Xiao Qi Qing Rang (2025)

A Slow-Burn Love Sci-Fi Drama Where the Antagonists were more Modernized than the Protagonists.

I can say this was in my more anticipated dramas this year as I wanted to see the pairing of Reba with CXX as well as ZL as the awesome villain she can play and the sci-fi aspect as that's rare in cdramas. Now while the acting by literally everyone was spot on, the storyline had a lot of issues after the halfway mark. Let's discuss.

Pros: The chemistry of the leads and everyone's relationships be they team evil or good was the top contender. We had an ancient enemy known as the fiends that in their non-human forms looked like aliens that wanted to take over earth and a group of hunters appointed by an ancient king called the Nanshan or South Mountain Hunters and this duty was passed down from generation to generation. What the hunters didn't realize until the ML or YT met the FL or NJL was that the fiends had found a way to take on human forms and only those that still lived underground looked alien-eske. They were living amongst humans and the one in charge or LRX played by ZL had a whole farm where she used generations of actual kidnapped humans as "blood bags" or basically every inch of their body is consumed by a fiend who than looks like that person and is stronger than humans. But they are careful in their selection as they don't want to attract too much attention.

YT's parents and sister (about her we learned only briefly at the very end but not how) were murdered because his father owned a mine which could be used by LXR--or fake Lin as I called her because she took on YT's mom's name after the fact--for when the fiends went through their transformation to human. So Fake Lin and her posse of fiends plus the humans she employed—lord only knew why they were so loyal to her—raised YT and an unrelated sister that was born, to later be used as a blood bag herself. YT didn't know the truth until he grew up and found his mother's diary and from then on both he and LL (the sister) who also knew the truth lived in constant fear and had to conduct themselves appropriately but he was definitely trying to learn the truth and find ways to free them both.

It wasn't until he met NJL that everything changed. NJL was a sculptor by day and a Nanshan Hunter, one of the strongest because she wielded the Mad Blade as it was known. Her mother was one as well but was presumably killed 20 years ago and not seen again until the end. NJL was trying to quit the hunters but it kept coming back to her. She too lost her family to the fiends; first her mother and then her father took his own life from depression. She was raised by uncle Jiang who was the leader of the hunters and he and another woman trained her when she was a child and gave her, her blade which she had to accept by giving her blood as she was a direct descendant.

Through a series of encounters with YT, NJL learns to her horror that the fiends are now walking around in human form and this is why the last 20 years when they patrol the mountain it's been relatively quiet. Her relationship with YT starts off as combative but as he proves with information that he is trustworthy, they slowly become friends, than partners who help each other when wounded and other times and than it turns romantic. It's a slow burn which is expected given that romance isn't the primary storyline. To YT, NJL is the hope he's been looking for in him seeking the truth.

Meanwhile, fake Lin starts to suspect her "son" is finding out more than he needs to. We never really learned what plans she had for him other than helping her run her huge company filled with unsuspecting scientists and other people who do research on different DNA and other things meanwhile all of that is used in her quest to turn more and more of her kind into human form. She does charity work and other things on the side like investment and marketing that are legitimate to hide her side business. We start seeing clashes between fiends, their human sidekicks and hunters when one is kidnapped briefly and while he is released, Jiang-Shu and 4 others are taken and this is the start of everything that culminates in the battle at the end.

There's a second couple of LL and the doc friend and sponsored by fake Lin named Lv Xian who are pushed together because the only way LL can become a blood bag is if she gets married and has kids. Fake Lin feeds her raw meat and drugs her with milk. But the two become friends and later more than that. He helps YT and even NJL later rescue LL from the house; he also knows the truth but only reveals it to YT at the end. But YT gets caught, first with his mother's diary for which he is imprisoned at home for at least 15 days and than because a jealous hunter XS who has a thing for NJL, says his name in the exchange of prisoners with fake Lin which is when she realizes that YT "betrayed" her when he and his whole family "should be grateful to her for everything she's done." Delusional doesn't begin to cover it. So he's imprisoned in the mine for over a month and when NJL and another hunter rescue him, it's obvious he's gotten severe trauma. It takes a long time for him to come out of it; but he does with the help of NJL's now blended family; her caretaker, LL, and a dumplings guy who was also saved from the fiends when he harbored LL for a bit.

YT and NJL's romance picks up more at the end after her selective amnesia goes away and they have their "reunion" kiss and another intimate moment though not shown, it's understood. It's an HE for all intents and purposes; creepy ending notwithstanding. The entire story I won't tell but it's pretty cool in the first half. The second is as well but the storyline takes a dip at YT's mine time and never really recovers; but that'll be in the cons. Usually I list the characters that I liked the best, but honestly every single one did a great job. The leads and ZL were the best but I can't point to my favorite character because they all pulled their weight. The fights were great except the last one; my favorite was the one at the farm between NJL and fake Lin.

The amazing CGI especially of the non-human fiends, and that red cave thing where the earth demons dwelled plus the membrane NJL's mom put her in where YT rescued her from. I think that's why this show got an S+. The entire soundtrack fits perfectly as did costumes, sets, etc.

Now let's head to the cons. Sadly, there were a lot of those.

Cons: They started cutting scenes around the time YT was in the mine and the rest was spliced together; things you'd see in previews or official photos, you never saw on screen. There were so many plot holes, you could fall into one. Some of the examples are: They hadn't trained in 20 years; everything was outdated and they were at a severe disadvantage which is why the final battle was a hot mess. They weren't even physically strong to take on the human fiends let alone their non human counterparts. When was the last time any of them went to a gym? It's like YT knew how strong fake Lin was because she lifted him off the ground with one hand when he was locked in the house but he used the tranq gun like a bat? I mean really? He couldn't shoot her? She disarmed him in under 3 seconds and shot him instead. Make it make sense, plz. Uncle Jiang knew about the earth demons (NJL's mom being the only one who retained her consciousness) but never told the hunters and XS only read half of it from a book but never studied further to know they would take out their own brethren. Everyone was waiting for a serious battle because of the build up and we got that?!? The writers did put the hunters at a serious disadvantage by making them not modernized like their enemy was. They could have used Mad Blade's blood to make real bullets with real guns, so much could have been adapted.

The fiends had adapted with resources, modern tools, even drones at one point, while the hunters looked almost embarrassing in comparison, stuck in outdated methods. Viewed from an outside perspective, the hunters seemed like a poorly maintained car garage, while the fiends operated like the Italian mob when they had real power. In that final battle, the hunters were pretty much slaughtered and that’s because they spent 20 years sitting on their asses eating, joking, and not training and their equipment was 20 years behind schedule, AT LEAST. Then there was the fact that they could not watch each other‘s backs and that’s why SQ was ambushed, which by the way was so out of the blue; like he barely got a chance to fight. But all the strong hunters had to sacrifice themselves one way or another or get badly hurt to kill essentially 2 human fiends because NJL with her "Mad Blade Medicine", took out the two huge non-human ones. But at least Jiang-Shu got some revenge and killed the dude with the blade who killed him, but I think he was glad that he did that. Fake Lin just stood by the side waiting for YT (who by the way basically shot maybe three times the entire time; otherwise he just ran around and pointed that rather useless tranq gun) and NJL. And the anticlimactic non-fight between fake Lin and NJL. We were really building up to it and literally nothing happened; other than talking but then they stabbed each other and it was over as NJL fell and then mom came flying in and decapitated fake Lin. 32 episode built up to that; what a waste!

Also when YT was rescuing FL from the membrane, his hands were red and blistered but next scene, they're fine. And probably the most ridiculous part was the selective amnesia. She remembered everybody except him. Every single time something was brought up she remembered the fight, she remembered the people. He was there alongside her, by her side every step of the way and yet nope, she didn’t remember him. Thankfully that lasted only 1. 25 eps. There were more but I already forgot them.

Would I recommend it? Despite the absolutely insane amount of plot holes in the cons and cut scenes, the series itself is still quite good. Hence it got the score it did. The acting was phenomenal and the overall story is good. Watch and judge for yourselves.

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Thrilling, action-filled, romance as a subplot! Everything you could possibly want basically

When I went into Love on the Turquoise Land, I was excited, yes, but I wasn't expecting it to take me on a journey of heartbreak, happiness, worry, and anticipation. From the beginning, LOTL captivated me with it's fast-paced yet incredibly nuanced plot line, whether it was the carefully crafted backstory of each character that made them the way they are today. I initially held some degree of hesitation, as I don't typically watch stuff considered "supernatural" but LOTL was pleasantly surprising with this. In my opinion, the "supernatural" aspects are not far fetched ideas that are not fleshed out enough to have any real substance to them, but rather, these supernatural creatures involved have complex and distinct stories of how they came to be, their motives, and their history.


(SMALL) SPOILERS AHEAD
First thing I want to talk about (and praise) are all of the cast members. Each played their character extremely well and demonstrated a deep understanding for who their character is and not just their external motivations but even to some extent, the secrets their characters may hold.

Dilraba's Nie Jiuluo was beautifully crafted. Nie Jiuluo, or A Luo, started off as someone who was cold and detached from the world, which that in itself was such an interesting irony for me. A Luo, since she was young, has wanted to leave the Nanshan Hunters and live an ordinary life, as those in the Nanshan Hunters seem to almost live in their own world, yet when she was living among regular everyday civilians, she wasn't really a part of their world. In the beginning, A Luo lived in a limbo of sorts, between the world of ordinary people and the world the hunters lived in. Then, after she meets Yan Tuo and goes through several life-or-death situations, she slowly warms up to people as a whole and consequently becomes more integrated into the ordinary world but at the same time, with Yan Tuo's presence, she becomes more and more tangled up into the affairs of the Nanshan Hunters. What I especially loved to see was the subtle change in A Luo's character and I largely accredit that to Reba's acting. The micro-expressions and changes in tone of voice brought the character to life and made A Luo's character growth truly realistic and believable. As an avid fan of Reba, her acting in this (and her previous drama, Sword Rose) shows huge improvements and I can't wait to see what's next for her.

Chen Xingxu's Yan Tuo was a complex and layered character that I strongly believed not many actors can pull off. Especially in the beginning of LOTL, Yan Tuo was someone who had to adapt two different personalities to survive. One that was his true self, which he only showed to those closest to him, and one that was obedient, compliant, and essentially "perfect" for Lin Xirou and her companions. The second personality is what I find most interesting with Yan Tuo's character. He has to be smart enough to take on responsibilities in the Roushan group but not smart enough to detect anything wrong with Lin Xirou. It's a delicate balance that requires all the right expressions, interactions, and line delivery, and that balance is what I believe Chen Xingxu was able to achieve. At one moment, Yan Tuo could be cautious and wary of Lin Xirou and at the next moment, he is able to play her oblivious, young, loving, and grateful stepson. Additionally, his character contrasts Nie Jiuluo's well--- A Luo's character development was slow and no one is able to pinpoint the exact moment her character shifted while Yan Tuo's development was almost instant. Once he was fully exposed, Yan Tuo completely gave up the idea of upholding his old image in the eyes of Lin Xirou and let his hatred for her shine through. This is yet another irony I find interesting in the characters of LOTL. A Luo, compared to Yan Tuo, is more impulsive and "swift", while Yan Tuo is relatively calm and calculated, biding his time until the moment came, yet their developments mirrored each other's personalities more than their own.

Zhang Li's Lin Xirou was another character I found incredibly captivating. Even though she is the ultimate antagonist and mastermind behind almost all the problems in the show, the way the scenes and Zhang Li's understanding of her character made it impossible for me to fully hate Lin Xirou. As an actress, Zhang Li beautifully portrays the internal struggles of Lin Xirou and the necessity to still appear strong on the outside. Lin Xirou genuinely cared for Yan Tuo and truly saw him as family, and that line she said to Yan Tuo, "Your biggest helper in these lies wasn't your sculptor girlfriend or the Nanshan Hunters, it was me." was so powerful and captured so well the complexities of Lin Xirou as a person. In the eyes of everyone else, the Earth Fiends were heartless and ruthless. They existed as an entity and not a life capable of love and anguish but Lin Xirou's character proved those beliefs wrong. She knew Yan Tuo knew more than what he let on. She knew that one day, he would stand against her. Yet, she continued playing along with him, pretending she was oblivious to all Yan Tuo was doing and turning a blind eye to his repeated betrayals, and not for any ulterior motives. Yan Tuo held no importance to her mission or her survival. He wasn't her blood bag, he wasn't unconditionally loyal, and he wasn't even the same species as her. She repeatedly gave him chances to turn back because Lin Xirou came to genuinely love and care for the little boy she watched grow up. Like Yan Tuo, who wore two faces, Lin Xirou did the same and due credits should be given to Zhang Li too. On one hand, Lin Xirou was cold and calculating to ensure the assimilation and survival of her people, on the other hand, she played a loving stepmother who ignored all and any wrongdoings of Yan Tuo. To be able to capture the exact moment her character sensed something wrong, then immediately mask that concern takes hard work and dedication to the craft that is acting and I truly believe that like the rest of the cast, this drama would not be as good as it is.

All of the other supporting/side characters like Xiong Hei, Lin Ling, Feng Mi, Yu Rong, Que Cha, and even Xing Shen were all truly exceptional too. I wish I had time to go over how I found each of their characters interesting in their own right and all of the nuances written into their characters despite them being only support characters, but alas, this review would become way too long and there are still some points I would like to cover.

Second, I would like the praise the pacing and story telling of LOTL. One thing that I have found common in many cdramas are filler episodes. Whether it was small, unknown dramas or widely recognized dramas, the large majority of them shared one glaring weakness in my eyes: too many filler episodes. When I came into LOTL, I was expecting the same. This belief, of course, was pleasantly proven wrong. The pacing of LOTL was pretty much perfect. Each episode had me at the edge of my seat and wanting more. Had I started watching this when it first aired, I almost definitely would've binged this entire drama in less than 3 days.

The story telling was no different than the pacing, and when I talk about story telling, I don't just mean the plot, I'm factoring in the cinematography, the sequence of scenes (flashbacks included), and the use of camera angles. I don't even know how to describe it in a way that does it justice but the best way I can describe the cinematography in this drama is it sucks you into the story and makes it feel like you are watching it unfold with your own eyes, not just on a screen. The way this drama is shot, you would expect it to be a high-production movie. I also really enjoyed the way flashback scenes were utilized. Instead of letting the viewers see glimpses of the lead's backstory throughout the entire drama, the first few episodes lays it out pretty clearly for the audience. This decision not only allowed the audience to better understand and connect with the characters, it allowed most of the focus and curiosity to be on the antagonists--- the Earth Fiends. Instead of immediately revealing all of the information about them in the beginning, we, as the viewers, found out most of the information with the protagonists. This massively contributed to the captivating nature of LOTL and I believe this was one of its strongest advantages over the other cdramas.

Of course, I do also need to talk about the plot itself and not just the way it was presented to us. I found the plot to be incredibly nuanced and well-crafted. The world the male lead and female lead lives in is obviously fictional but the world building that was not just lost somewhere in the writing room was actually conveyed to a point that made the world feel real. Nothing happened without reason. One event led to another and all of the major plot points like Yan Tuo being trapped in the cave, Nie Jiuluo being stabbed by the Earth Fiends and barely clinging to her life, all of the Nanshan Hunters entering the Twilight Chasm ready to leave everything behind to build a peaceful world, Yan Tuo severely hurting Lin Xirou with Nie Jiuluo's bracelet, and so many other scenes I don't have enough time to list all of, they all happened to serve a specific purpose and built on each other, one way or another.

Now, since this is a review, it would be unrealistic if I only had praises, as I have yet to find the cdrama that I believe to be completely perfect in every aspect. While the story was more than satisfactory, I found the ending to be somewhat lacking. I didn't understand why Locust was never utilized by Xing Shen after he spent so long training him. I don't mean that Locust should have fought in the final battle but rather, after they escaped their initial cell, they quite literally had no more significance to the plot and I think they could have done something cool with him and Locust. Another thing I had a problem with was the lack of focus on the ending of the other characters. Sure, we had hints to the ending of Yu Rong and Que Cha, Lin Ling and Lu Xian, and Ms. Lu and uncle Changxi, however, they were just hints and in my opinion, did not provide a sufficient "end of story" for these beloved characters. Additionally, some very important people were left out of the ending too. We don't know what happened to the Nanshan Hunters, afterall, Xing Shen and Jiang Baichuan are both dead, the Mad Blade and Ghost Whip has more or less retired their positions to live a quiet and peaceful life, leaving only a handful of hunters left. Did they disband or is there a new leader elected? I understand the belief is the Earth Fiends have been fully taken care of, but it still stands that there are Earth Fiends alive and like they evolved to become human, they can evolve eventually to be able to cross that chasm. I will say however, leaving out the fate of the Nanshan Hunters can be intentional depending on how you look at it. The way I also see it, we don't know what became of the Nanshan Hunters for certain because Nie Jiuluo herself does not care what will happen to them and this story, in a sense, is told in her perspective. Another small problem I had with the ending was also how they dealt with Locust, which I touched on earlier. They basically handed them off to an animal control equivalent, but why and how did that not raise suspicions, as almost definitely, those researchers have never seen anything similar to an Earth Fiend? It was also implied Locust was Lin Xirou's child and Lin Xirou even asked about Locust but nothing ever came of it and Lin Xirou basically forgot Locust was in the hands of the Nanshan Hunters, as in the exchange, she did not ask for Locust. I just think it was such a missed opportunity to make the story more interesting and better craft Locust's character and existence in the film.

Still, my largest issues with the ending lies in two parts: Lin Xirou's death, and the amnesia plot. The defeat of Lin Xirou was something the show spent almost 30 episodes leading up to, yet the actual scene was less than like 2 minutes. It felt like her death ultimately didn't really matter. Also, in the final battle, it felt like they dehumanized her almost completely. She is shown to care about her people and at the very least, she was close with Feng Mi but after her friends and basically family started dropping like flies, she showed no care for them whatsoever. I still don't quite understand why Feng Mi was left behind to die and none of them even mourned her. I'm also not understanding why Nie Jiuluo ended up ultimately failing to kill Lin Xirou and it was her mother that had to do it. She was literally just shown expertly killing a number of Earth Fiends, yet when she reaches the most important one, she forgets how an Earth Fiend can be killed? That just seems really stupid and a plot hole. A more meaningful death would've been if Nie Jiuluo was able to ultimately kill Lin Xirou but the price of that would be her own "death" and when Yan Tuo watches Nie Jiuluo and Lin Xirou fall, he sees Nie Jiuluo's mother approach.

Onto the amnesia plot, in my opinion, it was unnecessary and too generic. Up to this point, LOTL had done such a good job with being unique and unpredictable but this plot was the exact opposite. I understand the need for there to be consequences to A Luo taking the Mad Blade medicine, but the whole "amnesia" thing doesn't even correlate. The excuse was that taking the medicine would essentially sever the ties to her emotions and whatnot and that's what caused her amnesia but that makes no sense because why would it only take away a few months of memories? The better plot to go with would've been that it permanently severed her emotions and the last two episodes are spent on Yan Tuo and the people around her trying to find a way to reverse the effects. At the very least, they should have gone with a different storyline if they stuck with the amnesia plot.

Like all stories throughout time and across the world, LOTL leaves many plot holes and questions unanswered behind like why did Nie Jiuluo have a special constitute that allowed for her blood to kill Earth Fiends and recover quickly, however, none of this should discourage anyone from giving this show a try. I know I talked a lot about how unsatisfactory the end was but I can promise you, it's not as bad as I make it sound. The ending wasn't amazing but it wasn't particularly bad either, I just left out a lot of the other details that I did really like for the sake of not just "glazing" this show.

Overall, this is definitely a really good watch and if you like action, thriller, romance, any of that good stuff, you will definitely have a great time watching Love on the Turquoise Land and I hope that for whoever gives this drama a try, you have as amazing of an experience as I did.

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