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6
The Road to Mortality
Lu Qianqiao is the last surviving war demon. His race was punished by the gods for disrespecting heaven's laws. Thus, the man is cursed to an existence deprived of taste, color, pain, and rest, and is subject to periodic spells of hot-blooded mania. He helps Xin Mei, a low-level cultivator from Tianyuan Sect, break a widow's curse, but forms a longer entanglement with her than he initially intended. She becomes invested in his cause and helps him face the agonizing five transformations he must undergo to break the war demon's curse.
Fate Chooses You is a xianxia with a surprisingly interesting premise: instead of seeking immortality, the hero's journey follows the road to mortality. Across many plot arcs, the narrative explores what it means to be human and how, in the process of seeking immortality, cultivators lose their humanity along the way. Because the ladder to heaven has been closed since the death of the Jianmu tree, the power level of even the most advanced cultivators in this story has not yet reached deity level. This makes the stakes in any battle higher; no outcome is a foregone conclusion simply because of skill level. Good battle tactics can even out an imbalance in cultivation levels.
While Lu Qianqiao and Xin Mei do fall deeply in love from a marriage of convenience, their romance does not drive the plot. In some ways, this is to be expected of a Ren Jialun drama! But both lead character stories are well written. Even though Xin Mei aids Lu Qianqiao on his journey, she also has her own path that often takes her on separate missions. I really enjoy her independence, agency, and free will. Every time she returns to his side, it is because she chooses to, and they protect each other from the hypocrisy and judgment of the cultivation sects. While this isn't that heavy on romance, I did enjoy Ren Jialun and Wang Herun's chemistry. This is my first Wang Herun drama—she is a very engaging and natural young actress.
While the narrative is strong through most of the drama, it doesn't finish as well as I would have liked. I expected this to be a journey to mortality, not perfection. Lu Qianqiao made a very consequential, life-changing sacrifice too casually, without any explanation or closure for Xin Mei. I was super angry on her behalf; that she wasn't asked or even told and he didn't seem to feel sad enough. Maybe that is on Ren Jialun's acting but that final decision is my main beef with the story - that he shortchanged her when it mattered. It felt like a betrayal to me. I was also expecting an epic final battle, but it turned into a walkover, leaving a sense of anticlimax. I know I am in the minority, but to me, the ending was profoundly sad and not deserved.
Still, this is a very solid drama—one that could have been a lot better had the storytelling held up into the finale. It is a recommended watch that I rate 7.5/10.
Fate Chooses You is a xianxia with a surprisingly interesting premise: instead of seeking immortality, the hero's journey follows the road to mortality. Across many plot arcs, the narrative explores what it means to be human and how, in the process of seeking immortality, cultivators lose their humanity along the way. Because the ladder to heaven has been closed since the death of the Jianmu tree, the power level of even the most advanced cultivators in this story has not yet reached deity level. This makes the stakes in any battle higher; no outcome is a foregone conclusion simply because of skill level. Good battle tactics can even out an imbalance in cultivation levels.
While Lu Qianqiao and Xin Mei do fall deeply in love from a marriage of convenience, their romance does not drive the plot. In some ways, this is to be expected of a Ren Jialun drama! But both lead character stories are well written. Even though Xin Mei aids Lu Qianqiao on his journey, she also has her own path that often takes her on separate missions. I really enjoy her independence, agency, and free will. Every time she returns to his side, it is because she chooses to, and they protect each other from the hypocrisy and judgment of the cultivation sects. While this isn't that heavy on romance, I did enjoy Ren Jialun and Wang Herun's chemistry. This is my first Wang Herun drama—she is a very engaging and natural young actress.
While the narrative is strong through most of the drama, it doesn't finish as well as I would have liked. I expected this to be a journey to mortality, not perfection. Lu Qianqiao made a very consequential, life-changing sacrifice too casually, without any explanation or closure for Xin Mei. I was super angry on her behalf; that she wasn't asked or even told and he didn't seem to feel sad enough. Maybe that is on Ren Jialun's acting but that final decision is my main beef with the story - that he shortchanged her when it mattered. It felt like a betrayal to me. I was also expecting an epic final battle, but it turned into a walkover, leaving a sense of anticlimax. I know I am in the minority, but to me, the ending was profoundly sad and not deserved.
Still, this is a very solid drama—one that could have been a lot better had the storytelling held up into the finale. It is a recommended watch that I rate 7.5/10.
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