Till the End of the Moon

Till the End of the Moon is not a drama you simply watch it’s one you absorb.

At its core is a story about fate, choice, and the cost of compassion. Luo Yunxi delivers a haunting, deeply restrained performance as Tantai Jin, making silence, stillness, and inner conflict feel devastatingly loud. Equally powerful is Bai Lu, who anchors the entire narrative with a rare kind of strength calm, principled, emotionally intelligent. Her Li Susu is not reactive or naive; she is resolute, morally grounded, and unwavering even when love demands unbearable sacrifice.

What elevates the drama further is the ensemble cast, each member inhabiting their role with conviction, adding texture and emotional weight to every timeline and realm. No character feels wasted; every arc contributes to the larger tragedy and meaning of the story.

The drama refuses easy comfort. Love does not undo trauma, goodness does not erase darkness, and sacrifice does not promise reward. Yet within that refusal lies its beauty the quiet belief that choosing kindness, even once, can echo across eternity.

Imperfect, emotionally demanding, and unforgettable
Till the End of the Moon earns both its pain and its poetry. Damn I am not getting over this soon.

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Against all odds

To me, this was a powerful story of free will and choice even when the odds are all stacked against you.
As I see it, Tan Tai Jin is not evil, and surprisingly sane sane if you look at his circumstances.
When we first see him he is getting tortured - which, as we soon find out, is his normal way of living. And he looks at this with a stoic resilience.
He is said to be evil from birth, but though we hear this repeated over and over, it is not what we see.
In a way, his story is similar to that of Wei Wuxian in the Untamed, where he remains evil in the eyes of the "people" regardless s of what he does.
But in this unforgiving and bleak life of his, Tan Tai Jin gets help in tbe most unexpected way, when Lin Susu is sent back in time to kill him. While in theory, this is just her mission, she can't help but start treating him in a decent, humane way, which TTJ first cannot really think with, as it never happened to him before. But as time goes by, Susu becomes the one ray of light in his life that he holds onto and that ends up changing both of their lives like no one would have expected.
I think this is a great story very beautifully filmed, with lovable characters. Ultimately, despite all the pain and trials this is a story of the power of love.

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good angst at the cost of butchering the female lead

i started this show sometime in may.......it took me 7 months to finish this?!?!

i would have given this show 4/5 stars but they completely ruined it with the last few episodes.
they had good angsty enemies to lovers/doomed love moments but that all came at the expense of butchering the female lead.

we have a good setup and backstory for our lead's journey, him being the devil lord who killed the whole world and her being the pure spirit sent back in time to save the world. we had a good opportunity to see a complex and conflicted journey of falling in love and deciding to choose your own path.
i felt like there were too many filler scenes/storylines which could have been avoided to give space for our lead's to develop a bit more strongly.
like yes we get it tantai jin has had a bad life, his life is epitome of miserable and this pain is what activates the devil lord, so yes we can see his reservations about love and everything. but li susu is supposed to have way more reservations and feel more complicated. she has to see the face which killed everyone she loved and try to prevent the ruin of the whole world, that too alone. we should have seen more of her being conflicted about what she feels towards him, her wondering if she is making the wrong decision by loving him etc. instead we spent a lot of time seeing tantai jin's pain, which yes is needed but i felt like it went on for too long.
tantai jin's character is consistent and his changes makes sense according to his journey. but li susu changed drastically at random points just to get the plot moving. this is very evident in the last few episodes i.e the part after she exchanges her divine essence with the evil bone and reawakens. she was so serious at first, ignoring tantai jin and separating from him for world peace and then she is suddenly very playful with him and then gets drunk and misses out on an important mission. she was conveniently missing from the episodes at the end where major stuff happens, i think we have an episode where she is only present for 10 mins. her life as ye xiuw with tantai jin was also confusing cause we never get a clear idea on what her plan is and every time she is around tantai jin she acts 'cute' (almost baby-ish). we never get a true sense of what she feels about him or whether she is thinking about her duty. her trying to save xiao lin (which then leads to hell) was sooooo confusing to me. even if u want the story to revolve around tantai jin only, li susu needs to be a strong and consistent character cause she is the main reason for his change. also i kinda hated the way the devil lord was so easily re-activated....like wdym li susu time travelled and did all that with no help for it to not matter that much

the angsty parts were good, especially ye xiuw's death. the lore is pretty good and well developed.
them not being able to stay together in every iteration of their soul is insane. matter of fact NO COUPLE got to stay together. everyone died at some point. my least fave might be ye bingchang and xiao lin, they did add much to the story and bringing them back didn't do anything. they should have brought my girl pianran back though

the cgi was not that good to me and at certain times and many of those battle scenes were not needed imo. the ending is good for such a complicated story

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Dramatic and Tragic Love Story

TTEOTM is like Chips. You know it's gonna destroy you sooner or later but you keep reaching out for more.

Personally, I thought the plot was fantastic and engaging. Across 40 episodes, viewers were offered various dynamics such as the normalcy in Sheng, the power strife in Jing, the war among Gods & Devils in the Enlightened Dream & the life in XY/HY Sect. Countary to some reviews, I fully resonated with most of the decisions made by LSS & TTJ and found it relatable - the conflict in killing a potential threat even though he has not done anything wrong yet & the difficulty in fully trusting the goodness in someone without fear of being betrayed (when your whole life has been a shit show).

Although I thought the pacing was general alright, it is undeniable that the XY/HY sect arc & ending was rushed. The slow phase in the intial arcs really allowed viewers to build strong attachment for TTJ/YXW culminating in the eventually betrayal/sacrifice of YXW. In contrast, I felt the writers did not provide a long enough runway for viewers to build the same adoration for CJM & LSS - which caused the final sacrifice by CJM to not reach the emotional heights of the sacrifice of YXW. Personally, I didn't mind the sad ending but I felt it would have been even more touching if LSS only found out about CJM's sacrifice (that he didn't kill anyone) after she killed him. I wished I could have seen LSS more touched/desparate - much like how TTJ went crazy after YXW died.

TTEOTM was also guilty of overplaying some of the basic CDrama troupes such as miscommunication. Oh my god were some of the characters frustrating - such as Mingye FULLY knowing Sangjiu has no friends in the Immortal realm (since she stayed home all the time) and hence no one to help with her dispelling demonic essence, yet STILL decides to trust an obviously obsessive Tian Huan??? Honestly, I wished LSS & CJM could have worked together in the end rather than always trying to "protect" each other by not letting them know anything zzz. And my god were there an insane amount of blood spitting. I thought some of the reviews were over-reacting but I could hardly get past 1 eps without MULTIPLE characters vomitting blood esp in the last 15 eps.

Casting was definitely the strongest point for TTEOTM. Both Bai Lu & Luo Yun Xi are fantastic in their roles and the chemistry between both is mouthwatering - the loving gazes between them both just gives me shivers all the time. Side characters such as Pian Ran, YQY, XL & YBC were also fleshed out just enough - though their individual endings were a complete mess for me. I personally love the Sisterhood between Pian Ran & YXW and wished they wouldn't have killed off such a strong character so early. XL & YBC's love story could have also been developed better - I felt writers could play much more into XL's conflict between saving Sheng & protecing YBC - XL felt way too one-dimensional, and honestly he didn't do much for XBC anyways...

None of the OSTs were exceptionally memorable besides the one by Huang Xiaoyun.

Overall, I would recommend TTEOTM as a Watch. Despite the tragic love stories, I felt the chemistry and relationship building is worth the pain. Pro tip: If you can't bear the sad ending, just stop at Ep 35!

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Amazing cast with a lackluster story

Overall this drama is pretty good. It's bingable and it might make you shed a few tears. However, it also has some problems that brings it down. The problems aren't that big of a deal, but it still affects the enjoyability of the drama if you don't ignore it. The good does overshadow the bad, but the bad is still quite prominent.

I split the drama into 4 parts. I will be referencing these 4 parts throughout my review.
Sheng kingdom ( the beginning), Jing Kingdom rise to power/Bo're dream (middle pt1), Fall of Sheng Kingdom (middle pt2), Immortal realm (end).

The Good:
1. Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu have amazing chemistry. Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu's interactions are the best part. I loved the way they portrayed their characters. Their expressions convey their emotions very well. Luo Yunxi is absolutely captivating as Tan Taijin. Bai Lu gives Ye Xiwu/Li Susu such a strong aurora.

2. Cast is really good. Luo Yunxi & Bai Lu (the whole cast really) have great chemistry. If it wasn't for them, I might have dropped this drama halfway through.

3. The costumes are stunning. Not a single costume was bad (as a whole). Some props looked iffy (the demon king's mask) but it's easy to ignore. Everything looked immaculate and represented the characters well.

4. The OST has some good songs. The OST had a lot of songs but only 3 stood out to me, but those 3 songs are really good. It fits the mood in the drama.

The Bad:
1. The story has a lot of plot holes and other miniscule problems. Every once in a while you'll see a scene and wonder "Why and how is this happening?" There are multiple spots where something just magically happens because the plot needs it. Most of these are towards the end. I know they had to cut 16 or so episodes so maybe that's why.
The pacing is also not amazing. Sheng Kingdom (beginning) was exciting, but then things slow down dramatically when we get to the Bo’re dream. The Bo’re dream was really lengthy and it felt unnecessary to dedicate so many episodes to it.

2. The conflict is repetitive. The conflict of middle pt 1 and middle pt 2 (around 25-30 episodes in total) is mainly miscommunication from Tan Taijin and Ye Xiwu. They fall out multiple times and then forgive each other because the past is the past (and because Tan Taijin is a sucker for Ye Xiwu). It gets old real fast when I can predict that Ye Xiwu's actions will make her and Tan Taijin fall out. Sometimes the miscommunication is so frustrating because it would have been fixed if one of them just clarified/trusted each other more. Miscommunication, or rather the lack of communication, still happens towards the end (although it was not as frustrating).

3. Character's thought processes are questionable sometimes. In a lot of instances, I question why Tan Taijin isn't more paranoid about Ye Xiwu. Other characters bring this up too but it's just dismissed as Tan Taijin liking Ye Xiwu . I know he lacks love and what not but come on? She tried to kill you (and almost succeeded) and then said some of the most hurtful things to you, when all you’ve done was to try and make her happy. Why do you chase after her despite all this? When they’re in the immortal realm, Li Susu didn't seem to want to associate with Tan Taijin very much anymore, but then after a single episode of minimal development between the two she suddenly loves him. The end felt like I missed 2 episodes of development.

4. CGI is very hit or miss. Sometimes it looks really good (by cdrama standard) but a lot of times it looks terrible. The cgi in the first 1 episode made me laugh. It looked like something out of a 2000s kids show. It does get better but sometimes the effects just look like jpeg images.

5. Voice dub doesn’t always match up with the mouth. I watched TTEOTM on youtube so the quality isn’t exactly top notch. Maybe it’s only a youtube problem but sometimes (rarely) the sound of the actors’ are completely out of sync with the movement of their mouth.

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Addicting but has too many timelines

I honestly didn't expect this drama to get me as addicted to it as it did but the first couple episodes were very good and got me extremely invested in the drama. I really like the cast and the acting, especially Luo Yun Xi whom I've watched in A Life Time Love before and whose character was actually my favourite there. He sure did not disappoint me here either and I do really enjoy watching him whenever he's on the screen. I also liked Bai Lu's role here quite a lot, especially since her character doesn't seem as incapable as a lot of female Lead roles in c dramas often seem to be. Also, since I've started another drama where the following aspect is bugging me enough that I'm contemplating on dropping it, I realized that I'm very thankful to the fact that they didn't give her a high and cutesy voice but a normal one. Another personal favourite of mine is Sun Zhen Ni as Pian Ran. I've never seen her in a drama before, and I liked her role and performance here a lot.

Now on to things I did not quite enjoy: The timelines. There are four of them which is quite confusing at times. I personally needed to give these timelines names so I could make more or less sense of it:
1 The Original (Li Susu)
2 The Past (Tantai Jin and Ye Xiwu)
3 Way Back/Bo're Life (Ming Ye and Sang Jiu)
4 The Changed Original (Li Susu and Cang Jiumin)

Personally, while I've really enjoyed watching The Original and The Past I didn't really like Way Back and skipped most of it, though ended up watching the first two or so episodes and the last one or two episodes (pretty sure it was episodes 16 and 17) while fast forwarding a lot to be able to get the gist of the plot there. The Changed Original I did enjoy a lot at first, but there are some characters and side plot lines that I didn't really like. Thankfully towards the end the reason why these characters and plotlines got screen time became clear though. All in all I did enjoy the drama a lot and I might rewatch it some time.

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A Visual Masterpiece Undone by Weak Storytelling and Performances

Till the End of the Moon is visually stunning, with impressive CGI and a beautiful original soundtrack that sets the tone perfectly for its fantasy setting. The special effects are among the best seen in recent historical xianxia dramas, and the music lingers in your mind long after the episode ends.

However, while the technical aspects shine, the characters and story fall short in several areas. The male lead, though charismatic, appears overly thin and is often buried under heavy, exaggerated makeup that distracts rather than enhances his performance. The female lead, despite having moments of emotional intensity, doesn’t quite deliver the depth her role requires, making it hard to fully connect with her journey.

The biggest issue lies in the script itself. While the premise is ambitious and full of potential, the narrative struggles with coherence and a troubling portrayal of values and relationships. The drama attempts to explore fate, sacrifice, and love, but its take on morality and personal growth can feel confusing or even problematic at times.

Overall, Till the End of the Moon is a visual feast, but its storytelling and character development leave much to be desired. Worth watching for the aesthetics—just don’t expect too much in terms of emotional or philosophical depth.

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SCAPEGOATING & BETRAYAL STUDY OR… MANUAL?

“Once you fall for someone, you are no longer indestructible” (Jing Lan An)

Below is an evaluative analysis of some themes detected. As I have no evil bone, my appraisals revolve around the creators’ intentions, to a lesser extent around content or methods. Art is expected to elevate those ready to fly & leave the flightless in peace till they can take wing. It should not reinforce or initiate anti-ethical traits.

MDL does not provide a scale “Ethical value,” so I use the “Rewatch value” to subtract points for any anti-ethical potential, even unintentional. After all, only morally robust works deserve (re-)watching. Technically, the story, acting & music are on a very high level, little to subtract, but the general impression is laden with moral reservations.

TOUCHSTONE OF TRUTH
Main topic is the struggle to the last drop of hope, strength & free will to remain decent in face of the greatest adversity – betrayal. While Tan Tai Jin passes the trial with surplus, yielding more trust & honesty than his environment has earned, it is Ye Xi Wu & her sect (except Zhao You & Qu Xuan Zi) to fail at this touchstone.

WILL WITHIN FATE OR FATE WITHIN WILL
“The Devil God wasn’t born to be evil. His past is his only weakness” – hears Li Su Su in the void. Then it gets contradicted.

If the community had not been vexing Tan Tai Jin out of his mind, would the evil bone get activated nevertheless to complete his radicalisation, or would it remain dormant, like the spleen? The plot might have used its complexity not just to travel back & forth in time but to present multiple alternative plots, like in “The Deliberations of Love” (2023) or “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy” (2024). It need be said that China discourages multiple reincarnation & time travel in fiction, esp. of ‘gods,’ historical persons or couples; dream convention is used to circumvent this taboo.

Though the evil objects operate autonomously, the ‘devil fetus’ has a free will. He can try to prevent absorbing these weapons, as they get activated only when all three enter his body. Thus, a lot of guilt for the final scene must be attributed to Ye Xi Wu, who would not set aside her prejudice, take time to think about the invalidity of her father’s instructions, analyse Tan Tai Jin’s mindset (readiness to cooperate, worthiness of trust), advise him on his participation in keeping the weapons away. Paradoxically, what was required of the couple to save the world was mere passive resistance.

However, do not let the modern dictate of perfectionism force you to judge Ye Xi Wu too strictly. Her time-travel was imposed hastily, with scanty erroneous instructions. She was neither prepared nor impartial. Mortal, unaided, in concealed mourning, in one room with future ‘devil,’ burdened with the mess left by the former inhabitant of her body.

Unfortunately, the heroine later missed countless opportunities to trust & communicate – till the All-in-Distress Way got ignited. To defend her once more: her paralysis of trust is a defence mechanism in face of cruelty, a primordial survival mechanism, instinct stronger than the will. Sadly, Ye Xi Wu felt real love as late as the last episode. Extremely postponed, in comparison with other C-dramas employing the motive of a woman faking affection to get revenge.

VIOLENCE STUDY… OR MANUAL?
She did try… but the scriptwriters encouraged her by circumstances to raise the whip. When external actions still proved insufficient to corrupt her internally, they submerged her in the dream where she was shown as a radicalised demon able to kill & rape. She refused to get mentally engaged in violence till the last episode, but imagine how many viewers would not! Moral/Rewatch value – 5 pt.

HATRED AS ENCROACHMENT UPON UNIVERSAL BALANCE
Tan Tai Jin’s extreme case proves that the experience of unearned hatred is the strongest determinant of all aspects of future life, even seemingly unrelated or dependent on sheer probability. Therefore, persons deliberately indulging in injustice should be perceived as white-gloved, slow murderers. Hatred is virally accumulative, so in a broader context haters should be viewed as trespassers upon collective fate too.

I cannot fully relate to Tan Tai Jin as victim. My experience in receiving unearned hatred is impressive, so I can acutely feel the intensity of his rage & helplessness. In Tan Tai Jin’s world, hostility is a by-product of the justifiable defence mode of the society, misdirected due to superstition. Where I subsist, hostility aims at dissolving society bottom-up. There, the target is each person trying to be evil (or accidentally accused). Here, they hit the decent. There, the promoted values are ethical responsibility, intellectual depth & cultivation of talents. Here, these are grounds for ostracism. There, the way out of violence is to show willingness to do better. Here, you can only either degenerate down to your oppressors’ level, or pretend so.

Notice the awful, anti-intellectual quality of the prejudice shown: e.g. stigmatising a person for what happened before birth. Moreover, when people driven by natural anxiety corner Tan Tai Jin, the next surge of violence comes from common sadists (incl. children, servants), using that opportunity to discharge their atrocity on an easy prey. Some oppressors even go as far as to tamper with evidence, e.g. the magical ‘video recording’ is trimmed & zoomed in to erase the context of pushing Cen Mi by Cang Jiu Min. The blind society also has different measures for malice – no prevention, punishment or reflection on Ye Bing Chang’s cruelty stemming from mere discontent with being second (while Tan Tai Jin deals so much better with being the lastest of the last).

DIGNITY VS SURVIVAL
Where violence is omnipresent, victim’s dignity is traded for survival. If Tan Tai Jin had not chosen to bark like a dog on his oppressors’ command, he would not have reached adolescence. The raven affair shows that he knows how to claim bloody restitution, but he opts for just a nominal amount.

PREJUDICE AS QUICKSAND
Tan Tai Jin understands that prejudice feeds on the responsiveness of the victim. Tossing & struggling is counter-effective, as it reinforces the swamp suction. This is also why his response to the first awkward reconciliatory gestures by Ye Xi Wu is cautious interest rather than relief.

The rapid shift from despised victim to the glorified king is very unlikely in real life. The quicksand keeps the mind in state of paralysis; faith in humanity is impaired, even if one changes one’s environment & social role. The target of prejudice starts off with very little cogency, a factor indispensable for gaining subjects’ respect (not the reasoning, not the victories, not even the free soup).

EMBRACING THE IMPAIRMENT
Tan Tai Jin is born without an ability to feel & understand emotions, lacking a love thread. This is an inborn impairment, yet crucial to the specific metamorphoses prior to the final purgatory procedure. Learning to feel from scratch is an impressive achievement.

Love thread is also absent in Pian Ran’s heart, but not from birth. The woman knows its value & remembers her life with it. Having lost it, she adjusts her life accordingly, & her environment seems to accept it. Torn between the urge to live on & the desire to cling to the dwindling hope for reunion with her soldier, she stays calm, as her act of giving the thread was her choice. It is only on learning that it was misappropriated that she grows furious.

Instead of being perceived as a crippled nine-tailed fox, she has managed to create a brand for herself: a seven-tailed fox is viewed as complete & legitimate, no less than a nine-tailed one.

MUTUAL CONDESCENSION
Ye Xi Wu’s attempt to fulfil her mission at the moment her elders had imagined to be right (the spikes) only brought suffering, frustration & distrust. But when both sides of the sword understood their inevitable role & got prepared, not even an interference from beyond could stop it. Fate also gratified their postponed ordeal with a child.

EUTHANASIA, SELF-SACRIFICE & DEADLY PHOBIAS
Last episodes show Cang Jiu Min’s deliberate preparation for self-sacrifice. To get Ye Xi Wu involved in assisted suicide, he artificially evokes repulsion, fear & pain.

During this preparation Zhao You, with soul intercepted by evil force, urgently implores his apprentice to end his life mercifully. Thus, Cang Jiu Min gets a foretaste of what Ye Xi Wu will feel as his suicidal accomplice.

Ye Ze Yu’s variant of self-sacrifice is the voluntary participation in battle with imminent death. More valuable yet underrated is Ye Qing Yu’s self-sacrifice reflected not in dying or moaning, but in hiding his suffering & taking up abandoned down-to-earth responsibilities.

Pay attention to phobias reflected in the way villains die (rats+burns, poisoned porridge).

EPIC ETHIC FALL
Xiao Lin, role-model for Tan Tai Jin, is a Faustian hero-to-antihero. Driven by an impulse to yoke prohibited lore, the idol’s reincarnation ends up disempowered, reprimanded, discarded by his follower. Taught a moral lesson by the ‘Devil God.’

Xiao Lin wields refined intuition (switched off in every contact with Ye Bing Chang). He guesses the soul swap from Ye Xi Wu’s change in behaviour (unlike Tan Tai Jin, who lives close to her).

Deng Wei’s role gave him little space to unfurl. Few minutes for us to bask in his mild, feline half-blinks. His ‘going awry’ is oddly satisfying to watch, reminiscent of Liu Xueyi in his best fallen angel roles.

WARPED MEMORIES
We witness a deep misunderstanding among Tan Tai siblings as to their shared past (the guilt for face burn is misattributed).

For survival aims, human brain remembers injustice stronger than its lack. When Tan Tai Jin chooses to recollect the questionable crumbles of experienced goodness or neutrality, it shows his exceptionally resilient unrewarding faith in the obscure humanity.

OBJECTIFICATION OF MEN
The prolonged & exaggerated scenes of male suffering & female initiation to violence are so disturbing as to raise a serious question about the authors’ intention. They are also the ones culpable for the plot prolixity. Even if the new Ye Shi Wu has to be careful not to evince abrupt changes in behaviour, there are faster ways to discreetly back off from the barbarism. Down with the glorification of abuse!

Ye Xi Wu’s forced compliments & favours are to artificially evoke emotion in Tan Tai Jin. This man is in need for genuine, patient, therapeutic love. Acquiring his feeling through deep insincerity – even if meant for a ‘greater good’ & even though he is not a saint – is as condemnable as Sang Jiu’s act of raping.

The problem is not that atrocities are shown but that we are evidently expected to accept them.

Pian Ran’s propensity for fleeting affairs also borders on the objectification of men. However, she is sincere towards Ye Qing Yu, explains her state of mind & her limitations, gives him a choice. If only Tan Tai Jin could have enjoyed this level of subjectivity in his relationship, the world might have been saved earlier.

GLITCHES & FAILS

Too many acts are technical actions for the plot, not characters’ free, wise or consistent choices.

Introduction & abandonment of characters, e.g. Sang brothers, Fu Yu.

Ep21: Ye Xi Wu’s lipstick gets paler.

Ep29: two bruises on Ye Qing Yu’s face disappear & reappear.

Ep39: Li Su Su has no marks on her throat, though held up & burnt.

Make-up is exaggerated, face & neck mismatch. Evil characters are too Halloweenish. Abundant haemorrhages distract from the plot.

OST: “Not Over” borrows far too much from “A Fleeting Blossom with Timely Rain” from “Love of a Thousand Years” (2020). Almost identical harmonious structure, speed, instruments, crucial clusters of notes, duet structure, interlude. Coincidence excepted; similarity beyond the limits of inspiration! For the sake of the other, potentially authentic pieces with nice mellow mat quality, I only subtract 5 pt from Moral/Rewatch value.

OST: In the refrain of “Silent Moon” a minor note intrudes upon the major structure within the mediant: a crude dissonance, strangely frequent in many OSTs. If I were Hu Yanbin, I would sing the required E instead of Es; let them fire me if they will. I subtract 1 pt from OST scale.

APPEAL
Let me here again plead with all persons involved in C-dramas to discourage harmful interference in actors' & actresses’ faces: plastic surgery, tweakments, toxic substances in make-up. This will even reflect the recent (2026) demand of China’s main video platforms to promote Xi Jinping thought, to show beauty through nature, simplicity & meaningful content, to promote consistency of appearance with China’s history & tradition, to avoid excess or distortion.

Written by a nationless spirit confined in the decaying Mid-Europe.

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Draggy and a bit corny but...

The series started off at a good pace, where I found myself binging the first 10 or so episodes until the romance scenes began to drag on and then all of the scenes slowly disintegrated into long drags. The remaining episodes were completed through a heavy-hand of time skipping. But there is something to be said for the effort of even making it through to the last episode rather than just dropping it completely and it'll be easier to just highlight the negatives into a list:

- While the acting was average, there was enough chemistry with the ML and FL that the trials and tribulations of their romance will tug at your heart.
- The action scenes/CG effects started off okay and slowly deteriorated (even on the sound effects). And the number of times people will bleed from their mouths in the series has got to be record-breaking.
- They increasingly incorporated way too many flashback moments that only contributed to the drag.
- The plot also increasingly deteriorated with each time skip era.
- The characters started off well and then would bounce around between being out of character and then back into character for no naturally good reason.

However, despite all of the above, there was enough suspense of wanting to know how things end. Unfortunately, the ending was lackluster. The concept of the plot is really interesting and it's a shame they didn't do a better job with the series. It started off with so much potential. If they didn't spend so much time on the drags and focused on diving into the supporting characters and their character evolution, or if they put a little more effort into the details of the events unfolding instead of just jumping into it, or if the cut down on the repetitive romance scenes, it would have produced a far more well-rounded effect.

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grab your tissues bc this is a tragic love story (with 3 arcs!)

First impressions: Tbh I initially watched this bc of Cheng Duling haha. Intro is actually hella fire holy and the costuming is amazing as well. This show has the most cgi and special effects I've seen.

TLDR; The shows’s strongest trait is def the costuming/makeup and special visual effects. Everyone is rocking the eyeliner, even the masc characters which is fire imo. I wasn't expecting much based on synopsis, but it was not a letdown (for the romcom). There's no option for set design, but I see you set designers and your work was amazing. Also costuming and makeup hello?? Why does everyone look good esp in black 😭. Everything is so on-theme--music, set, costuming and makeup--during the dream arc I was actually stunned at how well it was I had to write abt it haha. In terms of romance (which is what I watch for), there are misunderstandings (which I hate) as a result of poor communication, but the characters aren't dumb or try to get back at the other bc of an argument, which does redeem it a little bit. And the side romances are also really sweet. Hot take but, the story isn't as strong as the romance, as there's some logic that just doesn't quite sit right with me/makes sense to me, but it was still enjoyable. Everyone says ep 36 is the true ending, and that’s bc it's def not for the faint of heart. If you want a happy ending that should be the last ep. Acting is amazing, and there are a lot of subtle facial expressions in the slight twitches of the eyebrow/mouth that make it seem natural. There is a wide variety of songs and bg pieces. The lyrics are also quite fitting to the story and have callbacks to what happens. I initially did have more reason to rewatch it but after the ending, it kinda broke me a bit.

Story: The "evil" character is truly nuanced. The writers did an amazing job fleshing out this character. It really drives the impact of perspective in determining who's really evil or not. It was more like he was pushed to act the way he did rather than just bc he's "evil." Okay, the one thing I hated was the misunderstandings esp from the dream arc and you know I hate that type of shit where they're pushing the other away bc they don't want them to get hurt even though what you're doing is HURTING THEM ANYWAY like?? urgghh surely there’s a better way to create conflict? There are mushy parts, but instead of being cringy, they're rather sweet. There's a part after the Bo're dream arc that I didn't like, but in hindsight, it does set up some things that make sense later. And the last arc does redeem p much everything that happened. Some of the logic seems flawed and kinda just written in there just bc it creates conflict, which is more prominent near the end starting on ep 37. I also got lost w/ the lore at that point and was confused on where the plot was going. All things considered, the ending isn't all that bad, it's just bittersweet and not the happily ever after everyone wants, but it def gave me lots of feels. There’s also some loose endings not addressed that are probably addressed in the book, but they’re not that major.

Acting/Cast: I love the fl's facial expressions esp during the awkward moments. The fl lead is actually the one taunting (in a playful way) the ml, which I quite enjoy. Pian Ran is the best right-wing woman--spirit(?) I've seen so far like she's literally her bestie fr. Extra props to main leads bc even tho they play diff characters, there are subtle differences that distinguish from their different roles. There's def lots of chemistry between the main leads (apparently the same main actors costar in Love Is Sweet haha). Tan Taijin's behavior after a certain point in the story really makes me guess what's real and what's just faking, but ig that's just good acting.

Music: I haven't really paid attention to the bg music, but I noticed when they went into the serpent's dreams the music changes esp in the underwater area. And it actually sounds water-y if that makes sense, which is super cool.

Rewatch value: Def worth a rewatch for the romance, although it is certainly a committment since each ep is the length of a short film, and some are more than an hour long. If I did rewatch it would probs be for the romance and costuming/makeup, but unlikely since a lot happens that I don't know if I want to go thru all that again.

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Bittersweet personified

I've been wanting to watch this drama since I saw the recommendation for it in any articles that I searched for C-dramas to watch and heard some things about it like it didn't really hv a typical happy ending. I don't regret watching this at all. I just... relieved that it was not heartbreaking, much. Yes I wld recommend to please do watch it once. This drama was about kindness, love, loyalty, how selfless our main leads were and the sacrifices they made for the peace of the world.

ML, Tantai Jin or known as Cang Jiumin, Mingye and the Devil God. First as Tantai Jin, he was born with cold nature (bcs he was destined to be the Devil God) so he felt nothing but there was goodness in him. His life was very very hard coz he was the hostage prince at Sheng Kingdom so ppl there treated him like a dirt until he had enough of it. I think there was very important point from that drama that it is essential to be kind to others. When Prince Lin helped TTJ from his bullies as a kid, he took notice of Prince Lin and strived to copy his manners in hope that ppl wld like him. He was always hounded by the devil god spirit when he was feeling very low and cornered then at one point that spirit made him sucked a demon power to initiate him toward being evil. So far he only used that power to seek revenge against those devious people that treated him cruelly. Then somehow he succeeded to ascend the throne against his evil elder brother. Living the life he had, he was bound to be ruthless. As a king, even though he had demonic powers at his disposal, he was clever, perceptive, hard working and benevolent towards the citizen of Jing Kingdom. Next, Tantai Jin went back to a lifetime where he was Mingye, God Of The War, a totally different kind of man, he was very serious about his role to protect the realm. He got back and changed a bit hvg his tribulation in that life. Then, the next phase was him as Cang Jiumin. His temperament at this life was amazing, he was calm and became wise after experiencing so many things. Talking about his love life, all Tantai Jin ever wanted was someone to love him just as he was, loyal, to treat him kindly and to not betray him. So here came the new Ye Xiwu(Li Susu). She was there for him time after time and that melted his heart but there was still conflicts btwn two of them. He really really loves her that he was willing to forgive her big BIG mistake(it was a misunderstanding caused by others but he was also in the wrong). I really love that period of his love life when he was god of war where he was nursed back to health by Sangjiu(Li Susu) and the life at the cottage was so peaceful. I also love how he changed for the better as Cang Jiumin, he was so serious about winning her back bcs he really loves her and wanted to be with her forever T^T

FL, Li Susu or in other lifetimes known as Ye Xiwu and Sangjiu. She had a bit of a temper but she was passionate and determined to save the world. Tbh there were moments that she annoyed me so much.

Honorable mentions to the loyal assistant Nian Baiyu, the very kind and precious Prince Xiao Lin (never gongye jiwu coz he was annoying), the very dear Qingyu with his badass lady love Pian Ran. Ofc the unserious guy Pang Yizhi. The wise and kind sect leaders, Zhaoyou and Chief Qu.

Cons: the flow of the drama at some parts were a bit confusing, the editing too. I really don't like how they always wrote for Tantai Jin to fight the worse battles and made Li Susu came into the scene very late!

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-This review is still not finished-

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A good drama worth watching

The fantasy romance drama that completely pulled me in with its heartbreaking love story and beautiful world. It follows Li Susu, who travels back in time to stop Tantai Jin from becoming an evil god but ends up falling in love with him instead.
Watching their relationship grow through pain, sacrifice, and fate was both emotional and unforgettable. Tantai Jin isn’t your typical villain, he’s someone who has suffered deeply since he was young and that made me feel so much sympathy for him. The way their love developed across lifetimes really hit me hard and stayed with me even after the drama ended.
The acting, especially from Luo Yunxi was a major highlight.
His expressions were so detailed that I could feel everything Tantai Jin was going through even without words. Bai Lu also gave a solid performance especially in the emotional scenes.
Their chemistry was strong and full of tension and sorrow.
On top of that, the production was absolutely beautiful from the costumes to the music to the fantasy setting. I also really loved the OST, it matched the tone of the story perfectly and added even more feeling to key moments.
I did feel that some parts of the drama could have been better. Some emotional scenes, especially the important ones, felt rushed and didn’t have enough build-up.
I wanted more time to feel the weight of those moments. Also, a few plot points were confusing or left unexplained, especially the rules of the fantasy world and how some things worked. The editing between scenes could be a little jarring too, it sometimes broke the mood. I found the romance a bit repetitive in the later episodes, even though I was still emotionally invested. Anyway, this drama gave me a powerful experience. If you like tragic love stories with beautiful visuals and a deep storyline, Till the End of the Moon is worth watching.

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