Till the End of the Moon

Drama is finally here and I am loving it BUT....

It was such a long wait and I must say usually most of the hyped shows do not live upto the expectations as we have seen with many dramas in the past and tbh I was afraid it might go down the same lane after watching the the first episode for few minutes. But thank goodness they didn't stretch that part for long and we jumped into the mortal arc right away. That is where the main story will unfold.

The beginning was little hectic plus waaay too fast that I found myself little overwhelmed with all the fight, death and sacrifice and sinister expression of ML his lackeys. They introduced the main characters way too fast that is what I thought. I couldn't concentrate on anything. From fight to amazing graphics. It was happening too fast for me to process it all. (Some demon or god fight probably, was all in my mind) I did not feel much emotions as characters were dying right off the bat.

Thankfully we came fast in the real part and I could take breather and they explained pretty much every important thing about the earlier fight later on. The show literally turned into something else and I knew with Bailu's comedic expressions that this role is just for her. She nailed her character into this new role while the earlier one just looked like a beautiful doll without much feelings or expressions. (She looked so stiff back then).
We all know both ML and FL will have a great chemistry as the duo already gave us a hit drama in the past. There is no doubt when it comes to their acting. It was flawless like their costume and amazing set design. I loved the music as well. I was little sceptical whether it will be another Love between fairy or Devil but surprisingly it turned out something else. And we got a Devil, conniving and oppressed ML and a kind hearted soul in villainess' bodyas a FL . I am loving ML's evil smirks and expressions and to some extent felt good when he indulged in his revenge. The domestic abuse and bullying can turn anyone into a devil fs.
I am loving it so far. It is not just a cliche story like any other costume drama and I have high hopes now. Check out the drama you won't be disappointed.

PS: At this point I have already started to read the novel while waiting for the new episodes. I can't believe how much they have changed the storyline just to make it more audiance friendly. ML is pure evil and a real psychopath to the core in novel. Xi Wu/ Su su's actions which looked annoying and stupid in some scenes of the drama are actually the original scenes from novel (her character is pretty much same in the novel and drama. On the other hand Tantaijin/ devil lord is the one who is turned more likable in drama. Everyone sympathies with him while watching drama but in the novel you will hate him for sure. Sigh...it is unbearable to some extent. They did a really good job in changing ML's character in a way where we would love him and obviously Luo Yunxi's acting is amazing. I really don't like the way they are editing the episodes especially in the later parts. It is so weird and certain parts are not making much sense due to the episode limit. They are rushing really badly because they need to finish the story within few episodes. I really hate this episode limitation thing for real.
PS II: DRAMA ENDED on a cryptic note just as we all feared. After this I don't think I have much expectations from Xianxia dramas. Every good show ends up in the same way. I had to change my ratings. just because of the editing. Whoever does the editing in this show... *I am coming for ya*. Worse edited show ever. Rushed ending with crappy editing completely ruined it all (for me atleast). I would suggest people to go watch Love is sweet after finishing this and imagine it as their modern reincarnation to soothe your heart.

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I just want to give our demon fetus a hug

I'm watching on YOUKU. I was waiting for Netflix France but still no release date and since I follow many social media c-dramas and k-dramas, I started encountering spoilers. Now, I'm just waiting for the final 2 episodes on Tuesday.
I'm a fan of Xantia and Wuxia genres in general and was patiently waiting for a new blockbuster. TTEOTM does not disappoint. However, the trauma in this story is heart wenching. I find myself wanting to become the Demon God just to avenge the ML. That's how frustrating this series is on the mind. Luckily, there are bits of love crumbs sprinkled throughout to heal but then bam! -the wounds are reopened. The character development is well written even for minor characters. The costumes including the hairstyles for the different timelines and different clans are spectacular and are a step up from typical Xantia with more colors, textures, and even braids. I love the chemistry between the couples.
I'm hoping and holding out for a pure happy ending for both our leads since I think they both deserve it after ALL OF THIS TRAUMA and it seems the main message is that only you can truly say who you are inside despite the hand you're delt (fate). Although, there is still plenty of room in the last 2 episodes for a typical bittersweet or even 100% tragic ending.
I could not give it 10 stars because some of the editing is wonky starting from episode 30ish. There are times where the actors are either teleporting between scenes or some characters and their stories have just been dropped between timelines. (Yes, I know about the 40 ep law but I feel some of the repetitive lines or redundant thoughts could have been removed to keep or clôture other character arcs.)
*PS: I've really appreciate the extra production videos on YOUKU. Everyone seems to really enjoyed making this series and the direction seem very kind and even open to suggestions. I watch these when waiting for new episodes.

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a big dumpster fire

To keep it short: this drama is a dumpster fire.

To keep it long, this drama has a very interesting premise - an anti-hero who was destined to become evil by a continuous cycle of abuse, betrayal, and abandonment falls in love with a heroine trying to prevent him from becoming evil. This had a lot of potential to be a great drama until the story became completely incoherent.

STORY AND CHARACTERS
The drama had disjoined plot and characters, nothing made sense, none of the characters told the truth, plot holes everywhere, and the values were completely skewed. A good guy was portrayed as a villain. Villains were portrayed as good guys. Tantai Jin was treated very poorly throughout the entire story by mostly everyone just because of whom he was destined to become and not because of what he did. He got no apology and no vindication. None of his good deeds got recognized and his "true love" never realized what kind sacrifices he had to make to save the world. There is no hope in this drama and nothing to look forward to.

The story started out strong with Susu and Tantai Jin meeting and immediately building a bond. They had a lot of cute interactions where they went shopping, she saved him from angry birds, they watched fireworks and played in the snow. This should have been the only story arc for the duration of the show. She figures out why he was evil because he had a hard life, so she shows him compassion and kindness, they fall in love, and he doesn't become evil. THE END. Instead, the show dragged on for multiple storylines adding no value to the main plot. The entire dream arc should have been reduced to flashbacks.

The story and characters were so completely incoherent, that it felt like the writers had no idea what they were doing. Everyone insisted that Tantai Jin was evil, but he was not written as an inherently evil person. About half-way through the show it became apparent that he was arbitrarily delt the villain card without actually deserving it. He was born "special", to a life of suffering and without love threads which would have enabled him to find love. But, he eventually grew love threads and fell in love, which should have derailed his destiny of becoming the devil god. But it was never addressed anywhere in the story. Inherently evil characters eventually slip up and do evil things. TJ never harmed an animal, never killed an innocent, never started a war, never betrayed anyone. He did not have an evil bone in his body, no pun intended. So, why was he still destined to become the devil god if he already changed his predetermined fate by finding love? Nobody knows, including the writers, who likely did not even understand their own characters. A lot of money was spent on the production and not enough on the writing.

Susu had an inconsistent personality and no real character development. One moment she acted like a crazed fangirl around TJ, the next she went on a sanctimonious rant about how he could not be saved because he was "evil". She always assumed the worst about him just to be proven wrong later, but she still never learned to trust him. Susu's problem was that she was never able to separate the individual from the devil god. It was extremely frustrating to watch that brainless woman going behind TJ's back all the time, doing something stupid and then blaming him for reacting to it. Betrayal was the one thing that was triggering to him. Yet, Susu kept repeatedly doing questionable things that made him feel betrayed and abandoned. It was absolutely cringe-worthy to watch this dumpster-fire of a romance imploding on itself because it was so self-sabotaging. Susu never had any trust in TJ, although he never gave her any reason to mistrust him. She always jumped to the worst conclusions and hurt him more often than she made him happy. While TJ went out of his way to avoid becoming the devil god and tried to do only good, none of his efforts were ever appreciated. Everyone always judged him without trying to figure out what actually went on. The only time when Susu finally understood him was in the very last episode when she became a goddess and was able to look into his heart. But, in my opinion, it was already too late for her. She had numerous opportunities to have his back and and to give him a chance. Instead, she always listened to rumors, superstitions, and speculations that often did not make any sense and accused him of a crime because he was a convenient scapegoat. There was no point even killing him at the end because he never allowed the devil god to control him.

One of the most infuriating things about Susu was her holier-than-thou personality. She saw herself as a good person. She was written as a good person, but she did some very reprehensible things. When she became Ye Xiwu, she found out that Xiwu was an awful person. Xiwu made TJ kneel in the snow. Any decent person would have ended that immediately, but Susu did not. She actually allowed TJ to kneel for days in the cold spying on him and having mental rants about how he "deserved" it. She also whipped him. Any sane and good person would have thrown the whip on the floor and said "I'm not doing it", but she was either not very bright or just decided to go with it. And, she whipped him. I seriously could not believe she did it. Not to mention that later on she drugged his food and drove nails into his heart. What in the actual hell....

Everything was awful. What are we supposed to derive from this story? Bullies don't get punished. Bad things will always happen to good people for no reason. No matter how far we go to sacrifice for others, they will never appreciate or even know about it. Again, what is the point?

On a different note, the blood spitting in every episode became very noticeable and looked disgusting. There didn't need to be so much blood coming out of people's mouths, especially in scenes where it wasn't necessary.

SET/COSTUMES/MAKE-UP
The set was beautiful, 'nuff set.

Taitan Jin's outfits were often ridiculous. The writers obviously wanted him to stand out. But, they made him stand out too much. Feathery outfits, flowing capes, and an over-powdered face full of make-up was a bit much. Susu sleeping in her head jewelry also looked stupid.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Usually, happy endings make me feel all warm and fuzzy. Sad endings make me feel bittersweet. This drama made me feel empty. More often than not I wanted to reach into the screen and drag Taitan Jin out of that mess. He was better than all of them and he deserved so much more. The writers broke every rule of writing. They wrote an "evil" character without actually making him evil. They wrote star-crossed lovers with only one person making any effort. Susu's original goal was to prevent TJ from turning into the devil god, but every action she took pushed TJ closer to the edge. She never even told him that she loved him in any meaningful way. This story was like the Pandora's box - it unleashed every single calamity on the world, except hope.

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Watch at your own risk

I loved this drama during its first 13 episodes: the story was not especially original but the execution felt much better than other xianxias with the same kind of plot, in terms of visuals, pace, camerawork, music. I was constantly amazed at the shots, the colors, the costumes, and i felt like the show managed to hit all its emotional beats.

Then the dream arc happened, with more one-dimensional characters and more frustrating/unrealistic character actions to drive the plot forward. For the next 20 episodes, the drama kept doing good stuff, then throwing in a very predictable/avoidable/aggravating turn or misunderstanding, and undoing all its progress. Wash, rince and repeat. The main relationship followed the same pattern. By ep 35 I had no reason left to root for the main couple anymore and honestly thought they would be better off separated. Tantan Jin's obsession for Ye Xiwu was more disturbing than moving to me, and Ye Xiwu hated him enough that it seemed their relationship brought more more pain than happiness to her. All things considered Tantan Jin finding a temporary family in the Hengyang Sect around eps 30 was one of the things I enjoyed watching the most. Then the story took yet AGAIN a direction that I didn't like and I couldn't continue. If I needed a word to describe this whole watching experience, unrewarding would definitely be it.

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please watch

i wont say much but the only downside of this drama was that its only 40 episodes. the team couldnt control that so I don't blame them. That was truly the only negative comment i had for this drama. the songs, acting, actors/actresses, and cgi were absolutely phenomenal. the chemistry between the two main leads were insane, maybe im biased but i don't think i am. cried almost every episode after ep 10. the last episode i was sobbing.


100% worth your time.

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One of the best xianxia ever

This is hands down one of the best xianxia, actually best Chinese drama I have seen in a long time. Yes, it is all angst. Yes, there are episodes at the end that are rushed and edited weirdly, but despite that, this is a must watch.

First, this is different from all the saccharine, silly shows with a dumb FL. Instead, the emotions and tensions run more more deeply and the portrayals here of love and sacrifice are extremely nuanced. This is substantive and the stories and emotions just linger. In fact, you’ll find yourself thinking and obsessing about this 24/7 while you’re watching it. And yes, the ending is sad and you’ll need recovery time. But it’s so worth it.

Second, Luo Yunxi delivers one of the very best acting roles I have ever seen in a Chinese drama. I think it’s actually up there with HuGe in Nirvana in Fire. His performance is heartbreaking and mesmerizing.

Lastly, it is a visually stunning show. The costumes are the most beautiful and elaborate I’ve ever seen. The CGI is also extremely sophisticated and well done.

All in all, superb show, deserves 10/10 and should be ranked highly.

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Most twist Plot of xianxia drama

Fuhhhhh
I not sure what to write because this drama is masterpiece
Will try to write the beginning till end and if you ever watch it please dont skip 1 episode especially ep 30-40

Since the beginning happen at the immortal world and how she become ye xiwu is tge starting point
I love how susu become xiwu and how susu treat Jin si different from Old Xiwu
With the treatment that she give and how she protect Jin untill Jin open his heart to love Xiwu is so lovable
We can see that even though Jin is planning for the revenge he still fall in love with Xiwu
But heartbreaking that Xiwu only think about to take the devil bone from Jin

Even after Jin take over her kingdom he still protect Xiwu family even previously they really treat him like rubbish

You can clearly see he really fall in love for Xiwu till the moment she die
If you think the plot will be weaker after Xiwu die
Its not

All the plot and relevation is open after xiwu die
And if we think that Xiwu need to sacrifice himself
Obviously not

One of them need to die to kill Devil god
And obviously last moment sacrifice himself and become puppet for Devil God and die.

Fuck

In the last episode if you think they Jin will reincarnate
no
He will not reincarnate
Unlike some of Xianxia drama they will make the ML/FL can reincarnate
Not for this one

They have ill fated relationship
One of them need to die and Jin sacrifice himself for Susu and the Clan

One of the heartbreaking drama But i think ML could done better because Bai Lu has set her high standard for the acting
Im really thinking Devil God could be play Wang Hedi
Because of previous drama he has the charisma for the devil god

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Blood and Betrayal

That's how I would summarize this drama and it wouldn't be an exaggeration. There's blood spitting involved for the main leads in almost every episode. You could actually make this a drinking game and would end up so drunk after its 40 episodes that you couldn't pronounce your name anymore. Joke aside, I hate when dramas get repetitive but exactly that happened to TTEOTM.
There's just too much betrayal and blood spitting in it to be original anymore.

Minor spoilers ahead, nothing major
Also the main leads romance did not work for me and at first I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Why did my friends say, they kept watching for the main lead but I didn't feel the same? It wasn't his looks, nor his character. I liked him, but the romance nah, I even rooted for the main lead to end up with who knows who, just someone else than the FL.
And then I finally realized why this entire romance between main leads didn't work for me. I wasn't even convinced that what they felt for each other was true love. FL was sent back 500 years with the mission to kill him, then realize he's bullied and (probably) not the devil but rather the outcome of how people around him treated him. So what she's feeling is pity, yet hatred because he did massacre her entire family/clan. He's said to not be capable of feeling love so why should I believe he's developing romantic feelings for her? It might be more like having Stockholm Syndrome. Growing feelings for someone who treats you good, gives you food, clothes, cares for you when you're sick, even though they abused you in the past. Since no one else around him treated him like this, how should he know the difference between love and this warm feeling you get, when someone cares for you. That alone does not count as love to me. Even less since she kept backstabbing him, lying to him etc. They've been lying to each other the entire drama and when they didn't lie they didn't communicate at all and caused misunderstandings. It was really annoying and I won't even mention the end!
For me the drama was not worth it, despite a good cast, OST, CGI and costumes. I don't care about those when the story is so pathetic. I had high expectations and really wanted to love this drama, but the story and questionable romance totally disappointed and even upset me. I cannot recommend to watch.

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Best Enemies to Lovers

I am absolutely in love. I really love enemies to lovers trope in a drama, and Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu brings the dynamic to life as perfect as I can imagine. LYX is what beautiful strong tragic would be as a person, and I think his Tantai Jin is the most beautifully expressed character I've ever seen on TV. His complex facial expression, his layered personalities, complex backstories, his moral standing and his thinking process are all so well-played it feels like I am getting to know the character personally.

Bai Lu is very pretty and heroic, like I love how despite LYX plays a literal devil god, her character feels stronger instead, like there's something that feels like steel in her mannerism. Her backstory is somehow feels pitiful to me, and her character may be seen differently through different perspectives and you may found yourself torn between liking and disliking her too.

The cinematography and CGI is very well done, the costumes all look so intricate and luxurious and I love everything about this except I think the ending could be a bit better, but people say it will have a special episode later? I don't know. From the first episode this drama had hooked me so strongly and until the end it left a strong aftertaste in my palate I think no drama will ever come close to this, for now.

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Just another drama with endless tears

This is another drama that starts off great but progress so slowly that it loses the plot. Don't get me wrong, the concept is great but the amount of back and forth is a bit too much. You know those typical dramas where the couple would end up together and be separated only to get back together again? Yeah, this is one of those. There always be something that keeps the couple apart and their relationship is always short-lived.

To be honest, after watching so many dramas, I'm actually bored of female characters who are loyal and the type who would sacrifice anything for the greater good. This has been the theme for many xianxia dramas that it has become slightly mainstream to me. I was actually expecting a slightly more unique character for Bai Lu but her character in this drama turned out to be a little underwhelming for me.

However, there is one thing that was quite touching to me in this drama. I like how they went all the way back to when Tantai Jin was still just a mortal and the cruelty he had gone through throughout his life. Although it was his fate to be the devil but he wasn't born evil. Circumstances that made him live only to survive had shaped him into a person that hated the world. This part of the plot felt very strong for me.

All in all, it is a drama worth watching. All the actors were great and have amazing chemistry. If only the story wasn't that draggy I would have rated the drama an 8.

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