Till the End of the Moon (2023)

A repetitive tale of lies and deceptions

This Xianxia drama focus on the intertwined fate of Tantai Jin, the demon Lord and and Li Su Su who goes on a quest into the past to destroys him while he is still in human form. I found the premise of the series very interesting as the main lead is almost a "Cinderella" weak hero at first before becoming more and more cunning. It is almost a character study about wickedness and how a jinxed fate can entrap someone into the way of evil. I also loved the heroine from start: a strong and intelligent female lead which does not sound or act like a child: a real breath of fresh air.

Unfortunately, the drama was not able to keep me interested all across its 40 episodes. There are some narrative arcs that I found less exciting. Some of the plotlines felt repetitive to me even if the timelines are different. There were always lies and deceptions between the main leads, conducting to so many misunderstandings. Some could have been easily avoided by communicating and trusting each other...It really frustrated me to see what felt as very low progress on that side as mistakes were repeated and repeated again.

The acting was quite good overall. Sometimes I felt that a few characters were a bit heavy-handed in terms of acting. Other than the main lead, the actors playing "villains" roles made it so obvious from scratch that they were bad guys, I would have appreciated a bit more subtlety in the acting and in the writing for those parts. Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi carried the show on their backs, when I felt a bit bored during some arcs, it is their charisma that brought me back to care about the fate of their characters.

The production value was quite good, I like the variety in the costumes depending on the realms in which the characters were evolving. The special effects were not that great, especially the CGI animals. Some of the decors could have been better as they felt a bit plastic to me. I quite enjoyed the OST: there were a few good songs balancing well with the epic part of the story.

I would recommend this to people that love Xianxia drama. Even if it is a recent one, it certainly feels like a staple in the genre. There is a lot of qualities to the series overall but it unfortunately did not work enough for me to enjoy it all throughout my watch. There were a lot of things repetitive in the story that either frustrated me or bored me. The noble idiocy trope is a pet peeve of mine and I must say there was clearly too much of it for me in this show.

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Emotional Rollercoaster

My thoughts after immediately finishing the drama. Just word vomit.

With all the suffering the ML goes through, his heart is still pure and true (even his master and Susu's Dad said so!!!), and yet in the end, he has to die and pay for sins he did not commit. I was hoping karma would do its magic and have him become a God after dying as the Devil T_T since the dragon in Bore's life indicated there's a fine line between him becoming a God vs Devil, meaning he could have become a God! I also got really upset that the evil do-ers didn't get what they deserved, while the good suffered. Also, it was so odd go the female lead kept going back and forth with her hate and love towards the ML. I'm like, if you believed in him, maybe he didn't have to become to Devil, but at the end you understand, this is his so-called destiny. Ugh, my heart.

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Excellent acting, Satisfying visuals

I can't describe how many times I was in awe whenever I saw Luo Yun Xi's acting on screen, his facial expression really gets you in the story. Have never connected as much with a devil before. Despite knowing he's a devil, Luo Yun Xi as an actor is able to bring you to symphatize with him, feel the pain that the character went through.

The chemistry between the leads were great as well, especially between Tan Tai Jin and Ye Xi Wu, both were very natural that you'll keep wanting for more romantic scenes from them.

As for the storyline, you may expect to watch a very romance-based plot throughout the episodes, pretty satisfying if you are someone who prefers romance over a general story plot. The front episodes were very well-written that intrigues you into the story, the mid till the end episodes were the most heart-wrenching, but you'll still watch it till the end. The visuals were stunning, you can tell the editors put a lot of effort in it. Really depicts the beauty of Chinese fantasy realms.

I don't really write reviews, but I really really wanna applaud Luo's acting in this drama ranging from his expressions even to his fighting scenes, he really shine throughout the drama for me. There were a lot of hate going on in Weibo towards him for being too "skinny" for the role, but for me, it makes perfect sense with his look corresponding to his role. So big big kudos to the actors and actresses in this drama, they've done a really good job in this drama.

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This sets a precedent for all future cdramas.

First and foremost, the effort put into the clstume design, setting, cgi, effects etc are clearly seen through the absolute breathtaking scenes. The makeup and accessories were perfect and accentuated the characters' personality.

Plot: It was simply near perfection. The only thing was the rushed ending for me, hence the 9.5 for plot. The side characters could be a bit more fleshed out at the end, however it was rushed possibly due to the limit of 40eps, cutting out scenes. Main cpl had a beautiful love/hate relationship and I LOVE LOVE how it was so complex and explored. None of the terribly cliched tropes (e.g. trip and kiss) come up in this series, and instead we get a forgiving and completely loving ML and a smart and kind-hearted FL.

I have cried many times watching this, especially for our poor ML as well as some side characters. The complex emotions and thoughts I had when I understood yet hated all the misunderstandings, has really made it unforgettable to me.

BaiLu and LuoYunXi were absolutely fantastic eith their acting, with even miniscule movements or expressions showing hundreds of hidden feelings. They have managed to portray so many different characters and personalities perfectly, really superb skills.

The OST was beautiful and always played at the right times. The music in general are all enjoyable and adds the right atmosphere to scenes.

If you're still hesitating, don't. This is the best romance cdrama to have yet existed, and it's on a far different level than all others. Hopefully future producers will take a page from this series, and grow up from their current overused tropes and plotlines.

One thing - this series is OE. For me, I interpretted it as a HE but it may differ for others. But it is implied more to be a HE in the series. I do wish happiness for our ML.

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An epic story that suffered from being cut and edited

Till the End of the Moon had the potential to be amazing, but unfortunately it didn't stick the landing. The first 1/3 of the show had me hooked. I know the show had to be cut down to fit 40 episodes, but as a result, the quality really dropped in my opinion.

A 7.5 rating is me being generous in this case. It felt like the pieces of the story were out of order and being thrown together in a non-cohesive fashion. Which character is randomly popping up next? Let us tell you what happened to lead to this event after we show you the result. Why introduce unnecessary "???" moments? In some instances in other suspense and mystery dramas it works out, but here I just felt like it wasn't necessary to delay the explanations (like why Tantai Jin appeared at XXX location). I noticed the awkward cuts and fades in between scenes and I really can't think of another drama where I consciously thought to myself, "wow, this editing is bad."

I don't have a huge problem with the way the show ended in general - but I am in the camp of feeling like we could've benefited from more closure, more revelation, just more. It's sad.

I went into this show without any expectations and, after seeing it be really good, I developed hopes that it would continue to shine. The music is great and the imagery was as well. All in all, it isn't a bad drama and I enjoyed watching it - but I can't overlook the unrefined and messy storytelling and presentation of the latter half.

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Just watch this! Its next level for Xianxia genre

Surprisingly emotionally complex and relatable despite being deep in the fantasy genre. Of course, it has all the action, beauty and effects of high-budget C-dramas, but the actors are bringing subtle, multi-layered performances that makes the drama so much more sophisticated and intriguing.

ML Luo Yunxi's acting has come a long way since Ashes of Love - he is a master of subtle expressions from slightly sadistic, sociopathic smirks to pure, open-hearted joy. His characters are each uniquely portrayed, complex and spellbinding. Just wow. Watch for him alone - you'll forget he's even Luo Yunxi.

FL is excellent and the dynamic between them is unpredictable.

Plot twists galore and a fast pace so you won't be skipping - in fact, I keep rewinding because the visuals are so strong I forgot to read the subtitles.

This sets the bar for a whole new quality level in Xianxia. I expect it will outshine "Eternal Love" and other classics and get picked up on Netflix, etc, for wider Western audiences.

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How great this could've been

I know, I know, writing a review at the halfway mark without knowing what comes next is wrong. But the fact that they've already messed it up till here makes me want to write one. I will update this review if things change.
So, here's my impression of the first 24 episodes.

I feel like they really could've had it all but I think they got lost somewhere trying to balance the scales.
I have read the novel, and might be a bit biased but LSS doing all sorts of things to go against TTJ when all she had to do was talk seems a bit excessive.

The scene when TTJ sees LSS lose it, right before she teleports is probably the only things that's kept me glued to my seat. Because that spit second when TTJ goes all solemn when let's out that painful scream tells you that he knows the feeling of losing everything, of being pushed to the brink of hate. The only things is he found solace in the evil because it gave him power to protect himself. He probably would've offed himself only if so many attempts at his life hadn't already been made. Like we saw in that dream, he wasn't alive because he wanted to, but because others wanted him dead so he stubbornly persevered on and kept himself alive.

They made TTJ more human, and I truly appreciate them for this. Here we can see him understand the feeling of love and then get betrayed in the worst way possible and Yunxi is just *chef's kiss*

But then what happened to them when they adapted LSS? She started off amazingly well as someone who was on a mission, with all her pain and suffering and just trying to survive and save TTJ. But then how did she get dumber and dumber as the story progressed? She's confused in her feelings and wants the spikes to form ASAP so that this can end. BUT on the other end, she's secretly helping XL break out of prison, completely unnecessary might I add, that will effectively dissolve all the previously formed spikes and take her back to square one?

And pleading for and taking YBS home on the very day that she's about to drung TTJ? Like really sis? She betrayed her husband for her so-called survival, showed off her affections with TTJ while being married to XL, but one smile and good talk with her and it's all water under the bridge. Her logic being that if she had everything then she wouldn't have turned bad but then isn't that the case with TTJ too? She saw him being betrayed time and again and almost lose his life to the people that were supposed to protect him but nope, he's gonna turn bad the moment he takes a misstep.

I kinda liked the novel LSS more, where she's living this life like a third-party, existing because of her mission and only showing kindness to the ones that were good to her. She gave no f's to YBS and even found out about her evil intentions and while she did love TTJ, she wasn't constantly hot and cold with him. And TTJ saw that, which was why he was always looking for ways to bind her to him because he knew that if she wants, she can go away and never come back. That desperation pushed him to madness.

I will watch this to the end because my god was that opening incredible. And I'm kinda still rooting for them despite the u-turns that they've taken. And YunLu is love so no way I'll leave halfway through.

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Could have been better.

I don't hate nor do I like it that much. TTEOTM did good in exploring the depth of their plot, it had a great start and a somewhat okay ending. The problem of this drama is that towards the end their main focused were only the main couple which is Li Susu and Tantai Jin. I guess yeah, they're the main so they should focus on these two but it lead to not giving closure to the other characters in the drama. The last episode seems a bit rushed, there were no closure on Gongye Jiwu's, Monu's, Baiyu's and Immortal Sect's ending. This was a bit disappointing because it did good in delivering the storyline/plot of the drama in the earlier episodes but in the end it kind of lost its touch. Also Qingyu being alive 500 years later? I mean I guess it was because of Pianran but they could have tell a bit more about Qingyu, what happen to him in those 500 years. Monu saved Jiwu, and then what happened? We never know. Tantai Jin saved Yiyue tribe but what happened to Baiyu? Where did he go to? There's so many question left unanswered. However, I rate it a seven because after all of that, I still enjoyed watching it. The chemistry of every couple was magnificent, I CRIED FOR EVERY COUPLE! ESPECIALLY PIANRAN AND QINGYU, MY SLOWBURN BABIES!!! The acting was damn good too but its funny how every episode there must be one or two cough out blood. Like that's the whole ass plot.

Anyways, would I recommend this? Yes. Would I watch it again? Yes and No. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Do I love this series? Yes and No. Because honestly, this drama has destroy my trust. It gives me trust issues like literally. So I guess, buckle up and get ready for your trust to be crushed.

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