Love and Redemption

A Beautiful Journey. One of my Top 10.

This drama was one of the first that I watched in early 2021 when I was just venturing into dramaland. I have seen a few others prior, not xianxia though, so it was the first in that aspect. I had been trying to get my mom to watch dramas with me for weeks and we just kept fighting about it because she didn't want to read subtitles. But...she came in while I was watching this and got hooked. Now she watches more dramas than me.

Things that I still remember liking to this day:

- Cheng Yi. This was the first drama I saw him in and his performance cemented him in my heart. It was beautiful.
- The acting. Everyone worked really well together and the chemistry reflected that. I couldn't spot any on screen awkwardness. It is one of the best acting teams I've seen thus far. (I say team because there are quite a few characters who tend to appear in various dramas together so it's always a treasure hunt. LOL. You'll see.)
- The story. It was a beautiful rollercoaster. It scared me a couple times and I thought this would shred my heart to pieces, but thankfully, it had a happy ending. ^_^
- Bai Shu's character Teng She. He is hands-down the best part of this show. I've haven't seen a character quite like him before and it was a highlight for sure. I think he's part of what captured my mom's attention. LOL. From this role alone, Bai Shu needs more main acting roles. I also enjoyed the bond and tension between him and the Green Dragon. <3
- The cinematography and CGI. While not perfect and it can't stand up to more modern ones like Ancient Love Poetry. It's still really great and was probably considered an advancement when it first came out.
- Oooh. I almost forgot. The villain, Yuan Lang, in this is my favorite drama villain to date. Love him.
- The music is stunning. I listen to it all the time.

Things I remember un-fondly:

- Crystal Yuan's hairstyle. It was horrible to me. When she was in god form though, it looked alright.
- Little things didn't always align. For example, in the beginning, the FL had no emotions, but was able to clearly express all of the emotions...yeah. Like a sociopath? No. Not really. I think it's more like they forced her to be that cute and dumb combo despite the fact that it made no sense with the character's profile. Thankfully, it didn't last too long. ^_^

Overall, this is one of my top ten dramas. <3

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breathtaking xianxia drama with a hint of youthfulness

Please don't let the 59 episodes dissuade you from watching this masterpiece. I tend to avoid watching xianxia dramas because I don't like that they revolve around deities and heaven, but this show completely changed my perception of the genre. The plot revolves mainly around the lead couple, not much screentime given to the side couples in my opinion. It is 59 episodes long but fast-paced since it is based on a long novel.

Love and Redemption focuses on the growth of the lead couple. The first part of the show focuses on their teenage years. It is extremely sweet and perfectly showcases teenagers crushing on each other. If you're looking for a heart-fluttering show, Love and Redemption is for you. In the later half of the show, the main conflict begins, and the selflessness of the sifeng really shows. There are a lot of misunderstandings and backstabbing side characters but characters like tengshe appear to liven the mood. There is so much character growth in this show that towards the end, I almost find it hard to believe that these two characters had such an innocent past.

Another good part about this show is its strong female lead. After watching too many dramas that claim to have strong female leads but end up needing the rescue of the male leads, I can say that this show is not like the rest. The female lead starts off weak but as the plot progresses she realizes her powers and eventually becomes one of the strongest characters in the show.

If you are looking for unwavering love between the lead couple, this show has it. I can say it is one of the best chinese historical dramas I've watched and the first drama I followed since the start till the end. It has a good plot, attractive leads, and a high budget. The wait for this show was long but totally worth it, seeing how the CGI was also well done (graphics were done by a gaming company). I will definitely rewatch this show when the subtitles are all done up :)

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I think no more reviews for this drama are needed, but I wanted to write one anyway. I've been waiting for all subs to be out because xianxia is my favourite genre in C-dramas. Can't believe I finished all 59 episodes without skipping a single one. I think I was expecting it to be good and it is as good as I thought it would be.

STORY:
Typical xianxia drama but done differently. The drama focuses less on Heavenly Realm and more on the Mortal realm which was different. The main plot is the love story as everything else is built on it. The camaraderie of Si Feng, Xuan Ji, Liu Da Ge, Ling Long, 6th Senior, Teng She Zihu and Wu Zi Qi was one of the best I've ever come across. This drama can be described as Untamed + Ashes of Love. There are plenty of battles, hunting demons, a dense heroine, an awe-spiring male lead, trials and tribulations and romance. This drama exceeded my expectations in terms of the intensity of love a male character can have for a female. I also loved the ending and it wasn't open or bittersweet - but fit perfectly with the story. With TMOPB and Ashes of Love the endings were only doable but here it is worth the long wait and suffering. And OMG - it is full of suffering, hatred, love and anger. Never have I seen such a pitiful pair of characters.

CHARACTERS :
I don't think I need to describe Si Feng. He's the all-round perfect dreamy boy. He loves the heroine to no depths and is always ready to be there for her. Xuan Ji isn't the perfect heroine but she comes around and was less frustrating than some other leads I've seen before. I loved all the characters minus Ling Long. I couldn't feel enough sorry for her and was frankly bored of her whining. I freaking hated Teng She in the beginning but he grows wonderfully by the end. He's one of the best characters in the drama!

CASTING:
Cheng Yi steals the show here. I'm going to be looking out for his future projects. I was a bit unsure on Crystal Yuan but she did her crying scenes better than her innocent side. However, she was quite convincing as innocent and then a badass heroine. Rest of the casting was also done well - the families, friends and the villains. We have some interesting, complex villains and see them more up close than some other dramas like to focus on.

ROMANCE:
The plot is focused on the love story, but I felt like we were deprived of more content. The longing was extreme but the scenes were sparse. I wanted more love scenes between the leads and sadly got lesser than I wanted. There was a lot of focus on other subplots and more on the demons which could have been less.

OST:
The soundtrack is quite nice. It has a few ballads and an upbeat theme song which sets the mood for the drama.

OVERALL:
Love and Redemption is a very fitting title. I think anyone can enjoy this drama regardless of whether they know the actors or not. The story is quite a ride and comes full circle - very satisfyingly so. I am not sure of the rewatch value since I cannot bear the repeated sufferings our leads went through but come out a fan of Cheng Yi out of this. This is definitely making me rethink the quality of Ashes of Love because I always considered that my top xianxia. This is well worth a watch. Don't hesitate to dive into it.

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Sifeng, Xuanji is your demon, are you fated to be a cursed, painful and pitiful lover ? Wake up !

"Love and redemption" is definitely a drama worth to be watched, especially for those who love fated masochist love stories and xianxia dramas with happy ending.
How nice to reunite in this drama some of the actors of Noble aspirations : especially Cheng Yi and Liu Xueyi. They have matured and give their best in Love and Redemption. I was quite surprised to see how Cheng Yi is terrific in love scenes, high in emotion and sincerity. Liu Xueyi is just gorgeous, so elegant, schemeful and manipulative in such a glamourous way, he doesnt act as a Dijun, he is Dijun ! Just want to add that Peer Zhu is awesome too. I didn't know this actor before but I must say that he plays demon Yuan Lang in a perfect and appealing way !
Many reviewers have already said that this drama is awesome with very good and handsome actors, nice sceneries, costumes, OST and filming. I agree. Others think that this drama can be compared to Ashes of love and TMOPB for its quality and even for some similarities in the storylines. Is it just a pure coincidence if Xuanji parents are played by the same actors who were Jin Mi's parents in Ashes of love ? There are also some common points with Noble aspirations and the unforgetable Guili/Xiaofan.
But once you have said this, you have said nothing ! What is really interesting to underline in Love and Redemption is that the God of War is a woman who has to reincarnate to overcome tribulations in the mortal realm in order to save herself from becoming a demon and being expelled for ever from the heavenly realm. When the story begins, it is her last mortal life and her last chance to succeed her trial (overcoming her murdering pulsions and share real love).
In her last mortal life will she manage to love and trust Yu Sifeng who is so deeply in love with her ? This is what we are expecting and longing for but things get more bad in the drama when Sifeng's real identity is discovered on episode 37.
It was so entertaining to see, in the first episode, how Sifeng meets Xuanji, the very first girl he ever met cause in his sect no women were allowed in. He was so confused that he stuttered for the whole episode ! And of course fell for Xuanji who is naive and natural, lacking 6 of the commun's senses ( including love), not minding touching him with no reserve making him turn on... But those charming moments won't last in the drama and soon enough Sifeng will go through too many painful situations, risking his life and bearing so many sufferings in order to protect Xianji and helping her to recover the senses she never had... maybe all this is too much for us and we just feel bored watching Sifeng repeating the same tortured scenes, nearly dying, or crying being so pitiful in masochist hurting scenes and idealised romantic love ( ie episode 20 Sifeng suffers to death because of the cursed love mask effects; ep 27 Sifeng comes to watch his 9 human lives tribulations and we have to bear this with him). To me, if love brings you more pain than happiness, it's not worth it or at least you can't call it love but rather submission to obsession.
Though, this drama has so many beautiful and touching love scenes so well performed and staged. Sifeng and Xuanji are so sincere in expressing love feelings. Sifeng shows so much tenderness and love that you can only be moved by the actor's skills. I have to admit that you have in this drama some of the best love scenes and sweet moments of chinese drama ( for intance episode 15 when Xuanji takes off Sifeng's cursed love mask; ep 28 when Xuanji confesses her love, she knows now what love feelings are and is aware that Sifeng is the one she loves ; ep 30 tremendous episode with high, intense and deep emotions; ep 52 so passionate with a french kiss, so unusual in chinese dramas).
Unusual too the happy ending, well done Sifeng !

I will definitely rewatch this drama not only for Sifeng and Xuanji beautiful interactions but also for those others very interesting characters who bring so much to the drama : Hao Chen, Yuan Lang, Wu Tong, Liu Yihuan and Teng She. No female character ? Come on ! Ok, let's say Sifeng's spiritual pet !

Sure you will enjoy this drama ! I hope you will love most of the actors too !

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Love and redemption

IM DEEPLY IN LOVE WITH THIS DRAMA❤
Best drama ever...WONDERFUL CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THE LEAD COUPLE I'M REALLY LOVE SIFENG CHARACTER
HIGHLY RECOMMEND DRAMA
Si feng's love , sincerity and sacrifice for xuanji moved my heart.. The actor really potrayed his character greatly
you can clearly see it on his face. The actresses too portrays cute and fierce perfectly

Well done to all the crew, directors and writers of this drama.

One of the best Chinese drama I've ever watched. Great story, great plot, great conflicts, great actors, great actresses, great editing, great music, and great cgi everything was perfect

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The show started out kind of slow. This show is like a combination of Eternal Love and Ashes of Love. I honestly really liked it. My favorite characters would either be Wu Zhiqi or Tengshe. I feel like those two could have honestly been biological brothers. I think that they had too many misunderstandings which caused them to break apart multiple times. The only thing that didn't make sense to me was, the fact that I originally thought that as a Dijun, they are supposed to have more power than the Heavenly Emporer, because in Eternal Donghua Dijun had more power and his status was higher than the Heavenly Emperor. I don't know maybe that's just a "Love and Redemption" thing. I had a few questions about the ending.

1)Whose child was Sifeng holding? If it's theirs, then how did Sifeng and Xuanji have a child before Linglong and Mingyan?
2) Where in the world were Wu Zhiqi and Zihu, like I didn't see them at the party at the end?
3) How come I didn't see Ah Lan (the girl in red, who took care of Sifeng after Sifeng left Xuanji, and she went to find him) at their wedding either?

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Don't let the episode count stop you...

From watching this amazing drama.
I won't go into too many details, but if you want an example of what unconditional love looks like...this is the drama for you. Our leads are outstanding together and deserve some kind of award for their portrayals in this drama.
There are not too many series that would make me cry because it over...Love and Redemption was one of those dramas...tears poured, I learned an important lesson and the acting for this drama was outstanding.

I would like to give a standing ovation to the side cast who added to the story, instead of acting like fillers. The supporting cast did such an amazing job that if you were to cut out the two leads (who were fabulous) there would still be an exciting story to tell.

The reason I did not get it 10/10 is because there were draggy unnecessary parts that were plot stallers...such as over 30 seconds of flashback montages and emotional silent scenes that dragged on forever but it is forgiven due to the satisfying ending.

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This is so damn good!

No waste episodes. The acting, the plot, the costumes, the CGI and overall aspects are so damn impressive.

The story is full of heartaches but it's worth it in the end. Such a happy ending.

I was touched how Yu Sifeng loved Chu Xuanji even it caused his life!

I wasnt a fan of Chinese Dramas before but after watching 1 chinese drama with xianxia drama, I became curious about cdramas. And now I am loving cdrama as much as i love kdrama. Cdramas are so entertaining too.

I highly recommend Love and Redemption!

No waste episodes. The acting, the plot, the costumes, the CGI and overall aspects are so damn impressive.

The story is full of heartaches but it's worth it in the end. Such a happy ending.

I was touched how Yu Sifeng loved Chu Xuanji even it caused his life!

I wasnt a fan of Chinese Dramas before but after watching 1 chinese drama with xianxia drama, I became curious about cdramas. And now I am loving cdrama as much as i love kdrama. Cdramas are so entertaining too.

I highly recommend Love and Redemption!

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Do not snack while watching

Sifeng was easily the best character in the show. He was loving, patient, loyal, and had convictions. The writers did a good job developing his relationship with Xuanji. Although, she was frustrating at times due to her cluelessness, it wasn't completely without merit. She was missing her six senses, so it was natural for her to not understand love. But, she understood friendship and bonds that brought people together. And, due to her bond with Sifeng and his help to get her senses back, she gradually fell in love with him.

Normally, a slew of misunderstandings would be frustrating. But, here, they were necessary to show character development and Xuanji's struggle to reunite with Sifeng and to get him to forgive her. I liked that the writers did not just make Sifeng take her back as soon as she showed up. She had to work for it and she never gave up. This showed that her love was as strong as his, which I liked.

Now, the worst part of the show was the constant blood spitting. We really need to go away with that. It's disgusting and completely unnecessary. Characters don't need to spit blood in every fight or with every physical injury. It looks forced and ridiculous. Watching the show completely destroyed my snack time.

I also did not care for most of the secondary characters. Linglong was spoiled and annoying. The sixth brother was boring. Wu Tong falling in love with Linglong was completely nonsensical and poorly written. If the writers went down the redemption route and wrote Wu Tong as less of a psycho, their relationship could've been interesting. None of the sects had any redeeming qualities. They were narrowminded, pompous, and thought very highly of themselves while committing atrocities. The demons were a lot more relatable and sympathetic.

Because I absolutely hated Hao Chen/Bailing for his continuous meddling and self-righteousness, I wanted to see him die a horrible death. But his defeat was rather underwhelming. He just realized that he was wrong and was demoted. I thought it was anticlimactic. I wanted to see him defeated in battle like the villain that he was.

Overall, I could watch this show again because I absolutely loved the love story.

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Now I feel empty..

I just finished this drama last night and in my opinion, this is one of the best C-drama that I watched. I always like this kind of concept in C-drama, the eternal love. The plot also refreshing, not so typical. There are a big conflict between Heavenly Realm and Demon Realm which affect Mortal Realm, but I can say that it was more like an individual conflict, rather than a whole Realm conflict unlike others drama with this kind of concept.

Main Lead's character background is also understandable, as to why the FL and the ML acted like that (the history behind their choices and action). I find myself admire the FL but at the same time also irritated by her character. But when I try to see from her POV, then I understand why she behave like that. Still, her 'Sifeng, Sifeng' annoyed me so much, like, gurl you're one of the baddest FL in C-drama but why are you so weak and stupid when it comes to your so-called righteous sect and your senior manipulation? I like her character better before she regained her 6 sense and when she was the God of War. After she regained her 6 sense, she was like the center of manipulation. But then again, she was made into a 'puppet'. She is so stubborn when it comes to people she trust, actually it is a positive traits, but for her, it was also a negative traits. Why? because when she trust someone, she listen to them and doesn't believe anyone else until that trusted someone tells the truth (or she sees the evidence of that trusted someone betrays her). For example, when everyone told her that Sifeng is a demon, she believe him and she doesn't stop defending him (even if it means to go against her father). That is why her loyalties to Sifeng and to her so called righteous sect (including her family and HaoChen) is the source of the love and also the misunderstanding within the drama. She was torn between her love for Sifeng and the manipulation from her surroundings. She doesn't want to let down her family and her sect, but she doesn't have the heart to hurt Sifeng. Deep in her heart, she knew that it was impossible for Sifeng to lie to her. If only Sifeng tells everything to XJ, then for sure she will believe him. I hope the couple's relationship in this drama more like the couple's relationship in Legend of Fuyao where the FL and ML avoid misunderstandings by talking to each other. But it just my wishful thinking.. Back to FL story, her history as the Star of Mosha and God of War is so heart wrenching. I feel the sadness by being betrayed by his/her trusted so called soulmate (Bai Lin). The way this drama portrayed the back story in the Heavenly Realm is done so perfectly, I am amazed by how dramatic the storytelling was.

Star of Mosha, despite him being the Asura Clan, is not a bad person. Ironically, the evil mastermind behind all of the suffering the 3 realm get is done by the Dijun of the Heavenly Realm. Bai Lin's action impact deeply on Star of Mosha, God of War, and XJ (also XI Xuan and SF). Bai Lin's prejudice against the Demon Clan is very deep it became his obsession. Like the Heavenly Emperor said, the one who have inner demon is not XJ, but Bai Lin himself. His paranoia gets the best of him and it cost him his friendship and everything he had. If only he didn't disturb XJ's tenth tribulation, then XJ would've been get through it sooner. The reason why she doesn't succeed in her 9 tribulation before is because of her hatred and anger that doesn't dissipated. Her hatred was paid off by her 9 tribulation, and because of SF guidance in those tribulations. That's why on her tenth tribulation, she was able to feels the love and warmth from other people. Actually, all of this also explained by Heavenly Emperor to Bai Lin. SF played a big role on Star of Mosha/God of War/XJ's 1000 years died down anger. I really like how the story goes, the way it flows perfectly and how every story connects to each other.. It's rare to come across a drama like this. I think there's not many plot hole, maybe only one or two, but I don't even know it (I don't really give a f**k about the side character's drama except for Zihu-Wu Zhiqi, Tengshe, Ting Nu, and Liu Yiuhan).

Sifeng, I saw him as a hopelessly romantic. He endures all of the suffering for XJ in all realm. I'm touched by his unconditional love for XJ but it doesn't mean he didn't do anything wrong. He is in the wrong for hiding many things from XJ, for not truly truthful to XJ. Other than that, it was wrong for SF to treat XJ as a normal lover, because XJ's lack of sense made her childlike and inept to act like normal young adult. She needs guidance and protection (especially with all the toxic influence in XJ environment), but SF gave her that support only in the beginning of the story when she still lacks her 6 sense while her adaptability, even after she regained her 6 sense back, is much slower than others. SF's way of teaching XJ how to feel through food is actually the best way for her to understand better, and SF is the only one who can do that. But after the first misunderstanding (where SF have to spend a year in the Tower of Oblivion) that practice was gone. And after that? XJ learned everything the hard way. Actually, we don't get to see much from SF's story because the main story revolves around XJ. I want to know what happened to Xi Xuan in the Heavenly Realm, the reason why, how, and what made him fell in love with God of War in the first place. As far as I know, Xi Xuan is the Golden Bird XJ always talks to. But how they encounters each other? All we see is more of their connections in Mortal Realm. But what made him willing to strip off his celestial form for God of War? and is that the reason why SF death as a mortal is so avoided? because he can't go back to being Xi Xuan for 10.000 years? Will they repeat the circle of reincarnation for 10.000 years? and what will happen to XJ once 10.000 years passed? I think they can make 2nd season out of this.. (actually this is my wish because I can't get enough of XJ-SF)

This drama is worth rewatching, but I can't stand the misunderstanding that arises every time there's a chance. Oddly enough, SF and XJ characters grows on me slowly but sure. Little did I know, SF and XJ's already engraved on my mind. It's different from other lead in other drama where I'm captivated from the beginning mainly because of the leads visual (Ashes of Love, TMOPB) and then the story. It doesn't mean that the leads visual from this drama is inferior than other's drama leads. I'm not gonna compare the 3 together, there's resemblance on these 3 drama but they have their own uniqueness and the way their story goes is in a different path. The most important thing is I love the 3 of them, and I have a REALLY hard time to move on, to come back to reality. I'm sure many of you feels the same way as I do.. The only downside from this drama is the misunderstanding caused by the wicked, evil, cunning, manipulative, psychopath, paranoid Bai Lin is too much and I think half of the plot is only about the misunderstanding. Oh and also, the lack of Xi Xuan's backstory. I can give a perfect score if these 2 aspects got cut down.. Never, for once, I find this drama boring and it's rare for me to feel that way, especially with a drama that had so many misunderstanding.

And now I'm back to reality.. I don't know what to do after this, I don't have a backup drama and now I'm doomed..

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Best xianxia in 2020

This is the best Xianxia drama I have watched in 2020. Highly recommended if you only want to watch 5 wuxia/xianxia drama in 2020. To me, this drama is of the same level as Ten Miles Peach Blossom and Love and Destiny. Will definitely bring you on an emotional roller-coaster ride.

The story developed well and the rhythm is great. Not too fast or draggy. The director spent a lot of time to make sure every dot of the story is well connected and that the audience can follow the development. I have watched too many dramas where dots are not well connected and audiences are left with wide gapping holes. Love and Redemption is definitely one of the better dramas where a lot of efforts on logic and rationale are made to avoid audience losing track of the plot.

The casting director did really good job in casting the characters. I love xianxia drama that gives a very contemporary and modern look. All of the good and bad characters in this drama look really gorgeous. Even the small and insignificant actors/actresses look really good on screen. They didn't just find any Tom, Hick or Harry. The casting team spent a lot of time to make sure the ppl who got their roles look amazing on screen, making this drama really pleasant to watch. The funny thing about this drama, both the lead actor, Cheng Yi and lead actress, Crystal Yuan, aren't the prettiest in the drama. I especially like the persons who played Hao Chen and Chu Ling Long, really good looking, even more than the main leads.

This is the first time I am seeing Cheng Yi and Crystal together. They look nice onscreen. It's rare when you find both main leads aren't the best looking persons in the drama hence they don't have to carry the baggage of 'idol' when they perform. As audience, you get to enjoy their pure acting talent and be taken away by emotions that the script writers have scripted. This is a nice feeling as an audience, to feel the high and low of the story without having to worry that about the pretty face of your idol.

The martial arts choreography is AMAZING. The person who taught them the martial art movements really deserves a prize coz all the martial arts movements in this drama is so swift, crisp and beautiful. We can hardly see any flaws or awkward movements and there were a lot of fighting scenes, all looked so perfect.

The funniest character in this drama goes to Teng Se, zhuan ji's pet. He is hilarious 😂. I won't mind having a pet like him as well.

After finishing the drama, I watched it twice again because I find the story line so beautiful.

The set is beautiful, with a lot of details, the production team spent effort in picking outdoor scenes, many scenes look really nice and pleasant to the eyes. The studio set looks great too. I especially like Shao Yang's Mansion, ie, Zhuan Ji's house. Every room, garden, hall look so crisp and comfy. Not at all cheesy or cheapskate.

The costume was OK, just nice for this drama. Ost was good too. Songs were contemporary. I am a big fan of Li Qi and he sang one of the sweetest secondary songs so I am quite happy. The CGI in this drama was a bit 'oppfff' but I guess it didn't matter too much coz the characters looked really good.

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