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Amazing Philosophy with Okay Leads and Cringey CGI
While this show was far from perfect, the overall philosophy driving the underlying story was well done. If you are the type to enjoy the discussions of shifting morals and how various people can see the same issue, this drama will be worth watching for that aspect alone. Among the various subplots, different moral questions are raised as the philosophical differences between mortals and immortals are explored. It has the charm of moving its plot forward via a varied cast of characters, some that will resonate more than others.
So, who would like the drama?
• Someone who likes deep philosophical ideals discussed
• A fan of morally grey side characters who do both positive and negative things
• Someone who does not feel the need to have a "traditional" and chemistry-heavy romance depicted by any character
• A female lead who gets stronger as the male lead gets weaker
At the same time, these are negative aspects if you can't stand these features:
• Fight scenes that are essentially 100% CGI
• Main leads being apart from each other doing their own thing
• Side characters doing things that seem disconnected to the main plot at the time
• Cliché plot flags
Personally, more so than the leads, I felt that the supporting cast is where the true watch value lies. Among this varied group, the majority consist of highly grey characters, many with minor character arcs demonstrating their growth. This is especially true of several of the Immortal Sect side characters. As is discussed in one of the philosophical questions near the beginning of the show, the Immortals are tasked with being separate from humanity and assisting humanity; but how can those two things co-exist when a cultivator lives so much longer than a human? Morals shift and one sees groups as enemies and what is "best" becomes a matter of perception. As such, many of the side characters will do awful things at one point to one person and be a completely different personality to another person, which makes for an interesting watch.
Meanwhile, the leads were slightly less interesting on an overall basis because they consistently erred on the side of staying "good". The few times either lead fought and killed someone was in the name of justice for their atrocities previously committed, and they never seemed to waver in their ideals. Our FL Xin Mei never sought power and was constantly fine with actually going down rather than advancing. Her personality was to want to see the best in others and, as one character puts it, her temperament is close to what many would consider a Goddess if they needed to picture one. As for our ML Lu Qianqiao, he also has a rather emotionally stunted appearance. His greatest wish is to be a "normal" human, and he chases this dream the way so many cultivators chase increased power and eventual Godhood. Together they are, in theory, a married couple, yet for much of the drama he refers to her as his friend, and they don't even hold hands. Both characters feel as though there is a bubble of space around each other and if they get too close, that bubble will burst.
All in all, this is a rather difficult drama for me to process in my mind because I both liked it greatly and felt there was a lot that just didn't sit right with me on a personal level. For instance, I had a love-hate relationship with A Sheng and Jin Lun's character arcs. Their interactions were often so brief that while each time was pretty, I couldn't help wanting to speed their scenes up. Another pet peeve was the feeling that time didn't always match up in a logical way; for instance, a character being locked up for days or weeks with nothing happening. Also, for me, I hated the CGI battles. They looked like bad AI to me and any time someone would throw out a chain, especially when I died a little inside.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
So, who would like the drama?
• Someone who likes deep philosophical ideals discussed
• A fan of morally grey side characters who do both positive and negative things
• Someone who does not feel the need to have a "traditional" and chemistry-heavy romance depicted by any character
• A female lead who gets stronger as the male lead gets weaker
At the same time, these are negative aspects if you can't stand these features:
• Fight scenes that are essentially 100% CGI
• Main leads being apart from each other doing their own thing
• Side characters doing things that seem disconnected to the main plot at the time
• Cliché plot flags
Personally, more so than the leads, I felt that the supporting cast is where the true watch value lies. Among this varied group, the majority consist of highly grey characters, many with minor character arcs demonstrating their growth. This is especially true of several of the Immortal Sect side characters. As is discussed in one of the philosophical questions near the beginning of the show, the Immortals are tasked with being separate from humanity and assisting humanity; but how can those two things co-exist when a cultivator lives so much longer than a human? Morals shift and one sees groups as enemies and what is "best" becomes a matter of perception. As such, many of the side characters will do awful things at one point to one person and be a completely different personality to another person, which makes for an interesting watch.
Meanwhile, the leads were slightly less interesting on an overall basis because they consistently erred on the side of staying "good". The few times either lead fought and killed someone was in the name of justice for their atrocities previously committed, and they never seemed to waver in their ideals. Our FL Xin Mei never sought power and was constantly fine with actually going down rather than advancing. Her personality was to want to see the best in others and, as one character puts it, her temperament is close to what many would consider a Goddess if they needed to picture one. As for our ML Lu Qianqiao, he also has a rather emotionally stunted appearance. His greatest wish is to be a "normal" human, and he chases this dream the way so many cultivators chase increased power and eventual Godhood. Together they are, in theory, a married couple, yet for much of the drama he refers to her as his friend, and they don't even hold hands. Both characters feel as though there is a bubble of space around each other and if they get too close, that bubble will burst.
All in all, this is a rather difficult drama for me to process in my mind because I both liked it greatly and felt there was a lot that just didn't sit right with me on a personal level. For instance, I had a love-hate relationship with A Sheng and Jin Lun's character arcs. Their interactions were often so brief that while each time was pretty, I couldn't help wanting to speed their scenes up. Another pet peeve was the feeling that time didn't always match up in a logical way; for instance, a character being locked up for days or weeks with nothing happening. Also, for me, I hated the CGI battles. They looked like bad AI to me and any time someone would throw out a chain, especially when I died a little inside.
Final Rating: 7.5/10
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