Nepeta 22

Yes, she has redeemed herself since I dropped Harbin 1944. But they could have made her hair more messy as she seems to be too neat if she's supposed to out in the fields.

The actors were recruited because at the time Cheng Lei was current hot off A Journey to You & Zhou Ye was already gaining momentum from BFTB & SOT, it's a safe bet.

She attracts a lot of young female followers which is not easy to pin down, since fans are picky. They want actresses to be more relatable and slightly naughty looking which is more popular than actresses that seem more regal and distant in attire. This is their guarantee that a weak script or poor storyline can be covered up.

The problem is the author is a name brand, so in the end the result was expected to be of better quality.

I get that, dramas like this relies on "traffic" and it more or less confirms the need for this, otherwise, relying on good script, acting and cinematography may just be too risky. Money is the biggest motivator over creativity.

And this obsession with data to prove points like ensuring the artists get signed up for more works and hopefully springboards their career and thus adding further fandom and followers.

For me, this drama in a nutshell has shown all that is wrong with mainstream idol dramas right now. Unoriginal, lazy and worse still, using feminist talking points to try to hook young and impressionable viewers. It's fake and it's actually damaging because it more or less says women need to be in men's spaces to achieve great things.

Women are not men. That is why there are women's tennis and men's tennis. But women get paid less than men doing the same thing though. This drama not only tells women they need to be as strong if not to match them in strength, they need to look pretty and be a woman like how a man wants a woman to be. A bit of childishness, flirtiness and lashings of sewing and saving by men all at the same time telling women their pursuits are more trivial compared with defending the country.

Those speeches ticking off the ladies and showing them how to be a "woman" is totally demeaning and if the author cannot see that, she has been brainwashed and influenced by men that sets the tone.

You done better than me. I have seen the writing on the wall on episode 29 and just couldn't get to the end. It became boring and formulaic. You know when the drama is failing when you don't care to know how they get to the HE. You just don't care for those other characters. They're not interesting and are like fillers. SML trying to look mysterious and tortured, all the extra expense to expand that seems forced and obvious and not in line with the story at all. The plastic caricature villain in HRF is cringeworthy and deserves to be parodied.

On MDL, I'm afraid the ratings system has been abused and should not be taken seriously. You are more likely better reading comments instead. You will see the review ratings seem to be the completely opposite to the ratings. This is because there are some that will open multiple accounts and just do ratings, and since it is not really transparent, it's the go-to method to manipulate ratings . Note this could be to inflate or deflate, and these accounts do not comment, they are there solely for that purpose.

I think MDL seriously need to not allow new users to rate until 6 months have lapsed. That way, it will hopefully deter new or slow down new accounts opened for other dubious purposes. Unfortunately, some of the toxic fandom culture has infected this site as well.

OK. I guess the drama wanted him more a grey character. They must be influenced by SMLs that never get the girl because they're too weak to stand up for themselves. Like the SML in Story of Minglan, who's not a villain but a mummy's boy, except here, he's clearly the villain, but they tried to spin it in a way he's some victim. This might be too far a stretch.

OK, I'm stuck on episode 30 right now and struggling to finish it. The drama just feels soulless and predictable from here onwards. The end just seems uninteresting. I guess, if you're really into all the romantic interactions, then you stick around.

Sounds like this is better in print form. In a drama setting, it feels too formulaic. For you, I hope it's matched your expectations. I think I'll put this on hold for now.

I guess you are right. So far, he just looks overly concerned for FL, but at the same time very meek and submissive to her and everyone else. This actually comes across as passive aggressive in the worst possible way. Then the story of his background and his love for his mother, it seems like he's almost deranged.

SML in The Double played a more expressive and obsessive character, but also was able to show his vulnerability which helps audiences know he is trapped but single minded in his quest for a place in court. Here, SML seems almost wishy washy with how he plans to take revenge. Very hard to read or feel his character. Again, not sure if this is an adaptation issue as quite a few novel readers feel this version is not what they had in mind. He was more a victim in the novel apparently.

OK, thanks for letting me know. Makes sense. I guess we now sit back and watch his downfall now. I suspect in the novel this style of villain works as a backdrop to this blossoming love story. I think in dramas, it needs a little more fleshing out as he and He Rui Fei are a bit like cardboard cut-out villains, especially with the latter's snarling and growling facial features you can't help but laugh.

I'm afraid I burst out laughing when FML was brawling her eyes out and screaming M'Ls name in the middle of the battle field. This overly dramatic scene looked so silly and out-of-character and in slow motion. This is so out-of-character. I guess in the novel, it would have been far more toned down. I think they tried to Disneyfy this and ended up making the drama look more pared down and simple and cutting off bits that join the story together. Just my two pennies' worth.

Yes I can see. They also did something similar in The Double where they fleshed out FL ex and made him more human rather than villain. I guess here it's not come out right as I have seen quite a few negative remarks about his character.

This Thriving Land I have been already watching and it is superb. Also watching Are You The One.

To get you in the mood for Shadow Love you can watch Cheng Lei in a more comedic role also with Song Yi in Follow Your Heart. He was great in it.

Any novel readers know why Prime minister Xu hates Xiao Jue and his family so much. Maybe I have missed this drama's rushed adaptation, but I don't understand why he wants to take them down. Is it just simply he wants a military family he can align with or control?

I don't know what episode you put on hold but I recommend you watch it right up to the very end & very last minute, even after credits have rolled. It's one of the best dramas of the year for me.

Obviously, everyone has different taste, but this drama was one that got better and better towards the last 8 episodes.

I cannot take that emperor seriously. I can't unsee what I saw on A Dream Within A Dream.

Let's face it, these novels are pure fantasy and often SML is just there to serve the purpose of having loads of men chasing after FL. It's just to make FL seem very alluring and irresistable. The target audience is women/girls and the authors get ahead of themselves, end up writing totally unrealistic characters. The classic is the delusional SML.

Marcus Li.

The reason is his fandom may cause mayhem and this could overshadow the main lead characters.

I think both had been addressed but can't remember which episode.,Someone more clued up may tell you exactly the episode.

Yes, original scripts like A Dream within a Dream seems more on-the-ball with viewers. Lots of tropes used in a way as a parody and giving subtle hints at similar dramas made famous by their iconic scenes, so it's engaging and also speaking to the audience through subtle hints like music to evoke certain genres/dramas. But ultimately, they more or less told us how the industry works like a backhanded slap and a gotcha moment at the very end. It's definitely a drama setting a benchmark for me.

I think the problem here is trying to re-hash lots of en-vogue at the time re-birth dramas and here, getting it wrong. It's created more issues which may have been avoided. With so many similar themes, it can become unoriginal.

Sometimes, I feel they're better off starting from scratch if they're making so many changes to get round censorship. The issue is, the money people are too frightened by that because they ultimately are trying to cash in on the novel fandom and the name brand author.