tsuyoi_hikari

Twilight just didnt get the same viewership/popularity like his other dramas. He is actually one of C-actors with the most popular dramas for the past years, but somehow Twilight failed to get the same success. But the script is super amazing though so I highly recommend it. Ren Jialun also play 4 different characters in the drama so you can really see his range as an actor.

Other news, recently, Forever & Ever managed to get 100M/episode . That means, people are still watching the drama despite the drama is released in year 2021. :D

Seriously Bogum, his dramas' names always a cringe. 😂 From Boyfriend to Good Boy lol

You are not wrong actually. The hairpin could also be a symbol of love between them when he decided to give Jiang Ci. But I think you mixed up the events. When he gave Jiang Ci that Jade hairpin, he is going to get himself captured in order to lure the spy out. She wasnt set to leave at that time. She was forced to leave by Pei Yan but managed to get herself at the Tribe Leader election to save Wei Zhou by revealing the hairpin. Later, Wei Zhou asked from Jiang Ci for the hairpin and gave it to Hong Ye so that he can be Yueluo City Lord.

The one where she set out to leave but returned is when she found the clay cat that supposed to be broken. That one is another event which happen later in the drama.

The symbolism that I'm talking about in my comments is on the 'sweet' and 'blindfold' and not the jade hairpin.

The jade hairpin symbolism is actually pretty interesting since it supposed to symbolize power and legitimate item for anyone who want to be a City Lord but Wei Zhou told Hong Jae that one should not fixed on getting the hairpin alone to be the City Lord. The meaning behind the hairpin and why its important is what makes the City Lord not the item itself.

There is so much symbolisms in this drama. I discovered more on my 2nd rewatch, 🤭

Aside from the mask, the cage, the pond, etc which is pretty obvious, then we have the ''sweets'' that Wei Zhou always carries in his pocket. Its actually conveyed more than simply the fact that he loves eating sweet things. The sweets are the only thing that reminds him of the 'sweetness of life' after the tragedy that befall him and his family. How do we know this? When he offered the sweets to Jiang Ci when she's having a hard time saying that eating them 'will make her get pass sadness'. Then she said to him 'Is this why you always eat them?' That is why everytime when they get separated to do something, they offered each other sweets to help them cope during the difficult times.

Then the ''blind fold'' that Jiang Ci puts on him during the swing scene. Well, it wasnt just there just for the romance factor but actually the start of when he truly believe Jiang Ci 100% and let his guard down around her. Right after that scene, we saw him putting the precious Yueluo jade hairpin in her possession instead of other people. He could give that pin to Uncle Pin or Yu Lian but he didnt. He put in her care instead since he knew she wont betray him.

I know you are talking in general for Wuxia/XianXia type of dramas but I just want to say that Love of Nirvana's ending, despite being sad is not a bad ending. I dont mind sad ending, I just need it to be logical, not forced and make sense. And Love of Nirvana, aced that one and thats how you write a sad, powerful but beautiful ending for dramas. I love that right until the end, Wei Zhou really compromise a looooot of things so him and his people could come out alive. He even considered and forced to join hand with a villain (Pei Yan's mum) but that plan failed due to her greediness. Then later, he even let go of his desire to clean his Father's name since he remember what's more important which is the safety of his people and not his request for revenge. So, he really try many options in his quests for justice. I really like that.

And he really fight to stay alive and not like he is ready to crash and burn like a phoenix like in the start of the drama. The sad and heartbreaking ending only resulted since he really has no choice. He needs to hold the Emperor from running away, there is only one door which he closed and the explosion already started by then. And not to mentioned he is poisoned so he is much weaker. He get to protect his people, saved them from being framed again at the cost of his life. Its heartbreaking, but I cant hate that ending as it wasnt illogical or forced -- it served a purpose that great things need great sacrifices to achieve. I just wish fate is kinder to him. T_T

''However, what I really like about book Cangcang is that it’s not enough that Xiao Huan loves her but that he needs to meet her emotional needs. And she’s vocal about it. She demands he tells her things to keep her in the know.''

Ohh I like this! :D

When I meant 'too old', it doesnt mean their actual looks. Usually, actors who are already long in the industry will get better scripts with depth & substance and with real conflicts that do not rely on dumb misunderstandings/miscommunication to move the plots.

For an example, the misunderstandings that are not done right would be listening to evil 3rd party and believing them instead of having a trust on your significant others. Also, listening to conversation half and leaving before the truth part comes out. Or when being confronted with the issue, chose to remain silent instead of explaining the truth. 😂 Or any misunderstandings that can be solved with just a simple communication.

The ones that are done right would be the ones when the villains really scheme that caused discourse towards the leads. Glory of Tang Dynasty done this and it was brilliant. The FL actually investigate many times to come to the conclusion that the ML, her husband really killed her family since the villain really planted the evidences at many places. Even if the FL confront the ML (which she did), he cant even defend himself since the evidence is after all did in fact all point towards him. It was kind of crazy and angsty lol because I also have no idea how can he clear his name at that time.

Or misunderstandings to show how the leads are mature and communicate with each other. For an example; One & Only and Forever & Ever. Any scene of misunderstandings are directly solved in the next scene or at the same time when the misunderstandings happened. This is to show the leads are mature, trust each other and actually communicate when enemies tries to put discourse in their relationship. Thus, a good use of misunderstandings.

Another one would be a deliberate lie that cause the misunderstanding -- an earned misunderstandings. So no amount of communication going to solve the problem since the party involved refused to tell the truth due to some secrets. Example; The Blue Whisper.

Or the misunderstanding part is only a plot device -- 'deceptive storytelling' to fool the villains and audiences. Burning Flames did this -- it wasnt a misunderstanding between the leads but actually a scheme they designed to fool the enemies (and also the viewers!). So, during the revelation part, it is so satisfying. This usually can be done when the characters are well written since the camera will show us scenes for us to believe the 'misunderstanding' -- however, they will give clues all over the scenes for us not to believe that deceptive narrative.

Or the latest one like Love of Nirvana. The misunderstanding that caused by external factors or high stakes. The FL felt betrayed that the ML used her to get her shifu however, she understand why he did it (for greater good) but it still hurt her feelings regardless. The ML, cant really tell her the plan as the stakes are too high and he has been planning this for more than 10 years. Thus, its a good conflict caused by forced situations and motivations.

I havent watch Goodbye My Princess so I cant really comment on the misunderstandings in the drama. It could be good ones like I mentioned above so it is indeed a good drama. I dont mind misunderstandings. I just need it to be logical, not silly and believable.

And glad to know that Phoenix Stage is the most 'grown up' character for PXR. This is certainly a good reassurance! :D And sorry for the essay! T_______T

He wont join other company since he has his own studio. With his own studio, he will be free to pick whatever dramas he wishes to act. He has an outside manager who negotiate projects for him and so far, its been marvelous with the selection of scripts he had since 2021. Huanrui kind of sidelined him after he announced his marriage (they did not like it) so since the big success of Under the Power in 2020, he has been taking outside projects since then which is awesome since the quality is much much better than Huanrui dramas in general.

Yes, both Phoenix Stage and The Perfect Match are the 2 dramas he is forced to make before his contract expires.

Yes, I know we have to wait for the end result since there will be changes. But knowing if the IP is actually a good story and not a stupid misunderstanding or miscommunication feast is reassurance than knowing it is full of avoidable angst. I personally think both RJL and PXR is too old for that kind of story.

I'm worried about the whole story and not only his character. If his character is good but the story is full of dumb misunderstandings, I wont like it either. I'm in for the story and how well written is all the characters. Thanks for the assurance though. Appreciate it. :)

I actually want a crime/police drama or a pure comedy drama since he actually has great comedic timing. He always take different genre each time so I'm looking forward to it as well.

Thanks! This is a reply that I want to read. Now I feel better. We dont get to see him much in 1 year so I need for his dramas to be good. At least it can last us for a few months before his next. So, getting 2 Huanrui costume dramas back to back just making me so anxious. I want something like Ultimate Note but Huanrui keeps getting him in this kind of dramas. >.>

Thanks again! 🤗❤️

No, it was before his contract expires. It was very obvious he wanted to leave for a very long time. He has been taking outside dramas for years as Huanrui is focusing on their other artists for the past 4 or 5 years.

So, he has a number of episodes that he needs to compete in his contract. Since now dramas have been limited to 40 episodes only, he needs to do 2 dramas which is Phoenix Stage & The Perfect Match.

His fans in China knew that he is obligated to finish these 2 dramas so they were pretty understanding and didnt make a big deal out of it.

We are interested with his future projects and what genre he wants to take next after The Perfect Match ended. He has an outside manager (she also handled Zhao Liying previously) to negotiate his contracts so we pretty can be sure on the quality of it. :)

Thank you! I just want to ask those who read the novel if the novel is even a good IP. And if there is conflicts, is it makes sense or just stupid. 😂 I love angst, but I need the angst to make sense like One & Only or Love of Nirvana or even Burning Flames. If the novel is written with depth, so I have a little more faith on the drama. I just have terrible anxiety when it comes to Huanrui's dramas in general. Do not want something like Promise of Chang'an or Love & Redemption. 😆

How bad is the misunderstandings in the novel? Is it the one that can be solve with simple communication? Or no amount of talking can clear it?

Gosh, I really Zhu Yawen as an actor. He is truly fantastic and great at doing awesome expressions. I tried this one thinking it will be funny and lighthearted since its a romcom but boy how wrong I was. The FL is insufferable (I rarely say this ever since I usually like most Cdramas' FLs but this one is just horrible). Right until the end, she has zero character development -- the ending scene has her stomp on his feet during their weeding day in front of everyone to further emphasis why she will always be the boss in the relationship. I have no idea why he fall for her. Made zero sense. She never fight for him, not even once. It was one sided relationship at its finest.

I thought there will be some redeeming quality for the show but it just made me more mad lol. In the whole drama, she really did nothing for him. Like seriously, zero. All she did is treating him as her personal slave and embarrassed him in front of people. I really have no idea what the writer is thinking. The man did nothing wrong, yet he needs to grovel in the whole drama. It is so ridiculous. She is the one who broke his heart, yet he is the one who has to chase her all the way to France. There is one scene where the 2ML asked him why he is so in love with her, I wanted to know the answer too but there is no answer. 😂 I mean, even the writer cant come out with something lol.

They should have followed the ending of the novel. That kind of ending would be so awesome. But I guess they decided against it since they want that last moment of Wei Zhou telling Jiang Ci about how she is free now and his gift to her at the old house. My goodness, the moment that she told him regarding all the plants before she poisoned him, I knew they gonna make him do all those things later (including the plant near the door! 😢). This drama did not have one wasted scene -- all scenes has meanings and purpose. And I find it truly heartbreaking and melancholic on how Wei Zhou is the one who make Jiang Ci join this cruel political fight unwillingly when he stabbed her on the tree and at the end, he is the one who set her free again. This kind of thing really hits me deeply.

Ahh I see, thats what you meant! Thanks for giving the name of it since I would never able to explain that kind of script technique! I really learn new thing today, thank you. And you are absolutely right. There so many such lines in the drama. Like when he said about his 9 cats lives and she told him he is not allowed to have less or part where she said being his fake 'wife' doesnt mean it cant be real or when she drew him the phoenix on his mask which indirectly ask him not to burn and turn to ash. But one sentence that may haunt me forever when she finally said it out loud to him 'I dont want the swing, I want you' 😭 They have so much tacit understanding with each other thats why most things are left unspoken -- I guess most of this is lost in translation to some viewers. Like she didnt have to hear from anyone to know the reasons why he didnt open the gate as she knew he must have his reasons. There are so many instances in the drama where the writer show their understanding towards each other is like soulmate kind of level. Like the part where he fainted after the war and woke up on the bed and her feeding him the orange -- so much things are said in that scene alone despite no words are spoken between them. The way the Director focus on his trembling hands and the way Jiang Ci cries silently beside him - it is to show she knew he was poisoned but she didnt say it since she knew he doesnt want her to know. 😢 I'm so marveled at how the writer and director conveyed that scene. It made it more heartbreaking and devastating somehow.

I cant read MDL comments! 😂 Since I always felt like we are watching a completely different drama lol. So I always just posted by views after each episodes to reach like minded viewers and refuse to read anything else for my sanity lol.

And I actually on my rewatch right now and I notice more subtle things from the script like when Pei Yan made Jiang Ci stabbed him. On the surface, it looks like he is only using her as a pawn for his political ambition but he is actually killing 3 birds with that one simple act -- satisfying both the Emperor and his mother and also protecting Jiang Ci so that his mother will lay off her and proved to his mother that she is after all just a pawn to him -- like their conversation just before the boat scene. I find it really brilliant and the script, never told us out right about Pei Yan's motives even using internal monologue -- they trust us to make that connection ourselves.

Okay, for those who read the original IP, how bad is the misunderstandings in the novel? 😂 I dont mind if its a good misunderstandings like in The Glory of Tang Dynasty (due to brilliant scheme of the villains) but I cant the dumb ones where it could solve with simple communication with each other. It doesnt help that the wrap up video for this drama is like angst galore for 2.5 minutes lol.

I actually feel very anxious with this drama since this is the drama that RJL forced to make by Huanrui before his contract expires -- he has been taking outside projects for years starting with the success of Under the Power in 2020. And Huanrui dramas, if anyone familiar with it is usually a hot mess. I have faith with RJL's scripts selections in general since he is known to take quality scripts but I'm afraid that this drama going to break that streak.

So if anyone can say anything positive about the drama, it is greatly appreciated lol.

He only has 4 sad endings for 20 of his dramas. He did not have sad ending signature.

I totally get what you meant actually. I think the fault is with how the Director shot the scene since it looks like he had a choice to escape when he didnt actually. I dont think thats intention of either the director or the scriptwriter. He closed the only door out and he needs to hold the Emperor with the chains so he wont escape thus it doesn't give him much choice because of that. Do you mind telling me the ending of the novel? When you said he really had no choice as the Emperor could escape down, you mean escape down the tunnel made by Wuxia's dad at the temple?

And BTW, I'm most admire and curious at the same time when you wrote how We Zhou communicate with Jiang Ci with 'dialogue within their dialogue.' Do you mind elaborating that? It seemed like I learnt something new today by reading your wonderful review. :D