This review may contain spoilers
Role Reversals
WARNING: major spoilers
Love Beyond The Grave hasn't surpassed Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (TMOP) as my favorite, but it's definitely one of the best xianxias. Many asian drama actors/actresses are good looking, but aside from that, it's equally important to be convincing in the type of roles they play. Dilraba Dilmurat does not just look like a goddess, she acts like one. While I've enjoyed her performance as the girlish and cute Feng Jiu, I think He Simu is her best role to date, because it is in this role that she shows the most range. Her facial expressions go from cute and playful in one scene to cold and vicious the next. There is an episode where she plays her own doppelganger which shows that she can also play a crazy character. Her sitting on a throne as the sovereign of the Ghost World feels right, because she has a commanding and regal presence. Her character is also filled with contrasts. When discovering the senses and enjoying the mortal world she appears almost childlike. When dueling with other spirits in their yearly tournament, she is all powerful, but just...allowing each immortal, even when defeated, to surrender and try again next year. She also respects their wishes if it's a duel to the death they want.
I used to think Arthur Chen was cold and stiff, but I really like him as the playful and cunning Duang Xu. This cheerful type of sly male lead suits him and he is both dashing and dynamic. I like how the drama does not diminish the male lead, even if it emphasizes that the female lead is more powerful. When he's in his element as an army general, he is shown as effective in winning wars (sometimes even single handedly and alone in an enemy camp); he's also ruthless as an assassin and I thought it interesting that he fought like a berserker in some scenes and wasn't afraid to get bloodied and dirty. The story also shows that he is at a severe disadvantage when dealing with immortals and is very vulnerable, which makes sense. It would have been too unbelievable if he could suddenly stand toe to toe with hundred something old spirits who have been cultivating power for ages. That type of plot armor I do not care for. What's good is that, even if he's almost always at a losing end when dealing with immortals, he still handles himself well. When he enters the ghost world, he is able to take down two zombies using a magical sword. Later, he is able to defend himself (even for a few minutes) against Yan Ke, the main antagonist, using the same weapon Eventually, he does get help from a sorcerer. The male lead suffers a lot in the series, but he is able to accomplish everything he sets out to do, whether it's winning the female lead's heart or regaining back the 17 lands that were taken by the enemy. He gets a lot of help along the way, but in a way that is believable and human.*
One of the things this xianxia has which makes it different from others is the role reversal. There are scenes where the male lead actually gets himself in trouble (in stupid shoujo girl style) so the female lead can rescue him (which she does, she even literally carries him out of trouble) ; the villain Yanke is basically a white lotus (a male Sujin) who is over-the-top but very entertaining to watch (how can you doubt he is the bad guy when he literally has black smoke coming out him- like Sujin he basically loses it as a result of being unable to accept rejection from the one he likes); there are scenes in the Ghost World where all the dancers are male and all the customers being served/massaged are female.
I like how LBTG also looks different. In other xianxias like TMOP or LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), the world of immortals looks like how one would imagine heaven, with white clouds and set in the sky. The spirit world in LBTG, which is called The Void, is set in the bottom of the ocean. It is dark with bright lights. Everything looks luxurious, but corrupt. There is a curfew because zombies roam the world at night; there is an element of horror about it. There are dark forests, an immortal prison in a mountain overseen by a large, Sauron-like eye, main streets that resemble the underworld in that pixar movie, Coco...and yet, the Void looks like an Asian version of blade runner, with eastern style palaces and bright lanterns. I'm not necessarily implying that it had a better design than other shows, only that it was unique in its own way. Not just in terms of the set design, but also in the way the characters behaved. In other xianxias, all the other immortals are depicted as afraid of the King of Heaven and they never go against him. In the Void, He Simu fends off daily assassination attempts by other immortals, not to mention the yearly tournament designed to unseat her.
The OST in this drama is also one of the best I've heard. The catchy, upbeat tune somehow made things more exciting.
One of the flaws of this drama are its endings. There are actually two happy endings...the problem is that the first ending is cut short. It's a common theme in xianxias for an immortal or a mortal to die and then to resurrect. But when they resurrect, it's usually as a lower life form. In LBFAD, Orchid dies and then resurrects into a plant. DongFeng resurrects into a bone bracelet. They cultivate in this form for years before they are able to take on their human appearance. LBTG's first ending follows this established Xianxia trope where newly dead beings become jellyfish like creatures before taking human shape. There is a minor character, a human general who died saving his village, but when we see him, he is already in his human spirit form. One can assume that he didn't take this form at first. It would have been better if they showed the spirit of Duang Xu getting to cultivate into his human spirit form, just like they did with the other characters, so he can reunite properly with He Simu and they can live their spiritual afterlife together.
The second ending is the one that is canonically accurate to the book, where He Simu becomes a human (which is technically all she wanted) and lives out her life with Duang Xu. I honestly don't have a problem with this version either, since this is the author's intention.
When I first saw the trailer for this drama, I didn't think there would be any chemistry between the leads (I don't usually go for noona romance) but surprisingly, there was. Arthur and Dilreba are adorable when they finally get together. Their characters also suffer a lot. Duang Xu suffers as a result of sacrificing his senses for He Simu. He Simu ends up killing someone who tries to hurt Duang Xu and as a result, loses her powers for 5 years and gets imprisoned by the obsessive Yan Ke. Given that they suffered enough for their love, the happy endings (especially in the first version) should have been clearer.
Love Beyond The Grave hasn't surpassed Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (TMOP) as my favorite, but it's definitely one of the best xianxias. Many asian drama actors/actresses are good looking, but aside from that, it's equally important to be convincing in the type of roles they play. Dilraba Dilmurat does not just look like a goddess, she acts like one. While I've enjoyed her performance as the girlish and cute Feng Jiu, I think He Simu is her best role to date, because it is in this role that she shows the most range. Her facial expressions go from cute and playful in one scene to cold and vicious the next. There is an episode where she plays her own doppelganger which shows that she can also play a crazy character. Her sitting on a throne as the sovereign of the Ghost World feels right, because she has a commanding and regal presence. Her character is also filled with contrasts. When discovering the senses and enjoying the mortal world she appears almost childlike. When dueling with other spirits in their yearly tournament, she is all powerful, but just...allowing each immortal, even when defeated, to surrender and try again next year. She also respects their wishes if it's a duel to the death they want.
I used to think Arthur Chen was cold and stiff, but I really like him as the playful and cunning Duang Xu. This cheerful type of sly male lead suits him and he is both dashing and dynamic. I like how the drama does not diminish the male lead, even if it emphasizes that the female lead is more powerful. When he's in his element as an army general, he is shown as effective in winning wars (sometimes even single handedly and alone in an enemy camp); he's also ruthless as an assassin and I thought it interesting that he fought like a berserker in some scenes and wasn't afraid to get bloodied and dirty. The story also shows that he is at a severe disadvantage when dealing with immortals and is very vulnerable, which makes sense. It would have been too unbelievable if he could suddenly stand toe to toe with hundred something old spirits who have been cultivating power for ages. That type of plot armor I do not care for. What's good is that, even if he's almost always at a losing end when dealing with immortals, he still handles himself well. When he enters the ghost world, he is able to take down two zombies using a magical sword. Later, he is able to defend himself (even for a few minutes) against Yan Ke, the main antagonist, using the same weapon Eventually, he does get help from a sorcerer. The male lead suffers a lot in the series, but he is able to accomplish everything he sets out to do, whether it's winning the female lead's heart or regaining back the 17 lands that were taken by the enemy. He gets a lot of help along the way, but in a way that is believable and human.*
One of the things this xianxia has which makes it different from others is the role reversal. There are scenes where the male lead actually gets himself in trouble (in stupid shoujo girl style) so the female lead can rescue him (which she does, she even literally carries him out of trouble) ; the villain Yanke is basically a white lotus (a male Sujin) who is over-the-top but very entertaining to watch (how can you doubt he is the bad guy when he literally has black smoke coming out him- like Sujin he basically loses it as a result of being unable to accept rejection from the one he likes); there are scenes in the Ghost World where all the dancers are male and all the customers being served/massaged are female.
I like how LBTG also looks different. In other xianxias like TMOP or LBFAD (Love Between Fairy and Devil), the world of immortals looks like how one would imagine heaven, with white clouds and set in the sky. The spirit world in LBTG, which is called The Void, is set in the bottom of the ocean. It is dark with bright lights. Everything looks luxurious, but corrupt. There is a curfew because zombies roam the world at night; there is an element of horror about it. There are dark forests, an immortal prison in a mountain overseen by a large, Sauron-like eye, main streets that resemble the underworld in that pixar movie, Coco...and yet, the Void looks like an Asian version of blade runner, with eastern style palaces and bright lanterns. I'm not necessarily implying that it had a better design than other shows, only that it was unique in its own way. Not just in terms of the set design, but also in the way the characters behaved. In other xianxias, all the other immortals are depicted as afraid of the King of Heaven and they never go against him. In the Void, He Simu fends off daily assassination attempts by other immortals, not to mention the yearly tournament designed to unseat her.
The OST in this drama is also one of the best I've heard. The catchy, upbeat tune somehow made things more exciting.
One of the flaws of this drama are its endings. There are actually two happy endings...the problem is that the first ending is cut short. It's a common theme in xianxias for an immortal or a mortal to die and then to resurrect. But when they resurrect, it's usually as a lower life form. In LBFAD, Orchid dies and then resurrects into a plant. DongFeng resurrects into a bone bracelet. They cultivate in this form for years before they are able to take on their human appearance. LBTG's first ending follows this established Xianxia trope where newly dead beings become jellyfish like creatures before taking human shape. There is a minor character, a human general who died saving his village, but when we see him, he is already in his human spirit form. One can assume that he didn't take this form at first. It would have been better if they showed the spirit of Duang Xu getting to cultivate into his human spirit form, just like they did with the other characters, so he can reunite properly with He Simu and they can live their spiritual afterlife together.
The second ending is the one that is canonically accurate to the book, where He Simu becomes a human (which is technically all she wanted) and lives out her life with Duang Xu. I honestly don't have a problem with this version either, since this is the author's intention.
When I first saw the trailer for this drama, I didn't think there would be any chemistry between the leads (I don't usually go for noona romance) but surprisingly, there was. Arthur and Dilreba are adorable when they finally get together. Their characters also suffer a lot. Duang Xu suffers as a result of sacrificing his senses for He Simu. He Simu ends up killing someone who tries to hurt Duang Xu and as a result, loses her powers for 5 years and gets imprisoned by the obsessive Yan Ke. Given that they suffered enough for their love, the happy endings (especially in the first version) should have been clearer.
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