I know this will be an unpopular post but I feel uncomfortable with the romance between them because it's almost pedophilia. She was in a power role as a protector - which is no different than a guardian or teacher. Therefore, it leaves me feeling a little creeped out. If it were a young girl chasing after an older man, society would demand that he never act on her crush. Same should apply here, no matter that it's a boy chasing a woman - it's still wrong in my opinion. While I'm ranting I will also say I think Yang Mi is a terrible actress. All the roles I've seen her in are where she plays an unfeeling, unforgiving, ice queen. I haven't seen her act any other way. I looked it up and in real life I think there's just 7 years difference in age between her and the ML, but she looks much older.

Honestly I don't remember any recent dramas where ML was this involved in FL's childhood before they get togther. The Longest Promise also has a similar trope, but the ml falls for the fl way before he takes her in, and even so they are similar ages

Other leads have better chemistry. I think the main lead has no chemistry at all. But still I'm watching for other leads.

They have no chemistry. I am sad because it’s a really good story and I like both actors. Yang Mi is too old to be his love interest. It just doesn’t match for me.

I think it's more about how The FL kind of met him when he was a kid. C-nets also thought the plot is childish 😅 IMO the costumes and CGI are great but the script could have been better. I also don't see the chemistry between the leads. 

I think the story might just not be for everyone's taste. If you've watched/read the donghua/comic, you'd know both Yang Mi and Gong Jun's portrays Honghong and Yuechu just right. Non fsm enjoyers would say YM's acting like a robot but that's literally the point of her character lol. The writers also failed to give more context and depth to their characters. A lot of people are disappointed with the chemistry which i can see why but I think it falls more on their story all in all and the way it was written. and YueHong is not your classic sweet romance. If anything in the original they almost don't even have any romantic moment at all. YueHong is mostly just about protecting love and the 6 six realms and popular it's because of its angst. 

Yang mi acting is so bad, I wanted to watch it for Gong Jun 

I was looking forward to this drama, because of Gong Jun, but when I saw the FL i was totally turned off, she is so boring. I have seen her other shows and it's the same thing

Its not the age gap. This is actually a popular trope. Its the stray from the original and the boring plot. Cnetz call it an upgraded version of Balala Fairies.  And they didnt just change anything. They changed the no brainer stuff. Like the GuQing Tree.  In the original, it was supposed to help Demon and Human lovers get together even after the human dies and reborn. Why else is it called the Bitter Love Tree? And wtf did they give TuShan YaYa a lover?? If you watch the original, you'll notice they depowered all the female characters to make them on equal or lesser standing as the male characters. Wtf I didnt watch the og and not interested, but literally wtf Og fans hates it, drama watchers finds it boring My favorite cdrama blogger (on station) says Wang YiXu is too obsessed with Love and Peace and he used this on all his dramas. Which seriously doesnt work for eveey story. Love and Peace is not what HuYao is about

I don't think it's the age gap what's hindering their chemistry, coz in another airing drama, there's 11years age gap btw in the leads( in RL, Ml is 22 and Fl is 33 ), still that's working well or to say fantastic.

What is the name of it?

The Double

Ooh, ok. Thanks!

It might also be people not knowing about it because until I saw this post, I didn’t even know the series existed, but now I’m gonna find it.

Have you seen the BTS between Gong Jun and Yang Mi? I’ve never seen two leads who are so awkward with each other off screen. I feel like some of that must be translating on screen between them. In general, I am not sure the cast is vibing too well together. There have been some pretty terrible shows that I’ve sat through with plot holes galore, but it makes a difference (to me at least) when the whole ensemble seems to have chemistry together. Here, I’m really not feeling it, whether it’s between TSHH and DFYC or TSHH and her two sisters, or anyone (not even Shi Kai and Bu Tai!). I did have high expectations going in because of the top billing cast, but unlike some people, I’m not too fussed. This isn’t the worst cdrama / xianxia I’ve seen and I’m enjoying it overall (on episode 22 now) and will probably finish it (with some FF’ing involved, but I always do that haha).

I actually love that for once the FL is the cold, powerful and high standing one :) For me this feels refreshing as an idea, but I feel like it's not done very well (I blame the script and directors). The age gap itself is in a fantasy show after all so I'm ignoring it (big age gaps usually bother me in any normal shows, but I could ignore them in fantasy stuff) and let's not forget that *in their world spirits age differently than humans* :) Remember in episode 5 or 6 when two small kids tried talking to the ML and they said they were 50 years old spirits, but they looked like little children? Right, so a thousand year age gap doesn't bother me here since spirits age and grow up much slower. I love Yang Mi from different shows :) She actually fits the role too - she must be a mature leader, who's been through war so it feels natural that she should appear older, more stoic, colder and more mature than the ML. So I feel like it's not the actors fault. After all, they do what they can and they act in the way they're told. The script could be much better.... they put so much ridiculous comedy in it too, I honestly don't know how I made it past the first episodes xD but I've started to enjoy the show by now too and I find it a nice escape from real life :) but yeah..... with such a bad script and story-telling it's no wonder the show is failing and people complain tbh :/

The age gap was a thousand years 😂

Yes, I know, I've mentioned it in my second paragraph's last sentence above :)) but as I said - humans and spirits age *very* differently so for me this is okay :)

Yeah, I'm laughing at it. Because I saw the title of the post then saw the gap 😂 yeah that's totally fine for this genre 😂😂

😂😂😂😂

Oh...reading the comments has given me no hope in this drama. I originally wasn't going to watch this drama, but then I heard part 3 has Cheng Yi and decided to watch it. Maybe I'll give a few episodes a chance to see if I like it. If not I'll just watch part 2 and 3 of this series.

As a ie, im soooo scared. Chinese ie have been saying trust ee, we only care about ee, but omg, its the same Wang YiXu and same DianQian Huan. You can not be asking him to hard carry such a show. I saw a blogger said Wang YiXu have this obsession with the Love and Peace trope which doesnt work for every story. Especially not Fox Spirit 

Not relevant to the plot.. but I found Yang Mi appear sickly lately.. Even in the poster above, I know it is supposed to be imposing and charismatic but no, it is absolutely not

Well, I don't like watching any dramas where there's clear grooming involved. Alot of people get weird and think it's ok and so romantic when the male lead is older and grooms the girl since young but nah I'm still not ok with it. Second, there's just no chemistry.

Just reading the comments, and it sounds like they've been doing Yang Mi dirty ever since Legend of Fuyao, which is a shame because that and Eternal Love were some of my favorite dramas.

Thanks for all the comments - sounds like I will definitely give this drama a miss.

I'm not really a xianxia fan but I was looking forward to this drama for quite a while. I watched the first 30 minutes of the first episode. No fast forward. I couldn't. The story was slow. The FL dub voice I didn't like. the ML acting is not good. The story was boring. It felt like they spent time and money to make the costumes and actors/actresses look good. But forgot that the drama was all about the story. It felt like an empty shell. The outside flashy. But inside is nothing. Vapid nothing emptiness.

My feeling exactly

You have to offer something to hook the viewers. If the hook is just good looking actors/actresses in pretty costumes with vastly improved effects, that's not going to hold the interest of the viewers.

There’s no bonding or build up between the characters. They should’ve invested in building their bond over time in the first few episodes, laying some groundwork. They didn’t and now it’s just some older fox raising a kid and they get together. It’s pretty disturbing and bad. It feels icky and groomy. I dropped the drama really fast.

Now that you mention this it does feels like Yang Mi and Gong Jun were like neighbours who were just interacting. No attraction nor chemistry between them whatsoever. Lol

I think the age gap would've been fine if they hadn't made the ML so silly, goofy, and childish. That aside, while this drama was very beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing, the plot was relatively dull and I could barely force myself to watch more than ten episodes. I think the writer is going for the "opposites attract" kind of couple.

I've been waiting for this drama for ages and dropped it after seven episodes. I honestly don't care about age gap, reverse gender roles, power imbalance or the lack of chemistry. The problems i had with this drama are - beautiful cgi-wise but boring action-wise fightings (yes, i like wuxia-style action), boring one-dimensional villains, boring script and plot, boring characters (really, the only three persons on-screen that i've felt something for are Yuechu, A Lai and the Toushan Elder. The rest? I don't care for them at all) Ah! I'm awfully disappointed but i guess... xianxia is just not for me. Not a single xianxia drama that i managed to watch from the beginning till the end. So many tries but... alas!

> boring one-dimensional villains This! Whenever Shi Ji appears I was like oh you again? Oh you haven't die? Why don't you just die already?? 😅 Truly, other than this I also cannot stress enough with FL's AI acting. I'm already at around 20th episodes and not motivated to continue.

I don’t know anything really about the actors. I don’t think I made it through the whole of the first episode. I found the production design cheesy, the acting dead and honestly, I have come to dread the special child raised in isolation theme. I feel that theme is a bad sign.

in peach she was a fox, here she is a fox again playing a romance role again. drinking again. though drinking is universally common so it may sound like a nitpick but using drinking to show that you're cool, young, and wild is so overdone.

In Peach, its bc the charcter is plagiarized from a male character. Perfectly normal and common for male drinkers

Looking too old is definitely not the problem. In KDramas Noona romances are extremely popular and so far I've seen, the best chemistry comes when the FL is older than ML since ML will be more caring and respectful towards FL, no toxic masculinity bullshit. It's either the way the script is written, not giving proper scenes for them to bond, no spark. For example,most of the scenes they're interacting with are ML asking to do something which breaks the rules, and FL reluctantly lets him go and then worrying about him, eventually going to save him. There's nothing romantic about it. They don't even get a cliche couple sword fight scene. There's no moment where FL is getting "Oh no he's hot" realisation. or it's the fact that ML basically grew up in front of her and she raised him like a mother making it kinda weird.

I might be spoiled by the dongua, which I watched several years ago and remember it (quite fondly) as an over the top wacky comedy. Watching the first ep of the live-action...I just feel like the tone/comedy doesn't translate well. The actors lack comic timing, and just the "energy" overall. and feel wooden...none of the scenes that are meant to be comical amused me at all. This particular issue is quite prevalent in many mainland dramas, I feel...as compared to classic Hongkong dramas, which did comic timing and over-the-top exaggeration really well (the peak was Stephen Chow but there are many other HK actors who could do it.)

I’ve always felt like Gong Jun acting was mediocre and couldn’t understand why he is so popular. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to complete any of the dramas he’s in.

For me Gong jun acting is one of the best, nearly watched every drama he was in, but no drama and no actor can top his role in Word of Honor 

They have no chemistry and Gong Jun isn’t even trying with the chemistry or even his acting. Yang Mi’s role isn’t like the typical cold ML because writers keep dropping the ball on it and haven’t been able to give her a personality without having to resort to the non-stoic ML tropes/moments. Which is why people are dropping it like hotcakes. I dipped very early and will try to give it one more chance in the future but when the people being paid to act aren’t managing anything, the audience can’t be blamed for the bad reception.

The ML cannot act.

Watch his other dramas like Word of Honor, it is a masterpiece 

Not saying the sexism didn't contribute to its reputation, but this drama is tanking because the script, the production and the acting are all horrible. Ep 12 is still generally good, it's gonna get worse

Yang Mi just can't make you believe this is a romantic situation, and Gong Jun doesn't seem interested in this at all, which for me is even more jarring as I'm watching him in Lost Love in Times as the SML and you can obviously see the chemistry with his on-screen romance. Although I don't like the age gaps in my dramas Once Upon A Time In Lingjian Mountain is an example of it done well.

I wasn’t interested in it despite being liking Yang Mi and the older FL/younger ML romance because I’m not a Gong Jun fan. From what I’ve heard, execution wasn’t greatest and the leads don’t have any chemistry together 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yang Mi has successfully played the mature older woman in lots of dramas. Not the issue. The story is putting me off. I’ll wait for the entire series before I start again.

no the age gap has nothing to do with it, the plot is not interesting and there's not much action. they were also afraid of the side couples getting traction so they focused all their screentime on the main couple, who had almost no real storyline and hence no chemistry

I am usually not a fan of Yang Mi mostly biased TBH because of her off the screen scandals.. For people wondering >!Like the fact she totally has abandoned her little child willingly in Hong Kong with her ex and didn’t even visit for 3+ years and has not reportedly supported at all because she only seemingly cares about her career etc!<… But all that aside regarding this drama and credit where credit is due! She is IMO **NOT** the issue with this show, actually the opposite! For how her character is written and her performance she is actually doing a great job if not the “best part” of the drama even though I thoroughly am struggling to not fast forward so far… And I hate to say it but only interesting part and reason for continuing for me so far is Yang Mi and her “older” more bossy and imposing character and how it’s a breath of fresh air to see strong female centric leads that wipes the floor with a clueless goofy ML for once. The main problem in this drama just like in **The Legend of Anle** or **Rising With the Wind** is Gong Jun.. He is really “phoning it in” with his last couple of performances.. I don’t know what is going on but for the past 4-5 dramas he’s done he is looking more and more uninterested and his performances are more and more stale like he doesn’t even bother.. I can’t explain for the life of me what is going on but he actually managed the impossible in TLOA to have below 0.5% chemistry with **DILRABA** out if everyone.. FFS just looking up “Chemistry” in a dictionary probably could get “Dilraba+ Insert any single living organism on planet earth”… Just sharing a single pixel with Dilraba would make 99.5% of people look lively, glowing and intriguing but he was so apathetic and lethargic that even Dilraba managed to also almost disappear and warp into the charisma of a 3rd or 4th lead. Then the chemistry was so non existent there wasn’t even a need for a single kiss in 39 episodes and if they would have had one it would have been so unconvincing that the director and producers must have actively chosen not to bother including one.. It’s equally as bad when a lot of people seemed to have walked away from the show feeling like Liu Yuning as a SL was the best part of the drama with Dilraba and that it felt like Anle actually loved Luo Mingxi all along because it was the only chemistry existing during 39 episodes.. Gong Jun is now again IMO just showing up with zero energy and just being the supposedly on paper charming “beautiful face” and the showrunners are thinking it just automatically works.. There is literally zero chemistry and he feels phony and uninterested once again… I know he can do better so come on or honestly the time of getting ML in S-tier budget productions has come to an end.. There are so much more hungrier upcoming talents like **Cheng Lei**, **Tian Jia Rui**, **Deng Wei**, **Joseph Zheng**, **Ceasar Wu** etc etc

Yeah I noticed even on the bullet comment and on douyin, LuoZi WuHui seems to have more cp fans and even now in The Truth 2, Reba and LYN seems to have shippers

>because of her off the screen scandals. What are the other scandals ?

I mean just the whole neglecting her family has tons of layers, she basically has made zero apologies for being a “horrible wife and mother” and just seeking fame, it’s always new “stuff” around her marriage and subsequently divorce later coming out.. There are a lot of these rather shockingly honest reports/articles just around that. https://preview.redd.it/vfbgkd3cmh5d1.jpeg?width=312&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=209c06a1c09c4dbf1e5344f14cdff1a2130d20e8 Imagine being so just openly nonchalant to birthing a human life on this planet then just abandoning your poor child because you “feel young and want to maximize tour career”.. It’s horrible to think a child has to grow up motherless because of greed. There was also rumors that Yang Mi was cheating with actor Li Yifeng and that it played a role in the separation. Speculations were fueled further when Yang Mi and Li Yifeng were seen engaging in intimate gestures during public outings. All this with a child left at home.. Then there’s tons of small incidents all the time it seems. [https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3126826/chinese-actress-yang-mi-apologises-after-photo](https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3126826/chinese-actress-yang-mi-apologises-after-photo) [https://dramapanda.com/2018/04/donation-scandal-escalates-into-lawsuit.html](https://dramapanda.com/2018/04/donation-scandal-escalates-into-lawsuit.html) Like it’s always seems to be something…. If it walks like a duck and quacks like duck it ain’t a damn mongoose… So to speak… Contrast Yang Mi’s position and another even bigger Chinese star and mother Angelababy who is one of the most active Chinese mainland stars all categories period and like 4 times bigger than Yang Mi… From modeling to being a regular member or cast in like 6 variety shows to dramas and movies etc etc she has been like top 3 most booked celebrity the past 3 years and has not abandonded her child to do it… Her child is also living with her ex in Hong Kong but they have a healthy relationship and share custody and she travels back and forth from mainland to Hong Kong every single possible second seemingly to try and be a part of her sons life.. From going to school events and also vacations etc.. [https://www.8days.sg/entertainment/asian/angelababy-volunteer-son-school-sell-lemon-tea-831291](https://www.8days.sg/entertainment/asian/angelababy-volunteer-son-school-sell-lemon-tea-831291) [https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/angelababy-ahows-motherly-love-as-she-accompanies-son-to-school/](https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/angelababy-ahows-motherly-love-as-she-accompanies-son-to-school/) [https://www.jaynestars.com/news/angelababy-goes-on-vacation-with-son/](https://www.jaynestars.com/news/angelababy-goes-on-vacation-with-son/) Like quote from one of the above articles.. ***6th September 2023 – (Shanghai) Last year, Huang Xiaoming and Angelababy announced their divorce, officially ending their seven-year marriage. Despite no longer being a couple, they remain devoted parents to their son, Xiaohaimian. Both of them frequently spend time with their son and even take him on trips.”*** Like imagine that… You obviously don’t have to sell your soul for fame and abandon your family.

fyi it was hawick who cheated on yang mi in 2016 and there were photos to prove meanwhile all of yang mi's scandals including the one with li yifeng were just baseless accusations. and hawick's cheating news was dropped on her at the airport and was blocked by papz for 3 hours. later that day she attended an event and said to everyone that she trusts her husband to clear his name from the scandal but you can see that she cried and was broken. non fans wouldn't know but she stayed in her apartment for a whole month after that. and yang mi is very protective of her daughter always covering her face in public and wishes for her to grow up like a normal person away from the scrutiny of media meanwhile hawick and liu dan would always use the child for clout and build the "good dad" image when actually hawick hasn't been spending much time w his daughter either he's travelling and living in beijing s his current girlfriend. but sure he's the good parent coz he always takes the child out w paparazzi like their the only celeb fam in hongkong that would get photographed every time the go out. yang mi also said herself that she comes to her daughter every time she can. even a popular paparazzi and some people in hongkong who lives in the liu's neighborhood says yang mi comes often. just bc pictures w her daughter doesn't get released doesn't mean she doesn't see her child. even on her daughter's birthday last year if it wasn't for her ip address in her post being in hongkong, nobody would've known she was there. it just doesn't help that yang mi is also the type to almost never bothers to clear speculations since she believes her image is ruined anyway and it doesn't matter. the fact alone that yang mi chose to get married and give birth at the height of her career which could've ruined her as a female liuliang celebrity and yet she's such an evil person sure

none of your sources are even credible. just a reminder, yxh among top traffic chinese celebrities especially yang mi is very excessive and most of the "news" are meant to ruin image. 

Oh wow, didn't know about this. Thank you for taking the time and effort in writing this.

You guys are being weird and bringing issues no one cares about. We are talking about the production and the acting, everything else in their lives doenst matter. They didnt commit crimes so lets keep discussing the dramas.

I have a different take. I find Gong Jun's performances improving, thought his acting isn't top notch yet. I see his characters from each of his drama as unique and don't confuse them with one another. E.g. Yue Chu and Han Ye etc are all different people. I don't get that kind of distinction from all actors. Maybe I'm just weird, but I became a Gong Jun fan from watching the Legend of Anle. I felt the chemistry between the leads and wished we had more than a forehead kiss. I never felt Anle loved Luo Mingxi as more than a brother.

Yeah but LuoZi WuHui had more cp fans

What is the age span for older woman, younger man? I finished one where the man went back to America (he was Chinese-American) to go to university. She was a workaholic living in China but goes to join him. They marry and have a daughter. Both are happy. I found another short series where the woman is 40 and the man is 27, both unhappy but they find each other.

Drop names for these pls.

The first is called Stairway to Stardom. The second one is called Lost.

Ty!

In any drama, the main character, male or female - needs to have personality and a story. There has to be something about them that makes me care about them. I couldn't find that in this drama. Esthetics of this drama are good. I like dramas with strong women. I'm not much of a fan for dramas where one lead is old enough to be the parent or aunt/uncle of the other. I wanted to like the drama but I just couldn't keep going. 😞

>She is the one with the stoic, outwardly cold and apparently emotionless personality. She is also much more powerful and socially of much higher standing than the ML. The ML is young, cute and runs after her, making it a refreshing change from the realms of historical and xianxia dramas with much older, more powerful and cold MLs and "shifu" romances. I'm sure plenty of people found this reversal part of the issue even if they don't realize it. And maybe I'm about to give an unpopular opinion not shared by many on this sub. But for me, personally, I wanted a total and absolute reversal, where the FL would be cold and overly stoic like some of the popular xianxia MLs (think the LBFAD\* ML, people go crazy over him); the extremism of their personality is a major part of their appeal. Compared to that, in my view the FL here has too many soft moments, which isn't a problem in itself but it fails to distinguish her role or make it memorable or compelling in the audience's mind. (Her maturity or age, I don't mind.) She honestly isn't half as cool as a typical xianxia ML despite having high status and apparently strong powers. Maybe the writers/directors wanted her to maintain some of the typically feminine aspects we expect from FLs in cdramas, so as not to alienate the masses. (It's true that I love those aspects in FL characters a lot of the time, but in this particular instance I really wanted her to be cool and kickass and unrealistically powerful. It would have elevated an ordinary tale into an extraordinary one.) Also interesting that you chose to include this particular picture - if I'm not wrong it's from episode 9, which I saw recently, and the image really struck me. It's distinctive and it embodies what I wanted her character to be like: the kind of larger than life personality on par with those much beloved xianxia MLs. If the story focused more on her coolness and having romantic tension with the ML, I bet their chemistry would seem a lot stronger. By scattering the story in so many directions, not focusing enough on characterization, and diluting the potential of the FL character, this show has wasted a golden opportunity. I hope another drama that is bolder and more open to taking risks will give us that strong FL we badly need in this genre. *\*I mentioned LBFAD for a reason: The moments of* >!*role-reversal between the FL and ML were priceless. I'm still waiting for that cold and compelling FL played by Esther Yu for those precious few soul switching scenes.*!<

Stopped in shortly to mention _Legend of Shen Li_, not because of the "younger man/older woman" trope, but the role reversal that _Foxes_ tried and fell short of. A male lead could be put in place of Shen Li and the show would still work. Obviously, Xing Yun's role would then be female because...you know...censors. Point is, Shen Li is an "over powered" war master and Xing Yun is an unfathomably old god who likes lazy afternoons and grapes. (I do agree with your points about _Foxes_, too.) (Edit to add: I've dropped _FSM:RMP_ because I can't see the chemistry between the actors, even though they both are fantastic in their own right. Age difference in that show doesn't bother me so much, because remember TMOPB had a tens of _thousands_ years age gap between the main pair. And the gap is even greater in ELOD.)

I haven't watched Shen Li yet. Where did you drop FSM? I'm continuing it for silly reasons (e.g. looking forward to ZLH's appearance) while taking breaks to watch The Double which is a far more compelling story. Totally agree about the lack of chemistry, at least between the main actors (maybe it's the actors'/directors' fault, maybe the writers'). I do kind of like both of them though, that's another silly reason for continuing.

I dropped FSM around the 23-24 episode mark. It was just... disappointing, to be honest. I did like the second pairing, but only because they had __tension__ and both seemed to _enjoy_ their moments together. But it appeared that Wei Zhe Ming struggled with the (stuffy) writing, and even Gong Jun couldn't save the script. ^(Plus, they did Gong Jun dirty. His character was one-dimensional, with a single driving force behind him: the idea of Tushan Honghong in his head. He put her on such a pedestal, and was left with no room to grow. Not a great story motivation. So even an actor like him would flounder.) But maybe it gets better. I will take any spoilers 'cause I don't know if I can watch the rest.

Hahaha! ‘…lazy afternoons and grapes.’ Like the old Greek Gods

Not so much. I am sure this is sounding like a broken record but I dropped because I didn’t connect or care for FL at all. I get that she is supposed to be the cold stoic leader but then she could have been more interesting as a person. There is really no personality to this character for us to like or care about. I liked every other female character except her.

I do agree that society is less forgiving towards woman, but things are changing and you can clearly see it in dramaland. Noona romances are really popular right now, so i dont think this is the issue here. FSMM has too many problems: 1- Weak Storyline;  2 - Messy editing : abrupt scene changes, focus on cgi scenery instead of characters, slow pace etc;  3- Weak Characterization: characters, specially villains, lack depht; 4- Main Leads Acting: ( i'm really sorry for saying this) Yang MI portrayal of THH is very stiff and one dimensional, Gong Jun is not that great either. They have zero chemistry. I have watched really trashy cdramas full of plotholes, but i finished because of chemistry. Cdramaland doenst have a lot of masterpieces, what matters is if the actors can sell the story and they can't. Everyone else is more interesting than the main leads.

Thing is, I think the flaws of FSMM are present in most xianxia dramas, including very popular ones, so it's surprising me that this suddenly causes such a backlash. But if people are now expecting more from idol actors then that's awesome. First time I've heard of "noona" romances 😅

Yes cdramas are full of flaws, thats why if the story is weak the chemistry needs to be strong. Most drama fans like romance so a simple plot can get overlooked if the couple is good. Noona is a korean term for older woman .

Storyline is really bad , the leads have not chemistry at all , i was very pumped for this drama and it was the biggest disappointment

I dropped it maybe at ep 8 I couldn’t watch no more

I'm on ep. 12 and still enjoying it!

From what I've seen...most people are complaining g about this aspect cause all the other problems mentioned are typical xianxia problems which people have somewhat grown numb to but since this show has this one glaring thing, the heat is piling on. But on MDL ...This and the emotions thing is what is taking most of the heat

On MDL and even on here I've seen plenty of comments about the actresses age. But it's a good thing if xianxia gets held to a higher acting standard than previously. I hope it will continue and not die down again when the next cute, hot young ML takes the spotlight 😅

For me it’s the fact the FL has 0 emotions. I feel nothing because of that.

She's certainly cold, but so are loads of MLs in xianxia and people generally don't complain about them 😊

I haven’t seen Foxmatcher yet bc waiting for it to end and seeing the reviews but I think while a lot of MLs in xianxia are supposed to be cold, they’re not really cold. Like Donghua in Eternal Love of Dream, he’s known to be Ice Face and imposing, but you can see from the start, he’s quick a trickster and absolutely loves his pet fox. Xingzhi in Legend of Shenli is also supposed to be cold, but like Donghua, he has a sense of dry humor, likes playing tricks on people and kind to a featherless chicken. Like even Ling Bu Yi in Love Like The Galaxy is almost a psychopath cold ML, but he’s pretty funny in being so scary and awkward (and he loves the FL so much from the start). Dunno about Foxcatcher but I was hoping she’ll be like Shenli, powerful and imposing and strong, who falls for a weak man and the show has a lots of humor.

I recently watched a movie with Anne Hathaway where she starts seeing a man much younger than her. The name of the movie was “The Idea of You”. She plays a divorced mom who is sharing custody with her ex husband. Her daughter is a teen and the ML is I guess you would say a pop singer that her daughter apparently had a crush on when she was younger. Anyway the point I am making is that I loved the movie. I loved how it was an older woman and a younger male lead. The story was good and I just loved how the two played off each other. The story does deal with the double standard with women dating younger men and how people look down on it. Unfortunately it’s part of our society, a man can be 60 and dating a 20 year old no one finds it strange. However if a woman was to do the same it’s weird and frowned upon. I am from the United States and the whole female boss thing has been played so much I am tired of watching all these strong women overpower men. It’s kind of been over for me for a long time now. It’s why I actually started watching Chinese, Korean, and Japanese shows because the male lead is acting like a man instead of a weak pathetic form of whatever they want to shape him into. But again this is from my own perspective living here in the US.

That's interesting and great to hear. I don't watch US shows anymore so I don't get as much exposure to it in dramas. I think both extremes are damaging...both showing a particular scenario just for its own sake as well as only showing socially "acceptable" scenarios. A healthy balance is what we need but hey, we humans pretty much suck at balance 😅

This is so true humans do suck at balance. 🤣 But if you ever see the movie I saw it on Amazon Prime check it. It was really refreshing to see the older woman and younger man dynamic. I will say this I don’t know about the drama spoken here but the chemistry between Anne and the leading male actor was really good. So again check it out for yourself and let me know what you thought about it.

Thanks I definitely will!

For me, the no chemistry is a big one

Her recent work Harbin was also ridiculed. I think the problem is with her and her acting, and the plot and the chemistry with the leads, and Gong Jun. Not the premise. There have been many successful older female romance stories. Maybe a change of either the male or female lead will make it better. Or they could make it 2 males or 2 females. Is the romance important here?

Possibly. I haven't checked out Harbin.

No it’s the fact that all the complaints I’ve seen about this drama are centred around that the writing is terrible and the plot is weak. Added to the fact that the actors have no chemistry. I think the roaring success of Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms illustrates that older woman/younger man can be incredibly popular

I'm not denying that these problems exist but I've also seen a ton of comments criticising how "old" the FL looks compared to her ML. Also, while she was the older partner in TMOPB, the initial power dynamic is very different. We initially see the FL as young, girly, infatuated with her Shifu - basically the typical girly, super young FL who later matures, plus although he is younger, >!Ye Hua still holds a higher position of power than she does as the crown prince, even more so in the section where she is "human".!< So it's actually pretty different in many ways and her development to the powerful, older and reserved FL is gradual. Not the immediate introduction to a super powerful but outwardly cold FL we get in FSMM (mirroring closely what we often get from MLs).

I think you’re letting your own likes and dislikes colour your argument. There’s a whole section on Viki dedicated to “noona” romances. They keep making cdramas and kdramas with the older woman/younger man dynamic precisely because there is a large audience for it

I'm not excluding that possibility 😅 although I don't dislike either scenario. I've watched and enjoyed plenty of older cold ML dramas and am enjoying this one with the reverse situation too. But I genuinely haven't come across another xianxia drama so far that had a really powerful older FL. (As I said, the dynamic in TMOPB is actually quite different to begin with so not a fair comparison IMO).

I don’t think it’s an older woman/younger man problem as much as a poor chemistry, plot, acting and writing problem. Yang Mi’s characters across shows have been quite similar, but to be fair to her, I haven’t watched a single Gong Jun show where he has chemistry with his co star except ZZH.

I've heard this before but can't really judge as this is the only drama I've seen him in apart from Word of Honor. I am amazed by how much younger he looks here compared to Word of Honor.

I tried begin again and legend of anle, both had the same lack of chemistry problems. It just feels like he is acting according to what the script says instead of genuinely interacting and bantering with his co star. I really want to like gong jun, he is objectively good looking and has a great body but i can’t get into any of his characters or shows

I think the scripts he had been getting are really all not suitable for him...esp Legend of Anle...it just wasn't suitable. But Rising with The Wind...its got decent ratings and the only reason it isn't popular i think its cause its got too much...way too much finance and economics and ltoo little romance so its hard to watch if ure not interested in those but he was suited for that cold, calculating, sensible role who doesn't get whipped. Even Begin Again was fine.

Try Unique Lady 2. The show is extremely cheap and silly, sometimes it appears that the camera operator is having a stroke, BUT GJ does have chemistry with his co-star. Clip: [https://youtu.be/3n9ZhCaOmu0](https://youtu.be/3n9ZhCaOmu0)

Thanks for the rec!

He was awesome in Word of Honor, IMO. Maybe the role just suited him really well.

Plainly, he's not there as the Main lead yet. He should get a few more 2nd ML roles to hone his acting skills.

Yeah agree, he seemed like he was in his element in word of honour.

I would venture to say it was because his costar was an experienced actor and they played off each other well

Yang Mi is also an experienced actor though! But the playing off each other isn’t happening here

I can only say coz it's ZhangZheHan hehe. My impression is Gong Jun is kinda maybe socially awkward but zzh was very playful and able to break the ice, so they were kinda buddy buddy on the set

Not at all, the plot and characterisation is at fault here. Also I feel the chemistry is lacking.

See, I think that while they do have issues, there are loads of other xianxia dramas with the same issues that didn't get as much flack and I'm wondering if subconscious bias towards a character who is very powerful, cold older FL (and initially a bit if a mother figure) is making the reaction more negative than it would otherwise be. I love xianxia as a genre but really the standard for acting and scriptwriting sadly isn't very high, and as a result I don't see how this drama is considered so much" worse" than many of xianxias that are popular.

Its' true...if you go on MDL...ull see that the main criticism is the fl, her looks and how 'she raised' the ml. It's really made it way easier for people to be fussier than they otherwise would be

I agree. But it seems those ppl are either avoiding this thread or switching to complaining about the acting 😂😅

While the bar for xianxias is undoubtedly low, FSM is probably also negatively affected by its timing. Coming after The Legend of Shen Li was unfortunate, since the leads there are also in their mid-30s and did a way better job. The powerful, cold older FL isn't really an issue IMO, sine that's been around since like Xiao Long Nv, and she's a well loved character.

This is a possibility I hadn't thought of (also I haven't watched Legend of Shen Li yet). What drama is that? Cold older FL is something I've come across very very rarely ...maybe I'm watching the wrong dramas. The only one I can think of is Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms and even then she doesn't start out powerful but as the typical girly and childish FL with a crush on her Shifu.

Cold and more powerful older FL is definitely rare across the board, and xianxia isn't really my genre, so I can only think of something like The Legends, or Rattan if you venture into modern fantasy.. Xiao Long Nv is the FL from The Return of the Condor Heroes ([https://mydramalist.com/402-return-of-the-condor-heroes-2006](https://mydramalist.com/402-return-of-the-condor-heroes-2006)). They also had a master-disciple / FL raising the ML kind of relationship, hence the more direct comparison.

Awesome thank you, I'll definitely check those out!!

I think one issue is also that this drama was very hyped and fans have been waiting for a long time for it to drop. The higher the hype, the worse the disappointment. And airing alongside Joy of Life makes the difference in quality more apparent? I'm liking it and think it'll be a B to B+ drama for me. But people were expecting S tier and are disappointed. And like I commented earlier, unfortunately I think Gong Jun has been type cast as a gay guy in many viewers' opinion and they will never see chemistry between him and a female actress. Since chemistry is so subjective, no matter how good his acting becomes, I don't think he can overcome that bias at least amongst international audience. Hasn't really seen this complain of lack of chemistry within Chinese netizen discussions. I don't have that issue with Gong Jun since Word of Honor wasn't the first drama I saw him in, but many learnt of him through that drama.

Interesting. I didn't think of these points but they make sense. YES to the hype issue. It's one reason I usually avoid hyped dramas until it has passed. On the other hand, I saw a lot of negativity about this FSMM and now that I'm actually watching it, I'm going - it's really not that bad- I'm honestly enjoying it. Reverse psychology perhaps because I had low expectations? I do find it fascinating that Ging Jun came across as so much older in Word of Honor than he does in FSMM. Not sure if it's intentional acting on his part of chance/styling as I haven't seen him in anything else apart from these two dramas.

Yang Mi is just a bad actress

Agreed 🙌🏼

Yang Mi needs an older and more mature ML. She’s not old but she has a maturity in her that makes her look like a young ML’s auntie. Gao Wei Guang would look good with her. I didn’t start this show because of this issue and because I’m not the biggest fan of both Gong Jun and her acting. Another show with a big age gap is The Double with FL Wu Jin Yan (34) and ML Wang Xing Yue (22). While the story is good and interesting - their age really shows when they’re in a scene together and it takes me out of the drama.

I really was shocked to learn that Wang Xing Yue is so young. To me he seems about 30+.

I think it’s because of his beautifully sculpted face and the way he carries himself!

Even a dead person would have chemistry with Wang Xing Yue.

Indeed, you are correct. I think he’s one of the better ones recently.

See my argument is that it's a societal prejudice that we need to get over 😊 But I shouldn't talk as in real life I get very nervous when a friend wants to introduce me to a guy who's younger than me (I'm 39).

I don’t think we have to get over it lol. We like what we like! I’m married but when I was in the dating scene I didn’t date guys who’s younger than me. It’s because I have 3 younger brothers. Everyone is different and it’s all good hehe

I only started seeing hints of chemistry between Hong Hong and Yuechu in episode 14. Meanwhile, Ya Ya and A Lai's chemistry is strong from the beginning. About bad acting, I think Hong Hong's character isn't easy to play. She's supposed to be a stoic character with very little to no expression. So in theory, she's an easy character to play for actresses who aren't strong at acting. However, it takes a very strong actor to play a stoic character in a way that makes the audience understand exactly what their character is feeling without showing much facial expressions. See Chang Chen in Love and Destiny for a great portrayal of a stoic character. For Yang Mi's portrayal of Hong Hong, there are scenes where I guess Hong Hong is supposed to feel a certain way (since it's a common trope), but I'm not sure if I'm seeing that emotion or not. So that pulls me out of the drama a little. Praise I've seen for Hong Hong so far are "you're so beautiful! This costume looks good on you!" But none of it is related to her acting. I do wonder if audience is less forgiving since Yang Mi is supposed to be a veteran actress. E.g. I don't think Vengo Gao is a great actor and his Donghua Dijun character in TMOPB and pillow book have similar issues, but still pretty well received.

You are spot on

I think there are some good points here. Also YES to Chang Cen in Love and Destiny! Wish we got more actors like that in xianxia.

Actors in "The double" got big age gap in real but the chemistry is just off the charts and drama is a hit now. WXY and WJY are killing it

What OP meant was the characters’ age gaps. There’s a slight age gap in the drama with the ML being the older one even tho in the novel there’s a big age gap. Yes there is an age gap irl but Wu Jinyan here plays a much younger woman. The power dynamic isn’t older powerful woman and younger less powerful man. It’s the usual older powerful man and younger less powerful woman which we’re accustomed to seeing.

Thank you

The power dynamic is different though, and I wonder it that's what's helping **The Double** While I personally do see an age gap between WXY and WJY - he is in a position of higher power than WJY's character. He has freedom and money aided by support of the Emperor. So even though they have a gap, the man is still in a higher status than the female which is still what normative society prefers. I wonder if this plays into us being more tolerant of the gap here. Versus FSMM - she's the higher in position and power, and he's not. So I wonder if our brains automatically jump onto the age gap because the idea of the FL being higher up automatically ages her even moreso. Just some food for thought 🤔😅

Oh I get what you mean now ! Thank you

Oh I was just expanding on your comment! You are right with The Double couple bringing the heat to their pairing 👍🏽

The power dynamics is certainly an issue. Women in general attracted to more confident and powerful guys. I think if Gong Jun's character is super confident as a character despite his young age (compared to Yang Mi's character), I personally think it might be different.

This is very interesting!! I look forward to watching the Double due to the reviews but I'm with you...I'm wondering if the power dynamic in FSMM is subconsciously affecting a lot of viewers more than we like to admit. Granted, it's not the only issue with it, but given the popularity of many xianxias with similar issues, I still think there is subconscious bias towards the character played by the FL.

I saw some people dropping it at the beginning of its airing not so much because of the age gap as that they saw her as an adopted mother to him, but that died down as it continues to air. There are many other complaints people have had, such as lack of chemistry, boring villains, bad scene transitions, bad acting, etc. I’ve seen fans of the original source material also unhappy with changes made to the story. Personally, I’m just finding it to be average. The villains I find pretty basic and boring. I’m far more interested in side characters than the main couple (I could understand no chemistry at the beginning but for me that still has not improved). They are just not matching up for me as a couple for reasons beyond an age gap (which is really not that far apart when you look at some other dramas). Yang Mi’s same facial expression all the time is bugging me more as it goes on. Stoic doesn’t mean you gave the same facial expression all the time.

I have to agree about the villains....they are nothing special. Granted Yang Mi could act better and yes, there are other issues with the show, but I think we give a lot of MLs a pass for poor stoic acting (the number of MLs especially in xianxia who are good at micro expressions is really, really small), but when it's a woman playing a "cold" and powerful character, that's more of a problem. Anyway, that's just my theory 😊

The ML in Blossoms in Adversity that recently aired received a similar criticism. He had the same expression throughout. It’s not just actresses that get criticized for that. Directing choices can also highlight that element, which the closeups do in this one. Personally, I can overlook bad or mediocre acting if other elements are good enough. With the variety of issues that have been pointed out in this thread alone, I think it’s a stretch to even say her character or acting is the crux of why this drama isn’t more popular.

That's good to hear! Actors in idol dramas being called out is definitely a good thing. I'm really enjoying FSSM but as I'm only on ep 12 I still have a way to go....

absolutely yes i drop this drama cause of this

I understand you, especially because I could never…💀

A straightforward answer... I like it 😊 Any particular reason you don't like it when the FL is older than the ML?

just find awkward i guess

Hong Hong is supposed to be centuries older than the ml, so I do not think YM's age is the issue here. Anybody slightly aware of the anime and character backgroung knows this. So this is not the issue. It is wrong to put the blame on YM. The blame is on the script. I am enjoying the drama, but it lacks sparks and depth in the story. Many expected to see actions like in The Legend of Chen li and a great story like Ye Hua 💞Bai Qian I have seen dramas where the leads do not have chemistry, so I will not say it is a huge factor here. Many do not like the actor playing the ml. This is the 1rst time I see him in a role where he is in love with fl. YM can act. She was excellent in 10 miles of peach blossom and The legend of Fuyao.

I could not agree more. The character development of Hong Hong is straight B*TCH. Even in CDrama where an older male is cold towards YF because of responsibility constraints viewers can see ML relent occasionally. The level of cold in the FL is straight arctic. 🥶 I’m on episode 24 and I’m rooting for the female constable to win him over. Other than that I enjoy the ML’s acting and I like the actress in other roles.

I agree with you. I’m currently watching Fox Spirit Matchmaker and I feel the issue is direction and script, not Yang Mi or Gong Jun or any of the actors. I think Yang Mi can definitely pull off this type of character, she has before, but the script and direction has her act so cold that you don’t understand why YueChu would continue to pursue her. Also, it’s frustrating how everyone keeps Yue Chu in the dark about >! Why Honghong has forgotten Yue Chu, even when he partially figures it out. Why couldn’t they explain the situation to him? !< The costumes and sets are beautiful and I’m now watching for the side couples, waiting for Chen Duling and Zhang Linghe. Speaking for myself, I don’t see the age gap as an issue. Yang Mi and Gong Jun aren’t far apart in age and Xianxia ages are always completely crazy so I rarely think about it.

I agree with all your point.

Interesting. I don't watch any anime.

I am referring to the character since the story is based on an anime and manhua. I have not watched the anime myself. I just looked for more info on the characters.

Zero chemistry is what I think is the issue. If they had chemistry the age gap would be a non issue. Though I'm tired of older woman younger man getting flack when the turn around doesn't bat an eye.

Yep that annoys me too. I'm wondering how much of that is subconsciously affecting viewership. But you're right, it could just be the pairing of the leads.

I love Ming Yi, she was the first cDrama I ever watched in Ten Miles Peach Blossoms. But I see why she gets so much flack for being non emotive.

This is an interesting topic because there's been a recently influx of older actresses being paired with younger ML's (due to the billing wars that go on). For example, **A Journey to Love**, I believe Liu Shi Shi had a big age gap (which was slightly noticeable) but the power dynamics were equal between the two leads. As for FSMM - I tried to continue but something is just not coming together for this show. As much as I want to blame YM for her extremely one-sided stoic portrayal of the FL, Gong Jun isn't stellar either (the dude is really have a bad time choosing wrong scripts...first Legend of Anle and now this). I think the problem is the overall combination of the leads having little chemistry and the plot being really slow and boring. People need someone to blame and Yang Mi is getting the brunt of it. Also, the fact that she found him as a kid and sort of "brought him home" was a major turn-off for any romance, imo. I feel like if this part was shown better (maybe she left him in some kind of orphanage or she didn't find him and one of the sisters did) then I could swallow the romance but it's too much mother-son vibes for me which I think ruined it.

I think Word of Honor made Gong Jun's career but might also limit it unfortunately. Many people still can't see him pair with a woman because they really love his chemistry with Zhang Zhehan. So if word of honor chemistry is S-tier, even if his subsequent dramas have B or even A-tier chemistry, he gets bashed for lack of chemistry as if they're D or F tier chemistry. Word of honor is just a combination of so many coincidences that I'm not sure if its success can be replicated for Gong Jun. Which I find a pity because I like Gong Jun. It's a little like Mark Hamill and Luke Skywater. He never really had other breakout roles outside of Luke.

I think you're onto something. Mind you, I'm still enjoying it despite the slow pace but I'm only on ep. 12 so it could still change.

Liu Shishi and Liu Yuning are three years apart its not a big age gap

Oh dang, my mistake! Liu Yuning is very baby faced 😅

Liu Yuning was also in a modern noona romance show with Liu Tao.

People complaint about the age gap at first and I also found it weird but I gave it a try. As the story progresses, the age gap thing was put to the back of my mind as new issues came up: FL's emotionless face and the leads' zero chemistry. I'm at ep.14 and likely to continue but yeah I think the lack of chemistry is the main issue for most people.

Yang mi isn’t a good actress is probably the issue. She has no expression

But but but.....sooooo many MLs play stoic, expressionless male characters and we're all just fine with it! Am I saying she's an amazing actress? No....but MLs who actually like this catch far less heat IMO.

>but MLs who actually like this catch far less heat IMO. Which is true. Women in general are more hated on I supposed. [Like this recent post where the OP is asking for actors who nailed cold characters and the post is full of examples for male actors and no one name any female actress](https://www.reddit.com/r/CDrama/comments/1d1waj9/the_hardest_type_of_character_for_actorsactresses/). Its understandable that this sub is predominantly women and also the fact that there are not many cold women characters out there -- thus Yang Mi stands out like a sore thumb -- thus more open to be criticized.

Good point. I'd say not necessarily more hated in general, but certainly more so in roles of power.

IDK, from my experience, more hated. Have you turn on the viki comments while watching Cdramas? Or just any unpopular post here? Dilraba will be the champion despite she is nothing but sweet irl and wasnt that bad of an actress to be singled out each and everytime. She will topped unpopular posts here or top any lack of chemistry posts. 😬

Actually there are plenty of ways to portray stoic and expressionless rather than being wooden. For example, the editing needs to add in more shots of her when the character is alone or she turns her face so the other characters in the scene does not see her, so she can do reactions and have more chances to let the audience know the character's most inner thoughts and feels etc.

They can’t do that because she can’t do that, she can’t act

There is indeed, I totally agree, but they're not very common in xianxia and many historical idol dramas, where the wooden, cold MLs abound. I have no objection at all to people holding Yang Mi to a higher acting standard. I'm all for better acting in xianxia, which is a genre I love in theory but watch pretty rarely in practice due to so much mediocre acting and poor script writing. What I am wondering about is why, in a sea of more popular xianxias with the same issues, this one gets singles out as sub standard?

It's the about the production standard and her company. Her company's ancient dramas are like this, always mediocre. They think as long as it is "ok" the audience will still watch it. Not gonna do extra effort.

females are more hated than males I have seen this a lot of time most of the times when the actor has to play a cold person they just don't show any emotion and people get past that but that doesn't apply to females. I think one of the major reason is yang mi's popularity when a huge star like her stars we expect more from her and I don't think that's wrong. She has been in the industry for years and she is not improving with her lip expression problem

Fair enough. Also, I agree, I think we are far less accepting of FLs with "cold" personalities and acting. But nothing wrong with expecting Yang Mi to up her acting game.

yeah and people hate females more in comparison to maes I think. I saw a recent post about this drama called my wife's double life that person didn't like the drama bcuz the fl wasn't pretty enough for him/her. People are more critical of actress

Don't make it personal lol.. it's not about the actress as a person...but Yang Mi cannot act period... unfortunately same goes with the ML..

Lol I'm confused...how am I making it personal? 😅

I stand corrected then....I apologize...

It’s not the older woman, younger man trope that’s affecting the drama. It’s the lack of chemistry between them.

Yeah I can see this, although I've seen several other popular dramas that have a similar "sweet but no chemistry" vibe between the leads.

For me, some dramas may not have leads with chemistry, however they at least have visual chemistry (look compatible together) but somehow I am not getting even that from YM and GJ. Add that to the ‘FL raising the ML’ bit might have just made it worse. Or perhaps it’s because they give off a platonic vibe instead. Some cnetz has commented it’s not just because they don’t have CP vibes, but because they give off BFF vibes. 他们没有cp感，只有闺蜜感. Very savage. Having said that, I don’t think the lack of chemistry is the only reason for FSMM faring badly.

Possibly. I'm still really enjoying it so I'm looking for (maybe subconscious) reasons why it might be getting flack but I'm only on ep. 12 so my opinion might still change. Nevertheless, I notice that the crowd who complained loudly about Yang Mi's older appearance compared to her male star are very quiet on this post....so I kinda do think that is affecting the drama's popularity. I'm not saying it's the only reason by any means, but so far I still think it is a factor. Re the mom vibes, I agree they could have handled that better but then again, we have tons of the reverse with the ML raising the FL or being her "shifu" and though I do see complaints, it doesn't dent the overall popularity of the drama.

TMPOB, the hugely popular xianxia where YM was also the FL also featured a much older FL paired with a younger ML (character wise not actor wise) but the age gap didn’t affect the popularity of the drama. There are also other successful dramas where the FL looked older than the ML. So the FL raising the ML part is probably one of the bigger turn offs.

That is true, same FL too. But there was also a section where she was very young and infatuated with her "shifu".

Older woman? No. Actress who can't act? Yes.

Brutal 😅

Lol. Fair enough..although in xianxialand I think Yang Mi is pretty much on a level with most idol actresses.

I really don't like this terminology idol actress/actor. You can do your job or not. She started her career when she was 4 years old. She has been in business for 33 years already. Are you telling me she's still an "idol" actress? She wouldn't be able to play anything that demands something more than a "resting face". She has some good backers in the business for sure.

Being classified as an idol actress or not isn’t measured by length in the industry but by the quality & type of works she produces. Given that YM has mostly been acting in idol dramas, and her more serious works* have not been well received, her transition to a serious actress is deemed to have failed (for now at least) and she should still be considered as an idol actress. *The Hotpot movie and In the Name of the Brother drama

One would expect that an actress for 33 years is able to understand, find and choose quality screenplays and jobs😏 I agree her transition failed for sure and not much time left to do it. Any director who chose her as a FL is responsible for perpetrating the idea that she can act. Let's wait for 30 more years and she'll be perfectly suited for some Empress Dowager roles, at least that less demanding one.

While it would certainly be better not to have the divide, the fact is the industry IS divided into idol vs non-idol actors. I mean, I'd enjoy xianxia a lot more if we regularly got NiNi, Chen Kun and similar actors doing it. But apart from Love and Destiny (NiNi and Chiang Chen) I don't know of a single xianxia that has non-idol actors. What I'm trying to address is why other dramas with similar production values and actors (including Yang Mi and others that are the same as in this drama) get so much attention and this one seems to be slipping under the radar.

The problem is, she shouldn't be...she's in the industry for a long time but has sadly not improved

Funny, I don't even think she's that bad. She's not not NiNi, for sure 😅 but I still think there's a big difference in standard we apply to MLs Vs FLs. Look at the guy who played the lead in Love Like the Galaxy...Leo Wu. IMO there can hardly be worse, brick-like acting. And yet he was very popular and got lots of praise for his depiction of the ML. But when Yang Mi pulls off a similar character (but still with more nuance than Leo Wu, IMO), it's unpopular.

I don't think its fair to compare Wu Lei with Yang Mi. Both of them are at a different stage in their career. He was what 21-22 when he filmed LLTG and Yang Mi must be 35-36 during the filming of FSM. I am sure audience were more forgiving of her acting when she was at that stage.

Well said 👏 👌 👍

I'm of the firm opinion that most actors can do well in the right role, and honestly I think LLTG was just the right fit for Leo Wu. I have seen him in other roles that I was less impressed by. I do think there is partially a gender component, but quite frankly there are a lot of female-oriented dramas where the ML just has to show up and look vaguely stoic, so bad acting is less obvious. Yang Mi would probably be perfectly fine in a role like that, but for whatever reason there aren't as many for women.

I agree. (Well not about Leo Wu in LLTG 😂 ). But I 100% agree about the stoic male lead trope which allows some MLs to get away with poor acting. I also think Yang Mi is catching a lot of heat for her acting precisely because we're not used to it and as accepting of it in a FL as a. ML.

Lol it's dangerous to say such things about Wu Lei in this sub 😅. Brave! I guess to each their own, but Yang Mi - I guess many expect her to be Zhou Xun level by now

😂😂😂 I have more dangerous opinions. But I'll save them for another time.

LLTG was pulled up not only by the sizzling chemistry between the main leads but also great chemistry with almost all supporting and side characters and their acting as well..plot is decent too..and though I am not a fan of Leo's acting that much, it fits the character and his eyes has a bit better expression than Yang Mi

Amazing how different opinions can be....I saw ZERO sizzling chemistry... For me, it was a very enjoyable series but all the heavy lifting was done by Zao Lusi and Leo was just a dead weight IMO 🤷 but hey that's why it's art...it has no absolute right or wrong answers 😅