Man made goddess.
This fantasy drama is set in Sichuan, a world that is being torn apart by internal strife, corruption and disillusionment after the people are abandoned by their goddess. The young ruler Yuan Yi sets out to restore faith, peace and prosperity to his land by seeking the return of the goddess. This brings him to a remote village that is occupied by a tribe whose sacred duty is to contain the deadly earth fires from erupting and engulfing their world. There he encounters Linglong, a young girl with inexplicable powers and her father Huotu Xin. They are semi-outcasts in the village as Linglong's mother was an outsider who disappears as mysteriously as she appeared. Is Linglong the key to bringing back the goddess to Sichuan?I have to give top marks for how mythically gorgeous this fantasy world looks - especially the fabulous flying fish ships. This drama's premise around this magical fantasy land and its man made goddess is very interesting and I really enjoy how the world building takes place slowly as the mysteries of the past and the origins of the goddess are revealed. The problem is that the plot peaks at that point, meanders around before limping to an unimpressive and dissatisfying ending.
I really enjoyed Yuan Hong's performance as Linglong's father in this drama and find it to be the drama's most memorable and enjoyable relationship. His heart warming, comical rapport with Zhao Jinmai's Linglong regularly had me grinning away and made me continue even after the plot lost momentum. This is one of the best portrayed father-daughter relationships I have seen in c-drama. I am so glad I watched this because I really needed to wipe the (not good) images I had of Yuan Hong after Rebel Princess. He is an incredible and smoking hot actor and I wish the drama was written around his character Huotu Xin, who is much more interesting than the titular character Linglong. That is one of my main gripes - the titular character Linglong is not that interesting and her relationship with Yuan Yi is sweet but does not make a lasting impression. Sadly the China market is idol-focused and there is limited room for actors like Yuan Hong who are ageing out of lead roles.
I love realistically written, opaque and intriguing characters with conflicting agendas, which is how many of the other main characters are written. That makes them so much more interesting than the OTP that I care a lot more about them and am dismayed at how callously they are dealt with. Even Li Sha and Yin Xiao are much more interesting both in terms of their personalities and abilities than the OTP. Not only was I rooting for both Wu Yuan and Yin Zhuang at the same time, I was also rooting for Wei Shengyan and Huotu Xin at the same time! It is incredible that this drama manages to resolve such win-win triangles in a way that manages to disappoint someone who is rooting for both angles. Wei Shengyan is a smart and curiously likeable protagonist who suddenly does stupid, self destructive things to force the plot towards the ending the writers wanted. I don't want to spoil the end so I will just leave it at lots of stuff happens, there are many sacrifices but Sichuan is not necessarily a better place and I don't care that much about the winners.
I enjoyed many aspects of this fantasy drama and can recommend it as a decent filler drama to watch with low expectations. I rate it 7.0.
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Goddess or Science Experiment Monster?
The Blessed Girl/ Ling Long is a drama production made by Tangren Media along with Tencent. This drama takes place in Suchuan a fictional continent. The drama narrates the story of Ling Long (Angel Zhao), who is allegedly a "goddess" / an experiment monster made by the villains. Meanwhile, Yuan Yi (Lin Yi) is the powerless young emperor of Suchuan. Together, they embark on adventures and challenges along with others to seek peace and stability in Suchuan.The production of this drama is exquisite, and we can see that its budget is mostly spent on CGI. The CGI in this drama are really well-made in my opinion, especially the sceneries and fish boats. Then again, there are some scenes were the CGI are average/ terrible; but it is still bearble. In addition, the color schemes are really beautiful, it is rare to see historical dramas with this kind of color schemes. The color combination are bold yet goes along really well with each other. Also the styling and costumes of this drama are very immaculate and intricate. And the OSTs are also very beautiful, it managed to successfully encapsutlate the essence of the story.
The plot of this drama is not straightforward, there are a lot of flashbacks and memory travelling which may be arupt and confusing. The characters of this drama are not really well-written, the motive of their actions are not really known to the viewers which is a minus, and there are also some plot holes in the drama. However, I love how this drama highlights the relationship between Ling Long and her father. It is really heart warming to see how his father sacrifice and protect Ling Long at all costs even though he is kinda powerless.
The actors acting are average. Angel's acting is okay but Lin Yi's acting is very stoic. There are not many skinship in this drama, however, the chemistry between them is there. I personally think 40 episodes is too much for this drama. It gets really draggy in the middle, and there are a lot of unnecessary fillers. If this drama only has 24/26 episodes, it would be much better as the plot would be more straightforward and simple. The ending of the drama is not straightforward, it kinda hangs. So I am guessing there will be Ling Long S2.
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Captivated And WOW
This drama has left me at WOW! What a great drama. Let me start with the story. Since the beginning of the 1st episode this drama has had me captivated. The story is new and so different from any other story. Very well written for all the characters. The special affects are great. They are not cheap looking and they pull you into the scene. The characters all have their uniqueness about them were you fall in love with them and then hate some of them. Several characters you don't know whether to trust them or not and they become very suspicious. The 2 main lead characters are what I love to see in a drama. The strong female who knows she has a job to do and does not stop to think she is weak. The king who fall in love with her and supports her. The father who worries about her but knows he has to give her space to grow and do what she needs to do. There is no romance but there is characters who fall in love and sacrifice they make for love. There is a love of a parent, a love of siblings, a love of family and a love between two people. There are some cute and funny parts but the special affects is what will WOW you. The actors performance is great and you can see and feel the chemistry between them. A must watch especially if you like fantasy and special affects.Was this review helpful to you?
A mess.
This series had a promising start but unfortunately midway through it became a veritable narrative mess. Character arcs were abandoned and very often many of the main characters reacted inexplicably to situations which defied logic. Plotting and the script went out the window and nothing really made sense. The origins of the evil souls (why did like a cross between dogs and gorgons is beyond me) and how and why they were brought to the city was not established clearly. The infection of the humans also did not have any logic whatsoever and the link to the Goddess plotline was so tenuous and in the end it did not have a resolution. This show was frustrating in that there was no payoff for plotlines that the scriptwriter had spent so much time on earlier. They were just discarded or resolved in a perfunctory fashion as if they did not know how to wrap up the story. A disappointment.Was this review helpful to you?
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Not Typical Story, Not Typical Romance.
First I have to say this Drama has such beautiful OST, I gave 10 out of 10 for that. I especially love "Opposite" by Zang Zi Ning, and everytime emotional or warm scene appear I would hear the music in the background. (Been waiting to be available in iTunes!!!)The plot can be confusing and incomplete, but I do still enjoy the story since it's fantasy anyway. The story can be better but everything was fresh, the ideas, the character and the land setting itself.
What I like about this drama....
1. There's no such misunderstanding scene for the two Lead, Ling Long always trust Yuan Yi and she accepts him regardless what's happen in the past about the Yuan's Clan. Both of them has this ultimate trust and even if there's no words of love, their trust is pretty much another form of love.
2. The romance is there and not really there. Yuan Yi clearly likes Ling Long, they both sacrificed for each others and they both trust each other. There's this small and special moments which perfect of the story. And for me their relationship is pure, I mean of course they play as a young King and young maiden so it's kinda expected.
As for Huo TuXin and Yin Zhuang, it's actually kinda sad, but YZ always knew HTX feeling but they simply have to choose different path in life. For Wu Yuan, she likes HTX and loves him till the end.
3. The bad guys aren't completely hateful. We Sheng Yan such interesting bad guy character, he has his own reasoning for creating such chaos and trying to control the Goddess. And, even though he's bad guy, his honesty toward YZ makes him human. Even Zhu Xi wasn't completely the bad guy I hate, they way he loves his youngest son kinda sweet and how at the end he supports Yuan Yi somehow gives him
I feels like there'll be second season, but not sure. I mean there's not really a cliffhanger, but some details might need to get more clarity.
For me Ling Long is such a beautiful character, and the way she said, "Yuan Yi" stucks in my head. There's so much emotion in that two words. I also like Yuan Yi where he's strong, smart and mature character despite his age. I really miss Ling Long and Yuan Yi when the drama ends.
I would give it 8 overall, the story can be better, but the cast, the chemistry, the ideas and the interesting story was perfect for me.
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Not your usual costume drama
Bruh I thought it was just a lovey dovey love story. Thankfully I still continue to watch. Plot gets interesting at the middle. Also the love triangle of FL's dad is not the typical annoying third wheel. She's cool and not sticky.Characters are logical in their decisions at the start. Logic starts to lose towards the middle end but was able to recover towards the last few eps. Most of them are not stupid and has serious thing to do. (Not a character that only seeks love or flowervase)
Their cast are new to me. So far they all did well especially Yin Zhuang. She may be boring but she has the charisma of an aristocrat. Love her. She's actually my fave. Ahahah
King of Suchuan becomes useless as the story progress. Bruh.
Obviously, they spent more money on CGI and set? Btw the CGI is very nice. Love itt.
I hoped they made their OST and poster or whatever look more serious. They made it seems like the drama is just another typical fantasy romance drama or light hearted drama.
Some spoiler:
Im currently watching ep 25 and I was shocked with the plot that involves human experiment. Didn't see that coming because it was all laughter and romance in the first few episodes.
I n short, I love the overall plot. (I forgave some stupid decisions because I really want to know how to resolve everything)(All lose knots are resolved)(The story makes sense in a way that despite the main leads are powerful, there are things they can't change like death of people) I also love the CGI. I hate the bgm and posters.
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One of my favorites of the fantasy genre
(Warning: spoilers likely below)The fantasy genre in general is my favorite, so I'm already a little biased. This one was a gem, however, The world building was excellent, the mystery build up good, and the relationship between the FL and ML was sweet and non-toxic.
The sound track was very good--and used very well, there was this eerie song that really set the mood during certain scenes (like the one where she is revealed to be the Goddess to the entire court...).
Both leads did very well. They were comfortable in their roles and you could really believe in the ML as a teenage king who genuinely wanted to do good by his country (though why he decided to make that one evil guy prime minister....I thought at first he'd done it on purpose knowing that it would drive Yin Xiao [way cool sword btw!] to execute him, but nope, turns out he was serious?). Both evil main characters gave me the absolute creeps which meant they did their jobs well.
And of course, there is the dad who's just great. And for once, they had an actor of the appropriate age play someone's father--in a period drama based on ancient Chinese culture where marriage at an early age was common, a man who, in his late teens, became a father would not be older than forty and that actor was perfectly believable in that role.
If you like the fantasy genre, I don't think you'll be disappointed in this one. Its not perfect (I haven't yet watched one that is), but its enjoyable, the ending for the couple is happy (though, fair warning, for few else). There's also some good lessons about Machiavellian displays of power (e.g. making 'deities' in order to maintain power).
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A drama full of excitement at every turn
Just finshed and I have to say.. I loved it 10+. Don't read reviews and look at it negatively. Some say it not romantic between the ML/FL, but they are young and you can feel the love and trust between them I got what was expected and more. The cast did an amazing job and the costumes and scenery were beyond my expectations. If I could live in her house it be awesome lol. The title says it's all. It's about a girl linglong who grew up being called a monster and so lived alone with her dad. Then one day she goes up the mountain to the fire entrance and tries to hid, but the fire was to strong. She gets trapped and collapses so her dad goes to help and is pushed away as she turns in a patron goddess looking alien and begin to chock him. Then Yuan Yi (ML) shows up and tells her to stop and fix his injuries then he cuts himself and puts his blood her head. She and he colaspes and wakes up in her room and tells her dad she had a strange dream, but doesn't remember what happened which is good. He gives her the necklace that her mom ji ari left behind when she also went into the fire to save linglong he never told anyone. So now Yuan Yi convinces her and her dad to follow him to the Sichuan as he needs linglong as the patron goddess and his Yuan family power to put hope back into the people and everyone else in its place. When he trys to take back his control he is met with a hostile Zhu xi(Marque of pinging) and High priest who kill Fei Tien his protection and take over Zhao capital with the mission to kill the Patton Goddess. So ML, FL and dad head to pinging to take that over now and then take Zhao back, but they are attacked in so many way and have to figure out who is good and bad. Some have the power to control dreams(meng zhan/li Sha my favorites) others can control objects(Yin Xiao/yin zhaung) then Wu yuan is a killer for Wei Sheng yin who is lower class that becomes wealthy and makes her do it in order to save her grandfather from his poison. There are many others that are included bad and good. From here to the end of drama is them going thru so much good and bad in keeping the FL safe and providing she's not a monster but the patron goddess. She also has the power to heal the injured and herself very fast, she can go thru fire and more. Continue to watch as it is full of excitement and you get angry, cry, laugh alot, hate then forgive. I like the ending.Was this review helpful to you?
Best Chinese Historical Fantasy Drama
The Blessed Girl Chinese drama is a true gem. The production quality is exquisite. The leads are charming, beautiful and expressive. The script is witty and the pace is just nice. The colours are something to behold. The animation is fitting. What else to ask for? Supporting actors are equally amazing with the storyline rendering interesting details on respective backgrounds. But the two leads are absolutely delightful to watch. Both Yuan Yi and Long Ling are the best OTP ever... even without any romantic moves or gestures yet. I am gonna watch both actors Lin Yi and Angel Zhao very closely from now on. I love and adore this show.Was this review helpful to you?
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Big disappointment
Starting of the story was very good but after 20th episode I am waiting and waiting for love story to start ,the story gave lots of lovely pairing but none get a nice start and even ending . One of the them love story started with the ending that was very wrong as well as sad.End was very disappointed.
By watching whole drama I came to the point that this story was a story of father and daughter relationship , no matter what father would not going to leave his daughter until his last breath and he had proved it but the story gave lots of hope ,hope of love stories and hope convert into big disappointment and here I guess the drama failed.
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definately worth to watch!!!!
Firstly, I love how ling long and her father protect and love each other. Their relationship is the best father-daughter chemistry i've ever seen.Second, I love how Yin brother and sister chemistry too!!! Yin xiao is the best brother!! Yin zheng is also pretty and kind!! I love how Yin zheng trust her brother when danger comes, and I love how Yin xiao protect his sister at any cost.
Third, even if it's only slight romance between main couple, but I can tell that their feelings for each other is very strong.
Fourth, I love this drama because there is NO evil second female lead that will always ruin the main couple, or even destroy the main female lead.
Fifth, the visuals of the settings and also the ost is perfect!!!
actually, I like ling long better in the first outfit and hairstyle than her outfit in the "palace", she's so pretty!!!!
AND I ALSO LOVE HOW LING LONG'S DAD BECOME THE "THIRD WHEELER" BETWEEN LING LONG AND YUAN YI!!! they're so funnyyyyyy
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When the story gets away from the writers
A nice premise that got away from the writers. I mean I have rarely seen a drama fell on its ass as hard as this one did. It just became a bundle of great plot ideas that actually never went anywhere. and unless you are planning a 2nd season this may be the worst ending ever. Leaving so many questions unanswered.The only enjoyable things about this drama are quite frankly only the acting and the scenery. The OTP was so weak that it was easier to get invested in other characters.
The music is also forgettable. It's quite sad that this drama introduces us to so many good characters only to have them all have the same fate. Yet it truly doesn't deliver a satisfying resolution to all the problems that got raised during all drama.
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