Rating Info: after nearly two weeks of fandom against fandom fighting including salacious potentially career ending rumour mayhem (think Xiao Zhan's 2020 level controversy fan madness) the escalating war between Meng Ziyi's fan base and Li Yunrui's fanbase is partially responsible if not completely responsible for the insanely low MDL rating.
Battle lines include: - New drama billing battle - Meng Ziyi receiving personal attacks including death threats - Accusations that Li is tied to a recent arson case - A reunion of any kind
The haters have the outdated/faulty/weak MDL algorithms down by now. Plan to go in hard as soon as possible with enough votes to throw the system off. Will effectively control the low rating for the remainder of voting (throughout the life of this drama). I fully expect MDL admin to step in and correct this ASAP.
Note: While I am a fan of dramas I am not a fan of anyone in this drama. No skin in the game. So far its a watch-able drama. That could change at any time. Unsure how much the harem theme is contributing. Most certainly it is not a 6.9 drama!
Could imagine this as a one and done 72 episode drama that would have sat somwhere near the top of my luv it drama list. As it stands, its an unpolished compact gem. Can not believe how much was accomplished in such a short shooting time and just how good the cast mix was. I appreciate the directors' vision. The director of photography and crew did an outstanding job too - the lighting was lighting. Makes me want to read the books and can imagine that I actually will. Not bad.
is not just a bad guy, he is a very, very, very bad guy.
Any idea how he got so close to Ning? And, why Canxing is giving him the access? Canxing assigned him yes? In that case Canxing is using him to get info.
is not just a bad guy, he is a very, very, very bad guy.
I am seeing him as a double 'agent' put there by Canxing to protect Ning and get info. Which means they are both being used. His ambitions have no bounds and its what will get him killed. Canxing is giving him enough rope to hang himself. Does he truly care for Ning? I say yes, in his own twisted way. She also seems to be drawn to him vs just being manipulated. If I am wrong I am okay with that.
Got through the first 10 ep and then waited to binge watch. Recommend watching this drama for the first half alone - Nirvana on Fire level. Also holds for the rewatch value. The second half was nothing short of unrealized potential. It meandered along a path of vengeance on repeat and ultimately sputtered out.
The acting on the part of the ML and supporting cast was exceptional throughout. Even at times sublime. The FL , however, continued to be the weak point from the moment she entered. Acting was subpar compared to the rest of cast and any notion of chemistry between FL and ML is fantasy thinking. The ML carried the romantic storyline and filled in the acting gaps. Thankfully the core of the story was not romance driven.
Production budget was well spent. This is a 'real deal' almost feature film status drama with the production quality and staff professionalism at one of the highest levels seen. The production quality alone helped to elevate the drama and mitigate damage when the casting, script, plausibility and story-line fatique let it down (think ML father and FL mother romance). Makes me wonder how much of the dip in quality in the second half had to do with editing.
Leaving the over-used tired underlying 'love conquers all' trope aside, the core themes of no matter how you start your life you are 'captain of your own destiny' and no matter what you encounter in life 'how you define yourself as a human is both an option and a responsibility' positively contribute to the strength of the drama.
Bottom Line - kudos to the support actors and production crew. Well done to the producers. Special call out to Xiao Zhan who once and for all moved beyond being just a 'pretty face' into a true, respectable and irrefutable actor. If he keeps going like this he may end up being one of China's global elite actors. In fact, if it were not for the internet/social media world nonsense he would have already been with this performance alone.
Can we scramble them? I would take our three sworn brothers in one DL’s the bad boy, but is loyal to a fault…
Well said. Best answer yet. Still reservations about SYL's ability to love based on the way he handled/man handled KD though his 'handsome as hell' credits might sway his way on the mix. So, an all good things considered man cake mix: SYL - 45%. DL - 30%. ZX - 25%
Yeah I don't think Ning is endgame for Xiu. But in tonight's episodes Si Yilin confirmed what I suspected since…
Mean to say support the manipulation (beyond loyalty) vs turn him. Genuine caring aside, her primary roll is to ensure both Ning and SYL stay centered on securing Zichuan on Canxing's terms and advance his wishes. She is an instrument of Canxing and is due to have sway over Nigh and SYL's decision making/thinking. Maybe I am giving her too much power?
Battle lines include:
- New drama billing battle
- Meng Ziyi receiving personal attacks including death threats
- Accusations that Li is tied to a recent arson case
- A reunion of any kind
The haters have the outdated/faulty/weak MDL algorithms down by now. Plan to go in hard as soon as possible with enough votes to throw the system off. Will effectively control the low rating for the remainder of voting (throughout the life of this drama). I fully expect MDL admin to step in and correct this ASAP.
Note: While I am a fan of dramas I am not a fan of anyone in this drama. No skin in the game. So far its a watch-able drama. That could change at any time. Unsure how much the harem theme is contributing. Most certainly it is not a 6.9 drama!
The acting on the part of the ML and supporting cast was exceptional throughout. Even at times sublime. The FL , however, continued to be the weak point from the moment she entered. Acting was subpar compared to the rest of cast and any notion of chemistry between FL and ML is fantasy thinking. The ML carried the romantic storyline and filled in the acting gaps. Thankfully the core of the story was not romance driven.
Production budget was well spent. This is a 'real deal' almost feature film status drama with the production quality and staff professionalism at one of the highest levels seen. The production quality alone helped to elevate the drama and mitigate damage when the casting, script, plausibility and story-line fatique let it down (think ML father and FL mother romance). Makes me wonder how much of the dip in quality in the second half had to do with editing.
Leaving the over-used tired underlying 'love conquers all' trope aside, the core themes of no matter how you start your life you are 'captain of your own destiny' and no matter what you encounter in life 'how you define yourself as a human is both an option and a responsibility' positively contribute to the strength of the drama.
Bottom Line - kudos to the support actors and production crew. Well done to the producers. Special call out to Xiao Zhan who once and for all moved beyond being just a 'pretty face' into a true, respectable and irrefutable actor. If he keeps going like this he may end up being one of China's global elite actors. In fact, if it were not for the internet/social media world nonsense he would have already been with this performance alone.