When Destiny Brings the Demon

the love story was the main character haha

The romance worked so well that it makes me want to be kinder to the show than it deserves haha.

One thing I really noticed was that death doesn't have consistent emotional weight, sometimes it's devastating, world ending tragedy and sometimes it's a mild inconvenience or plot device. There is a lack of emotional consistency. Side characters - Nianjiu/the snake, at first I was like ok, a non-human learning to be human, that's the reason he is so awkward, but it never improved/evolved, or at least I didn't feel that he did.

I really dislike that the ending is told from the start, it kills suspense and turns the drama into a waiting game for me. And omg the end, she experiences the trauma of three lifetimes and is ready to go back to work and remembers what she has to present? makes her experience less impactful.

Anyway, the love story is for sure the best of this, the female lead is modern, but not obnoxious, a strong character (but not preachy) and I loved how she accepted moral complexity (the ''you do what you must'' with the male lead).
The male lead was such a feared, tortured, emotionally articulate, but a softie inside haha, I loved it. The romance is genuinely gooood.

Read More

A few problems

I’m not sure exactly what’s wrong with WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON, but this drama just didn’t land for me–partly because it’s so simpleminded. For example, when the demon army invades the Grandmaster’s stronghold in ep. 20, the demon fighters are all dressed in black. The good guys are dressed in white. Pretty convenient.

There are many parallels in this story with LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL. There’s a dragon buddy in one, a snake buddy in the other. Fairies and demons fight each other in the first. Immortals and demons are at war in the second.

The female leads in each series are different. While Orchid is sometimes irritating in LBFAD, she’s also lovable, funny, and appealing, and she grows into a strong, impressive woman.

But the writers of WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON infantilize Tingyan. She pouts and simpers and makes eyes at Jiao. Her goal is life is to eat, drink, and try on pretty clothes. It doesn’t hit home with her until about halfway through the series that her boy is a serial killer. Also, who is this woman? Is she a demon? a reincarnated human? or a fish?

What’s motivating the ML? Power? Revenge? The attainment of higher cultivation levels? Personal animus? The villains seem like a bunch of feckless, bungling clowns. It’s hard to take them seriously. Mostly they seem like a swarm of annoying insects buzzing around Jiao’s head. Every once in awhile he brushes them all away.

Arthur Chen as Sima Jiao is disarmingly handsome, but that’s not always an advantage for someone wanting to be taken seriously as an actor. His looks make him subject to everyone’s projections. Sima Jiao, is a pit of hatred, negativity and despair– in other words, a damaged soul.

The writers need to show us how someone who’s never known a kind word, can reach into his heart and find a boatload of self-sacrificing love for Liao Tingyan, a well-meaning, not-too-bright klutz. But character motivation is missing throughout. They don’t give Chen enough to work with, I’m sorry to say–so Sima Jiao’s transformation into Mr. Wonderful isn’t convincing. Or at least it wasn’t to me.

The comedy scenes in WDBTD are repetitious and not very funny. It’s cute that Liao Tingyan keeps using 21st century lingo and 9-to-5 work metaphors in her “employment” with her “boss,” but after the third or fourth time this device gets a little old.

The characters in this drama are always telling the viewers what’s happening: “Why isn’t the Grandmaster here? Looks like he’s figured out our plan.” Or, “If I can win the Grandmaster’s favor, perhaps I can help Mother through this crisis.” Weak writing.

The special effects and CG make many scenes seem low-budget.
My greatest wish for Arthur Chen is that he can find a substantial role that truly inspires him--maybe some kind of an eccentric character–a role that he can individualize and make his own. This drama doesn’t give him that.

Read More

Love, so great, they'll always end up together.

[ when destiny brought to Sima Jiao the demon who will save him ]

I was wondering how to talk about this drama, after finishing it, I felt empty.. like something was missing..
Until I came across the final message, and it all made sense!

But still, is there any words worth of describing this unforgettable love?

Sima Jiao, and Liao Tingyan.. two people who aren't supposed to exist in that world, one is a powerful lord and the other is a demon sent to kill him, but together they are just lovers tending to each other's wounds and trying to live comfortably..
[ and no, it wasn't a dream, she just remembered her past life, and now reunited with him again in the modern world ]

tbh, I wasn't a fan of the novel before the first 10 episodes, and I tuned in just for the female lead Wang Yinglu, so I dived in without any high expectations, just satisfied with the cast.. but I got curious, so I read the og source, and I have to say that every change they made was right, enriching the plot and making their love story more special as "eternal soulmates who'll always find each other in seas of people and worlds", considering the side stories of them in different universes (ABO, vampire, ..).

On a side note, I've never seen a freakier couple than them XD completely unable of keeping their hands to themselves, kissing every two breaths, holding hands like it's their survival quest ~ and it felt so natural like there was no cameras and we're just insects in the room lol..

I love Tingyan, she so effortlessly funny and so relatable, no wonder a man like Sima Jiao is smitten by her in every timeline and universe.. no wonder she is as well..

ah.. I really don't want say goodbye to them, it's been a day already but I can't stop thinking about this silly sunshine and her childish OP suicidal sunshine protector who gave up dying just to provide her the lazy people heaven.. but goodbyes are a must, and I am mature enough to not demand a second season (that's a lie), so I'll just leave a short message for future viewers..

Live Laugh Love When Destiny Brings The Demon.

Read More

MUST WATCH IF YOU LIKE INTIMATE MOMENTS!!!

Finally!!! Drama with lots of intimate kissing scene START FROM EARLY EPISODE (I think it's start from episode 10 or more, but for me it's still early compare to other drama). No major misunderstanding.

And the most important, the male lead was very STRONG! Like CEO kind vibe with supernatural and "there's nothing I cannot do" vibe. I know that many Chinese Drama had strong male lead. But in this drama, even after many things happen, he still came strong! LOVE LOVE LOVE.

p.s. I also like the smile on male lead, the smile looks very sweet in his face

Unfortunately, there's also some flaw that made me little bit sad... for example when FL was gone for good for 2 times. For the first time, the grief losing a lover was not shown. But idk, maybe because ML thought that he could search for FL in 3 lifetimes? But I still could see ML 'little' tears while losing a lover. While the second time, the scene move forward to modern world without showing what's happening to ML in wuxia world. The acting scene where ML de*d also need improvement, because it's a bit rushing, as we the viewer didn't grief much about that. Also for the ending, it's a little bit rushing, as I say, the scene just move forward to the modern story.

But.. overall I like the story. So.. 9 for me

Read More

could be better, but I enjoyed it.

After Lighter and Princess, I was waiting for Chen Feiyu to make a strong comeback. This drama wasn’t a breakout hit, but the chemistry was on fire!

It genuinely felt like the leads were real lovers. I enjoyed every romantic scene, even though there were a lot of unnecessary kissing moments.
This was my first time watching the female lead, and she did a great job, especially in the comedy scenes, which made the first part of the drama very engaging. However, I personally didn’t like the plot after she lost her memories. I really hate amnesia storylines. Still, I finished the drama, so it was good enough for me overall.
The drama also has an excellent OST that fits every scene perfectly, featuring many great artists.
In the end, it’s okay,not bad, not great. Just right. Enjoyable for the romance and the vibe, but not for the plot.

Read More

Take all the classic ingredients of the Xianxia in a fresh and highly entertaining.

From the first episode, the high quality of the production is evident. The costumes are marvelous, full of detail and color, which greatly helps immerse you in the story. The special effects are very well done, believable, and add a spectacular touch to the action and magic scenes without seeming over-the-top.

Chen Feiyu, besides having an imposing presence and being very handsome, brings his character to life with the necessary depth. But the revelation for me was Wang Yinglu. It was the first time I saw her act, and I was enchanted. She is very beautiful, and her performance was excellent; she managed to make her character comprehensible, not at all heavy, and gave it just the right touch of charisma and strength. And the fact that her character came from the "outside world" and uttered modern phrases the other characters didn't understand created some very comedic moments and a unique dynamic. This clever contrast added a novel twist to the typical xianxia plot. The romance was one of the story's pillars and was very well developed. The chemistry between the protagonists was palpable, and it was appreciated that they weren't shy with their displays of affection. The kisses (and there were plenty of them) were a success, believable, and satisfying for those of us looking for a good love story.

If I had to point to something that left me with a bittersweet taste, it would be the ending. While it's emotional and brings the main arc to a close, I would have liked to see more of their reunion in "normal life." A slightly longer scene showing how they begin their new life together, after so much suffering, would have been the perfect, well-rounded conclusion. I was left longing for a more detailed epilogue.

Read More

Beautiful and funny but...

A 33 episode long journey that felt like 103 episodes. It moved so slow, and yet, so much happened within those 33 episodes, it's kind of surreal. Ibenjoyed the characters and the fantasy world was neat, but there was just too many plot points and overly emotional moments packed in there (kind of like someone had a limit of one suitcase so they crammed everything in, jumped on in, and laid on top of it to zip it closed.) The result was my eyes rolling at yet another life and death scene, a final few episodes that had me tapping my watch to be sure it hadn't stopped, and a very cliche and predictable ending.

That said, I loved the cast, loved the music, costumes, scenery, and cinematography.

Read More

everything is great except the ending

I was a HUGE fan of this drama for two reasons: the FL lead is super unconventional and the relationship dynamic is so addicting. Normally, I hateeee time travel/alternate universe plots, but the modern-day FL literally escapes the drone of capitalist society by accidentally transmigrating to an ancient cultivation world. Her mind and memories are still intact, though, so her commentary throughout this process is HILARIOUS. Literally all the FL wants is a vacation. She isn't here for the drama or the theatrics, she literally just wants to eat good food and get good rest.

I did start to waver a TEENY BIT around episode 19/20 because of the plot twist that determined the last 13 episodes. It definitely was still interesting and entertaining, but I was not as big of a fan as I was in the beginning. It's a classic case of starting really strong and setting the bar too high, only to struggle to keep up the momentum by the end. I still liked the second half of the drama, just not as much as I liked the first half.

The relationship dynamic is great. The FL is sunny and witty, while the ML is a bit nonchalant (at first). When they start to fall for each other, its soooo satisfying to see their personalities change to compliment one another. I love how obsessed they become with each other too—emotionally and PHYSICALLY.

I didn't like the ending. I don't have much else to say without spoiling. I just didn't like it.

Read More

I wanted it to end until I didn't want it to end

This drama had all the potential to stand proudly in my top three 2025 cdramas. It even came close to becoming the best (imo) but then the second half of the drama came and what I thought was soo funny and dark became a boring soap series with an unending cycle of drama.

When Destiny brings the Demon starts out following the story of Zhou Yan, a girl form the modern days, who gets into a car crash and sinks into the body of Liao Tingyan whom lives in the world of cultivators and demons. She's a disciple to a minor clan and is chosen to be send to the palace of the Grandmaster (Sima Jiao) along with 99 other ladies. Her slacker attitude and lazy agenda intrigues this Grandmaster because everyone in his entire life has been out to get him killed. But she seems to hold no grudge or fear against him and so the two become close. During many attempts of assassination, Tingyan sticks by her master and proves to him she's not among the assassins and that she means him no harm. Her humor and honesty triggers warmth in him and his cold demeanor begins to fall around her. It's the start of one of the most epic love stories I have seen in cdramas so far.

At first I wasn't sure I could stick to the drama due to the bad special effects and costuming. It gave off a cheap vibe and I couldn't look past it when the Grandmaster's snake started to change size every other second. In one shot it was gigantic and the next second it felt tiny in comparison. The budget didn't even allow for Tingyan to hold onto a saddle when flying a crane. It was a green screen, and a pretty obvious one at that. The costuming looked bad too.
Thankfully, it got better. I see now that most of the budget (at least.. I think it did) went to the fights scenes which are done very well when it comes to special effects.

The story contains a couple of very heavy themes such as: cannibalism and human breeders. It got so dark at one point I couldn't believe they actually showed this on TV. I have never seen anything like it before in anything I have ever seen. I'm glad the female lead got to use her humor to lighten up the episodes every now and then. It created a nice balance of utter shock during the darker tones of the series in between the light and hilarious senes with Tingyan. I absolutely loved the show and it kept getting better and better with each episode until the 20th somewhat episode. The main characters end up losing each other during a great battle and Tingyan is swept towards the Demon realm where she undergoes a Soul Cleansing and we enter a long run of episodes with an amnesia trope.

This is where it all goes down hill.

The story just becomes laughable at that point. Most of the plotpoints get dragged out too much, the amnesia takes way too long to fix itself and our beloved couple spends too long apart. And when they do finally meet, Tingyan doesn't recognise him and even wants him dead. Mostly.. And when she does finally remember him she ends up killing him and it just snowballs into more drama. It felt like something straight out of a soap series and I couldn't help but laugh at everything that happened after that. Especially when we entered another amnesia plot but this time turned around. It was his time to forget everything.... I just wanted the show to end and was happy when I got to the last episode. It was finally going to be over, I thought...

But then I started to crave for more.

I liked the ending. I really do, but I wish they could have shortened a lot of the unnecessary plots in the Demon realm and had more time for the ending. It felt rushed, it felt unfinished and now I'm left with wanting more of a show that I wanted so desperately to end.

Positives:
- That chemistry was electrifying!! I adored the main leads and they adored each other.
- The amount of kisses (and more) in this show was amazing. Usually in dramas all we get is a few kisses and most of them not even deep. But this show gave me all the steam I wanted and more.
- The acting. At first I had to get used to some of the cast members and their acting style but they caught me gradually.
- The (dark) humor in the show was a nice counterweight to all the dark themes.
- A romance done right. The couple, although they did keep secrets, were very communicative with each other so less misunderstandings, no real love-triangles where jealousy became a fourth person or breaks-ups. They were devoted to each other and only each other.
- The first half of the show is the best.
- Chen Feiyu is an incredible actor. The way he portrays his emotions nearly ended me.

Negatives:
- The story became draggy in the later half of the show.
- The female lead can come accross as very dull and dumb sometimes due to her lazy attitude. It makes her seem weak. In the later half of the show she's supposed to be this badass powerful cultivator almost equal to the Grandmaster but we only get to see her do some weak magic. In any other case she nearly always faints or gets hured. She's the classic damsel-in-distress. I would have loved to see her protect her man instead of always being the one who needs saving.
- They use a lot of repetitive themes such as amnesia, reincarnation (I stopped caring if anyone died because practically everyone comes back once or twice) and power struggles.
- They should've given us more time in the real world. It's great to know she's found him again in the real world but I would've liked to know if he got to remember her too. (I really hate amnesia tropes)
- There were some major plot holes. Especially with the second time jump. No one can convince me snakey boy waited 19 years to propose to the love of his life. Or that Tingyan managed to rule both the Demon and Immortal Realms for that many years due to the people believing she killed the Grandmaster when she's obviously mourning him.

Overal I did like this drama. It was a fun watch and I do think I will watch it again sometime but I would skip the later half of the show and just pretend Tingyan's first death is the official ending continued by her going back to the real world.
I do recommend this one. Especially if you're in for a more dark toned drama that's still a lot of fun to watch and are not bothered by dumbed down characters.

Read More

Good one

*"When Destiny Brings the Demon - Long For Fish" is a romantic drama. It doesn’t have the flavor of demons and their magic, even though the male and female protagonists are demons.

After watching two or three episodes, I felt the drama was boring and wondered why the protagonist had chosen to act in it. However, after watching more episodes, I became intrigued by their chemistry. The love story they portrayed was so emotional that I was completely captivated by their performance, and I continued watching.

I liked the other characters and their performances too, especially the male protagonist’s bodyguard, the serpent, and his love story. However, I felt a little disappointed that the drama didn’t have a satisfying ending. They didn’t include many plots toward the end; the drama only focused on the leads and their story. I still felt that the leads should have had some dialogues before the ending."*

One more thing I want to say about the drama that is it has mesmerising musics and songs.

Read More

Great leading couple, everything else is background

Flash review--

THE GOOD

The leading couple is everything in this. Their portrayal. Their chemistry. The way they treat each other (except--). Just a pleasure to watch.

Some fun magic.

The FL characterization is just fun.

The 2ML is a cutie both in appearance and his characterization

THE UNREMARKABLE

Pretty much everyone else in this are painted in shades of gray. And it kinda works? Like, it mostly just forces the focus to stay on the leads and that is great because they are wonderful

But seriously, almost any time there's another character, I'm like "who is that" followed by "why do i care" but blessedly also followed by "oh good they're offscreen again quickly, back to the leads"

THE BAD

There is some really unpleasant plot stuff about halfway through. And unfortunately it isn't brief, it drags on for multiple episodes, way longer than it needed to.

Multiple times the FL is sidelined or has her agency removed. Really frustrating, especially when she's carrying the series.

Read More

Want Overall review go ahead

Without any spoilers
Here are some pointers:
*Good series, story is good at least.
*All actors are beautiful and handsome. Did a good job.
* Editing is a little poor in the first few episodes, but after that, it's all good.
* CGI and all other departments did their job well.
* God bless no rush ending.
* for the first time experienced dual cultivation as it is. It's sensual
*The ending makes you want more episodes especially when the male lead is this handsome
If only they added more modern world stories of theirs.

Read More