Revenge Begins: Reincarnated as a Hated Idol!-Chapter 45: Criticism
[You were being so sarcastic before. Why are you silent now? Afraid of Zelda Frank? That’s right, you cunt! Stay in your lowly place quietly.]
[Hey showoff... try to praise that trashy drama of yours now. Just because it’s first on the trending list doesn’t make it better, you asshole.]
[Hahaha, Die Aren Die, hahaha.]
[Just apologize, Aren. I’m saying this for your own benefit. Everyone can see you have no reply to Zelda Frank’s rightful criticism.]
[I hope a dog bites you and you get rabies... Die bastard and leave Theon alone!]
Aside from the usual hate comments, Aren noticed frequent mentions of Zelda Frank.
Other than that, in the trending hashtags, there were two hashtags sitting at the top related to him.
#ZeldaFrankSlamsToYourHeart#
#ZeldaFrankCriticizesArenFrost#
Aren clicked on the first one, and the first post that appeared was a long article by Zelda Frank, criticizing To Your Heart. The comments under the post were in tens of thousands.
Aren began reading the article...
...
Zelda Frank had been specially invited by Blackshore Management to target To Your Heart. This was their attempt at slowing down To Your Heart’s momentum and helping The Insiders make a comeback next week.
The current situation was still salvageable.
If The Insiders was losing in popularity score, then Blackshore Management had to simply ensure that To Your Heart would suffer the same fate.
By then they would be able to make the excuse that the audience simply wasn’t interested in watching dramas this season, causing each show to have a low viewership score.
However, if To Your Heart received a high viewership while The Insiders dipped, that would leave even that route closed for them.
Moreover, if To Your Heart received low viewership, some of its viewers might flock to The Insiders instead.
And even if To Your Heart managed to stay afloat, the criticism by Zelda Frank would surely repel the curious onlookers and casual viewers who were still looking for a drama to binge watch.
As a drama critic, Zelda Frank’s main job was contributing articles to various media houses. Back when the TV drama industry was more insular, critics were usually insiders.
Zelda Frank was treated like a VIP by production crews and had good relationships with directors and actors alike.
Occasionally, she even helped promote movies and dramas.
Unfortunately for her, with the rise of online platforms, anyone could become a drama critic. Production teams gradually shifted their attention to popular bloggers and influencers with massive fan followings.
Zelda Frank already had a bad temper and this development made her even more resentful.
Whenever she was displeased with a production crew, she would harshly criticize them regardless of the drama’s quality.
In the past, crews had no choice but to tolerate her. But now, with more critics around and Zelda Frank lacking social media skills, her influence was limited, and production teams no longer had to put up with her antics.
Objectively speaking, Zelda Frank’s current life wasn’t going too well.
Although she still held a nominal position in associations and had a seat at roundtable discussions, it was a far cry from the days when she was highly sought after.
To make matters worse, her income had been cut by more than half of what it had been in the past.
When Blackshore Management approached her this time, it was a big deal for Zelda Frank.
While she lacked confidence in many areas, she was confident in criticizing others without fearing anyone.
Zelda Frank penned a 2,000-word article that heavily criticized To Your Heart. As she kept going, she grew more excited, as if she was doing the drama industry a favor by exposing To Your Heart’s flaws.
In her article, she first criticized the bullying and violence shown in the drama, explaining that this would have a bad influence on society.
Glorifying Shin, a bully, would make children want to be like him, a disservice to the television industry and its audience.
She called the show distasteful with no class, proclaiming that such a drama topping the charts was a disgrace to the television industry.
Meanwhile, she praised The Insiders, comparing and calling it an underrated masterpiece that the audience was missing for the trashy To Your Heart.
She even began to specifically target Aren in her article, calling him a lackluster actor who relied heavily on his looks and didn’t have any range.
At the same time, she praised Theon for taking his character seriously, showing range and having a commanding screen presence.
Theon was immensely pleased with her article, more due to the fact that she highlighted some moments from the drama that even he and his agency had missed where he shined.
She called him an acting genius, an upcoming superstar, while simultaneously criticizing Aren for relying on his charm and looks instead of his acting.
From the highlighted moments she mentioned in her article, Theon felt that his acting in The Insiders hadn’t been as bad as everyone had made it out to be.
Only he knew how hard he had worked for that role. The more screen time he had, the more scenes he had to perform.
For an amateur actor, having bad acting in a few scenes was natural; however, the viewers were unforgiving in that aspect.
They didn’t care if you were sick while filming or your parent had died on that day; they only saw the final result on the screen, judging you without any bias.
Still, having someone highlight his appreciable acting moments, he felt overjoyed.
The same could be said about his fans who were commenting delightfully under Zelda Frank’s article.
[Yes, that’s what I was talking about. Theon has put in so much effort in his acting. I have always supported him.]
[Aren is just an attention whore. Getting all handsome to take the spotlight, which should’ve belonged to Theon.]
[You are a genius, Zelda Frank! I thank you for bringing the truth to light. Theon doesn’t deserve any criticism. Instead, he should be praised.]
Being delighted to see the trending hashtags and accolades, Theon and Zelda both were confident that they had won.
Zelda, who had been feeling underconfident and doubting if she had lost her skills, now felt rejuvenated.
The praise in her comment section made her feel valued and appreciated.
Meanwhile, Theon felt excited to see the tables turn.
Now he was being appreciated while To Your Heart and Aren were getting bashed.
Zelda and Theon both believed that there was no way to get out of this situation for Aren; however, Aren’s response wasn’t something they expected even in their dreams.
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(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)
