Editorials 
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Fantastical desert adventuring
Parallel World is a modern sci-fi/fantasy. I watched it because it seemed similar to Seven Relics of Ill Omen, which I really liked; I didn’t realize until afterwards that it’s by the same original author (along with Love on the Turquoise Land, which I did not like or finish).
The FL, Ye Liuxi, has a strong personality. “Outgoing and free-spirited” is one way to put it. But at the beginning, the vibe I got was more... hot girl energy. Like, not a bad person per se. But more confident than she has any right to be, a bit of a bulldozer, and implicitly assumes others will accommodate her. I honestly didn’t like her that much. I was, however, quite impressed at how naturally Ni Ni could capture such a strong attitude.
By the teens of episodes, she had grown on me. She does soften a bit; but also, a lot of those personality traits are less obnoxious and even admirable on somebody in a leader role, which she does end up falling into.
I like the gender roles in this show. Chang Dong, the ML, is very capable and comes up with lots of ideas. But Ye Liuxi is the stronger personality and ultimately this is her story- her enemies, her battles, and her decisions to make. Many shows with strong FLs have her still subordinate to the ML, or otherwise she totally dominates him, but this show strikes a good balance with a strong ML but stronger FL.
The romance is well done. Chang Dong’s more calm and cautious personality is a good match for Ye Liuxi. They start out rather confrontational, which makes sense in the context, but the transition away from hostility happens so naturally that I barely realized it was happening. Their relationship once it gets there is comfortable and natural, and I enjoyed watching it. It has just the right levels of banter, teasing, and affection.
Accompanying our leads are 3-5 friends, from both worlds. These side characters are likable with distinct personalities, and there are two side romances that I was definitely rooting for. But the side characters and romances are definitely subordinate in terms of importance and screentime. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of them, especially towards the end, though all things considered they are not too badly neglected.
The villain is easy to hate, but not very multi-dimensional. I think the show could have done more in fleshing out the villain and what they are thinking, but then that always runs the risk of making me feel sorry for them, which I do not like. So ultimately I was satisfied with the conflict. In general, the problems facing the protagonists are a good scale- dire but not insurmountable, so that we feel anxious for the characters but not so hopeless it would take a deus ex machina to win. This is something that many other shows surprisingly fail at.
The pacing is a bit odd. I felt like the first 10ish episodes were all just exposition. If you truly come in blind (like I did), it’s a rather long time to be facing such an unclear situation. But if you already know the premise (a parallel world exists), you might be less disoriented. The characters certainly seem to have some idea, for no reason other than plot armor, because they just blithely jump into the parallel world and are lucky to find a civilization which can still support their needs.
After this, the show takes on a more adventuring tone, which was more comfortable for me as a viewer. The characters are still figuring things out, but the challenges and next steps are clearer. By about 2/3 of the show, the situation has crystalized, and by the last 10ish episodes the backstory is established and the main conflict and goals are apparent. I think this is a pretty good breakdown. Many shows fall apart towards the end, but here- aside from some unnecessary flashbacks for a backstory I already roughly figured out- I found the episodes leading up to the end to be quite exciting. However, the final episodes are a bit strange because the show skips a big portion of the conflict to simply show us the result, which then feels undeserved.
There is also a weird frame story involving an old man telling the entire plot to Chen Duling. Their conversation interrupts the flow and I didn’t see much point to it. Sometimes I do like seeing what other viewers think, but that’s what reddit and forums are for; Chen Duling’s audience commentary wasn’t even that interesting.
I wouldn’t call this show funny, but there are some moments that made me laugh out loud. The roosters (traditionally thought to ward off evil spirits) are probably supposed to be comic relief, but honestly I was kind of bothered by how they get treated. First of all, stealing somebody’s rooster is not something nice people do. Second of all, the poor adorable rooster always gets left behind and forgotten. I was so worried about the rooster sometimes that I could not focus on the plot. But actually, the show is just sloppy about them, and they would simply show up again later.
For the acting, I thought it’s very good. I actually hadn’t seen Ni Ni before, though it seems she’s a legend. I was really impressed by her strong presence and force of personality. Bai Yu plays her complement well, and the supporting cast also does a good job.
The production is decent, lots of desert scenes. CGI is ok, not the best, but you get the idea. I thought the music is pretty good and I especially like the softer BGMs which set a nice mood. The OST is also fitting and has lots of different styles.
Overall I think this is a decent show. For most of it, I was happy to watch but not addicted, more just mildly entertained. It wasn’t until the last 10 or so episodes that I really got hooked. But it is still a well-done show that tells a decent story.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The ending is fairly happy, though I found it a bit unsatisfying. The only sad death is Jiang Zhan. Gao Shen doesn’t seem to get a great ending either... he gets merged with a shadow puppet, whatever that means. However, the show seems to frame it as a happy ending for him and Xiao Liu (?????)
Such confusion is possible because the ending is rather unclear about what actually happens to everyone. The one time I actually appreciated the frame story is when Chen Duling says, “Wait! That’s it? What happened to everyone?”, mirroring my thoughts exactly. We only see Ye Liuxi negotiating her enemies’ surrender (oddly without seeing the war itself) and her final reunion with Chang Dong. Then flashes of the different couples being together, though it’s not even clear which world they’re in. We also see very little of the villains and it seems they are let off with a slap on the wrist, not even any reflection or character development. Not the best ending.
The FL, Ye Liuxi, has a strong personality. “Outgoing and free-spirited” is one way to put it. But at the beginning, the vibe I got was more... hot girl energy. Like, not a bad person per se. But more confident than she has any right to be, a bit of a bulldozer, and implicitly assumes others will accommodate her. I honestly didn’t like her that much. I was, however, quite impressed at how naturally Ni Ni could capture such a strong attitude.
By the teens of episodes, she had grown on me. She does soften a bit; but also, a lot of those personality traits are less obnoxious and even admirable on somebody in a leader role, which she does end up falling into.
I like the gender roles in this show. Chang Dong, the ML, is very capable and comes up with lots of ideas. But Ye Liuxi is the stronger personality and ultimately this is her story- her enemies, her battles, and her decisions to make. Many shows with strong FLs have her still subordinate to the ML, or otherwise she totally dominates him, but this show strikes a good balance with a strong ML but stronger FL.
The romance is well done. Chang Dong’s more calm and cautious personality is a good match for Ye Liuxi. They start out rather confrontational, which makes sense in the context, but the transition away from hostility happens so naturally that I barely realized it was happening. Their relationship once it gets there is comfortable and natural, and I enjoyed watching it. It has just the right levels of banter, teasing, and affection.
Accompanying our leads are 3-5 friends, from both worlds. These side characters are likable with distinct personalities, and there are two side romances that I was definitely rooting for. But the side characters and romances are definitely subordinate in terms of importance and screentime. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of them, especially towards the end, though all things considered they are not too badly neglected.
The villain is easy to hate, but not very multi-dimensional. I think the show could have done more in fleshing out the villain and what they are thinking, but then that always runs the risk of making me feel sorry for them, which I do not like. So ultimately I was satisfied with the conflict. In general, the problems facing the protagonists are a good scale- dire but not insurmountable, so that we feel anxious for the characters but not so hopeless it would take a deus ex machina to win. This is something that many other shows surprisingly fail at.
The pacing is a bit odd. I felt like the first 10ish episodes were all just exposition. If you truly come in blind (like I did), it’s a rather long time to be facing such an unclear situation. But if you already know the premise (a parallel world exists), you might be less disoriented. The characters certainly seem to have some idea, for no reason other than plot armor, because they just blithely jump into the parallel world and are lucky to find a civilization which can still support their needs.
After this, the show takes on a more adventuring tone, which was more comfortable for me as a viewer. The characters are still figuring things out, but the challenges and next steps are clearer. By about 2/3 of the show, the situation has crystalized, and by the last 10ish episodes the backstory is established and the main conflict and goals are apparent. I think this is a pretty good breakdown. Many shows fall apart towards the end, but here- aside from some unnecessary flashbacks for a backstory I already roughly figured out- I found the episodes leading up to the end to be quite exciting. However, the final episodes are a bit strange because the show skips a big portion of the conflict to simply show us the result, which then feels undeserved.
There is also a weird frame story involving an old man telling the entire plot to Chen Duling. Their conversation interrupts the flow and I didn’t see much point to it. Sometimes I do like seeing what other viewers think, but that’s what reddit and forums are for; Chen Duling’s audience commentary wasn’t even that interesting.
I wouldn’t call this show funny, but there are some moments that made me laugh out loud. The roosters (traditionally thought to ward off evil spirits) are probably supposed to be comic relief, but honestly I was kind of bothered by how they get treated. First of all, stealing somebody’s rooster is not something nice people do. Second of all, the poor adorable rooster always gets left behind and forgotten. I was so worried about the rooster sometimes that I could not focus on the plot. But actually, the show is just sloppy about them, and they would simply show up again later.
For the acting, I thought it’s very good. I actually hadn’t seen Ni Ni before, though it seems she’s a legend. I was really impressed by her strong presence and force of personality. Bai Yu plays her complement well, and the supporting cast also does a good job.
The production is decent, lots of desert scenes. CGI is ok, not the best, but you get the idea. I thought the music is pretty good and I especially like the softer BGMs which set a nice mood. The OST is also fitting and has lots of different styles.
Overall I think this is a decent show. For most of it, I was happy to watch but not addicted, more just mildly entertained. It wasn’t until the last 10 or so episodes that I really got hooked. But it is still a well-done show that tells a decent story.
ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS
The ending is fairly happy, though I found it a bit unsatisfying. The only sad death is Jiang Zhan. Gao Shen doesn’t seem to get a great ending either... he gets merged with a shadow puppet, whatever that means. However, the show seems to frame it as a happy ending for him and Xiao Liu (?????)
Such confusion is possible because the ending is rather unclear about what actually happens to everyone. The one time I actually appreciated the frame story is when Chen Duling says, “Wait! That’s it? What happened to everyone?”, mirroring my thoughts exactly. We only see Ye Liuxi negotiating her enemies’ surrender (oddly without seeing the war itself) and her final reunion with Chang Dong. Then flashes of the different couples being together, though it’s not even clear which world they’re in. We also see very little of the villains and it seems they are let off with a slap on the wrist, not even any reflection or character development. Not the best ending.
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