AutumnLeaf

That's my understanding as well. UL shows us the sad plight of these tribute ladies to provide context but does not intend to explicitly present a solution for them in the drama. The solution is implicit in the message the drama imparts which is about the chains that a monarchical form of government entails. That is, no kings/queens, no inhumane class of women called tribute ladies.

It's known that UL got 9k+ iQiyi heat index, meaning it's a hit drama. But I just found out that it actually exceeded the magic 10k heat index, meaning it's not just a hit drama, it's a major hit! But for some reason, iQiyi manually lowered the view count and index.
https://x.com/WangHediFolder/status/1855844445230645624

This reminds me of Guardians of the Dafeng, another Dylan Wang drama, which I just read actually exceeded the magic 30k Tencent heat index on its first airing day, instead of several days later, but Tencent lowered it.

C-Ent really sucks! Why do they play these dirty games? This is why I now take cdrama charts like Datawin, Maoyan, VLinkage and Yunhe with a grain of salt. I have yet to hear complaints about Kuyun viewership data.

I read the ads alone made 1 billion rmb. Actually, it would be easy to compute if we know how much each second of ad costs bcz the drama pulled in 4311 seconds of ads. Gawd, these haters will say anything. How can Xinli lose money from GOTD when it finished shooting in 2023 thus it didn't incur much expenses in 2024 and as you've said, incurred minimal, if any, marketing expenses. In fact, they made money in the 4 days it aired in 2024, not just due to the ads but bcz, weren't the episodes on VIP from, I think, the 3rd episode onwards, unlike other dramas where the first 5 or 6 episodes are free? And there's the cloud seats too, I understand the numbers also made history. Regardless of whether the cloud seats were used or not due to the server crash, they were paid for.

Actually, I was just so mesmerized by the story, especially S2 - Ning Que's rapid advancement in cultivation, Sang Sang's identity, their fates and struggles to stop Ever Night with the help of their Idiosyncratic and talented mentors and friends - their chemistry was the least of my worries. Their close bond was palpable and that was enough for me.

No wonder he was treated like a prince at the awards ceremony, seated between Tencent, Xinli and Yuewen CEO's and he delivered the opening remarks for the ceremony. Regarding GOTD marketing, Didi's fandom really pulled through probably the worst black marketing in C-Ent ever. And Tencent seemed like it was joining the sabotage, when the Tencent server lost thousands of cloud seats donated by international fans, causing the drama not to meet the 30k heat on the first day. Though I heard it did meet the 30k that first day despite the lost cloud seats but got sabotaged further. It was such a stressful time. It was a huge relief when the 30k heat was finally reached. So glad everything went well in the end. Didi's fandom is really amazing. It deserves S2. And I agree, S2 could be more successful, now that people know how good S1 is.

Probably, since JOL2 aired earlier and had higher viewership stats. However, GOTD made more money from ads, the highest in history, so it might be taken into consideration.

Yep, it seems they're still at the writing phase and Didi is off to start shooting another drama on 3/18. It's supposed to take 5 months or so, thus will end maybe August. I hope they'll shoot GOTD S2 right after he takes a rest from the other drama.

and you still think she's not his equal? In fact, he is not her equal

The GOTD production team is playing with our hearts and nerves regarding Season 2. The writer was interviewed during the Yuewen Global IP Awards event and here's what he said about S2:

Question: What's the one mission you're aiming to accomplish at this grand event?
Answer: To meet Wang Hedi and chat with him about what could be improved for the SECOND SEASON of the drama series.

I hope they'd officially announce S2 soon.

Sang Sang being the goddess didn't shock you, or at least made you realize she's more than worthy of him?

Guardians of the Dafeng is about a regular guy who gets bullied by richer and more powerful guys but gets to save a realm

After reading the novel, I understand why S3 is taking a long time to be made.

I understand he had other commitments. I also read somewhere that he was deemed too young to have romantic scenes.

Definitely. Season 1 does not even deal with the Ever Night problem. S2 does that. Wang Hedi is very good, especially in action scenes. Very good action scenes too. I couldn't believe he did them himself.

About the Ning Que/Sang Sang relationship being too lopsided in his favor, S2 will stupefy you with the truth, specially S3, if it ever gets made lol

I actually like S2 better as the Ever Night problem is handled there. S1 is more about Ning Que's personal revenge. In S2, Ning Que is in a position to save the world from Ever Night.

Season 1 doesn't even cover the reason why the series is called Ever Night. Season 1 deals more with Ninq Que's revenge. Season 2 is where the problem of Ever Night is actually tackled. I got obsessed with this series after watching S2 because of its universal theme, that is, ML is more concerned about saving the world from Ever Night than just personal revenge. After watching S2, I read the novel as I couldn't wait for S3.

I've been reading the comments and was bemused at some comments that said one does not have to watch season 2 after this. Season 1 doesn't even cover the reason why the series is called Ever Night. S1 deals more with Ninq Que's revenge. S2 is where the Ever Night problem is actually tackled. I got obsessed with this series after watching S2 because of its universal theme, that is, ML is more concerned about saving the world from Ever Night than just personal revenge as in S1. S2 fascinated me so much, I read the novel, my first web novel, as I couldn't wait for S3.

About the Ning Que/Sang Sang relationship being too lopsided in his favor, S2 will stupefy you with the truth, specially S3, if it ever gets made lol

Maybe this diagram can help:
https://www.cerita-silat.net/2025/01/character-relationships-chart-guardians.html

Same as me, at first. But I warmed up to her. She proves herself worthy of him. They're cute together. They have the same silly veneer but are actually deep.