This review may contain spoilers
"I firmly believe that there is a way to resolve this."
Love and Destiny was a charming Chinese drama, and the most philosophically robust I've seen so far. Yet, this drama casts a more fascinating moral dilemma. The main actress, born half heaven goddess and half mountain goddess, is raised by her uncle who never told her the truth about her birth. Being born during the great demon war, as an infant she was separated from her parents during the chaos, only to become victim to the Demon Lord himself. In the Demon Lord’s last act before being defeated by the gods, he infected this infant baby girl with a curse that will allow him to resurrect through her body.Only one man was a witness to the Demon Lord’s last curse, yet this witness was struck with 50,000 years of being crystallized into ice by his injuries during the war. The infant goddess now grown up, no one is aware of the secret curse contained within her body. This witness reclaims his status as God of War, and inadvertently falls in love with this blossoming goddess. Eventually the clues start lining up and every god in heaven believes that she must be executed before the Demon Lord can resurrect and begin his murderous atrocities once again. God of War must decide if collective peace is worth the execution of the woman he loves.
Episode 20 delves into a philosophic debate between God of War and his esteemed master, the Heavenly Supreme Lord. His master, emanating wisdom in his age and visage, exhorts God of War to do the right thing and allow his lover to be executed in order to safeguard the wellbeing of the masses. God of War stubbornly rejects his proposal, anxious to find another way.
Heavenly Supreme Lord tells God of War that he has already meditated on this problem for ages, constantly in spiritual communion with heaven and earth, and has been unable to find another way. God of War, embracing deontology, explains that the goddess is completely innocent and does not deserve such a harsh punishment. Heavenly Supreme Lord, embracing consequentialism, explains that no one wants her to die, it's just that her fate necessitates it – how can we accept the deaths of the majority in order to spare the minority?
God of War rejoins with the fact that if he can’t protect the goddess, how can he have the audacity to protect the masses? Heavenly Supreme Lord replies, “If you knew that the welfare of all living creatures depended upon your death, would you be willing to die for them?” God of War naturally agrees that he is willing to take this heroic action for all creatures. His master then ensnares him with, “If it's okay for you to die for the welfare of all creatures, why can’t she die for the welfare of all creatures??” God of War now unable to respond, Heavenly Supreme Lord helps him enter a meditative state where he too can become connected with heaven and earth in order to search for a solution.
In episode 21, Heavenly Supreme Lord surrounds God of War with meditation rocks, which send him into a virtual world where he sits at the bottom of a deep well.
HEAVENLY SUPREME LORD:
“Everything in this world has balance in numbers. You cannot force something. You have confusion in your mind, yet you are unable to resolve it. It has pushed you to be trenched deep in the mud, unable to find a way out. You only see what your eyes see, limited by the layout before you. If you observe the sky from within the well, how can you appreciate its vastness? Is the sky only that which you see from within the well? Is the sky that you cannot see not worthy of being considered sky?”
~ Heavenly Supreme Lord is telling God of War to stop being so narrow-mindedly focused on only his lover (the sky within the well), and forget about the welfare of all creatures (the sky outside the well).
GOD OF WAR:
“Even if I, your disciple, am within that well, how could I not know how vast the sky is? The layout may indeed cover my eyes, but it cannot cover the entire sky. I observe the sky within my heart. I have the world in my chest. The sky is the sky. It does not differ whether I am inside or outside of the well. No matter where I am, if I am missing just a little fragment, it is not complete. Dare I ask Respected Master, this incomplete sky, can it still be considered the sky?”
~God of War is emphasizing the fact that if he loses a fragment of the sky (his lover), then he has still failed to protect the sky.
HEAVENLY SUPREME LORD: *Magically carries him out of the virtual well and towards the top of a virtual waterfall.*
“One place, one law. There is order in laws, each order has its principles. All creatures have a yin and yang. If you go against the right path, you will never understand one of them. You should think and weigh the importance. Abandoning all of heaven and earth, just for one drop of falling water, is it worth it?”
HEAVENLY SUPREME LORD: *Magically carries him away to a dusty desert (symbolizing the destruction of all water for a drop)*
“Destroying the world, just for one wrong split-second decision. Since the world is destroyed, how can there still be any falling water? Is that not foolish?”
~ Heavenly Supreme Lord tries to help God of War see how horrible the world will be if he focuses on just the one water droplet.
GOD OF WAR:
“I have never thought of destroying a portion of the world. And I will not allow part of the world to be destroyed because of me.”
HEAVENLY SUPREME LORD:
“This is a deadlock that cannot be resolved. Don't you see?”
GOD OF WAR: - *Tao Te Ching (老子) Religious text “万物负阴而抱阳充气以为和”*
“I do not. I firmly believe that there is a way to resolve this. All creatures have yin and yang. Even if you walk against the right path, they will eventually converge. Yin and yang may contradict, but naturally flow towards harmony. What I am after is that harmony.”
God of War sits on the deontological side of the philosophic trolley problem, stubbornly insistent on “honoring” his value for life by never allowing it to be harmed unjustly. Heavenly Supreme Lord sits on the consequentialist side, adamant that “promoting” the value for life is more important. God of War is focused on minimizing his involvement with death. Heavenly Supreme Lord is focused on maximizing the welfare of lives. After bantering back and forth, God of War decides to have faith that a synthesis is available. Instead of having to sacrifice one trolley track for the other, he wants to find a way to save both trolley tracks. The rest of the drama explores how God of War attempts to resist this fate in a variety of ways, with tragedy on the horizon if he fails.
More reviews: https://transcendentphilos.wixsite.com/website/post/the-philosophy-of-chinese-dramas
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Nice drama
The plot revolves around the war god and a fairy born with demonic miasma.Chang Chen as Jiu Chen really impressed me with his acting skills.Though not initially,in the latter episodes,his acting was excellent!
Ni Ni performed well in her role.
The scenes were well written.
Cinematography was very good.
CGI, costumes were good.
All the cast were apt.I felt the drama was executed smoothly without any unnecessary loopholes.Also,i liked how the different characters in the drama were connected to each other and how everything got into place after so many years.
A must watch costume drama.
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This review may contain spoilers
Love & Destiny, it was a great story and the idea of love over 3 generations was intriguing. I picked it up because of the acting and all of the cast did an amazing job. The first life story I really enjoyed and was glued to the screen, after that the second life story I found myself skipping through the episodes as it was dragging on and the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere half the time. The 3rd life and the ending was wonderful, it made the drama worth watching. I wish the middle had been shorter or the "tribulations" had been more intense, she didn't really suffer too much I thought. Not compared to other characters from other dramas such as Princess Agents. Overall it was fun to watch and I'd recommend it for any fantasy romance lovers. Was this review helpful to you?
I like love stories so may be the reason why I like the drama
Everything was good in the drama ,view of the scenes ,acting of each and every characters . What I did not like the ending because after so many ups down at last they get together so according to my vie this drama need one more episode.It was the story of the girl who absorbed some evil power due the reason she had to die but somehow the male protagonist save her life and hide her and secretly care for her but to save her in the end he sacrificed his life this shown at the last episode of the drama ,story was not end in this part but still some scenes were which I will not disclose it. , Yes not happy with the ending. This drama had happy ending or not for this just watch it.
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Great production Drama!
This drama is definitely one of those that I watched because of the production team and casts. The first time I saw the trailers for this drama, I felt some type pf excitement because it's similar to Ten Miles of Peach Blossom (one of my favorite) and was also produced by the same team. This drama was highly produced in all aspects. The costumes, CGI's, and casts.I really like the two main leads, Ni Ni and Chang Chen are some of my favorite actress and actor. Their characters Ling Xi and Jiu Chen's story is definitely an emotional one. The romance wasn't so long for it to happen, but the time of Ling Xi being a mortal was a little bit too long for me. I wanted to see her be a goddess longer than her mortal self. Other than that, Jiu Chen is a cold but romantic man, he truly love Ling Xi and is willing to do anything for her survival.
The plot was good but there should've been more to it. However, it didn't disappoint me because of the great cast and their acting connecting to their characters. It has similar setting and creatures like TMOPB. It has great chemistry between the lead, powerful male lead, and strong female lead. But then again, not a big fan of the mortal arch, I felt like it was dragged for too long when it could've ended a little early. Regardless, the ending was very good since our main leads found happiness together. I also really like the side couples such as Qing Yao and Yun Feng. Their love story began a little bit bitter but they found their way around and I think that's a great way to depict a different type pf romance.
The costumes of this drama is just phenomenal. Ling Xi's outfits really depict the presentation of a young goddess and Jiu Chen's outfits is mature but fit for a God of War. The outfits for the Shanling tribe is also dark but beautiful, it doesn't look totally evil since the Queen wasn't an evil one. The hairstyles were simple but with a little of bling to it, which doesn't look overbearing or too much. The CGI's looks pretty good to me, it's definitely at the level of a high production drama, which is very expected from me.
Now the OST's is probably what make this drama so emotional. At every scene of love or lost, we get a song that goes well with the scenes. Definitely one of my favorite thing in this drama.
Onto one of the very popular conversations between the people who watched this drama, the male lead is definitely an older one and some people don't find him handsome or attractive. However, I believe that people overlooked the fact that the role of the God of War is someone who is over many thousands of years old. He is a man who went through many calamities. He isn't someone who is young and inexperienced like Ling Xi. To me Chang Chen is a very attractive man and great actor, he plays the role of the God of War really well. You'll just have to continue watching to see his potential and values as an actor playing this role.
Overall, I really like this drama and many things about it. It has great romance and the casts is amazing. I really recommend it to those who like TMOPB or Love and Redemption.
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Don't give up after few episodes, it really gets better!
Extremely underrated xianxia drama, acting is top notch from both the leads and many other side characters and the plot even though resembling some other similar tv series, has many unique points that you shouldn't miss. First of all, villans, a part from one or two, aren't just the classic bad guys who kill and destruct just for the sake of the story, tyou really get to understand their reasons even while not agreeing with their methods, characters are so complex that it's difficult to split them into "good" or "bad" and in general there are close to none clearable-but-no-one-does-anything type of misunderstandings. The first 10 episodes however are the worst in my opinion but it definitely gets better right after and I found myself hooked for 20/30 episodes in a row.Was this review helpful to you?
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Worth the journey
I enjoyed watching this drama as much as I enjoyed watching Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms, Ancient Love Poetry, and The Rise of Phoenixes. I watched this mostly for NiNi, after seeing her wonderful performance in The Rise of Phoenixes... and she did not disappoint!Although the plot was simple, I felt that the story was done well. Each character had their own motivations that led to actions that were plausible and not over the top, outrageous. Because of this, I ended up liking many of the characters, not just the leads. I even liked the antagonists because I could understand what made them that way (in most dramas villains are just one dimensional - pure jealousy or revenge). For example, what drove Yuan Tong over the edge was anger over her mother's death, hurt pride because her older brother dishonored the family, envy over ML's affections for FL, and feeling a sense of injustice that her brother was killed because he had demon essence whilst FL was being protected despite her demon essence. It was these things that slowly built up over time that made it easier for her to justify her actions. That said, I did not root for her...quite the opposite (lol), but I did empathize with her and felt sorry for her.
What I liked:
- NiNi's performance was captivating and showed wide emotional range
- Main lead romance was developed well and engaging
- Enjoyed side romances (especially 2nd ML/FL)
- Plausible motivations and actions by the characters
- Xiao Bai/Wu Wan (OMG so cute!)
What I didn't like:
- Ending seemed a bit rush with some loose ends
- Some characters were introduced that didn't seem relevant nor needed (e.g., ML's disciple)
- They could have styled ML better
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Love and Destiny .. so far
The production quality of Love and Destiny is very high, and the acting from the actors were great too. I wouldn't want to rattle on and on about the series. If you want a good tragic and frustrating love story that plunge you to the depth and then raise you up to the heaven, (Its didn't work for me). then you are watching the right series. But as for originality, this is where the series falls short, it's too similar to Eternal Love, which is from the same universe, and this time the lucky guy who gets to fall in love this time is the God of War. Another reason this series doesn't really gets me is the plot, it is terribly weak, to be honest there isn't one. The script is terribly written, there isn't much you can sink in, not even the romance bit. Its all fluff and aimless. Among the trilogy of the Three World Three Lives, this is the worst. I snarked at Eternal Love when I first watch it, I think I have to retract that, its is the best of the three. What a waste of talents and beautiful set! What a let down by the script.Was this review helpful to you?
When you reach the mid to end of the series you will on the edge of your seat. You’ll also wonder what’s going to happen. Each character offered something to this series and absolutely loved each of them. No long confusion. Just sweetness all around. I loved it and watched many episodes more than once.
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This review may contain spoilers
I pretty much started watching this because of the YouTube fan vids and overall, I really enjoyed what I watched. However there were quite a fews bumps, especially with the story, that prevented me from savoring it as much as I wanted to.The story and some of the characters are what I have major issues with. Here are some of the problems I had:
1. Pacing. In the first 20 or so episodes, I was really impressed with the pacing. Events unfolded much faster than I anticipated and it made for a very engaging watch. They pretty much finished the entire synopsis of the story within that time frame and it made me think there was much more to come. Unfortunately that's where I was wrong; the pacing slowed down noticeably during the mortal arc (about halfway through the drama), and there was (IMO) way too much time spent here. I also felt some conflicts were drawn out much longer than they should've and some just became so predictable that I ended up fast-forwarding until the arc was over. I also didn't care much for the Shang Ling storyline after the mortal arc. The ending also seemed rushed and left a lot of unanswered questions. The pacing didn't get back on track for me until the last 10 episodes or so, by which at that point I was relying on the OTP and 2ndary OTP to carry that last section so I wouldn't get bored.
2. The villains. Specifically Yuan Tong and Zhong Hao (more on Jing Xiu later). I felt like these characters lived too long and were milked out as the bad guys through the entire show. I almost felt bad for YT being the punching bag of the whole drama, but she really was a bad person. Her clan must've really saved the world or something for her to continuously get pardoned when she really should've died early on. We don't even get to see her die; she kills herself off camera, which is so cheap (I was hoping to see Jiu Chen kill her ugh). Zhong Hao was also someone who should've died early on but again got stretched out to carry on being the villain until Jing Xiu took over.
3. Fake-outs. What I mean by this is that a character would say something is impossible and the leads shouldn't do that thing, but inevitably the leads do that impossible thing and conveniently gets out ok. I can't count how many times Si Ming would constantly warn Jiu Chen not to interfere with Ling Xi's trials or bad things will happen to her but he still can't leave her alone (once or twice was ok, but more than that was pushing it) and still makes it out fine. These types of situations happen a lot in the last half of the drama that made me take situations less seriously and I just couldn't think too much about it or I'd go crazy.
But I still finished this drama and I really liked it. Here are the things that kept me going:
1. Our leads, obviously. Their love story was pure and beautiful and I was doubtful at first because of how much older and colder Jiu Chen was. But wooow we really see how Ling Xi melts his hearts and how they would both do anything to protect and be together. I was quite moved by their love story, although I was quite miffed when Ling Xi pushed Jiu Chen away after the mortal arc; while her reasoning was valid, I wish it was executed better. I also wish their ending was better; it wasn't bad per se, but as someone commented it was like getting a snack when I was really craving a meal. They had a happy ending but it was kinda anti-climatic. I also wanted more OTP scenes when they reunited (I also felt cheated out of seeing them get married lol).
2. 2ndary OTP and side characters; most were amazing and kept me watching. I loved Qing Yao and Yun Feng's love story although again, I wish we had more OTP scenes from them. I also really liked Si Ming and Shi San, and wished we could've seen them grow to love each other. I also really appreciated that the Heavenly King here was a wise leader with sympathy, and had the best interests of our leads at heart.
3. Jing Xiu. He really is an enigma, in the sense that he's not a completely bad or good person. I went through a wave watching him; I liked him in the beginning as a morally grey advisor, then hated him when he was pining over Ling Mo, then I felt pity for him in the end. He was really dealt with a bad hand in life and did what he could to survive. I agree with him being the main villain, although this should've happened much earlier and with better conviction; at that point, he became the demon king because he saw no other way out. I wanted to see his redemption and wished the writers gave him some sort of an ending because we don't even know what happens to him after he gets sealed up.
I loved the music in this show, no question. It was beautiful and guided the mood very well. I pretty much have most of the songs in my playlist.
If they had cut some episodes, and refocused on our main leads, this would've made a better watch. But I'm still happy with what I got because I was ultimately here for the OTP and got a wonderful, heart-wrenching love story from them. I will certainly re-watch for them and would recommend you watch too, although with caution regarding the story pacing.
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Destiny is the villain
First of all, I think that this series was not for me, yet the plot was good, not excellent, but good. It is a good drama with a clever screenplay that avoids most of the Deux Ex Machina I found in a lot of dramas.However, it's still not my cup of tea.
I found two major problems, but these are just from my point of view, totally subjective:
First, what I loved from Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms (I can't avoid the comparison sorry) is that the mix between bad fortune —destiny— and wrong decisions made by the main characters was on point, completely equivalent. I really appreciate those type of characters that must face the consequences of their decisions, the result of their mistakes. Ye Hua committed a lot of wrong decisions and he couldn't protect Su Su.
But in this case, all of the bad deeds that our characters must face are given by fate ('cause the plot needs this). They try to overcome that injustice always, always, and at the end I felt sincerely exhausted.
Second, and I think it's a consequence of the first problem: I couldn't get attached to the characters.
Because they didn't face any other problem than that given by destiny, I couldn't empathize with their feelings or their pain. There was a lot of pain, yep, but that was not enough for me. I couldn't care less of them, most at the last 5 chapters. That was the worst part and I almost laughed when they were separated (over again). How they managed to separate the main couple even in the last chapter? I cannot explain, it was almost hilarious.
So... That's it. I wanted to love this drama, but it was not made for me. And I think that the problem lies just on me.
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