[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] The Rise of Phoenixes 凰权·弈天下

[mrsj3n]

@skibbies 

I'm honestly confused when it comes to Ning Yi as I can no longer differentiate.

 

@pristineqi

Again. I'm very confused on the episodes aired already. It's very frustrating.

I swear I've watched past episode 30 and have already watched the scene of Wei Zi being send back to the school which appeared to be on the episode 29 which you had screenshot. And I do recall watching beyond that scene but I couldn't find it anywhere anymore.

 

The other scenes that you had shown me, I've watched them all too.

 

Conclusion: The Rise of Phoeniexes should just be name as The Rise of the Confusion

 

[mrsj3n]

42 minutes ago, pristineqi said:

Never been so hardworking before in watching a drama. I watch each episode 2x or more to catch n understand the dialoque. Really love the storyline; cinematography; architectural n ID settings; costumes and, of course, the cast.

You know.. Never have I ever watch more than 2 times to try to understand 1 episode and still feel clueless although I have no problem understanding mandarin. 

 

The storyline is indeed interesting and frustrating at the same time that I'm having a love, hate relationship with it right now. 

I wanna drop this drama and yet I can't. 

 

Aargh!!!!!

 

[pristineqi]

@mrsj3n, let's don't give up yet. As long as we understand the story and its general flow, let's keep our perseverance n continue watching raws till the eng sub is available. OK? 

 

It'll be great if we (esp the 姐妹 who understand the dialogue and who have read the novel) can have some discussion, analysis, summary, explanation/ clarification, etc etc after each episode like in the thread for Legend of Fuyao. But, for me, it's kinda not very appetizing to have to put everything in spoiler mode  

[dito]

You guys are scaring me. I've been patiently holding on....waiting for 14 sept...not even watching raws.....even though I'm downloading them every day. So my anticipation has been building up steadily.....but now I'm reading frustrating and confusing.

 

[skibbies]

19 hours ago, pristineqi said:

 

Ok, I got it... Latest episode for TV is Ep 29. For DVD version latest is Ep 33. Does this mean that there will be more than 70 episodes for DVD version?

I think they are same number of episodes? DVD version is the initial edit, which is also 70 episode. The production team said they filmed for 100 and cut it to 70 episodes so  TV version are cut differently so they are of varying length. (iQiyi have 30ish mins and 50ish mins episodes.)

 

Some of the scheming are left unsaid and implied, coupled with a lot of characters (I'm still having trouble recognising some of the moustached characters), and TV version erratic editing, it can be pretty confusing! (The first time Gu Nanyi showed up was in next episode preview and they didn't get to that bit.)

 

I've read the book half a year ago and I have the physical book with me, so if you have any questions, I can try answering them. I catch it on TV every now and then and I follow it okay, I'm still slowly catching up on the DVD version since watching every other episode probably doesn't count as watching the series.

[tendrilsofwind]

8 hours ago, dito said:

You guys are scaring me. I've been patiently holding on....waiting for 14 sept...not even watching raws.....even though I'm downloading them every day. So my anticipation has been building up steadily.....but now I'm reading frustrating and confusing.

 

 

Don't be worried! So far, this drama has been amazing. It is frustrating and confusing, but in a good way. I am really frustrated because I want more scenes with the OTP, but in reality focusing more on the politics makes it a higher quality show. You have to think a little bit about the plot and every detail is deliberate. For a lot of not so great tv shows, I don't pay too much attention to the incongruous elements because I know they are accidental mistakes, but everything here, like Chen Kun's over the top acting in the first few episodes, is for a reason.

I also think that if subbed it in English, it will be easier to understand. They sometimes speak in very traditional Chinese which involves complex phrasing and literary allusions. I understand the gist of it because my parents forced me to study the classics when I was younger, but it takes me some time. In English, especially on a platform like Netflix, I expect the subbers will make it more accessible.  

 

This is my first post here and I'm just so happy to find a forum where people are discussing this drama! Hope you guys all enjoy it like I do :)

[galea]

Hello to everyone on this thread. I've been following what you guys have been saying so far whilst watching the raw episodes but only felt compelled to drop my thoughts here after catching up with the latest episode ^_^. I have a VERY basic grasp of Chinese in general, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could enjoy the series even if I only understand the gist of what's going on. If it was any other cdrama, I probably would have dropped it like a rock by now, but I was so amazed and impressed by the acting that I found myself fully engrossed. This is the first time that I've seen Chen Kun and Ni Ni act, and my goodness are their performances an absolute pleasure to watch. I'm starting to think that perhaps I should have watched the other more... IMO, mediocre productions or ones that require less brain power before I started Rise of Phoenixes. At the very least, it would give me something to watch half-heartedly as I wait for more episodes to come out :3... I've been hearing some good things about the other cdramas lately, but didn't feel like investing in anything that feels superficial, even if it's to satiate my desire for some cheap angst. I'll probably give Bloody Romance a try later, it certainly sounds quite popular right now.  

 

Speaking of RoP though, I glanced at the reviews on Douban and various comments from other sources. To say that I was disappointed would be an understatement.

Unsurprisingly, there were some criticisms that I agreed with, such as how the chemistry between the two main leads still left more to be desired, even if they were both giving excellent performances individually. Someone (I think it was AvenueX) also compared the series to NiF and their somewhat similar plots, but I didn't think that was a sufficient reason for me to not want to watch this series. They still have very stark differences, and those I particularly appreciate. I can't praise the acting enough for emphasising those differences. If there is anything that I have a big problem with right now though, it would probably be the editing - sometimes it almost feels as though the scenes change too abruptly and tbh it's a bit jarring when they do that. I'm not too fussed about how it's different from the novel though o.o, I haven't read it after all.

And then I got to the less helpful reviews on Douban. I saw quite a few about the age gap or the male lead's age, which IMO deserved my uncontrolled eye-rolls because THAT is always a good reason to hate on a show isn't it? I am more confused about the complaints saying it takes too much effort to follow the plot though. I would have thought that even more people in the audience would appreciate a show that takes more than 2 brain cells to watch after the stuff that we've been getting recently, but I suppose not everyone wants to invest that much energy into a drama and that's totally fair. 

Anyhow, that's my little rant over

[ForgottenSoulx]

ratings seem to be doing better lately . 

[skibbies]

@galeaThe comparison to NiF is inevitable since it's now the golden standard for mass appeal historical drama, there are superficial plot similarities, I guess they are also similar in that they are both incredibly well produced, well acted dramas whose plot gets criticised the most. As for negative douban reviews, I wouldn't worry too much about it, it's incredibly harsh towards cdramas in general (6+ dramas can be enjoyable, 8+ are usually outstanding) because the sheer amount of dramas, rating/review manipulation tactics (for stuff that involves popular young actors) and just sheer amount of people that watch a series, it's hard to please everyone. This drama have a lot of issues, but it's unique enough and have enough heart that I can't help but love it.

 

While you wait for more episodes, I want to rec you My Huckleberry Friends/你好，旧时光 (subbed), which is an ensemble high school drama, a fairly realistic and nostalgic one, not a fluffy one, doesn't need a lot of brain power but have so much heart and is so well produced, well written, well acted that it's my current favourite contemporary show. The novel is excellent too, and it's not a straight adaptation, but managed to capture the essence of it really well, so if you liked it, look for that too. If you aren't up for youth drama for whatever reason (please give it a try eventually!!), you can also try Duan Nao/Die Now/端脑 (subbed?) which is a mystery thriller with focus on various deadly games, or Madhouse/疯人院 (unsubbed), which is a suspense thriller that's 2 ep mini arc based, the first arc is horror though so might want to try it during the day. They are all contemporary dramas so the dialogue shouldn't be too difficult but the first one is definitely easiest to understand/use less brainpower.

P.S. or you could look at the DVD version!! Everything will make more sense! 

Edited September 3, 2018 by skibbies

[pristineqi]

 Every time when I need to de-stress, I only need to look at this .. lols :

[mrsj3n]

Jealous Ning Yi is sooooooo charming!!!!

[galea]

On 9/3/2018 at 4:15 AM, skibbies said:

@galeaThe comparison to NiF is inevitable since it's now the golden standard for mass appeal historical drama, there are superficial plot similarities, I guess they are also similar in that they are both incredibly well produced, well acted dramas whose plot gets criticised the most. As for negative douban reviews, I wouldn't worry too much about it, it's incredibly harsh towards cdramas in general (6+ dramas can be enjoyable, 8+ are usually outstanding) because the sheer amount of dramas, rating/review manipulation tactics (for stuff that involves popular young actors) and just sheer amount of people that watch a series, it's hard to please everyone. This drama have a lot of issues, but it's unique enough and have enough heart that I can't help but love it.

 

While you wait for more episodes, I want to rec you My Huckleberry Friends/你好，旧时光 (subbed), which is an ensemble high school drama, a fairly realistic and nostalgic one, not a fluffy one, doesn't need a lot of brain power but have so much heart and is so well produced, well written, well acted that it's my current favourite contemporary show. The novel is excellent too, and it's not a straight adaptation, but managed to capture the essence of it really well, so if you liked it, look for that too. If you aren't up for youth drama for whatever reason (please give it a try eventually!!), you can also try Duan Nao/Die Now/端脑 (subbed?) which is a mystery thriller with focus on various deadly games, or Madhouse/疯人院 (unsubbed), which is a suspense thriller that's 2 ep mini arc based, the first arc is horror though so might want to try it during the day. They are all contemporary dramas so the dialogue shouldn't be too difficult but the first one is definitely easiest to understand/use less brainpower.

P.S. or you could look at the DVD version!! Everything will make more sense! 

 

Yeah I'm not too fussed about the existence of negative reviews, but I thought the constructive criticism would be more accessible? I mean, it was the first time I actually read the reviews that people put on douban. I always thought they would be harsh but also informative, which is what I usually look for when trying to decide whether or not I should invest my energy into a drama, especially when it's 70 episodes long!   To be fair though, I didn't spend as much time as I normally would looking for those meaty reviews. I kinda got disheartened when I saw single sentences saying things like how the drama is too long, because... well, that hardly tells me anything, so I turned my attention to other sources.

Sometimes watching the drama feels off, and it sorta helps to see that written in words so as to pinpoint why it feels off.

Also, thanks for the rec :D I think I actually started My Huckleberry Friends but for some reason I wasn't feeling it after watching A Love So Beautiful. I'll probably give another go at some point when the mood is right. Madhouse sounds really interesting too, and I can't remember where I saw it mentioned before. Is it really that scary? o.o 

[MikiRei]

Just want to add here, please watch DVD version. TV version butchered and skipped around, making it hard to follow. 

 

DVD version is basically the director's cut. It's A LOT better - maybe a bit longer - but flows a lot better. 

 

Also, episode 40 (DVD) was AMAZING. 

[skibbies]

@galeaThe longer ones are usually more constructive but they still vary a lot and the front page are all reviews from the day it broadcasted, which is somewhat unhelpful, especially for long drama that have setup stage. 3/4 stars ones can be more helpful since they usually like the drama but aren't too in love to ignore all the problems.

IMO the rise of phoenixes had a very low tension beginning, it doesn't grab people. Which in turns make a lot of people find it slow, which is entirely false, it packed a LOT of information in the first two episode, I think it gave too much info away tbh, there's nothing to hook people to keep watching unless you like the two main characters. Princes vying for the thrones is an age old story. Ning Yi's two faceness is somewhat interesting, but he overact when pretending, which can put a lot of people off (I find it hilarious tho). Zhi Wei comes across too impulsive and naive, which is terrible in these kind of dramas since you tend to die if you are like that, befriending someone from a brothel is out there but saying you want to be sworn sisters + only brothel have free souls is a SUPER bad first impression since it pulls a lot of people out of the scene (wtf are you doing scriptwriter. I also laughed at that though because it's so absurd).

 

When the main OTP interact, it feels like a fluff drama which contrast starkly against the serious scheming bits that it's jarring. The antagonist are reasonably smart and there's always unexpected elements in various plots which make it bit more realistic and less one sided. But darn, initially I was pretty bored by all the crown prince scenes. I watched it with my family and they literally spent a lot of it chatting or playing on their phone, and my mum was all "why is the crown prince always on, he's ugly and boring" LOL, she somehow manage to miss the more fun bits with Zhi Wei early on somehow. They watch the episodes by themselves without me around now! (the current arc is my favourite squeeee) I think it gets better ep 10+ since you now understand who is who and their position and the scheming are piling up and plot threads start to combine and intertwine more, but not everyone have patience to give the drama that much time.

 

Oh yeah My Huckleberry Friends is very different feel from ALSB despite both being school/youth dramas so I totally get why. I think it takes a bit to get into MHF too since it feels more slice of life-y. I don't know where you heard about Madhouse unless you follow Liu Chang 刘畅, the main actor since it's webdrama and doesn't have much marketing budget. I learnt about it from following behind the scene people of Nirvana in FIre/Daylight Entertainment. The first arc have number of jumpscares and I find it scary but I liked anyways, the latter arcs aren't horror-y I think, just bit creepy at times.

[ForgottenSoulx]

So Excited to start this drama come on subs ahhhhhhh

 

I hope we get the good version. 

[ElleSor]

18 hours ago, Wotad said:

So Excited to start this drama come on subs ahhhhhhh

 

I hope we get the good version. 

Yeah, can't wait for the subs.

I found the premise interesting but I didn't want to watch raw coz I'd get lost in translation.

Nice to see you here, @Wotad

[ForgottenSoulx]

1 hour ago, ElleSor said:

Yeah, can't wait for the subs.

I found the premise interesting but I didn't want to watch raw coz I'd get lost in translation.

Nice to see you here, @Wotad

 

Im here for all historical and Wuxia haha ;p 

[mrsj3n]

On 9/5/2018 at 7:06 PM, MikiRei said:

Just want to add here, please watch DVD version. TV version butchered and skipped around, making it hard to follow. 

 

DVD version is basically the director's cut. It's A LOT better - maybe a bit longer - but flows a lot better. 

 

Also, episode 40 (DVD) was AMAZING. 

I'm confused to which version I'm watching. 

 

But the latest episode of Ning Yi and Zhi Wei together is golden! I want more!!!

[skibbies]

@mrsj3n Check top right, if it's a yellow blob, it's rip from mangoTV, so it's the TV version. If it has the iqiyi logo (or not), and the episodes are sometimes 50mins, sometimes 40mins, on occasions (weekends) it's 25 and 35 or thereabouts, you are watching the TV version. the DVD version is consistently around 45mins. Just updated today (like half an hour ago), TV version is on 40, DVD version is on 47 (!!!) I don't know how they are going to make up 7 episode difference? have the entire last week, 12 or 14 20mins episodes???? This editing is absolutely bonkers.

 

In other news, the rating have been doing better. It dropped to 0.16 at some point which holy richard simmons, it's pretty bad for Summer Hunan TV primetime slot. It's been steadily rising this week (as all the summer blockbuster are ending and people go back to school and it's a fun arc I guess?) The last two days have been 0.5ish. To be fair, Hunan TV which used to be guaranteed hits in terms of ratings due to sheer influence have been tanking in ratings this year apparently? (tanking for HunanTV that is, TRoP is just tanking in general so it looks extra bad with its tv slot, rip) The overall market isn't watching TV as much as two or three years ago too.

[mrsj3n]

22 minutes ago, skibbies said:

@mrsj3n Check top right, if it's a yellow blob, it's rip from mangoTV, so it's the TV version. If it has the iqiyi logo (or not), and the episodes are sometimes 50mins, sometimes 40mins, on occasions (weekends) it's 25 and 35 or thereabouts, you are watching the TV version. the DVD version is consistently around 45mins. Just updated today (like half an hour ago), TV version is on 40, DVD version is on 47 (!!!) I don't know how they are going to make up 7 episode difference? have the entire last week, 12 or 14 20mins episodes???? This editing is absolutely bonkers.

See. That's the problem! Lol

I'm still confused! Lol lol

What I'll do now is before watching a new episode, I'll watch the end of the previous one to ensure continuity.

 

As for the ratings, it can't be helped.

It is really frustrating with all the talking but it's necessary. 

 

My feelings for this drama is complicated.

I love it, and yet I hate it.

But I can't stop watching it.

 

I like Ning Yi. 

He's just like a box of chocolate.

And the look he gave Feng Zhi Wei...