Luv Peony

a good actress in general should be able to produce tears if needed. i don't agree with you with your choices/preferences that no actress can match haha.

like i say, reading the novel, jiang li is supposed to be youthful/innocent/cute looking appearance, but with xue fangfei's smart, wise (only mistake she made was loving the wrong person) and mature in personality/characters. WJY could play the original xue fangfei before she died but once she's jiang li, i just find her not suitable b/c she looks super old (dunno why they made her look drain out/mature.) an age appropriate jiang li is unpredictable to everyone b/c everyone underestimates her youth/age and don't deem her as a threat.

xing fei or tian xiwei would be good choices to play the FL. they have the youthfulness/innocence that matches jiang li.

the actress did a wonderful job portraying the princess for sure...drama sort of gave her a sad sob story (sacrifice, political marriage) when her novel personality is just a horrible person inside out. she's only a princess and doesn't hold political positions or any sort of power but yet the whole dynasty falls on her shoulder and the king have to give in to her...yes, it's a drama but eh.
even the husband is portrayed as someone who had no choice but to play along when he was just at fault for turning a blind eye in return to secure his future. her being the main villain just doesn't make sense at all. drama downplay their horrible human nature.

i find it weird the drama gave her such a nutty side to play when she's just supposed to be a super spoiled entitled princess. drama wasted too much screen time on her.

love like the galaxy...but excluded in the drama (which actually works out better for the drama). by far, this adaptation is one of the best for cdramas; very close to the novel.

more like 20% of the plot was from the book. it's just names, some characteristics but completely altered plots. i find the drama focused on the villains more than the lead couple. b/c of all these side fluffy changes, jiheng's revenge arc was excluded.

WSY is not beautiful but he has this very seductress aura to play jiheng...not perfect as the book but good enough. since the drama cannot include reincarnation (not really, more like body swap/trade; one dying the other one living) due to censorship, they have to find another way around it in the drama...and by doing so, takes away the fact that second chance 24-25 y/o xue fangfei spirit migrated into a 15-16 years old jiang li.

if drama follow most of the plot, it would make a good season 1 and 2.

don't know why the drama changed their ending to dying/sacrificing in battle. they are very much alive in the novel.

you could find it on kiss kh

you do know majority of dramas as are adapted from chinese novels right? the drama pretty much put too much fluff on the side/supporting characters...which is why i find the drama weak b/c it took away a lot of other storyline for the main couple. also w/ censorship, the drama changed a lot of the character's personalities...pretty much diluted their characters. it just doesn't do the author or the main leads justice in a sense. but again, glad you didn't read the novel b/c you would certainly get what i am saying.

yes, entertainment industry is very cutthroat and fans chase after beauty/handsome face. it's one thing if SYR evolves as an actress and take on challenging roles and hone her art as an artist...but all the same, wannabe cutie pretending to be innocent. sadly, she's just a D level wannabe actress.

jiheng - he's the first to break the ice and profess his love for her. she's more about survival since she's given a second chance at life, she don't want to gamble with love. she does like him but more like hiding her true feelings to avoid getting hurt.
her story is more about redemption and justice...w/ love finding her along the way.
his story is about vengeance. from the beginning to the end of the novel, he's in full control of how he wants things to unfold. he's a mastermind schemer.

they get married and have a daughter.

i learn too late haha. i get that drama adaptations could exclude some characters to make everything fit, but the adaptations is simply borrowed names with a totally different storyline which is why it fell short for me. some of the fluff scenes were too cheesy and simply just a waste of screen time.

i love her in yanxi palace...but for the FL, it just doesn't suit her.

to make it more unified in enunciations etc. actors/actresses from different regions have an accent and usually for costume dramas, it has to be clean.

wow haha...i thought the double have a lot thumbs down. since i read the novel, i don't feel the drama brought the essence of the characters to life. wang xing yue definitely give me JH's aura but for the FL, wu jinyan didn't deliver. WJY is a season/good actress but just not a good fit for jiang li. all the other supporting characters stories/outcome where change to fit the screen or meet censorship requirements. the villains definitely met their well deserved demise in the novel.

so the drama just pretty much use their names, some background details but their stories were super altered.

same...her acting is horrible. she fits the role of the 5th, 6th, ++++ supporting role. like the maid of an evil mistress, a traitor that betrays her friend, or someone quietly filling space in the background...but to get the leads w/ just that caliber of talent??? i honestly dont get why anyone would even put money in the production cast her as a lead...it's like they want the drama to tank or something. skipped all her dramas except evernight (1) and can't bring myself to watch evernight part 2, even though dylan wang took over the ML role.


this is before yu menglong's death.

before yu menglong case, i found her acting plain, sloppy and unconvincing. it doesn't make sense she's given all these FL...now you know why, it's all through connections.

she claims to be from an 'ordinary' family but there's ties her family is link to CCP elites. it make sense if she hangs out with people of the same backgrounds...why they vibe and get along in the most demonic way.

wow, low budget??? the costumes were so pretty!!! maybe low budget for CGI effects

i scrolled through fluff scenes...and there were a lot.

suuuuuuuper cringy!!! lol. glad i'm not alone on this.