Moonlight Mystique

Supporting character death toll is too high and all for the greater good.

I was so damn excited when I found out that this was Tian Qi and Yue Mi's story. Both of them left such a good impression on me in Ancient love poetry that I wanted to see more of them. But Moonlight Mystique changed everything that made them Tian Qi and Yue Mi. They turned Yue Mi's sacrifice into Xing Yue's betrayal which was a misunderstanding.

I mean, had I just watched this as a standalone I would have liked it much better, but since it is part of the universe, it was a bit disappointed.

Judging it as standalone, the first arc was solid, I wish the middle arc had a little more depth, they made a comeback in the final arc. I did love them as a couple and Chong Zhao and Fu Ling story was also quite interesting. The final arc finally had the signature noble idiocy breakup and it was done well.

I wanted Jing Yuan and Fan Yue to become one and for Xing Yue and Bai Shuo to become one like they did in ALP with Bai Jue and Qing Mu. Even when Bai Jue suppressed part of him that was Qing Mu, he was also Qing Mu. At least with that storyline, Jiang Yuan and Xing Yue could have gotten the opportunity to spend a lifetime or two together.

One of my pet peeves about character deaths is when too many people are used as canon fodder for the main lead's happy ending. It makes the ending a lot more harder to digest.
> It begins with Bai Shuo's father. I thought he would die a natural death before I started the drama.
> 21 episodes in, we already saw the tragic tale of the Rong Xian and Ling Long, as if that's wasn't enough their child also had to die for the so called greater good. Mu Jiu and Tian Huo had just started falling in love when Mu Jiu chooses to sacrifice himself.
Before than A Qi and his brother both sacrificed themselves to that bloody tree.
> We have to say goodbye to Cang Shan as well. Again for the greater good, the author of the story seems to be fan of Dumbledore.
> Qi Feng is gone as well.
> Master Turtle was next to go.
> Xiu Yan
> A number of other eternals die.
> Bai Xi
> Tian Huo

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this took me by surprise

I have just finished this, I was so behind, this drama took me totally by surprise.
I had been eagerly awaiting it, but mainly to see Zuo Ye most recent appearance and honestly had I not had him to see I might not have finished this. The first three episodes for me felt lack lustre, the moon lord had no lord to him and it felt like Bai Lu was propping him up, the drama set itself felt a bit clunky, despite its beauty, felt like I was watching a b movie, but then the story began to take me somewhere and somehow all of that became secondary. The moon lord seemed to find himself and his gentler characterisation seemed to grow in strength, Bai Lu didn’t disappoint as she just got stronger and they totally complemented each other as a couple. I liked the pace of their love story no messing about but at the same time it felt natural.
The second couple also were surprisingly strong and at one point I felt the second male lead could have easily played the main lead. The sisters story took me totally by surprise at the end being the bow, yet it was perfect in concept.
The story was mesmerising and the pace was near perfect.
My only slight niggles were the ending, I didn’t need the moon lord to come back but if he had I wanted something more creative than just reappearing, I felt that let the story down which had been so good all the way through and the extra bit again a bit cheesy for the drama imo.
The eternals felt nothingy as a clan, I found myself wanting to fast forward every time they came on screen, just felt no substance to them especially as they didn’t seem to do any protecting which their whole role was supposed to be, in fact they seemed weak.
The clunky fight scenes, I often felt like I could see the equipment used to make it, it was so not natural. It reminded me a lot of Back from the brink, great story, great acting, but just clunky.
Overall though, it surpassed all my expectations and I thoroughly enjoyed this. A hard one to rate, if I used my logic it wouldn’t be that high of a score, but the story and the feels would make me score it high. So for me a solid 8.5 out of 10 ❤️

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Amazing drama, it's actually a piece of art for me.

Something about this series is that each character has their own story and each character has a meaningful message that the creators of this series want to convey to the viewer, and this kind of depth is hard to find. The story is incredibly interesting, and even the supporting roles seem to have their own lives, I love that each episode is better than the one before it, each episode reveals a new mystery and secret and tells the story of a specific character. I am someone who, when I watch series, always looks for the scenario that carries a deep meaning and motivates the viewer and tries to convey a message that you find you need (I am talking about this because I found lines that have a deep and beautiful meaning that I needed in a difficult period, this drama came at the right time)

The cast is absolutely amazing, hats off to all of them! Can we talk about the soundtrack, it is amazing. Sa Dingding nailed it! It is almost perfect. Zhou shen , I also loved his voice, his voice has always been beautiful, soft, deep and sweet. In this drama i can never skip the intro and this is rare for me.

the CGI is so so pretty and a magic work . The plot, storytelling, acting, and visual effects are all perfect! The plot twists are beautiful, the stories connect beautifully with each other, and the progression and character development in this drama is not slow but smooth and precise.

I recommend it to everyone even if you are not a huge fan of fantasy drama but this is a must watch drama.

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ok xianxia drama but actors CARRIED

ok so first of all, i think the plot leaves more to be desired, i understand the intentions but it didn't pay off for me personally. it also felt small scale for a xianxia drama, and idk why i feel that way. i just do. i know it is definitely not small scale, especially after watching the behind the scenes, but i kept waiting for some big final scene but it never felt as big as i wanted it to be. the actors, however, carried the hell out of this show. bai lu is an S class actor, she drew me in so many times, i love every choice she makes. ao rui peng was a strange casting choice for a character like fan yue in my opinion, but he did well too, and i think his nuance in his acting really sold the character. but also, did anyone else feel like fan yue was sooo sidelined in this drama? he was always out cold, or uninvolved in really large scenes, or just literally cast to the side of a scene. he oftentimes felt like a side character. we rarely got to see his perspective on things and i think that really made his character feel less significant. the creme de la creme aspect of this drama to me, though, was bai xi and chong zhao's relationship. i was so much more interested in their story, the actors had great chemistry together (as opposed to the just ok chem between the leads), and the tension in their relationship was just so good!! i loved the evolution of their relationship as well, it felt very natural to me, and i just kept waiting for their scenes lol. the music was great but they overplayed that one intense song to the point that it didn't carry any weight for me anymore as the show went on. anyway, all this to say- the plot was kind of mid to me. i felt like it could have offered so much more than it did. the actors were amazing. overall 7/10, the costumes and designs were very unique to the drama and so beautiful, i could tell that there was a lot of detail put into this drama. it wasn't bad, it just could have been better!

SPOILER: i think the constant deaths of literally every character made it lose some momentum for me. like the sacrifices near the end didn't feel as impactful because at that point i was expecting everyone to die and i had watched so many people die that i got used to it lol. i understand why they all died, to awaken the sixth contemplation or whatever, but i was getting annoyed that literally everyone died LMAO

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Watch this cause they said this a story link to Ancient Love Poetry & this also starring Bai Lu & Ao Rui Peng. But after watching I can say this has nothing to do with ALP, in my opinion this is not even in the same universe with it. So whoever wants to link this with ALP, in my opinion better forget it & just see this as a separate drama within its own universe.

Anyhow…

This is a story about Bai Shuo (BS) & Fan Yue (FY). Bs is a human’s race who was saved by a god when she's a child. This event led to BS’s obsession with cultivation & goddesses. At the current time, god has already disappeared, so BS only can gather a little about goddesses. But with her position as mayor's daughters, she still gathered quite a lot about goddesses.

FY on the other hand is a demon king, master of the bright moon palace. BS started harassing FY cause she thinks FY is god & can help her with cultivation. But by accident, BS absorbs the desireless stone. Originally the desireless stone was to help FY with his illness, but FY himself still didn't know how to activate it. But since BS had already absorbed the stone, now she needs to put 5 emotions into the stone; kindness, kill, love, hate & greed. How to…? The stone will give clues to BS by giving her vision.

So, with that BS’s journey accompanied by FS & his 2 right-hand men to collect the emotions begins. And with every journey, their trust, understanding, and feelings for each other also grow into something more. And by the end of their journey, BS & FY also learn about their past selves, who they were before they're reincarnated into themselves now.

Since this is still Xian Xia or Xuanhuan, what tragic story is actually hidden behind all that CGI. Haha… well, you need to watch this urself then. Hohoho…. That's pretty much the story without giving any more spoilers. Now what I like and don't.

What I like:
+ The chemistry between Bai Lu & Ao Rui Peng is not so bad. I can imagine them as couples..
+ Interesting story & great CGI
+ How everybody in the end connected with each other. That's really interesting.
+ How they really separated BS & FY with their past selves. This is a really interesting aspect.

What I don't like:
- I really hope this somehow connected with ALP, like how The Last Immortal. But this turned out to be such a big disappointment in that aspect.

Overall this quite good drama to watch.

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Self-Sacrifice Left a Bitter Taste

I often say that I enjoy dramas as much as I enjoy reading reviews about them. There’s nothing like different opinions to broaden our perspective.

Unfortunately, this time, I found myself in a painful dilemma. The discrepancies and divergences in opinions about *Moonlight Mystique* among viewers, instead of providing direction, often left me feeling unbalanced.

To put it another way, the drama was either deeply loved or intensely hated. Balanced or middle-ground opinions were rare.

Even though I watched the drama sequentially—pausing others I was following—I place myself in the smaller group, meaning the middle ground.

Starting with the episode openings, I agree that there was poor direction in the editing of the scenes. Impactful moments, accompanied by captions, ended up spoiling the element of surprise in many episodes.

Another major flaw in the editing was the use of the same OST in intense scenes. Although it was a pleasant piece of music, it became tiresome due to its excessive repetition in nearly all the scenes—and worse, in every single episode.

The vibrant color palette that bothered some of my peers was not unpleasant to my eyes. The deep green, the vivid red, and the striking purple and lilac captivated me. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the three main clans. Both the Ye clan, from Lady Xing Yue, and the Demon Lord, Jing Yuan, as well as Yin, from Lord Mo Li, were dull, extremely tacky, seemingly low-budget, and lacking in quality.

On the other hand, some clans were stunning, such as the fox clan and its love tree.

The male costumes were absolutely impeccable. The imposing garments, in exceptional colors, were always perfectly matched with the hair accessories. Rui Peng, both as Fan Yue and as Jing Yuan, looked brilliant.

The female costumes also seemed very beautiful to me, though the excessively heavy makeup left much to be desired in several aspects. Not even Bai Lu’s beauty could compensate for this oversight by the makeup artists.

The script, though heavily criticized by many, had several arcs that I enjoyed. There were emotional, delicate, and even quite controversial moments.

The deeply rooted self-sacrifice in this drama left a bitter taste for many life philosophies. There were so many deaths that, at times, I wondered whether there would be enough characters left to carry out the story’s conclusion.

Seen from another perspective, this significantly reduced the participation of strong characters whose potential could have been better utilized until the end. If there is one major flaw in this drama that I must highlight, it would be this.

Although the narrative wasn’t the best, the cast’s performance was very good. If there were flaws, repetitive and unnecessary moments—such as the countless times Fan Yue fainted and revived or was an excessively sweet and weak demon in front of Bai Shuo—we should blame the execution, not the actors.

Within the demands placed upon them, each did their part.

In the end, a classic Xianxia—romantic and quite enjoyable to follow. I recommend it to fans of the genre and suggest preparing for the collateral losses.

A good, serious drama!

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"I hope I can wow everyone" - You did!

As a big Bai Lu fan I was stoked to see the IQIYI trailer and have been waiting for Moonlight Mystiques release.
And boy, she did not disappoint. Even after watching several of her works (Love is Sweet, The Legends, Only for Love, Till the End of the Moon) where she delivered amazing chemistry with her co-actors and outstanding acting, I have to say Moonlight Mystique is her best work so far. And my favorite. Loved her diverse costumes and her wide range of emotions here. She did the all the crying scenes soo well (and there were many). I think Bai Shuo as a character was well written and 100 % consistent throughtout the whole storyline. Strong, supportive, confident. But also full of love, grief and feeling helplessness.

I have also watched Ao Ruipeng's Wrong Carriage , Right Groom with Tian Xiwei, though he didn't stand out to me acting and looks-wise. But here, damn, he did soo well!! From his eyes to his smiles to the way he spoke to his looks, costumes and movements. I was captivated. They styled him really well and it brought out his defining features! I have no idea H O W they kept making him more attractive after each time he "came back". Fan Yue as a charcter was well fleshed out, had a wide range of emotions and they gave him such a big heart!! He knows what he wants and he goes for it without hesitation. And he communicates well too. Man!!!
Life gave him (and Bai Shuo) many many lemons and they handled it so well together AND individually too!

Bai Shuo and Fan Yue have a really healthy relationship and lots of tacit understanding, which is refreshing to see and already a big difference from the usual xianxia setting. No Misunderstandings, no real love triangle. Just a plain supportive, affectionate (you get plenty of lovely scenes) couple. A BIIG bonus to me is also the fact that they equally sacrifice & support each other. Often you will find a big power imbalance in xianxia dramas where either the Male Lead or the Female Lead sacrifice too much, while the other party barely gets the chance to do something in return.

But where there is a healthy relationship, there is also a toxic one. Or at least at the start it was, because this is how the story of Fu Ling and Chong Zhao began. But unlike Bai Shuo's and Fan Yue's relationship (theirs were good but already really stable), there is quite a progression in theirs. Fu Ling, is cold and cruel. Chong Zhao is idealistic and almost unsure in the beginnings. But then those two had to change their whole world view, healing each other slowly on the way. The result is a relationship that feels so hopeful, it's too pure to bear. I rooted for them so much and was suprised how much I grew to like Fu Ling.

Now, while I have to admit that I was able to guess a lot of big developements in the storyline, the plot kept me thoroughly engaged and entertained. To me, MM is a beautiful story about hardship, growing stronger, perseverance, love (several types!), friendship and sacrifice. It's quite a tearjerker and especially the last few episodes left me crying so hard, I couldn't breathe. I think all the emotional scenes were portrayed very well by the whole cast, not just the main characters. What also helped was probably the fact that the characters were written extremely well with lots of depth and different (most of the times even conflicting) emotions.

The ending istself was quite satisfying to me and definititely conclusive (no open ending), though like most of the xianxia dramas, I would have love to see a little more. HOWEVER! We got a lovely bonus episode which definitely healed the big gaping hole in my heart after watching this wonderful drama.

I think it's hard to find another drama in this year that is as good as Moonlight Mystique (and the only drama I watched so far this year was "Blossom", which was also extremely well exectured).

20/10 for me.

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꧁༒☬???? ?? ? ???????????☬༒꧂

Alright, so let me break this down for you. I was chillin’ and binge-watching this show, and I stumbled across a TikTok that casually dropped a “no spoilers” message saying it had a happy ending. Instantly, I was like “OMG YES!” like a kid in a candy store! Finally, we’re gonna get a drama that doesn’t leave us crying in a corner or experiencing some emotional damage burnout. I mean, who really needs that kind of trauma, right?

So, I settled in and got ready for all the plot twists. I was super hyped about the characters and their journeys; the storyline was actually pretty cool! I was vibin’! But then, plot twist after plot twist hit differently, and let me just tell you—THAT PERSON ON TIKTOK IS A LIAR, like a certified drama villain!

Don't get me wrong, the movie itself was legit incredible and had some great moments, but it took a turn that had me absolutely shook. First, the boyfriend of that one girl—they hit us with that gut punch. Then the two sidekicks, who were literally just there for comic relief and bestie energy, bam—gone. And can we talk about her actual sister? They literally just apologized, made amends, and then—poof—she's out of the picture. Like, what the actual heck?!

And you want to know who walked away unscathed? Yup, you guessed it: the main character and her boyfriend. Like wow, how convenient! Like, I get it, the main character didn’t die, but let’s face it—she’s left with all this baggage now! Just because the MC survived doesn’t mean we automatically get a happy ending. Yeah, congrats, she’s breathing, but girl is now traumatized for life!

So here I am, feeling all sorts of betrayed. A happy ending? More like a “Happy Ending?! What is this mystical thing we call happiness?” Like, girl is gonna need serious therapy after all that nonsense! It’s wild; people need to stop pretending that just surviving is the same as thriving. Happy ending? That’s just a delusion now. Seriously, why are these dramas doing us dirty like this? Come on, can we get some proper closure and actual happiness for once?!

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