It has good romance, but the story is the weakest.

This xianxia drama has several strong points. First, it brought to us the long awaited pairing, Zhao Liying (as FL, Shenli) and Lin Gexing (as ML, Xingzhi), after the phenomenal Princess Agents (2017) which gave us such a disappointing cliffhanger. Second, the characterization of FL as a war general and ML as the last ancient god is so fresh. We got a non typical main female who is not bubbly, childlike, naive, and damsel-in-distress type as well as a god who is really can do something majestic and wonderful with his tremendous power. Third, this drama is very good in the department of CGI, costume, make up, setting, and worldbuilding. It is visually so pleasant to eyes and satisfying. Fourth, it shows us the perspective of common people to the events in the story, like the joy of people when Shenli and her troops won the war and the sadness of people when Shenli and others died. Also, it describes daily lives in mortal world, immortal sect, and heavenly palace. It makes the story is pretty relaxing, easy to follow, and suitable for comedy. Fifth, the story shows us how love evolves step by step from zero. It gives us the reason why Shenli falls in love to Xingyun/ Xingzhi, and vice versa. Sixth, it gives us a very happy ending. As a romance, this drama is undeniably so good.

However, this drama still cannot escape the trap of xianxia tropes, therefore is unable to create new/ unique direction for Chinese fantasy story. Xianxia is a highly predictable genre. The ingredients are somewhat determined by the heaven: Three realms, power struggle between immortal sects/ divine gods and demon clans, war between good and evil, sweet romance, angsty forbidden love, evil/ pitiful/ passionate third wheeler, self sacrifice, (pseudo) sad ending, and resurrection as the definition of final happy ending. Every xianxia out there are just changing the dose, concentration, and emphasize to make their "dish" different. The Legend of Shenli is no different. It just emphasizes the sweet romance, lovey-dovey, and chemistry between FL and ML more, while decreases the dose of power struggle, angsty forbidden love, and the war of three realms, and makes the impact of the third wheelers to minimal. Plot wise, there is nothing distinctively new. Because of that, the story is so boring. It starts the same and ends similarly. If you don't watch this drama, you have nothing to lose. It is not a drama which set a higher bar for future drama.

The storyline is the weakest point of this drama. It is such a pity, because this drama has unique FL and ML introduction and relationship dynamic. The ML is not a god with pitiful backstory. He is just the last ancient god who is bored by his lonely life and very long existence. He enjoy mortal realm to experience its liveliness and playfulness. He is indifferent to things. He really has immense power, dependable, and unbeatable in every battles as he is the highest god. And, the FL is a female general. She is very strong, mature, selfless, achievement oriented, and thinking the big picture. She is fierce and bloodthirsty hero. Interestingly, deep inside her heart, she wants to be cared as a ordinary woman and to have normal life. This has been a very good story premise. BUT, this drama lacks exploration to their psychological dynamic (internal conflict) and too late to introduce the enemy to defeat and their stakes (external conflict).

The story would be very unique if they keep the initial premises and don't change the FL and ML's dispositions easily out of love (after the first moral arc), and make sure to fix every plot hole. Personally, I don't like the idea of humanization of god which is a special being. It is actually not reasonable for thousands years god to fall for merely 1.000 years female immortal, like he has never met a woman before and the FL is the only woman in the entire universe. Love makes him weak, stupid, stubborn, suffered physically, ashamed, confused, etc. Where does his wisdom from living for thousand years go? When ML dramatically froze the entire sea just to find Shenli, where does his omniscient go? He should be a transcendental being, with transcendental mission, and achieve it with transcendental love to other beings. And, when he is died due to fatal injury, it is really a problem of power scaling. Above him, there is only the Heaven which is greater in power than him. But, how come he is powerless when facing the King of Demon and dealing with the crisis in Xutian Abyss? How come he is more vulnerable than Shenli, a mere immortal and a phoenix? Is he really a god? What a fantastic being!

Also, the enemy is laughable. Just non intelligent flying black smokes going rampant in the air (miasma)! What is so fearful about that? It lacks personification and has no motive. It is created by unknown process, by a crazy power hunger immortal, yet so powerful because people said it is powerful and fearful. The furthest ability it has is just killing people or causing bruises. And Fu Sheng and Mofang (the agents behind the resurgence of miasma), how can they be that powerful and able to "kill" Shenli? What cultivation do they have or how do they train? We never know. They just exist like a decoration, to make the story has some actions and for Shenli to show off her spear play. And, it is really not good for the story because "Every hero needs a villain. Without a great villain, there are no great heroes." So, what is the point of Shenli's designation as a great war general? She just beat the villain using brute force, no intelligent maneuvering, and strategic action.

This drama indulges us so much with romance, BUT without problems to solve decently using Shenli and Xingzhi's great potentials as a war general and a greatest god in the realm. For you who love lovey-dovey couple, you might love this show purely for the romance. But, it you watch for some depth and substantive theme, I suggest you to save your time. This drama would only cause you a desperation.

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It completes my imagination of Shao Nian Ge Xing!

For a story to be adapted into various mediums (comic, animation, and live action), it definitely speaks quality. For us who read Shao Nian Ge Xing (Song of Adolescents) the novel and follow the donghua (animation series), having a live action is a real treat for fans. It is very very rare for an IP to get this opportunity. This drama itself completes my imagination about the world of Shao Nian Ge Xing. I see how it is well coordinated with the novel and donghua version, so that each version complements one each others despite several differences in some places.

After completing all episodes, I am not hesitant to say it is really a superb adaptation. The worldbuilding is complex but clearly explained through the course of the story. This drama has all ingredients of a great wuxia: geographical landscapes, actions, sects, skills, and weapons, imperial politics, culture, and philosophy. There are diverse landscapes: cities, temples, and palace, mountain, jungle, river, and sea. There are actions almost in every episode which is pleasant to eyes because of good CGI. There are philosophies from Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism giving the story some moral weight. The Chinese cultural presentations are so rich, from music, paintings, poetries, dance, outfits, and interior design of places.

The imperial politics and the damage it caused to the jianghu is pretty complex since it involves the grudge of two generations. However, the story is able to balance external conflicts, who finally win the thrones and who finally get recognition as the best martial experts, and internal conflicts: familial love vs anger among siblings, forgiveness versus revenge among loyalists, repentance versus self-righteousness among those who did wrongdoings, solitariness versus togetherness among friends. So, the best aspect of this drama is the strong themes it holds tightly from the beginning to the end: brotherhood and friendship. This story tells a lot about love to siblings, parents/ children, and love to friends. This makes it meaningful to fans and general audience.

This drama is so loved, so it lies solid ground for future movies/ drama, for prequels and sequels.

Final thought (5/2/23)

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This story follows the journey of the youth: Xiao Se/ Xiao Chuhe (the main character), the four guardians of Tianqi (Lei Wujie, Sikong Qianluo, Tang Lian, and Ji Xue) a.k.a his guardians, Wuxin the shameless monk his best friend, and Ye Ruoyi his advisor.

It starts uniquely as Xiao Se is portrayed as anti-hero. His back story is quite heart breaking. He was a prince and prodigy that had fallen to the lowest. After involved in Langya Mutiny, he was demoted to commoner, exiled, harmed by his enemy, and lost his martial arts). People loved and remembered him as a hero, but now he was nobody and gone missing. However, in his heart, he always desired to clear his uncle name and wanted to come back to capital city, Tian Qi. He never lost his pride and principles. He is a person with a very strong character. Xiao Se journey started from coincidental encounter with Lei Wujie, a newbie with pure heart, whose journey aimed to be the greatest expert in jianghu. Later, they both travelled together and found more friends along the roads, especially Wuxin whose life unexpectedly was related to all of them. Their brotherhood is amazing.

Throughout the story, all characters experience character development. The naive Lei Wujie finally climb the ladder of skills as well as learn about love and having cute romantic relationship with Ye Ruoyi. The strong but shy Tang Lian learn to follow his heart and his principles rather than following duty blindly. Wuxin realized that he was not alone in his journey. Sikong Qianluo stopped being a bratty and spoiled girl. Xiao Se got the most extreme character development, from nobody to somebody again as a prince and a martial artist. He was still cunning and sharp tongue, but his traits were somehow refined by his past downfall and adversities. He faced his inner demon. He became more humble and grounded.

The story and interactions between characters are funny and entertaining, but also can thrill and create suspense. I found that all character are strong and badass. Nobody is weak here, even the princes learn martial arts. Nobody is stupid, as each character is reasonable and use their intelligence to face the challenges, including the antagonists.

Personally, I don't mind with the romances, even though some audience complain it, wanting it to be just focused on pure wuxia and indifferent friendship to feeling, because no chemistries among couples. The romances are told in the novel, so it is not wise to omit it from the story. To keep the drama stay true to the novel is appreciation for the writer/ IP. As the cultural background of the story believes in the concept of Yin and Yang, romance between man and woman even in martial arts world is a good thing and needed to balance things. People cannot keep doing physical fighting, action, and getting injured or experiencing setbacks without cure and consolation. The best consolation for man is the love from woman; people naturally seek for his/her soulmate. So, it is good to have a hint of romance. This drama does better in telling romantic relationship in comparison to the donghua because it gives more screen for couples. We know how relationships start, evolve, and end among couples here, both for main characters and supporting roles. All is wrapped well.

For you who never read the novel or watch the donghua, this drama completes the donghua in several ways. The donghua is a little bit confusing at telling the background, context, and things happened in the past. This drama delivers it well so we know what actually happened to Lord Langya, the history of four guardians, the history and relationships of characters, etc. The drama also improves the pacing and sequence of events so that the storytelling is smoother. This drama also changes some parts/ adds things that are not in the novel or Donghua, which is make the story stronger. For example: It differs in the time identity of Xiao Se as a prince is exposed to his friends, when and where Xiao Se met Xiao Chong and Xiao Lingchen for the first time, who involved in Three Party Meeting of Baxiao Hall, the romance during lantern festival, how the Dark River assassin syndicate got its ends, how Xiao Se got his swords, the options given to Xiao Yu before his demise. etc. I personally hope the drama has more episode so we can see the war between Beili and Nanjue, Xiao Se versus Ao Yu, the prince of Nanjue he beat in gambling repeatedly told before, and how he won it.

The drama also moderates some depiction in the novel that are too bloody. We don't see the bloodshed in Tian Qi and how every character always thrown a mouthful of blood after getting hit. In my opinion, it is good so that the story is acceptable for younger audience and thus family friendly. I also like the details in drama showing gestures, especially the fingers movement when a character is thinking of something and their face expressions (such as in the scene when Lei Wujie telling his Insulting Sword Technique to Xiao Se, Xie Xuan, and Wushuang). Even though many people saw Xiao Se expression is emotionless, I personally saw it accurate because that is how Xiao Se should look like.

I recommend this drama for you fans of the donghua and all of you who love historical and wuxia drama. Dear fellow fans, waiting for season 3 may be long. This drama can fulfill our thirst in the mean time.

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A drama with mind-changing power about life and love

This drama makes me worry in its every episode that tragedy would be fallen to all characters. That shows how do I care so much about them. Every character is important and has meaningful story to tell. This drama is not afraid of showing human fragility and that everyone is prone to make mistake. When the finale gives a happy and touching ending, my heart is very satisfied. This drama tells a story about life, love, and how to go through after getting hurt, making mistakes, and experiencing lost of loved one. It teaches me a lot of things.

I am surprised that the story is actually so simple, but executed extremely well. The setting and its details on physical as well as cultural environment are so rich. The plot and plot-twist are engaging. And the conflict and its resolution are flawless. This drama should set new direction and trend for Chinese future drama that we can create a unique and refreshingly new story by paying attention to our reality and daily life. It brings up the romance of living in countryside and maintaining cultural tradition, as family values, and righteousness. You don't necessarily have to be rich to be happy or prestigious job and live in the city to have a decent satisfying life. Being anti-mainstream is all right. The most essential thing is how to learn to accept reality and flow flexibly with the river of life.

As a muslim viewer, I think this drama also do some justice. Muslim group as represented by Kazakh people in this drama is well depicted as part of bigger Chinese community, living together peacefully with other ethnicities like Han and Mongolian. Watching this drama is the first time I see Xinjiang and its beautiful natural features. It makes me eager to watch other series with similar genres, portraying different side of China. I recommend you to watch this. May this drama gain much recognition it deserves and much much more national and international viewers.

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The angst is intense, hinting a sad ending. But in the end, it is a beautiful and good one!

My initial impression is this drama is too dark and cruel. I only keep watching it because I have sympathy and hope to the main character of the story, Tantai Jin/ TTJ, the devil fetus and later the Demon God (played by Luo Yunxi). I want to know what will happen to him, wishing this pitiful character would get his atonement and happiness in the end. My decision is right because starting from immortal arc and on (around episode 30), the story begin to reveal its gems. The reasons behind all events, the meaning behind all sufferings, and the moral behind the story are disclosed. All questions are answered.

I am a layman on any technical aspects of drama making (such as lighting, wardrobe, editing, casting, etc). Therefore, I am able to focus on the story. And the story is the strongest aspect of this drama (followed by the acting skill of the male lead). The story is interesting because (strangely, uniquely) it takes the antagonist/ the main villain to be the central character. There are tons of dramas with perfect, heroic, and righteous main characters across Chinese drama land. Only this time, I found a drama that deviates from common tropes. I deeply appreciate and congratulate for the author, the scriptwriters, the director, and the producer for their bravery to take the risk, to bring a full of flaw character to the spotlight. And the result is a very valuable and memorable drama.

The story began with the Demon God, Tantai Jin, who is extremely powerful, super evil, and unstoppable. He brought calamity to all realms. All immortals were defeated, except the last two sects to be destroyed. They found a way to stop the Demon God by sending Li Susu (played by Bai Lu) to the past, 500 years ago where the Demon God was still a mortal human. Her missions are to destroy his evil bone (the root and source of the Demon God's power) and to kill Tantai Jin. However, this mission is full of hardship. The problem is not simple because once she knew Tantai Jin as a person, she began to understand Tantai Jin, his life and suffering. Later, she grew empathy and compassion toward Tantai Jin. And what makes this compassion is justifiable is because Tantai Jin is actually a good person. It is just fate that toys him so that he experienced unfathomable tribulation over his life. His suffering is the prerequisite for him to turn to be Demon God after his death. With this premise, we are brought to question: Will Tantai Jin become Demon God in the end? Will Li Susu be able to kill him?

What I love about the story: it serves us with a lot of irony and moral dilemma to chew, makes us question, what is good and what is evil actually? It breaks out heart with deep moral dilemma to deal with so called evil. First, it is easy to kill a villain if we hate or if we don't have any feeling or affection toward him. But, Tantai Jin is just a pitiful but very lovable character. He was full of flaw, but he is not wrong to some extents. He is willing to learn to be a good person. Therefore, we understand him and support him to survive and get happiness. To kill him as such a "good" character, is the hardest thing to accept. Killing him is the real evil thing for us. That is why, Li Susu came to the past expectedly as a heroine, but along the story in mortal arc, we saw her as the evil and cruel one due to her mission. This twist at this part is shocking.

Second, good and evil is not black and white. We see all characters in this drama are grey. The so called "normal and good" people have the capability do evil things, and the so called "monster and evil" have the capability do good deeds. For example: Tantai Jin is seen as evil, but he is actually a good and wise ruler for Kingdom of Jing. The nine-tailed fox demon (Pian Ran), Mo Nv, and even Si Ying and Jing Mie are demons, but they are also selfless lovers who are ready to self-sacrifice. Li Susu/ Ye Xiwu is seen as good, but she repeatedly betray and hurt her lover. Tantai Jin aide and bodyguard, Nian Baiyu, as well as his nurses, are all loyal but understandably can betray, too. Xiao Lin/ Gongye Jiwu is righteous, but for his country he refused to accept peace proposal from Tantai Jin in mortal arc and was willing to devilize to kill Tantai Jin in immortal arc. All immortals called themselves as righteous, but full of hypocrisy, prejudice, and hate. So, who is the valid person to uphold the truth? How to stop evil then, if the good and evil are actually intertwined?

Fortunately, in the last three episodes all questions are well answered. It started with the emergence of Ancient Demon God in Tantai Jin's consciousness the time he accepted his fate to be Demon God. He learnt the true nature of Demon God which is a permanent condition as long as there is sin in the world. Good and evil is part of karma in the world. Ancient Demon God failed to dominate his heart; he has the key to change his fate because he finally learnt what is love and how to love, not only for the person he loves, but also for all beings and realms. He accepted his fate to die willingly, he ended his life beautifully, like a butterfly. He was perished, but his legacy continues. He was remembered as a good one. All realms are in peace and beautiful. His wife and daughter lived well. The future is bright.

It is a very good ending with clear moral anchor in Chinese philosophies. The cosmic conflict in this drama is solved intelligently, not just by killing. All characters are not left in agony. Even though it is a rather bitter because Tantai Jin is died in the end, his death is a meaningful death. We audience shouldn't ask more like he should be revived, he and Li Susu should reunite and live happily ever after because it would be contradictory to the logic of the story and the world building where gods and goddesses can die. Reviving him is just making his life cheap and less impactful. Giving him a happily ever after is just like a Disney story.

To enjoy this show, I suggest you to go transcend your self and see from above, get the big picture, that the ending of this drama is just right and perfect. Not an open, sad, or even a bad one. Don't ask for perfection, because this story itself tells us that perfection is the most absurd thing in life. I highly recommend you to re-watch it and collect all beautiful things offered by this drama. Maybe you miss it at the first time. Don't get too disheartened by some flaws in terms of production and other technical aspects. It is very tolerable when you don't ask too much.

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Confusing genre dissappoint expectation.

The trailer of this drama last year created a hype among Dylan Wang's fans, me included. We saw palace setting, unusual starting point for a revenge story, some actions, and how a powerful eunuch confronted corrupt officials bravely. I personally expected that it would be a kind of a serious political historical drama. I was really suprised knowing this drama falls into comedy and romance category.

I think, it is okay. Romantic and comedic drama is not bad, as the story is quite funny in the beginning. I expected it would be a kind of a warmhearted story, beautiful, and touching. A story that makes you fall in love with the power of love. Love can destroy any barriers as we found forbidden pairings here that somehow makes us understand why this drama initially titled Forbidden Love: Xiao Dou (a fake eunuch) and Bu Yinlou (a consort), Xiao Dou and Rong'an (an empress), Bu Yinlou (ex concubine of former emperor) and Murong Gaogong (the emperor), and Wanwan (emperor's sister) and that Yuwen guy (emperor's enemy brother).

However, the story turns out to be psychological with some degree of violence and madness. The theme of this drama, dissappointingly: Love drives you crazy, turns you into rebel and makes you break social norms and morality. Really, unchained love. It is not meaningful at all. Its romance and comedy is not sweet anymore in the front of such dark story. So, the story is the weakest of this drama, IMO.

I know some people watch this because of Dylan Wang is the star. Me is not exception. But, the essence of watching drama is not to see some actors and visuals, but mainly to enjoy stories and have fun. The acting of all actors is good, but I hope their talents can be used for a good story, too. The music is not so good. That comedic/ funny backsound is out of place frequently. When the course of event turns serious and emotion is depressing, why they put comedic music there (such as in episode 34). I cannot laugh at all.

The only positive thing in this drama is the acting. But, it is not enough for this drama worth our time to rewatch it.

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A perfect heroic tragedy wuxia

It is 10/10. Solid in every aspect of story telling. Although it follows typical successful wuxia tropes, it doesn't lose originality, novelty, and poetic quality.

It follows a similar pattern we saw in dramas such as Nirvana in Fire (2015) and The Blood of Youth (2022) which focus the story on one central figure, the tragic hero, and his struggle to find the truth. Mysterious Lotus Casebook (MLC) starts from a downfall and ends with tragedy. We starts from zero and in the end, all return to zero again, creating a full complete circle. Our hero lost everything: his power, skills, fame, status/ position, and friends/ followers. He was defeated by his enemies and by his own mistake. When he was in a grave danger, a bikhu saved his life and he was reborn. He found new purpose of life and lived a humble and wiser life with new identity and changed personality. Everything is seemingly normal again, but a scar from the past forced him to return to the jianghu and involved in the conflicts. He found new friends and gain various supports to fulfill his mission. He was successful after so many hardships. He regained his former glory. However, his righteousness drove him to the path of self-sacrifice for the greater good and for the people he loved. In the end, he let go everything with a content heart. He died peacefully, and was loved by everybody.

The strongest aspects of MCL is first, the characterization of the main character, Li Lianhua. His development is so clear and flows naturally. We easily understand why he become or does this and that. He is a very positive and mature person who learns from mistakes and gains wisdom. The past is not turning him into a person with psychological issues. He is without emotional baggage so that he is able to stay firm when confronting people from his pasts. When he was confronted by his past lover, Qiao Wanmian, his sadness is there, but he stayed level headed. When watching this particular scene, I was so afraid that the story would follow the romance tropes where the male cannot resist his feeling and rebuild the romantic relationship. Or, during the marriage scene, the male usually is burnt with jealousy, and use the only chance to cure the female, to show romantic gestures. Gratefully, it is not. Other thing is the consistency from the start to the end, not only for Li Lianhua, but also for the other male main characters. Their personalities are different to each other, but their relationship is so harmonious, thus enjoyable to watch. They don't make stupid moves and every act is effective.

Second, the amazing plot twists. MCL is the drama that should be watched patiently with open and clear mind. Don't rush to know the ending of each case and of the overall story. Protect your viewing experience from spoilers, because it definitely will ruined the twists and thrills. The first part of MCL (episode 1 to 20-30) are basically detective story. They are solving mysteries by following clues and leads. Not knowing or understanding many things in the beginning to the mid part of the case are normal to bear, and in the end we will certainty get the explanation. Just wait and see. The drama is very skillful at when to close and disclose important information for the viewers. We, viewers, are "cheated", believing false truth, and by the time everything is finally revealed, it feels shockingly great. It is really not like most dramas that place viewers as know-all-things so that we are becoming impatient watching clueless characters in screen. The drama is very careful at telling the past events and the flashbacks are contained in character perception or memory. So, we understand the story from the character's interpretation of that event. Meanwhile, the past facts are told through dialogue between characters, documents, and relics.

Third, the mixed genre is so good. It is a wuxia that is laden with action and sword plays. It is a tragedy, but full of comedy. However, it is also a mystery story with a suspense, horror, and gore. When they are exploring a tomb, a cave, underground facilities, or a body of deceased, with minimal lights, it is so scary. When they meet the zombie, ghosts, and the beast, my heart beats so fast. This drama has balance day and night scenes. When it should be scary, it is set at night. When it should by funny, it is on broad day light. It has romance (mature love), brotherhood, family, and companionship. It has moment of togetherness and adventure as well as a moment of solitude and self-reflection. The evil people are evil without white washing them with "good" humane motive. The jealous person is jealous. The greedy is greed. The crazy is crazy. No excuse. No feeling sorry. We don't mix the good and the bad. The previously evil or bad person becomes good in our eyes after they experience certain events in the story, not because of the subjective experience or pitiful past that begs our sympathy. It is good for us not knowing about the royal story behind why Jiao Liqiao is crazy, why Shan Gu Dao is jealous and cruel, etc. It is on their character, not circumstances. They are bound to received punishment as their retribution/ karma.

Those are things that make this drama stands out, IMO. I don't find any serious weakness. Of course, sometimes the CGI is not perfect, the performance is somewhat a bit lacking, the mobile house is weird (look small from the outside, but spacious inside), etc. We can overlook those and enjoy the story itself. It is so good, lets watch and re-watch!

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Hope versus despair. But, the story is going astray.

Story (6 out of 10)

Love is Panacea perhaps is not everyone's cup of tea. It is a drama, but not dramatic. Its comedy is not comedic/ funny. It is not romantic enough, and not giving us emotional roller-coaster like in LYX's previous romantic comedy and romantic tragedy (e.g. Love is Sweet, Till the End of the Moon). You won't be able to binge watch it or be addicted to it because it is too flat and boring (sorry).

I have finished 20 episodes so far and I want to drop it. After the Lacaya arc, this drama lost its strenght i.e. the story theme. When they highlight Huntington Disease, I thought it would become Chinese "1 Liter of Tears". When they showed economic and social issues as well as the moral dilemma around the society and people with terminal illness or incurable disease (poor Sukun and his AIDS, the tragic general with brain tumor, etc), it is really hit my emotion and sympathy. This arc is like an introduction for the Huntington disease part. I prepared myseld to cry so badly, but... nothing is happened after that.

From Lacaya arc, I learnt that life is basically a tragedy. Many people are unlucky to have a full and free life. Unhappiness is bound to happen. In this context, doctors as part of privileged, powerful, and well-off group in society, plays a big role in bringing back happiness to people' heart. But, when they are back to China, to a luxurious city where nobody is struggling to live, those morale and inspiration are gone! It turned out to be a cheap romance, toxic, inhumane, and full of jealousy. Can't they just focus on the medical story, the support, and healthy romance so we (especially with medical conditions) can relate and feel heard? The story lost its promise.

It is a relief that in the beginning, this drama depicts Dr. Gu as a mature and experienced man as well as a professional and dutiful person. His idealism is the moral of the story. He is a person who have faith, "Instead of letting them die in despair, why don't we let them put up a fight? Sometimes love may create miracles. Everything is worth it when you're with your loved ones." His faith is the premise of this drama. How reliable is his faith to face the next challenge when his beloved is the one with incurable disease? This faith makes him the strongest character (emotionally, intellectually, and morally). Will he always be strong? Nope. Back in China, he turned out to be like an immature young boy, chasing after a woman who repeatedly push him away. The story forgot he is a very much adult. His charisma is destroyed. Why should romance make a person less intelligence? I am so disappointed with his character declined development.

And for the female main, Su Wei'an, her depressed personality is not interesting. We understand how an illness can rob many things from a person. But, the story didn't give us enough explanation for her depression or disappointment (the root cause why she wanted to end her life). Did she has a dream that she invested everything to achieve it? Did she has a family that she wants their happiness so much? Did she has a life that is so promising in other eyes? No exploration about those. And, she knows she had a psychological problem, but why she didn't meet any counselor to get help? Her decision is not logical, in fact she was formerly a medical student and definetely learnt about that kind of thing. She doesn't possess positive mindset and strong mentality, which make me wonder how spoiled is her upbringing?

Other weak parts:
Music. Not memorable. Boring. No banger.
Antagonists: Wen Ran, so egoistic. How could she be a doctor? Dr. Li, insane. How could she be a psychiatrist? I want to punch their faces!
Support characters: Jiang Muying, she is so good in Lacaya. But, in China, she lacks contribution to the story. She is just a side-kick and secret keeper for female lead. Fang Mingfan, he takes so long to solve his phobia, and at best, he is just a commentator of love between the main leads.

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This drama has great villains and heroes but is weak in resolving conflicts.

The Double is like rain after a drought of good quality C-Dramas in 2024. Initially, I didn't expect it to be this great. But, after completing all the episodes, I would say this one might be in the same league as the phenomenal, Nirvana in Fire (NIF), as the best revenge drama of this year.

Revenge historical dramas are usually not easy to watch because the plots are often quite complex, especially when connected to palace politics and intrigues. To enjoy them, we must pay attention to each milestone and understand the strategies and tactics to reach the targets. Because of these reasons, watching dramas in this genre can be tiring and boring if the story and plot are not captivating enough. Fortunately, 'The Double' is able to overcome this challenging aspect of a drama. For the majority of the episodes, I could not fast forward because it is really interesting, entertaining, and thrilling.

The story is the biggest strength of this drama. First, to help us understand and follow the storyline, and to manage the large number of characters, this drama smartly uses an episodic story structure every 4-5 episodes. We see this from the changing settings, such as moving from the mountain temple back to the capital city, then to Luyang City and several other cities, before returning to the capital again. In each place, we get a smaller story that contributes to the main story, and in each smaller story, we see targets achieved one by one. The storyline is mainly chronological. Backstories and flashbacks exist in certain parts, but they primarily help us understand the characters' motivations and personality development.

Secondly, I love how this drama heavily embraces realism and shows us two balanced perspectives from the elites and the commoners. This drama explores themes that are not commonly found in other C-dramas such as gender equality, women roles in society, social class and mobility, patriarchy, poverty, abuse of power, tyranny, greediness, etc. The tragedy that befell onto many characters are the results of society sickness. This context makes the struggle to seek justice and uphold righteousness in this drama very grounded, relevant, and realistic.

After the story, the most interesting aspects are the characters and their development, and the portrayal of trauma and the emotional scars left by trauma on several characters. I personally love the male lead (Duke Su) and the second male lead (Shen Yurong) because, as romantic partners of the female lead, they have such different personalities, like heaven and earth. Shen Yurong is the former husband of the female lead. He is an intelligent, kind, and gifted scholar who highly upholds his idealism. However, he lacks the agency and bravery to fight for what is right, and therefore cannot protect his beloved wife and is forced to do horrible things. Meanwhile, Duke Su is a military man, the later husband of FL. He is intelligent, powerful, and feared by many, but cold and ruthless in doing right things for the emperor and for the sake of the nation. This contrast is meaningful because it tells us that without power and bravery, you cannot uphold your idealism.

Besides the male characters, I love how this drama presents the villains. The biggest villain is Princess Wanning and her allies in the palace, along with her brother, a military general planning a coup. Princess Wanning is characterized as a psychopath (torturing, controlling, and lacking remorse). However, the story tells her complete background, showing why she turned out this way, and reveals her human side that deserves compassion. Similarly, the second biggest villain, the female lead’s stepmother, becomes a manipulative woman seeking power and domination, but also love and attention, due to her suffering. In the past, she was an innocent flower, but her family forced her to take the evil path. Besides them, there are several minor villains, each with eccentric, ruthless, and corrupt personalities, posing a great danger to the female lead in her pursuit of justice.

Overall, this drama is a story about society, not merely about revenge. The context and environment are realistically portrayed. This is a world of ancient China where family status, reputation, and position are the three most important things, and people can turn into beasts pursuing them. Meanwhile, women are loved, educated, and trained well, just to be used as tools to gain and maintain power by their men. In this aspect, I can say that this drama surpasses the masterpiece, 'Nirvana in Fire/ NIF' which is too high-politics and captures mainly the dynamic among elites and didn't provide us more insight about society. Furthermore, there is a balance between the use of hard power (military power, martial art skill) and soft power (manipulation, influence, deception, and intimidation).

However, from a problem-solving perspective or in terms of problem resolution, the story lacks sophistication because success is guaranteed from the beginning. There are no surprising twists in the middle that could make us worry about their potential defeat (In "Nirvana in Fire," we have the scene where Mei Changsu is poisoned, imprisoned, and nearly dies). We don't experience any gritty or desperate moments between the female lead and male lead because both of them are so capable and manage everything adeptly. Furthermore, upon closer examination, it's unclear what is truly at stake. Firstly, the emperor supports the protagonists, while the villains in the palace lack strong political influence. Secondly, the questionable identity of the female lead poses no significant threat to the Jiang family beyond a tarnished reputation. Thirdly, the romance between the male lead and female lead feels unearned and lacks any meaningful trade-offs. Fourth, the villains are ruthless to anybody, but the leads. Everybody dies, but the leads. Fifth, in the end, the wrong doing of Princess Wanning toward FL and her family is not exposed to the world. She just died by killing herself after mistaking the intention of her lover, who poisoned her for political purpose, and being heartbroken. The same goes for the second male lead (Shen Yurong). He killed himself because the female lead no longer loved him and that he couldn't return to the beautiful past days, not because he understood why he had failed his own idealism. So, the justice is not served well.

This drama is perfect until episode 30. The last 10 episodes are a downfall, making the story anticlimactic. It's a good idea for the female lead to try to make the second male lead admit his wrongdoing, but she does so as if they were strangers. In fact, they were husband and wife who loved each other. It's understandable and valid for his reasons like 'I had no choice' and 'I had to protect my mother and sister.' However, the emotion remaining in the female lead's heart is just hatred and anger, while the second male lead feels guilty and regretful. Psychologically, it doesn't make sense because it seems forced for the plot to make the female lead and male lead become lovers. It would be a redemption story if FL helps him remind his true heart before entering palace, and he turns out to be her another hand to revenge Princess Wanning, playing new role as a trojan horse.

It's a significant development that Princess Wanning finally succeeds in trapping the female lead inside her game. However, it feels wrong to leave her safely in jail without any torture. This action seems out of character and misses the potential for a desperate scene that could increase the stakes and conflict, pushing the emotions and motivation to succeed in the revenge mission and save the nation. Additionally, the episodes involving the coup d'état are shallow and lack complexity, with less strategic movement. This should have been the climactic moment to leave a deep impression on the audience, but instead, it feels like an everyday event. It could have been a great war within the country and against an evil neighboring country simultaneously. This final development would have made the deaths of Duke Su's two aides more acceptable. Alternatively, they could have provided Prince Chen with a more compelling reason to stage a coup, such as seeking revenge for Princess Wanning, who was taken hostage, or aspiring to become a braver emperor and defend against enemy countries. It's disappointing that Prince Chen, as the main culprit behind the country's suffering, is portrayed as merely greedy for power, without a higher purpose.

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A tragedy wuxia. There are more tears than blood, more manipulation than actual combat.

I watched this drama to explore and appreciate Luo Yunxi's acting skill after watching him in Till The End of The Moon (2023) and Love is Sweet (2020). If you come to this drama for this reason, you won't be disappointed. Playing the ML, Shangguan Tuo, he is really skilled in managing emotional scenes as well as fight scenes, his facial expressions and gestures was on point. In addition, in this drama and his previous Runyu role in Ashes of Love (2018), Luo Yunxi has the best physical appearance (not too thin yet), IMO. He is definitely the king of costume drama. Wearing traditional clothes, his handsomeness and elegance is off the chart.

***

Many viewers gave pretty low rating for this drama and I understand the reason. Without great patience, you won't survive this drama "boringness". Over the span of 48 episodes, under the tag of a wuxia, there are only few actions to enjoy. Instead of action, there are tons of talks about love and hate, jianghu politics, and mystery to solve. If you don't have the flexibility to change your expectation and set new watching goals midway, there are nothing left for you. You'd better drop this title and save your precious time. However, if you are able to realize the message the drama intends to convey, stay watching and you will reap the gem in episode after episode.

I like to focus more on the story. Actually, this drama is pretty good at lying the foundation for the main conflict. The conflict is not straightforward and is built up slowly. In early episodes, we think that the story is about FL's (Chong Wuezhi, played by Yukee Chen) quest to reconcile with other sects in jianghu who have grudge to her sect, Hall of Flame, and clear her father's name. However, the water is more deep than that with the introduction of Prince Lu (played by Patrick Quan) from the imperial palace.

Prince Lu is an impossible antagonist and villain. He is weak and sick, but has big ambition to control the jianghu. His power is immense because he is super intelligent to to collude with certain sects and achieve his goal. He is the master of manipulation. The Hall of Flame is just one of his victims. More interestingly, Prince Lu has a sound philosophy to commit his crime. He doesn't seek the throne like typical villains in wuxia-palace drama. He wants to maintain order in the land and increase palace control over chaotic jianghu. It makes an impression that he is the righteous one.

The story sets in the context where martial arts sects were flourishing but competing to one each others. The competition to be the strongest and greatest creates distress for society. Previously, the traditional relationship between palace/ government and jianghu is non intervening. Jianghu has the freedom to do whatever the sects want without government intervention, but people of jianghu is forbidden to participate in palace politics and imperial family business. The goal of people of jianghu is to achieve the greatness in martial arts, to be the strongest and the most influential among sects. Sometimes in the process, some people are killed and it creates grudge and prolonged blood feuds. From government point of view, this feud breaks peacefulness. The main goal of government is to maintain order by the rule of laws, but with traditional norm of non-intervention, government cannot punish people of jianghu to stop the disorder.

Prince Lu is the actor who wants to change this chaotic situation, in order to help his emperor father of Crown Prince brother in the future. Till this point, his reason is acceptable. Unfortunately, he solves this problem with suppression and unjustifiable killing too. For him, the sects are just the pawns, are disposable anytime. Later, after the death of his beloved wife, he experiences mental break down and turn to be a tyrant. He blames his life tragedy to Shangguan Tou and eagers to kill him and Chong Xuezhi who always try to stop him. His personal goal changes to be the controller of jianghu. He wants the power himself.

For me, the villain in this drama (Prince Lu) is the best in the wuxia so far. It is far better than Prince Red in popular Blood of Youth (2022), or even a drama with the similar vibe, The Flame's Daughter (2018), which the villains are just a brainless psycho. Prince Lu is a master of go and always several steps ahead. Several times, he causes desperation for the protagonists and set them into traps. Also, from the perspective of villain, it is very potential for a great plot twist. In the end, Prince Lu's crimes are exposed but he is just punished lightly, no beheading or exile or removal from princedom. It makes me suspect that actually the emperor knows the crime and quietly supports it by letting Prince Lu did what he did.

The story would be better if the author/ writer not easily let such a great villain to be crazy in the end. It is okay to suffer depression from the loss of beloved wife who doesn't understand his duty to his imperial father. This tragedy should be his moral reason to be more determined to control jianghu and strengthen the government power. He is the one who sacrifice for the future of the empire. From the palace perspective, he is the hero. From jianghu perspective, he is the villain.

However, this potential to improve the story is loss. Simply, because the story is using jianghu perspective. It doesn't try to balance the perspective. It is showed from the imbalance representatives. Too many people from jianghu are told, but less from the imperial family and government. It would be good to see how the emperor feel threatened as well as saddened by his trusted Imperial Advisor who has lenient view about the jianghu and let his son, Shangguan Tuo, to be part of jianghu, after his brothers leave him for the jianghu. It would be good to see Prince Lu the weak as the most filial, who is willing to live in faraway province to help his father and Crown Prince by doing the dirty works. If we have the balances view, it would bring more lesson for the ML and FL. After they win the struggle to free jianghu from Prince Lu's crimes, they should take more active role in strengthening the character of jianghu people, to prevent another chaotic period in history. But, in the end, FL leaves her sect and choose to live in seclusion with ML. With the power they have, they turn to be selfish and think only about their own happiness.

So, you know. I love this drama because of the complex villain. Even tough the potential is wasted, it enriches our imagination what future villain should be written. It is boring to see one-dimensional villain or crazy villain. The real villain is often normal people who have love, reason, and moral too, like the heroes. It is just their way to solve problem to be different from the heroes.

I hope in the future, there will be a drama that can portray a quality villain story. I hope there will be a writer that creates a grand story in which the right and wrong is not that easy to define, that concerns not only the love among man and women, but also the well-being of overall society, to take a certain social issue as the focus of the story.

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A love story that reminds, it is good to remember and take the lessons.

To make it watchable, you must remember that it is a story about a fairy turning into human. Since it is not impossible in real life, you should not expect realism and be more patient to swallow every logic in the story.

Sometimes we love a drama because it meet our expectations (we see what we want to see in the screen). However, a story can serve also as a medium to experiment with ideas, what could be possibly happened to love and relationship when circumstances are not usual.

In this drama, we have a ginseng fairy turning human (Ye Xi) and multiple men in her life. It is difficult at first to follow the storyline because it mixed. It is progressing, but with so many flashbacks. Until episode 14, there is no chronological order, so it is confusing. To be patient that long is not easy for me, even though the romance is quite unique, fresh, and promising for further development.

The good of the story is that it is a contemplatation about human nature. The themes revolve around the deceit & betrayal vs the faithfulness & devotion; selfishness vs selflessness; superficial love that is only sweet in words and promises but backstabbing vs true unconditional love though it is sometimes bitter. Sometimes love is only used as tool for our interests, sometimes it is the real purpose of life.

I began to understand this idea when Ye Xi was dying the second time. She lamented about she finally became human, but in the end she was still eaten by human. She did thousand years of cultivation, longing for a new life which she would be able to live with someone. Actually, she was able to feel the agony, but the problem is she got amnesia and came back to her true nature as a kind, helpful, and trusting person every time she was revived. It is the tragedy that makes us audience feel angry and despair like Bai Yue, how stupid she is! How could she got trapped and betrayed again? Love is not that important when it goes ugly for you, how could your brain only seek for love and repeat the same mistakes?

Fortunately, later she got some conscience and aware of her mistakes. She could distinguish true love from fake one through Bai Yue's devotion and sacrifice to her. As audience, we learn, it is important to remember even the saddest part of our life. As we hate a girl like Ye Xi, we should remember that in real life some girls are like Ye Xi. In this aspect, the story itself empowers us to love our selves more, to be more careful in handling romantic relationship, etc. The moral of this story is the only good aspect of this drama.

After finishing all episodes, it is sad that the story delivery is less sophisticated. The second main lead (Cang Qi) is not interesting at all. The actor played the role is overly dramatic in facial expressions, and he looked too beautiful/ feminine for the role of person in power. It is not explained how Cang Qi rose to power, what is his job in goverment, etc. His obsession to Ye Xi is disgusting, because he was lustful and saw Ye Xi as sexual object. The supporting roles are not help. Their love story is shallow. They are quite comical, but not that funny.

The only make sense person is Bai Yue. He was praise worthy for his ability, ethics, loyalty, and patience. I think it better to let him just died in episode 21 and his love made Ye Xi understood more about true love. His curse is the important thing that push the story toward the end. It is no need to revive him with such a lame mechanism. I personally don't like a story that ends with a deus ex machina. How could a coffin suddenly had such magical power? His death should be the final missing piece that Ye Xi got during her journey to find love and to be a human being, not a fairy.

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The worldbuilding is a mess. The action scenes are lame.

This drama is such a disappointment because the quality is below expectation. Usually, viewers are able to overlook imperfection regarding CGI, editing, dubbing, and other technical aspects if the story has quality. But, the story is this drama greatest weakness.

Setting/ Worldbuilding
Xianxia typically revolves the story around three realms: the Heaven of immortals and deities, the Earth of the mortals/ human-being, and the Underworld of the demons, spirits, and devils. Each realm has its own creatures, rules, limitations, and boundaries.

The immortals and deities can live for thousands years, They are born asexually from the ascension of lower beings as the results of their good deeds in previous life. They have superhuman ability and not usually died so easy (the only method is through the destruction of their primordial spirit so they cannot reincarnate). They live in the vast and unlimited heaven so usually, they are flying and teleporting. Immortals cannot intervene with lower realm affairs or use their ability in mortal realm. They can go to mortal world for tribulation or penance, and during this trip, they will forget their past.

Human being, animal, and plant are earthly creatures, have short life-span. They are relatively weaker, but can learn cultivation and martial arts. They live with family, in a sect, or a city. They have political entity to govern their affairs. They are crawling in the Earth on foot, horse, or carriage. Their culture and ways of living are richer. Their lives are bound to reincarnation circle. If they are good, they can ascend to godhood. If they are evil, they descend to be lower being.

Meanwhile, the demons, spirits, and devils are usually bad and on the lowest hierarchy of beings. After cultivating for years, they can have human form. They usually live as a nuisance to human, sometimes they eat human to get stronger. That is why they are hunted and killed. However, some of them are kind and not disturb human. They live in clan, so we have bird demon clan, fox spirit clan, etc. in the forest, river, lake, or sea.

Basic rules above are among common characteristics of xianxia worldbuilding. But, this drama breaks some important "rule". For example: Immortals are still immortals even when they go to mortal worlds (2 ML, 2 FL). They are very intervening, and without consequences. Human-being can have superhuman ability that makes them immune to injury and death even after severely wounded (ML). The spirit is not different to immortals as they can go anywhere i.e. the heaven without limitation (FL, the little flower spirit). What is more, the immortals act like human. They bleed when injured, they walk and run to reach certain place, and they are weak in fighting. They love and are jealous to each other. They are full of revenge and ill intention. Their living places are just like human palaces. Nothing wonderful and otherworldly. And, they can live, die, and revive as their wishes, not following the cycle of samsara/ reincarnation (just use a certain artifact to live again). Therefore, the time sequence of the story is messy. Everything seems happen in the present time. The past, present, and future are blurry. No good working timeframe.

I think, this mess is the risk for a too grand story (involving three realms), but no attention to details of each realm. This drama is weaker in the worldbuilding in comparison to xianxia like Love and Redemption (2020) which focus most of its story on the mortal realm. When they abuse the rules of the realms, the conflicts is resolved in lame manner. This drama uses deus ex machina, like when ML suddenly kills himself with unknown swords to stop himself going berserk, or when FL's heart weirdly has so much magical power, or when ML suddenly have magical pool to cure him, or when ML revives the Heavenly Emperor. There is not internal mechanism to solve their problems, like the use brain, analytical thinking, strategic talks, hard works, logical sacrifices, and risk taking for benefit. All depends on external power, weapon and artifact.

Story/ Plot
Immortal Samsara doesn't follow its premise. From the title, viewers may keep asking, what is samsara here? I don't know its meaning until the last episodes when ML confronts his father and learns about his parents story. His father is the demon king who loves and marries a goddess (his enemy), but ends up killing her in the end. So, he turns the time back from the beginning again for a different story and ending. Alas, the ending is repeatedly still the same, because his ambition never change and he never regret doing sins. It is the "immortal samsara". This is the more suitable back story (and the birth of an exquisite god as the result of their love), IMO, rather than the story of twin lotuses which has no significance for the realm, making this like the story of the prince and pauper. The story should use the ML's point of view.

Storywise, this drama lacks good story structuring. It can be more interesting and suspenseful, if the story progresses back and forth to reveal the mystery of the past and hidden identity of ML, and the reason behind why love is forbidden in Heavenly Realm sooner. Alas, this drama put too much emphasize on the ill fated relationship and the romance between ML and FL which is not important to the overall story and conflict. It will be a better story if in the end he becomes the Heavenly Emperor and takes the FL (a mere spirit) as his queen to reward her love, loyalty, and sacrifice, as the result of him learning about his parents, his identity, his enemy, the long conflict between immortals and demon, and the mistakes of the strict rule. This drama wastes an interesting plot where the enemy successfully kills the former Heavenly Emperor and impersonate him. It is never seen in previous xianxia. This drama could have interesting revenge and justice story rather than a mere romance and stupid double suicide in the end.

Characterization
Cheng Yi and Yang Zi are very good actor and actress. But, their potential are wasted because of the problematic story. ML and FL are very two dimensional. Their personalities are predictable, their behaviors are predictable. The writer should dig more on the psychology of a lowly ang young little fairy in the front of the greatest deity. They fall in love too easily, which is illogical considering their statuses. FL should be more selfish (think more about her self) because she is still too young, weak, and needs protection, and wishing for a future and pride. She shouldn't prefer death than life so easily and work harder to maintain her position in the heaven. But, they write her to be a lazy woman and have no aspiration better than a play writer. They can create her to be more interesting with describing what kind of story she would like to write and it will show us her life values, idealism, and personal difficulties as a person, and how it connects to the ML's aspirations and values. The way they introduce ML to FL is so not romantic (as a turtle flipper), downgrade him to a level of child, while he should maintain his dignity as a responsible and wise thousand years old deity. How could he fall in love so easily to a "baby"?

Other supporting characters are generally useless, like a decoration in the background when they are just standing and watching. Supporting deities do more talking than doing something to help, going here and there in a crowd, screaming, and being angry/ sad. They act like ministers in the mortal court rather than deity with specific duty and certain ability. They solve problem through debating, rather than doing something magical. The demons in the valley are also just cute, but useless. The heavenly soldiers are so small in number, like 20s. They should use CGI to multiply them and create a majestic war battalion with good fighting skills to counter demons.

Music
Nothing memorable. No banger. No heart punching beats. Too flat. Too cheesy.

I hope future xianxia learns something from this failure.

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I am grateful! It doesn't just follow the trope of xianxia drama.

After completing all episode...
I am so happy and satisfied with the ending! My hopes are answered in the two last episodes! All bad thoughts about the ending of this drama are melt away.

1# Why the love between fairy and devil matters? Yes, it matters a lot for the peace of the realm in the end. It gives warmth to our heart too, that this story is not a stupid romance. Self-less love is triumph here!

2# What love can do for "mankind" (the moon tribe, fairy, immortal being, and mortal being) is underexplored. No, no, no! It is very well explored in the end! Even though the sequence of events in the last episodes are a bit too fast (like without warning, the Moon tribe suddenly join troops), it is very okay. We still can follow the story.

3# The peace, the love, the unity, and the magic force. These should be the main ingredients to fight evil, right? Yes!

4# It is okay to tell about love among immortals, but it is funny to see the main purpose of their love is just to find the lost one! Finally, it is not! This drama teaches a lot about what love can do. Actually, what self-less love can do!

Watch this drama, people! Don't stop half way!

***

My review after watching until episode 32:

My hope is high when people praise the art department of this fantasy drama. I observe it well; the design of places, clothes, and the world of fairy, immortal being, devil, and mortal human are spectacular. The acting and music are good too. So, I won't talk about those things or it would be redundant. I will focus on the story.

1# Lack of background context: Why did the conflict happen from the first place?
What I like about the story is a different starting point from other xianxia dramas. The male lead (ML) is portrayed as the defeated villain. The way he met the female lead (FL) is so unexpected. So, it brought some fresh introduction that really attract my curiosity. I like how they brought also another issue to enjoy, a kind of social clash between fairy and moon tribe. The fairy is always depicted as "the hypocrites" by the moon tribe. However, something is missing. Until episode 32, it is never be explained why the hatred is so deep. What is the hypocrisy they talked about several times? A view to the past is limited to the personal family story of the ML, about his father and their sacrifice, and the conflict is already there. What triggers it? It is really a big hole for the story with many good potentials. It makes the story lack meaning, why the love between fairy and devil matters?

2# The most powerful to the weakest: Backward character development of Moon Supreme
I fall in love to the characterization of Dongfang Qingcang, Moon Supreme, who is introduced as the biggest villain in the beginning. He is cold, cool, ruthless, and fearsome. To some extents, he is admirable too, the day we learn his background story and how he choose to be humane with emotion. I think, the return of emotion (especially love) should add more strength to him. But unfortunately, in contrary, it become his Achilles heels. He becomes useless. It is very disappointing. He lost his brain to solve forthcoming challenges. I mean, how come they do battle by only relying on brute magic force? Is there no room for peace talk and diplomacy? Or at least, smart strategies and tactics to win the war?

I really want to see the Moon Supreme that turn to be a better person. They can portray him to be more benevolent and considerate, to be more open minded and have broad perspective to face his enemy, and gravitate to peace and the well-being of his people. In reality, that is the use of emotion, right? What is the use of love in him? Love has so many kinds. Eros (romance, passionate love), philia (love of friends), storge (love of parents for children), agape (love of mankind). Is his love tree limited only to Orchid, when we know he is a great person to his tribe and feared by his enemy? The meaning of love here is so shallow. What love can do for "mankind" (the moon tribe, fairy, immortal being, and mortal being) is underexplored.

3# Peace are restored so easily like it doesn't important.
The series has passed its climax, I think. It is in episode 31 where the war finally broke again, and ended by the sacrifice of Orchid. She released a power that can revive those who died in the battle and the 100.000 army of demon. It is later stated that demon and immortal being achieved a ceasefire for 100 years. This episode is so touching, but the impact is weak. The moment of Orchid released her power should reveal the true identity of Orchid as a goddess (if not, why those people kneel to her?) It should be a big good news for everybody in the realm. What we don't know is how they perceive this event and its meaning for them. This realization should be the bridge that explains the achieved peace.

I think, Dongfang Qingcang shouldn't fainted so early and easily after Orchid died. Love should produce perseverance in a person, not mental break down (as depicted in episode 32, ML turns out to be crazy). With his more benevolent and stronger heart now, he might have come back to his tribe with the last power he has, endure his own suffering, and offer peace to his enemy, reminding them Orchid's sacrifice. After that, he finally "take some rest", continuing his desire for Orchid in the dream realm. This story would be very different indeed! The 100 years peace would be his achievement and we would love him more, and understand why he indulged himself in the dream about Orchid. He is a tragic loving person! When this conflict beautifully ends, it is logical for the last arc of the story, to fight the greatest final enemy, Tai Sui. Dongfang Qingcang and friends has full power now. The peace, the love, the unity, and the magic force. These should be the main ingredients to fight evil, right?

4# The trap of xianxia love story trope
As an international viewer, it is easy to be bewildered by the worldbuilding of Chinese fantasy story. It is okay with rebirth and karma things. It is relatable because more or less it also exists in other cultures. The philosophy behind it is understandable. It is always about the rivalry of good and evil, white and black, fairy/ god-goddess/ immortal being and demon. However, we know from many series, that the lord of immortal being can be vile. God and goddess can be cunning and awful. If that possibility is exist, the similar possibility can be happen to the demon tribe, too. The tribe that is always depicted by black trait (evil, ugly, hideous, etc), actually have heart too and can be compassionate. This grey area is fantastic to be explored. Love between Fairy and Evil is promising that exploration, through a devil as the main character.

However, I don't agree with the story's over indulgence in romance in later episodes and forget the main premise, love should flourish people. It has a great metaphor already: the Love Tree of Dongfang Qingcang. In the beginning, it is deserted in a winter like place. Later, Orchid came and bring it to life. The bare tree finally sprouts and the spring is coming. Dongfang Qingcang sat below the tree and enjoyed flowers in that tree. It is a very satisfying moment! Unfortunately, after that beautiful depiction, the story change 180 degree to "a journey to find lost love one", "a quest to revive a died person". It happens in so many xianxia drama (e.g. Three Miles of Peach Blossom, Eternal Love of Dream, The Blue Whisper, etc). Come on! If you know that a person can always be born again, what is the point of grief, madness, sadness, depression, and sorrow of losing the love one? If it is to give a second chance, in this fantasy world, a person can reborn thousand times and live thousand years. They are immortal! Life is just a play for immortals. Why do they need to take it seriously? It is okay to tell about love among immortals, but it is funny to see the main purpose of their love is just to find the lost one, watch the hard work to revive him/her again, and to live forever happily ever after. For a mortal human, the most frightening thing for a lover is the loss of a loved one. Because, they only live once. But, for immortals love should be imagined differently as the most frightening thing for them should be different too.

So far, I never know any xianxia drama that goes beyond this trope. I do hope Love between Fairy and Devil would be the one. We still have four last episodes to go. Lets see!

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Cerita yang penuh makna, meski menyedihkan

Saya tidak sengaja bertemu dengan drama ini dari trailer dan free episode-nya di kanal WeTV di Youtube. Sebelumnya, saya telah menonton beberapa drama yang dibintangi oleh Yang Mi (Three Miles of Peach Blossom dan Legend of Fuyao), jadi saya ingin tahu seperti apa drama yang dibintangi Yang Mi kali ini. Di dua dramanya sebelumnya, kesan yang saya dapatkan kurang positif karena saya tidak begitu suka ending di mana tokoh utama setelah mati, bisa hidup lagi, khas trope drama-drama Tiongkok. Bagi saya, trope seperti ini tidak masuk akal. Di Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini, saya sempat khawatir karena membaca berbagai komentar penonton yang mengandung spoiler dan sinopsis di berbagai situs yang mengikuti resensi novelnya. Saya hampir menyerah di awal karena membaca bahwa Haishi yang diperankan Yang Mi akan masuk ke istana dan menjadi selir dan akhirnya seorang ratu, dan selama perjalanannya terlibat cinta segitiga yang berakhir super sedih dan tragis.

Ternyata, prediksi banyak penonton dan bahkan sinopsis yang sudah beredar tentang drama ini kebanyakan keliru (tidak menggambarkan ceritanya yang sebenarnya). Drama ini memang mengadaptasi dari novel, tetapi alur ceritanya benar-benar mengambil jalan lain yang benar-benar saya apresiasi. Karena jalan cerita yang berbeda inilah, saya jatuh cinta dengan drama ini sampai setelah seluruh episodenya selesai, saya menonton ulang sampai tiga kali untuk menangkap maksud dan detail-detailnya secara lebih baik. Saya pun menyukai soundtrack-nya dan rutin mendengarkannya ulang sebagai teman saya bekerja.

Keseluruhan 9,5/10

Drama ini menceritakan tentang kesetiaan tiga pasang kekasih dan perjalanan hidup dan cinta mereka (jadi, bukan cinta segitiga yang penuh persaingan). Pasangan pertama adalah Fang Jianming/ Fang Zhu (William Chan) dan Haishi (Yang Mi). Kedua adalah kaisar Dixu (Xu Kaicheng) dan selirnya, Tilan (Chen Xiao Yun). Ketiga, saudara angkat Haishi, Fang Zhouying (Wang Sen), dan Zhe Liu (Yuan Yu Xuan). Ketiga pasang kekasih ini memiliki kisahnya masing-masing yang unik dan sangat mengena di hati saya karena character development-nya. Di antara keenam tokoh tersebut, yang ingin saya ulas adalah Fang Jianming. Fang Jianming memiliki kisah yang paling lengkap, jelas dan kompleks jika dibandingkan kelima tokoh lainnya. Bagi saya, drama ini bukan kisah tentang Haishi (meski semua orang menerimanya seperti itu), tetapi tentang Fang Jianming. Jika kita perhatikan, keputusan-keputusan yang diambilnya adalah yang membuat cerita dalam Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini ada dan bergerak maju. Haishi "hanyalah" karakter yang tiba-tiba muncul di tengah perjalanan hidupnya dan mempengaruhi pengambilan keputusannya di separuh akhir masa hidupnya.

Apa jadinya jika Fang Jianming bukan seorang patriot yang cinta pada negaranya? Dia tidak akan berkorban diri menjadi Baixi bagi kaisar dan menyelamatkan kerajaan dengan menumpas pemberontakan. Dia tidak akan memalsukan kematiannya, mengenakan topeng , dan menjadi Fang Zhu, komandan kesatuan rahasia yang bekerja membunuh musuh-musuh kaisar dan melindungi perdamaian. Dia tidak akan menangkap kesan bahwa Haishi yang masih kanak-kanak akan menjadi sosok penting bagi masa depan kerajaan Dazheng, menyelamatkan hidupnya, dan menawarkannya untuk ikut bersamanya ke ibukota dan menjadi muridnya. Fang Jianming bisa dikatakan adalah berkah bagi Haishi, Fang Zhouying, bahkan kaisar, Tilan, dan Zhe Liu. Dia rela berkorban, tangguh menghadapi penderitaan, berpikir jauh ke depan, dan memikirkan kebaikan orang-orang di sekitarnya meski pada awalnya itu tampak menyakiti mereka. Berulang kali ia menjadi korban kesalahpahaman dan tersakiti akibat itu tanpa membela diri. Sosok Fang Jianming dirangkum dengan sangat baik oleh Haishi dalam kalimat ini:

"Beberapa tahun ini kau melakukan banyak hal demi rakyat, Kaisar, dan Dazheng. Namun, tak ada yang sungguh-sungguh melakukan sesuatu untukmu. Kali ini giliranku melakukan sesuatu untukmu. Biarkan aku melindungimu." (Ep. 43)

Cinta Haishi pada Fang Jianming menjadi begitu istimewa, bermakna dan bernilai jika kita memahami perjalanan hidup Fang Jianming. Ini yang menjadikan romansa di dalam drama ini jadi tidak "recehan". Cinta Haishi memang sesuatu yang sangat dibutuhkan Fang Jianming dan bersumber dari pemahaman Haishi tentang perjalanan hidup, tanggung jawab dan kepribadian Fang Jianming. Ini tidak seperti drama-drama percintaan pada umumnya di mana tokoh utama pria dan wanita ditakdirkan untuk mencintai "tanpa sebab". Meski banyak penonton mengeluhkan asmara di antara keduanya tumbuh amat lambat dan adegan percintaan antara Haishi dan Fang Jianming relatif sedikit, pilihan sutradara akan jalan cerita yang seperti ini bisa dimengeri dan diterima. Cinta itu tidak hanya soal hasrat antara pria dan wanita, tetapi juga pengertian, komitmen, kebersamaan, dan pengorbanan.

Menurut saya, cerita Novoland: Pearl Eclipse ini dapat disajikan lebih baik lagi jika sejak awal menggunakan perspektif Haishi dan Fang Jianming secara seimbang dan kuat, bahwa cerita ini sejak awal adalah tentang sepasang kekasih ini saja, bagaimana mereka tumbuh dewasa, dari awalnya tidak mengenal cinta, kemudian belajar memberi cinta (Haishi) dan menerima cinta (Fang Jianming) dan akhirnya bersama-sama memutuskan tetap bersama, meski tidak dapat bersama secara fisik. Sejak awal, drama ini sudah hampir seperti roman (menceritakan kehidupan tokoh secara mendetail sejak lahir hingga dewasa, atau bahkan sampai meninggal dunia). Namun sayang, kurang tuntas padahal tinggal sedikit lagi. Alhasil, banyak penonton mengandalkan imajinasi mereka untuk menutup cerita ini dengan sempurna.

Mungkin memang drama ini sengaja diakhiri dengan cara seperti ini untuk menimbulkan semacam afterthought (perenungan).

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A great story about self-growth and comradery

"A Date with the Future" is not usual romance drama. Many themes are packed into this one: self-growth, comradery, patriotism, humanity, and universal love. At first, I am interested to watch this drama because I am curious about the romance between ML and FL (it seems so cheesy). Later, what hooked me the most is the team dynamic in firefighter unit in which ML is the captain.

Among various aspects of drama, what I love the most is the character development of both main and supporting actors, especially regarding how they overcome their own respective trauma and grow themselves from that. They don't turned out to be toxic and selfish after experiencing tragedies in their life. They become more mature and wise persons. That is why relationships in this drama are healthy and enjoyable to see.

Other thing is, I love how realistic they try to tell the story about firefighter unit is. At first, I think the unit would be just the background for the romance to happen between ML and FL. I don't expect that they put the unit to be under the spot light. The fire brigade can have its own story. We follow its development from unnoticed unit in the city till they gain respect from citizens, how they build discipline, comradery and cohesiveness, how they take care each other and build strong brotherhood, how they do they daily duties from the most trivial to the most deadly, and how they overcome injury, trauma, and loses. It is humanely realistic and provide us some insights about the work of SAR. It grows more respect in my heart.

I also love the character of Capt. Jin (ML). His personal story is well rounded and how his fate is intertwined with Xu Lai (FL) is written so beautifully. I know, at the beginning it is so impossible and makes non sense, but after knowing the past, each person motivation, and the exchange of kindness, we understand that their repeated encounters are actually bound to happen. They deserve to meet and love to one each other.

However, there are things that I hope they could improve it. I don't like a typical love triangle which involves a rich young CEO. The story would be more nuanced if the SML (Huo) is just ordinary successful and struggling young entrepreneur. It would add more positive trait to his character and add more value to his relationship with Xu Lai who is a strong and hard working girl. Also, the villains in this drama is so one dimensional and easy to beat. That is why, for me, it is more interesting to watch how the fire brigade fights the fire, accidents, and disasters.

Overall, it is a good drama!

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Realistic intelligent serious historical drama, with a great villain and great hero(in)es

With over a millennium long history of imperial age and profound philosophical tradition, China is blessed with literarily abundant source for inspiration for Game of Throne like historical drama. Among the best is this drama, Dream of Chang'an/ Stand by Me. "Stand by Me" draws inspiration from historical elements and the cultural backdrop of ancient China, particularly focusing on the Tang Dynasty. It tells the story of short-lived puppet emperor, Qi Yan (ML), and his struggle to end the tyranny of the corrupt eunuch party.

"Stand by Me" is a highly strategic, political, historical drama and takes realistic approach of storytelling. There isn't any use of superhuman ability to fight and combat as usually seen in Chinese wuxia. All conflicting parties use human ability i.e. their intelligence, before physical/ military forces. Their fights is symbolized as a chess game with real people as the pawns. On the board, eunuch party is on its height and led by a formidable psychopathic old eunuch Qiu. His defense is so solid as he control the army and build a strong fortress, The Chess Battalion. His aides are all powerful in intelligent and combat. His spies are everywhere. However, he has a weakness. His right hand and his confidante secretly have ulterior motive to revenge against him. In the brink of falling, imperial family of Qi is struggling to just live under the control of eunuch Qiu. After the rebellion to topple down the eunuch failed, the current emperor, Qi Yan, becomes a puppet. His life is controlled with poison and injury, his movement is limited and monitored, his brothers are all hostage, his friends are faraway, and he can be replace/ killed anytime. However, all of those are just an act. Unknown by many people, except two trusted allies, he plan everything to defeat his enemy. He must be perfect and patient in every step he takes. No room for mistake and weakness or the dynasty will meet the end and all sacrifice that had been made would be vain. Interestingly, besides Qi Yan, there are two other people who are plotting, the Qui foster daughter, and the Third Unknown Party.

The strongest aspect of "Stand by Me" is the story itself. The stakes are already so high since the beginning. All good people are in jeopardized situation. The position of the emperor is very unique. In the chess game, the King must be protected, but Qi Yan is exposed. From various angles, he is already check-mate. He is purposefully kept alive only for the eunuch to maintain supremacy and control over the land. He is humiliated and forced to wear "useless emperor" mask. Nobody believes in him, and all people in the country ridicule him as the dog of eunuch and accuse him as the throne usurper. The situation changes the day he got a female bodyguard (FL, Chen Ruoyu), who is initially sent by her master as a "honey trap" to kill him. Ruoyu saw him with sincere eyes and found the kind heart of emperor. She is the first outsider that trusts him fully and eases his emotional burden. They love and protect to each other dearly. Their relationship is so strong and there is no single day they misunderstood one another. Even though they were lacking in communication, they have faith to one another. This drama does not emphasis heavy romance between ML FL because love is never their issue.

Other things, the story is interestingly very plot-driven and not exploring the characters development. "Stand by Me" doesn't show typical character transformations e.g. villain turning into good people through redemption arc, or the good one becoming better after trials. The episode 1 to 49, the villain is villain, the good people are good ones. Instead, this drama presents a deep exploration about how far a villain can be, and how far good people can be.

The main villain, eunuch Qiu is not a typical villain. He climbed the ladder of power from bellow to the top, mastered high martial arts, gained supporter among eunuchs and corrupt ministers, and build military power. This vertical mobilization is made possible by imperial family itself which is knows as ruthless and killing each other to get the throne. So, he join the game and gain victory for himself. From the outside, he looks like a funny man, sometimes acts childishly, and intelligent. But, he is vicious, ambitious, and psychopathic. He punish and kill people like having fun. He rules with terror and fear, but people are gravitated and dependent to him. Every time he makes his moves, we instantly feel, "Oh, no. They will be doomed," toward the good ones, because he is above the cloud.

The main hero, the emperor, ML, is not like other emperor hero which is often depicted as powerful, handsome, and revered. He is powerless, sickly, and despised by his people. But, he has a big golden heart. For years, he keeps the truth, emotional torment, and suffering to himself, while tries his best to do his duty, to crack the cage slowly, patiently and selflessly. He play along the scheme of eunuch, but nothing fears him. He is ready to die anytime, but refuse to die easily. His moves are silent rebellion and he uses his Uncle Prince to use people to serve his cause unknowingly. In the end of the story, he has many people that stand by him. The second hero is the Uncle Prince who although has a dream to be a king, he still maintain his dignity and loyalty. He is a grateful person and never change his heart to become a greedy person. The third heroine is the FL. She changes from naively righteous and compassionate girl to more mature and powerful without losing her trademark. She has no trust issue and can see people clearly as trustworthy or not and love them unconditionally. The fourth heroin is the FL's sister. She is a good girl in disguise, a sheep in a wolf's clothing. She plays like a villain, but actually carefully plan everything to defeat her enemy without exposing her true self and mission. She is physically weak, but strong at heart.

Another thing worth to mention is, the characters in this drama are not emotionally explosive during emotional scenes. They are all calm, calculative, and careful. Their sad tears are flowing in repressed manner. In anger, the tension is never overboard and their voices are kept low. There are many moments of silence, when they are thinking and calming themselves. They are full control of themselves, and never do anything by the force of circumstances alone. Every move is based on calculation and hypothesis. Like playing chess, they are all future oriented.

"Stand by Me" has a beautiful ending that can be interpreted in two ways. One, the emperor is finally died peacefully in the shoulder of his beloved and trusted uncle. The state is stabilized and secure. His name is cleared and his wish fulfilled. His beloved woman is free of duty and now living a civilian life. Two, the emperor is finally died peacefully, as stated in historical record. But, he is not really died. Not explicitly showed, the last scenes of episode 49 tell a possibility that he comes back to FL. First, FL don't accept his death when the bell ringing in the city, announcing the emperor has gone. Second, the music is beautiful and the smile of FL is wide, teary, and beautiful after surprised on a man visiting her shop. That kind of smile is full of happiness, like a smile for a lover long not see. It is like the ending of The Untamed.

"Stand by Me" maybe is too heavy for audience who refuse to think and follow the talks, events, and moves. So indeed, it is not everyone cup of coffee. Many scenes of this drama cannot be skipped, or the tracks will be lost and you don't know what is happening. Gratefully, the story is so engaging intellectually and emotionally, and ML FL both have great visual and characterization. This drama is almost zero plot hole, every question is answered, and the ending is full-round. It is worth to re-watch.

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