Shrimpy

September 1st

6.6? Is it that bad?!

Stuff like that happens all the time, it has never stopped, it's just that the international fans often don't see it. Just ignore it, there is nothing international fans can do and Chinese know the drill. It's going to be ok.

None of those names is getting anywhere close to this movie.

Welcome to XZ world, such a lovely place, such a lovely face 😁😂

Forget TC, these rule great projects aren't going to them. They can keep their web dramas.

Chances of him working for an independent Tencent project are non existent. They may do web distribution for one of his dramas in the future but that will be like WDB, where they had no control over the broadcast and didn't dare suppress him. Hopefully there won't be many of those either, at least with the current management.

Its an extremely important emperor, he founded the Eastern Han Dynasty and by the end of his reign, consolidated the whole of China. Very interesting historical figure on many, many accounts and this would be the first drama dedicated to him.

It's an amazing opportunity, whoever gets it and of course I want it for xz 😂 I first heard of this months ago but then it got stronger recently and now it's chaos on Chinese sns because every single actor is trying to get himself cast. But the name associated with the second part is his.

This is what I didn't want to mention before but the melon is spreading fast so might as well now.

CCTV and iQiyi are going to be making a two parter series, a Han Dynasty Epic. First part is about Emperor Wu and the second about Liu Xiu, emperor Guangwu. This second part is where Xiao Zhan's name comes in. It has been brewing for quite a while but the rumors are everywhere now. As always consume with caution! This one is absolutely not certain. But this is an excellent cake.

Melons, melons, I bring melons.

Edit: on hot search on Monday 😂

As far as I know and so far most of this info has been reliable they are planning a global, international release. So I would imagine you will get to see it 🤞🤞

Of course we will. Tsui Hark movies are regularly shown around the world, this one won't be an exception.

What a strange experience, watching this drama. The characterisations of both Meng siblings are pretty complex, as well as their situation (especially the complex nature of adoption in this setting) and it is pleasantly surprising to see. Both Wang Churan and especially Wei Daxun played them well. Song Yan is pretty straightforward and a good foil for these two. There is so much gray in this show surrounding this family and that is rare these days in cent. YCY gives probably her best performance as SY'sister and I loved her character. Overall this part was very satisfying.

What wasn't was the false rape accusation. It's truly a choice to go with that, in a country where Kris Wu walked unchecked for years and scored court victories and where 40% of women have experienced sexual assault. Where at best 1 in 10 rapes are reported, men walk with no consequences, the laws are still far from satisfactory and the social stigma huge. But yes, let's perpetuate the women accuse wealthy men of rape trope. I cannot with that. Especially because its inclusion in the story was totally unnecessary.

Second was the family of the FL. The mother but also the father. The criminal acts the mother committed and the way she treated these children but the father isn't any less guilty either and I feel like most of the spotlight was on her. But he could have stopped her at any time and he looked the other way (which he actually admits in 38). And then that ending? Ah yes, let's be filial, right? Much like in Road Home where an abusive, toxic alcoholic is absolved within seconds of his decades of abuse, we have another finger snap and all is well. Her mother loves her, she did it for her own good. Lol no.

It feels like this drama is so very close to being really good but that makes the fail sting even more. I am not going to rate it because I am so torn between the very good and the very bad so I will abstain. My recommendation is still to watch it.

That's because what is written here in the synopsis isn't what the drama is about. For one, Xu Lei has nothing to do with this production, he has been cut out. Two, the script is going to be original about WZH and his quest to avenge his murdered family. The details are still a bit vague but he will progress from a simple adviser to member of the Imperial cabinet. There is a lot of court intrigue and uncovering a bigger conspiracy that is related to his revenge. Douban also has him being an architect but I don't know how that ties into the rest.

In a strange turn of events Weibo TV Series listed SBMS as an August drama. I don't know, don't ask me 😂

You are mixing things up for one and two, you are making assumptions about people that you know nothing about.

Melons and leaks are two different things. Melons about future works have never negatively affected his career. As I have already said, all his previous works, TLP, WDB, SBMS, LOCH, all of these were discussed openly in Chinese forums. They do cause antis to crawl out but that always happens whenever XZ has good news. None of these projects were affected by this nor will this current project now be affected. Again, as I have already said, this new melon has been on hot search on Weibo and fat shrimp hasn't said a word about it.

Leaks are harmful. Photos and videos from filming, what we call reuters basically, that's what we avoid posting (and nobody has posted it here). The leaks of already finished projects (whole scenes for example) or in XZ case, a whole interview (though that is in the wider context of post CQL troubles). This is a problem but nobody is doing that here.

Discussion about possible future projects thanks to melons, on an international site, is not harmful. You can believe that posting that makes me a non fan or whatever but it is still the truth. Not to mention that you are going to be meeting a lot of different people, from lots of different places, who like XZ and it is best not to assume where they get their information and what they do and do not know. I don't know what exactly you are talking about here with "you people" but I get mine from Weibo, DY etc. If you spend enough time on Chinese platforms you will eventually get a good feeling of who is a (relatively) reliable melon master, who is a paid yxh and who is just throwing out things for the attention. So that's what I bring over, when I think it is relatively plausible.

I understand you want to protect him but being over-protective isn't an answer either. Especially here on MDL where a lot of people are XZ fans but not solos and where a lot of people come for discussion of present and future projects because they simply like dramas.

It means what is more or less the trend these days. In China, I already mentioned this on another page it would be pursuit of major national themes, positive energy and of course "red" themes (this last melon would fall under do positive, honourable things for the country, TLP was this too). Due to his popularity and wide reach as top traffic, until something changes, we won't see him play a villain for example because of negative influences. But he has a very good sense of script quality and within these limitations he seems to be choosing the best that is on offer. I am especially happy he is working with good directors.

Omg the hyperbole 😂😂😂

Literally all XZ works were melons at one point, TLP, WDB, SBMS, LOCH, all of these were extensively discussed in China (and some here) and guess what? Nothing happened. Nothing will happen now either. And especially not when something is posted here, on a niche international site, after it has been on several Weibo hot searches and not been denied by fat shrimp.

His career wasn't affected by melons, it was affected by big capital and rival agencies that felt threatened by him, a far bigger and real issue. It's good to know though that I am not a fan of his 😂

Tl;dr get a grip, skip what you don't like and stop policing. This isn't a solo fan space but a discussion board.

Even when it was filmed, the effects were bad 😂 but the magnificence of that show lies in the story and the character of Wei Wuxian.

MXTX writes character portraits with such skill that it's a real shame that we don't have anything new and XZ managed to bring WWX to life in such a way that he will stay with you forever. While the story with LWJ is great, WWX's story in this drama is way beyond that and the character himself is iconic for many other reasons too. There is also a significant gray area there which is rare these days in Chinese dramas but is such great food for discussion. Right role for the right actor. Sometimes it is almost like it's fate.

We are not in a cult where if Xiao Zhan says something we have to follow 🤷 This is also not a fan page but a discussion site and discussion page. Just skip melon posts if it is not to your liking but you can't dictate what people do here.

I have been consuming melons for years and will continue to bring over what is the most credible. They are always marked as melons and everyone by now knows how to consume them - responsibly, with a healthy dose of care.

Ah I didn't answer this one. So basically the current trend in TV dramas, meaning pursuit of major national themes, positive energy, “red” themes etc.