Fun Facts behind TTEOTM!
Creative Team
Till the End of the Moon is the second TV drama produced by newcomer Otters Studio (獭獭文化), which was originally set up for dangai/BL drama Immortality (皓衣行), also featuring Luo Yunxi.
The Hangzhou-based Otters Studio is a subsidiary of Nanpai Entertainment (南派泛娱), the company owned by Kenneth Xu (aka “Third Uncle" 南派三叔). Xu is best known as the novelist and screenwriter behind "Grave Robbers' Chronicles" (盗墓笔记).
A big part of TTEOTM's core creative team also worked on Immortality. And a lot of the Immortality team came from Ashes of Love (2018) with Luo Yunxi. This includes...
He Fang (Screenwriter) - Immortality
Luo Xuan (Screenwriter & Associate Producer) - Immortality
Huang Wei (Costume Designer) - Immortality
Guan Dazhou (Music Director) - Immortality
Wang Yirong (Lead Producer) - Immortality
Wang Haiqi (B Unit Director & Action Director) - Immortality & Ashes of Love
Tsang Mingfai (Makeup Designer) - Immortality & Ashes of Love
Shen Xufei (Special Effects Director) - Immortality & Ashes of Love
Hua Tian World Concept - Immortality & Ashes of Love
Wang Haiqi was the stunt coordinator who trained Luo Yunxi in Ashes of Love
Part of the creative team came from Huanyu (Bai Lu's management company, aka the production company of Yanxi Palace). This includes award-winning art director Luan Hexin, Huang Xinyao (Yue Fuya) and Liu Min (Nan'an).
This is the second time Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu have paired up in a drama. They previously played a couple in modern workplace romance Love is Sweet (2020). Bai Lu expressed interest publicly in pairing up with LYX again in a costume drama numerous times.
In addition, a number of Love is Sweet actors have minor roles or cameos in TTEOTM:
Zhao Yuanyuan (Qiao Na aka Yuan Shuai's colleague who has a crush on him) plays the Moon Goddess
Cheng Chang (Jiang Jun's father) plays Ye Xiwu's father
Deng Jinghong (Jiang Jun and Yuan Shuai's shady client) plays Ye Xiwu's brother Ye Zeyu
The popularity of TTEOTM has generated renewed interest in Love is Sweet on iQiyi. In the first half of 2023, Love is Sweet is ranked #5 on Yunhe's "old/classic drama" list, receiving 360M views (10M views/episode), equivalent to airing a new medium-budget drama.
Two actors in Ashes of Love also have minor roles in TTEOTM:
Wang Yifei (Shuihe aka peacock princess in Ashes of Love) plays the Devil God's lieutenant Siying
He Zhonghua (Heavenly Emperor aka Runyu's father) plays the King of Sheng, again terrorizing Luo Yunxi's childhood
In addition, a number of TTEOTM actors play minor roles in the unaired Immortality:
Huang Yunyun (Yue Yingxin) plays Song Qiutong
Zheng Guolin (Qu Xuanzi aka Susu's father) plays Jiangxi
Huang Haibing (Zhaoyou) plays Nangong Zhangying
He Zhonghua (King of Sheng) plays Nangong Liu
Geng Yeting (Ye Qingyu) plays an unknown role
Production
The source novel (黑月光拿稳BE剧本) was optioned by Otter before it was complete due to strong early hype around the IP and interesting characters & premise. It's one of the top 10 most-saved web novels of that genre on the Jinjiang platform. Its title literally translates to "black moonlight is guaranteed a bad ending screenplay".
The screenplay was written for 40 episodes, which was edited into 50 episodes of probably 45 mins each. The original plan (based on governmental records) was to air 34 episodes as part 1 and 16 episodes as part 2. However, the NRTA (Chinese government agency that regulates TV) closed the loophole around airing two seasons back to back early this year, which is why TTEOTM was edited back down to 40 episodes of 55 mins each so that it could air in one go.
TTEOTM changed its Chinese title twice. It was originally named 月照千峰为一人 (The moon shines for one person). It was then renamed to 长月无烬 (long moon without Jin/ember, also a pun for without limit or endless), which is the official publication name proposed by fans of the web novel. Right before the booting ceremony, it was renamed 长月烬明 likely for auspicious reasons (especially after the LYX accident and Immortality not airing)
Some keen netizens have noticed that if you break apart the characters of its Chinese title, 长月烬明, it becomes 长月火尽日月, which literally means....
长月 (long moon) - how people refer to the drama, in its short form
火 (fire) - Chinese internet lingo for explosive or popular
尽日月 (to the end of sun and moon)
(Gotta give one to Chinese people for coming up with auspicious names)
Luo Yunxi was injured right before production began when filming his final scene in Light Chaser Rescue. He got punched in the mouth by a costar which required emergency surgery and left a scar on the top left corner of his mouth. Production was delayed as a result. Bai Lu had to film her solo scenes first starting Oct 19, 2021. The booting ceremony took place on Nov 6, 2021 after Luo Yunxi joined the set.
Luo Yunxi was the first actor to be cast, according to an interview with the producer. It is rumored that he might have even picked which novel to adapt as Otter initially optioned both "Black Moonlight" and "Black Lotus Casebook". Bai Lu is also the "only choice" for Li Susu according to Yu Zheng.
Yin Tao (Who Rules The world, Love & Redemption, and Ancient Love Poetry) was originally considered for director, but he worked on the Blood of Youth instead. In the end they went with Kuk Kok Leung, an award-winning veteran TVB director who has adapted 7 out of 8 Jin Yong novels. One of the Cantonese songs Luo Yunxi kept singing on set is the OST of the 1983 Condor Heroes where Kuk served as Assistant Director.
Sun Zhenni (Pianran) and Zhao Shiyi (Fuyu) won their roles through open casting call. Sun Zhenni was a big fan of Bai Lu, and the two became close friends during the shoot. She is 1/4 German Jewish through her paternal grandmother.
Chen Duling (Ye Bingchang / Tian Huan) briefly dated Xichao Wang (who plays Jing Mie, the demon god's other lieutenant). They were apparently introduced by Yu Zheng (boss of Bai Lu's studio).
Luo Yunxi and Sun Zhenni are the only actors who dubbed themselves in the drama. Bai Lu is dubbed by Duan Yixuan, who is also the voice behind Linglong in Love & Redemption.
This is the second time Luo Yunxi plays a dragon god (Runyu is the first). This is also the second time Bai Lu plays a character who leaps off the tower to her death in a costume drama.
Post-production was rumored to be delayed and then rushed due to a number of reasons, including covid which hit the special effects team hard and the last minute change of the 40-episode rule.
Promotion
During the premiere day, celebrities posted on Weibo to promote the drama in support of Luo Yunxi (usually actors only ask for this favor when it's a really important project to their career): Huang Xiaoming, Tan Songyun, Wu Jingyan, Chen Yuqi, Cheng Xiao, Victoria Song, Zhang Ruonan, Huang Xuan, Chen Yao. The most noteworthy ones were Chen Xiao (whose drama was also opening on the same day) and EDG (the esports team that LYX supports)
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Summary of all mentions of members of Hong Lu's family in the game + comparison with the original book
Summary:
Mention of his “family” in general in the game
Mention of the family elders in the game + comparison with the original work
Mention of his grandmother in the game + comparison with the original work
Mention of his grandfather in the game + comparison with the original work
Mention of his father in the game + comparison with the original work
Mention of his siblings in the game + comparison with the original work
Mention of his brother (Jia Huan) in the game
I wanted to recap all the times Hong Lu talks about his family or a particular member of his family while at the same time comparing them to their version of the original novel by giving some info on the latter (assuming that Hong Lu = Jia Baoyu ). I excluded from this list the uncles and aunts by marriage as well as Baoyu's cousins for various reasons (too long otherwise, not mentioned...) but I will perhaps do a part 2 to talk about them.
Was also excluded, the entire branch which stems from Jia Yan (the brother of Jia Yuan (the father of Jia Daishan, the husband of Grandmother Jia)), a branch which remains important since it is this one who leads to the actual Head of the Ningguo Mansion (Jia Zhen) when the story takes place. But since, they are distant relatives/cousins of Jia Baoyu, that was taking me too far and so I had to remove them from this list. But I still wanted to mention it since it is an important branch of the family
The Jia family is mainly composed of 4 great families: the Jia Family, the Xue Family, the Wang Family and the Shi family in other words those who were born with the name Jia and those who joined the family by marriage / alliance / by being the brother / sister of one of the grooms… (born Xue or Wang or Shi).
There are also other families like the Xing or Lin family joining the Jia family but whose name appears (very) less often and which are also not considered as one of the great families of the novel.
This list of family members is made in relation to the place they occupy in relation to Jia Baoyu.
I/Mention of his “family” in general in the game
LCB sinner, chatter#3
Abn. logs, Pink shoes: lacking data
Abn. Logs, Sign of Roses: level 1
Abn. Logs, Sign of Roses: level 3
Liu Association South Section 5, story
Liu Association South Section 5, story
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, post-uptie chat 2
W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, Idle
Main story, Canto II, episode: 3
Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, Miracle in district 20, episode: 13
Main story, Canto V, episode: 2
Hong Lu’s promo pre-limbus company release (Hong Lu also mentions the family’s chef’s side dishes but I didn’t include it because it was not about his family specifically)
II/Mention of the family elders in the game + comparison with the original work
W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, story
W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, story
Main story, Canto IV, episode: 27
To tell the truth, I don't really know what the term "elders" is supposed to encompass in this context in the sense that, I don't know whether or not parents and/or uncles/aunts should be included in addition to the grandparents.
In my opinion the term "elders" refers to all the generations who are above the one who uses this term (in this case Hong Lu / Jia Baoyu) so I would tend to want to count the parents and uncles / aunts but I cannot say this with certainty.
I will therefore base myself on my interpretation so that it will allow me to talk about more characters of the novel but do not hesitate to let me know what this term encompasses!
1st generation:
Grand parents:
Jia Daishan:
Son of Jia Yuan
first Duke of Rong
husband of Grandmother Jia
father of Jia She, Jia Min and Jia Zheng
grandfather of the three first Spring Ladies (Jia Yuanchun, Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun), Jia Zhu, Baoyu, Daiyu, Jia Huan, Jia Lian
died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don’t know much about him
Grandma Jia (the Dowager):
Daughter of the Marquis Shi of Jinling
Wife of Jia Daishan
Grandmother Jia is a generation above the oldest member of the Rongguo Mansion (Jia Jing)
Thus, members of the Jia family all defer to her
For further information, refer to the paragraph dedicated to her below
Great uncle(s):
Dowager’s brother:
We don't know much about the Dowager's brother
He is Grandmother Jia’s brother
He is the father of Shi Ding and Shi Xiangyun's Father
He is Shi Xiangyun’s grandfather
died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don’t know much about him
2nd generation:
Parents:
Jia Zheng:
Jia Zheng is the second and youngest son of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia.
He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines: Zhao (with whom he had two children) and Zhou
For further information, refer to the paragraph dedicated to him below
Lady Wang:
Daughter of one of the four most prominent families of Jinling (Wang)
Primary wife of Jia Zheng
Mother of Baoyu and Yuanchun
Because of her purported ill-health, she hands over the running of the household to her niece, Wang Xifeng
In the eyes of her servants, she appears as a statue of a lifeless Buddha.
Although generous, she is described as without will or conviction.
Lady Wang seems kind and caring but can be cruel and ruthless when her authority is questioned.
She shows excessive concern about her son Baoyu's romantic relationships and closely monitors his maids.
Lady Wang plays a role in the death of Baoyu's maid, Qingwen, due to her suspicion and cruelty toward maids she perceives as threats to her son's virtue.
Uncles:
Jia She:
Elder son of the Dowager
Big brother of Jia Zheng and Jia Min
Husband of Xing furen
He has 2 concubines: Yingchun’s mother and Jia Cong's mother
Father of Jia Lian, Jia Yingchun and Jia Cong
He inherited the title of Marquis Rong
He is treacherous and greedy, as well as seductive/woomanizer.
He feels jealous towards his younger brother, favored by their mother.
He was later stripped of his title and banished by the government.
Father of Wang Ren and Wang Xifeng:
Lady Wang’s brother
Also brother of Wang Ziteng and Wang Zisheng
Father of Wang Ren and Wang Xifeng:
Wang Ziteng:
Lady Wang’s brother
Also brother of Wang Xifeng’s father and Wang Zisheng
Wang Zisheng:
Lady Wang’s brother
Also brother of Wang Xifeng’s father and Wang Ziteng
Aunts:
Jia Min:
Daughter of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia
Sister of Jia She and Jia Zheng
Wife of Lin Ruhai
Mother of Lin Daiyu
Xue Yima also known as Aunt Xue:
Sister of Lady Wang
Sister of Wang Ziteng, Wang Zisheng and Wang Xifeng’s father
Mother to Xue Pan and Xue Baochai
She is generally kind and affable.
However, she struggles to control her rambunctious son.
III/ Mention of his grandmother in the game + comparison with the original work
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, story
W Corp. L2 Cleanup agent, chatter #1
K Corp. Class 3 excision staff, post-uptie chat 1
Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, S.E.A, episode: 4
If Hong Lu is indeed the equivalent of Jia Baoyu in the world of limbus company, Hong Lu's grandmother should be the one known as Grandmother Jia, née Shi:
Grandmother Jia:
Also called Dowager Shi or simply the Dowager
She is the daughter of the Marquis Shi of Jinling
Grandmother Jia is a generation above the oldest member of the Rongguo Mansion (Jia Jing)
Main elder of the great family, she is the oldest and most respected authority of the Jia Clan
Of an enjoyable temperament, she does not intervene in the private lives of her children provided that they do not disturb her, even if they have become debauched or high rollers.
It was she who arranged for Daiyu, her only "outside" (i.e., maternal) grandchild, to come to the Rongguo Mansion
She spoils her grandson Baoyu whom she carries in adoration
Despite this, she does not approve of his love for Daiyu
She is the one who supports the marriage arranged by Sister Pheonix (Wang Xifeng) between Baoyu and Baochai
She will die at the ripe old age of 83
Maybe it's just me, but she seems to be one of the people if not the person who pays the most attention to Jia Baoyu's jade, reminding him to take care of it, asking him if he knows where it is his jade when he is not wearing it, paying attention to the stone...
IV/ Mention of his grandfather in the game + comparison with the original work
Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, Yield my flesh to claim their bones, episode: 4
Abn. Logs, Pink shoes: lacking data
Hong Lu’s promo pre-limbus company release (yéyé" (爷爷) meaning "grandfather" or “grandpa”. It is an affectionate term used to refer to one's grandfather in Mandarin.)
So we don’t really know which of his two grandfathers Hong Lu is referring to but knowing that in the novel only his paternal grandfather is mentioned and died before the novel begins, I think the "grandfather" Hong is talking about is Jia Daishan (and that he probably died in the world of Limbus Company too)
Jia Daishan:
Son of Jia Yuan
first Duke of Rong
husband of Grandmother Jia
father of Jia She, Jia Min and Jia Zheng
grandfather of the three first Spring Ladies (Jia Yuanchun, Jia Tanchun and Jia Yingchun), Jia Zhu, Baoyu, Daiyu, Jia Huan, Jia Lian
died before the beginning of the novel, reason why we don't know much about him
V/ Mention of his father in the game + comparison with the original work
LCB sinner, chatter#1
If Hong Lu is indeed the equivalent of Jia Baoyu in the world of limbus company, Hong Lu's father should be Jia Zheng:
Jia Zheng:
He is the second and youngest son of Jia Daishan and Grandmother Jia.
He has a wife, Lady Wang, and two concubines: Zhao (with whom he had two children) and Zhou
Father of Jia Zhu (deceased), Jia Yuanchun, Jia Baoyu, Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan
Confucianism had a great influence on him: he is a Confucian scholar who tries to be an upright and decent person, he fulfills his duties of filial piety towards the Dowager, and wants to educate his children strictly
Afraid his one surviving heir will turn bad, he imposes strict rules on his son (Jia Baoyu), and uses occasional corporal punishment.
Jia Baoyu is afraid of him
He has the ambition to become a good civil servant
But he lacks experience and is easily deceived by others, which earns him a bad reputation.
VI/ Mention of his siblings in the game + comparison with the original work
Main story, Canto III, episode: 2
Detour Tales, Chapter 5.5, episode: 13
Abn. Logs, Pink shoes: lacking data
If Hong Lu is indeed supposed to be the Jia Baoyu of the world of Limbus Company, then, if we refer to the novel The Dream of the Red Room, Hong Lu should, like Baoyu, have 4 siblings:
Jia Zhu:
First son of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang
Big brother of Jia Baoyu and Jia Yuanchun and half-brother of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan since they share the same father.
In the original novel, Jia Zhu is already dead prior to the action of the novel, so we know very little about him.
He had a son (Jia Lan) with Li Wan
Jia Yuanchun:
First female family member of the quartet of "Springs", first daughter of Jia Zheng and Lady Wang
Big sister of Jia Baoyu and Jia Yuanchun and half-sister of Jia Tanchun and Jia Huan since they share the same father.
She is about 10 years older than Baoyu.
She was raised by her grandmother
As an older sister, she taught Baoyu to read and write when he was liitle like his mother would have done.
Originally one of the ladies-in-waiting in the imperial palace, Yuanchun is later promoted to the highest ranking of imperial concubine "Xiande”, having impressed the Emperor with her virtue and intellect.
Despite her prestigious position, Yuanchun feels imprisoned within the four walls of the imperial palace.
She died at the age of forty, following an illness, in total isolation.
Jia Tanchun:
Third female family member of the quartet of "Springs", second daughter of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao
Big sister of Jia Huan and younger half-sister of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.
The fact that she is the daughter of a concubine is still such a burden that she often claims Lady Wang, Baoyu's mother, as her own
Tanchun is a very clever and capable person, as much as Sister Phoenix for comparison
But, as the proverb says, "he who comes last will have fewer opportunities than the others", and this is what happened to her, because when her family declined she had not done much and she was sent to a distant region following an arranged marriage
Jia Huan:
Third son of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao
Little brother of Jia Tanchun and younger half-brother of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.
More info just below
VII/ Mention of his brother (Jia Huan) in the game
Main story, Canto I, episode: 30
Main story, Canto V, episode: 18 (there we don’t know if he is talking about Jia Huan or not but there are not many other options and from what we can deduce from Jia Huan’s behaviour (in game and in the book too) it’s not very out off character)
Jia Huan:
Third male family member of the generation of the Jia household, son of Jia Zheng and his concubine, concubine Zhao
Little brother of Jia Tanchun and half-brother of Jia Zhu, Jia Yuanchun and Jia Baoyu since they share the same father.
He is described as ugly and clumsy
He and his mother are both reviled by the family, and he carries himself like a kicked dog.
He is very cunning but mediocre, he shows his malignant nature by spilling candle wax, intending to blind his half-brother Baoyu
That’s all! If I have forgotten any moments where Hong Lu talks about his family, don't hesitate to tell me and I will add it! Also, I tried to verify and proof-read all the info and everything should be correct but if I made a mistake feel free to point it out to me :)
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So I dragged myself kicking and screaming and, yes, mostly in denial, through the last episodes of A Journey to Love.
My thoughts can be summarized as follows:
Obviously this is mainly due to me being horrifically traumatized by Yuan Lu’s death. After all, they told us from the get go he wouldn’t live to 20. They made it clear he had a deadly heart disease. And then. They had the nerve. They had the audacity. They had the actual fucking bahoonga BALLS to follow through!?
But then I found myself sobbing at literally every good guy death scene, plus all of the mourning scenes. The latter was in large part thanks to Alen Fang's acting - deepest apologies to him for just referring to his character as 'the slutty one' for the majority of the show. Not that I was wrong. Also thanks to strong performances from He Lan Dou for Yuan Lu's death.
Anyway so I need to add this gif x4 for the Liudao Hall babies:
Qian Zhao, da ge, who made mistakes but always did right in the end
Sun Lang, who just wanted to hold something fluffy at the end, dying a hero
Yuan Lu, who died in his princess's arms after running to deliver a letter rendered useless by the Emperor of An's greed.
Yu Shisan, who lived as he lived and had such a happy moment with Chu Yue right before it all became irrevocable.
When they added Yu Shisan to the snowball fight, I just about lost it. Liu Yuning's acting there - having the realization about Shisan's death as he watched them play in real time was so well done. Really hurt.
Plus I'll make a couple of versions with edits.
For the Wu Emperor. I knew it was gonna happen from the spoilers but damn, him genuinely learning the value of friendship and brotherly love made me root for him. Dude did not deserve to go out like that. Thank goodness for the magic of CDramas where he lived just long enough to pass on his will to Ning Yuanzhou, and do one last act of good.
It also ensured Duke of Chu was able to pass on his command to his daughter, Chu Yue, before dying of the same (was not clear if her bro died or not, or if dad was always going to choose her).
And for Deng Hui. Started out thinking he was just a sexist bastard. Turns out he was one of the most principled characters in the show.
Their deaths didn't make me cry, but I respect them.
Also loved Chen Du Ling's (Empress of Wu) small part in this. I may not like all of her characters but she can deliver a scene and hold a room. It was a bit cathartic to see her put every man in their place, and basically decide the fate of two countries, even though her lament that she'd only ever have power through another held true.
Ah Ying, my baby girl. This is a character that could have turned people off from the beginning. Thanks to strong writing and stronger acting, it did not. I was super impressed with He Lan Dou. She can dial it up and dial it down in a single take, and can play big dramatic scenes with a subtlety that some older actors cannot grasp. This was the first thing I've seen her in, though for her and Chen You Wei (Yuan Lu) I might watch Tiger and Crane if someone tells me it's good.
I still think Li Tongguang is a perverted and creepy child, who never managed to learn (except in literally the last ep), but at least I trust that he will treat Ah Ying well. I don't hold it against him for screwing up the battle - he was trying to be benevolent but made a bad choice.
The main couple win it for me this year. What an inspired pairing. They beat out heavy hitters including Bai Lu x Everyone which was near impossible. Something to do with letting Liu Shi Shi use Liu Yuning's height against him at every possible moment. Also the 'if you die, I'll finish the job and then follow you' is my favorite dynamic. I swear when Ruyi threw those bombs, NOT NEEDING TO HAVING ALREADY SUCCEEDED AT KILLING THE KING AND PRINCE, just to join him, y'all I died. Good for whoever posthumously gave her the Marquis title on her own (not just furen) - couldn't tell if it was Li Tongguang acting as regent or Dayang (great shot of those two at the end).
The final episode was one of the best final cdrama episodes I've seen. I might have to make another post about that. In sum, despite losing a large portion of the well-loved cast, the remainder gave a world-class finale. The visuals were incredible (explosions are my favorite). The final scene was beautiful (though I'm a bit surprised they gave it to Chu Yue instead of Ah Ying who knew all 6 of them closely).
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