Rhea
Malaysia
This review may contain spoilers
Engaging!
The Blue Whisper is an engaging tale of a forbidden romance between a spiritual master and a merman. A forbidden love plot is nothing new but what drives the drama is the other elements that have been weaved together to give us a detailed and intriguing story. Secrets, betrayal, misunderstanding, and revenge are some of the elements that will make you hooked on the drama. The story is easy to understand despite its xianxia genre and you will be eager to know what will happen next which signifies a job well-done in terms of plot execution.
While the drama is broken up into 2 parts, there is a smooth flow to the story. It breaks at the right time as the main couple’s relationship enters a different phase. I find the pacing for Part 1 to be better because Part 2 starts pretty slowly with a weakened female protagonist. This stretches for about 8 episodes which I think is too long as the point has been made to the viewers long before. In contrast, the ending seems to be a rush in the last few minutes. So, although the story is slowly built up to a climax in Part 2 with more secrets revealed, the first part is more evenly paced to me.
Lack Of Details For The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
The last scene of the main couple’s reunion in Part 2 is sort of an explanation. It is not spelled out what happened to Yun He after she was sealed up in the lava pit. You have to use your imagination and deduction on what transpired rather than being spoon-fed about the details which are similar to the ending in Love And Destiny. The good thing is it has a finality to it when it comes to the main couple unlike Novoland: Pearl Eclipse. It is just how they got there which requires you to connect the dots.
If you have paid attention and watched the whole drama from start to finish, it is not hard to guess why Yun He could survive the lava pit. Chang Yi’s pearl has a lot to do with it. But I would have liked more details rather than less to spell out clearly what happened at the bottom of the pit and the villain’s ending. It would have made the story more complete with proper closure.
Tolerance For Xianxia Fantasy
The xianxia genre with its immortals, beasts, spirits and other beings may not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you find this kind of drama to be unrealistic, The Blue Whisper may not be able to change your mind either despite the presence of popular stars in its cast. Why do I say so? It is because you will see many characters sacrificing themselves in this drama for the greater good. While that may seem ordinary, some of these characters will end up coming back to life later on.
In other words, they “die” and then reawaken. Perhaps it is overdone in The Blue Whisper with the number of characters sacrificing their lives. So, if you have little tolerance for xianxia dramas, this wouldn’t be a particularly good one to binge on. It might just annoy you with the number of so-called “deaths” and the simplistic way they are rejuvenated. This is vastly different from Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms which is also a story of love and sacrifice but with much fewer deaths and more substance to the reawakening of the characters.
However, if the coming back to life thingy is not an issue with you, then the overall story is a cohesive one with a gradual reveal of the past and the villain’s plan. This is partly what makes you hooked as you will be curious about certain things along the way.
Acting And Chemistry
I think the 2 leads need no introduction. Dilraba Dilmurat has played enough roles as a strong female character to be able to exhibit the intelligence and stoicism of Yun He in the drama. While I don’t think she exceeded expectations to take her acting up a notch, it is still a respectable performance from her. She can switch effortlessly from a strong and mature character to a sassy one and back.
Allen Ren also needed to portray a change of personality in the drama from a sincere merman to a hardhearted and cold one. He did well in the first part with his sweet facial expressions. The purity and naivete are convincing. However, his cold demeanor in the second part is a bit bland to me. Yes, he is supposed to wear an impassive face but the inner torment that the character is facing seems to be lacking in his portrayal.
As a couple, I can’t really say that the chemistry between Dilraba Dilmurat and Allen Ren is great in the drama. It is passable but the heat is certainly missing. It is not so much about the fish kisses that lack real passion but their interactions just don’t have enough sizzles for their love to be felt more deeply. The actress’ chemistry with Leo Wu in The Long Ballad is definitely more obvious compared to this one with Allen Ren.
In fact, some might even feel that Dilraba Dilmurat has better chemistry with the second male lead. This is not surprising as Xiao Shun Yao did well in his portrayal of a conflicted Hao Qing. The other notable character is played by Cristy Guo. She really brought out the essence of Shunde Fairy’s character in her portrayal. So, be forewarned that you will hate her as you watch!
My Verdict – Recommended Watch
The Blue Whisper is a big budget production and the quality in terms of CGI, costumes, and cinematography will not disappoint. The scenery set up is beautiful with the effects in both Part 1 and 2. Hence, when everything is put together, it is a highly watchable production. The romance is not a deeply heartfelt one as it doesn’t have a strong foundation to it unlike One And Only but the overall story is logical and flows well. Hence, the main couple’s romance should still resonate with viewers. Even if it doesn’t, there are 2 more couples in the story to gain your attention.
Moreover, there is more to the plot apart from romance. Revenge also takes up a significant portion of the drama and is naturally weaved into the story. Some of the characters have underlying motives to their actions and these are gradually teased out as the drama progresses. Thus, the story is an engaging one even if you can’t feel anything special about the leads’ romance.
For this The Blue Whisper review, I would give it a score of 8/10. It is not the best xianxia romance drama out there but it has enough factors to make it watchable. Some parts is a little slow-moving and the ending could be more detailed. But overall, it would not be a waste of time to watch this. Whether you would find this to be a perfect 10 lies mainly in how deeply the leads’ love for each other moves you as a viewer. Personally, it is a beautiful love story that is well-executed but simply lacks more heartfelt scenes to make the romance more memorable when it is all over. That is also why the rewatch value is not high on my list with this one
While the drama is broken up into 2 parts, there is a smooth flow to the story. It breaks at the right time as the main couple’s relationship enters a different phase. I find the pacing for Part 1 to be better because Part 2 starts pretty slowly with a weakened female protagonist. This stretches for about 8 episodes which I think is too long as the point has been made to the viewers long before. In contrast, the ending seems to be a rush in the last few minutes. So, although the story is slowly built up to a climax in Part 2 with more secrets revealed, the first part is more evenly paced to me.
Lack Of Details For The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)
The last scene of the main couple’s reunion in Part 2 is sort of an explanation. It is not spelled out what happened to Yun He after she was sealed up in the lava pit. You have to use your imagination and deduction on what transpired rather than being spoon-fed about the details which are similar to the ending in Love And Destiny. The good thing is it has a finality to it when it comes to the main couple unlike Novoland: Pearl Eclipse. It is just how they got there which requires you to connect the dots.
If you have paid attention and watched the whole drama from start to finish, it is not hard to guess why Yun He could survive the lava pit. Chang Yi’s pearl has a lot to do with it. But I would have liked more details rather than less to spell out clearly what happened at the bottom of the pit and the villain’s ending. It would have made the story more complete with proper closure.
Tolerance For Xianxia Fantasy
The xianxia genre with its immortals, beasts, spirits and other beings may not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you find this kind of drama to be unrealistic, The Blue Whisper may not be able to change your mind either despite the presence of popular stars in its cast. Why do I say so? It is because you will see many characters sacrificing themselves in this drama for the greater good. While that may seem ordinary, some of these characters will end up coming back to life later on.
In other words, they “die” and then reawaken. Perhaps it is overdone in The Blue Whisper with the number of characters sacrificing their lives. So, if you have little tolerance for xianxia dramas, this wouldn’t be a particularly good one to binge on. It might just annoy you with the number of so-called “deaths” and the simplistic way they are rejuvenated. This is vastly different from Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms which is also a story of love and sacrifice but with much fewer deaths and more substance to the reawakening of the characters.
However, if the coming back to life thingy is not an issue with you, then the overall story is a cohesive one with a gradual reveal of the past and the villain’s plan. This is partly what makes you hooked as you will be curious about certain things along the way.
Acting And Chemistry
I think the 2 leads need no introduction. Dilraba Dilmurat has played enough roles as a strong female character to be able to exhibit the intelligence and stoicism of Yun He in the drama. While I don’t think she exceeded expectations to take her acting up a notch, it is still a respectable performance from her. She can switch effortlessly from a strong and mature character to a sassy one and back.
Allen Ren also needed to portray a change of personality in the drama from a sincere merman to a hardhearted and cold one. He did well in the first part with his sweet facial expressions. The purity and naivete are convincing. However, his cold demeanor in the second part is a bit bland to me. Yes, he is supposed to wear an impassive face but the inner torment that the character is facing seems to be lacking in his portrayal.
As a couple, I can’t really say that the chemistry between Dilraba Dilmurat and Allen Ren is great in the drama. It is passable but the heat is certainly missing. It is not so much about the fish kisses that lack real passion but their interactions just don’t have enough sizzles for their love to be felt more deeply. The actress’ chemistry with Leo Wu in The Long Ballad is definitely more obvious compared to this one with Allen Ren.
In fact, some might even feel that Dilraba Dilmurat has better chemistry with the second male lead. This is not surprising as Xiao Shun Yao did well in his portrayal of a conflicted Hao Qing. The other notable character is played by Cristy Guo. She really brought out the essence of Shunde Fairy’s character in her portrayal. So, be forewarned that you will hate her as you watch!
My Verdict – Recommended Watch
The Blue Whisper is a big budget production and the quality in terms of CGI, costumes, and cinematography will not disappoint. The scenery set up is beautiful with the effects in both Part 1 and 2. Hence, when everything is put together, it is a highly watchable production. The romance is not a deeply heartfelt one as it doesn’t have a strong foundation to it unlike One And Only but the overall story is logical and flows well. Hence, the main couple’s romance should still resonate with viewers. Even if it doesn’t, there are 2 more couples in the story to gain your attention.
Moreover, there is more to the plot apart from romance. Revenge also takes up a significant portion of the drama and is naturally weaved into the story. Some of the characters have underlying motives to their actions and these are gradually teased out as the drama progresses. Thus, the story is an engaging one even if you can’t feel anything special about the leads’ romance.
For this The Blue Whisper review, I would give it a score of 8/10. It is not the best xianxia romance drama out there but it has enough factors to make it watchable. Some parts is a little slow-moving and the ending could be more detailed. But overall, it would not be a waste of time to watch this. Whether you would find this to be a perfect 10 lies mainly in how deeply the leads’ love for each other moves you as a viewer. Personally, it is a beautiful love story that is well-executed but simply lacks more heartfelt scenes to make the romance more memorable when it is all over. That is also why the rewatch value is not high on my list with this one
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