477: Chapter 477 The Eternal Second Master

Director Lin was a perfectionist. This scene was set in the afternoon, and the natural light he wanted could only last for about two hours. Coupled with Ruan Xingyu not being in the right state, this take ended up being filmed intermittently for three days before it was finished.

He never expected that the "breakup scene" in la la land would be so difficult to shoot, and the reason was actually that his girlfriend was too emotionally invested... Someone was feeling both heartbroken and secretly delighted in his heart.

Another thing that made him secretly delighted was that back on the mainland, as the plot progressed, CCTV's lotus lantern was finally reaching its grand finale.

Because it involved a heartbreaking twist, two episodes would be aired back-to-back tonight, letting it all out at once!

The poor audience didn't know about this yet...

One by one, they were all so happy to see the news of the two-episode broadcast.

[Holy crap, two episodes! The director is finally acting like a human being and letting us watch to our heart's content for the finale?]

[It hasn't been easy. Erlang Shen has been stifled for so long; is he finally going to turn things around?]

[Erlang Shen, hurry up and destroy Chenxiang! Do it today!]

[That little axe Chenxiang is holding makes me laugh to death. I've hated him for a long time.]

[I have to work overtime tonight and can't watch it! Damn, I can only watch the rerun tomorrow on the weekend.]

Various platforms were already warming up, and the six characters "lotus lantern Grand Finale" were already hanging on the hot search list, just waiting for the broadcast to begin.

Because of the quality of the script itself, and also because of Lin Chuyan, the viewership ratings for lotus lantern had already set a new high for the CCTV drama channel in recent years. With the two-episode finale of lotus lantern, it was foreseeable that the ratings would reach another new height.

At eight o'clock, countless people waited in anticipation, and lotus lantern began airing on time.

As the plot had developed up to this point, everyone could actually see Yang Jian's pain.

He had great love in his heart, yet he had to play the villain working for the Heavenly Court.

So, how would it be resolved?

Half an hour later, countless viewers couldn't help but voice the same question Lin Chuyan had when he first read the script: "Huh???"

Erlang Shen's mindset isn't right!

What does this mean? Why, as it approached the critical moment of the final battle with Chenxiang and the others, did Erlang Shen's mindset become more... peaceful? Seeing through everything? Resolute? Letting go of everything?

Something's wrong, something is very wrong.

The audience continued watching with confusion, and then they realized there was a big problem—the fight scene in the final battle was still very spectacular, but at the critical moment, Erlang Shen went easy on him!

Chenxiang won.

Many people couldn't believe it when they saw this. No way, he'll be resurrected later, right? He definitely will, right? Huh?

Then they saw the Jade Emperor calming the turmoil in the Three Realms, taking Erlang Shen's body and soul to the Fengshen Platform, and using him as a sacrifice to cleanse the sins of all living beings...

Then they saw Erlang Shen's body dissipate, leaving only a lingering obsession that would not fade, finally turning into a peach blossom and vanishing with the wind...

"My mother does not acknowledge me as her son, my sister does not acknowledge me as her brother, my nephew does not acknowledge me as his uncle, and my friends are ashamed to associate with me. Between heaven and earth, there is no place for me to dwell. Though I possess divine power, I lack the ability to turn the tide. Truly, life is filled with long-lasting regrets, flowing eastward like water."

To be honest, apart from the creative team of lotus lantern, no one would have thought that this show would actually have a tragic ending.

The audience had been following lotus lantern since the first episode; they had watched Yang Jian grow up! They had watched how he slowly grew from a child forced to flee for his life into the number one God of War in the Three Realms!

To put it bluntly, this is no different from a cultivation-style story, and yet you killed him off now?

Such a perfect character, and you killed him off in the end?

Such a well-loved character, how could you bear to kill him off?

These three soul-searching questions—lotus lantern production team, take a look at them!

As soon as this finale of lotus lantern came out, it hit the Weibo hot search list again.

#lotus lantern Grand Finale Unacceptable#

#Erlang Shen is dead#

#lotus lantern screenwriter come out and face death#

This inability to accept it wasn't actually because they felt the show wasn't good, but because they emotionally couldn't accept that Erlang Shen had died just like that.

Everyone had originally come in high spirits wanting to see Erlang Shen show his power, but in the end, he sacrificed himself for the greater good.

[I'm crying. lotus lantern, give me back my Erlang Shen!]

[Ten thousand people sign in blood to beg lotus lantern to change the ending!]

[Damn it, send razor blades to the screenwriter! You writers all have this common flaw; you have to write tragedies just to make yourselves look talented, right?]

[Director, come out! Screenwriter, come out!]

[Damn, I won't be able to sleep tonight.]

Question: What does a character need to reach an unprecedented height?

Answer: It needs to be top-tier in three dimensions: drama quality, actor performance, and overall popularity. None of these can be lacking.

If the drama quality is poor, even if the actors perform brilliantly, it won't be presentable or worthy of high acclaim.

If the actors' performances are poor, then this topic has nothing to do with you, and there's no point in talking about character height.

If the popularity is low, it's destined to be niche, and the character wanting to remain in the hearts of most viewers is out of the question.

As it happens, the current lotus lantern has all the right timing, location, and people.

The screenwriter is a genius, blending most of the ancient mythological stories together without any sense of awkwardness.

The overall popularity of the drama is extremely high because of the addition of the major traffic star Lin Chuyan, keeping it on the hot search list every day.

As for the actors, although the supporting cast members aren't famous, their acting skills are quite good, and many of them have martial arts backgrounds and are absolutely professional.

Furthermore, while it's unknown whether the mission will win any awards, Lin Chuyan, who played the absolute male lead Erlang Shen in lotus lantern, has already been deified in the eyes of the audience at this moment.

How difficult is the role of Erlang Shen to play?

The difficulty lies in the fact that the things netizens previously praised Lin Chuyan for—like his wire work, his fight scenes, and his personal bearing—are actually just basic skills for this character...

This character is set as the number one God of War in the Three Realms, a figure from mythology. If your basic skills aren't up to par, or even if your image is poor, others won't be able to immerse themselves in the role at all.

Only when the basic skills are solid can one then talk about the rest.

His gentleness, his majesty, his loyalty, his pain, his greatness... Lin Chuyan poured a great deal of effort into this role, finally succeeding in creating a flesh-and-blood Erlang Shen in everyone's hearts.

Then, on this foundation, this ending of lotus lantern pushed all of everyone's emotions to the absolute peak... The audience couldn't forget it even if they wanted to!

A lingering sense of regret, an absolute, lingering sense of regret.

Now, he has truly become the eternal Erlang Shen.

[I declare this to be the best Erlang Shen, without a doubt.]

[Lin Chuyan is truly too good; he is Erlang Shen, and Erlang Shen is him.]

[I will never forget that look in Erlang Shen's eyes at the end. Relief, gratification, gentleness, firmness, resolution...]

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night; countless people will have their hearts broken for Erlang Shen.

Of course, many people haven't realized one point yet—because of this version, because of Lin Chuyan, the mythological figure of Erlang Shen has only now truly walked into everyone's hearts, and has truly transformed from a neutral, or perhaps morally ambiguous character, into an absolutely positive character like the Monkey King.

Before him, it wasn't clear what Erlang Shen looked like; after him, Erlang Shen is Lin Chuyan.