Till the End of the Moon

Fantastic acting and production wasted by poor script.

The actors -- especially the two leads -- and the overall production were fantastic in this show. The costumes, effects, visuals -- all were stunning and beautiful. The only real flaw was, well, the script. The script leans heavily on several cliche drama tropes that just made this a real painful chore to grind through at times. The two scripting flaws that really bothered me were (a) a massive over-reliance on 'misconceptions' plot trope (where people jump to conclusions based on only partial information) and (b) plot-induced stupidity where on 3 distinct occasions they made Li SuSu suddenly act very, very stupid and out of character, forgetting her mission. They also tended to 'take her out of the story' for long stretches, either asleep, in a coma or just plain absent for whatever reason. I got very tired of these blatant writer-hacks and had to force myself to not give up watching at several points. And I'm not sure the pay-off at the end is worth it. While I liked a lot about this show - in particular the performances of both Bai Lu and Luo Yun Xi - I don't know if I'd recommend it to anyone who values a strong, well-written script over spectacle. Here's a test: If you preferred Good Will Hunting over Titanic, then this is not the series for you.

Read More

There is a small line betweeen god and devil...

Very well made drama. The story really has potential. Impressive acting, impressive portrayal of humiliation, lack of pride and the true hearts of common people. What is portrayed as ultimate evil is actually the most sincere, strong, loving and rational between heaven and hell. The strength of character and greatness, beyond all limits, of this god, this devil god, far surpasses all other gods. His love is purer than any other. All others are indeed ants in comparison, stupid, cruel and weak in character. Even Susu pales in the face of his greatness. In fact, she has always lacked sincerity and discernment. And in the end, he even destroyed himself, needlessly. Sin will always exist. Better to have someone to watch over it and transmute it if necessary. What a loss...

Read More

At the end it happened as it was predicted

Drama is so cool...

Videography, CGI, fights, songs are way too good... Trust me its a piece of art in the world of CGI....

The story was very predictable but it was refined and it pretty much have alot of things explained. The way they explained everything in full circle is very good.

It also have philosophical touch like both male and female lead were always not thinking straight but at some point they finally started to see the full reality and accept that they were both are loved specially the male lead changed alot. His acting was on point. And his smirk was very attractive. Fl also showed anger so well like her acting is something.

2nd male lead sacrifice in both lifes were so precious but in the end he messed up a little but still understandable but 2nd fl was so evil but she also become good at the end.

3rd leads were so pretty so cute and so innocent i can't believe they will perform this good.

But china is above and beyond with CGI. I have seen good dramas with bad CGI so it was a refreshment.

Btw ML not only got tortured but also got sedated and Ra**ed by FL. And u can't change my mind 😂.

Read More

Similar to Love Between a Fairy and a Devil but falls short of matching its greatness

Luo Yunxi was compelling as Tantai Jin/Devil God, cold, cunning and aloof, yet deep down having a desire to feel and understand emotions. He went through hell “killing” his mother during child birth, being hated and abandoned by his father, only to be betrayed by those whom he thought cared for him most, then cruelly bullied throughout his childhood and early adult years. It could be understood why he embraced the darkness within and chose to destroy the world considering the viciousness he’d experienced within it. Then he met the *new* Ye Xiwu. She defended and protected him. She showed him kindness and taught him love. She challenged and angered him, but she always came back to him - ultimately changing him for the better.

Though the show explored an interesting journey of war, politics, love and layers of past/future lives/identifies of our leads and the supporting characters, the show fell short with the love story which was ultimately driving the overall arc on the show. It was clear that Tantai deeply loved Ye Xiwu. Not only did he tell her, he showed her in his actions. Ironically though Ye Xiwu did many things that would be deemed as loving for Tantai, her feelings were always questionable because her actions were direct by her mission. In the end I did believe she truly cared for him but the show took too long to make this clear.

The past/future/present lives of the characters gave wonderful insight, especially the past, into why these people became who they were. However, I found I enjoyed the present storyline the most when they were in the Kingdom of Sheng, especially when it came to the love story. There was a sexy flintiness between the leads that worked so well and I could see the cold walls crumbling within Tantai. I liked seeing the connection building between them string by string. The special effects were outstanding but the show never used that grandness to create epic and unforgettable moments, which I think it should’ve had considering the content. The only moment that came close to being epic was when Tantai killed Yue Yingxin and jumped off the boat into the river. It was such an unexpected moment that was well acted and written.

One thing that annoyed me about the show was the FL going to bed in gowns she’s worn all day, dangling earrings and elaborate head dresses. No way was she getting sleep with all that stuff on. lol.

The acting was great in this. The leads had really good chemistry. When their character got serious and close there was a heat between them that II wish we’d seen more of. The story was good, not great. The ending hurt and the very last scene was bizarre, but overall this was worth watching.

Read More

Imagine being alive for 10000 years...

...and doing it exactly twice? (Once she had to roofie the guy, and it was in a past life). Talk about frustrating. No wonder why he was the demon lord. Would've helped if he could get laid more than once an aeon. I really enjoyed the setup for this show, I liked watching Tantai Jin become Tantai Jin. There were parts that definitely dragged of course as they do. Also it was a delightful surprise to see the lovely Ye Shiqi in this one as well (he keeps on popping up in shows I watch!). The spiteful sister who somehow luckily gets to hook up with said lovely prince reminds of my own sister, and makes me not like her face even more lol.

And if I had to drink every time they coughed up blood, I would be on the floor in 10 minutes. For real, I don't know if that was meant to be comical, but it was! Also the VFX were kind of bad. There was a whole 4 episode past life sequence plopped in the middle with tons of heavenly battle VFX and it a) took me out of the story (it should have been 1 episode), and b) really kind of shitty design on the visual effects. I didn't enjoy the effects at all, made these rest feel extremely cheap. They need a decent vfx house to handle their design and execution.

All in all though, I enjoyed the show. I enjoyed watching Luo Yunxi's portrayal of Tantai Jin and he looked great.

Read More

Give it a go wouldn't disappoint you

As someone who has watched a few dramas with fantasy elements, I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike some other shows where fantastical elements can feel forced or excessive, "Till The End Of The Moon" struck the right balance. The storyline was coherent, and the fantasy elements seamlessly integrated into the narrative.

The acting was a highlight. Many of the actors were familiar faces from previous series, and their performances were commendable. Their talent brought the characters to life, making it easy to connect with the story.

However, there was one aspect that left me slightly dissatisfied: Tai Tai Jin's ending. As the main character, he deserved a more fulfilling resolution. Despite his efforts, he didn't achieve as much as I hoped. This portrayal of life's unfairness lingered with me, even though I know it's not the whole truth.

In summary, the drama is definitely worth watching. The intriguing plot, strong acting, and balanced fantasy elements make it an enjoyable experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey from start to finish.

Read More

The never-ending push-and-pull

Finished it — 7.5/10.

All 40 episodes in a few lines:

Her: “He’s evil. I hate him."
“Wait… he is not. I love him.”
“Actually, he is the devil lord. I hate him."
"He doesn't want to become one tho. I love him."
“umm.. you know what? guess I still have to kill him and save the world.”

Him: “Please just kill me. I love you."

The drama was good enough to not drop it. the second half bored me so much. Starting from 23-25 th episode it got so messy. Too many exhausting flashbacks and way too much push-and-pull. All that for what? A ending like that? Ugh

The music, costumes, CGI, acting, and cast were all really good honestly, almost everything worked except the story, which is kind of the most important part.

A decent one-time watch, but if I had known I wouldn’t end up liking it that much, I probably would’ve skipped it.

Just not for me ig.

Read More

A Show That Must Be Rated Highly, And Yet....

A surprisingly difficult show to rate.

The plot was incredibly interesting. To be honest I was expecting a very predictable plot, which can be expected when the Celestial, Demonic and Mortal realms are introduced. But this show had me genuinely wondering what would happen next and how the characters would handle their trials.
I will admit that this is a personal flaw on my part that I have zero interest in the various side characters introduced, as often times secondary couples fall flat in comparison and feel like a waste of screen time for me. For this show, I found myself wanting more attention on the side characters. Not necessarily for the sake of another romantic plot. In fact, I think it was a weakness of the show in its entirety to be focused so heavily on a romance when the main couple's relationship was extremely toxic. But i wanted more on the characters because the plot line of the story, being focused on the coming apocalypse and the Demon Lord being the incarnation of evil in the world- I needed the show to lean into that. To lean into a world that needs better people working to create change, rather than be a part of the system that encourages evil to exist. For a brief moment, when Tantai Jin "accepted" his fate as the Demon Lord, he acknowledged his role as a sort of Karma. The writers had many moments like this, when I felt that a show centered on humanity and the roles of ascended immortals to keep evil at bay would've been most ideal. Li Susu, as an immortal the went down to the Mortal Realm, back in time to stop the Demon Lord- this felt like the perfect setting. A character who has seen a great evil destroy her world and her loved ones and now she must care for him and show him the good in the world and bring him round, ultimately to his death but for the good of the world. A very, very intriguing plot that I think should've and could've leaned into Li Susu's anger towards the Demon Lord softening into forgiveness. In a way, this happens. But not as it should've. Instead, we see Li Susu's anger towards the Demon Lord being taken out on Tantai Jin, a victim of abuse from the moment he was born, and we as the audience are supposed to support this romance? The reins of Li Susu's anger should've been pulled back. There is a boundary that Enemies-to-Lovers plot points cross, and it is when one of the characters is an abuser. I am not against these dark relationships being depicted. In fact, it suited the show and the tragedy of Tantai Jin's character. He is supposed to live a life full of sin and hardship, die a tragic death, and bring about the end of the world. It fits that he would even in his moments of affections actually be in a terrible situation. But the show insists on displaying the main couple as truly, genuinely romantic. It falls flat.

When it comes to other moments with side characters that made me want even more of this larger cast, bigger picture narrative, was with Ye Xiwu's brother, General Ye Qing Yu, who ended up becoming the King of Jing after Tantai Jin's "death".
His whole story is very interesting, as he takes on the mantel and weight of his whole family simple because his father is too lazy to, and then takes up the throne in place of Tantai Jin, despite his own grief and his own weariness with the world. A character that in contrast to Tantai Jin's imperfect attempts and being good and Xiao Lin's flawless perfection, is more human than all of them. Wanting to uphold his morals and be a good man, but not in a perfect way. He betrays his family by having a relationship with a fox demon despite holding his family to high standards as the leader, and then betrays his own country because of his king's paranoia and disregard for his men, siding with the enemy even if it meant his family would perish. His whole story and character was so cool to me and I wished for more of it. Again, I was not against the romance that he got with the fox demon who was a cool and interesting character as well. But it feels at times that a forefronted romance takes too much screen time away from the development and depth of a character and story. And in the end, we see that the fox demon dies. She was a character I was not too interested in, and I knew that she was going to perish. It's hard to skillfully kill off characters, and even shows as good as this struggle with that.

Another side character that gave a glimpse into further depth in the show, was the Demon Lord's henchman Siyang. She was a bit of a contradiction, and I wanted her character to be more fleshed out than a mere plot device. In a conversation with Tantai Jin, she explains that her relationship with the Demon Lord is like that of a father and a daughter, and we see that the Demon Lord is not totally evil. It was a glimpse into something more. Yet, Siyang's behavior beforehand around Tantai Jin was very flirty, and ultimately when the Demon Lord possessed Li Susu's father, Siyang was killed by the one she claimed was like a father. Before her death and in her conversation with Tantai Jin, he called her out saying she was using a good, natural connection of the world, that is, a father and daughter relationship with the Demon Lord, to excuse her actions and her hatred for the world. This little segment and Siyang's character had me wanting more. More of the Demon Lord than simply being wrapped up as evil and wanting to destroy the world because that is what evil does. Depth, writers. The depth was there but where did they take it?

Ultimately, I got a lot from the show. But it is what the writer's hinted at, but didn't delve into. Tantai Jin's character is wonderfully done, in fact all the characters are. But there is more with the plot that should've been, in my opinion, fleshed out. Though the finished product is excellent, is still worth watching and the rewatch value is high.

Finally, one of my biggest issues with any show is the ending. Am I picky or is the Art of an Ending some Master-Level ability, because I am so rarely satisfied. It could've only ended with Tantai Jin's death, as it wouldn't have made any sense for him to survive after it being impossible for him to do so as the Demon Lord. But did I shed tears? No. How can I shed tears for a romance that is awful? Should I feel bad for Li Susu? How did she get a daughter and godhood at the end of this story, when she did nothing but make everything harder? Also, forget death. Don't give me a cheap ending with Tantai Jin's spirit living on in the Heart Scale, when that doesn't even make sense.

P.S. This is but a tiny detail that really in the grand scheme of things isn't THAT important, but for a character that had to yell a lot (due to the insane number of times he was tortured) Lou Yun Xi's yell was rather weak. He didn't sound like he was being possessed by a demon. I know this is a weird critique to make, but if you're going to yell that many times I need you to have some grit and desperation in your voice. There was one moment when he was being attacked by the Immortals because they found out who he really was, and he sounded briefly out of breath and a little raspy. That was the right sort of sound considering all he'd been through. Weird detail, I know. But if you're gonna yell that many times. Again. Sound like you've at least been kicked, much less been stabbed by your wife on your third wedding night. Just a thought.

P.S.S. I didn't noticed the music at all, which means it wasn't that great. Until my boy Lui Yu Ning showed up. So the unnoticeable music gets five stars just because he showed up to sing.

Read More

Great graphics, great act, but unsatisfying end

We can see tremendous amount of money spent all over this drama. The visual effects and costumes were fabulous.

I was highly anticipated this drama because Luo Yunxi, Bai Lu, and the teaser looked promising. Sadly, i was a bit disappointed.

Both lead had great acting skill & top notch chemistry that we expected in a twisted couple.
I think of all the supporting roles, I would say Ye Bingchang delivered the best play.

Now, the bad part:
1. Story plot were "untidy".
I had to watched almost 4-5 episodes just for story gave explanation about things, which some of it could be done in a short time of one episode. So, the writing were ineffective.

2. To much complicated love story.
Yet the side love stories were not interesting enough to be watched. Waste of time.

3. Problems keep on coming.
Yet, the story was ended abruptly & unsatisfying. The final episode showed the lead had a daughter from her husband but that was that. How could a love story that ran through thousand of years ended so lightly that it felt abandoned by the writer?
It felt like this drama wanted to show that the good people do not deserve happiness in their lifetime. Seemed like the producer wanted to play God by making everyone miserable at first then in the end no one would get a really sweet & happy life.

I have a suggestion for producer like this: if you want to play God, don't make drama!
People already knew what real life is, so next time you really want to make a drama, give the suffering people a lot of happy moments too! That what drama is for, to entertain people hearts, not make them desperate!

4. The motion songs were not catchy enough by nowadays drama OST standard.
Sounds like song from old classic drama remade to modern song.
I thought Zhang Bichen & Liu Yuning were guaranteed for great motion songs, turned out it were not.

Read More

the Devil wears EYELINER

PLOT🗯️🗯️
The peaceful world of human and immortals is suddenly disrupted by the arrival of the demon god.
He intends to bring terror and pain to the earth. Everything seems lost until li su su travels back in time to track down the evil spirit and subvert his evil destiny.
Will she succeed?

FIRST CONSIDERATIONS:
let me start by giving a shout out to @charleymiamore.
I was about to drop this drama on the second episode, but this user reassured me about the show improving later on... And it absolutely did!
I am so glad I didn't drop this cause it's probably one of the best dramas I've watched.

THE DRAMA🗯️🗯️
The reason why i was about to drop the drama is the main female lead.
She travels back in time to stop the devil god who is still an innocent man at this point in time.
I understand her hatred towards him but girl, you are on a mission and are about to fail before even starting.
When she first sees this man she is basically leaving him to die in the snow and says all the possible things to make him dislike her.
Girl please😭😭 you have to avoid he turning evil, not giving him more reasons to hate this world.
This kind of wishy washy mentally in the female lead is present in the majority of the drama. Though understandable is it highly counterproductive.
In one scene she is literally punishing him with a whip! Stoppp please turn your brain on!!!!

Once we establish her mission the drama really kicks in and becomes highly entertaining.
I kid you not, except for the ending part, I wasn't bored.
I am usually scared by such lenghty dramas because I get bored so easily it is really hard to stay involved for 40 episodes. If you are like me, don't worry at all. Sure, some scenes might be boring from time to time but nothing worrysome.

THE CHARACTERS 🗯️🗯️
Where to start? I think I never felt so bad for a character as I did for tantai jin. He is one of the most tragic antiheros I've ever seen.
The world beated him up, then chewed him, then spit on him, then burned him up.
His destiny is so tragic and full of pain, betrayal I cried even thinking about it.
At first the actor wasn't really to my liking but he grew on me so much. He did a MAJESTIC job. I'm sure It wasn't easy because in many scenes he is basically talking to a different version of himself but he was wonderful.

Bai lu was great! Her character wasn't always my cup of tea but she was phenomenal and together they have a great chemistry in my opinion.

The other actors are also top notch. There is really nothing to add. Awesome.

THE BEST PART:🗯️🗯️
In these kind of drama we usually explore the 3 lives route: mortal, immortal, gods.
I tend to be pretty uninterested in secondary routes because they usually don't add that much to the story but this time it was so good I kinda stopped caring about the main plot and just wanted everything to end with the second part (the god story).
The battle between the gods and the evil god was so so so good. Guys it was a trip. I was so invested!
The fighting scenes especially were spectacular!!
I literally forgot this was supposed to be just a deviation from the main story.

THE ROMANCE:🗯️🗯️
I want to preface that if skin ship and lot of kisses are among your musts, this drama might not be your best choice.
The romance is an excellent enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers.😆
Two people fighting their love and hate for each other. Sacrificing, deceiving... Chef's kiss.
Visually though, even though we have kisses and intimate scenes I can't wholeheartedly say they are "hot".
This drama is more about meaning and deep feelings than superficial "two hot people making out".

I also really liked the other couples.
The Fox demon and the general were lovely and of course tragic 😭 I really cared for them unlike the third couple which I couldn't care less.

COMPLAINTS🗯️🗯️
I love this drama but of course I have to also criticize it ok?

🔪The cgi was mostly good but also goofy sometimes.

🔪the makeup was bad. It got a bit better towards the end but I'm definitely not a fan.
The ml has gray eyebrows for a good chunk of the drama. The eyeliner was a must for basically every character.
The foundation...oh my the foundation.. in many scenes you could clearly see the difference in skin tones between the actors' faces and their neck.

🔪the magical props looked so cheap

🔪How many times did the ml have different eye colors? The answer is ...yes!
In the span of seconds he switched so many times and some contacts lenses were so bad.

🔪There a lot of inconsistencies in many fields.
The protagonists are in a field and 2 seconds later the FL has a mortar , a pestle and is crushing herbs. Where did you get that girl?
Even when on the run they keep changing outfits. How? Just how?🤣

🔪Magic powers: when the FL arrives in the past she clearly states she CANT use use her powers because they are really weak.
This rule gets quickly forgotten and she uses her power more and more as time goes by.

🔪Sometimes they say something is diffilcult to do and 2 seconds later it gets done. (Like leaving the abyss)

🔪When tantai jin leaves the Sheng state he immediately becomes a loving king. Pretty weird considering the fact that he is unable to feel emphaty for anyone in this moment.

🔪The ending dragged a bit too much the whole being good/evil. It was an exausting back and forth.

🔪 Su Su biological father being evil wasn't really a plot twist. I don't know if the script intended it that way, because as the audience , we know what he did during the gods war.

🔪Li su su decisione making: I am gonna be honest. Sometimes I didn't understand her.
When she killed tantai jin in the mortal world, I don't know why she didn't tell him that she loved him.
You clearly love him, you have to kill him, you know you are the only person in this world he loves. You could have said at least something nice to this guy who only got hate in his life.
With hindsight this was probably done to push the third act of him pursuing her but I was too heartbroken to be rational🤣
She also hated him in many instances when it was actually her fault. She did something to him, he reacted , and she was butthurt.
Tantai jin always took shit for everyone for something THEY DID.
Poor guy😭😭😭

🔪🔪the dubbing is really bad in some parts.

🔪🔪 if you dislike seeing people spitting blood, that's definitely not the drama for you. that's the only injury they all experience 😅😅

BEST QUOTE 🗯️🗯️
"Since you don't want my love , you can taste my hate "

Man ...what a banger

CONCLUSIONS 🗯️🗯️
I could rant forever over this drama but I know nobody cares .🤣

Should you watch it?
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Read More

A Grey Area Indeed

Let me start off by saying that I watched this drama EONS ago and never got around to typing up a review. Reviewing a completely different drama just a little while ago compelled me to fully get around to writing up a review for this drama after God knows how long. This drama, for all intents and purposes, sits in a grey area for me. To give context, I thoroughly enjoyed this drama BUT this drama was not objectively great. It had many, many flaws, which results in me having an incredibly complicated relationship with this drama.

There isn't much that can be considered unique about this drama, especially in the years after it aired. There are MANY dramas floating around the C Drama Verse that shares this exact plot, give or take a few minor details. However, the main draw of this drama is the ACTING. The acting was the best thing about this drama. The premise/concept is enticing and it can certainly draw you in but it won't keep you riveted because it falls apart very quickly on in the drama. Like with most C Dramas, the execution fell flat. It starts off strong and then it devolves into this strange, convoluted thing that leaves you scratching your head in confusion. What just happened? How did we get here? Did I miss something? These are all valid questions you may find yourself asking yourself as you continue on your journey of watching this drama, but you WILL be entertained despite all that. The actors do their best with what they're given. I'd even boldly claim that they actually elevated this drama in the best way.

Now, I previously mentioned in my review of SOKP (Story of Kunning Palace) how some people disliked this drama because they couldn't buy Ye Xiwu/Li Susu's affection and love for Tantai Jin. Honestly, that's a fair assessment. There was something about the direction that would leave you questioning whether she actually loved him or not. You knew he loved her. You FELT it! With her, you couldn't rightfully tell. While I am a Bai Lu enthusiast under the best circumstances, I honestly don't know whether to blame her or the directing for this. This lead couple is a couple that you WANT to root for, but the story makes it difficult to do so because it misses every emotional beat to show you that the love is reciprocated and requited. It's almost as if Tantai Jin was in an one-sided love affair with Li Susu who was simply going through the motions. Speaking of which, the reason why I mentioned being confused on who to blame for the lack of love from Li Susu's side is because I felt the same way about Bai Lu's character in SOKP too. In my opinion, there seems to be a pattern there but I digress.

Also, I never fully finished this drama. I was advised to stop watching after a certain episode number and I listened. I already knew there was going to be some disappointment for me so I never finished this drama officially. I know what happens and I know how it happens, but I never tortured myself by watching it for myself. I wasn't that curious. But again, this drama had all the makings for the dark romance/enemies to lovers trope of so many fans' dreams and it just did NOT deliver on that. I'm rarely a fan of either of those tropes but I could be IF DONE RIGHT. Unfortunately, this was NOT done right.

As I mentioned earlier, this drama sits in a grey area for me. On one hand, I really liked it and I enjoyed it. On the other hand, distance from this drama made me realize that I, as a fan, was robbed of a better story. As I watched more dramas after this one, it really drove the point home for me just what I was missing. When you know better, you do better, yeah? But again, the acting from everyone involved was impeccable. It will make you laugh. It will make you cringe. It will make you cry. Would I rewatch it? Yes. Would I recommend it? Unfortunately, no. Watching this drama is like craving a certain food for weeks and then when you finally get it, it's not as good as you hoped it would be.

Read More