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My guess is that they'll end at the "reveal" and subsequent escape/training. Should then lead to a S2 but I don't know if a second season has been pre-filmed already or if it'll be a different cast since they could theoretically just do a time-skip. There's absolutely no way at all they'll cover more than the donghua, like the others have said. It won't even reach half of what the donghua has covered, by my guess.

Yeah, they changed it in the drama but it makes sense in a way, I guess. In the drama, the elders stated that Dugu Yan is their disciple that they're leading into the forest for a suitable soul best, so they didn't say that she's their granddaughter. Dugu Yan was also poisoned by the green smoke that was in the tube that Ye Zhi Qiu gave to Tang San so the poisoned storyline is still there. I think Tang Sang will still be able to neutralize the poison in Dugu Yan and therefore, form a relationship with Dugu Bo. They probably did it to cut out as many side characters as possible and condense the story a little since they've only got 40 episodes and too many characters/plots to write in.

Same! For me, it was the way he bickers with Tang San. They’re truly two of the most powerful masters and lol they fight like little kids but Dugu was always the first to voice his concern over Tang San’s safety and that whole “See who dares hurt you while I’m here” line always gets to me :’) The actor looks quite grandfatherly so maybe it’ll work out xD

I have my fingers crossed it’ll work out! Granddaughter has already made an appearance so as long as their fundamental relationship doesn’t change, I’m ok with other edits!! He’s such an oldie but super softie!

I think I like the Old Monster more than the small one!!! Not even his personality but his relationship with Tang San. I really hope they’ll keep that aspect at least!

I’m waiting to see what they do with Dugu Bo before I form any opinions bc he’s one of my fav characters x.x I’m curious how Wang Juan will re-work this current arc

The Hobbit was more true to the story itself, which makes sense bc for that book alone, they made three separate movies whereas the original trilogy got 3 hours per book and for Tolkien, that's just nuts. (Lol, Legolas in the movies vs Legolas in the book xD). With adaptations of any kind, it's really hard to do it well. There's been 426347 vers of Austen novels adapted and yet there is no one perfect one (although I guess Colin Firth's P&P is closest).

I think I mentioned elsewhere here but there was a lot of changes done to JoL as well. Fang Xian was changed (for the better IMO) by Wang Juan and there was a lot of plot points/events that he condensed and meshed together. As a story, JoL worked from the start so I think Douluo just struggled a bit on the way but it's certainly shaping up right now and I have faith in Wang Juan!

I marathoned till ep23. Thanks to CNY and no work hahaha my eyebags thank XZ and his multiple CNY gala appearances too....

I guess it's because he's not training his second soul power in any way. He hasn't told his Master and in the drama ver, he's not as knowledgeable so he's basically a newbie when it comes to soul powers and how to manage them/power up. It's more of a last ditch for him it seems but in the trailer/MV, he's shown using it in arena battles so I hope he actually does so with knowledge of it and not just because he's about to lose and needs a big hammer, lmao.

There's constantly more details being added into the story right now, so there's still time for the second soul power to be worked in.

Sorry, I'm watching via Tencent VIP subscription with a VPN but I think some other comments mentioned it's on the other sites like duboku etc

I've now watched up to ep23 and it's gotten really good in terms of pacing! Tang San and Dai Mu Bai's characters have improved. TBH, I'm not feeling the SanWu pairing. I'm not liking it in the donghua either, so it's not drama's fault this time, lol.

They're battling more as 7 now so they can show off different strengths. I mean, I know that Tang San isn't meant to be the strongest anyway in terms of pure combat power so I'm okay with that, but I'll agree that it seems like Xiao Wu is constantly helping him out. I suspect it's to work in the romance aspect of their relationship.

That's really high praise! I'm planning to read the novel after I'm done with the donghua (and after the drama finishes xD). Tolkien's story is epic indeed, but I found some of his prose to be quite wordy and heady to get through at times.

I would most definitely go to a Douluo amusement park! I think there's a lot that could be explored there and of course, having a drama that is more widely seen, is a step in the right direction. A lot of people aren't into donghua or reading so a drama is a smart choice for him!

The drama has it's faults, but the acting is pretty good, esp from Xiao Zhan. He may not be the Tang San that novel fans envisioned but I think in terms of acting, he's been solid!

Yeah, even at the promo event he did for Tencent, Tang Jia San Shao said he was glad Douluo was adapted bc as an author, his goal is to show different versions of the novel to fans.

Live action fantasy dramas are always really hard to adapt, I mean an ex of a highly successful book adaptation fantasy is Lord of the Rings Trilogy and how much was spent and how looooong were the films? I think the book fans are valid in saying that they're upset re: Tang San's personalities BUT by midway point, he's gotten a whole lot better so I really hope the fans are watching and seeing that now!

Lol, yeah that bothered me too tbh. I was kind of ??? that Tang San would so willingly believe a strange, obviously EVIL man, over his father that he's grown up with but, if you keep watching, in the later episodes, Tang San's views change! So it's only temporary.

I can understand where you're coming from if you're going to compare novel!Tang San vs drama!Tang San but as someone who has noticed the differences, I will say that by ep20 or so, Tang San grows a lot, both in power and smarts. So hang in there!

No one but his father and Tang San knows for sure. Master has theorized and suspects that Tang San has two but he has never admitted to it.

I've only watched up to ep20 but it finally feels like things are starting to happen!

There's been a lot more incorporated into the story that is reminiscent of book!Tang San, such as his intelligence and superior battle strategies. He's also calmer now and been made aware that his weakness is being overly emotional. And we even have the hidden weapons making their appearances! It's all coming together! The drama might not be the same as the book but it does seem to be coming along and I still have faith in Wang Juan to pull things together so fingers crossed for more battles and tighter plot!!

(Also, hello there sub-theme song by Xiao Zhan playing as the Shrek 7 make their way to the battle arena!!! I got some goosebumps then, ngl. Truly does feel like the start of the second-half which I get the sense will be a lot more action packed!)

I'm just SO fond of these little monsters :')

I loooove me some training arcs, I am so ready for this!!! Gimme a calmer, more strategic Tang San and a more cohesive Shrek 7!! I'm so pumped for these episodes!

Tencent VIP is allowing for paid purchases up to ep23 actually!

Oh, no way! I'm not saying CCTV took Douluo for him hahahaha, no one has that sort of backing lmaooo. Douluo is a big IP and the author is v respected. I'm just saying that despite the fact that it's fantasy, it's actually got a good base theme for CCTV to make use of and show. Righteous and well-meaning hero who fights for those that cannot, etc.

I'm not arguing or disagreeing with what you're saying. I haven't read the book. I only started the donghua because I was interested in the story after watching the drama! In that sense, I think it's a good thing bc this drama will bring even more fans for Douluo. I'm a huuuge wuxia fan and this definitely isn't hitting the mark as a wuxia (there's more talk than action haha but that's fine) for me but tbh, there hasn't been many straight-up wuxia in the recent years for cdrama land. There were only really two goodish ones released in 2020.

I saw that someone likened this to Harry Potter, where it's can be seen as a separate but similar adaptation. I'm fine with it, I actually am not against this drama in any way in terms of it being different from the source. I'm just saying I understand where book fans might be coming from in expressing their disappointment.

I think everything worked out perfectly in JoL. I was expecting similar for this but things aren't working out as smoothly as it did in JoL, which if we're comparing it against, even at ep13 or so, was really moving along very smoothly in terms of the plot. We're not at the halfway point (I think after today's mass release of episodes, we'll have a better idea of where Wang Juan is taking this so I'm reserving my opinions until then!).