When Destiny Brings the Demon

Underrated masterpiece

I was looking for another Chinese Drama after finishing Revenged Love. I know Arthur Chen but never watch any of his work, and female lead is totally a fresh face for me, at first i was hesitated to watch because i didn't like(?) how she looks, but i'm very glad i still went ahead and started watching it, AND NOW i'm a fan of both of them. Wang YingLu's acting is just so cheeky and cute, but it's not those unbearable pick-me kinda cute, I personally just love her acting throughout all the ep, no matter it's a happy, sad, emotional, heart-warming scene, it made me cried so hard.
Though this drama have a dimension-travel/isekai theme, but it doesn't have too much mention of the modern world, just a few use of modern language, which made it even more cute. If you understand the difference of Ancient language and modern language, you'll definitely find it 100x cuter than if you don't , but don't be too alarmed about this, if you don't understand chinese/mandarin, just with the subtitles and their acting/expression I'm sure you'll enjoy this just as much.
I'm not someone that rewatch any show/drama ever, so i won't be rewatching it but it definitely left a deep impression on me especially both of the main lead

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A fantasy romance with ++kissing and chemistry and magnetic leads

Short Review - This show does almost everything perfectly. There is amazing chemistry between the leads which showcases romance and intimacy while having some lightness and humor that does not detract. It feels like the creators stripped out many of the most frustrating plot devices and focused on developing a deeply romantic relationship that spans multiple lifetimes. CGI and OST are a little suspect in some places, but not enough that it truly detracts from the whole. If you love xianxia, romance, and lots of kisses you shouldn’t miss it.

Pros – 2 words: Sima Jiao. Powerful chemistry with 2 likeable leads. Humor and melodrama are used delicately so it never tips too far in either direction. It avoids needless misunderstandings and separations that drag on unnecessarily- no contrived break-ups. Although the leads occasionally hide things from each other, it feels understandable and not contrived.

Cons – Second FL (Ye Ruling) is evil in the first incarnation and I could never like or trust her again, she was never held accountable. The ending could feel like a bit of a letdown if you want to see a concrete reunion and final kiss. OST was a little over the top in a few places, and the CGI was hit or miss, but they not dealbreakers.

Romance / Skinship – So much of both, and you don’t have to wait terribly long for it to start. The dual cultivation scenes are by far the most sensual and numerous of all shows I’ve seen in this genre. They are not graphic or overt, but contain heavily implied meaning.

Pacing - lots of screen time on leads rather than unrelated secondary characters, Each of the 3 arcs (Immortal, Demon, Human) have diminishing screen time, leaving the final arc very short and less developed (but this is a minor issue imo). In a few areas it focuses a bit too long on the villains, who were not particularly interesting.

Notable Tropes – Hiding critical information to “protect” someone, main characters die but not really, Amnesia (but used well, less annoying that usual).

Ending – Happy (-ish?) FL comes back to modern world and in the last couple minutes runs into ML. He asks if she knows who he is, and she says yes, but it is not blatantly clear and you do not see them “get together” at the end.

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Five hundred years of fury, cooled by an accidental vacationer

When Destiny Brings the Demon carries the same soul-stirring energy I felt with Love Between Fairy and Devil and to some extent, Till the End of the Moon. It takes familiar elements—the almighty yet wounded male lead, the candid yet quietly transformative female lead—and shapes them into something both reminiscent and refreshingly its own. Where Till the End of the Moon sometimes felt weighed down by its relentless angst and labyrinthine complexity, this story found the right balance between pain and resolution. The different lifetimes the leads experienced were woven more fluently, creating a flow that was poignant without becoming overwhelming.

The premise? Brutal but brilliant. Greed rots everything in this world—even to the point of celestial cultivators devouring their own kind for strength. Sima Jiao, born with a bloodline they coveted, became their sacrificial lamb. For five hundred years, he was imprisoned, his life force drained to feed spiritual energy and shield the heavens from demonic incursions. He was their protector and their prisoner, used until resentment burned through every part of him. His vow for freedom, and to turn those parasites into the prey they made him, carried a raw, aching weight.

Into this world steps Liao Tingyan, a modern woman who only wanted a little vacation, not a front-row seat to celestial politics. Thrown into this brutal world with no clue about its history, powerless and unprepared, she tried to coast along unnoticed, to survive quietly, doing as little as possible and make small joys out of her strange new life. Fate had other plans: she became Sima Jiao’s palace attendant. What began as reluctant service gradually became something more. Somehow her laziness, her will to just enjoy life in the middle of chaos, brought a strange calm to his raging fire.

The plot as a whole was thoughtful, though not without flaws. The villains were too one-dimensional, their schemes too shallow to convincingly threaten Sima Jiao. And while Tingyan’s growth was satisfying in spirit, her sudden leap to ruler never fully convinced me, even with the power he passed on to her.

But the romance? That’s where this story absolutely shines. From their first meeting—her staring at his ridiculously pretty face while he’s slaughtering people and splashing blood everywhere (romantic, I know)—to their tense, hilarious cohabitation, everything about their relationship felt alive. Sima Jiao kept trying to figure out what kind of spy she was, while Tingyan couldn’t hide a single thing because… well, her face said it all. Who needs a truth spell when your expressions are an open book?

And then, somewhere in the chaos, everything changed. She became the balm he never expected—honest, light, loyal, and unafraid to simply be herself. When he finally started to care, he gave her his all. Their relationship was more than sweet; it carried intensity. The desire between them was tangible, yet it never overshadowed the tenderness. She, in turn, saw beyond his fury and pain—she recognized the humanity beneath the scars, the compassion hidden under the resentment—and she loved him for it. Her love matched his, equal in strength and devotion, making their bond as undeniable as it was consuming.

If not for the occasional drag in pacing, this would have been an easy 10. Even so, the romance was so flawlessly executed that it eclipsed the story’s flaws. I’m rarely fond of open endings, but for a transmigration tale, this one felt like the happiest ending I could ask for. And as a final note, the opening OST deserves its own praise—hauntingly beautiful, it lingers long after the screen fades, just like the story itself.

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the slacker and her sugardaddy

what I liked
- I adored the leads! their characters, the performances and the actors themselves were all just lovely! this is the 2nd time i've seen them both and they did not disappoint.
- the romance was extremely satisfying. the way they used the fantasy aspect and the soul manor to emphasize their intimacy and deepening bond? I don't think i've ever seen a romance written so robustly in a fantasy drama, when tingyan said in the end that she was content with their relationship, you really feel that as well.
-i liked nianjiu and sima jao's relationship. he really stayed sj's baby all the way until the end and that was just so adorable
- the world building was nice, I like how they moved from realm to realm to realm, it kept things fresh. it was so good you really find yourself wishing the entire thing wasn't a dream in the end.
- production was good, especially the costumes and set. I only heard that one dominant ost though
- I like that the story is very character driven and firmly centered on our two leads, i think the story was so successful bc they didn't bog us down with second leads and side stories.
-tingyan's slacker behavior - hilarious and relatable! made the first half of the drama
-the ending, it was thoughtful and respectful with just the right amount of aching, I really liked it. also watching tingyan dive back into the hustle immediately after she wakes totally justifies all her slacker attitude.

what I didn't like
- no reason for shi qianlu to be around for that long, and the drama's 2nd main villain was also equally underwhelming.
-on this episode of they would never write a man that way: tingyan was a kitten for too much of the drama. if she had been a man (we've seen many such lazy and unambitious male characters e.g xing zhi from shen li, or any of the other mcs in the male centered time travel dramas) , they would still have found some way to empower her. while their romance dominated the story, it did get tiring watching her be kidnapped, strung up, tortured, beaten, bullied, used against her beloved, betrayed, and deciding none of that mattered, her man will handle it. all the romance in the world will never make that palatable.
- its essentially another weak woman and her big strong man drama, only this one is coated in multiple layers of strawberry and cream and it is 'what she wants.' bc she would apparently rather die than learn to defend herself and her dissolute way of life.
- many of the bad things that happened hinged on tingyan resolutely remaining helpless, trusting, naive and defenseless for much of the drama, like a pet. and well that's just not nice
- the 2nd half was generally weaker than the first half even though so many things seemed to be happening.

in conclusion, i think the drama did exactly what it came to do. it has some well written fantasy elements, enchanting romance, and Liao Tingyan, the absolute queen of all self insert characters

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I didn’t plan to watch When Destiny Brings the Demon, but short clips kept showing up on my feed, so I decided to give it a try—and I’m glad I did! It seems like all these unplanned dramas end up being right up my alley. I’m still trying to process how I feel about this one. It’s been a few days since I finished it, but I can’t stop thinking about all the emotional moments and love scenes. Let’s dive in as I share what I loved most about this series.

First off, there were a lot of kissing scenes for a Chinese drama—and I’m not complaining! It was super cute and refreshing to see that kind of intimacy on screen for once. It added to the emotional depth of the relationship and made their love story feel more alive.

Arthur Chen as the male lead—wow. The last time I properly watched any of his work was probably Ever Night. He still has that intense cold stare and powerful presence that can kill (in the best way). It’s probably why he fit this role so well. I loved how his character, despite being seen as the “bad guy,” would do absolutely anything to protect the woman he loves. It reminded me a lot of Love Between Fairy and Devil—same type of intense, forbidden love that just gets under your skin.

It was also refreshing to see a new actress in the female lead. I’d never seen any of her work before, but to be honest, she was the biggest reason I stayed at first. Her performance was captivating and sincere. Later on, it was their chemistry and the development of their love story that really kept me hooked.

What made this couple so special was how natural their love felt. The way they cared for and understood each other—it just made sense. There was no forced conflict or unnecessary drama; just two people with a deep, emotional connection, facing fate together.

I know I might be in the minority here, but I actually loved the open-ended finale. It was a clever callback to the dreams she had during the human world arc, leaving just enough mystery to keep you wondering. If they ever release a special episode, I’d love to see a glimpse of them finally finding their way back to each other.

Usually, I fall in love with the side characters in these kinds of dramas, but I’m honestly glad the main focus stayed on the couple here. Their relationship was the heart of the story, and that’s what made it so memorable and enjoyable.

If I had to nitpick, the human arc was the one part that dragged a bit for me. I know it was necessary for Sima Jiao’s plan and overall plot development, but I did find myself skipping parts just to get back to the main couple’s storyline. So I’m knocking off just a few points for that.

Still, this is definitely a series I plan to return to and rewatch—this time paying closer attention to the little details I might’ve missed. It’s rare to find a fantasy romance that hits all the right notes, but When Destiny Brings the Demon did just that.

I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves star-crossed lovers, a bit of fantasy, and a whole lot of heart. Give it a chance—you might end up as obsessed as I am.

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It was a good start, then it got lost.

This drama was mediocre at best. Other than the tender romantic moments between the couple, it was an average drama. The storyline was neither new nor original. I think I have seen this troupe a few times before. It had most of the same old things a costume drama usually has.

I had a hard time following the plot. I mean, there was a powerful demon and a weak girl, some cultivation with some yin and yang. The plot did not evolve beyond the demon breaking free. This was disappointing because I truly like both leads. I think one of the worst decisions Arthur Chen made was deciding not to finish “Ever Night”. If you watch it, you will know why. I believe that drama was helping him to grow his skills, and after that, his growth slowed down. IMO.

So this drama had a good start and was cute in the beginning.

The production was decent, and the costumes, although a bit bulky at times, were also decent.
In short, there was nothing that stood out about this drama. With that being said, it was still an okay watch.

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Really great.. until it became just good.

Before watching the drama, I managed to read about 80% of the novel. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it; on the contrary, I enjoyed it a lot. However, life got in the way. When I finally started watching the drama, I was very happy. I found both the male lead (ML) and female lead (FL) engaging, and their chemistry was great. Their portrayals of the characters from the novel felt authentic to me. I was content—until I wasn’t.

When the female lead lost her memories, I felt something was missing. I thought about what it was and realized that the characters in the novel and the drama no longer felt the same. The male lead came across as too soft; in the novel, he was ruthless and merciless, with only one soft spot—her. Then, when she left for 18 years in the demon realm, I felt a disconnect. The drama didn’t make that transition smooth enough. Some important moments that needed time for proper explanation felt rushed, while other scenes that didn’t require as much time dragged on.

The black snake, who was initially naive and had no idea how to be human, transformed into a character I no longer cared about.

This highlights an ongoing issue in Chinese entertainment. Since restrictions were imposed to limit episodes to 40, many dramas have been reduced well below that number. The average episode length has also dropped from 60 minutes to around 40 minutes. This results in fewer episodes overall, cutting out precious time that could have allowed the story to develop more fully.

The last few episodes feel rushed. They have been excessively shortened or not developed enough, making it seem like we are hastily racing to the conclusion. I feel overwhelmed by the speed of it all.

Additionally, the CGI has become repetitive. I've seen many scenes—like the valleys, palaces, and soul palace—repeatedly. While it was impressive in the first 6 to 8 episodes, nothing has wowed me since then.

Although I feel a bit disappointed, I still consider the drama to be solid and enjoyable, mainly due to the performances of the main leads. I think I would have dropped the show if it weren't for their acting. I was happy to see Arthur Chen expressing love and emotions, rather than just portraying his usual taciturn, arrogant, and secretive character. I love deep male voices, and his is music to my ears! 😆

Production made a great effort on the OST. I think I will buy the CD, which is a testament to how much I loved it. I enjoyed the costumes, hairstyles, and makeup—they were just right.

With just a few episodes left, I hope it improves. I plan to return to this review to share my final thoughts. Meanwhile, I will try to finish the novel.

***

Youku, you little scoundrel! You took my money again to watch the final three episodes, and what can I say? The drama and the novel did not end the same way, as expected. It seems that Chinese censorship only allows transmigration if the hero or heroine returns to modern times. For me it is a bittersweet ending. They meet in modern times but yet again he has no memories from his 2 previous lives. What a disappointment!

There were many disappointments, primarily due to the excessive cutting of scenes. Characters often appeared without proper introduction, and their relationships did not develop adequately. As a result, the final episodes lacked coherence. Although it was intended to be a romance, the couple barely shared a kiss because of strict censorship. I give it a final rating of 8 out of 10, but I only awarded this score because I liked the main leads; they had great chemistry and demonstrated strong acting skills. This rating is my discontent about cutting so much (twice) that the original script felt rushed and cringy. This drama could have been significantly improved with 40 episodes, each one hour long.

There will be no season 2. It clearly states ‘the end’ at the conclusion of episode 33. I am okay with that.

My conclusion is simple: read the novel!!

https://wordrain69.com/manga/dedicated-salted-fish-of-master/chapter-1/

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Ok FINE I like romance!!!!! The candy in this show is top notch!!

First 20 episodes were goated, almost a chef's kiss in terms of the romance, and the last 12 were a total disappointing mess.... Xian Yu captured 'falling in love' but couldn't actually write a relationship. In other words, the three lifecycles genre has outlived whatever novelty it had in 2017 and needs to be taken out back and put down ASAP.

As an adult, I've been waffling over whether or not I enjoy romance- with a lot of shows/movies/books, etc. I dread every scene the main couple have together, and only a select few have me obsessed, crying, etc. I settled on, 'I like a well written romance' where the main characters are both complex, have serious growth and you can see that they have changed each other for the better and why they belong together (better yet I love a story about why they make each other worse and should break up). This drama, Xian Yu, was only really able to satisfy this sort of....... but it still had me smiling at all of their couple moments, thinking to myself, 'wow they're so cute'... like a TEENAGER!!!!! I got got!! They got me bad!!!!!! I thought they were adorable!!!!!!!!!

Sima Jiao and Liao Tingyan were super likable and easy to root for. SMJ's entire almost comically cartoonish abuse-torture-cannibalism backstory + extremely goated Bking level 99999 ultimate power made him the exact sort of typical male lead in a fantasy idol drama that is easy to root for. A Dream Within a Dream said it best, "Beautiful, tragic, strong." He was an imprisoned underdog I was rooting for to kill literally everyone in the 8 Palaces and raze it to the ground with spirit fire!! One of the most impactful and unforgettable scenes of the entire series is the one where he breaks free, chains everyone up and kills his oppressors. His character is great for the most part, but ultimately falls short in some ways that are personally unsatisfying to me. Falling in love with LTY was well sold and makes perfect sense. Of course this person who has been imprisoned his whole life, who has only ever been used, abused, lied to for power, would need someone who has 0 ambitions whatsoever LOL. LTY fits into what SMJ needs like a puzzle piece. She doesn't want power, or high cultivation, has no ulterior motives, and lives life for the pleasure of it- for eating good food, sleeping a good sleep, resting and playing. LTY makes him feel safe, shows him he deserves kindness and care rather than flattery and inspires him to enjoy the pleasure of living.

Ultimately though, I'm disappointed with where his character went. There were moments where it felt like he could come out of his doomed suicidal mindset because he had grown so much. Like sending LTY to her tribulation with every single defense imaginable and distancing himself from her so she could have the best chance, but ultimately owning that they were in a relationship, and ride or die, they were in this together. But at the end of the day???? Bro was so tortured he was chill with just dying. And like, tbh I get it, they dont have therapists in Xianxia world, what happened to him is so far in the realm of fantasy horrific that it's kind of unthinkable by real life standards. But like, idk, isn't the point of fantasy also that it should just be an escapist way to process a human experience/emotion? It's not like, befittingly tragic, for our hero to hate himself and his own existence so much that he is in a depressing doomer mindset and thinks his only value is dying for his lover. It's just immature emo bs. I already hate self sacrifice, and it's doubly un-romantic when the person sacrificing is already fully suicidal and has only just started to barely enjoy life. It feels like the writers want to make a message like, SMJ ISN'T that other guy w the Fengshan blood who killed himself, and he ISN'T his parents and he has the power to determine his own life and he can defy heaven and fate!! But it ultimately wasn't as great of a goal as making him tragically sad and romantic by sacrificing himself for LTY. At least by the very, very, end, he seems to have understood that doing that and hiding his plans from her was wrong, but more for the lying part. He also says things like, "We have more time" and "We've only just started" which give me hope that he's changed. But ultimately, this development isn't given enough emphasis or time. And maybe if his sacrifice happened in like, episode 20 there would've been enough time!!! But it happened in like episode 30 or something and then he had to live a whole ass lifetime with a loving mother in 2 episodes to get him there. Character growth doesn't happen naturally in the narrative, but through death and rebirth and just becoming a completely different character. That's why it's annoying!!! Wouldn't it have made more impact for SMJ to have gone through what he did, and ultimately come to believe that life was worth living without being a different person?

Liao Tingyan is super adorable and easy to root for! She is genuinely refreshing as a FL who doesn't fall prey to miscommunications, manipulative machinations, etc. etc. and pretty much always stands by and trusts SMJ. Unfortunately, something that I've found quite often now with transmigration dramas, is that the FL's character writing pales in comparison to ML's and it's true here as well. By the end of 33 episodes, I still don't really understand super deeply who she is, where she's from, why SMJ should matter SO much to her, and how exactly did he impact her life. SMJ focuses almost every ounce of his energy on making her comfortable, happy, getting her what she wants to eat, and going on vacation, is protected from harm, etc. etc. but this is all very different from seeing how he has changed her character for the better. Being nice and taking care of someone isn't really enough to warrant love. Like I said, it's easy to see why SMJ fell in love with her, the reverse is harder. And I don't think it would've taken too much??? Like even just a couple more scenes of LTY's life in the modern world, where she is expected to constantly grind and work would've helped. Like I have no idea what her family life was like, if she has friends, if she grew up poor, what hs/college were like. If she had experienced a lot of pressure in her life to be productive and be a contributing member of society, to work for survival, then it would make so much sense to fall in love w this ultra powerful guy who is just like hey slack off all you want, in fact I love that about you and that makes you valuable/important/an inspiration rather than a burden upon society. Like, okay, cool, LTY would be that much more fleshed out of a character. But they didn't do that!!!! And it would've been so easy!!! They could've even just changed her voiceover thoughts and it would've been enough!! ORRR they could've gone a diff route and had SMJ be her inspiration to no longer be a slacker, which feels a little closer to what the series was kind of going for. Like when they're in class and she starts practicing because she wants to protect him. It would've been great if they just pushed this further, and had her really commit to becoming more ambitious for SMJ. Maybe seeing that ambition/work wasn't a bad thing, because it could give her more purpose. Like that could've been another angle that made her feelings for him make more sense, idk. Instead it just feels like the writers wanted to preserve something precious about her (which is fine by itself if well written) but simultaneously make her powerful by the end so it's just plot things happening to her rather than character growth. Like it's some stupid dog blood shit that she just became a good fighter who was groomed and forced to kill by SQL. Or that she awakened the frost fish or absorbed the demon lord core or w/e and now she HAS to be powerful. None of that is real character writing, just forced change from the narrative!

The beginning of their relationship is what got me! As I said, watching them fall in love and be cute and kind and playful is so enjoyable and sweet. There's moments that really work to guide them towards a relationship like LTY telling SMJ off for using the truth spell on her all the time with SO much understanding, making space for him and his trauma while simultaneously centering her own feelings and right to privacy. She's so emotionally mature which is rare for any c-drama lead. Also! UM they actually kiss??? Which is so rare in these types of dramas like I'm so used to the main leads just gently pressing their lips and freezing while the cameral swirls around them and the romantic theme song plays. Them having more sensuality and physicality made such a huge difference and made them feel so much more like a real relationship. The problem is that the show is ultimately too weak to carry their relationship after the initial falling in love phase, meaning they fucked up their first real fight. SMJ forcing LTY to kill Zhenxu is honestly great for their relationship development and makes perfect sense for both of their characters. SMJ is ACTUALLY a morally grey ML who is a walking sea of red flags and it's so understandable that out of concern for LTY, he wants her to know how to kill so she can protect herself. In doing so, he grossly violated the one boundary she set with him since the start. This is not resolved well at all tbh, and was when I started to feel distant from the drama. Her initially asking for space was great, and then not answering when he asked how long was great too, and then he just fucking shows up anyway like a day later?! Without it being on her terms??? With a brief apology and promise to never do it again?? It makes absolutely no sense for LTY to forgive him so quickly. Like we know she's understanding, and she even says it when they argue, that she has been SO understanding of him, his backstory, his world and environment. But understanding does not mean you can forgive someone especially when that person is your PARTNER who just traumatized you for life by violating a crucial boundary. It should've taken a couple episodes at least??? Honestly would've made for so much great emotional tension if she died/they got separated while they were still fighting. It's really just not enough. She needed more time for herself to process and he needed to make it up to her in a way that showed he respected her autonomy by GIVING HER SPACE like she asked!!! Like he gave her a special pillow and now shes just not traumatized??? After that it's just like 12 more episodes of the stupid ass 3 lifecycles shit so we can't even focus on THIS relationship and it's just getting together-dying-getting together-dying again.

This is why I think the 3L3W bs is the ultimate romance killer. Just when you start to actually develop a real relationship, with real points of tension and conflict that could be worked through with character growth, someone fucking dies and they have to start over. Then the tension comes from something stupid like someone forgetting their memories, and they have to fall in love AGAIN but written worse than the first time. By the third time they don't give a shit at alllll anymore and it's like blasted through in 3 episodes. And it doesn't mean that ALL character/relationship growth is thrown out the window, but it means that this growth is severely stunted by stupid fuckery and flashbacks to the first time they fell in love. It's seriously lame as hell to force emotional reactions and sentimentality using amnesia and multiple lifetimes. And it's a serious way to make the audience no longer care when there are just NO stakes. It doesn't matter if they die because they'll just come back! It doesn't matter if they don't remember because they will eventually! SMJ and LTY honestly don't even seem that sad when they lose each other for the billionth time because death just isn't permanent in this world!!! The pacing sucks so much they'll see each other again in 20 minutes! So as a result I, as an avid watcher, who once giggled and coo'd when they did face masks together now feel NOTHING. But hey I chose to watch an idol xianxia 3L3W drama so I'm the clown I guess!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other than the romance, the rest of the characters are completely uncompelling and uninteresting in every way without much logic, not worthy of being talked about. The villains are simple but kind of fun because they are so cartoonishly simple, in particular the 8 Palaces are a fun group of villains to hate. Hypocritical and cannibalistic, going off about righteous values while abusing, torturing, SA'ing, etc. feels very true to real life political villains, so it was cathartic to see. The plot for the first 20 episodes is honestly solid. Like it's bad and melodramatic and silly but honestly??? There's something here about how dark and twisted people can be for power and greed. In some ways it felt kinda old school wuxia. I gotta say... the Blood baby breeding mountain was actually the stuff of nightmares and they honestly did a really good job with that episode. I really felt SMJ's horrific discovery, helplessness, rage and despair. The imagery of everyone in chains in a cave and the forced breeding/pregnancy/incest was a level of darkness that I've actually never seen in an idol xianxia c-drama. It was so chilling and felt like commentary on the chained woman in China (if you don't know about this, look up with caution). So I really do have to give the writers some props for taking it somewhere quite dark, and giving it the impact, trauma, and horror it deserved. After the first 20 episodes, the plot is just.... so much worse and makes so little sense. Nothing goes completely off the rails like many other dramas, but it's definitely stupid, fast paced, and nothing really has any weight or severity to it.

All in all, it's a fun time for the most part, the falling in love part is cute, it's funny, the two main leads are likable!! There's some real moments of care and compelling plot!! It's highly watchable!! Is it good??? Absolutely NOT!!!!!! Honestly if you just watch the first 20 episodes and stop there it might be for the best.

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You won't lose anything if you skip this one

This comment might not be your cup of tea so...beware!
Honestly I have been waiting for 'love beyond the grave' and ended up getting this one first. Despite everything I tried really really hard to watch this but it is beyond me how people are going crazy for such a bizarre show. (I mean yeah...there is nothing else to watch anyways) Aurthur is pretty much what he was in 'Lighter and Princess' (I really liked that one though) just change the timeline and make it magical. This type of roles suits him and I am only watching it (to a very large extent) just because of him. His cold demeanor and charming personality goes well with this character and visual-wise he is perfect for this role. Such characters do not require mind boggling acting anyways. As for FL I have seen her only in 'I am Nobody' and I really liked her in that one. If you could deal with first two episodes of that show then you are definitely in for a treat there. She played emotionless/lazy/robot like character there and it woked pretty well. The problem in this one is that she is still giving that vibe here. It usually happens when one character is emotionally restrained the other fills that gap by being a very strong level headed or bubbly or reckless sort of character. She is none. I have heard enough about chemistry here but this much chemistry is pretty much in every single drama if we go by the same rules. There are some desparate attempts at comedy and many lovey dovey scenes but I am not sure how to continue the show when there is nothing in the story to hold my interest. Side characters are completely forgettable as well. You can almost skip all of their scenes and believe me you won't miss anything. CGI is not even worth discussing. If you want to compare it then it is pretty much 'Love between fairy and devil' all over again minus CG and music. It was my fifth attempt at it where I failed miserably to continue it further. You can give it a try if you are LBFAD or main characters' fan but it is pretty much that... don't expect anything else.

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When Destiny Brings the Demon: Beautifully Made, Fatally Unoriginal

I made it to episode 25 before finally giving up on When Destiny Brings the Demon. The drama started well enough, lavish visuals, solid world-building, and a promising setup, but it quickly unraveled into clichés and recycled ideas.

The female lead is disappointingly flat, offering no real depth or growth, which made it difficult to care about her journey. The predictable amnesia arc drained what little momentum the story had left.

Worse still are the overwhelming similarities to Love Between Fairy and Devil. The dragon companion becomes a cobra, the ML reads thoughts instead of emotions, he retreats into years of seclusion after her “death” much like the 500-year dream in LBFAD, and the same inner-fire power dynamics reappear. The parallels are endless and hard to ignore.

The one major difference lies in its anticlimactic ending, predictable, constrained, and ultimately hollow. It raises the question: if certain themes and resolutions are so heavily restricted under current industry restrictions, why keep producing dramas that follow this formula, knowing the conclusion will never truly satisfy? Even with an impeccable ML performance and polished visuals, When Destiny Brings the Demon ends up as little more than a beautifully wrapped disappointment.

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