Nepeta 22

I don't blame just the fans. As you say, they are much the victims as the star themselves. Maybe I should have been more detailed rather than just talk about fandom alone. Yes, all these companies want to make money in whatever way, from platforms to all these data companies. It is what it is. Whatever the situation, someone will always be there to make money from it.

So long as fans are happy and they spend responsibly for their groups and no one is bullied or pressured into spending, then it's fine. But I have seen shaming and bullying behaviour within fandom groups before, and the unhealthy behaviour towards those that are deemed not to be a good enough fan. Usually relating to ones not spending enough buying magazines etc. There should be an independent group to monitor this sort of behaviour. Just my opinion.

No problem, I have not delved deep into all the stars' background stuff. I was just giving Naksu_aos a bit of background because the word scale was mentioned in the post. Sorry to hear that the agencies are not doing what they are meant to do.

Yes, bigger fandoms will obviously mobilise more & create a bigger buzz. It is unfortunate that nowadays, these types of dramas have become a tool for some fandoms to use as a kind of sport. Rather than sit and just enjoy the star's work, more energy seems to be put into trends, indexes and hashtags.

When more and more fandoms do the same, it turns into an industry in itself 'outside' of the drama. For me, it's a shame as it distracts from the drama and the star. But it is what it is, China is vast, and competition is fierce, so I guess if you don't stay on that treadmill to compete with others, there is fear you'd be lost in mass.

Well, if you watch A Dream Within A Dream, you will see the poking fun of many classic plot points throughout the drama. One character played by Wang You Shuo springs to mind though. If there ever was a character so consumed with obsessive hate, with little or no understanding of the bigger picture, the award goes to him. Murong Yao maybe a close second!

Because it's clear from the edit, her story is tied to her brother and their emotion bond may play out in slow motion to make ML squirm the most. Also, she's one of those characters that need to be saved because she's has a good heart and cannot help falling in love with someone that clearly has other things on their mind.

BTW, I will take it as a pinch of salt that so many on the forum love to make throwaway comments about this character. I guess this is the barrage culture.

Try having someone in your own family that is actually like that. I am witness to that. It's not as simple as put her down or cast her aside. No doubt the drama will show, blood is thicker from one side.

But then again, her own step mum is just that person... maybe she learns from the best?

The Demon Hunters Romance & This Thriving Land springs to mind.

It just means in China, his character name is ranked number one out of all current airing dramas right now. In China, there is a chart for everything. Most of the heat indexes or charts include chitter chatter/hashtags into the equation which means, most top scores tend to be from a younger group as they tend to be the larger online group which is why you normally will see idol style dramas dominate.

This is why you will see many newer dramas inserting controversial scenes, or scenes they deem would generate discussion and trend. This is normally funny scenes, kissing scenes or even controversy outside of the dramas with one of the stars.

It is through discussion it trends. On top of that, fandom or the dramas also add bought trends to aid with it. It can be a bit complicated if you are not just looking at viewing figures, but stuff outside of just viewing figures.

Interesting comment. I find him too polite to fit into the dynamics of his family. But for the role he is playing, it's fine..

The cast is super and I'm glad he is able to be in this, working with veterans/established actors, and I have not seen such top notch acting for a long while. I'm near the end, but can safely say, this is a gem of a drama. Highly recommend!

Ha ha, it took you 9 months to tell me that!

I still stand by it. The drama is disjointed and lacking because the vision is bad on characterisation. You cannot sympathise with the ML's plight because all it shows is the eliteless wins and those that sacrificed are always those that served the most. That would have been OK, but the director made no attempts to make the ML connect with those that mattered most. He was reduced to a loved-brained inward looking individual that did not pay attention to those that mattered most in his cause.

OK, I understand that. Something similar happened to the Xianxia drama The Blossoming Love. They spent so much with the production and CGI they also did not have money left for the promotion when the time came.

They ended up with a much lower viewership. They also had to leave the whole main cast to do the leg-work of promoting the themselves!

I'd love to know all about that. Is this a low budget production? Often I hear the words low budget, but I notice in those dramas, the clothing, hair, background settings are in my mind quite top notch. I'm wondering whether I have really bad taste because those that are deemed "S-Plus" level look tacky and often have bad-looking clothing and CGI.

I'm afraid I gave up with Song of Glory half way. I can only remember her channelling her bitchiness to the max. She spent a bit of time slapping people in the face!

If you want to see her acting range, I recommend you see her in War of Faith.

It was all just about OK until I noticed those built-in wispy hairs sway and swing in darkened rooms. Even sitting on the bed in the bedroom😂

I think it's a handful that whinged about them. Sometimes, this creates a follow the leader behaviour where others just pile in because they 'think' they're also a bit annoying.

Those poor kids are there as others say for effect, a pause from the tension and a bridge between both opposing sides. Also there to make both ML and SML feel a bit jealous of each other when both try to use the kids to be their little buffer. Of course, the end result is both are trying to impress FL.

Well, I did say that my last post was my final one to him, and I knew he would come back with another post, which would have gone on and on, so yes, on reading back, it does look like I'm talking against someone that is not likely to open their mind in anyway, but that's fine, he's entitled to his opinions.

I'll use this post to repeat the fact is history is written by the victors and that's normally universal, so what China's line is right now is not in anyway different to any other country.

This drama was for domestic consumption so the audience possibly want to see this. The audience are even more patriotic than the drama makers. This is something some international audience are trying to deny. They are as usual trying to take over the narrative as if their version of events are the correct one.

This over-bearing and entitled behaviour is classic propaganda from outside of China. They fail to even join up the dots that Google/Wikipedia etc are all connected to the media machine, which is why China has their independent media/searches that cuts away the skewed views on China. I absolutely don't blame, them.

The reason it is not working is the over-use of background music and in many cases laid over dialogue and you cannot feel anything with the dialogue. The tropey biting and pushing and tugging feels forced and only inserted because they can't find any other way to bring the relationship more intimate. It's never good when both look like they're just play acting for us and not within the drama and for their characters.

For me, the drama is very slow. You know what is happening, and you are waiting for it to happen, and it feels very dragged out.

The SFL's role is clearly just there to create forced tension and create a headache for her brother and his new love interest. There doesn't seem to be any twists and turns in the first 7 episodes, which is not a good sign.

This is the first time I have seen this actor and I feel his acting is way too theatrical with all that snarling Then at certain angles, it's like seeing a Chinese Michael Jackson. May it's just me.

But that's what makes this drama even more perfect. Ask yourself, why must this guy be less insufferable? The general feel of the drama is of poverty, luck and many ifs. Considering, we know nothing of his life the last 10 years, it would be quite predictable and boring if he had been exactly mild and understanding as his mother. He may have been spoilt, doted on and had a life away from poverty that may make him more self important and stand-offish. But, the small touches near the end was the makers of the drama showing us he made the biggest gesture of love for his mother. That message was more powerful than his general behaviour, in my opinion.

This is my first time watching Wang Ying Lu and Zhou Yi Ran, and I'm impressed too. I have been meaning to watch something with Wang Ying Lu, but none of her past works interested me. I'm so glad I chose this drama for her and Zeng He Hui Zi. I too hope some of them get recognised for some awards soon, they deserve it. No kisses or obvious intimate scenes, but as a viewer we really feel and are fully immersed in their situation. That's credit to the creators of this drama.