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

[baiqian]

To me  the drama had the potential to be something bigger or equal to "Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms", but instead it's going to fall well short of that both in views and in popularity because the production team did not execute it to the fullest advantage of the source material. Too much time was spent on secondary characters and the pacing went way off. It did start to drag towards the middle of the show.  I feel like we're going to get a rushed ending because we've only got 10 episodes left and Phoenix hasn't revived yet he's not even the demon lord yet. I mean how much time will we have of Phoenix ruling the Demon Realm as "The Great One? " 5 episodes?  It shouldn't matter that the author now seems to prefer the character of Night as opposed to her other original lead characters Phoenix and Jin Mi her duty should be to the source material that she create. It would be the equivalent the "Lord of the Rings", author Tolkien instead of making Frodo and Sam the lead characters he makes  Merry and Pippin the main characters. I feel sorry for the actor who are invoked in this mess.

[thehumantree]

Uh I watched today's episodes and I think that was what @angel318 was talking about!! I believe Jinmi will still give up her essence for the pill.

 

Spoiler

In todays' episodes Runyu used up half his essence to save Jinmi because she got bit by the snake (not Pu Chi, but he wishes!! ) plus that other stuff she had to do!!

 

I also saw the next episodes preview. Jinmi revived Phoenix. One of her tear fell on his cheek. She called him Feng Huang. He heard someone calling him. As he was about to open his eyes Sui He came so Jinmi transformed and hid herself. Phoenix turned into a Phoenix. Up in Heaven Runyu felt the Phoenix power coming back. Phoenix turned back into a human, whispered Jinmi's name but then sees Sui He. She said she saved him. Phoenix touches his cheek and noticed the tear.... I think he knows it's not Sui He that saved him.

 

And then in a black cloak he went to Heaven to his place and stared at the dead tree...

 

 

 

[Yui.]

Spoiler

I actually like the bg story of the Empress. I feel like she finally redeemed herself after she killed herself. T^T I actually felt bad for her at one point. It gives her character some more depth. 

 

Night's character has been a bit "softened" compared to the novel because this whole time he calculated everything. I don't think he calculated where he would save her by using half of his lifespan. I wouldn't say it's "love", but you can really tell he cares about her. YET he's so contradictory. I wished he could show his real self to her for once! 

 

I was hoping the resurrection of phoenix would be ep 49/50, but no phoenix. Hoping he'll come back 51 because we only have 10 episode left or 13? Do we know why it was extended to 63 instead of 60?

 

[angel318]

1 hour ago, thehumantree said:

Uh I watched today's episodes and I think that was what @angel318 was talking about!! I believe Jinmi will still give up her essence for the pill.

 

  Hide contents

In todays' episodes Runyu used up half his essence to save Jinmi because she got bit by the snake (not Pu Chi, but he wishes!! ) plus that other stuff she had to do!!

 

I also saw the next episodes preview. Jinmi revived Phoenix. One of her tear fell on his cheek. She called him Feng Huang. He heard someone calling him. As he was about to open his eyes Sui He came so Jinmi transformed and hid herself. Phoenix turned into a Phoenix. Up in Heaven Runyu felt the Phoenix power coming back. Phoenix turned back into a human, whispered Jinmi's name but then sees Sui He. She said she saved him. Phoenix touches his cheek and noticed the tear.... I think he knows it's not Sui He that saved him.

 

And then in a black cloak he went to Heaven to his place and stared at the dead tree...

 

 

 

Thanks for helping clarify! Sorry I haven't been watching the episodes Bc I've been so busy so I missed some of the plot >< 

[lostintranslation]

I haven't been back here since the days of Princess Agents.  That disastrous car crash of an ending drove me to Korean dramas which are often more efficient in their storytelling, and when things do go wrong you haven’t invested 60+ episodes.

 

I will preface my comments and say that I have read the English-translation of the novel and love it.  I think it was a genius idea to take one of the epilogues about the OTP's reincarnation after their HEA and move it to embellish their earlier relationship.  It gives more depth to the fated-lovers story and we get to see why XF loves JM despite her often being a silly little grape.  I think it was good and necessary to flesh out RY’s story and character – it only adds to the angst and tragedy of the love triangle - if he was a limp noodle that would actually take away from the XF/JM story.

 

However, I was finally drawn to make a comment at this point where I (personally) think the story has strayed a little too far for many moderate fans.  The story is the author’s story to tell … but very rarely are stories optioned to be made into movies or tv series without massive fan bases to champion them and advocate that there is money to be made in investing in them this way.  The fans of the novel are a big part of this and I think the author owes them a little more than fortifying one main character by removing so much of the agency not only of the male protagonist but also the heroine’s redemption arc.

 

As many have already commented – this is not the worst adaptation out there … it’s not too bad, if you don’t know that it could have been so much better … but I will still have hope ( the phoenix-feathered Hope of Emily Dickinson  ) that the series will redeem itself before the end.

 

PS – How creepy is it that RY keeps sneaking into her room and violating her mind, dreams and memories – touching her and crippling her emotionally for his own sake?  There’s a stronger word for this sort of behaviour.

 

PPS – How wretched is their timing … when XF loves JM she’s unable to love him back wholly – when she can love him unreservedly he mistakenly hates her … oh, the angst!

[angel318]

He's back as a demon lord, I see the old guy with white hair in the background. What's his position? 

Spoiler

https://m.weibo.cn/p/index?containerid=2304444278287665461669&amp;url_type=39&amp;object_type=video&amp;pos=1&amp;luicode=10000011&amp;lfid=231522type%3D1%26q%3D%23电视剧香蜜沉沉烬如霜%23%26t%3D10

 

[Nudafu]

6 hours ago, Kimchi Sweet Potato said:

Does anyone have a link to the preview for eps 51-52?

 

It's strange, official channels didn't release it as quickly as before. I found then on Dailymotion - so worth the minor wait. First time ever I saved the preview and abused the rewind button.

 

I guess Yangzi had plenty of practice being sad in White Snake. Her performance is so good. The play of elation and sadness that flitted across her face during Xu Feng's recovery was amazing to watch. While I favour meaningful angst, you get to the point where you're doubtful another actor or actress can possibly express it in a fresh way. Yangzi proves me wrong.

[Sary Em]

Finally!!!!

 

Spoiler

 

 

[lovehuche]

Spoiler

 

JM revived XF scene 

[Jackie Zhou]

Ah well after 50 episode, I skip like 30 of them it is so easy to predict the finale even without reading the novel... :/ 

Not a fan of those ending so yeah...

Offcourse if the director pull a 360 in TV drama... but we will see shall we...

Edited August 29, 2018 by Jackie Zhou

[sirena82]

11 hours ago, thehumantree said:

"to attack other actors and people is just not right."  

 

On this we agreed.   

 

"they were bothered mostly for not seeing enough OTP between XF and JM. That seems they want more like love actions in the drama and not following a story."  

 

Excuse the crassness but that's a ridiculous assumption! ! No one here wants them to screw each other 24/7!! Fans wants fleshed out character development ala Runyu!!  

 

"Real fans of the novel know that the 3 of them were leads in the novel."   

 

That is true, but as we move forward into the story line we can see that one lead gets bloated, another gets sideline, and the last is just there!! It's no wonder fans are discontent!! 

 1. Many people were angry that JM and XF didnt spent OTP time together after the sleeping together secen. I read that in different places already. They did not ask for fleshed characters- just OTP time. So, what where they asking for then!

 

2 . Well, we have to agree to disagree then. In the novel RY was a main character even toward the end. The writer spent so much time revealing him. He had a whole section ,toward the end, dedicated for him. He was actually the only character that left us with a life lesson. And his character was the most layered and complicated character.

I think people need to distinguish between 2 things. Being a fan of a character in a novel is NOT as being a fan of the novel as a whole. While, XF fans say his character was changed in the drama, they NEGLECTED that also both of JM and RY characters were changed too. Being a novel fan, changing the character of all main leads will disappoint you. Being XF fan, you will only be disappointed for his character changes and that were the majority of people are coming from. 

 

3. Many people keep saying that many of XF lines in the novel were given to RY. Can you please provide examples? 

 

Edited August 29, 2018 by sirena82

[turtle0217]

JM is going to revive Phoenix tomorrow and he's going to make his plan to become the demon lord and fight against Night. I totally love in the preview when his Phoenix awaken and Night can hear it. 

[gleek49]

8 hours ago, jehnnny99 said:

 

This is the post where u explained your reasons for dislike yes? Sorry to be blunt, but this whole post was just you crying and complaining about the 5 or so filler episodes RY had out of 60 for his backstory. You know why XF didn't have a 5 episodes emotional backstory like RY? Because the only trauma he ever experiences is when JM suddenly decides she doesn't want to marry him after she uses her brain and figures out how wrong it would be to marry the man whose mother killed your family. You proved my point in your post as well, at how XF fans are mad that the second male lead is getting screen time ( which is nothing compared to XF in the first 30 episodes ) and he doesn't get any affectionate or lovey-dovey scenes with JM either. The shift in relationship between XF and JM was because of the engagement with RY- that was a plot device planted even BEFORE JM was born. Naturally, RY would then begin to have more screentime and interactions with our main female lead.

 

i have read the novel, a few times actually, and only by watching the drama and seeing how each stage progresses to another, did I understand the imperfections of the novel, which had some unexplainable moments or seemed to skip a few things which created some disconnection.

 

i think we should just agree to disagree, because this is not going to go anywhere. Your opinion is yours and my opinion is mine, we can only share each other's opinion and not force each other to agree. 

 

Well, if you want to be blunt, then here we go:

 

You said: "You crying and complaining about the 5 or so filler episodes RY had out of 60 for his backstory"

Yes, Night deserved his 5 episodes of emotional back story. But was it really just 5 episodes? As you can see from the table I posted, it’s already gone on for more than 10 episodes. It’s not just about his tragic backstory, it’s about his mother schemes to murder Phoenix, about him going to confront her, about her death scene (which took almost 1 episode ), about him mourning her death, about him SLOWLY went down the evil road, about him stalking JM and manipulate her feelings (the fixing Unfeeling Pill scene was such a violation of human rights. I honestly cannot believe there are still people felt sorry for him after his scene), about him drawing the line with Phoenix, about him scheming for the throne, about him starting to attend court matters, about him going around lobbying for his coup, about him manipulating the dream to frame Phoenix, etc. Wow, SO LITTLE backstory and fillers! 

 

OK, let’s just say that he’s the male lead, equal to Phoenix’s role, then it’s fair that the drama spent time on him, that’s what I told myself when I sat through those episodes. Let’s just ignored the fact that, even if Night’s role is equal with Phoenix, the drama still should have done SOMETHING to his character during that time. But they did not do anything to him, after getting back from the mortal trial, the ONLY thing he did was pining over his future sister-in-law! Do you realize how pathetic that made Phoenix sound like? Do you realize how frustrating it was for Phoenix fans?

 

But I waited, I told myself to be patient because, soon, when Night started to work on his coup, Phoenix would FINALLY has something to do! You said that the novel has “some unexplainable moments or seemed to skip a few things which created some disconnection“. Right, so the novel said that Phoenix and Night has THREE YEARS of playing mind game with each other! Do you remember how the drama explaining that plot point? They spent so much time on emphasizing the brothers’ relationship, they should have use this plot point to do some building for Phoenix’s character, like his reaction when he realized what his brother was doing, how he made the difficult choice of going against his brother to protect his father’s throne because it was the right thing to do, how he played the mind game, how he prepared for the D-Day! There so many things they could do to his character, they were perfectly capable of doing that to Night, and certainly they can flesh out the MALE LEAD the same way, right? But did they do that? No, they skimmed through it again, just like when they skimmed through Phoenix’s reaction to the Empress killing Night’s mother news or his reaction to his own mother’s demise. How is this fair?

 

Speaking of “Phoenix’s reaction to the Empress killing Night’s mother news”.

Literally, there was someone in this thread said this:

“A drink and an apology, you just want me to forget everything your mother did? and the reason you gave me that apology is because you want me to call of the wedding? Sorry, my moral code just can't accept something that outrageous.  Good Luck to you girls, it was fun discussing with you about this drama, I just can't continue to root for something like this. See you.”

LOL, Phoenix at this point was turned in to a shameless, immoral a**hole. So much for “character development”.

 

Speaking of the coup, let’s look at how the drama handled D-Day, shall we!

In the novel, “Phoenix stepped into the hall in silvery blue robes which deeply contrasted with the hall that was ablaze with the ceremonial colors of red”. He had already apprehended Immortal Tai Si, came in ready to exposed Night’s schemes.

 

“With a flick of Phoenix's finger, an unstoppably quick flash of light hit the big drum. Before the sound could even land, a whole troop of soldiers swarmed into the palace hall. The troop seeing the person tied up in the middle of the hall, immediately realized that the situation was upside down, and froze helplessly.”

Did this happened in the drama? NO. It’s Night who hit the drum.

 

"Guards! Take down Night!" Phoenix commanded and two of his men stormed into the palace and captured Night. They each took one of his arms and pulled it to his back and pressed it upon his shoulders.”

Did this happened in the drama? NO. It’s Night who ordered “Guards! Take down Fire Immortal!” 

 

You said you have read the novel, then you must have remembered this epic moment where Phoenix came in, took control of the whole situation and how it was over for Night! He knew there was no way he would beat Phoenix, that’s why he deliberately pushed JM into backstabbing Phoenix. She was his last resort, her action literally overturned the whole situation! That’s how important, how effective the backstabbing was! It pushed the angst within the story to the absolute maximum!

 

What happened in the drama instead? At the beginning, it seemed like Phoenix did have control of the wedding hall. BUT THEN, it turned out that Phoenix’s own army had TURNED ON HIM. Probably the same army that has accompanied him to the battlefields for YEARS. THEY TURNED ON HIM FOR A PERSON WHO HAD NO MILITARY EXPERIENCE, WHO DID NOT GO THROUGH LIFE AND DEATH BATTLEFIELD WITH THEM!

 

Not only the troop, but the WHOLE COURT decided to follow Night, WHO HAS JUST STARTED TO ATTEND THE COURT 3 YEARS AGO! It doesn’t matter that the Emperor is a horrible person, ancient China VALUES loyalty between the ruler and his subjects, all of them suddenly turned on the Emperor made no sense!

 

Do you realize how stupid this made Phoenix looked like? He literally looked like an idiot, betrayed by his own troop, caught by surprise and just stood there unable to do anything! The script gave his action and line to Night is not a minor thing. It literally change the whole situation. It went from Phoenix who supposed to have control the whole time, he only lost because he didn’t expect to be backstabbed the woman he loved; to Night who turned out to have the upper hand the whole time! He was going to win no matter what, because he has both the court and the military on his side! Then what is the point of JM’s backstabbing? Night was going to win anyway, he was going to capture Phoenix anyway, he could have killed Phoenix himself anyway, then what is the point of him framing Phoenix and pushing JM to her limit like that? 

 

You said: "He doesn't get any affectionate or lovey-dovey scenes with JM either. The shift in relationship between XF and JM was because of the engagement with RY- that was a plot device planted even BEFORE JM was born. Naturally, RY would then begin to have more screentime and interactions with our main female lead."

Of course, he didn’t, because she didn’t love him. Even with the Unfeeling Pill, she still rejected him. But no worries, we had several scenes where he invaded her personal space and violated her human right. Since Phoenix had SO many lovey-dovey scenes with JM, it’s only fair that Night should have had SOMETHING, right? 

 

Look. I never said that Night should not have more scenes with JM, but the problem was that he has way more scenes than Phoenix, MANY OF WHICH DIDN’T EVEN INVOLVED JM! I’m sorry, but this point of your is invalid.

 

Speaking about the female lead, let’s talk about the lovey-dovey scene, shall we!

The mutual cultivation night. In the book, basically, they slept together because Phoenix was drunk, he couldn’t control his behavior, thought it was a dream and JM was clueless, she only thought they were doing it so she can gain more power.

 

What happened in the drama? They were only a little drunk, still very much in control of themselves, they KNEW what they were doing! Do you know how much flak they got from fans for being a cheating couple? The drama seriously destroyed the lead couple’s morality! FOR WHAT? So they can justify Night’s evil later? I’m sorry but to me, sacrificing the lead’s moral character like that is unacceptable!

 

Wait for Phoenix to be fleshed out later? LOL, guys, we have 13 episodes left. In 13 episodes the drama has to cover:

-          JM reviving Phoenix

-          Phoenix conquering Demon realm (they should spend just as much time as they spent on Night’s early political career, just to be fair, since they’re BOTH main male leads)

-          Phoenix performing as the Demon Lord (since we also saw how Night did in his new position back in ep 46)

-          JM stalking Phoenix

-          JM getting caught and Phoenix burning her in samadhi real flames

-          2^nd mutual cultivation (let’s hope there are no moral code being broken here)

-          JM realizing Night’s true face

-          JM going after Phoenix

-          Heaven and Demon Realm big battle

-          JM dying

-          Phoenix moping (Night will probably has his moping scene as well, because why not? )

-          Phoenix spending 5000 years saving JM

-          Epilogues

-          Not to mention new scenes that the drama has created.

I’m honestly curious to see how they manage to fit “fleshing out” Phoenix and JM and all these events in 13 episodes when they’ve already spent 10+ eps on backstory and filler for Night 

 

Oh did I mention that they have just interfering with JM’s redemption arc and somehow made it all about Night again? And it seemed like they skipped the pill sabotaging plot Fun times, wasn’t it?

 

Again, I’m sorry for going overboard, you can disagree with me all you want but don’t paint me as a crazy petty fan who is nitpicking unnecessarily, because I’m not. I’m allowed to speak up when I think my beloved source material and characters are being disrespected and insulted, alright?

 

[turtle0217]

I think this is when JM dies and she comes to say goodbye 

 

Spoiler

CR: denglun.dilraba

 

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

1 hour ago, turtle0217 said:

JM is going to revive Phoenix tomorrow and he's going to make his plan to become the demon lord and fight against Night. I totally love in the preview when his Phoenix awaken and Night can hear it. 

Looks so good. Can't wait!!!

 

4 hours ago, Nudafu said:

 

It's strange, official channels didn't release it as quickly as before. I found then on Dailymotion - so worth the minor wait. First time ever I saved the preview and abused the rewind button.

 

I guess Yangzi had plenty of practice being sad in White Snake. Her performance is so good. The play of elation and sadness that flitted across her face during Xu Feng's recovery was amazing to watch. While I favour meaningful angst, you get to the point where you're doubtful another actor or actress can possibly express it in a fresh way. Yangzi proves me wrong.

Gosh, I've watched it a few times as well. The tear drop was a nice touch.

[clawedzip]

 

4 hours ago, turtle0217 said:

I think this is when JM dies and she comes to say goodbye 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

CR: denglun.dilraba

 

 

Some other stills/gifs from that scene:

Spoiler

It looks like he's in JM's medicine hut in the mortal realm, looking at her drawings of him.

 

Maybe a hallucination? I don't think JM is alive at this point.

 

 

[yclove]

13 hours ago, viktormani said:

As someone who has read the novel a few times, i gotta admit i'm a little upset that they changed the redeeming arc for Jin Mi and how they gave Night some of Phoenix's crucial lines but oh well what can you do. This would definitely make it into my top 5 C dramas. i'm not proud to admit this but i skipped almost every scene Night was in (sorry Night lovers don't hate on me), the reason for that is because every time he's on the screen i feel like punching him (i have anger issues), i could tolerate him a little in the novel but in this drama he makes me furious.

  Reveal hidden contents

How can you manipulate the person you claim to "love" to kill the love of her life just so you could get the "throne" and the "girl". And then have the audacity to mourn his death and make her stay by your side. And people who try to defend his actions are beyond ridiculous.

 

Ha ha ! @viktormani,  Now I don't feel so  guilty as I too try to skip Night's scenes but savour every bit of Deng Lun .....sorry I mean Phoenix's face and voice. If I end up  preferring Heavy Sweetness to 10 Miles of Peach Blossom  ( similar 3 life times of love) , it's Deng Lun's fault. 

[angel318]

Spoiler

http://p.weibo.com/show/channerWbH5/1034:4278466837677173

http://video.weibo.com/show?fid=1034:4278463624889155

 

[Kimchi Sweet Potato]

OMG the spoilers on Twitter and IG are just

Spoiler

 

 

 

 So good. They kept the bite too....

[mayra83]

I started this drama fews days ago and i stopped in 40 episode waiting for eng sub.

I loved the lead couples, i like the character of Xu Feng, but i was angry sometimes On Jin Min who was indecisive and so naive and silly. About Night i skipped most scenes he was in, how he pretends that he loves Jin Mi and did all this ?!! He is heartless and selfish!! 

I saw some spoilers about next episodes and can't wait to see what will happen. 

Spoiler

Is Jin Mi pregnant with the child of Xu Feng? As i saw in one of the episodes when the heaven empress attacked Jin Mi and Xu Feng saved her, he told his mother that Jin Mi is his woman and she is already carried his son!!! 

I know that in the novel they had a son but not sure about if it is same in the drama? 

Also i saw in one of trailer, they are celebrating their marriage by bowing, anyone knows when ( in which episode) they got married?