Meari21

Plagiarism is a big word. Most people these days don't know what that means anymore. Just because there are similarities between two works, it doesn't mean one of them was copied from the other. The only plagiarism case that he got mixed up in was when he was still a young novelist. If I'm not mistaken, that issue came out after he became a best-selling novelist and was widely praised for his talent. We don't really know what is considered plagiarism in China and none of us have read the novels involved, so we don't know how similar they actually are or if there really was plagiarism. Then there's the fact that if you manage to piss off someone powerful in China, they can destroy your career or taint your reputation just like that. As for the allegations of sexual abuse, the key word there is "allegations". No one has brought him to court and he wasn't convicted of any of the crimes accused of him. Some people may not like him and would rather see him kicked out of the industry, but we can't deny that he has talent. People in the Chinese film industry know that and that is why he's still working. There's also the possibility that he has powerful backers. This is pretty common in China. The moment someone gets cancelled, there's usually a political reason behind it. I usually take these controversies with a pound of salt because Chinese netizens like to talk, spread rumors, and try to ruin reputations of people they dislike. There are also the so-called water armies that are specifically hired to tear down certain celebrities.

Tian Jiarui is already good looking, they made him even more gorgeous as Bingyi.

Unfortunately, iQIYI dramas don't get picked up by Netflix unless they're joint productions with Tencent. In my case, since I watch tons of C-dramas, an iQIYI subscription has been worth it so far. Youku too.

Nominal age, you know. lol

I've been seeing so many bts videos of Tian Jiarui on my social media feeds and I must say, he is soooo adorbs! He's the exact opposite of Zhuo Yichen. lol I swear, I thought he was only 22 or 23. I was shocked when I found out he's turning 27 next month.

Or those ladies in the Tanxiang Pavilion. lol

So are we kidnapping him now? lol

Get in line! lol I also love his hair accessories. Whoever thought of those little clips that look like horns is a genius! Can somebody make a line of hair accessories just like those? I would totally buy them.

But why is it that the other goddesses didn't have demon partners? And wouldn't that fact actually be a good reason for the balance to be disrupted? I just feel that I'm staring at a huge plot hole here. I mean I see a lot of plot holes in this drama but this is the most glaring one for me. It's like they shoehorned this Baize goddess plot in order to give more importance to Chen Duling's character. If you think about it, even without this Baize token macguffin, they still have a pretty solid plot revolving around Zhu Yan and the relationship between mortals and demons. The ever-burning wood, which is another macguffin can be one of their central plots instead. Wen Xiao could be the scholar member of the team, the strategist who possesses knowledge of demons, spells, and potions. That way her so-called weakness can be more understandable as she's no warrior and she doesn't possess a token that contains the power of a goddess. Not that I have a problem with her being physically weak. She doesn't strike me as a damsel distress. I take issue with the Baize goddess subplot and their usefulness to the grand scheme of things, and why demons are allowed to travel to the mortal world when they can be dangerous and humans discriminate towards them. That whole thing doesn't quite make sense to me. I'm hoping it'll be explained in the succeeding episodes.

Not without the token, no. But the way they hype up that token, that thing should be powerful enough to give the goddesses the ability to truly bring balance between the realms.

Yes, I know they're mortals and not invincible. What I mean is if they don't possess the power to fight powerful demons on their own, then what are they good for? The Baize token is supposed to give them the power of the real goddess, but we don't really see how powerful that thing is, we're just told. Not to mention none of the goddesses seem to know how to properly use it because they can't really control the rogue demons and chaos still happens in the mortal world. I would've understood it if there was peace and balance between the two realms when the goddesses reigned but the balance was severely disrupted when the last one died and the current one doesn't have the power of the token. But even then, there was no real balance. Demons were being hunted by humans, humans were being harmed by demons, the goddesses were easily killed. That's why I said for now that token is nothing but a macguffin. It's just there to move the plot forward. This is my main beef with the drama so far, the subplot about the goddesses and their function.

The goddess should be powerful enough to contain demons without needing the help of another demon. What the drama has shown us so far is they are useless without a demon partner. So when their demon partner goes berserk like Zhu Yan or betrays them, what then?

The Baize Goddesses are all kinda useless imho. The previous one died just like that. The first one died of a plague. If I'm not mistaken, this is the same goddess that accidentally let a calamity demon enter the mortal world and start a plague there because she was careless. The current goddess didn't even know she possessed the Baize token, barely knows how to use it and lost it again. I honestly don't know how they can supposedly maintain balance when they have very little power or even knowledge. When faced with a powerful demon like Zhu Yan, they can't hold their own. So I don't get the point of having a goddess at all. We're just told they are needed and that the Baize token is sacred and important, but the drama doesn't show us why. Hopefully, they'll correct that in the coming episodes because as of now, this whole deal about the goddess is a mere plot device and that token is a macguffin, nothing more.

I think it's because nothing much happens in the beginning and most of the scenes are dialogue-heavy. I never thought the drama dragged, though. I thought those scenes were necessary and they made me feel more attached to the characters. I've seen C-dramas that literally put me to sleep I had to drop them. Those are the kinds of dramas that made use of so much filler.

Yep. But it's not worldwide. Most of their C-dramas and J-dramas are available for purchase only. Netflix is a much bigger and more widely popular streaming service, though. One of the reasons why some C-dramas become more known internationally is because of Netflix. The Untamed and Word of Honor certainly benefitted from that.

It's quite possible that when he and Li Lun had a falling out, he started hanging out with the Baize Goddess and disguised himself with a wardrobe change and different hair. After all, he started using the name Zhao Yuanzhou and pretended to be human. He was named after the goddess' brother so maybe he started pretending to be him and looking like him. Just a speculation.

So The Story of Pearl Girl and Love Game in Eastern Fantasy are being released on Netflix worldwide. I did expect that. I wish iQIYI would start releasing their dramas on Netflix as well so dramas like Fangs of Fortune could get worldwide exposure. iQIYI should really consider signing a contract with Netflix like Tencent and Youku. Most people have Netflix but not all of them have subscriptions to these other streaming platforms so it would be a good opportunity for them to showcase their dramas internationally. I'm pretty sure Mysterious Lotus Casebook will blow up even more if it gets a Netflix worldwide release.

Isn't the Baize Goddess the one doing the checking whether these demons can travel to the mortal world or not? Doesn't she have the power to know their true natures no matter how hard they try to conceal them? If she can't figure that out, then she's not really doing her job don't you think? And if demons aren't welcome in the mortal world, then why are they allowed to go at all? I know I'm nitpicking but it doesn't quite make sense to me. It would've made more sense if both humans and demons can travel to either worlds and create problems there as the drama suggests that demons are evil but the humans are more wicked.

Yes, I do notice that recurring theme in stories where there are demons and spirits. But the idea of the Baize Goddess being an immigration officer cracks me up. lol

If that's the case, why are demons allowed in the mortal world then?