding night, Susu could assume it was due to the wedding liquor being too strong. Humpback Guo would never say no if Susu said yes to dinner, because Susu and Madame Fei have been his best customers for many years. He would feel obliged despite any misgivings, to sit and finish dinner.

This drama is PG-13. The fact that people are already upset over Susu perishing in the same way as the novel is only going to justify the changes to the novel adaptation with the script. Too dark and too accurate to the novel for NC-16 would simply reduce the audience to not being able to finish due to disgust with multiple characters and certain issues being disgusting beyond tolerance, such as what Yinzi really suffered with Ning Xuexiang that is hugely diluted in this drama.

It's one thing to produce a drama with distressing themes which at this level, would already be traumatic for some viewers. To go beyond that would be too cruel, so at least any inevitable deaths being brief and not fleshed out are a mercy.

Below is my comment on the ending. The screenwriters have a gigantic headache from walking a very thin line, so I would expect "plotholes".

https://kisskh.at/761585-wan-wu-sheng#comment-23187042

I'm not offended by your comments. I see them as perfectly sensible observations and discourse. I explained myself in the previous comment, so it would be easier for a stranger to understand where I am coming from. Not understanding Mandarin but picking up on the issues with Yang Mi's delivery of lines relative to body deportment for Harbin 1944 is admirable.

I believe Yang Mi would have done better in Harbin 1944 if the main Director for that drama had a very specific direction for emoting and deportment from his leading lady. Qin Hailu does not need that kind of direction. I have discussed with someone else (all in DMs) about why the ML and FL for Princess Royal was very tedious for me based on their acting in episode 1 alone.

To reach the improvisational stage and exhibit star power requires the ability to effortlessly slip into different roles. Gong Li, Lin Ching-hsia, the two Tony Leungs, Leslie Cheung, Teresa Mo, Sandra Ng and a whole bevy of actors and actresses (main and supporting) that I am familiar with due to watching the movies and dramas of 80s and 90s and early 2000s have this scene-stealing ability because they make it look effortless (I started watching in the second half of the 90s, when it was easy for reruns).

Yang Mi is obviously not at the improvisational stage and needs specific directions from a Director. There are many popular actors and actresses who are clearly not at the improvisational stage and far from it, but they can turn in a good or stellar performance in a drama under the right Director plus screenwriter(s). In mainland C-Dramas, there are five actresses able to reach the improvisational stage from my perspective, which I compiled into a list: He Landou, Li Landi, Ni Ni, Xing Fei and Ai Mi.

Ni Ni is the odd one out due to her age and she is already at that stage, with her very apt delivery and timing. The ability to make a ML look natural and bring out his natural best is an ability which the five actresses above have, based on their current acting skill levels. To convey depth within the first two minutes of the role is not easy. To enable all this is a lot harder than it looks. I am considering adding Zhang Zifeng to the list.

"Love and Destiny" featuring Ni Ni and Chang Chen was a dream pairing for me. Zhang Yunlong finally in a xianxia drama this year that I had been anticipating floored me. Very rarely will I say an actor embodied a role and nobody else can do it. Zhang Yunlong and Chang Chen also did well with their leading ladies.

If you're going to discuss something on MDL when a large number of fans are present for a certain actor or actress on a drama page or their profile page, it is best to use DMs if it is something potentially unflattering. I am comfortable in replies to very immature users being rude to me, if I choose not to use DMs and choose to say something publicly while adhering to MDL rules.

Yang Mi has reached a new high for herself with this drama IMHO. I hope she will build further on it. Enjoy your weekend!

This is my answer as to why the drama turned out this way with "plotholes", after watching 36 episodes, and why the ending is the best one possible for this drama as bittersweet and happy, from a certain perspective. Please bear in mind this drama is rated PG-13 and not NC-16, and it is impossible to accurately adapt more of the novel to a NC-16 rating (which would still be diluted for the novel) or a lot of people are likely not to finish watching the drama for multiple reasons. If you have not watched until episode 36 and do not want spoilers, don't click on the comment link.

https://kisskh.at/761585-wan-wu-sheng#comment-23187042

I gave a short explanation of why this ending is the best possible ending for all involved, just below your comment. The screenwriter would have had major headaches adapting the novel to a script for the drama, to pass the PG-13 rating.

This drama is rated PG-13. The novel is much darker in plot and for multiple characters. It would be impossible to accurately adapt the entire novel and also pass this drama rating. If the novel is accurately adopted, the number of hugely-upsetting small and large issues based on the realism in the novel alone is likely to overshadow power performances of the cast (and make many people even more upset at specific characters in drama) and possibly be too many issues at one go for an audience, when it would be better to focus on a certain number of specific small and large issues which are already distressing.

"Plotholes" for this drama will therefore exist because of this gigantic difficulty between drama rating and other considerations versus the original novel, which a screenwriter has to consider when adapting differences to become 36 episodes.

If this plot and execution of the script at PG-13 rating is already significantly distressing for some viewers, what would an NC-16 rating do, due to the plot and characters being even more accurate to the novel? Ning Xuexiang would be disgusting beyond tolerance for viewing, and he wouldn't be the only character challenging the audience to finish the drama.

The theme song and/or character theme songs usually give a huge hint of what is to happen, especially if you understand Mandarin. This is the song that plays for Xiuxiu in the last 7 minutes of episode 36 (turn on English subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A37edxfaCuM

I would therefore consider the ending to be bittersweet and happy in the best way possible, for as many key characters involved as possible. Xiuxiu gets to see everyone dearest to her that has gone before. And together with Dajiao, focuses once again on the land.

It is therefore fitting that Yang Mi and Ou Hao cement episode 36 at the end.

I always consider the Director (main director, art director and action director where applicable) and Screenwriter(s) to be primarily essential to the success of a drama or movie if it is to be good or iconic, slightly more so than the casting of actors and actresses. Excellent casting will then primarily cement the success and memorability of a drama or film. If the storyline and script is not expertly handled and executed and edited, it will always spoil a drama or movie. 《春花焰》is an example of how multiple screenwriters clearly did not understand the novel material and butchered the ML and FL while wrongly enhancing at least one side character while screwing up the plot, hence Wu Jinyan and Liu Xueyi could not save the drama despite their acting and interpretations. The first three episodes were a good buildup, and then everything fell apart after that.

I submitted to MDL an entirely different synopsis version for the 1993 movie "Green Snake" by Tsui Hark (which was accepted) because the previous synopsis showed no understanding in the classic legend of Madame White Snake especially where the categories of 神人鬼妖 was concerned, and I also added a review mentioning influences for the art direction of the movie such as Tang and Song Dynasty paintings for the main set.

To me, anything explicit (gore and PDA) must serve a purpose that enhances a script and also cements lessons for an audience to connect with. I was commenting the other day about a lack of quality and quantity of female-centric dramas in C-Ent compared to male-centric dramas: https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-23158614

I usually cannot stand romance dramas. Romance if present has to contribute to the script and advance the plot while being conveyed with enough subtlety and finesse, otherwise I cannot finish it.

With that, Harbin 1944 had an excellent premise, but had several issues in execution and characterisation. If we're talking about Yang Mi there, one of the issues includes the delivery of her lines needing differences in enunciation, especially in a lower tone and slower at times to vary the speed within several lines. I'll give an example from the fourth episode. When she says "跟你说件正事：医院那边不用审了" followed by "线索肯定断了" and then "你跟丁鹏去审审那个姓石的吧" - The main Director should have insisted on varied speed and nuancing in these lines. Too fast, too high-pitched, too monotonous with no nuancing. Do this over many episodes, and it makes her character less effective and convincing than she should be.

She needs to sound authoritative and intimidating at times. I would have picked another actress to do the character interpretation, because there's at least two actresses I can think of who could give a spot-on performance. But I wouldn't want them in Harbin 1944 because of other issues with the drama.

People who only rely on subtitles will not be able to pick up on this issue of line delivery as something which can be disagreed about.

IQiyi's English subtitles are atrocious at times. I have seen crucial sentences in normal conversations not being translated with sufficient context over multiple episodes. It makes for all sorts of misunderstandings and shipping which is great for an international reach, but I find it amazing to be lectured about what is canon by people who rely solely on subtitles.

I won't comment any further about this on this page, and return to commenting about "This Thriving Land".

I found the teeth of multiple cast members to be more distracting than Yang Mi's hair, which you are right to point out should be messier. All things said and done, Yang Mi's delivery in this drama is much better overall. In episode 33 from 15:37 to 15:50, her acting paired with line delivery is a fundamentally big difference when compared to episode 4 of Harbin 1944. This is an example of how the main Director makes the difference in helping the cast understand the necessary.

Yang Mi is holding her own among a very strong cast which includes Qin Hailu, Ni Dahong, Ou Hao, Lin Yongjian and (pleasantly surprised) Xing Fei. I find her acting to be among the weaker ones for this cast but I am not criticising her here. She is performing way above what I have seen from her previously in any drama, ever since Episode 1 of "This Thriving Land". I am glad for any cast member here getting as much success as possible from this drama, because they worked very hard and they deserve all the accolades.

Maybe you can share more about Ma Qiuyuan for other watchers to learn about. I believe she will be great in her role as Li Lejun, especially under this director and screenwriter.

For anyone who has no clue and wants to check out her acting in a drama, I would recommend the 2024 microdrama 《桃花马上请长缨》 (with English subs here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO7viy1xCsw&t=18s

6 days ago, I made this comment to iamkalai: "If this drama can redeem that disgusting twatwaffle, I'll be impressed and nauseated."

I was referring to the drama character Ning Xuexiang, because this drama is (to me) clearly sanitising his character in the novel, including how he interacts with Yinzi. His kind of thinking is very similar to my maternal grandmother's father. That ancestor told my grandmother when she reached the age of 12: females did not need any more learning beyond that age because he believed girls were only good for cooking, cleaning and continuing the family line. Husbands were to be obeyed.

And a few other wonderfully horrible gems that in this day and age, I would be very inclined to do something very nasty to that chap if he were still alive.

This drama does a good job of adapting the essential components of the novel, and I believe it should not take on everything from the novel, so the changes to various characters is understandable. Otherwise there will be so many issues raised leading into too much negative controversy that I believe it would detract from the focus of this drama being a good platform for the contentious issues already raised and creating a space for mature and complex discourse simply by having this drama exist while also highlighting a standout ensemble cast, paving the way to more contentious issues being raised in future for mainstream acceptance.

It may seem illogically unrealistic that the FL wasn't actually raped in this drama as opposed to the novel given the settings of rural Shandong province in the 1920s, this drama instead having the FL pretend to claim she was raped. But this change in the script from the novel then makes people think about a certain issue and I find it heartening that some viewers believe it should have been loyal to the novel. Being willing to consider this "plothole" for the script could lead to further necessary discourse, be it local or international: How do we see women who have been raped? Are we going to accept realistic portrayals focusing on such women in a drama as a key plot or key characters or visible supporting characters, including their traumas and how they deal?

And hopefully in future, there will be a drama that perhaps focuses on a FL who has undergone such a trauma and her character is tackled in ways focusing on how she can deal with such a horrible experience and how larger society should treat her fairly and with compassion.

What you have pointed out about poverty is true. This is a very important subject as well, and I wouldn't want that to be diluted, because several other issues will also become visible once people finish up to episode 29.

As to the complex historical backdrop of this drama that many viewers miss out on, I'll quote OstentiousOrchid's comment from 7 days ago ( https://kisskh.at/761585-wan-wu-sheng#comment-23092312 ):

[ With everything going on, she seems like a low level antagonist that maybe will see the error of her ways.

IDK how the story will play out since it's going to be 2 decades of story 1924 to 1944?

We have the Land Reform Movement backdrop, the bandits & the warlords (Warlord era 1916 to 1928) although there was residual warlord/bandits until the 1930s, looming Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931), Chinese Civil War Phase 1 (1927 to 1937), Sino-Japanese 1937 to 1945. ]

The kiss in the 1942 movie "Casablanca" between Ilsa and Rick has nothing to do with Wu Jinyan and Wang Xingyue's wedding night in "The Double", but the premise is fundamentally similar despite different outcomes. Emotional buildup from what came before, to finally culminate in a heartfelt unforgettable scene. Careful usage of lighting and camera angles panning in, with appropriate lenses, leads to something touchingly memorable. I consider these two scenes in two different entities (one Mandarin drama, one English movie) relative to a kiss to be iconic.

The Director for "The Double" also created an iconic trailer for "Rebirth". Juxtaposition of wide-sweeping shots for landscape versus intimate close-ups, moods, colours, angles- It's a very well-shot trailer.

When everything is full-on without some subtlety and enough finesse, the magic and mystery is lost. It's something not everyone can describe, but it's something people come to recognise when they have watched enough dramas and movies of variety.

I am certain a large number of MDL members have no experience with the references of Casablanca and Oshin, so what I'm saying will not resonate. But I know there are lurkers who don't feel comfortable commenting as I do, so I'm fine in voicing a different generational perspective.

And yes, I agree with you. Should do so for Ai Mi and Neo Hou at the end.

Noticed a friend asking for the song in the trailer. Starting at 0:48, this trailer utilises parts of the song "It's Not Personal" by composers Skip Armstrong & Lily Marly & Henry Roseberry.

This song can be heard here (scroll down to number 7 and pick which version you want, full version or instrumental or underscore): https://www.extrememusic.com/albums/15442

This trailer utilises parts of the song "It's Not Personal" by composers Skip Armstrong & Lily Marly & Henry Roseberry.

This song can be heard here (scroll down to number 7 and pick which version you want, full version or instrumental or underscore): https://www.extrememusic.com/albums/15442

I thought Yang Mi might have done some tanning because I was also looking at her hands. I could never finish a Yang Mi-led drama because I considered her emoting to be mediocre. I'm happy to finish this drama for many reasons, including the fact that Yang Mi has immersed herself so completely with a powerful ensemble cast and this is the drama she should have done at least five years ago (or something similar to this drama). It's great that Yang Mi's star power also helps to expand awareness in any market for this drama, and I hope this drama can get a wider international audience.