sifeng

I'd be delighted if it were Yang Yang and Lusi, but somehow I can think of a whole long list of guys that could work too. Maybe that's why Lusi is getting so many scripts. (Song Weilong would be my personal favorite just based off of their looks. But if one takes acting into account I'd totally be on board with Cheng Yi and Lusi).

I mean, there are a TON of historical dramas scheduled for the future and Lusi is the lead (or important) in 3 of them. That's around 3 out of like 100. 3%. I'm pretty sure there are other actresses even more dominant in this genre.

I tried, but I think some exterior factors (Xiao Zhan's whole "drama") are heavily impacting the airdate. It should have, based on my predictions, aired this early summer.

the actual Lu Jie (who is not the girl we are introduced to in the first episode) is dead.

I appreciate that because a lot of fans don't have your level of respect, but as I have said, yes JInyan's fans may bash Bai Lu, but Bai Lu fans (not you) also bash Jinyan. So you cannot be angry with just Wu Jinyan's fans and ignore the fact that they are being hated on by Bai Lu fans as well.

I personally think ZLY did a great job as Minglan. And Yang Zi's so-called issue is less because of her ability and more because she is typecast (sadly enough). I've never watched TMOPB so I can't comment on Yang Mi's acting there but not everyone agrees that she did a good job acting or that she has range. (The only thing from YM that I have watched is Tiny Times, but that movie prioritizes style over substance so I can't take it as a serious outlook of her acting ability) I think acting is actually quite subjective, so one cannot say that YM is good or that ZLY is bad. Range matters, but if you take on a variety of roles, but fail to execute any of them particularly well, I'd definitely take someone who is consistently able to perform and make me believe in their performance even if they don't have the biggest range. Besides, YZ is looking to venture further, though I really hope she stops taking only so many cute idol dramas. And who's to say YZ can't take on a role like Chu Qiao? It's not that she's failed at it before, it's simply that she hasn't had a chance yet. And, in AoL her character does grow from the silly and goofy Jin Mi to a very serious and heartbroken one, and the difference in acting and delivery is obvious. And, as I've already said, being able to portray a "cute" female lead without coming off as obnoxious, stupid or annoying is difficult and Yang Zi can do it. This means she has a natural understanding of what audiences do and do not like and a natural charm, which, many actors don't have. It is common to say that acting is about natural talent, and Yang Zi clearly has that (her start as a child actress probably helps support that). Ask the majority of neutral Chinese fans who's a better actress YM or YZ? And they'll most likely say YZ.

ah but I judge acting not by experience, because while yes, it does matter and venturing out of your comfort zone is important too, but just the level of acting, the ability to convey emotions, is the most important thing. To be fair, Angelababy is a very experienced actress but is she good at acting? Most definitely not. She has ventured out of her "comfort zone" too. I would say Yang Mi has experience and has tried to venture out of her comfort zone but her acting hasn't been consistently great. Yang Zi has ventured out of her comfort zone (the movie about Firefighters), but overall she is just consistently delivering wonderful performances, even in idol dramas. Some of the younger generation of actresses (post 95s) have much more natural talent, charisma and ability to act even if they have bad scripts and not a ton of experience. Experience does help assist in good acting, but there are several young actresses that are just naturally amazing, and their lack of experience doesn't take away from that. I do see issues with Zhao Lusi's acting, especially in crying or emotional scenes, but she has this air of charisma and charm that just draws you in. Even a lot of veteran actresses don't have that.

Chinese wikipedia says that this drama might air in December?

honestly I feel horrible for her too. Her arc was surprisingly well-written, but I wish people noticed how complex she was, and how much pain she was experiencing. I enjoy L&R for this reason too, the writers strive to make even the supporting characters deeper and more complicated.

Okay but can we not hate on the voice actress who is just doing her job. That's just her voice, the bad dubbing is more on the production company since honestly Li Qin does not need to be dubbed at all.

did they really just... drop 49 episodes in one day? without any promotion whatsoever?

Actually this takes place after the Japanese surrender but still... it's a Chinese drama, what do you expect? There actually isn't a lot of propaganda so far and it's pretty good.

ah that poster is my favorite one... I wonder why they changed it again? The new poster is not only not that pretty, but also weirdly stretched out.

That's good to hear! What episode are you on?

I mean technically, the order of events goes:
1. Legend of the Condor Heroes
2. Return of the Condor Heroes
3. Heavenly Sword and Dragon Saber

But each is not a sequel nor prequel to the other. They just have similar characters and connected this way chronologically. You don't have to watch LOCH or ROCH to understand HSDS.

oh no you should continue! This show is so gooooood! (It's very long too, but don't worry, it just gets better and better!)

Can any watchers tell me if there's a plethora of Chinese propaganda here or anything? because I really want to watch this (it's an 8.4 on douban!) but I don't want to waste my time.

1. What does that even mean? Would you be super nice to someone who emotionally abuses you? If so, then good for you, but I'm sure that I cannot muster that kind of angelic niceness.
2. Nope, LCY is power-hungry. It's obvious when he tries to take the position of Crown Prince and Emperor. If he wasn't power-hungry and "just wanted to survive" he could've just stayed in Xi Zhou as Gu Xiaowu.
3. Nope, nope, nope. Sorry, it's not sexist to say a woman should run away from an abusive husband.
4. Yes, she most certainly did help, not particularly anyone in the palace, but you can see she helped her friends outside of the palace.
5. Again, what is up with you thinking XF is purposefully trying to avoid learning about LCY. If this man won't tell her, and if she has no reason to want to care, then why should she care!

Okay I have a lot more to say but I'm in school right now and about to take an AP exam practice so I will stop. Besides, no one will win because we have different philosophies. You think that in order to be a strong female you either have to one, be bad-ass and use everyone as a tool, or two, be extremely kind and offer forgiveness to even those who don't deserve it. I cannot be one to say that is incorrect because I am still young but my naivety forms the opinion that as all humans are imperfect, Xiao Feng's flaws contribute to her wonderful characterization. She isn't a bad-ass, but she isn't a weakling. Her motives and actions make perfect sense according to her personality and her background.

You say this "XFG pretends to be blind, deaf and dumb for all situations in the imperial palace, because XFG is more concerned with personal grudges, without wanting to know any of the serious problems of LCY, including the issue of the killing of the danchi tribe by LCY". But clearly this means you failed to read my entire comment (can't blame you, it was very long). What do you mean she doesn't want to know more about serious problems? It's like this, she is climbing up the wall that is in between her and LCY (she helps him towards the beginning and does try to be civil with him), but LCY is putting more and more blocks on top of the wall. It is an impossible pursuit, and so naturally, she stops climbing and takes a different route. She learns about Dan Chi, but how is she supposed to get the full story if all the people who do know that story refuse to tell her? What, is she supposed to gain telepathic abilities now? What personal grudges? I advise you to think, if your significant other slapped you, humiliated you, berated you and openly declared they loved someone else, would you simply stand there and accept it? Perhaps you would, but would a princess who has been loved her entire life? Please consider her personality, her background and her upbringing in her actions! She is not Wei Yingluo so she will not act like Wei Yingluo! She has no reason to do so either!

Clearly you have missed the big point of this show - LCY used XF's feelings for him to not only slaughter her entire tribe, but also mentally destroy her father and mother. She has all the right to cry and scream at him. She's emotionally destroyed!

Please do not reply. Not that I am afraid to continue debating, but as we both have clearly shown our thesis's, mine is that XF acts as she does because it makes sense for all aspects of her character and in taking natural human reactions into consideration. Yours is that she is selfish and stupid. We are arguing different things too, so I suppose no matter how eloquently I persuade, my abilities still fall short. We stand too sternly upon these two stands to ever consider the other possibility. But lastly, I must say, it is not too feminist of me to declare XF is in the right in berating an abusive husband. No person deserves to be abused as such.

I actually think the FL was developed fine. She just wants to be free, and away from the darkness of politics. There's a huge difference between Xiao Feng in episode 1 and Xiao Feng in episode 55. One cares far more about romance than the safety of her family, and the other is willing to place peace over her own life. Her personality and her final wishes (for peace and freedom) stay the same but that doesn't mean her character doesn't change. LCY's character did get worse, morally. He's always been bad since episode 1, but we can see that battling for the throne, hiding his feelings etc etc has really impacted how he does things. Sure, they may bring his character down even deeper into the "immoral" and "jerk" categories, but it also helped in making him more complex, confusing and complicated. GMP isn't great at plot complexity, but it excels in showing viewers the innate tragedy in this relationship. It couldn't possibly work out because of their personalities, backgrounds, final goals in life, and yet destiny continuously brings them together. But I totally get it, GMP isn't for everyone.

I'm so happy Zhao Liying is finally breaking out into more formal and serious works! Don't get me wrong, I love a lot of her idol dramas but she's so talented that I feel like she deserves to get more complex characters and difficult roles.