For audiences who had not read "The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud," they were unaware that the book featured a dual female lead, nor that Li Shengnan would die at the end.
The most challenging aspect of adapting a film or television series is respecting the original work.
Guan Suyuan resolutely adhered to this principle, presenting a romantic and poignant tale of Liang Shi's martial arts to the audience in its original essence.
After two episodes aired, viewers in front of their televisions and those glued to their phones were left wanting more.
"Damn, how did it end so quickly? It's only been a few minutes!"
"Good heavens, releasing only two episodes a day, how can that be enough?"
"I was just getting into it, and it's over. It's too short!"
"Jiang Ling looks so beautiful without makeup. That captivating charm mixed with a wild aura is truly arresting!"
"Le Zheng Yu is also good. Before, he looked pale and delicate, even a bit effeminate. I didn't expect him to change so much after two years."
As the two episodes of "The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud" concluded, viewers exclaimed in unison. The praise was overwhelming, and they flocked to Douban to rate the drama.
Among the four dramas, "Son of the Red Emperor" was a traditional historical drama. It was meticulously produced, filmed with great care, and historically accurate. The actors' performances were consistently excellent, resulting in a high score of 7.8.
"Mother-in-Law is Also Mom" immediately featured a wicked mother-in-law abusing her daughter-in-law, creating plenty of dramatic moments and attracting immense attention, though it raised viewers' blood pressure.
Due to its excessively melodramatic and infuriating plot, "Mother-in-Law is Also Mom" received the lowest initial score among the four dramas, a mere 5.3.
"Asking the Immortals" boasted two top-tier artists as the male and female leads, bringing with them a massive fan base. It achieved the highest viewership and the most ratings. It started with a high score of 8.0.
Many viewers found the drama visually jarring and couldn't stand the fans' blind praise, so they flooded Douban to give it negative reviews.
The excessive praise from fans and the relentless criticism from viewers and anti-fans canceled each other out, with the final score stabilizing at 6.7.
"The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud," however, had significantly fewer viewers than "Asking the Immortals," but its reputation and reviews were the highest among the four dramas.
Despite the presence of many paid reviewers and anti-fans maliciously lowering the score, the sheer number of viewers who gave positive reviews, coupled with the strong support from Jiang Ling's fans, propelled the drama's score to 8.2.
Douban's rating mechanism is strict. Domestic dramas primarily receive scores between 6 and 7. It is rare for a drama to break through to 8.
As for scores above 9, they are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns, and haven't appeared in many years.
This outcome surprised people both within and outside the industry, as well as the general audience.
Although "The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud" had considerable popularity, and the director was the highly acclaimed Guan Suyuan, the drama's inauspicious start, and casting Jiang Ling, an artist with a notorious history of poor performances, as the female lead, had a significant impact.
Therefore, when the Douban score was released, and the drama received a high score of 8.2, everyone was astonished.
Amidst their surprise, those who hadn't watched "The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud" saw the high score and the overwhelmingly positive comments in the review section, prompting them to check out the drama out of curiosity.
Starting is always the hardest part. With such a high initial score for "The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud," Guan Suyuan and the entire cast and crew were naturally the happiest.
In today's flood of traffic, dramas scoring above 8 are few and far between.
Moreover, many dramas that surpassed 8 only managed to break through that mark towards the end of their broadcast.
"The Jade Bow of the Misty Cloud" achieving 8.2 on its premiere clearly demonstrated how captivating the drama was.