Fate Chooses You

Fate Chooses You Has Me Confused but Hooked

This will be a basic review without spoilers.

Fate Chooses You is one of those shows that leaves me completely confused, but somehow still very entertained. It is hard for me to fully explain what exactly is confusing me, but something about the story, pacing, or the way things unfold keeps me feeling a little lost.

At the same time, I am still really enjoying it. Even though I do not fully understand everything, the show still has something that keeps pulling me back in and makes me want to continue watching. Sometimes that mystery can be frustrating, but it can also be part of what makes a drama interesting.
Reading other reviews is great, but watching it for yourself is even better.

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The Road to Mortality

Lu Qianqiao is the last surviving war demon. His race was punished by the gods for disrespecting heaven's laws. Thus, the man is cursed to an existence deprived of taste, color, pain, and rest, and is subject to periodic spells of hot-blooded mania. He helps Xin Mei, a low-level cultivator from Tianyuan Sect, break a widow's curse, but forms a longer entanglement with her than he initially intended. She becomes invested in his cause and helps him face the agonizing five transformations he must undergo to break the war demon's curse.

Fate Chooses You is a xianxia with a surprisingly interesting premise: instead of seeking immortality, the hero's journey follows the road to mortality. Across many plot arcs, the narrative explores what it means to be human and how, in the process of seeking immortality, cultivators lose their humanity along the way. Because the ladder to heaven has been closed since the death of the Jianmu tree, the power level of even the most advanced cultivators in this story has not yet reached deity level. This makes the stakes in any battle higher; no outcome is a foregone conclusion simply because of skill level. Good battle tactics can even out an imbalance in cultivation levels.

While Lu Qianqiao and Xin Mei do fall deeply in love from a marriage of convenience, their romance does not drive the plot. In some ways, this is to be expected of a Ren Jialun drama! But both lead character stories are well written. Even though Xin Mei aids Lu Qianqiao on his journey, she also has her own path that often takes her on separate missions. I really enjoy her independence, agency, and free will. Every time she returns to his side, it is because she chooses to, and they protect each other from the hypocrisy and judgment of the cultivation sects. While this isn't that heavy on romance, I did enjoy Ren Jialun and Wang Herun's chemistry. This is my first Wang Herun drama—she is a very engaging and natural young actress.

While the narrative is strong through most of the drama, it doesn't finish as well as I would have liked. I expected this to be a journey to mortality, not perfection. Lu Qianqiao made a very consequential, life-changing sacrifice too casually, without any explanation or closure for Xin Mei. I was super angry on her behalf; that she wasn't asked or even told and he didn't seem to feel sad enough. Maybe that is on Ren Jialun's acting but that final decision is my main beef with the story - that he shortchanged her when it mattered. It felt like a betrayal to me. I was also expecting an epic final battle, but it turned into a walkover, leaving a sense of anticlimax. I know I am in the minority, but to me, the ending was profoundly sad and not deserved.

Still, this is a very solid drama—one that could have been a lot better had the storytelling held up into the finale. It is a recommended watch that I rate 7.5/10.

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Becoming human

Embedded in this long-winded drama is a poignant and profound discourse on what it means to be human. Or rather, one could say the story discusses that we should pursue to be the better version of our selves as humans and not seek for something that is not meant for us. Greed, immortality - these are perennial xianxia themes, but they are explored in more detail here than in most dramas of the same genre.

The execution of this story does hold some flaws, however. The writing is dense and often redundant - perhaps an oversight in direction or editing. There are simply too many scenes of exposition where people sit and talk about the same thing multiple times. Additionally, some characters and storylines feel superfluous and not well-integrated with the main story revolving around Lu Qianqiao and the treacherous immortals. The first half certainly does a better job of balancing all the story strands. The second half loses focus a bit and feels underwhelming at the climax. The story builds to a moment where ordinary men would triumph over evil (RIP Senior Bai), but suddenly Lu Qianqiao becomes a Perfect War Demon? A bit of a sudden turn in the character's journey to become wholly human and in the story's themes, if you ask me.

Nevertheless, this is still worth watching if you are a fan of the genre - it does hold some genuinely stirring moments from a great ensemble cast. However, it is far from a masterpiece and will likely not stand the test of time - certainly no rewatches from me.

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To be human vs an immortal

Simple story about immortal beings and the main male lead wanting to be human.

The execution is well enough for a C-drama that I'm not fussed with the story. It did kind of rush the ending a bit and well no spoilers but it kind of felt like cheating at the end but you'll see what I mean when you watch it. There is flashbacks near the end and I mean too much flashbacks so I had to skip those. There's also a lot of irrelevant closure like some characters they're so useless that's it better to not even bother talking about them later.

The antagonist, easy to tell so there was no shocking revelations.

In my opinion "The Boys" makes a better series because it goes into a gritty world and straight through the jugular. I kind of imagine if the script writer was inspired by "The Boys" this series could have been a 10/10 for me because I can only imagine how much more gritty I would make this series and explore the core concept of this series in that nature.

Overall though the story is decent enough that it doesn't sway away from the theme but a bit too light for me to fully say it's a great story. It's a predictable Chinese script.

Fighting like I'm more into Jackie Chan style which means good fight scenes. This is about immortal beings so expect sky fairy style of fighting so lots of CGI is involved sometimes it clearly is bad CGI. There's not much choreography like it's weak but the focus of this series was never about the fighting and I'm a big time action fella so I love series and movies with lots of fight scenes and how much effort the actors put in which is very tiring like Ever Night season 1 has really good fight scenes while having like powers involved.

So I give the fighting a 3/10 and this is because when you see the most powerful immortals fight it doesn't feel GRAND. I'll say anime is possibly the best to see how grand you can make fights like even Hero Academia the fight was just like making me tear up because of how well they did it even against all odds just that struggle and the grand nature of fighting a more insanely powerful individual.

In this and most c-drama it's just weak like you can't be serious and say the end fights were any good. I would even say one fight they cheap out so hard they made the same things between both of the greats that I was like wow this was so underwhelming so that's it?

Once again fighting is not the focus of this series so I gave it a big pass but if it was about like Hero Academia style of story this would have ended up a 4/10 series for me.

The acting and cast like both main leads loved them and it's not really a lovey dovey series so I like the vibe of the tease I guess. The ending is also nice too and I really enjoyed a potential setup for further season 2 if they dive in.

One thing I will say there wasn't much supporting characters I really felt attached to so I think the script didn't do much of them justice and fact is when you fail at that the whole "here's their backstory" it kind of all falls apart. There's some shows that introduce supporting characters that I feel sad when they kill them off or I'm interested in their backstory and I just didn't get that vibe here so most of the time I wanted to just see the progression of the main leads rather than all these other support cast.

I did really enjoy the story about human kind preserving knowledge like that ain't no spoiler but it reminds me of historically like countries like South Korea vs Japan and what the Japanese did back then.

Good watch, had a good time. Would have been excellent if it was similar vibes to The Boys and just more gritty and heart wrenching. Ended on a good theme and if there's a season 2 I would love to see more from the main leads.

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A Perfect Match under Heaven - I think the original title suits better

Two people find themselves entangled with each other’s fate when they agreed for marriage of convenience. Xin Mei was prophecised as a child that she would become the death of 3 of her husband. Because she already had someone she fancied as her husband prospect, she decided to break the curse and wed a death row convict, Lu Huai so he would become the last husband she killed (the two previous husbands were killed during engagement, before they got married to her). Meanwhile Lu Huai, a magistrate of the district was framed to be a corrupt official and sentenced to Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts), when in reality, he is a war ghost hybrid Lu Qianqiao, the abandoned child of a war ghost mother and an immortal cultivator father who is ridden by a curse. To break the curse and become a normal human, he had to undergo life-threatening procedures and needed a blood relative that could bring him back from the brink from each procedure, thus he agreed to wed Xin Mei so she could become his lifestring. However, Lu Qianqiao never expected that Xin Mei would go berserk after his supposedly death by lingchi upon learning of his unjustified sentence. She goes after all 4 officials that were involved in his framing, and becomes a target for immortal cultivators who the officials asked protection from. Lu Qianqiao saved Xin Mei and wiped her memory, thinking this would be the last of their encounter. To his surprise, Xin Mei appeared yet again at his next destination, and that he still needs to protect her from aggressors that she encountered during her revenge frenzy that she no longer remembered. Will he really be able to lead a normal life as a mortal next to a cultivator that he pledged his life with, or will he abandon his dream of becoming a human to keep the love of his life safe from danger that seem neverending?

It’s good to see Ren Jialun yet again at his peak after his phenomenal performance in The Blue Whisper and a rather downer Burning Flame. As usual, I love the fact that he could convey his emotion through facial expressions and his eyes, he need not to express his admiration and love for the FL by flowery poetic words or spicy frenchkisses and racy bedscenes. Lu Qianqiao is a conflicted character - while he is adamant at becoming a normal human being without martial ability so he could finally enjoy life properly free from the war ghost curse of no restful sleep, no sense of colours and pain, and tasting everything he eats as rotten, he also finds his stance swayed when he realized he needed power to protect this new wife he found himself loving as more and more threats arise one after another. It melts his heart even more that Xin Mei doesnt mind if he were to become a normal human without any powers, because Xin Mei also envisioned a normal life with him, away from cultivator’s world and strife. He eventually found that his dream of becoming human is indeed as strong as his desire to protect his wife, which left him utterly conflicted.

I think this is the first of Wang Herun’s show with her as the mainlead that I’ve seen, but I must say she had great chemistry with ML, and her acting was amazing. I love that she seemed weak, gentle and demure in the first episode but turned out to be very resolute and capable when it comes to her stance. She keeps getting blocked out and falls from her Golden Core cultivation level because she keeps getting entangled with the mortal issues, but her stance never waned. She could never turn a blind eye upon seeing injustice, and there was nothing anyone could change about this even if she had to lay down her life for it. I find it a bummer that she keeps needing saving in each battle, which is quite understandable when she was a low level cultivator but even as she is at nascent level, the ML still keeps coming to her rescue, so yeah, that is quite a bummer for me who love independent, strong FLs. I love everything about Xin Mei though I wish this character had been a bit tougher than what she was written as. I get tired of pulling my face each time the scene of her lying in bed in the verge of death after each battle comes on.

Some of the sideplots felt like total fillers that felt like a total waste of time. Like the almost love triangle between Bai Zongren, Lady Jiang and Xin Mei. There’s also too many characters written in that made it hard for me to follow each sideplot, which led me to use the ff button instead.

Though one thing I must admit, Xiao Xiang Dong Er do have the talent to turn a bland and straightforward novel into an expanded version with complicated sometimes rather twisty storyline. She did the same with Tian Xia Wu Shuang (novel) for its adaptation A Moment but Forever, which i guess is the sequel to this one based on the last 2 episodes. Btw, it truly beats me why the heck did she allow her own epic novel Princess Agent be butchered beyond recognition on screen when she herself is a screenwriter who has written good stories that is even better than the novel they’re after. total mindblowing, and a pity. 😔 I still hope for a more accurate adaptation of Princess Agent, but I digress.

Anyway, the production definitely spent loads and loads of ‘blood’ packets for this show, cuz almost in every single battle, there would be more than one character spewing blood all over themselves during fights, and more than once in one battle even. Good lord, it seemed like they never ran out of blood to vomit. 😵‍💫😂 i must say this show had probably the most blood vomiting scenes i ever watched. What a total mess.

I love the ending which can be said to be a happy ending, though i wished Ren Jianlun had a wee bit more scenes under his belt.

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Interesting plot with sub-optimal execution.

Overall:
Apparently this is controversial compared to existing reviews, but this drama is only worth 6-6.5/10, in my opinion. Whilst the plot pulls you in at first, it becomes dull extremely quickly, and only pulls you back in for the ending. Truly a loss. Furthermore, quite a few characters are unlikeable – especially Xin Mei which is an issue considering the amount of screen time she is given. However, Lu Qianqiao is an interesting and easy-to-root-for character who holds much more depth than XM. He has an interesting backstory which fuels his ironclad resolve to 'fit in', somewhere or another, through whatever means possible. This motive makes it easy to follow his intentions, and even easier for the audience to reel themselves in and root for him. While his backstory is described, it wouldn't hurt to have focused more on him instead of XM. If such was possible, the rating could be much higher as the plot does hold potential.

Story/Characters:
At the start of the drama, this plot is quite intriguing and motivates you continue watching, but that only lasts until Xin Mei's revenge arc for Lu Huai ends, with the beginning of her amnesia. The revenge is refreshing and really sets expectations for what Xin Mei's character is like: stubborn in her own morals. It is especially compelling considering her introductory 'detached' character which only seeks to marry a death-row prisoner. As she goes on a killing rampage, the audience feels a need to root for her to clear out these corrupt officials who wrongfully accused an innocent man to death by a thousand cuts. But that's about as much as her character goes. With the start of her amnesia, she grows to become a dull, stubborn, selfish, and self-righteous character who centres the entire world around herself. Bold claim, perhaps, but when she is blinded by her confidence and stubborn morals, she becomes unlikeable. From injuring Lu Qingqiao because she found out about his identity as a War Ghost to lecturing the sect disciples about good v. evil, she somehow has this unwavering confidence that she is always correct, therefore others must listen to her. It is exactly this unwillingness to consider the perspectives of others that makes her unlikeable.

Lu Qianqiao is an interesting character. He seeks to become human because he wishes to fit in somewhere, after living his entire life as neither this, nor that. It is exactly through this that we can understand his character and what is to be expected from him. His mother and father were spies from opposing forces who came together to create LQQ, meaning the fragmentation of his identity is inevitable. He is constantly forced to choose one side, yet he cannot, because he cannot belong entirely to one. Thus, he begins on his quest to truly become a human – it is this motivation that makes the audience want to root for him, becoming interested in the plot. What a pity that the drama decided to (arguably) give more time to XM instead, although even that was poorly-executed.

While this is disputed, I enjoyed A Sheng's character. Whilst she was not likeable, you could understand why she acted as she did, thanks to her entire backstory. This, in clear contrast to Xin Mei who has no explicit backstory aside from a couple lines about her being the only one left in her family, makes it easier to gravitate towards A Sheng. A pitiful child yet cunning child who turns the tables. Even as part of the main character group, she commits her own evils, especially towards Jin Lun, showing that she is not perfect nor does she have to be. She grew up in an environment where you either kill or get killed, so it's no wonder she's so heartless. Again, this ruthlessness and imperfection makes her character interesting. Not good, but interesting.

Overall, the plot has potential. I don't expect much depth nor nuance from idol-dramas, so this plot did exceed my expectations. The introduction of various determinants of good v. evil have the audience unsure about whose side to take. An ally today may become an enemy tomorrow, and vice versa. A clear contrast between the beginning, where the sect disciples are hunting down our main character group, and the final fight, where the sect disciples have allied with the main character group to retaliate against the final evil, the sect leader. It is impossible to fully determine what is good and what is evil, and this plot manages to touch upon that grey area. So much better than a plot where the villain is clear from episode 1, and they are evil for the sake of being evil. However, the middle of the drama drags on and the pacing is a bit odd, making them feel like filler episodes instead of actual plot. Scenes which could have progressed much faster are filled with the characters conversing, even when arguing during action/battle scenes.

Acting:
To start off with the male lead, Ren Jialun as Lu Qianqiao, his acting was fitting for this drama. He is able to accurately create the gradual change from War Ghost to human, as LQQ slowly begins to acquire a more humane understanding of the world. Whether its his childlike wonder for food, or his curiosity about the human experience, the subtleness is there and well-executed, making his character interesting. His range of emotions is the best part about his acting because he doesn't use the same expression or face for sadness, happiness, anger, fury, disappointment, disgust, etc., and actually creates some nuance. To be human is to feel multiple feelings at once, and he portrays that. While this may be the entry-mark to acting, to do so well is difficult, and the bar is considerably low nowadays.

Wang Herun as Xin Mei has absolutely no appeal. I am unsure whether this is a result of her poor acting, XM's confusing character, or both. When I watched the first episode, I had to double check who the female lead was as I felt absolutely no interest towards her; she simply felt like a guest character, no main character sentiments at all. The only time I was even vaguely compelled to focus was the shift from detachment to absolute fury XM faced when Lu Huai was unjustly killed. Such contrast created an actual incentive for me to focus on the story as we watched her unleash her wrath. However, even throughout that storyline, the actress was still lacking that final fit of rage. This feeling of lacking something continues with the rest of the drama, because it seems that she has three expressions: happy when she's with LQQ, sad when something happens, and an inexplicable overconfidence when she is lecturing others.

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A great show but..

This drama would've probably been better off a brotherhood/friendship kind of xianxia.. the females on this show ruined it for me.. From FL to supporting actresses.. i dont understand if its the directors fault making all these women has such weak characters.. im not just talking about physically. Let's start with the FL.. poor thing needs saving even when her cultivation is high.. always borderline dying.. then throughout the drama she makes these doe-eyes like bambi.. IDK what direction the screenwriters wanted her character to take.. then theres her sister.. lord have mercy.. this one is just a killing machine with zero feelings.. uses people to get what she wants.. and the screenwriters didnt even let her character redeem herself with all the people she wronged.. then theres the girl from the opposing sect.. she just does everything the sect leaders wants her to do without question.. completely clueless to the world around her.. ughhh not one female character i was happy with.. sorry.
Now lets talk about the story in general.. it was interesting and good enough to keep me wanting to watch the next episodes.. Allen Ren and the other male cast members did a great job.. the fighting scenes were incredible.. I wish they spent a little more effort on Riley Wangs character.. would've wanted more development.
Bottom line.. would i recommend it? Yes, cuz everyones taste and opinions differ.. you may like the female characters on here. Would i rewatch? Me personally probably not. It was good and that was enough for me 💜

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I don't like the story

It seemed that I had wasted my time watching this drama. From the very first episode, I anticipated that I was going to watch a deep and emotionally intense love story. It is true that I am a little biased toward romantic dramas, especially when my favorite actors and actresses are part of the cast. However, I was disappointed. From the beginning until the final episode, I kept waiting for the story to develop in the way I had expected, but it never did.

I honestly do not understand why Zheng Yecheng and Liu Xueyi made guest appearances in the drama. Both of them are my favorites, and I was happy to see them again after a long time. Anyway, coming back to the main point, I think their appearances might have been included to prepare for a second or third season.

Although the script was weak, I would still like to appreciate the performances of Fu Wein Luan, the Lord of the Rust Sword, and Sun Zeyuan, apart from the lead actors. Riley Wang’s character initially appeared strong and promising, but eventually became weak and underwhelming. He always seemed less powerful than A Sheng.

I especially missed the romantic development between the leads. The ending was the worst part of the drama.

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Good storyline

It was great storyline speaking about greed what humans will do to live forever even it means becoming a villan. Always do the right thing in the end. . Great casting. Romance level huge disappointment. Im fan of ren jia lun but he needs to stop doing romantic dramas since it seems like his last few romantic dramas he doesn't wanna do kissing scenes because he wants to respect his wife . Hes a great actor he can do other dramas with out romance. Even second couple was disappoinment. I honestly dont like how they xin mei strong from the start kind made her weaker through the drama. I hope wang he run gets more lead action and romantic dramas shes great actress . The leads did have some chemistry. Ending made no sense. I did like the strong female characters. But this drama was great to watch once but ill probably wont watch it again. But definitely recommend watching aleast once though

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Wanted to Love It, Ended Up Disappointed

I honestly thought this drama would end up being one of my favorites. I love Allen’s dramas and usually enjoy watching him even when they're sad or flawed. For most of the show I was sitting at around an 8/10, but the final two episodes dropped it to a 7.5.

The drama isn't bad. It's perfectly watchable and decent entertainment if you're just looking for something to pass the time. The problem is that it never quite reaches its potential. The story itself is actually interesting, but the execution doesn't fully deliver. There are too many storylines, too many characters, and not enough focus on what should have been the heart of the show.

My biggest issue is that neither lead ever truly felt like the center of the story.

Xin Mei started off incredibly strong. I absolutely loved her in the first episodes. Her revenge arc was one of the best parts of the drama and made me excited to see where her character would go. She was capable, determined, and interesting. Unfortunately, after the amnesia arc, I felt like she lost a lot of what made her compelling. She became less interesting and less impactful. The actress did a good job, but Xin Mei herself never felt like a true main character to me. Sometimes I genuinely forgot she was supposed to be the lead.

The male lead had the more interesting storyline. His desire to become human was unique and one of the things that drew me into the drama. We're used to seeing mortals wanting immortality, so seeing someone desperately wanting to become human felt refreshing. His journey had so much potential, and I found his struggles far more interesting than most of the plot around him. I just wish the drama explored his character and motivations in more depth.

Allen was great as always. I loved his styling in this drama—probably one of my favorite looks of his—and he carried many scenes for me.

The romance was another disappointment. For a couple that starts off married, there was surprisingly little chemistry. I don't need kissing scenes, but I do need to feel the relationship. Most of the time they felt more like companions than romantic partners. The story keeps telling us how important their love is, but I never really felt it. It also didn't help that they spent so much of the drama apart. Sometimes it felt like they were in two separate dramas and only met when one needed to save the other.

The drama also suffers from having way too many side stories and characters. There were so many plotlines competing for attention that it became hard to stay invested.

Sheng and Jin Lun's storyline did absolutely nothing for me. Honestly, I think most of it could have been removed and very little would change. Bai's storyline wasn't much better. Aside from his sacrifice, which I did find meaningful, I wasn't invested in his character, romance, or overall arc.

There were entire stretches where it felt like 15–20 episodes passed and nothing significant happened. By the time the story started picking up again, I was already getting bored.

For a fantasy drama, it was also surprisingly low on excitement. There are some good action scenes, especially involving the male lead, but overall it feels like there's far more talking than action. My heart rarely felt like it was racing. It never really gave me that excitement I usually look for in fantasy dramas.

One storyline that did surprise me was the Wushang Society. At first I kept wondering why the drama spent so much time on them trying to recover books. Later on, though, I really appreciated it. Their determination to preserve knowledge, history, and culture despite persecution was genuinely moving. Watching them sacrifice themselves to protect knowledge and rebuild their world was heartbreaking. In many ways, that storyline made me sympathize with mortals more than anyone else and highlighted how selfish many of the immortals actually were.

As for the side characters, Lin Mu Han and Mei Shun Jun were easily my favorites. Every time they appeared, I became interested again. They brought energy to the show and had some of the strongest character development. Honestly, they're the only characters whose growth felt truly complete to me.

I also really liked Chu Ying and wish he had gotten more screen time.

Xin Mei's sister, however, drove me crazy. Her obsession with her senior became exhausting. She was immature, jealous, and desperately needed to grow up.

The ending is where the drama lost me.

I genuinely don't understand how the writers had two entire episodes left and still gave the main couple so little closure. Xin Mei spends forever looking for him, only for them to reunite in the final seconds. Technically it's a happy ending, but that doesn't automatically make it a satisfying ending.

The final battle was also underwhelming. Throughout the drama, the male lead had amazing presence and some great fight scenes. Then the climax arrives and he basically shows up, defeats the villain, destroys the tree, and it's over. For such an important battle, it felt surprisingly small.

What frustrated me even more was the resolution of the curse. The male lead sacrifices everything—his body, blood, heart, and future—to protect the people he loves. Then Xin Mei simply goes, removes the curse from a book, and comes back. It felt far too easy compared to everything he went through.

I was also disappointed that after everything, he ended up becoming the very thing he spent the whole drama trying not to be. The idea of someone desperately wanting to become human was one of the strongest parts of the story, so the ending left me wondering, "What was the point?"

Then there's the memory-loss ending. The drama itself tells us that without his memories, he's basically a different person. So when they reunite, we're left wondering if this is even the same man we've been following all along. Instead of giving closure, the ending leaves everything up to interpretation.

Overall, I don't regret watching Fate Chooses You. It has a genuinely interesting premise, strong performances, beautiful styling, and some memorable moments. I just think it got lost under too many storylines, too many characters, weak romantic development, and an ending that didn't do the story justice.

It's a good drama for passing the time and definitely watchable, especially if you're already a fan of Allen. But it's not one I'd go out of my way to recommend, and for me it ended up being a drama with a lot of potential that never fully reached it. But also, Liu Yuning’s OST was really beautiful and the cinematography is quite nice as well.

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