[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] Heavy Sweetness Ash-like Frost 香蜜沉沉烬如霜

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

I'm back....that didn't last long. I have no self-control 

One of my favorites parts is about to air. The preview looks good to me.

 

[thehumantree]

HELL THE FUDGE NO!! I am in this for otp!! I will be watching and ranting until Jinmi popped out that baby egret!!

 

[jehnnny99]

15 minutes ago, Kimchi Sweet Potato said:

I'm back....that didn't last long. I have no self-control 

One of my favorites parts is about to air. The preview looks good to me.

 

Welcome back  this drama is like an addiction isn't it? Can't wait for the withdrawal symptoms when it ends 

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_FQNHh1w5/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1x9oz1wqp1o4m

 

found this cute bts of YZ and DL, they never fail to make me laugh! Production team better give us more cute bts interactions to make up for the mess they caused the last week!

[Sary Em]

2 hours ago, thehumantree said:

HELL THE FUDGE NO!! I am in this for otp!! I will be watching and ranting until Jinmi popped out that baby egret!!

 

ME TOO!! CANNOT WAIT.  Yes all caps lock lol

 

[Yui.]

I'm finally all caught up. Excited for 49/50! I need that XF resurrection and some character development and comeback for him. Aside from the demon princess love story and Night development scenes that people complained about, I still think this drama is good on its own if I had not read the novel. I was actually ok with the Night development scenes. When I saw the wedding how Night turned against everyone -- it made me go "Oh s***!" Night is so evil :O It was still so sad to see JM understand her feelings and I teared! Though the extra Night scenes meant to flesh out his character, it now makes him look SO bad especially when now JM is seeing through his schemes. 

 

Now that we have that annoying demon princess side love story out of the way, I feel that mask guy somehow helps demon princess tie on to the plot where we might see our XF back.

Spoiler

T_T AND OMG I felt so so sad that Liao Yuan Jun died. I like him and thought he was cute!

 

Can't get enough of him haha...
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av29207269/

I ship Moon god and fate fairy. They are so cute. The fate fairy is going through a "moral trial" as punishment? Can someone explain that? 

 

[Nudafu]

15 hours ago, mrsyooknit said:

Original screenwriter came out to defend herself and her script which was changed by producers. Somehow the script got leaked online and it had much more otp development and XF had all his original lines. There was not so much focus on RY or the demon princess all of that was added. 

The original script contract was for 36 episodes. The rest was added and changed without the writers consent. 

Sad that stuff like this happen, apparently the script was so much better and it was original to the novel. The first episodes or so kept her original script, no wonder everyone was so happy with the adaptation then. 

Edit: it seems fans were right and from the original script a lot of XF scenes were removed while they added a focus on RY and even gave him some of his lines.

 

I also looked into this. 

 

Yes, the original was 36 episodes, which got extended from 43 to 63 episodes. Zhang Yuan An, the original scriptwriter has come out to raise script issues. We need to see why she is doing this and for what purpose. 

 

1. Zhang Yuan An and her team was involved in extending the script from 36 to 43 episodes. The team was not paid for this extension.

2. The credits were changed so that the later scriptwriting team came first. (This may seem a small thing to a viewer, but it can be huge for the career of an artist. First credit means high value/status - this could be the deciding factor of who next hires you.)

3. The parts of the series that have been complained about don't involve the part of the script that Zhang Yuan An and her team wrote. Complaints about a series could also impact on the reputation of scriptwriters.

 

#1-3 are valid issues to speak out about. From what I've read, Zhang Yuan An is trying to gain justice for herself and her team. This is to protect future reputations and careers. Otherwise, the next production company may look at those complaints and be hesitant in hiring her team to work. I get that. I understand the purpose of why Zhang Yuan An is doing what she is doing. But I think it would've been wiser to take it up with the production team. If that didn't help, I would take it up with the respective national film association or legal authorities. Working out issues with the direct parties involved is always the best way I believe.

 

In coming out to the press about all this, fans go wild, tempers get hotter. Not a good situation. Zhang Yuan An and her team may get justice this way, but collateral damage also occurs. Run Yu (Luo Yunxi), Liu Ying/demon princess (Chen Yuqi), and Muci (Zou Tingwei) will get added backlash for this on top of the existing fan attacks for being filler. These artistes have actually more to lose than Zhang Yuan An and her team. Luo Yunxi and Chen Yuqi are far younger and have zero weight in the industry. While I don't give a fig about the fillers either, there is an innovative function called the fast forward button. Better yet, in this day and age, the hover scroll whips through frames where you can just jump to an OTP scene. Considering I used to use VHS, this function is like jumping dimensions for me. 

 

My order of focus is: #1 Jin Mi and #2 OTP. Not necessarily because of the acting - that kinda helps - but their character and the story. Because no matter novel or series, what counts is the storytelling. The recent script issues imply that the filler is poor storytelling or makes the original poor. In my humble opinion, the filler works. Maybe not in entertainment value, but if you keep track of all the events, they tie in with each other. Honestly, this series has one of the most intelligent plotlines I have ever watched. I'm so used to contrived or even skipped sequence of events in Chinese period dramas. I have been pleasantly surprised with how the writing kept on raising the bar in every situation. As to Run Yu, his actions work as a motivator for many challenges and mistakes for the OTP. Even though I don't purposely chase Run Yu's scenes, one has to admit, Luo Yunxi is one fine actor considering his age and experience. I totally ignored Yangzi/Lu Xueqi in Qing Yuan Zhi/Noble Aspirations, yet Run Yu/Luo Yunxi manages to make me pay attention to him. I'm very blinker-visioned for the OTP, so I have to hand it to this boy, he is good. He certainly doesn't deserve to be the brunt of the script issues. 

 

While Zhang Yuan An and her writing team are justified in fighting for the futures of her team, I don't think it validates nor supports what the fans are complaining about. If the series doesn't satisfy, read the novel. There isn't even an excuse that there are no English translations, because they exist. And whether or not the original script would've been better is a matter of perspective - it never got to production, so there is no way to judge an non-existing product. A script is only as good as the resulting performance. I wouldn't even want more of the OTP onscreen, because this would run the risk of their interactions becoming draggy or meaningless. Surely a worse crime than the current issues.

 

For viewers who are also anime fans, fillers are probably a normal part of life. Bleach, no? (Albeit, even the fillers were awesome ). 

 

Sources: https://www.weibo.com/ang131?is_hot=1 (Zhang Yuan An's weibo), https://ent.scol.com.cn/yqtc/201808/56472614.html 

 

On 8/26/2018 at 1:11 PM, Kimchi Sweet Potato said:

I mentioned previously that sometimes the background music was meh, but it was great they finally used Mao Buyi's song in that scene.

 

Agree. Mao Buyi's song is excellent, but I think production skimped on a musical suite for this series. There is only so many variations of 'Unsullied' before it mismatches a moment. For example,

 

when mortal Xu Feng mourns the dead Jin Mi, I don't think playing 'Unsullied' was the best choice. Dun Lun portrayed that scene in a very raw way. I was actually expecting a more subdued take on it. Anyhow, either silence or subdued instrumentals would've framed Xu Feng's pain in a better way.

[thehumantree]

^.... I was OK with everything you said until you mentioned Bleach!! 

 

 

Speaking of the fate fairy, she did a performance of the OST a week ago. Squeal!! I don't know how to embed!!

https://youtu.be/FXeLqYsiZlE

 

I admit after the mortal realm was over I skipped n ff a few episodes all the way to 44. And now I'm all caught up!!

 

Let the demon arc begin...

 

[Nudafu]

1 hour ago, thehumantree said:

^.... I was OK with everything you said until you mentioned Bleach!! 

 

Let the demon arc begin...

 

Hoho...I think I know what you mean. In fact, I've been getting a few Bleach vibes in recent episodes.

 

 

when Jin Mi faints and faces her Other Self (Xu Feng loving self), I'm like hey, you're having an Ichigo head moment! Imagine hollow Jin Mi. When Run Yu faces off Xu Feng at the wedding, I was totally expecting someone to shout: "Ban-kai"

)

 

6 hours ago, jehnnny99 said:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm_FQNHh1w5/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1x9oz1wqp1o4m

 

 

Thank you, thank you. I haven't seen this one. I live for the BTS. The recent BTS of the holding hand moment met my expectations. Always expect Yangzi to make a face if she is offscreen .

 

On 8/26/2018 at 11:17 PM, Kimchi Sweet Potato said:

I may be a bit delusional at this point but hear me out.

 

From my own take on the situation, I will be joining the delusion club.

 

Seriously, I think enough has been said on the topic. I've belaboured my own opinion too (that's why I've hidden it). Every fan has a right to think what they think, feel what they feel, but there is a point when it's wise to, as the Boatman recently said to Jin Mi: "move on". I propose getting back to enjoying the series. For there is much to enjoy and the best part has yet to play out. 

 

I thought of Orpheus when Jin Mi tried to chase Xu Feng in the River of Forgetfulness. Or maybe Persephone is more appropriate, as Xu Feng becomes the equivalent of Hades. And mama Flower Goddess totally pulled a Demeter number on the world after she died giving birth to Jin Mi. So many rich archetypes and references in this series. 

 

 

Yangzi is totally rocking the angst. I like how she just didn't wake up being an expert on how it feels like to love. It's a slow awakening. Ha, she basically said the same thing we said about the Heartless Pill: mom, you did bad taking away my choice to love. Love that clarity and assertiveness. It makes sense that Jin Mi doesn't change per sec (I'm so glad for this progression). She is just more certain of herself, which comes from finally knowing her own heart. And she was never in lack of intelligence, as we see she is equally quick to work out Run Yu's part now, as she once suspected Xu Feng. 

 

Rolling to my thoughts on Xu Feng's murder. I think it was a pre-meditated murder. Jin Mi may've not schemed like Run Yu, she did on her own initiative prepare the way to kill Xu Feng (i.e. work out to stab him where it ensured she would get at his Achilles point). While Run Yu's part will be revealed, it won't absolve Jin Mi's part in it. This is what truly is terrible for Jin Mi. Jin Mi has been shown to be a character of responsibility for the welfare of her friends. To have murdered the one she loves most..ack. She doesn't need Sui He to torture her nor Xu Feng's psychological attacks. Really good set up for the angst. It makes me understand why Jin Mi persists on the path she is taking. It also feels like an eerie premonition of how she will end. Remember, the first time Lord Doumu sees Jin Mi, she basically says: this is one for the dead. In many ways, the Flower Goddess ironically served Jin Mi's fate instead of avoiding it (that's called a prophecy paradox mom). The inevitable I feel lends depth to the sadness Jin Mi is going through at the moment. This was on my mind when Jin Mi was returning from the Heavenly Realm from the River of Forgetfulness all bloodied. Her silence didn't say anything, but her numbness showed powerfully that her outer wounds could not possibly compare with the pain inside. 

 

*Fist pump for the OTP Demon Arc*

[angel318]

3 hours ago, Yui. said:

I'm finally all caught up. Excited for 49/50! I need that XF resurrection and some character development and comeback for him. Aside from the demon princess love story and Night development scenes that people complained about, I still think this drama is good on its own if I had not read the novel. I was actually ok with the Night development scenes. When I saw the wedding how Night turned against everyone -- it made me go "Oh s***!" Night is so evil :O It was still so sad to see JM understand her feelings and I teared! Though the extra Night scenes meant to flesh out his character, it now makes him look SO bad especially when now JM is seeing through his schemes. 

 

Now that we have that annoying demon princess side love story out of the way, I feel that mask guy somehow helps demon princess tie on to the plot where we might see our XF back.

  Hide contents

T_T AND OMG I felt so so sad that Liao Yuan Jun died. I like him and thought he was cute!

 

Can't get enough of him haha...
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av29207269/

I ship Moon god and fate fairy. They are so cute. The fate fairy is going through a "moral trial" as punishment? Can someone explain that? 

 

I dont think fate fairy went as a punishment, from what i remember hearing from the moon good. She went to the mortal realm to get away from all that;s going on in the heaven realm

 

Btw Luo Yunxi is actually older than Deng Lun. The only other thing I remember watching him was him playing the younger version of Wallace Chung in My Sunshine

[jehnnny99]

HSALF just hit 8 billion views!! It's going well guys  10 billion is definitely on the horizon. Pretty sure regardless of the criticisms and backlash received by novel-fans, the series/actors/actresses are gonna achieve some awards. 

 

A preview of what's to come if *ahem* / when our couple receives their best performance awards  https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm9KTJqH3sb/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=ncnn8a7b9op2 ( as you can see,  I lurk on the #heavysweetnessashlikefrost tag a lot on instagram ).

 

also, in the BTS that I linked above, Denglun proposed a bet to see if they can do a scene without laughing / no retakes. Clearly, he lost the bet  ( courtesy of a kind translator on instagram )

[gleek49]

9 hours ago, Wotad said:

 

If you love his character so much you have the novel?

 

From what people have said the Novel has 3 main characters and is only shown through JM point of view it makes sense for the show to be fleshed out and you are complaining about one damn character changing and a few lines being switched when everything else has been adapted well?

 

If you dont like what the show is doing stop watching or go read the book more and the show is rated higher then 10 miles at the moment and as much as i like heavy sweetness ash no show will get near 10 miles in terms of impact. 

 

Princess Agents ended up in a worse mess are you kidding me and from like 41 onwards fuyao was hated by loads of people .

 

Fuyao changed literally the whole show it was nothing like the book. 

 

Listen i understand why you are mad but if were talking book to show adaptions its still one of the best. 

 

 

 

 

You obviously didn't understand my post at all. It was not just a few lines and just one character change. I've already stated that the first part of the drama was done well enough, WE DIDN'T MIND A FEW MINOR CHANGES IN HIS PERSONALITY. They can fleshed out Night all they want, but they crossed the line by doing that in expense of Phoenix's character development! They turned him from a brave, decisive, strong and unstoppable God of War in to a weak-willed, indecisive, love-sick puppy with a dash of immorality, all for the sake of boosting a secondary character. If you just watch the drama, without any pre-existing knowledge about Phoenix, would you want to root for him? Especially against an anti-hero, tragic figure who was pushed by the circumstances to become evil like how Night was portrayed in the drama? If you compare the scene where the Empress tries to murder JM and the wedding scene from the book to the drama, you can see that a few minor changes can completely ruin the essence of Phoenix's character, turn him into someone who is impossible to root for! At this point, I wish that they should just ruin it from the start like Fuyao so that I would never get my hopes up, that I never grew attached, so it would hurt less!

 

From the drama perpective, please, can you tell me which "good" drama spent 1/3 of its length  focus SOLELY on a secondary character, WHILE completely ignored and skimmed through the supposed "male lead" development? The drama started out so good, with good writing, directing, acting and great production value (which is rare in a cdrama). But the later part, it turned into a mess with imbalanced character development, serious pacing issues and questionable story-telling. How is a drama, wanting the audience to root for the 2nd lead SO desperately that they intentionally stole the male lead's screen time and lines, destroyed the essence of his character, called "a good adaptation"? Please re-read my post if you have the time, I have pointed out, in specific examples, why I think the drama had screwed up, solely from a drama fan perspective.

 

Again, I would like to say that the first part of the drama was good, I've already fell in love with Deng Lun and Yang Zi's portrayals, so no, I'm not going to stop watching the drama. I'm still going to support them, even if it means that I have to suffer through another 20 eps of my fave character being ruined for the sake of an secondary one. And as an audience, I'm allowed to speak up when I have an opinion and criticise when the drama screws up.

 

I apologize for the negativity I've been spreading, so I would like to stop this discussion here and let us agree to disagree. Thank you!

[rose_loves_ice]

I really don't care at this point because what's done has been done already. We cannot change what already took place. I just hope that this is a lesson learn for the production team. I can see where both sides are coming from. I wish I did not read the novel to begin with. It was rather choppy, I agree. I think as a person who has read the novel, I can see why many of them are upset as well. Aside from the lack of OTP scenes in the last few plus episodes that every one is upset about, the fact that the vital parts that should've been XF's to begin with were given to Night. Those few scenes/dialogues were important to the character development of XF. Some of the changed and added scenes in the drama were fine but when they change something that plays an important part to the main lead's character and give it to someone else is really pushing it. Just a few things shouldn't have been touched to begin with. Regardless, the drama is still doing well. All I know is that I am excited for the demon arc. 

[visiopeia]

2 hours ago, angel318 said:

Btw Luo Yunxi is actually older than Deng Lun. The only other thing I remember watching him was him playing the younger version of Wallace Chung in My Sunshine

 

No wonder he is sooo familiar to me... hahahahahhaha... he also act coldly in My Sunshine... I can't wait for tonight's episode...

[sirena82]

I don't think the fan of the main actor know how negatively they r affecting him by this online bullying campaign against other actors. I used to like him. But now everythime I see him I just get pissed off due to his fan bulling others! 

Edited August 28, 2018 by sirena82

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

Moderators please delete. Sorry double post

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

2 hours ago, rose_loves_ice said:

I really don't care at this point because what's done has been done already. We cannot change what already took place. I just hope that this is a lesson learn for the production team. I can see where both sides are coming from. I wish I did not read the novel to begin with. It was rather choppy, I agree. I think as a person who has read the novel, I can see why many of them are upset as well. Aside from the lack of OTP scenes in the last few plus episodes that every one is upset about, the fact that the vital parts that should've been XF's to begin with were given to Night. Those few scenes/dialogues were important to the character development of XF. Some of the changed and added scenes in the drama were fine but when they change something that plays an important part to the main lead's character and give it to someone else is really pushing it. Just a few things shouldn't have been touched to begin with. Regardless, the drama is still doing well. All I know is that I am excited for the demon arc. 

Not sure what happened to my post.

Well said @rose_loves_ice. I am in the same boat. Didn't mind the changes until it messed with Xu Feng's character development. In any case, excited again for the new episodes. 

 

Now can we take a second to appreciate how visually stunning this show is? Always happy to see the wallpapers. As we know, they are taken from the actual episodes. Also, the costumes are magnificent too. 

 

We will see Xu Feng in black...

[ElleSor]

I'm on hiatus due to heartbreak but I can't resist looking in on this post. 

Deng Lun is rocking it as Phoenix and I am so head over heels with him as Phoenix. 

The angst! The heartbreak...GOD! I am such a sucker for a broken heart!

 

I am rooting for this drama as much as I am rooting for the novel.

The story is still the same for me and the changes are nothing as long as my OTP end up the way they do in the book!

[thehumantree]

4 hours ago, sirena82 said:

I don't think the fan of the main actor know how negatively they r affecting him by this online bullying campaign against other actors. I used to like him. But now everythime I see him I just get pissed off due to his fan bulling others! 

Hating a character and projecting it on the actor is as ridiculous as hating the fans and projecting it on to the actor.

 

And from your previous comment... I've been meaning to ask.... Do you even know what porn is? What the leads are doing is considered child's play at most so No. I cannot say for the others that favors otp but for myself, I am not in this for the porn!!

 

[angel318]

Spoiler alert 

Spoiler

I think they changed the pill story  it seems to be that instead of JM giving up her essence RY does it for her for the sake of protecting her ... 

Sorry guys, I was such in a rush this morning to work I didn't have time to link the video. But another spoiler 

Spoiler

JM loses her sight of color bc there's a missing ingredient for the pill. It's needs some kind of light which is owned by the previous emperor's older brother (who everyone thought died in war, who happens to be in love with XF mom... so complicated). Anywho, Bc the queen asked for the most colorful thing (but him -the older brother- is color-blind), thus he was never able to get that gift for her and he asks for JM's ability to see color in exchange for the item. I'm not sure which comes first, the essence or the lost of color Bc I haven't caught up due to work  

 

[clawedzip]

20 minutes ago, angel318 said:

Spoiler alert 

  Hide contents

I think they changed the pill story  it seems to be that instead of JM giving up her essence RY does it for her for the sake of protecting her ... 

 

 

oh god I REALLY hope they don't do this...they need to stop messing with JM's redemption arc