PeachBlossomGoddess

Well iQiyi has also announced they are going to make more mini dramas going forward bc that is audience preference. Mini dramas are much easier to financially justify even without ads bc the biggest cost are the actors and they use unknown actors who do it for very little money. I don't think they are the answer longer term bc I personally am just sick and tired of them. I don't think they will last long. China just needs to make more 12-24 episode dramas with tighter plot and execution and they got to stop making the same stupid idol dramas with repetitive plots. They will get there but the transition could be a bit messy.

There were many hints her mother is a demon. They could have gone with that version which would have enabled her to live in Wuyou Realm with Xuanye. As a human, it is too dangerous for her to survive for long in Wuyou Realm - Xuanye cannot protect her 24/7. That's why Shen Tunan turned himself into a demon to try to enter the realm.

Apparently iQiyi chose to air this version of the ending so I don't think she should take the fall for it.

This belongs to the strange stories genre 志怪 in Chinese folklore. Human and demon love stories never end well. Best case its bittersweet. Some modern adaptations have tried to give classics like White Snake a better ending but they are at best bittersweet.

👍. Youku can't even sell enough ads to launch Immortal Ascension so I am not holding my breath.

Its 70 episodes - they have to sell a ton of ads to get it across the line to air. Not likely in the current environment. In case you haven't heard there is a trade war going on. So ping me again when there is a date. As far as I know, there isn't even a platform that has taken it on.

They are all losing huge amounts of money bc most Chinese don't subscribe to watch. There are less than 300mm paying subscribers across all 3 platforms. Everyone else watches free on the slow schedule and their views are paid for by advertisers. The Chinese economy has been in a downturn for more than 3 years now. Advertiser budgets are down so drama episode counts are getting cut and high budget dramas like Immortal Ascension etc keep getting pushed out bc they can't sell enough ads to cover their production cost.

Fingers crossed.

It is not clear to me that Song Zuer is completely out of the woods yet. I suspect bc of her extensive pipeline and the current heavy loss making situation of all the platforms, they managed to lobby the regulators to allow her completed dramas to proceed. The key will be whether anyone hires her for a new drama. Until that happens, I wouldn't declare her all clear and I personally would not touch her attached to her current agency with a ten foot pole. Not until she fires all the friends and family managing her and closes that agency. All these dumb relatives and friends always advise their stars to cheat on taxes thinking they are actually smart and won't get caught. I doubt anyone takes her on again unless she joins a proper, professionally run big agency like a JayWalk etc. Let's see if she gets smart and does just that. But its kind of hard to fire your brother/sister/best friend/cousin etc so a lot of them don't.

There is no ending to the novel. The writer never finished it.

His hair always looks like he is wearing a huge round ball bc he has so so so much hair in real life it’s hard to jam it all under that wig.

From the moment Song Zuer said that Banxia is a human I already knew what to expect. It’s like Ren Jialun’s early drama and classic Chinese story White Snake legend. I have read countless of these stories I honestly can’t remember one that ends differently. It is true to the genre.

For me this was expected.

He was also Xinan Wang’s aged assistant who accompanied him to the underground city.

If I remember correctly the novel is unfinished.

No you are wasting your time. We get candidates who think they are fluent in Mandarin all the time bc they are Chinese but grew up in the West and speak a little bit at home, just enough to be dangerous bc they really only get about less than 50pct of what is being said and lose all the nuance. They are the biggest time wasters in the world and can lose us a ton of money if we have to depend on them omg!!! We test candidates thoroughly and would show someone like you to the door in less than 5 minutes. Don’t waste your time. If you think you have a knack for the language go take proper classes and learn to READ, WRITE and SPEAKnot just have a smattering of understanding. That’s the proficiency level in a language to a level sufficient to take a job. Even people who complete HSK6 which takes years often are not good enough to take Mandarin speaking jobs. You are deluding yourself if you think watching Chinese dramas and thinking you get it qualifies you. I say this as a someone who has interviewed and employed mandarin speakers for years.

Tyvm 🌸 it is too many episodes for sure. I only watched it on the treadmill.😉

Better looking kids for sure!

I just can't wait to see him babysitting for master's wife! Hopefully his poor coachman changes jobs before he loses a thigh or an arm as snacks for the kids.

Welp... here's hoping that Banxia becomes the Mother of Panthers.