"There's no woman that won't fall for a man who's handsome, strong, yet miserable. If there is, it just means he's not handsome enough, not strong enough, or hasn't suffered enough." 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
I was really looking forward to watching this drama and overall I ended up enjoying it.
I will have to admit that while there were many things about this drama that I liked, there were also a few things I didn't.
One of the bigger things that I found lacking was the world building. The reason for that is because it's the foundation on which the story is built and if it's lacking or incomplete, it can easily ruin the whole story. In this drama what bothered me most was the lack of detail in explaining the immortal world. For example, by the end of the drama the whole world is in peril, but no other immortals even appear to help. The Heavenly Emissary constantly harps on the importance of the Infinite Stele, but no one lifts a finger to help protect it. But hey, they are always ready with their punishments. The only other immortals we get to see are the Four Venerables, but they are useless and a complete waste of screen time. Why were they even included? The problem I have with this is that we're never really given an explanation on the structure of the immortal world, it's rules, the hierarchy, ...
Another big problem I had was that I couldn't warm up to a lot of the supporting characters. They just didn't get enough screen time to develop into much more than caricatures. Admittedly, I also never warmed up to Zhang Suan, who did get enough screen time, but remained bland throughout the drama.
If there were a few more episodes these things might have been executed better.
That being said, the saving grace of this drama for me was the main couple. The two main leads had great chemistry and portrayed the characters convincingly. The thing I liked about them the most though was their dynamic. The two are perfect opposites right from their birth. And from the beginning to almost the end we are shown just how different they really are from superficial things to core values. When together they both clash and stubbornly try to prove that they are right. The most beautiful thing is that they are both not wrong. They just see the world from a different perspective. They both value different things and they are both right. Eventually, we are also shown the things they have in common and they both learn to see things from the other's perspective and find a balance, because right from the beginning while they may be perfect opposites, they are also a perfect pair once they find that balance. They are stronger together. That part of the story is executed beautifully.
In relation to the development of the two main characters, I liked the moral and philosophical themes that were explored.
Another thing that I liked was how visually beautiful this drama is. Everything looked stunning.
I think the best way to understand this, is that her power is lock away somewhere in her body so she cant access…
That makes more sense thanks. So, assuming that he needed spiritual energy for the development of all aspects of an immortal body and he didn't get it, he's very underdeveloped to the point of being weaker than even a mortal child. If he had made it past 10 years, he could have been nourished in the Nine Heavens and would have developed a divine body eventually.
I think the best way to understand this, is that her power is lock away somewhere in her body so she cant access…
I understand that she doesn't have access to her power, but it still makes no sense that their child is a regular mortal. Supposedly they are completely different species. So following your explanation that would mean that if a human baby didn't have access to the right nutrition it would be born a monkey. That's what basically happened to Shi An. A fish out of the water is still a fish.
The point I'm trying to make is that he should have had a devine body as well. A weaker one than his parents or other immortal babies, but not at all as weak as a mortal human child, because he's not a mortal child.
Anyway, it is what it is, whether it makes sense or not. I suppose it doesn't take away the impact on the story.
I finally made it to episode 23 and got to see what happened to their son. While fittingly sad (my heart broke for HRY and SA), I still think that it doesn't make sense that just because he didn't get to absorb spiritual energy before birth he was born a regular mortal. He's the son of two powerful devine beings. Even with her power sealed, she still had a devine body. Also, even though her power was sealed it was there, she just couldn't access it. It just doesn't make sense. Poor SA...
I also hope they show why BJS wasn't even keeping an eye on her just in case. Hopefully, he was being punished himself and didn't have the opportunity.
She has finally revealed the real reason for her hatred toward BJS. I can't believe it took 21 episodes. They had a son and she blames BJS for his death. She actually said that he killed their son, but seeing as he had no idea that they had a son and was not in the mortal realm during the ten years that she was, I'm assuming she blames him because he sealed her powers and left. Combined with the earlier revelation that when divine beings conceive, the baby feeds on the mother's divine energy to develop, it would make sense that their baby was underdeveloped because her devine energy and powers were sealed at the time. Obviously, this wouldn't make him as fragile as human babies, but at the same time he wouldn't be as nearly indestructible as his parents. Seeing as HRY based the illusion on her own experiences, it's possible to assume that the evil spirit might have really existed and that the people thought it was HRY, because she was caught using her powers, possibly to save her son or someone else. This would leave her weakened and caught by that cultivator. While she was being punished by heavenly lightning, her son would have rushed to save her. While the lightning couldn't kill her, their son ended up dying. Without her powers, she couldn't save him.
Losing a child surely explains the trauma and absolute hatred she feels, although I'm wouldn't agree it should be directed at BJS. Then again, it's not logical or sensible to begin with, so it's not far fetched that she chose someone to place her blame on. She's clearly still in pain. It's even more obvious given how on two separate occasions she tried to destroy herself along with BJS just to free herself from the pain.
Long Yuan is basically a bully. How did BJS end up with a disciple like that? He's the complete opposite. Yes, he's loyal, but are there any other redeeming qualities? Someone needs to put him in his place. Speaking of horrible disciples, there's also Fan Jiao Jiao. BJS needs a better screening system when picking disciples.
I've made it to episode 20 and I'm wondering if he has figured out that she's playing him again. Sometimes it looks like he did, but mostly it looks like he didn't.
I'm actually liking their time in the mortal realm. While most of it is peaceful, 400 years ago and now, the most important part seems to be the fact that it highlights their differences more than their time in the immortal realm does. While in the immortal realm, we're told that they're polar opposites, fire and water, ... the differences seem superficial. In the mortal realm we can see how different they are to their core. Their values are completely opposite as well. They are really struggling to meet each other in the middle, because one of the things they have in common seems to be stubborness.
These poor things don't know anything about love tribulations and went to the mortal world to try and force one. Looks like they got more than they bargained for and they have been stuck in a love tribulation for over 400 years. Their past is fueling their love-hate relationship and instead of communicating, they have been escalating things. The saddest part seems to be that they themselves don't fully realize it.
I disliked Fan Ling Er, because I thought she was a typical jealous woman in love with the ML, which seemed to be contrary to her independent and strong nature. Now, I'm getting the feeling that she's in cahoots with Hua Ru Yue. As the episodes are going by, it's more and more obvious that Qing Yue actually remembers everything. That means that everything that happened was planned carefully and if Fan Ling Er is on her side, it makes even more sense.
Li Qing Yue gets attacked on the night the girl that has a crush on Bai Jiu Si returns and finds out he got married. How is Fan Ling Er not the first suspect?
This was an incredible journey and didn't disappoint at all.
While the story itself as well as the mystery is interesting to follow, it's really the characters that make this drama great. Most of the characters are flawed and complex. The casting is impeccable. While we very obviously are following Zang Hai as the main lead, he is also a very flawed character. While his rise to power is relatively fast, he's by no means perfect at everything he does. Most of his earlier plans only work because of luck, which seems to be his greatest gift. He's initially rather impulsive and not always as smart as he thinks he is. Throughout the drama he learns to be more patient and is tempered by his experiences, which makes following his story all the more interesting.
It's not perfect, no drama is, so obviously there are some flaws. The reaction to these flaws is however subjective and will differ from person to person. For me, the flaws were minor and didn't ruin my enjoyment of the drama in the least.
I will have to admit that while there were many things about this drama that I liked, there were also a few things I didn't.
One of the bigger things that I found lacking was the world building. The reason for that is because it's the foundation on which the story is built and if it's lacking or incomplete, it can easily ruin the whole story. In this drama what bothered me most was the lack of detail in explaining the immortal world. For example, by the end of the drama the whole world is in peril, but no other immortals even appear to help. The Heavenly Emissary constantly harps on the importance of the Infinite Stele, but no one lifts a finger to help protect it. But hey, they are always ready with their punishments. The only other immortals we get to see are the Four Venerables, but they are useless and a complete waste of screen time. Why were they even included? The problem I have with this is that we're never really given an explanation on the structure of the immortal world, it's rules, the hierarchy, ...
Another big problem I had was that I couldn't warm up to a lot of the supporting characters. They just didn't get enough screen time to develop into much more than caricatures. Admittedly, I also never warmed up to Zhang Suan, who did get enough screen time, but remained bland throughout the drama.
If there were a few more episodes these things might have been executed better.
That being said, the saving grace of this drama for me was the main couple. The two main leads had great chemistry and portrayed the characters convincingly. The thing I liked about them the most though was their dynamic. The two are perfect opposites right from their birth. And from the beginning to almost the end we are shown just how different they really are from superficial things to core values. When together they both clash and stubbornly try to prove that they are right. The most beautiful thing is that they are both not wrong. They just see the world from a different perspective. They both value different things and they are both right. Eventually, we are also shown the things they have in common and they both learn to see things from the other's perspective and find a balance, because right from the beginning while they may be perfect opposites, they are also a perfect pair once they find that balance. They are stronger together. That part of the story is executed beautifully.
In relation to the development of the two main characters, I liked the moral and philosophical themes that were explored.
Another thing that I liked was how visually beautiful this drama is. Everything looked stunning.
All in all, I enjoyed this rollercoaster journey.
I suppose based on this drama only, that makes sense.
The point I'm trying to make is that he should have had a devine body as well. A weaker one than his parents or other immortal babies, but not at all as weak as a mortal human child, because he's not a mortal child.
Anyway, it is what it is, whether it makes sense or not. I suppose it doesn't take away the impact on the story.
I also hope they show why BJS wasn't even keeping an eye on her just in case. Hopefully, he was being punished himself and didn't have the opportunity.
Losing a child surely explains the trauma and absolute hatred she feels, although I'm wouldn't agree it should be directed at BJS. Then again, it's not logical or sensible to begin with, so it's not far fetched that she chose someone to place her blame on. She's clearly still in pain. It's even more obvious given how on two separate occasions she tried to destroy herself along with BJS just to free herself from the pain.
Anyway,I'm curious to see how it went exactly.
While the story itself as well as the mystery is interesting to follow, it's really the characters that make this drama great. Most of the characters are flawed and complex. The casting is impeccable. While we very obviously are following Zang Hai as the main lead, he is also a very flawed character. While his rise to power is relatively fast, he's by no means perfect at everything he does. Most of his earlier plans only work because of luck, which seems to be his greatest gift. He's initially rather impulsive and not always as smart as he thinks he is. Throughout the drama he learns to be more patient and is tempered by his experiences, which makes following his story all the more interesting.
It's not perfect, no drama is, so obviously there are some flaws. The reaction to these flaws is however subjective and will differ from person to person. For me, the flaws were minor and didn't ruin my enjoyment of the drama in the least.
I really loved watching this drama.