therewillbeddl
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Posts posted by therewillbeddl
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I used to be skeptical when I first started this drama due to how much they deviated some stuff from the novel (WWX not being the creator of the demonic path, Wen Qing’s personality, etc), but the more I watched , the more I became invested and in the end it won me over. I love Xiao Zhan as WWX, he embodies the character so well, from the carefree, humorous yet serious and clever side to the darkness of Yiling Laozu while still retaining some qualities before his transformation. He’s had some of his best acting moments so far in the latest episodes. Yibo improved a lot too. I love to see his development in terms of his feelings for WWX. I also adore Xuan Lu as Shijie. She embodies the mother figure, the softness, gentleness of Jiang Yanli and the mediator in the family flawlessly.
I was worried that WangXian wouldn’t be done justice here, but honestly they exceeded my expectations, from the great chemistry to how much they tried to stay faithful to the novel despite the censorship.
SpoilerI loved that scene when LWJ told him that he still considered him as his soulmate, and another one where WWX asked his shijie about loving someone, referring to LWJ. Totally didn’t expect and pleasantly surprised by how they were presented from the novel.
On Douban, it rose from a 4 to a 6.7 thus far, which is pretty impressive and I’m glad people are liking it more and more. Hope it continues to improve!
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Spoiler
I’m so mad right now. Did you guy see what they did in Ep 9?! Wen Qing played the flute and controlled the zombies...this was supposed to be WWX’s thing but now suddenly anyone has his ability? What’s the whole point of the founder of demonic cultivation then? I like this adaptation because I think Xiao Zhan plays WWX extremely well and the chemistry between the leads is great, however the changes are too much to the point where it’s disrespectful to the original work.
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21 hours ago, ayang23 said:
I just finished the drama with subs on viki. Gosh the last scene between our leads was so heart wrenching! The acting was so on point. Does anyone know if there were two versions of that last scene (XF's suicide scene)? The ost background in the episode from viki was different from the ost background from the Instagram's clips shared previously in this thread. I thought the background ost from the Instagram version was better/made the scene more emotional.
Yes, I think they changed the background music...the last episode released for VIP users contained all three OSTs as background music which made that scene so much more emotional. Then they changed it for regular users which is a dumb idea.
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Oh my god, Wei Qianxiang’s (guy playing GJ) birthday is tomorrow on April Fool’s. while CXX is today...this is too funny for some reason.
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33 minutes ago, ElleSor said:
I never really saw him as a villain...just seriously out for revenge and then caught in the tidal wave of palace intrigues; he could never really stop what he did because he had to protect XF. This is definitely another version of noble idiocy...and a lethal version it is.
I don’t see LCY as a villain either, I just meant considering that he played a villain in a previous drama and again in his upcoming drama, I hope he won’t accept more villain roles in the future.
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I just hope CXX won’t be typecasted as a villain. The role of LCY should convince studios to offer him lead roles in the future, preferably complex ones with moral ambiguity like LCY since he does them best.
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I hope this drama can hit big like Eternal Love and Story of Yanxi Palace.
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55 minutes ago, HuanHuan Dong said:
I don't know what you guys think, but i like gu xiaowu more than chengyi. Eventho they are the same person, gu xiaowu was being himself around xiaofeng, and that's how they both fall in love and getting married so fast. On the other hand, chengyi loved xiaofeng too, but he wasn't being himself around her because he still had another agenda at that time, which is why it took times for them to have the kind of relationship gu xiaowu and xiaofeng had. I was hoping gu xiaowu is another person and this story end with gu xiaowu's arc not chengyi
There are many essays on this but the general consensus on Weibo is that GXW is hated while they like LCY more, I guess it is because GXW killed her whole clan while LCY didnt. I think LCY loved XF more than GXW and made sure to discreetly protect her from the cruelties of the Eastern Palace. Although GXW was more special to her bc he was her first love, he also had a hidden agenda and hid his identity from her, while LCY didn’t really have to, hence was more truthful on their first meeting (except the liking Sese part and hating her) imo. While both personas manipulated and betrayed her, I feel like LCY showed more guilt (regarding the coins) from the very beginning. But then at the end of the day, they’re the same person and part of who he is, and both willingly jumped after XF lol.
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@SailBeneteau Actually thinking about it, I agree with you that >>> Ep 59-62. I’d like to forget how things ended because this drama could’ve been good if things were written differently after YR’s death. While I prefer scenes from Zhao because they were less depressing and dark compared to Qin, I thoroughly enjoyed some Qin scenes like Lord Anguo’s and Hua Yang’s.
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While the official weibo promoted HL-YR more, I feel like they intended to make HL-LBW the official ship. But then again, Yu Zheng tried to be fair with both, one with that boat scene art and the other posting a long message in regards to HL-YR and admitting she did love him.
People keep saying this drama has duo first male leads, but screentime wise, Nie Yuan seems like the male lead. Yet, Mao Zijun was always billed first, after WJY, while NY was always the 3rd billed.
@SailBeneteau I can’t say specifically on top of my head, but definitely any scenes taking place in Zhao state, first half of the show. Most of my fav scenes are from there.
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Some ppl say the boat scene is likely HL trying to assassinate him.
@SailBeneteau This show is first and foremost a drama, so I didn’t expect it to be historically focused, but aside from HL’s whitewashing, I think the historical aspects were done decently well, at least the most important parts. For example, the dialogues between LBW and YR when they first met and when LBW tried to explain to his father why he wanted to help YR become king actually happened and made an impact in history after Qin. Also the ongoing Zhao-Qin tensions and battles
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@SailBeneteau yes, ep 29 I think? When Zhao lost in the Changping battle and decided to execute YR as revenge.
@danielassny I had been looking forward to Ying Zheng’s portrayal but this is disappointing. Not sure if it’s the actor (the younger one was SO much better) or more the writing, but he is so awkward, I’m actually embarrassed for the historical Qin
Shihuang.
After Zhao Ji was imprisoned, many officials were killed by Qin Shihuang for begging to release her. One last person tried and succeeded by mentioning filial piety being an essential criteria to rule a unified country in the eyes of the public. They tried to insert this major event in a scene in the drama but it was poorly executed because of how Qin Shihuang was written there.
The ending was bizarre, it was going nowhere for everyone else after YR’s death but YR’s character was well portrayed as a whole so at least there’s that.
This drama had so much potential given the time period with 3 interesting characters that shaped the Qin empire, but the potential was not met. However, there were plenty of scenes that I found enjoyable and made this redeemable imo.
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@SailBeneteau agree with your observations especially about Han Qionghua, I think she has one of the most pleasantly memorable scenes in the drama. As for Princess Ya, she is a lost cause. I feel like she might be unhinged. She is so mentally deranged that she cannot see how toxic her one sided “love” for YR is, despite numerous instances where she has suffered the consequences, where she should have learned her lesson. Everyone else tried to reason with her, she has been giving many chances, but she sacrificed everything precious to her (her country, her family, her dignity, her morals, her self) for the sake of something she knows damn well will never come true.
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Let us not forget that this drama is first and foremost about a competition between YR and LBW (and also HL), as implied in the official synopsis. Who was the mastermind, the one playing the chess vs who was IN the chess? LBW wanted both power and love and decided to use YR to achieve his goals, but things backfired and as it turned out, YR already saw through them and deliberately played their game and let himself be used and the end results were clear. YR ended up getting both absolute power AND the woman he loved (marrying her, having a baby with her and successfully having an important place in HL’s heart despite dying first). LBW told him to not forget in the end who gave him the throne and stole the things he loved the most, but YR reminded LBW that he let it happen himself as this entire thing was his plan all along. Remember LBW had planned to make YR his puppet king once the goal was achieved, but HL already saw through YR on the first meeting and doubted LBW would be successful? Turns out she was right. IMO, it’s not just about winning over LBW when it comes to HL, it’s not about getting the girl through manipulative means, it’s about winning this entire battle of chess. Yes, he was selfish and manipulative, he manipulated people left and right for self-preservation from Zhao to his goals and now everything he’s ever wanted was achieved. He became king, secured his son for the throne and his wife as Queen Dowager, got rid of their threats and enemies, and died knowing confidently that HL loved him a lot. And IMO that’s what mattered when it comes to his character as a whole. He did not lose. Also interesting to note that during his first meeting with LBW, he was seen playing chess by himself in prison, a foreshadowing?
Now, if we include HL in this, I’m pretty sure she is also a winner. As she will end up having both power whilst being alive lol. But let’s wait & see to be sure...
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A lot of minor characters impressed me:
Ning Jing did fantastic with her role of Queen of Zhao, Han Qionghua’s was surprisingly good for a rookie actress, but I really enjoyed the actor who played Lord Anguo...very charismatic and funny. The fake YR behaved more like his father than the real one lol. And as dumb as the King of Zhao typically was, he had his moments where he could think with his head, so I wasn’t completely let down by him.
Unrelated, but princess Ya is one of the most pathetic character I’ve ever seen. She could’ve had a decent life with YR’s brother (good performance by Wang Yu too, he was great in Painted Skin 2), but she has no self-love and I don’t feel bad for her fate at all since she’s been given many chances and warnings/advices by HL.
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12 minutes ago, kyoko22 said:
http://p.weibo.com/show/channerWbH5/1034:4341025255411668
From the last scene(boat scene) i guess we can pretty much conclude that the writer doesn't follow the history.
From the synopsis in Baidu, Zhenger get more restless on LBW's power and think his father's death got something to do with LBW. I think this is also the time he know his mother's affair. So he confronts HL and wants to kill LBW but HL begs him. So he exiles LBW to Laoyang and HL follows LBW. Base on some bts photos and the video above, it is pretty consistent with the synopsis
If that is true, they are deviating a bit too much from history. Which is weird because WJY did say that nobody has a good ending, anyway lets wait and see.
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Not to defend YR because I too think he should have talked things through with his wife as that is what married couple should be doing, but in response to that, YR said that as a king, there is nothing he couldn’t resolve, hence why he thought he had the duty to make decisions regarding HL and YingZheng’s future by himself. I feel like part of it has to do with his status, being prideful and making all the decisions as he thinks he should as a king holding absolute power, so perhaps things would’ve been different if they were an ordinary married couple. Yu Zheng leaked some dialogues from the original script and I remember one of them being that YR did what he did so HL won’t have the burden to try to outsmart everyone and tire herself out like she did in Zhao. The script was revised and a lot of it was changed, so who knows.
WJY’s opinion on HL/LBW and HL/YR. She thinks the former has a love/hate relationship, partners with similar direction and interests, but that shouldnt be aligned with love. As for the latter, she thinks they slowly grow closer and closer like loved ones/family.
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Also interesting to note that even LBW himself discovered YR’s true intentions behind his decisions (framing Siluo, Princess Ya, basically getting rid of everyone considered a threat, and preparing HL and their son’s future after his death), while HL realized much later...considering how smart she usually is.
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3 hours ago, SailBeneteau said:
@therewillbeddl I just finished watching Episode 46 and have been following various preview clips over the internet: My personal take on YR's death (besides the angst, sadness, loneliness of a King who puts duty above all else, failed defiance against fate, ...) is that YR is/was thinking that HaoLan needs to keep moving forward and not become a victim of her grief for him --Sad memories/items/gifts can trap someone in grief and they may live in their past memories --Their son is still very young and needs all the help being King. It is understandable that HaoLan is mad/angry-in-grief at YR's decision: 1) b/c she didn't have a choice in the matter and had no say in YR's decision; 2) Do you remember what YR said to HL when they were trapped on the Zhao city gate when HL went into labor suddenly? YR said that "if you/HL died during childbirth, he/YR would be left alone and he/YR would never forgive her/HL." So, to echo the same sentiment here, HL is feeling left alone (upon YR's death) and is full of grief and angst that she is "abandoned" by YR...and consequently says that she cannot ever forgive him for "leaving without saying good-bye"...
I look forward to watching the rest of Legend of Hao Lan (Episode 47--end). I have watched Yanxi Palace (in full), and so far, I like the Legend of Hao Lan more: storyline, costume, characters, and other aspects are more complicated, nuanced, and diverse. I'm especially impressed by the actor who portrays YR (Mao Zijun).
I still feel like YR's decision on this matter was too cruel for HL.
And yes, the part where YR said he'd never forgive her for leaving him alone if she died during labor makes a great parallel to HL never forgiving him for abandoning her like that.
Tbh, I enjoy Legend of Hao Lan more than Yanxi because I dislike Qing dynasty dramas. I feel like 80% of the palace dramas, at least the popular ones, all took place during the early Qing dynasty which has become really repetitive and boring, even to the point that I'm now more familiar with that era than other Chinese dynasties lol. Also, I dislike Qing clothing. We rarely get to have historical dramas surrounding the Qin / Warring States Period so this is a nice change.
Actually, a lot of "pseudohistory" come from Sima Qian. He was an important figure amongst Chinese historians and greatly helped the recollection of Chinese history, but for Qin dynasty and stuff about Qin Shihuang, I would take what he said as a grain of salt. Back then, there was no concept of autobiography or historical FACTS, and historians used to change actual historical events in a way to make things more interesting, to spice things up, like a fictional autobiography. Which is how Qin Shihuang's illegitimate birth came to be. Merchants were considered the lowest in terms of status at that time, so what better way to tarnish the first emperor's name by making them related. I can't say for sure how accurate Zhao Ji is historically based on what Sima Qian said, but it is agreed that she was a messy and thoughtless/careless woman. She was left alone for years with her child in Zhao and then brought back to Qin only for her husband to die a few years later. She was a lonely person who craved to have someone by her side. I pity what she has gone through. As per Qin's rules, there was nothing wrong for a Queen Dowager to have a male consort (Lao Ai), but they cannot have any power. Zhao Ji was careless and gave him so much power which got Lao Ai to rebel against Qin Shihuang and wanting to murder him. This was what went wrong with her. Had she only made Lao Ai a simple male consort without any power, maybe everything would've turned out differently and her image would not have been tarnished or bashed amongst historians. Just my two cents.
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The preview where YR died is up and it is soooo angsty and sad. YR let everyone else including LBW see him on his deathbed, but refused to let HL see him even for one last time and ordered to burn all his gifts he’s given to her, which is how she says she would never forgive him in this lifetime (we guessed that right). I feel like there are two ways to interpret his intentions. Either he doesn’t want HL to be sadder than she would’ve been (had she seen him one last time), or he intends for HL to think about him more than she would have and to never forget about him for the rest of her life. If it’s the latter, it might’ve been the smartest yet most manipulative thing he’s done, even at the time of his death lmaooo
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@insertusernamehere Same! I’ve seen most of Mao Zijun’s dramas since they’re quite popular but he always played supported roles. I didnt pay attention to him much back then, but I feel like Yi Ren is his breakthrough amongst the general public. Also, he says that he likes playing heartbreaking/angsty characters so it kinda makes sense with YR lol.
SpoilerThis video might interest you
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26 minutes ago, lyserose said:
Too bad. No matter how scandalous this would be, I still prefer they stick closer to history :-(. One of my biggest problems with this drama is that almost all men are infatuated of Haolan and almost all women are jealous of her, thus her endless tortures and sufferings. Sighs.
Personally I don’t think it’d be a good idea to include that scandalous aspect into this drama. Female lead will get slandered left and right by viewers and it’s not a good idea for both the actress and the drama as a whole if everyone ends up hating the main lead. People were already looking down on this drama in the beginning as many people do not like Zhao Ji.
Tbh, I’m already satisfied by the history accuracy part of the drama. The fact that they accurately depicted the ongoing conflicts between Zhao and Qin and other states, especially the Battle of Changping, LBW’s methods to make YR crown prince, the years of suffering HL went through in Zhao with Ying Zheng and even not following Sima Qian’s illogical story about Qin Shihuang’s birth pleasantly surprised me.
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What I do like about this drama is the way they developed YR as a character, considering there is so little info about him historically. His sweet, kind and weakling facade when in reality he’s clever and manipulative when he wants to be. Mao Zijun portrays it so well that I can’t help but find his scenes with HL so sweet lol.
Things will get more complicated in the last 15 eps for both YR-HL and LBW-HL. I think it’s clear that she loves LBW more but at this point it doesn’t matter anymore. They both don’t see eye to eye when it comes to what they want the most in life and all HL wants is a warm family with someone who cares for her, and LBW cannot give her that.
Also, the part in the trailer where HL says that she will never forgive him in this lifetime is believed to be directed toward YR for dying so soon, as many ppl think it parallels with him telling HL that he’d never forgive her if she died and left him behind (when she was giving birth).
As for Lao Ai, Yu Zheng said that they will not follow history. It’ll be a one-sided love/obsession.
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[Mainland Chinese Drama 2019] The Untamed 陈情令
in Mainland China
Posted
Ep 24-25