Cortanaherondale

Where do I even start with such a masterpiece?

Honestly, this is probably one of my favorite fantasy shows I’ve ever watched. If I had watched it in 2024, it most probably would have been one of my favorites of that year. What a freaking masterpiece.

I genuinely think it sets the bar incredibly high for fantasy shows because it is just so well made. From the beginning, the storyline immediately grips you—a demon and a demon hunter joining hands? Such an interesting premise.

But what really makes this show special to me is that it’s a story of stories. It isn’t only about the main characters; it genuinely feels like a journey. As they search for a way to protect the wilderness, they encounter so many different people and stories, and through them, the drama constantly reminds us that the real demons aren’t always demons—sometimes, they’re humans. Nobody is simply born evil; pain, betrayal, circumstances, and choices can turn someone into it.

That depth captivated me. This wasn’t fantasy just for the sake of supernatural entertainment. There was so much meaning behind everything, and the drama built itself as much through its characters as through its plot. Every encounter and side story added something, and by the end, you become genuinely attached to these people.

Watching it now in 2026 was also fun because I kept recognizing actors who have since become much more well known or gone on to lead their own dramas. I genuinely loved all the familiar faces and cameos—seeing Cheng Lei, Ryan, Lei Wei Ming, and so many other familiar actors pop up randomly was such a treat. It honestly made the world feel even more alive, like every corner of the industry was somehow connected in this one story.

And something I absolutely did NOT expect?

THE COMEDY.

What the hell? Where did this comedy come from?!

For something so dark and tragic, this show was ridiculously funny. I was laughing my ass off. Sometimes it was genuinely funnier than actual comedy dramas. I loved how you could have an incredibly serious scene, with the music building up and everything becoming dramatic, only for someone to suddenly throw in a sarcastic comment.

Especially Bai Jiu, Zhuo Yichen, and Ying Lei. Those three were hilarious.

It’s crazy that a drama could traumatize me this much while simultaneously being one of the funniest things I’ve watched. But the humor never diminished the emotional depth; it just gave you room to breathe between all the pain.

Zhao Yuanzhou

Obviously, I have to talk about Zhao Yuanzhou.

Can we please appreciate how amazing Hou Minghao is as an actor? He completely convinced me as this ancient demon while simultaneously being sarcastic, witty, hilarious, manipulative, powerful, and surprisingly soft.

I loved everything about Zhao Yuanzhou—from the witty remarks and all the gay shit to the subtle romantic moments and his chemistry with basically everyone.

What made him so heartbreaking was that he never chose this life. From practically the first episode, he wanted to seek death just to end the misery of his existence. He spent his life wanting to be good, but because of the malicious energy inside him, he could become the exact thing he never wanted to be.

He was born a demon, yet all he wanted was to live like a human, and he was never really given that choice.

Hou Minghao also genuinely gave me the feeling that I was watching an ancient, 30,000-year-old demon. His styling was perfect, but it was also the way he carried himself. And I loved that Zhao Yuanzhou wasn’t simply written as some cute, lovable demon. He could be manipulative and calculating. He always had a plan, even when nobody else knew what it was.

I loved his depth and the fact that he was constantly trying to protect everyone, even when they misunderstood him. His character genuinely broke my heart.

What hurts even more is that toward the end, he finally starts believing that maybe life actually is worth living. Being with these people made him want to stay. He had finally found people who made living feel okay—and then he had no choice but to sacrifice himself for the greater good.

It’s heartbreaking, but also a beautiful conclusion to his story after all the guilt he carried.

Thankfully, the special episode makes it bittersweet rather than completely devastating because we know he can eventually return after cultivating again. Hopefully, he gets to come back as a human this time because that is what he deserves.

This is easily one of my favorite performances from Hou Minghao. His acting, storyline, fight scenes, and the depth he brought to Zhao Yuanzhou were incredible.

Zhuo Yichen — and THAT Dynamic

Technically, I should probably talk about the female lead next, but to me, someone who became much more important was definitely Zhuo Yichen.

I was NOT expecting that.

I already love Tian Jiarui, but this might genuinely be my favorite character of his. I love that cold, powerful, determined type of character, and Zhuo Yichen had some of the best development in the entire show.

Especially because, in the end, he became a demon.

Making him become the exact thing he hated the most was such a great plot twist. He spent so much of the story hating demons only to become one himself and finally understand their perspective.

Also, whoever styled Tian Jiarui was clearly obsessed with him because OH MY GOD. The hair, outfits, makeup—everything was incredible. Even when he appeared as that past version connected to the Bingyi clan, he looked ethereal.

But one of my absolute favorite things about this entire drama was his relationship with Zhao Yuanzhou.

The writers took Zhuo Yichen from seeing Zhao Yuanzhou as his enemy to becoming one of the few people who truly understood him. I loved that they actually put Zhuo Yichen through a situation where he experienced what Zhao Yuanzhou had experienced: losing control and becoming the very thing everyone fears.

And can we PLEASE talk about their chemistry?

I don’t even know what kind of chemistry it was anymore. Bromance? Soulmates? Whatever you want to call it, Hou Minghao and Tian Jiarui had SO MUCH chemistry.

For me, they became the emotional focal point of the show.

Toward the end, I cared far more about this relationship than the romance. Zhuo Yichen literally travelled around searching for the remaining piece of Zhao Yuanzhou’s soul—and then that piece of his soul came to him. Not her. HIM.

I genuinely cannot shut up about these two.

Honestly, Li Lun sometimes gave me the energy of a heartbroken ex watching Zhao Yuanzhou become close to another man and going, “But I was your friend too?!”

Their enemies-to-friends arc was amazing. They went from opposing each other to reaching a point where they would sacrifice themselves for one another, and in the end Zhao Yuanzhou literally died by Zhuo Yichen’s sword.

Like… what even IS this relationship?!

Their chemistry, character development, symbolism, and the way their stories mirrored one another were beautifully written.

The Romance & Female Characters

As for the romance, I really didn’t care that much about it.

But I also don’t think the drama was particularly focused on romance. It’s not that I disliked Wen Xiao and Zhao Yuanzhou together—I just wasn’t invested. They had some nice moments, but personally I didn’t feel much chemistry.

Romance does motivate certain aspects of Zhao Yuanzhou’s character, but it was never the focal point, and I was completely fine with that.

However, I do feel like they did Wen Xiao’s character dirty.

For someone whose position should have made her incredibly important, she somehow ended up feeling like one of the least useful members of the group. I kept waiting for this big moment where she would finally show exactly why her role mattered so much, but it never really came.

I loved her as the mom of the squad, but individually, she never lived up to how powerful or important her character should have been.

That being said, Chen Duling did an amazing job. My issue was with the writing, not her acting.

I felt somewhat similarly about Pei Sijing. Maybe it’s less that she was underdeveloped and more that both she and Wen Xiao simply felt like supporting characters to me. I enjoyed them as part of the team much more than I cared about them individually.

I did really love Pei Sijing’s storyline involving her brother, though. It was beautiful and heartbreaking.

But then again, practically everybody’s storyline in this drama involved losing someone they loved.

This is definitely not your happy little fantasy show.

Bai Jiu, Ying Lei & the Found Family

Now for one of the biggest surprises of the entire show for me: Bai Jiu.

Oh my God. This character was honestly one of the BEST parts of the drama.

For someone so young, the actor completely blew me away. He showed so much versatility—funny, dark, broken, even a spy at certain points. But I especially loved funny Bai Jiu. During the first part of the show, he was SO entertaining.

More importantly, I loved his relationships with everyone. He genuinely felt like everybody’s kid.

His relationship with Zhuo Yichen especially felt like an older brother-younger brother bond. It was funny, sweet, and emotional, and little things like Bai Jiu constantly grabbing onto Zhuo Yichen’s braid made it even more endearing.

Which is why his death absolutely destroyed me.

For someone who was always scared of pain and getting hurt, the fact that he ultimately sacrificed himself for the person he looked up to completely broke me. When it actually mattered, he didn’t hesitate.

I cried my eyes out.

And then there was Bai Jiu and Ying Lei.

These two were SUCH a treat. They were hilarious together, which makes it even more painful that the drama killed BOTH of them.

They were two of the brightest, most high-spirited characters in the story, and they were also among the characters who had the clearest dreams for their futures. One wanted to become the best physician; the other wanted to become an amazing cook.

They were young. They had plans. You could genuinely imagine the futures they should have had.

And then they died.

At the same time, I loved the way their sacrifices were written. They were probably among the characters you would least expect to immediately sacrifice themselves, and yet when the moment came, they were the first ones willing to do it.

They were hilarious and endearing, yet somehow became two of the most heartbreaking characters in the entire drama.

I desperately need those actors to work together again.

And actually, that brings me to one of my favorite things about the show:

Everybody had chemistry with everybody.

That is probably one of the biggest reasons I didn’t care about the romance. I’m much more likely to become emotionally invested in the chemistry of an entire squad than in one specific couple, and this cast absolutely delivered.

Every combination worked. Every relationship felt different but natural. Everyone felt important.

Most importantly, you genuinely believed that these people had become a family.

Almost all of them had already lost someone they loved, so watching them slowly become the family that each of them needed was one of the most beautiful parts of the show.

You could genuinely feel that sense of, “This is my family now.”

A special memorable mention also has to go to Li Lun, played by Yan An.

Oh my God, that man can ACT.

He always eats up villain roles. Honestly, he was born to play villains.

But I appreciated that Li Lun wasn’t left as a one-dimensional antagonist. By the end, he had his own development, reached a point of redemption, and ultimately sacrificed himself.

At this point, I genuinely think the central theme of this entire drama is sacrifice.

So much of Li Lun’s anger came from feeling betrayed by his best friend, and Yan An portrayed that bitterness, jealousy, anger, and heartbreak incredibly well.

Honestly, the acting across the entire cast was amazing. Almost every character was memorable and had depth. Nobody felt hollow.

So many times, I just wanted to climb into the screen and hug these people because every single one of them had been through hell.

That’s one of the biggest strengths of the drama: it doesn’t only build its story through plot, but through its characters. You understand their pain, their relationships, their dreams, and everything they’ve lost, so by the time you reach the ending, it absolutely destroys you.

It’s one of the most heartbreaking endings I’ve watched, but it’s also a beautiful kind of heartbreak because the entire drama feels like a journey.

By the end, so many of these characters sacrifice themselves for love, friendship, family, or the people they came to consider family.

It hurts like hell, but the pain actually means something.

And beyond the characters, can we PLEASE talk about the cinematography?

It was on another level. The scenery, framing, atmosphere, fight scenes, costumes—everything looked incredible. Probably some of my favorite work from this director.

The story itself was also surprisingly easy to follow. Even with all the demons, clans, histories, side stories, and fantasy elements, I never felt lost.

It genuinely felt like watching a fantasy novel come to life.

I was never bored. The pacing felt fast to me, there was always something happening, and I was completely invested in this world and these characters from beginning to end.

Probably one of my favorite OST playlists ever.

Every song was amazing, and I loved that some of the actors participated in the soundtrack. Even better, when you read the lyrics, so many of the songs directly resonate with the characters and their stories.

Special mention to the OSTs by Hou Minghao and Liu Yuning. Amazing.

The cinematography. The fight scenes. The costumes. The acting. The comedy. The villains were VILLAINING. The character development, friendships, found family, emotional depth, sacrifices—it all worked for me.

Even though the ending was incredibly heartbreaking, I loved how it was executed because everything ultimately came back to the friendship and love between these characters.

That was the heart of the drama for me.

It started as a story about demons and demon hunters, but became a story about people—about good and evil, grief, guilt, forgiveness, friendship, love, sacrifice, and finding a family after losing your own.

And somehow, through all that tragedy, it was also freaking hilarious.

Amazing cast. Amazing storyline. Amazing characters. Amazing production.

For me, it was a masterpiece.

Easily one of the best fantasy shows I have ever watched.

I cannot recommend it enough.

But one warning: it is definitely not for the weak.