Nepeta 22

Truth is a diva abused their position. Just because they saved someone who happened to be a rapist or axe murderer, that's not a way to say they are even. But I know in drama land it's paved over as simply grey characters all round. That's why you are able to square this off as equal.

But how the directors choose to frame her motivation on saving someone & keeping info from them is enough to sway how you should think. But sometimes people can step out of that drama bubble and say it as it is. It's creepy.

Don't worry about those defending her character. The drama makers saw the success of Are You the One and thought, just swap it the other way round and success...but her position is not set up like ML's character in Are You The One, so for now it looks creepy. You would be surprised at how shallow some are when characters simply are good looking or still youthful. Now just imagine FL 15 years older and not so pretty. I think the comments may not be the same.

Someone else has said (but I cannot be sure) the name was most likely a translation of the Rong surname, which apparently means glory. But it's one of the titles like 'heroes' that can be overused. To be honest, Chinese dramas spend much more energy for China than think up great or smart names for international releases.

Oh really? I wonder why it's changed so quickly.. I'm not a fan of long dramas. But I'm a big fan of Bai Yu, so anything he's in I watch😉!

Interesting to hear that. I wonder if that has any effect on this drama. I also heard somewhere else that the 40 episode cap may be lifted so we may get longer dramas again! I personally prefer shorter dramas.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, especially about Unnatural Fire. I guess I might fall into the category of emotional connection over full-on technicals.

I know I like dramas others may not like, for example, Chasing The Undercurrent, for me is up there with The Knockout, but in China, it didn't seem to do that well compared with The Knockout. Point taken about music trying to steer things and telling the viewers how to think, that's also one of my pet-hates.

Thanks for the heads-up on that. Let's see how it goes. Yes, hope season 3 of Under The Skin picks up.

I confess to only watching 4 episodes and haven't got far so it's just my impressions! With Under The Skin, I liked the first season more. The second season made Jin Shi Jia's character regress and almost like a support and uplifted Tan Jian Ci's character making the drama almost a different type of drama. Yes, the psychological side is very good. I'm looking forward to season 3.

It's good you see it flowing whereas I can't get into this because the flow is too fast and I feel the cases are rushed through, cutting off areas I feel should be expanded on. In terms of trio working together I felt Liu Yase very under utilised. Her portrayal as a police officer in See Her Again ranks as one of the best retro HK feel dramas around. Here she's quite in the background.

Maybe I'm struggling with the rushed feel of the cases. I don't feel details are there. I was hoping it would be a little like Unnatural Fire where details are never cut out & you can see and feel the research that had gone into the drama's content. There was a trio that worked really well. Even though each from different departments.

I agree the styling and filming is very on point here, but how the stories/cases unfold seems rushed making it hard for me to connect to the case and the characters.

Ha ha, yes, that reversed harem storyline is all the rage nowadays. No doubt this will bring out all the usual incels here whingeing about unrealistic scenarios and uplifting women who are wicked and ignorant.

But here, they cannot complain too much as ML has been written to be aware of the game, and will be the one winding her up.

Yu Zheng knows what sells. It's a tried and tested formula. Pitting women against women, full of in-fighting and gossip. Basically, this is just one giant version of Weibo dressed up in costume.. There will be the silly one, the fat one and the caricature villain for entertainment and filler. And of course in the middle, we must have beautiful leads to balance that all out. The issue is, has this template got a little too comfortable and now looking tired and dated.

Just an update that the Douban rating has risen to 7.7 in China. Hope more people get to see this quality drama.

Xiao Zhan looks like veteran Taiwanese actor Wallace Huo & Neo Hou looks more like veteran Hong Kong actor Andy Lau. Especially when he starts laughing 😉!

ML with Xu Tu.

No problem. I hope you like them. I suggested them because both have a style that is similar to this drama, although coming from a different angle on revenge.

I would have said The Legend of Zang Hai, but I do not feel it's in anyway close to this drama. The ML there shows growth throughout which is nothing like this drama, This drama depicts a cold and calculating individual.

At the top of my head, the closest drama with a revenge theme done in a similar style but told as a mystery crime solver is Ripe Town, using flash backs creatively. The Wind Blows from Longxi is loosely about spying at the core, but the underlying story is motivated by revenge.

Yes China is vast and of course all this info will not reach all corners of the country. But I think those that were educated at school will probably know on that part of history. There's a big effort to ensure the youth don't forget what happened in the past. especially when the country is going through huge shift into consumerism and commercialism.

I have been informed in elementary school, all kids wear a red neck scarf that signifies the colour of the blood shed during the revolution. If that sort of symbol starts young, then they will need to educate them on why and what has happened to China till today.

As for the desire to look like westerners, this is the same with many east Asian countries, not just China. This is understandable as the soft power of the west and many films and dramas from Hollywood sends a subtle message that west is best! It could take another 30 years for a shift.

I think, more representation of minority/ethnic groups in western-based films/dramas are slowly making a shift. Also, I notice China embraces its arts and unique point of costume dramas that is not easily westernised. The hair styles, the clothing is distinct.

If anything, I think this is China's soft power in the next few decades. International interest in China may come through dramas and films itself.

Although I haven't watch this but I'm imagining the domestic audience will know all this. Perhaps you are thinking from an international audience's point of view.

Depends what you might call a villain. If you think killing a host of people for revenge and the body count may exceed the original figure, then this and The Legend of Zang Hai may be regarded villains/morally grey characters.

I'm not far in, but it has a feel of Ripe Town if that helps. The narrative is straight forward enough, but you know large chunks are withheld from us to keep us and the ML guessing.