This review may contain spoilers
Sometimes the series is predictable but the characters make it very alive and the message is good.
The series seemed to have many episodes but it didn’t take too long to watch them.I’ve really enjoyed the series, especially the first part of the story where the setting is only being introduced to the viewer and the characters are presented. I love how the ML and FL develop their relationship later as well, but, again, in the beginning it’s the best. Even though the actors are not teenagers they’ve managed to show us exactly this teenage type of the first falling in love, naïve and breathtaking at seemingly simple matters like hugging each other or sharing one’s treat or punishment with someone.
As for the continuation of the story, it becomes darker as the plot unravels but it is a good thing, too. Even though it is definitely a fairy-tale, it presents the world as if from a realistic perspective; the ‘good’ characters who claim to be saving the peace turn out to be as good as villains opposing the main character. The work actually shows the very familiar classes of the immortals, mortals and demons and the later are not unambivalent villains (as usual). But no one is black or white. The ‘good’ side-characters always err saying they mean well; the villains have their right to bear malice but their means cannot be forgiven. Only ML is somehow always right, poor Si Feng, the world simply doesn’t deserve you yet.
The elderly people are mostly shown as old fools talking big but actually giving the villains all morals rights and opportunities to succeed. They are really irritating at times but the concept is somehow refreshing; it’s not that the script is poor and that is why the deeds of the characters seem ridiculous but it’s the kind of a take-off. The five schools of Dao and martial arts meet their well-earned ending; those who have been corrupted just die out, those who have been blind and stubborn to accept somebody else’s but their own reasoning - in the end begin to see clearly and find strength to face up to the reality.
On the other hand, the negative characters are generally smarter and more developed in terms of personalities. Their motives are clear, too, and even can make audience sympathize with them sometimes as their situation is historically sticky. (The demons are being oppressed by the ‘good’ peoples and want to survive or to become the rulers of the world to stop hiding.) But the means they choose as well as their blinding greed make sure they meet their wages of sin in the end.
The challenges the characters meet are also realistic; learning to love and trust in spite of the hearsay and other people’s judgment, choosing from the unspoken (in terms of sacrificing the lives of the close ones or preaching peace), dealing with treason, abuse and neglection.
Sometimes the plot seems too predictable, though, recollecting all the typical plot turns and clichés. At times there are also too many characters for one arch of the story although they don’t do much. The pace of the narration is uneven, too, with its ups and downs. The ending of the next-to-last part of the story (where the true identity of Si Feng and his fellow students was discovered) was the strongest and the last part was more predictable and sometimes even ridiculous. Probably it is because the whole story is rather long and it was hard to make it function as one solid work.
The series are full of characters and some of them are irritating, funny and adorable or influencing the plot only accidently. Anyway, I like the portrayal of the Snake who is being huffy, loyal, boyish, sneaky, hungry and reasonable at the same time. He is a very lively teenage immortal and has a well-rounded personality although he appears only in the middle of the story and is not a main character.
The role of the Heavenly Lord is the most controversial. Indeed, he is needed to move the plot and to make Si Feng suffer but the motivations of the Lord Hao Chen are jumbled as he has two identities. Probably it would be better and more dramatic to show that the ideas of Hao Chen as a deity and as a mortal were opposite to one another. He could as well had lived as a mortal without knowing much about the purposes of the glass vessel they were protecting and only catch glimpses of the past-life memory. He could also have competed for Xuan Ji’s love and manipulated her not to keep her from learning her identity but to make her his obedient puppet (a younger fellow student and a future wife) forever. Obtaining the senses would give Xuan Ji critical thinking as well and Hao Chen wouldn’t want it. Anyway, we are shown a corrupted and later reclaimed Lord which is an interesting decision, too. Liu Sue Yi portrays such a complex personality brilliantly. It is just that the plot motivation is shaky; the character is either mad or corrupted by very strange evil 'darkness' in his soul.
As for the main characters, they are the most enjoyable part of the story. Not only Yuan Bin Yan and Chen Yi look very cute together and act really great. Their characters undergo the most serious character development.
Zhu Xuan Ji is deprived of her six senses since birth that is why she is so childish and doesn’t understand people’s feelings and intentions. But unlike many other FLs from other stories she is not as stupid as a coot; she is even quite insightful. Without even knowing what the world is like she develops several family-, friends- and even love-relationships. She acts theoretically and even though seldom seriously mistakes while the ‘wise’ characters with all their feelings and room for moral growth keep making wrong decisions and doing cruel things to their close ones. Zhu Xuan Ji reminds of a child; an optimistic, open to everything new, brave and innocent little girl. Indeed, sometimes this childish behavior gets in the way with logic and we might want a more mature character. But again, here it is not a Chinese cliché of the FL but a solid personality. How could she have matured by her twentieth birthday if she was learning the world since the middle of the story? How can she not be confused when she learns that the truth of one close person contradicts the truth of the other? In the beginning, of course she seems more likable as she supports the ML and then is a bit irritating when she doubts Si Feng, too. But her approach is understandable and can be justified by her being really confused between the new sensations and her Shaoyang sect members. I wish her confusion was more emphasized as many watchers don’t understand and blame her for her behavior. In the end, she repents and thus breaks the ‘spell’ of the glass heart. This is what seems very fairy-talish in this story but at least the message from it is positive and clear. Genuine care and devotion are able to warm even a cold heart.
I was really impressed at two things. First of all, how Si Feng never held a grudge against her no matter how hard it was to firstly explain her what the feelings are and then faced all those pieces of injustice he had to suffer through the fault of Xuan Ji’s sect family and Xuan Ji herself. And secondly, how different Xuan Ji was from her previous reincarnations. Actually, I don’t really see why exactly it happened. Maybe, it is all a game of fate (or the plot). Maybe, Si Feng was so much more capable of winning her love than in the previous lives. And maybe she didn’t drink enough water of forgetfulness in the beginning of the story and some of the memories were still there. The nine previous lives were adorably painful and I was really fond of how Si Feng’s unconditional love and Xuan Ji’s cruel indifference were shown. She was not wicked or black-hearted! She was just hollow, never able to understand the true intentions of the people beside her. I did not understand how that little trope of a bloody stamp on the ML’s cheek in those nine lives could be logically explained (why was she doing it again and again if she did not have the memories?) but I totally loved the aesthetics of it.
As for Si Feng, he is the only ever upright person in the story, the character who is ready to suffer physical and moral pain over and over again but will not betray his feelings. In the very beginning he was mocked for his ‘friendship and love’ motivations when they seemed as a try of a schoolchild to socialize; but he actually proved how deep and noble his devotion was. Indeed, many times the other people did not deserve the sacrifice. Si Feng is very stubborn in receiving all kinds of punishment for others but he never becomes malignant. He is quite realistic in what he should wait from others and in the beginning, he even does not expect much from Xuan Ji, knowing she cannot yet love anyone. That is why his image is so emotional; he becomes overjoyed when he gets more than he expects, and shortly after he suffers greatly when the hopes against all odds are smashed by all kinds of accidental misfortune. I particularly liked the moments where Si Feng is the only one to state the ugly truth right up front. His poignant words to his tortures express an intelligent person who has grown up and sees the bigger picture while others prefer being deceived. He is also capable of some schemes to overplay the evil characters and it also demonstrates his intellect. It is a good thing he is a promising apprentice not only because of power given him from his birth but due to his diligence and being quick on the draw. On the other hand, I like his identity of an extra powerful golden-winged bird as an explanation of how a person can be that strong to survive so much physical torture – otherwise the plot would seem totally unrealistic.
I’ve enjoyed the aesthetics of the series, too. As for the clothes, natural sights and magical signs Si Feng creates – they are great and pleasant to watch. Some things seem too simple, though, as I was watching a series some years after it was aired. It is also very funny to see the Heavenly realm with so much boredom and so little people to live there and to defend it. The devil-may-care (well, at least the devils do care here!) and lazy Emperor as a motivation of all ruckus happening is one more doubtful decision for me. Can it be a satire on the bad administrative?
All in all, the series has been good. Sometimes it seems predictable but the characters make it very alive. The things I enjoyed most were the path and personality of Si Feng and the ambiguity of Good and Evil in the story.
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Intertwined destinies !!
Chu Xuanji,who is born deprived of six senses,meets Yu Sifeng,a disciple of Lize palace,whose mask is broken by Xuan ji.He gets punished after returning back to his sect,while Xuanji,sets off on a journey to learn martial arts.
Once again,they meet each other,but this time more secrets buried for thousands of years are unraveled.
Well,xianxia dramas always concern the 3 realms- heaven,demon and human realms.
They largely involve reincarnations,safety of the 3 realms and a hidden conspiracy,if left unsolved,would nearly destroy the world.
In this drama,they mainly focus on God of War and Star of Mosha,who were sent to earth for penance after a thousand years battle in the heavens.
The final twist which revealed the hidden mystery was good.
Also,the twist involving the spirit keys and sects in mortal realm were good.
The entanglement of lifetimes of both the protagonists and how each of them ended tragically were also interesting.
The cast,costumes,plot,pace, screenplay,sets,CGI,acting were all good.
A worth watching xianxia drama,even if it's long,you can go for it.
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Minor spoilers included.
This series is going to put you through a rollercoaster of emotions!First, the plot. The story goes from innocent flirting in the countryside while killing demons to sect politics discussing marriages to a full-blown war between the three realms and the imminent destruction of all existence without you even noticing how it got there. Even though some things are not explained in all detail, it does not affect the logic of the plot too much. Another note: While The Untamed (if you haven’t watched this, what are you even doing with your life?) focused on the question “What is evil?”, this series questions “Who is evil?” and it is very well done without being too much in the foreground. Series with a well explored ethical question among their plot are usually very good and this series is no exception.
Second, the Characters. They are so well done. Not only the main characters who are often opposing even sect leaders to do what they think is right (which is very refreshing) but especially the support characters. They really earned the *support* in their title. Whenever you are shouting frustrated at your screen because of another misunderstanding or THAT guy (we will come to him later), usually one of the support characters will come and call everyone out on their bullsh* or explain things (which is sooo satisfying). You will love many of these characters!
There are three villains in this series. You will probably love Wu Tong if you know him from Word of Honor (there, he is Ye Baiyi) and he is lovingly hatable. The second villain is your normal standard I-want-to-conquer-the-world-because-of-reasons villain. Not too bad and you despise him normally. And *then* there is THAT guy. At first, you will find him annoying, later you will stop having any affection for this guy before you begin to hate him. And then he just does not stop. Whatever hope you had for him, for humanity he will just sink lower and lower. Multiple times you will find yourself thinking that he reached the bottom but think again! There he is, ruining everything and everyone while being convinced to be in the right *all the time*. Never was a villain so despicable or hatable. Props to the actor but I just hate you!
Third, a few shoutouts. The costumes are soo beautiful. Especially the armor and visual effects for the Gold Birds. Also the fights are usually very nice to look at and some of them are simply epic, not only in choreography but also just visuals. Then we have Lord Teng She who is just so great and unfortunately only joining the cast after the first half of the show. Luckily, there are some minor scenes before that to allow you to board the ship with Green Dragon (you’ll know what I mean).
Flaws. To be honest, it would be really interesting to watch this series again and count the times Sifeng is spitting blood. It’s number really can only be matched by the times Xuan Ji shouts ”Sifeng”. You will definitely notice after some time and maybe roll your eyes. Also, Sifeng should probably spend 0,00001 second near THAT guy to learn enough about selfishness to not sacrifice himself every time he sees an opportunity for that. We all know, it is kind of normal for a male lead to be selfless and self-sacrificing but *come on* Sifeng!
Also, not really a flaw, but prepare to suffer! There are so many misunderstandings and overheard-conversations that need some time to be resolved. Until then you will contemplate your life-choices and ask yourself why you are doing this to yourself in the first place. Luckily, a support character will usually save you from your misery. And you get a lot of fluff for compensation later.
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Will probably rewatch at some point (with caveats)
So I love C-dramas but the one thing I find is parts of it will be AMAZING but other parts are meh. For example I loved the story between Xuan Ji and Si Feng (except the end, WTF was that wedding night scene??), their love was so sweet and innocent. Meanwhile, from the moment Ling Long was introduced I knew I wouldn't like her as a character, I felt like I learned something from her arc but I would 100% skip her scenes if I watched again. And her and Min Yan? I was relieved when the storyline just sort of dropped out of existence.I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the show as well because of Bailing, listening to him gaslight and manipulate everyone made my blood boil. However it did have a satisfying payoff in the end . . . I just wish it hadn't been condoned by everyone but the Jade Emperor. Even though it made me angry to watch, the moral of the story is one I will never forget and for that reason it's one of my favourite watches to date. I've known a lot of people like Bailing, who are supposedly righteous, good people, yet they are the ones projecting so much hate and evil into the world. I can honestly say it changed me because I FELT something was off with these people, that they said one thing and did another, but it wasn't until I saw it in Bailing that I understood.
That's one of my favourite things about C-dramas, they explore a lot of moral and philosophical topics we honestly don't know exist in a culture heavily influenced by Christianity. In particular I found Si Feng's story moving, he's probably my favourite character of all time. I loved watching him go head-to-head with Bailing and others because you could tell he knew what was up, he's smart but he never rubbed it in.
Overall I genuinely think people should give this one a thorough watch, some of the tropes got a bit old but I didn't feel like it ever got boring enough to drop it. Besides, you can just turn Si Feng spitting blood into a drinking game. XD
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Si Feng needs serious blood transfusion...
LIKESi Feng's real identity - a little surprise for me
Xuan Ji identity - also taken aback.. the scriptwriter really great imagination
Zi Hu and Wu Zhi Qi story - loved them lots
Though Hao Chen had an annoying character but I still loved him - my Tian Qi...
DISLIKE
Side-track too much I think at least 20 unecessary episodes...
MUSIC - personal fav
琉璃 Liu Li - 刘宇宁 Liu Yu Ning
情人咒 Qing Ren Zhou - 阿云嘎 A Yun Ga, 郁可唯 Yu Ke Wei
劫 Jie - 音频怪物 Yin Pin Guai Wu
爱若琉璃 Ai Ruo Liu Li - 周深 Zhou Shen
千年之恋 Qian Nian Zhi Lian - 双笙 Shuang Sheng
REWATCH VALUE
Shall re-watch some day
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This review may contain spoilers
A love that goes through the realms of the world
April 6, 2021Love and Redemption is one heck of a ride drama. This drama deserves the rating that it has. The next part contains spoiler, read at your own risk.
The male lead, Si Feng is the most worthy and well-deserving person I have seen in Cdramas. In similarities, as the scapegoat heroine, he reminds me of Wei Wuxian from The Untamed. He went through multiple reincarnations just to get with the female lead. And you know what's so sad about it is that he is so selfless for love that he keeps hurting himself.
As for the female lead, the Goddess of War is indeed heartless and selfish in her previous self. But it is all due to that STUPID KING. I HATE THAT MAN SO MUCH. THE ENDING DID NOT GIVE ME JUSTICE. HE DESERVES WORSE PUNISHMENTS. THEY LITERALLY JUST LET HIM GET REINCARNATED AGAIN AND GET PARDONED BECAUSE HE DID IT FOR THE "THREE REALMS" WAS JUST PLAIN UNREASONABLE. I HATED HIM MORE THAN THE OTHER VILLAIN. I FEEL NO REMORSE TO WHAT HAPPEN TO HIM. FOR ALL I CARE FOR, HE CAN JUST CEASE TO EXIST.
Although, the ending did justice. I am so happy that each character got a pretty solid conclusion. The drama is one hell of a ride. 59 episodes was a bit long in my opinion. I think it would have been better as a 40-50 episode drama. Some arcs feel repetitive so I skimmed through those episodes. Henceforth, I am giving a lower rating in plot production. I guess that is the major occurrence in historical dramas. I still love it nevertheless but I hope they can find a way to resolve the draggy plots.
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Good drama with unpredictable twist
After I put it on and off I finally finished watching this one. I've watched until ep. 13 and put it on hold for months. One day I read that the FL (Yuan Bing Yan) have tax evasion scandal and it trigger me to resume watching and push through all the episodes in a few days.When watching this drama I really hate the FL and SFL because of their behavior, the FL is naive and dumb while the SFL is rude, well... that is the typical Xianxia dramas most of FLs characters are just like that, the same problem as I hate FL character in Ashes of Love. Later I understand because the FL was born without her six senses. What I like is that the ML hidden identity and later it open layer by layers. This drama has lots of misunderstandings that you can't imagine that put the ML and SML in the very difficult positions. I like the unpredictable plot twist. The acting is good with all the casts but no so much with the FL, in my opinion she is not fit to play as God of War/Star Of Mosha (not badass enough to be honest). The OST is memorable and good but sometimes the insert in some scenes just not fit and the most annoying things is the amount of blood spitting/vomiting is too much and over done.
Over all is a good watch and I recommend it to Xianxia fans out there :)
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This review may contain spoilers
Love and Redemption remains one of my favourite Chinese dramas to the date. I enjoy how the story progresses slowly but steady but fast enough to keep the story going. Although this drama reminds me of one of the public's favourite dramas The Untamed due to the involvement of clans and how the main leads meet and their personalities, it is also original and sparks so much emotion.Story 9.5/10 - Original and steady paced, I loved how each situation related to the main conflict and ever episode was so detailed. I do however tend to dislike overly cutesy acting by female leads which may be seen as childish or overdramatic but it was relevant to the story as the FL went through character development. I also thought that the ML was attacked so many times but never died whereas many other characters faced small one-shot deaths which i thought was kind of funny and questionable.
Acting/Cast 10/10 - All characters were played perfectly by their actors and each one was unique with their own touching back stories and journeys. I love how although stunning visuals, the actors/actresses were clearly casted due to acting abilities and not just a pretty face.
Music 9/10 - Although i enjoyed the OST and used to listen to it on repeat in my free time, I don't see it too fitting to the story but it is still a beautiful song. All other music in the drama was perfectly matched to situations and nothing felt out of place.
Rewatch value 10/10 - I have watched this drama 2 times, also recommended to friends and family in which they also enjoyed. After rewatching, all emotions I felt prior were still present and nothing gets old. As the entire series is 59 episodes, rewatching the drama after a few months with a refreshed pallete will continue to be entertaining and you may find details you may have missed the first time.
Overall 9.5/10 - What a beautiful drama with great graphics and an addictive storyline. Costume choices at the beginning of the drama were kind of off-putting as the characters were 'kids' and the ML's bark mask was grotesque-looking but it all got better as the drama progressed. I loved all the plot twists and both the heart breaking and heart warming parts which leaves the audience with an emotional attachment to the story. As mentioned prior, if a fan of The Untamed, would love Love and Redemption.
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The Best Fantasy Romance Drama of 2020
Started this without much expectation to the story and cast because the preview and posters looked like a typical fantasy historical drama but I WAS SO WRONG. The pacing for this drama was just right. The directors just know when to pace up and drag the timeline! First episode got me hooked and I binged watched this in a week!Every single characters got their closure perfectly in the story without being seemed forced and over explained. The plot flows so smoothly. Especially towards the end when Si Feng was revealed his true identity, everything seems clear on the cause of everything, and what happened with the 10 lives with Xuan Ji. It just makes sense. Even the devil has a closure!!! The lessons learnt are also meaningful about love and redemption (literally)... Si Feng's words also warms my heart. It is not is worth, it is if I am willing. LOVE THIS.
Not to mention, the OST are so apt!! Casts are soooo good. Superb acting, especially to Teng She, he really feels like a snake (and he is)! I am just so amazed and can't wait for the sequel already gyaa!!
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Watch for the Male lead's acting, chemistry btw main couple & some charismatic side characters
Love and Redemption is easy to get into as there is a nice pacing throughout the beginning of the story, accompanied by nolstagic bgm and a strong male lead who is able to convey emotions very well with his microexpressions, leaving no one doubting his pain and suffering in any form- emotional or physical, nor his affection for the FL.Enter the FL. In my opinion, FL (Crystal Yuan) qualifies to be in the running for the worst actor award in a cdrama with her inability to emote and her excessive use of eyedrops that ironically highlight how poor her acting is than aid with any emotional scene itself . I will say she does have strong chemistry with the ML which is probably one of the reasons why it was easy to get hooked onto this drama if one is able to switch off when she had a crying scene or a scene where she is meant to act betrayed but just looks constipated.
I need to mention the actress who played SFL Ling long did not fare that much better than Crystal and Mingyan had a pretty useless existence in this drama despite being on the posters and all.
Side characters Brother Liu and Tengshe were a much needed presence and comic relief to this drama and helped pushed the story forward with renewed energy and charisma.
As for the narrative itself, there were lots of plot developments that make love and redemption quite an interesting journey, however it's a shame that this drama couldn't be the masterpiece it could have been because logic and character development were thrown out the window, with the story relying instead on misunderstandings to drive it forward.
You can watch this if you enjoy fluff knowing its just fluff and if you want to know what propelled actor Cheng Yi to his current fame. Just know that you WILL need to practice restraint when FL appears (post beginning stage) because you will wonder how she was ever able to become an actress and why nobody in her inner circle had the integrity to stop her from choosing this profession.
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Ultimate displays of true love
I would rate "Love and Redemption" as being almost on par with "Ashes of Love". When it lacks in charm, it makes up for in fantastic displays of feminine heroism. Whether it is trusting the humanity of an outsider, looking for nuance in geopolitical conflict, experiencing betrayal, or facing evidence of lies and deception, "Love and Redemption" puts true love to the ultimate test. Time and time again, the depth of their love is challenged by how far they are willing to go, how much they are willing to sacrifice, how intense they are willing to suffer, how many times they are willing to risk death, or even how much of their morality they are willing to sacrifice for true love. The philosophy of the heroin's deontological morality is juxtaposed against the consequentialist morality of the villain, showing how easy it is for consequentialism to lose its way.More reviews: https://transcendentphilos.wixsite.com/website/post/the-philosophy-of-chinese-dramas
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