Chapter 394: Is *Nirvana in Fire* Not Good Enough?

Ding Xiaoyu did not understand why the reputation of *Nirvana in Fire* was so polarized; it was because of her worship of and closeness to Luo Mo.

At the same time, she is an 【Experience School】 Actor, and she herself is a seasoned pro, so her comprehension and sense of immersion when watching a show are much stronger.

Having read many scripts, she is also quite adept at sorting out the relationships between characters.

However, what is the current market environment like?

——It is becoming increasingly fast-paced.

In the past, what everyone loved to watch most was television dramas; in the early years, there were even scenes where the streets would be empty when a show was airing.

Ratings didn't just break 1 like they do now, but broke 10, or even tens!

Of course, this also had to do with the fact that there were fewer entertainment activities back then.

Later on, it evolved into the great era of variety shows.

Variety programs saw explosive development in a short period of time.

Many resident guests of hit variety shows even leapt to become national-level figures.

Many people began to become too lazy to follow dramas, choosing variety shows that were easier to watch.

And now?

Many people are too lazy to even follow dramas.

Scrolling through short videos is enough.

Ask yourself, how many full television series can you finish in a year?

When you watch a drama, can you resist pressing fast-forward or not using double speed?

Have you ever been watching a show and suddenly felt unable to continue, too lazy to keep following it?

This phenomenon is very common and very prevalent.

One reason is that this is the era of information explosion, and everyone is more picky about content. Many shows are felt by people to be not good or boring, and it's more exciting to watch something else.

The other is that habits have changed.

In the first two episodes of *Nirvana in Fire*, there were simply too many characters.

It can be said that more than half of the main characters appeared.

Each character clearly had intricate relationships with the others, but it was impossible to digest all at once.

To put it simply, the first two episodes were tiring to watch.

At the very least, more tiring than the vast majority of television series.

Moreover, the overall pace of *Nirvana in Fire* is on the slower side in the beginning, with a feeling of a story being told slowly and carefully.

To use a term that often appears in the web novel circle, it is—slow-burn!

In fact, on Earth, when *Nirvana in Fire* first started airing, its popularity was truly not high.

If you were to check the data from when it aired, you would find that the popularity of this show actually continued to climb steadily after it had finished!

Many viewers felt the beginning was very off-putting; after watching a little, they couldn't go on and didn't want to watch anymore.

If it hadn't been for many friends and family members "forcing recommendations" and insisting that everyone watch it, they might have truly missed it.

However, in reality, such a beginning is also necessary.

By introducing the characters and their situations, and quickly fleshing out their personas, the audience can feel more satisfied when the climax of the Drama arrives later!

This is just like when everyone reads web novels; if the female lead's persona isn't full and is very stereotypical, only emphasizing that she is a beauty, then the satisfaction gained when she throws herself at the male lead is nothing more than sleeping with a great beauty.

But what if this female lead is sculpted to be your heart's desire? What if she leaps off the page?

Then the sense of immersion is completely different.

By the same token, the host of supporting characters is the same.

This is the charm of the 【Group Portrait】.

……..

……..

Some of the words and arguments appearing on the internet were within Luo Mo's expectations.

"Speechless, if this show wasn't filmed by Luo Mo, I might have stopped watching after ten minutes."

"I really only forced myself to finish two episodes because of my previous good impression."

"There are too many characters, and the relationships are complex; it gives me a headache."

"I'll ask you all a question: if this show wasn't filmed by Luo Mo, would you really follow it?"

The appearance of these comments made the people from the two shows *Nine Sins* and *Jade Pearl City* secretly happy.

"Luo Mo's new show this time doesn't seem to be as incredibly attractive from the start as before!"

This made many people breathe a slight sigh of relief.

Luo Mo's previous track record was too terrifying, his reputation was too good, and his audience base was also heaven-defying.

This time, he was even partnering with 【Best Actress】 Xu Chujing and had also brought in support from the "National Team".

But it seems like no chemical reaction occurred!

Did two positives make a negative?

All of a sudden, a flame war even broke out on the internet.

"I think it's very good; the 【Costume, Makeup, and Props】 are clearly very well-crafted, full of details, and the scenes and visuals are filmed very well, with no feeling of being shoddily made."

"You can tell they are trying to tell a story with heart, what's the rush?"

"You can't even understand this? No brains, right."

"No way, no way, there can't really be people who can't even understand a drama, right."

"It's quite good; that scene where they meet the Grand Empress Dowager made me cry."

"The acting of all the Actors is on point, it looks very natural."

Some opinions do not incite conflict, because they are merely promoting one's own viewpoints and perspectives.

To each their own; this is very normal.

But some opinions are actually like mocking others, carrying a sense of being high and mighty, a feeling of being superior.

In this, it is indeed because some netizens just love to stir up trouble; their way of speaking is just this style and tone.

There are also those who are anti-fans role-playing, and some even deliberately stir up trouble behind the scenes.

The atmosphere on the internet is very toxic right now, and it is very easy to trigger flame wars.

Some people just rely on creating all kinds of opposition to make money.

Some platforms even fan the flames behind the scenes for the sake of traffic, eager for more opposition and quarrels to increase platform revenue.

Many marketing accounts and some of Luo Mo's rivals have also begun to mobilize one after another.

"Is Luo Mo really going to fall from the pedestal this time?"

"I think he just can't handle such a group of good Actors; some little cooks cannot cook up delicacies."

"I feel it's a subject matter issue; how could this kind of subject matter be something he can handle?"

"Who does he think he is? In this day and age, who doesn't desperately try to have a golden opening? Still expecting the audience to have more patience because of you? On what grounds!"

"Doesn't this person claim to always lead the trend and grasp the pulse of the market? What's wrong? Suddenly don't know that this is the era of fast-paced information? Don't understand the audience's preferences and habits?"

Many Drama Critics also began to enter the fray one after another. Seeing that the heat of everyone's debate was high, they started writing drama reviews, commenting on the pros and cons of the first two episodes of *Nirvana in Fire*.

The 【Costume, Makeup, and Props】 are very attentive; this point cannot be slandered, after all, everyone has eyes.

The overall filming technique, sense of cinematography, and the like, also have nothing to say; the level is there.

Therefore, the drama reviews mainly focus on 【Story Rhythm】, 【Character Relationships】, 【Narrative Level】, 【Character Shaping】, and other aspects.

Overall, the drama reviews are mixed.

Many people actually wrote quite objectively, but there were inevitably many voices predicting failure.

"That sense of amazement that makes one's eyes light up in the early stages seems to have disappeared."

"It's very strange. Luo Mo clearly offered one Pre-chorus Kill after another with the songs on his new album, yet the opening of his new drama gives people a feeling of being confused, and it is full of discouragement."

"Honestly, if this drama wasn't filmed by Luo Mo, I estimate there would be more negative reviews, and there wouldn't be so many people defending it and analyzing its deep meaning."

"When I saw the drama title at that time, I felt it was just being pretentious. Insisting on choosing such an obscure name."

"Perhaps Luo Mo has also embarked on the old path of many directors and screenwriters, which is increasingly pursuing things that ordinary people cannot understand or see clearly; the ideas are becoming more and more... high-end?"

This phenomenon, by the daytime of the next day, not only did not subside but instead intensified.

Many people in the entertainment industry act according to circumstances. Seeing that *Nirvana in Fire* was full of controversy, even the director of *Lost Sin*, who was previously crushed by *Chinese Paladin*, posted a long Weibo specifically to evaluate *Nirvana in Fire*.

At the beginning of this long Weibo, he used an extremely humble tone to first praise the *Chinese Paladin* series extensively; it could be said he was blowing it up to the skies.

After all, he lost to *Chinese Paladin*; the stronger he praises the opponent, the less shameful he appears himself.

At the same time, it also makes his article appear more "rational," and the tone appears more "seeking truth from facts."

After praising for about two or three hundred words, he changed the subject and began to judge the pros and cons of *Nirvana in Fire* from the perspective of a director.

"Luo Mo is clearly a director who has many ideas and wants to constantly break his own shackles and is brave enough to break through himself."

"Therefore, I saw many of his pursuits in *Nirvana in Fire* that are different from before."

"From telling a good story to how to tell a story in an awesome way."

"But this also led to a lot of content that the audience could not digest for a while. Many of the words, lines, and even gazes between the characters need to be carefully pondered."

"Wanting the audience to feel it is high-end while also understanding it is a very difficult thing."

"I come from a background of filming Suspense dramas; logically speaking, this should be the highest pursuit for directors like us, but I admit that I still have a long way to go to reach this level."

"Luo Mo, presumably, is the same."

"At the same time, *Nirvana in Fire* invited many powerful Actors I respect; there are even several Actors in it that I want to collaborate with."

"However, perhaps because the entire cast of Actors is too powerful, Luo Mo did not distinguish between primary and secondary during editing; he seemed reluctant to cut many parts, so the entire opening looks incomparably sluggish."

"Admittedly, every main Actor who appears now has enough screen time and has also showcased their character."

"But the overall rhythm is not good."

"Who would have thought that one of the biggest advantages of the whole drama would instead hold it back."

"You have to know, Luo Mo gathered so many good Actors, almost achieving the dream of countless directors."

"I can only say that I deeply regret this *Nirvana in Fire*; with his ability and the ability of this group of Actors, it should have been a better story."

Because the director of *Lost Sin* is also a person with great fame and high status in the industry, after he took the lead in charging, more and more people joined the ranks of those being sarcastic.

One after another, they were either regretful, heartbroken, or felt it was a pity...

Using various tones of lament, they wrote extensively to criticize the many shortcomings of *Nirvana in Fire*.

Although the controversy had not stopped since it started airing, the premiere results of *Nirvana in Fire* were incomparably dazzling.

On the Penguin Video side, the first-day view count directly broke 200 million, and it was a staggering 281 million!

The ratings on Octopus TV were also as high as 1.49!

It can only be said that Luo Mo's super high reputation and super high popularity made this drama always receive a lot of attention; it would not be an exaggeration to say it was highly anticipated by all.

It's just that now, more people are thinking about watching his reputation crash and the subsequent ratings crash.

This kind of thing, logically speaking, is nothing strange; it has happened to most directors. Even the best horse can stumble.

It's just that with this kind of cast and this kind of investment, if it flops, it will look very ugly and will also lose a lot of money.

The female lead of *Jade Pearl City*, Li Yang, the head of the Four Little Dan, also gloated.

She and Luo Mo have no grudges, she mainly feels that Tang Shiyu, who is also one of the Four Little Dan, will have something to cry about this time.

She has always felt that Tang Shiyu is a "tea-like" person; she looks pure, but her methods are extremely numerous.

Now it's good, wagging her tail to go lick Luo Mo and play a supporting role in the drama, but the reputation of the whole drama is just average!

This might bring a Deadly blow to Tang Shiyu's commercial value.

Of course, while there are people in the industry cursing *Nirvana in Fire*, there are certainly others defending it.

Among them, most are people who are well-acquainted with Luo Mo or have collaborated with him before.

The public statement of one person, however, made the entire internet feel surprised.

——The director of *Feudatory Kings*, Zheng Guofeng!

He is that old man who once had a battle with *Sword of Fairy: Jingtian Arc* and had an old grudge with Luo Mo's master, Tong Qinglin.

This man is one of the three great directors of the older generation in the domestic film and television industry.

As mentioned before, the world background of Blue Star is that among the Four Great Classical Novels, there is *Journey to the West* and *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, but no *Water Margin* or *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

And the *Three Kingdoms* of this world was directed by him.

At the same time, there are also major historical political dramas like *National War* and *Dukes and Marquises*.

He came out of retirement to film *Feudatory Kings* also to "repay debts" for his good-for-nothing son.

Logically speaking, with new grudges and old grievances added together, it would be good enough if he didn't come over to stomp on *Nirvana in Fire*.

Yet, after watching the first two episodes and hearing the many controversies in the industry and on the internet, Zheng Guofeng ultimately couldn't help but frown.

After finishing the first two episodes, he couldn't help but glance at his own good-for-nothing, useless son.

"How is he the disciple of that old fellow Tong Qinglin?" He felt even more annoyed for a moment.

In his view, in the first two episodes of *Nirvana in Fire*, Luo Mo clearly made many trade-offs.

Or rather, he knew there were tigers in the mountains, yet he chose to head toward the tiger mountain.

He likely knew that by filming this way, some people would feel discouraged at the start and find it tiring to watch.

But he still did it.

Because he knew that it had to be done this way for the subsequent explosive points to be more explosive and the brilliant parts to be even more brilliant.

He is... perhaps incomparably confident in the content that follows!

Don't ask why Old Master Zheng would be so empathetic; because when he was filming *Feudatory Kings*, he had this same mindset, to the point that after *Feudatory Kings* started airing, many people in the early stages also said the pacing was too slow and that he was outdated.

"They don't know a damn thing about filming serial dramas," Old Master Zheng cursed in his heart.

In his view, for such a young director to dare to do this is already commendable.

What's more, he is able to see some of the hooks buried in the first two episodes.

As one of the top film and television directors in the country, he can guess a few things.

Therefore, Old Master Zheng ultimately posted a Weibo, and even included the 【Topic】 for *Nirvana in Fire*.

The Weibo had only two sentences:

"It is too early to curse now."

Once this Weibo came out, it exploded before long.

Some people felt that Zheng Guofeng was publicly taking a stand for *Nirvana in Fire*, while others continued to mock: "I think Director Zheng means that you are too arbitrary to curse now; watch a few more episodes before cursing!"

"Sorry, I said it was trash after watching two episodes, that was my fault. I will definitely watch two more episodes, and then say: It really is a big piece of trash, damn it."

As for Luo Mo Studio, there was no reaction from beginning to end.

The studio's public relations team is like a piece of furniture.

Penguin, surprisingly, did not make a move either.

Logically speaking, a major production has a portion of its budget allocated for reputation maintenance.

This is true for both television dramas and movies.

Like the big movies during the Spring Festival slot, the reserved funds for reputation maintenance and follow-up promotion sometimes even exceed one hundred million.

Under these extremely strange circumstances, night began to fall.

The third and fourth episodes of *Nirvana in Fire* were about to air.

(PS: Tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so only one update today, 4500 words.)

(End of chapter)