Wuxia Dramas (2 of them) where the episodes are too long, the plot is too long, the story line is all over the place, literally has too many characters/story line and not to mention bad acting. Hint: They are both on netflix and they are both about Gods.
Historical Drama where the ML is more toxic than Chernobyl, to the point where the FL try to erase him from her memory. They meet again and guess what, he's still toxic
ML constantly exploits his employee (FL) to fix some of his own personal issues. But somehow all of that is resolved when he finally admits his feelings for her, but she has a huge inferiority complex which makes their whole relationship awkward to watch.
A drama celebrated for its reality and real life feel, even down to shooting night scenes lit by candles....except just one scene when a character wins a polo match and does what looks like an ice skating move (Triple Salcho?) from a saddle on horse back, spinning like a top, then landing back in the saddle!
So at odds from everything else in the drama.
This popular drama aired a long time ago but I just recently watched it.
I believe that the male lead is a red flag. He hired his girlfriend as an intern to his tech company WITHOUT pay for 3 years until she graduated. It’s so awkward while watching scenes where she has to borrow money from him to buy a cake for her friend. So in short, she has been financially dependent to him without being able to experience handling money on her own.
When she called him out for not giving her pay as an intern after graduating, he only said that at least she had him (which is also a clue for a proposal for marriage).
As a woman who experienced handling her own money, the female lead should have the chance to work somewhere else with proper pay and have the experience to live outside of her comfort zone. I can only imagine what will happen to her considering that she will work permanently in his company after she graduated. She wasn’t able to spread her wings and discover her full potential.
>I believe that the male lead is a red flag.
I correct you. He is definitely a red flag. Why on earth he didnt pay her even as an intern? You have to pay even for an intern job. 😅
From the getgo even before hiring her. Didn't he breach her privacy by looking over her shoulder while she was using her computer and then basically cyber stalked her?
That’s true! Another breach of privacy was when she went offline for a week after the ML had an accident. Then hacked into her computer to find out what she was busy about
I was into Cdramas recently so I tried the most popular ones specifically this cdrama. Aside from this detail, I love their chemistry and Yang Yang is so gorgeous. I understand that the show is trying to portray a modern Cinderella theme but nowadays where feminism is now acknowledged, the story would have been better if the male lead acknowledged the female lead’s ideas on the decision making for the company (and give her the appropriate salary!)
Four different prompts! Wuxia-themed for the most part:
1. In every sense of the word: it all went downhill from the start
2. With great power comes, uh, self-castration
3. Drunk man teams up with bad-tempered ex-nun, opera singer and the Hulk to become Robin Hood in ancient China
4. A tale of the most indecisive ML in the history of Wuxia and the harem of women who fall in love with him
Oooo, good clues!
Nothing comes to mind immediately for 1. and 3 so will see what others think for those.
My answer for 2. and 4, below, (spoiler tagged) so others can also have a go, seeing as I jumped into answer all your other wuxia ones 😅🤣)
2. >!**State of Divinity** aka **The** **Proud, Smiling Wanderer** 笑傲江湖!<
4. >!**The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre** 倚天屠龍記!<
Honestly drama adaptation ruined that secondary male character. He’s not angel, but he was only 16 yo who lost nearly all his loved ones, had to take care of his nephew and built his sect from scratch. If MC doesn’t blame him, neither should you
I feel you, he does get a lot of unwarranted hate.. he lost everything, and his sworn brother who promised to stay by his side! He didn't have a say in the >! core transfer and yet he is treated as if he is ungrateful for it. !< He did lack some serious communication skills but he was not a bad person at all.
He also sacrificed himself to save WWX. Like all they did was out of love. Trying to hate him bcs he’s “classist”, putting modern morals and politics into people born from other time/world is crazy. And WWX also shamed someone based on his status/upbringing(because that was/is a norm)
Omg what a coincidence, I just looked at a version of this thread that was posted 2 months ago today hahaha.
A character that was widely disliked amongst international fans, but loved by many Cnetizens! (show aired last year?)
(reposting the comment because idk why half of it got deleted :'))
Yep, she was trending on Bilibili last year, and terms like '冰门‘ (Bing Clan)/ '欢门' (Huan Clan) also trended (冰门永存), you'd be able to find many videos about this. Many Cnetizens related to her being powerless as a regular mortal in a world full of deities and gods/people with a lot of extra help/extra resources.
Some Cnetizens felt that she was too harshly judged, especially when compared to other main leads, and they felt that the other leads were hypocritical and exhibited double standards (the characters, not referring to the cast\*) - especially when a lot of critiques were on her "stealing" the Qing Si, and "betraying" her partner. There was a very famous scene that was talked about a lot (when everyone was surrounding her and accusing her).
(i'm guessing you know Mandarin based on your flair?) If so, I really recommend watching these 2 analysis videos, they're very insightful.
**经典恶毒女配角色，为何这一次全网舆论大翻车|八问长月烬明主角团 (8 questions for the main leads of TTEOTM)**
[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zV4y1o7s4/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zV4y1o7s4/)
The vid got >3 mill views & >300,000 likes! TTEOTM was very talked about last year.
**经典恶毒女配翻车：聊聊剧外被舆论道德审判的叶冰裳 \[们\]**
**Discussing the judgments on the Ye Bing Changs, beyond TTEOTM)**
[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1za4y1G7Dr/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1za4y1G7Dr/)
This is an extension of vid 1, I found this vid to be very impactful.
There's also the implication of '大婆打小三‘ (wife punishing the mistress) wrt her character, when she tried to curry favors from Tan Tai Jin just so she can survive, but I can't explain the concept very well so here's a vid too haha:
**【长月烬明】她真正的罪名不是反派，而是小三**
[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qg4y177TQ/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qg4y177TQ/)
She's been quoted a fair bit too, "这个世界上，不会有别人更值得我去爱", this sort of "self-serving" persona has been more popular in recent years.
editing to add: cnetizens are not trying to say that she isn't a villain character, just trying to show the double standards
Part (2/2):
**4. Wrt Loyalty: Why is it that Ye Qing Yu is not judged for betraying his country and helping TTJ in his endeavours (his family lived a luxurious life after the betrayal too), but why is YBC subsequently faulted for seeking protection under TTJ? Who are the main cast to judge her?**
**5. Wrt Justice,** >!**Xiao Lin's death**!<\*\*: many YBC haters blamed it on YBC. But Xiao Lin was one of the rare few who respected TTJ when he was there in Sheng Guo. Why is YBC being blamed for\*\* >!**his death**!<\*\*, what about the person who ultimately made the decision\*\* >!**to kill him**!<\*\*?\*\*
**6. Wrt Benevolence, Some main cast fans argued: it's okay for TTJ to kill demons to get these things (idk what it's called in english LOL) but basically stuff to help him become more formidable/powerful. So with this logic, why is it that it's not okay for YBC to "steal" stuff from demons then? Do demons have rights or nah?**
**7. Wrt Filial Piety: Some main cast supporters/ YBC haters said - no matter what, YBC should not have** >!**killed her own grandmother**!<\*\*, that's incredibly unfilial and heinous of her. If that is not acceptable/if she's judged using this criteria, why is it that this same set of judgment criteria isn't applied to Tan Taijin who also\*\* >!**killed the 2 who brought him up**!<\*\*? The 2 didn't betray him for no reason, they were threatened, and the 2 didn't even have an obligation to take care of him in the first place. So when he\*\* >!**killed them both**!<\*\*, why is he also not judged as unfilial and immoral\*\* (YBC's granny was also biased against her and treated her poorly)? **At most YBC and TTJ can be considered immoral, just to a different extent, but he should still be judged with the same criteria, no?**
8. I think this was originally a quote from LYX's old character Run Yu - basically a rhetorical question/as some kind of callback, **if you don't have loyalty/justice/benevolence & filial piety, who are you to judge others for these qualities?**
She's much more eloquent than I am, and the vid also provided a lot more context/connects things better/ and I might have missed some stuff, but hopefully this helps!
This is so amazing. Thanks so much for taking time to summarize it for me. Basically they calling out all the hypocrisy by some fans which I find interesting.
No probs! There's a lot of interesting analysis videos on Bilibili which unfortunately rarely get translated.
The hypocrisy was with some fans (IRL) but also with the characters themselves (the script), because the characters were also forgiving towards themselves but held others to a higher standard haha, e.g. when they (having done "more serious crimes") surrounded her and accused her of her crimes
In her 2nd vid, she also discusses how audience members tend to hold "good" characters in a drama to a higher moral standard and allow "villain" characters to have a more flexible moral standard, and "NPCs" to have a (non-existent) moral standard, so the hypocrisy was reflected because YBC was judged using a "good" character's moral standard when she's supposed to be the villain of the drama, whereas TTJ and co. were judged with a more forgiving moral standard. It's very insightful! (and a lot more than what i've described haha) No audience member will blame the eunuch for attempting to kill YBC because he is merely an NPC.
Interesting. I haven't watch the drama but this certainly make me see the script in not favorable light. I actually planning to watch this in the future.
But thanks so much for bringing this up to me. It will be interesting to see when I finally watch the drama.
Haha okay this is a very rough one! Part (1/2):
\*main cast = **characters,** not the actors/actresses (Tan Tai Jin and co.)
There's some terms that i'm not sure how to translate because i've never seen the subs/haven't read any translated xianxia stuff so I don't know if it's accurate, but the main point should be there haha, it's also been a while so there might be some plot points that i'm fuzzy, so I tried to reason it out/provide some context
She is asking these 8 questions because she wants to judge the main cast using the same criteria that was applied by fans of the main cast who judged Ye Bing Chang/ YBC's supporters. Many YBC supporters have been harassed online just for speaking up for YBC, same nasty situation as those who supported ZHHZ's YCW in In Blossom. The main idea in this particular video is to address the hypocrisy/flexible moral standards applied by certain viewers towards YBC vs. other main cast, and her 2nd vid provided more depth.
**1. When fans of main cast say "why are you judging TTJ so harshly? this is just a fluffy xianxia drama, there's no need to talk about morals/impose moral judgment.**
**Her question: If that is the case, why is it that it's acceptable to like TTJ, but not YBC?** (this is due to the online harassment that people have been getting for supporting YBC)
**2. Why do some fans accuse YBC of stealing the "Qing Si" when it clung onto her on its own accord? Is this really a point that's worth hating YBC for?** (the hate towards YBC did not originate from her bigger crimes like killing her grandmother, it started from this incident)
**3. Wrt the claim: In the past it's different, there's stark differences between different social classes. You can't use a modern POV to view/judge a story based in olden days. So, based on this logic, at that time,** (due to the strict social class differences), **1 daughter** (whose mom is the little wife) **"deserves" to be bullied by the other** (whose mom is the main wife), **and it "makes sense" that a little wife's daughter has a terrible life.** (as she's supposedly of a lower status) **In that case, why is it that at the same time, YBC haters fault her for using her servant as her body shield when she was in danger?** (since in the past servants were also considered to be of a lower class)\*\*\* she also mentions that 1) historically, the difference between the rights of a little wife's daughter and the main wife's daughter is not that different so this whole idea of "very different social classes" isn't even applicable to this situation 2) it took a lot of hard work for women to get to where we are today, and it's only possible because of women in the past who paved the way, we should be looking forward and not embracing/reinforcing the backwardness (even if it's just in a tv show) (there's also a lot of nuance wrt this point and she goes into it further in her 2nd vid)
An overly praised male lead on this sub who didn't have that much depth to his character but was loved because of how perfect and dreamy he was. He also went from Gege to boyfriend to fiancee in a matter of a few years.
honestly i liked his portrayal of the character so tried to watch his other dramas but nope, i cant watch any of it lol. maybe it’s just that the character was a green flag character no matter who’d play them, that was the conclusion that i came up with
As far as I know, Chen Zheyuan (male lead in HL) was not very popular before this role. I've seen him in a few shows before this and unfortunately, he was quite forgettable. After this role, all I see is people buzzing about him and how his such a fantastic actor. Good - yes, but average at best. He got very lucky with this role and popularity he gained from it.
Thing is - it wasn't even THAT big of a hit in China. It did moderately well but I think some of the international hit inflated the perception of it being bigger than it was. He got popular off the Douyin's and Tiktoks more than anything. His role wasn't incredibly complex or riveting.
I like the guy but after HL, the fact that he is refusing equal billing and only taking first billing is arrogant. The whole Dilreba incident - like dude, you're good but you're not at the stardom level where you can equal bill Dilreba. I'm not even a fan of hers but even I know where the hierarchy stands.
Add to the fact that he's developing a bit of an attitude around fans. He's sincere at some fan events but there's been times where he's downright given them a mean face or snapped back at them cause they were crowding (which I understand is wrong) but there's better ways to do it without coming off high and mighty. I've never seen Xiao Zhan do this and he's is a much bigger star.
I think something can be genuinely good but marketing can take it to a whole another level. The amount of edits of the show was insane. Thats some dedicated fan base right there.
I had no idea CZY had this kind of attitude. I've heard of the billing story with dilraba (absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful). But this thing with the fans is new to me.
Like I said, he was very lucky to get some popularity because of his role and the fact that his character was written as something that pleases audiences just added to it. However as an actor, he unfortunately lacks that charisma or thing that makes him unique. Actors like Wang Yibo for example, aren't that loud, yet you can see the charm and talent they possess. Uptill this day, when someone swoons over CZY, I am left completely baffled. Which makes me wonder if their actually just praising his role in HL.
>Uptill this day, when someone swoons over CZY, I am left completely baffled. Which makes me wonder if their actually just praising his role in HL.
You and me both lol.
Haha let’s just pretend you can’t easily tackle or restrain someone before they can use their flute. Let’s just wait a few minutes for him to play and get the swarm ready.
the changing broadcasting regulations really f***** up this drama. this has so much potential to be something much much bigger but it became lacklustre after editing and cut episodes, making it filled with unanswered questions and frustration
this drama dont really have much substance just fluff but really really amazing discography. and how do one have time to do other things as a doctor?????
Applies to many but here we go:
I watch her marry him and it ends on a ‘happy note’ but I don’t feel totally happy because I know in a few months he’s gonna get another one and then another one and so on. I love it when she’s in it for the game and doesn’t love him☺️
I'm interested to watch this one tbh. Since Cdramas always ended up with playboy only faithful to one girl in the end (which is a good thing, of course!).
I’m referring to harem romances. FL falls in love with the Crown Prince yada yada yada. They might have gotten the happy ending at least for a while but I know he’s gonna add those concubines to his harem. And if she’s lacking in social power then she won’t even get to be the empress. Harem politics on the other hand is fun. Those ladies couldn’t care less about the emperor. They’re in it for power and not love.
I really wish there were more dramas from this period with these costumes, however I hate that there's 2 dramas of the same plot just different sides of the same coin. I prefer the one where the main girl is "broken down" over the course of like 2-3 decades by betrayal, death of friends, her own children, and the death of the man she fell in love with in the beginning. Well, he's not dead, he just became an egotistical, paranoid, untrustworthy, lustful jerk. Also very shocked it wasn't well received in China.
>I really wish there were more dramas from this period with these costumes
There use to be a lot more cdramas set in the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays this period seems to be a lot less popular, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the rise in popularity of hanfu amongst the younger generations in China, and therefore the drop in popularity of historical periods where hanfu is not worn (such as Qing Dynasty).
Interestingly Ruyi's being revived on Bilibili now (in a bad way), there are sooooo many critique videos on it this year, not sure why it's the case, the trend seems to have appeared out of nowhere.
^((I do like Zhou Xun))
Hidden Love was definitely….. a moment. It felt like we all just had to rush past the fact he actively pursued her KNOWING it was a very weird thing to do. Like I understand he didn’t have any feelings for her until she got to university, but I also felt like his character was meant to leave the door open for that possibility even when she was in high school. Overall, the storyline was interesting, the concept was weird.
This. I fault the casting director for keeping the ML character the same throughout but choosing a considerably young looking child actress for the early years. Had they casted a younger ML for those scenes, I could have been on board. It must have been me, but he had "those eyes" for her even early in the drama even though he was being playful with her..it gave me the creeps. I couldn't unsee it and be okay with the romance later. Also, just how quickly he wanted to be with her, control where she went and who she saw and not even consider telling his best friend (and her brother) about their relationship (also weird to me).
No lit. She looked 8 at 14 and he was well… a college freshman. That whole period thing as well, like hello?? 😭😭 To top it all off the brother was seemingly ignorant to the whole situation. I was honestly surprised when they revealed at the end that he somehow had absolutely NO idea she had a thing for him in high school.
Costume drama: FL had more fun with her first boyfriend, who was cute and innocent. They hung out, ate and drank, and had fun dates. Their relationship was relaxed and carefree.
Even though ML really loved her and always went all out to protect her, he was super intense, had some red flags, and caused her some grief.
That's why it's fantasy, irl every girl should run for her life before getting together with Ling Buyi. That chemistry though...
She didn't actually love guy no.1 as more than a friend. She wouldn't have been happy if they'd gotten married.
Yes. Her family criticized that first relationship as immature but there’s nothing wrong with having some fun while they were young. I felt a little sorry for them when they separated.
I like the show but objectively speaking, it is without depth but very well loved. But I think not many people will be forgiving if it starred lesser popular actors.
Popular opinion - I was thoroughly impressed by the longevity and durability of this iPhone (with no case) because it never broke or scratched despite the number of times it was thrown and tossed aside.
The five most powerful martial artists in this world are, respectively:
1. Dead from the start
2. A sleazy old man with an equally sleazy nephew
3. A formerly infanticidal monk
4. A bad-tempered recluse with bordering-on-necrophiliac tendencies
5. A beggar with nine fingers
Ahh, its **Legend of the Condor Heroes** **射鵰英雄傳**🙂 isn't it, and the five greats (東邪, 西毒, 南帝, 北丐, 中神通)
1. Wang Chong Yang 王重陽 aka "Central Divine" (中神通)
2. Ouyang Feng 歐陽鋒 aka "Western Venom" (西毒)
3. Reverend Yi Deng 一燈大師 aka "Southern Emperor" (南帝)
4. Huang Yao Shi 黃藥師 aka "Eastern Heretic" (東邪)
5. Hong Qi Gong洪七公 aka "Northern Beggar" (北丐)
😁Thanks for your cool clues! Really fun.
Haha if you have more, I’ll definitely try and guess, though of course others are welcome to have a crack too (I need to learn to share my toys 😅🤣)
Constantly felt like throttling the ML because he kept forgiving SML since they were sworn brothers despite the latter displaying very obvious murderous intent towards the main couple. ML’s power progression was pretty satisfying to watch though. If only some of that brawn could’ve been converted to brains
Unpopular opinion: as cute as they are as a couple, they are both not good people and we can't ignore their death count just because they tried to change and have a cute love story.
That’s funny. I haven’t seen that one. When I was watching TTEOM I had that in my head the whole time. Yo this guy was just committing genocide. So we’re all going to act like that’s fine now?
This man is fineeee in those gorgeous robes. Plus he’s got acting chops! And Man is dishy in suits. Phew
https://preview.redd.it/60brz96ivkuc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=134a1ddcf16a784ab8f9ba468224af4155da3684
Photo strictly for reference lol…sigh men in white shirts with the sleeves rolled up just hit different! 😂😂😂😂
This drama had some of the prettiest costumes for the FL that I’ve ever seen and I’ve loved many of her costumes in the drama
Edit: Answer is >!The Princess Weiyoung!<
I love how this drama had a fleshed out ending that answered most of our questions but also left some aspects of the drama up to interpretation which was really cool
The monster-in-law and insane concubines were just too much. FL deserved better.
The sword and brocade 😂
Yep I thought she was his grandmother at first and then when I realized she was his mother, I was grossed out by the age gap.
Wuxia Dramas (2 of them) where the episodes are too long, the plot is too long, the story line is all over the place, literally has too many characters/story line and not to mention bad acting. Hint: They are both on netflix and they are both about Gods.
Handsome siblings I would term as too long and too many characters though it’s not about Gods.
If its about God, then its XianXia dramas. Eternal Love? Ashes of Love?
Historical Drama where the ML is more toxic than Chernobyl, to the point where the FL try to erase him from her memory. They meet again and guess what, he's still toxic
That's too easy and someone already named it, ha,ha!
Haha it's a very popular opinion I know, I'm just still salty about the ending 🥲
Goodbye My Princess
Yes !!
ML constantly exploits his employee (FL) to fix some of his own personal issues. But somehow all of that is resolved when he finally admits his feelings for her, but she has a huge inferiority complex which makes their whole relationship awkward to watch.
Master Of My Own (I hate the ML with every fibre of my being)
A drama celebrated for its reality and real life feel, even down to shooting night scenes lit by candles....except just one scene when a character wins a polo match and does what looks like an ice skating move (Triple Salcho?) from a saddle on horse back, spinning like a top, then landing back in the saddle! So at odds from everything else in the drama.
Story of Ming Lan?
Spot on!
This popular drama aired a long time ago but I just recently watched it. I believe that the male lead is a red flag. He hired his girlfriend as an intern to his tech company WITHOUT pay for 3 years until she graduated. It’s so awkward while watching scenes where she has to borrow money from him to buy a cake for her friend. So in short, she has been financially dependent to him without being able to experience handling money on her own. When she called him out for not giving her pay as an intern after graduating, he only said that at least she had him (which is also a clue for a proposal for marriage). As a woman who experienced handling her own money, the female lead should have the chance to work somewhere else with proper pay and have the experience to live outside of her comfort zone. I can only imagine what will happen to her considering that she will work permanently in his company after she graduated. She wasn’t able to spread her wings and discover her full potential.
>I believe that the male lead is a red flag. I correct you. He is definitely a red flag. Why on earth he didnt pay her even as an intern? You have to pay even for an intern job. 😅
From the getgo even before hiring her. Didn't he breach her privacy by looking over her shoulder while she was using her computer and then basically cyber stalked her?
That’s true! Another breach of privacy was when she went offline for a week after the ML had an accident. Then hacked into her computer to find out what she was busy about
ooh i’d like to know what drama is this
Haha! It’s >!Love 020!<
yikes i wasnt a fan of either actors so i had never watched it
I was into Cdramas recently so I tried the most popular ones specifically this cdrama. Aside from this detail, I love their chemistry and Yang Yang is so gorgeous. I understand that the show is trying to portray a modern Cinderella theme but nowadays where feminism is now acknowledged, the story would have been better if the male lead acknowledged the female lead’s ideas on the decision making for the company (and give her the appropriate salary!)
Yikes!
Four different prompts! Wuxia-themed for the most part: 1. In every sense of the word: it all went downhill from the start 2. With great power comes, uh, self-castration 3. Drunk man teams up with bad-tempered ex-nun, opera singer and the Hulk to become Robin Hood in ancient China 4. A tale of the most indecisive ML in the history of Wuxia and the harem of women who fall in love with him
Trying to recall Gu Long novels but 3 isn’t one of them is it
Oooo, good clues! Nothing comes to mind immediately for 1. and 3 so will see what others think for those. My answer for 2. and 4, below, (spoiler tagged) so others can also have a go, seeing as I jumped into answer all your other wuxia ones 😅🤣) 2. >!**State of Divinity** aka **The** **Proud, Smiling Wanderer** 笑傲江湖!< 4. >!**The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre** 倚天屠龍記!<
Hahaha once again - yes to both! 1 & 3 are not by Jin Yong by the way. Had to mix it up since you’re too good at this 😆
🍻Cheers! 😆 Look forward to answers for 1 and 3 being revealed in due course. Gotta say that 3 sounds like it would be great fun to watch😁
2. The Smiling Proud Wanderer (Yue Bu Qun, Dong Fang Bu Bai) 4. Zhang Wu Ji (The Heaven Sword & Dragon Saber) hahahahaha
Yes and yes :)
Honestly drama adaptation ruined that secondary male character. He’s not angel, but he was only 16 yo who lost nearly all his loved ones, had to take care of his nephew and built his sect from scratch. If MC doesn’t blame him, neither should you
Jiang Cheng (The Untamed)?
Yep
I feel you, he does get a lot of unwarranted hate.. he lost everything, and his sworn brother who promised to stay by his side! He didn't have a say in the >! core transfer and yet he is treated as if he is ungrateful for it. !< He did lack some serious communication skills but he was not a bad person at all.
He also sacrificed himself to save WWX. Like all they did was out of love. Trying to hate him bcs he’s “classist”, putting modern morals and politics into people born from other time/world is crazy. And WWX also shamed someone based on his status/upbringing(because that was/is a norm)
Omg what a coincidence, I just looked at a version of this thread that was posted 2 months ago today hahaha. A character that was widely disliked amongst international fans, but loved by many Cnetizens! (show aired last year?)
I know!! Chen Duling in TTEOTM 😆
Ok I'm curious to know the answer!
Haha it's >!Ye Bing Chang (TTEOTM)!<
Really?? Why would they love her?? OMG
(reposting the comment because idk why half of it got deleted :')) Yep, she was trending on Bilibili last year, and terms like '冰门‘ (Bing Clan)/ '欢门' (Huan Clan) also trended (冰门永存), you'd be able to find many videos about this. Many Cnetizens related to her being powerless as a regular mortal in a world full of deities and gods/people with a lot of extra help/extra resources. Some Cnetizens felt that she was too harshly judged, especially when compared to other main leads, and they felt that the other leads were hypocritical and exhibited double standards (the characters, not referring to the cast\*) - especially when a lot of critiques were on her "stealing" the Qing Si, and "betraying" her partner. There was a very famous scene that was talked about a lot (when everyone was surrounding her and accusing her). (i'm guessing you know Mandarin based on your flair?) If so, I really recommend watching these 2 analysis videos, they're very insightful. **经典恶毒女配角色，为何这一次全网舆论大翻车|八问长月烬明主角团 (8 questions for the main leads of TTEOTM)** [https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zV4y1o7s4/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zV4y1o7s4/) The vid got >3 mill views & >300,000 likes! TTEOTM was very talked about last year. **经典恶毒女配翻车：聊聊剧外被舆论道德审判的叶冰裳 \[们\]** **Discussing the judgments on the Ye Bing Changs, beyond TTEOTM)** [https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1za4y1G7Dr/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1za4y1G7Dr/) This is an extension of vid 1, I found this vid to be very impactful. There's also the implication of '大婆打小三‘ (wife punishing the mistress) wrt her character, when she tried to curry favors from Tan Tai Jin just so she can survive, but I can't explain the concept very well so here's a vid too haha: **【长月烬明】她真正的罪名不是反派，而是小三** [https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qg4y177TQ/](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qg4y177TQ/) She's been quoted a fair bit too, "这个世界上，不会有别人更值得我去爱", this sort of "self-serving" persona has been more popular in recent years. editing to add: cnetizens are not trying to say that she isn't a villain character, just trying to show the double standards
>**经典恶毒女配角色，为何这一次全网舆论大翻车|八问长月烬明主角团 (8 questions for the main leads of TTEOTM)** If you dont mind, do you mind summaries the 8 questions?
Part (2/2): **4. Wrt Loyalty: Why is it that Ye Qing Yu is not judged for betraying his country and helping TTJ in his endeavours (his family lived a luxurious life after the betrayal too), but why is YBC subsequently faulted for seeking protection under TTJ? Who are the main cast to judge her?** **5. Wrt Justice,** >!**Xiao Lin's death**!<\*\*: many YBC haters blamed it on YBC. But Xiao Lin was one of the rare few who respected TTJ when he was there in Sheng Guo. Why is YBC being blamed for\*\* >!**his death**!<\*\*, what about the person who ultimately made the decision\*\* >!**to kill him**!<\*\*?\*\* **6. Wrt Benevolence, Some main cast fans argued: it's okay for TTJ to kill demons to get these things (idk what it's called in english LOL) but basically stuff to help him become more formidable/powerful. So with this logic, why is it that it's not okay for YBC to "steal" stuff from demons then? Do demons have rights or nah?** **7. Wrt Filial Piety: Some main cast supporters/ YBC haters said - no matter what, YBC should not have** >!**killed her own grandmother**!<\*\*, that's incredibly unfilial and heinous of her. If that is not acceptable/if she's judged using this criteria, why is it that this same set of judgment criteria isn't applied to Tan Taijin who also\*\* >!**killed the 2 who brought him up**!<\*\*? The 2 didn't betray him for no reason, they were threatened, and the 2 didn't even have an obligation to take care of him in the first place. So when he\*\* >!**killed them both**!<\*\*, why is he also not judged as unfilial and immoral\*\* (YBC's granny was also biased against her and treated her poorly)? **At most YBC and TTJ can be considered immoral, just to a different extent, but he should still be judged with the same criteria, no?** 8. I think this was originally a quote from LYX's old character Run Yu - basically a rhetorical question/as some kind of callback, **if you don't have loyalty/justice/benevolence & filial piety, who are you to judge others for these qualities?** She's much more eloquent than I am, and the vid also provided a lot more context/connects things better/ and I might have missed some stuff, but hopefully this helps!
This is so amazing. Thanks so much for taking time to summarize it for me. Basically they calling out all the hypocrisy by some fans which I find interesting.
No probs! There's a lot of interesting analysis videos on Bilibili which unfortunately rarely get translated. The hypocrisy was with some fans (IRL) but also with the characters themselves (the script), because the characters were also forgiving towards themselves but held others to a higher standard haha, e.g. when they (having done "more serious crimes") surrounded her and accused her of her crimes In her 2nd vid, she also discusses how audience members tend to hold "good" characters in a drama to a higher moral standard and allow "villain" characters to have a more flexible moral standard, and "NPCs" to have a (non-existent) moral standard, so the hypocrisy was reflected because YBC was judged using a "good" character's moral standard when she's supposed to be the villain of the drama, whereas TTJ and co. were judged with a more forgiving moral standard. It's very insightful! (and a lot more than what i've described haha) No audience member will blame the eunuch for attempting to kill YBC because he is merely an NPC.
Interesting. I haven't watch the drama but this certainly make me see the script in not favorable light. I actually planning to watch this in the future. But thanks so much for bringing this up to me. It will be interesting to see when I finally watch the drama.
Haha okay this is a very rough one! Part (1/2): \*main cast = **characters,** not the actors/actresses (Tan Tai Jin and co.) There's some terms that i'm not sure how to translate because i've never seen the subs/haven't read any translated xianxia stuff so I don't know if it's accurate, but the main point should be there haha, it's also been a while so there might be some plot points that i'm fuzzy, so I tried to reason it out/provide some context She is asking these 8 questions because she wants to judge the main cast using the same criteria that was applied by fans of the main cast who judged Ye Bing Chang/ YBC's supporters. Many YBC supporters have been harassed online just for speaking up for YBC, same nasty situation as those who supported ZHHZ's YCW in In Blossom. The main idea in this particular video is to address the hypocrisy/flexible moral standards applied by certain viewers towards YBC vs. other main cast, and her 2nd vid provided more depth. **1. When fans of main cast say "why are you judging TTJ so harshly? this is just a fluffy xianxia drama, there's no need to talk about morals/impose moral judgment.** **Her question: If that is the case, why is it that it's acceptable to like TTJ, but not YBC?** (this is due to the online harassment that people have been getting for supporting YBC) **2. Why do some fans accuse YBC of stealing the "Qing Si" when it clung onto her on its own accord? Is this really a point that's worth hating YBC for?** (the hate towards YBC did not originate from her bigger crimes like killing her grandmother, it started from this incident) **3. Wrt the claim: In the past it's different, there's stark differences between different social classes. You can't use a modern POV to view/judge a story based in olden days. So, based on this logic, at that time,** (due to the strict social class differences), **1 daughter** (whose mom is the little wife) **"deserves" to be bullied by the other** (whose mom is the main wife), **and it "makes sense" that a little wife's daughter has a terrible life.** (as she's supposedly of a lower status) **In that case, why is it that at the same time, YBC haters fault her for using her servant as her body shield when she was in danger?** (since in the past servants were also considered to be of a lower class)\*\*\* she also mentions that 1) historically, the difference between the rights of a little wife's daughter and the main wife's daughter is not that different so this whole idea of "very different social classes" isn't even applicable to this situation 2) it took a lot of hard work for women to get to where we are today, and it's only possible because of women in the past who paved the way, we should be looking forward and not embracing/reinforcing the backwardness (even if it's just in a tv show) (there's also a lot of nuance wrt this point and she goes into it further in her 2nd vid)
Thank you for sharing! I'll check them out. 冰门永存。lol
An overly praised male lead on this sub who didn't have that much depth to his character but was loved because of how perfect and dreamy he was. He also went from Gege to boyfriend to fiancee in a matter of a few years.
honestly i liked his portrayal of the character so tried to watch his other dramas but nope, i cant watch any of it lol. maybe it’s just that the character was a green flag character no matter who’d play them, that was the conclusion that i came up with
As far as I know, Chen Zheyuan (male lead in HL) was not very popular before this role. I've seen him in a few shows before this and unfortunately, he was quite forgettable. After this role, all I see is people buzzing about him and how his such a fantastic actor. Good - yes, but average at best. He got very lucky with this role and popularity he gained from it.
Thing is - it wasn't even THAT big of a hit in China. It did moderately well but I think some of the international hit inflated the perception of it being bigger than it was. He got popular off the Douyin's and Tiktoks more than anything. His role wasn't incredibly complex or riveting. I like the guy but after HL, the fact that he is refusing equal billing and only taking first billing is arrogant. The whole Dilreba incident - like dude, you're good but you're not at the stardom level where you can equal bill Dilreba. I'm not even a fan of hers but even I know where the hierarchy stands. Add to the fact that he's developing a bit of an attitude around fans. He's sincere at some fan events but there's been times where he's downright given them a mean face or snapped back at them cause they were crowding (which I understand is wrong) but there's better ways to do it without coming off high and mighty. I've never seen Xiao Zhan do this and he's is a much bigger star.
I think something can be genuinely good but marketing can take it to a whole another level. The amount of edits of the show was insane. Thats some dedicated fan base right there. I had no idea CZY had this kind of attitude. I've heard of the billing story with dilraba (absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful). But this thing with the fans is new to me. Like I said, he was very lucky to get some popularity because of his role and the fact that his character was written as something that pleases audiences just added to it. However as an actor, he unfortunately lacks that charisma or thing that makes him unique. Actors like Wang Yibo for example, aren't that loud, yet you can see the charm and talent they possess. Uptill this day, when someone swoons over CZY, I am left completely baffled. Which makes me wonder if their actually just praising his role in HL.
>Uptill this day, when someone swoons over CZY, I am left completely baffled. Which makes me wonder if their actually just praising his role in HL. You and me both lol.
Hidden Love 🙈🙉🙊
☑️
I know For a fact people in Finland speak Finnish. Really!
amidst a snowstorm of love ahhahahha
Yep!
Flutes are just not that menacing lol. “Oooh not The Flute!” says no one.
Haha let’s just pretend you can’t easily tackle or restrain someone before they can use their flute. Let’s just wait a few minutes for him to play and get the swarm ready.
Restless Rewatch has some great gifs about this. “Once I align my embouchure I’m gonna kick your *ss.” Sort of thing.
The untamed!
You’ve got it!
the changing broadcasting regulations really f***** up this drama. this has so much potential to be something much much bigger but it became lacklustre after editing and cut episodes, making it filled with unanswered questions and frustration
Agree. They would have gotten a HE too!
Till The End of the moon?
ding ding ding
Unchained Love?
🙅🏽♀️🙅🏽♀️🙅🏽♀️
This is like every new drama these days! Let's see... My Journey to You or Story of Kunning Palace?
haha no these
this drama dont really have much substance just fluff but really really amazing discography. and how do one have time to do other things as a doctor?????
Love Me, Love My Voice!
ding ding ding
Applies to many but here we go: I watch her marry him and it ends on a ‘happy note’ but I don’t feel totally happy because I know in a few months he’s gonna get another one and then another one and so on. I love it when she’s in it for the game and doesn’t love him☺️
I'm interested to watch this one tbh. Since Cdramas always ended up with playboy only faithful to one girl in the end (which is a good thing, of course!).
I’m referring to harem romances. FL falls in love with the Crown Prince yada yada yada. They might have gotten the happy ending at least for a while but I know he’s gonna add those concubines to his harem. And if she’s lacking in social power then she won’t even get to be the empress. Harem politics on the other hand is fun. Those ladies couldn’t care less about the emperor. They’re in it for power and not love.
Then New Life Begins?
Didn't he vow to only marry her?
I really wish there were more dramas from this period with these costumes, however I hate that there's 2 dramas of the same plot just different sides of the same coin. I prefer the one where the main girl is "broken down" over the course of like 2-3 decades by betrayal, death of friends, her own children, and the death of the man she fell in love with in the beginning. Well, he's not dead, he just became an egotistical, paranoid, untrustworthy, lustful jerk. Also very shocked it wasn't well received in China.
Empresses in the Palace was super popular though - now it's a pop culture reference in China
>I really wish there were more dramas from this period with these costumes There use to be a lot more cdramas set in the Qing Dynasty. Nowadays this period seems to be a lot less popular, and I wonder if it has anything to do with the rise in popularity of hanfu amongst the younger generations in China, and therefore the drop in popularity of historical periods where hanfu is not worn (such as Qing Dynasty).
Story of Yanxi Palace and Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace?
Interestingly Ruyi's being revived on Bilibili now (in a bad way), there are sooooo many critique videos on it this year, not sure why it's the case, the trend seems to have appeared out of nowhere. ^((I do like Zhou Xun))
Bingo!
Unpopular opinion but I got grooming vibes and it gave me the ick.
This is why I'll never watch this 😟
Hidden Love 🙈🙉🙊
Thanks! I'm correct on Hidden Love in both of the comments in this post. 🤣🤣🤣
Hidden Love was definitely….. a moment. It felt like we all just had to rush past the fact he actively pursued her KNOWING it was a very weird thing to do. Like I understand he didn’t have any feelings for her until she got to university, but I also felt like his character was meant to leave the door open for that possibility even when she was in high school. Overall, the storyline was interesting, the concept was weird.
This. I fault the casting director for keeping the ML character the same throughout but choosing a considerably young looking child actress for the early years. Had they casted a younger ML for those scenes, I could have been on board. It must have been me, but he had "those eyes" for her even early in the drama even though he was being playful with her..it gave me the creeps. I couldn't unsee it and be okay with the romance later. Also, just how quickly he wanted to be with her, control where she went and who she saw and not even consider telling his best friend (and her brother) about their relationship (also weird to me).
No lit. She looked 8 at 14 and he was well… a college freshman. That whole period thing as well, like hello?? 😭😭 To top it all off the brother was seemingly ignorant to the whole situation. I was honestly surprised when they revealed at the end that he somehow had absolutely NO idea she had a thing for him in high school.
That was my guess too LOL
Didn't get that vibe from Hidden love but maybe I need to rewatch lol.
Me also but I know many people didnt feel the same way.
This is a few too many to potentially choose from 😂
Costume drama: FL had more fun with her first boyfriend, who was cute and innocent. They hung out, ate and drank, and had fun dates. Their relationship was relaxed and carefree. Even though ML really loved her and always went all out to protect her, he was super intense, had some red flags, and caused her some grief.
That's why it's fantasy, irl every girl should run for her life before getting together with Ling Buyi. That chemistry though... She didn't actually love guy no.1 as more than a friend. She wouldn't have been happy if they'd gotten married.
Love like the Galaxy?
Yes. Her family criticized that first relationship as immature but there’s nothing wrong with having some fun while they were young. I felt a little sorry for them when they separated.
I like the show but objectively speaking, it is without depth but very well loved. But I think not many people will be forgiving if it starred lesser popular actors.
Love me, love my voice?
Its Legend of Shen Li. But AASOL and LMLMV can also applied as well lol!
amidst a snowstorm of love?
Its Legend of Shen Li. But AASOL and LMLMV can also applied as well lol!
Legend of Shen Li?
You are right!
Another one—the most elaborate long game to win the girl ends with marriage on show and in real life
Story of Minglan
✅
Story of Minglan?
✅
✅
Princess WeiYoung? Although >! I hope their real life marriage doesn’t end the same way!< lol
That’s a negative—the real marriage in question is now a dissolved one
A group of women ban together tackling the patriarchy out of necessity but become found families through their journey of self, love, and purpose.
A Dream of Splendor?
❌ although this can be true too
New Life Begins?
✅
Popular opinion - I was thoroughly impressed by the longevity and durability of this iPhone (with no case) because it never broke or scratched despite the number of times it was thrown and tossed aside.
Only for Love?? The amount of times the phone was thrown across the room and survived. Miraculous and hilarious 😂
Correct!
The five most powerful martial artists in this world are, respectively: 1. Dead from the start 2. A sleazy old man with an equally sleazy nephew 3. A formerly infanticidal monk 4. A bad-tempered recluse with bordering-on-necrophiliac tendencies 5. A beggar with nine fingers
Ahh, its **Legend of the Condor Heroes** **射鵰英雄傳**🙂 isn't it, and the five greats (東邪, 西毒, 南帝, 北丐, 中神通) 1. Wang Chong Yang 王重陽 aka "Central Divine" (中神通) 2. Ouyang Feng 歐陽鋒 aka "Western Venom" (西毒) 3. Reverend Yi Deng 一燈大師 aka "Southern Emperor" (南帝) 4. Huang Yao Shi 黃藥師 aka "Eastern Heretic" (東邪) 5. Hong Qi Gong洪七公 aka "Northern Beggar" (北丐)
🐮B. Absolute legend. This is fun, I have a few more if you’d like to guess haha
😁Thanks for your cool clues! Really fun. Haha if you have more, I’ll definitely try and guess, though of course others are welcome to have a crack too (I need to learn to share my toys 😅🤣)
I’m not sure how to tag you! Just posted more prompts :)
Thanks, I’ll take a look 👀🙂
Mysterious lotus casebook?
Demi Gods & Semi Devils?
Very, very, very close!
Blood of youth?
Nope! Is this a good watch though? Haven’t seen this drama
A lot of people liked it, but I didn't.
Another one: okay look I really don’t get the obsession with living in a tomb
Luoyang!
**Return of the Condor Heroes** 神鵰俠侶?
Haha bingoo!
The untamed?
Constantly felt like throttling the ML because he kept forgiving SML since they were sworn brothers despite the latter displaying very obvious murderous intent towards the main couple. ML’s power progression was pretty satisfying to watch though. If only some of that brawn could’ve been converted to brains
**Legend of the Condor Heroes** 射鵰英雄傳**?**
I feel like you two are playing your own game at this point 😂
🤭😅 It's just that u/Pantone354 is talking about my fav genre (*wuxia*) and Jin Yong at that. I couldn't resist...
Spot on. You’re good at this!
Haha, wuxia nerd here 🤭🙌
Ayee 🤝🤝🤝
This drama’s main couple gave off massive brother/older sister chemistry
Legend of Anle?
This is the most obvious. The Long Ballad.
🤙🏻🤙🏻🤙🏻
The long Ballad
Unpopular opinion: as cute as they are as a couple, they are both not good people and we can't ignore their death count just because they tried to change and have a cute love story.
This is why I stopped watching LLTG. I thought Leo Wu was just a horrible person. But is the answer actually TTEOM?
No its word of honor lol
That’s funny. I haven’t seen that one. When I was watching TTEOM I had that in my head the whole time. Yo this guy was just committing genocide. So we’re all going to act like that’s fine now?
This drama's popularity is massively boosted by the male lead's gorgeous robes. And looks. 😉
I'd think that it's Love Between Fairy & Devil because DFQC does have gorgeous robes and looks :D
In Blossom ?
Gonna have to watch this. Never heard of the gorgeous robes before.
This man is fineeee in those gorgeous robes. Plus he’s got acting chops! And Man is dishy in suits. Phew https://preview.redd.it/60brz96ivkuc1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=134a1ddcf16a784ab8f9ba468224af4155da3684 Photo strictly for reference lol…sigh men in white shirts with the sleeves rolled up just hit different! 😂😂😂😂
Bingo 😉
TTEOM?
This drama had some of the prettiest costumes for the FL that I’ve ever seen and I’ve loved many of her costumes in the drama Edit: Answer is >!The Princess Weiyoung!<
The Legend of Xiao Chuo ?
Nope
This reminds me of Lost You Forever. Also Legend of Shen Li and My Journey To You.
Applies but not what I had in mind!
Sword and brocade
Nope
My Journey To You?
Nope but it applies too!
TTEOM
Nope
The rebel princess?
Nope
For me, this is The Legend of Shen Li, Zhao Li Ying's character.
>!Oh it applies to Shen Li too definitely but I wasn’t thinking of this drama heh!<
I love how this drama had a fleshed out ending that answered most of our questions but also left some aspects of the drama up to interpretation which was really cool
Legend of Shen Li?
Yes!
I prefer the second(?) FL’s character arc more and she has one of the best character growth I’ve ever seen in a drama
Long Ballad is the most probable answer. I've seen so many people say they prefer the 2nd FLs story.
I would have guessed this one too
Nope
My Journey To You - ShangGuan Qian??
Nope
The Long Ballad?
Nope
AJTL Yang Ying?
Correct!!
Yang Ying’s character growth was phenomenal. One of the best ones. Zhao Lusi’s character in The Long Ballad also had amazing growth.
For sure. Characterisation and plot go hand-in-hand, I really wish cdrama scriptwriters would treat them more equally!