"Gong Suo Xin Yu" is a time-traveling drama, positioned against "Bu Bu Jing Xin," another time-traveling series.
In "Bu Bu Jing Xin," Ruoxi first has a relationship with the Eighth Prince and later falls in love with the Fourth Prince. Yu Ma, on the other hand, reverses this, making Qianchuan in "Gong Suo Xin Yu" first like the Fourth Prince and eventually marry the Eighth Prince.
The main love triangle in "Chun Yuan She Xiang Zhuan" is between Zhen Huan, the Emperor, and Prince Guo. Similarly, the main storyline of "Gong Suo Zhu Lian" also revolves around Niu Hulu Lian'er, the Emperor, and Prince Guo.
Familiar tropes, familiar ingredients – Yu Ma loves to use this tactic to piggyback on trends, steal the credit, and be utterly infuriating.
"Bu Bu Jing Xin" fared better. Although "Gong Suo Xin Yu" beat it to the punch, "Bu Bu Jing Xin" managed to salvage some ground with its refined production, solid plot, beautiful music, and the natural emotional impact of a tragedy.
"Chun Yuan She Xiang Zhuan" wasn't so lucky. Its ratings were repeatedly crushed by "Gong Suo Zhu Lian," and it was almost canceled.
In her past life, Jiang Ling heard that this drama's ratings were being dominated by Yu Ma's cringe-worthy shows and couldn't believe it. After checking the relevant information, she had no choice but to accept it.
The most fundamental reason why "Chun Yuan She Sheng Zhuan"'s premiere ratings were lower than "Gong Suo Zhu Lian"'s was the excessively long preliminary build-up.
A television drama script is not much different from writing an essay; it also emphasizes the exquisite balance of a phoenix's head, a pig's belly, and a leopard's tail.
The phoenix's head, as the name suggests, should be as brilliant and stunning as a phoenix spreading its wings, immediately captivating the audience with intense and exciting plot points.
The pig's belly in the middle should be rich and substantial, full of flavor and substance.
The leopard's tail refers to a strong conclusion, without any dragging or anticlimactic elements. Otherwise, the audience can easily become bored, and a strong start followed by a weak finish is a major taboo.
"Chun Yuan She Sheng Zhuan" achieved the latter two points, but its beginning was quite weak, with an especially long build-up. It took a full five or six episodes just to cover the selection of imperial concubines and the female lead meeting the Emperor.
What others can conclude in one episode, you use five times the duration for; it's no wonder the ratings plummeted.
Fortunately, "Chun Yuan She Sheng Zhuan" was excellent enough. Good wine needs no bush; upon its re-airing, its ratings surged repeatedly, ultimately cementing its status as a classic.
Although there is no infuriating Yu Ma in this parallel universe, Jiang Ling does not want to see "Chun Yuan She Sheng Zhuan" flop at its premiere.
Otherwise, those unscrupulous media outlets would surely sensationalize it, saying things like, "Even top-tier actresses are just like that; their acting can't carry ratings. Garbage is garbage."
The main reason for "Chun Yuan She Sheng Zhuan"'s extended initial build-up is its deep influence from "Dream of the Red Chamber," with its subtle foreshadowing and intricately laid groundwork, where all clues must be planted in advance.
Especially in the first three episodes, the foreshadowing is practically bursting at the seams.
Aside from the jinxed Emperor's jade disappearing, when Sister Mei was at her family home, her demeanor and etiquette earned praise from her relatives. However, her aunt added, "If your waist were a little softer, the Emperor would like it."
This statement is double-edged, almost predicting Sister Mei's later life.
After being framed by Consort Hua, she became disheartened with the dog emperor, unwilling to soften her stance, preferring to embrace her fragrance and die on the branch rather than fall into the north wind.
As for other major and minor subplots, they were also woven into the dialogue, which was as dense as a spiderweb.
To draw the audience's attention to these details, Jiang Ling's bullet comments also became increasingly humorous.
For instance, when Concubine Fucha was pregnant, the camera cut to the Empress's face. Jiang Ling posted: "Ding! You have a new 'Drop It' order, please process it promptly!"
The audience was initially perplexed.
As the plot progressed, they exclaimed in awe, "Holy crap! This drama has so much foreshadowing hidden within it."