“Till The End of The Moon” Deleted 18 Episodes?
Rumored to have cut as many as 18 episodes to better meet censorship regulations, C-drama Till the End of the Moon <長月燼明> has got viewers and fans fuming due to incongruous plot developments, as they clamor for the cut scenes to be released!
Two Parts Allegedly Condensed into One?
Starring Bai Lu (白鹿) and Leo Luo (羅雲熙), the period fantasy has been riding high on Cdrama popularity charts. However, its speedy storytelling – characters are already into the third reincarnation by the sixteenth episode – got netizens lamenting that unlike the novel it is based on, key scenes that could have better fleshed out the plotlines and character development are missing from the drama. Word also got around online that Till the End of the Moon was originally supposed to have two parts with the first half spanning 34 episodes and 24 episodes for the second half, but the production team had condensed everything into 40 episodes, in an attempt to speed up censorship checks for the drama.
Bai Lu Asserted Influence to “Tone Down” Chen Duling’s Styling?
Before airing, there was word that actress Bai Lu, who played heroine Li Susu, tapped on “resources” to make sure she would be the most ravishing in the drama, by “undermining” the makeup effects for supporting actress, 29-year-old Chen Duling (陳都靈). The latter’s styling and imaging thus appeared less intricate and lively than captured during the artistes’ imaging phase. On top of that, Chen Duling’s character also had many details which were in the novel pared down in the drama version. While she attracted the attention of several male admirers in the book, with the male lead treating her with tenderness, her character arc was deliberately shortened, and several scenes abridged, to paint her as antagonistic from early on.
However, some netizens pointed out unlike period idol dramas which were 40 to 45 minutes per episode, Till the End of the Moon at 55 minutes per episode had an additional 400 minutes in total to play around. They deduced that the drama’s issues of incoherence had more to do with its less-than-stellar adaptation from the novel. Others brought out the example of 2001 drama Wrong Carriage, Right Groom <上錯花轎嫁對郎> starring Huang Yi (黃奕), Nie Yuan (聶遠), Li Lin (李琳) and Shi Xiaohong (師小紅) which had a well-presented romantic arc and became a classic for fans despite a modest 20 episodes – proving that the length of the drama was by no means the sole determinant of its quality.
Source: Upmedia
Yup! That’s what i said – 0 to 100. They made it choppy.
Such a shame…I did not expect it was chopped by so much. Agreed…the story telling of this drama is choppy…
It is a shame! But with the MingYe arc done, hopefully we’re moving on to the meats and potatoes of the drama and there are less cuts.
I started watching it and totally understand what you mean. They cut so much of the supporting cast’s scenes and even cut off Bai Lu’s scenes. They don’t even bother building up the tension, events just happen. If it weren’t for Leo’s and Bai Lu’s great chemistry, I wouldn’t even bother with this drama. The surprising thing is not many people are criticizing the plot on Weibo, so I initially had high hopes for this drama.
I actually still really liked Chen Duling’s makeup and costumes – I didn’t find her less stunning than BaiLu. She’s a real beauty!
I found CDL is pretty in stills. In motions, she is not stunning at all. Regardless, this sort of rumour is just rumour to make BL look bad. First it was CDL outshine BL, and then after it airing and everyone can see the opposite, it’s now BL make sure CDL isn’t outshine her ~_~
I still find CDL pretty regardless – she has a really regal aerial grace about her – in motion or not (maybe also from filters.) Being that she still looked great onscreen, that means this rumor about BL (who is your bias, I can tell) is definitely false.
I gotta look up CDL – it seems like she just popped up out of nowhere. People find LYF aerial and heavenly, but I think CDL (at least in this drama) surpasses her.
Haha yea, I love BL since the legends. CDL got famous ever since this production kicked into production. After that, she was in drama with Shawn Dou. Also she will be in a drama with YM about fox matchmaker. Anyway, to me at least, she’s a bit plain, but because of that, she works well for the gentle type in costume period. I do like her stills from TTEOTM, but in motions, wasn’t as impressive for some reasons. LYF was only aerial and heavenly in return of the condor heroes. Other one, she was ok. Anyway, wait until further dramas of CDL I guess. Atm, her acting is still very weak
I can’t watch The Legends – they butchered the original novel SO bad that I can’t watch it. Besides that, I also haven’t found anything extraordinary from BL – I’ve never been able to finish any of her dramas. TTEOTM will hopefully be the exception. Still, from what I’ve seen, I’m not too impressed
The lead actor isn’t even attractive. Why are chinesee actor made to be so skinny?
According to people who read the novel this drama is based on, the male lead is supposed to look sickly and skinny and the actor fits this description perfectly.
What bothers me more is that his fans keep bragging about his handsome looks. I really cannot appreciate how someone as skinny as him can be attractive to anyone.
it reflects the tastes of the younger fangirls who have a preference for the anorexic look for both females and males.
Hopefully we’ll get a director’s cut version of this drama but it seems that isn’t a common practice with Chinese dramas. The only one I can think of that has both a TV version and a director’s cut with some additional scenes is Goodbye My Princess.
Lol, I hope the big network can buy the full version
Probably an unpopular opinion but I find the makeup quite unflattering in general, particularly male lead’s. LYX’s dark eye shadow with his dark lips is so atrocious that it’s been hard for me to see him as a real romantic lead. I love the female costumes, but some of the men are just too much. When MingYe got married, his wedding outfit was SO gaudy. I like that they decided to go with colorful outfits for this drama compared to the sterilized xianxia outfits from the past, but sometimes they took it a bit too far to the other end of the spectrum.
In some scenes, he had brown hair and gray eyebrows O.O It looks terrible
So far it’s worth the hype, no boring fillers. I don’t mind them cutting the boring villain scenes out but the leads really have chemistry, no way to cut them out. I really like CDL but I really don’t think she needs that much scenes.
CDL character(s) in here are just plot fodder, she also doesn’t arch revolving around her in the novel. However, the drama did cut out a significant arch for Bingchang, which is the dream flower demon story. It serves as an introduction to her true personality (cold, selfish). In her dream, she became the Queen and she doesn’t give a damn that Xiao Lin now favours Xi Wu as his favourite concubine. She only wakes up from dream after Taijin ‘kills’ her son & dashes her hope in holding on to power & prestige.
As per some comments here, CDL is pretty in stills but I find her bland in motion. Like a pretty doll reading lines. Let’s see how she fares in the final arch (good character).
The drama gave a lot of extra scenes for Leo, to soften/sweeten up his character a lot. As I read the novel, I have no sympathy for MingYe (Fleeting Life Dream arch) yet the drama added extra romantic scenes lmao.
p.s. They’re cutting Part 2 short, which I assume is the final arch (Li Su Su x Cang Jiumin)