Back from the Brink

Among other things–deliciously zany

A lot of series these days recycle the same old bland mush replete with prefabricated tropes picked up from Ikea. BACK FROM THE BRINK has a few items from that warehouse, but it’s also quirky and fun.

For example, I loved the way Yongzhou City was a nest of vipers and general daffiness. In one episode, YanHui, gives all her money away to a scammer in exchange for some useless, but hilarious, medical advice (“A powerful force will cure your heart”). Her would-be suitor, Guan Peng Yuan, rides down main street on the back of a giant tortoise. In a later scene, when the flaming dragon sword comes swooping back to the ML, the audience sees it coming–not in the sky–but reflected in one of his eyes. And I like the really creative way they sometimes transition between scenes. Little touches like this, added a boatload of zip to this drama.

I liked sections of this drama, but in other places the plot verges on idiocy. The “Bamboo Butterfly,” in episode 26 who manifests as a vain, middle-aged woman–a harridan who shrieks at Tianyao to divorce his wife and marry her is one example of overacting tinged with misogyny. I was embarrassed for the poor woman who had to play this role. To “win” the Ghostly Eulogy, our main couple must solve a series of ridiculous riddles, unworthy of a third-rate quiz show.

Overall, though, the cast–including most of the minor actors--was impressive. For example, Bai Xiao Sheng. Who doesn’t love a bad boy? (Hands go up.) OK, not everybody. Some of you would gladly strangle him. But personally, I like a little rascality in my demons.

And those pixie orphans, are to die for. Speaking of dying, one adorable little girl does just that. When I was about to get mad at the writers, I saw her eyelid twitch, reminding me that this is Fantasyville. Will Yunyun be back? Anything’s possible in this crazypants drama.

As for the ML, Hou Ming Hao’s face is always a perfect reflection of what his character, Tianyao, is feeling. How does this dude do it? For example, we (the audience) know that he’s sick with jealousy the minute he lays eyes on Bai Xiao Sheng’s dimples.

A few random criticisms:

Where does Yanhui and her female companions get those gorgeous gowns that never seen to get soiled when they wander through forests and deserts–and even when they get dunked in the water?

In spite of the fact that Tianyao is a demon who stabs his honey in the heart–not once, but twice–he can still convince the viewers, and eventually he convinces Yanhui, that he’s steadfast and true.

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Strong leads in a writing mess

Overall I would call this a mediocre drama -- nothing terrible, nothing great.

THE GOOD
- The leads
- The setting is magical
...
- The soundtrck is pretty strong
- Some plot / side characters are cute and fun

THE BAD
- Way too much angst
- Many plotlines will repeat over and over
- Villains are flat, uninteresting, and cartoonish
- Heavy handed filial piety propaganda
- Side characters (all characters other than the leads tbh) are often overacted and have their characterization so over emphasized that they become insufferable. Especially the 2nd and 3rd male leads
- Brain off writing. Don't expect plots or character motivations to be believable or even consistent.

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had all the feels

this is part of my top favorites xianxia and wuxia cdrama Back to the Brink, Lost you forever, till the end of the moon, are probably my top three most favorite! although I enjoyed love between fairy and devil and I’m already halfway I just couldn’t finish it.. I don’t know why. Anyway the chemist from Back to the brink is so good, The only time I disliked Zhou ye the female lead was in her other drama I instantly dropped it (everyone loves me)

back to the brink had me bawling my eyes out, it also made me laugh numerous times, had so much butterflies during sweet moments, had me so mad with some effectively annoying antagonists.

The only thing I hoped for, some flashbacks kept of resurfacing, ending felt rushed. it was a happy ending but I hope they had more time to somehow made it more meaningful, seeing them reunite with friends, and the kiss was so short. other than those it was such a good xianxia cdrama.

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I would classify this drama as a comedy, romance, drama, and fantasy.

Actually, I really love this show, but I feel like the later part and the ending were poorly executed. I wanted a touching finale that truly cared about the audience, letting us feel the beautiful moment when the long-separated characters finally reunited.

Given his personality, Tian Yao is someone whose love is firm and unwavering. He is a man of few words and subtle expressions, yet he does show his feelings. He really deserved some time to just enjoy being in love. As for Yanhui, she is straightforward, bold, and has a bit of a tomboyish charm, so she doesn't need any pushing when it comes to expressing herself. I wanted them both to deeply immerse themselves in their love, but those moments never came, which is deeply disappointing. Other than that, everything else was good. I love this drama mainly because of Zhou Ye and Xiao Hou. Yanhui was so adorable when she helped Tian Yao even before falling for him. It’s no surprise Tian Yao fell for her once he realized that behind her harsh exterior, she was actually a good person. However, Tian Yao trapped himself in the mindset that love would only bring trouble, leading him to make wrong choices that he later regretted. Once he had time to reflect, he realized his past heartbreak was simply because he loved the wrong person—loving Yanhui would never be a problem.

I have a minor grievance. Why did they have to portray Yan Hui as a fool? Is there a way to make a drama funny without making the characters look stupid? Yan Hui is a kind-hearted person, and she is good to everyone, not just Tian Yao. This is actually part of why Tian Yao loves her.

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A wonderful ride.

This drama made me feel lots of emotions, from frustration, to anger, to sadness, to joy, and mushy-mushy. Their journey was long and there is twists and hardships almost at every turn but they've survived it all together. I've come to like this drama exactly because of that and the fact that the leads understand each other, won't let go of the other, and the misunderstandings doesn't last long. It is a comical ride that will make you cry, a bitter-sweet yet satisfying story for everyone.

Yan Hui's actress (Zhou Ye?) really did a good job. I can't help but praise her every time there's a scene where she breaksdown. Chemistry-wise, there is no problem they pulled it off very well. The parts I'd like to point out tho are some character's awkward movements and some scenes where Hou Minghao who played Tian Yao looks "constipated" as how the other reviewer put it. He definitely can improve more in his future projects not to mention that he already has an advantage to the viewers cuz he really looks good and those still photos? It made me ask "was he that handsome in the drama?" deym. Another character and actress I liked is Suying. She makes a more well-motivated villain, an awfully strong, beautiful, desperate, and sad character, than the lord of dark aura.

OSTs didn't hit me as hard as other cdrama did for me, it really makes an impact for me :< I've read this is a low budget film so I guess the choppy cuts, and CGI is understandable. The edit and visual effects were amazing and eye-pleasing.

It was good but I don't think I will rewatch this. A lot happened and this ain't some short drama so yeah.

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Balance

I struggled to rate this because there were parts I absolutely loved and parts I was sad they didn't address. But since there is a theme of balance in the show, I tried to take a step back I look at it as a whole.

Fun journey that has one of the best OSTs I've heard in a while! I loved the FLs personality and practicality. She was true to herself and whenever in a situation she was unsure, she chose to be kind. There were some really great comedic moments that unfortunately were missing towards the second half.

The ending could have used an explanation. Some subplots were oddly written and then sorta forgotten about.

Overall though definitely a more fun and lighter xianxia than others I've seen.

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Personally, Yanhui is a big carry in the series. The screen writer is both bad and good. Like, plotlines and dialogue is great. But pacing, and transitions is off at times. There's also a decent amount of comical moments and memorable characters. The interweaving of characters and critical thinking is managable and entertaining. This is a rewatchable series for sure.

I get the impression that the storyline did what it could in the 40 episodes. Sometimes there's uneven pacing/awkwardness but I think that was because they were trying to figure out which scenes to cut and which to keep to make the storyline flow. Some arcs you could predict, some end up being completely different than what I thought.

I do enjoy the misunderstandings, the drama did a great job showcasing the complexities of human emotions esp wen it comes to betrayal, trust, trauma, hatred, and love. I think this is one of the few dramas that really explored how characters truly feel without too much of a rush to get over feeling sadness/etc. It is more depressing at times, esp wen you learn about the different kinds of love people have in the series. Like mean girl Su Ying and Lu Mu Sheng. Or A Cha and the female Taoist I forgot her name. I liked how with all the couples you meet thoroughout the series, there's nuances and differences and getting to see that, and see our main couple is a contrast.

While main couple is cute, I dont think its the best couple I've seen in a cdrama series. It certainly didnt feel typical either. I did like how they did compliment each other, by motivating each other to be better, but like maybe twice, twice they kissed. Also saving the world, who they are, their growth is more of the storyline than the actual romance.

Yanhui is the sweetest sweet to have sweeted and a big scaredy baby who's also a complete baddie. I fell for her. Both in emotions, but also this girl I do consider a golden standard for FML. She's kind, courageous, and true to herself. Flawed, and giving. It was entertaining and I found myself relating to her a lot. Esp wen she was silly. And money, I get it girl. Yanhui cried a lot throughout the series and even tho I knew those scenes were coming, I was still surprised by the many ways in which she could explore vulnerabilities. Some series they do the crying over the top but her cry scenes shook me and I consider her a real artist actress. Im definitely a fan after this. And she's so pretty, in a lively way, mean childish way. xD

Tianyao is pretty. Which is kind of shame because I couldnt get into him. His facial expressions were off at times - like pained him looked like he smelled something bad. Him as a BABY DRAGON was cute. He did have comfort, esp saving her at times in the series but I do think he has a long way to go through emotions. It was harder to relate to him too because in the series he's more stoic ish.

Bai is adorable. I really do like him as a character. I like the development he had and how they all three were consistently together. He's a sweetheart, even wen he was being selfish. He's incredibly smart, and in many ways you never know if he's telling the truth, or a side of the truth to get a higher advantage. He had mainly honest intentions and I am kind of upset we dont see more of him. I do think hes still kind of young, young at heart and it'd be interesting to see his love story, should he get one someday.

Her sister Xian Ge, and Yun Yun are so cute too. Those are prolly my other favorite characters. xD

Overall 7/10, I would rate this higher but I do think that Tianyao needed more acting experience cause how you gonna have 40 episodes and be distracting (in a bad way)? Points off for some of the flow too since I know they had to cut it but I do think there couldve been more smoothing over. Yeah, the flashbacks are sometimes necessarily, it did feel like the flashbacks was lazy writing to explain concisely what happened. It’s a shame they rushed this series to 40. I think it had great potential but some of these arcs aren’t the best because didn’t get fleshed out enough.

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Cute! But Plot is Kinda Alright

This drama was pretty good! It had pretty cinematography, pretty people, and pretty outfits. I loved the relationship between the main leads and all the other side couples. I'm a fan of shows where the male lead does something wrong to the female lead but then continuously tries to make it up to her, and this show had that arc. I absolutely adored the main female lead's character and even the male lead was great too.

The only thing I would take off points for though, was the main conflict plot:
The main evil guy really tried ruining the world because a girl didn't like him back. Or at least that's how I saw it. The other bad girl Su Ying also really created problems cause of a guy who ended up not even liking her back. These villains gotta go to therapy for learning how to handle rejection instead of trying to ruin everyone's lives.
In addition, I also was just confused half the time with the different rules of the magic or whatever. I usually get confused with this stuff anyway, but I was just extra confused in this show. The ending was also kinda confusing for me because I have no clue where she came from. Either way, it is a happy ending! (But lowkey I wouldn't have minded a sad ending for this show cause this happy ending was kinda random/weird/confusing).

Overall, it's an average good drama. I wouldn't rate it any lower than 8.5 but also not higher than 9.0. I definitely don't regret watching it but it feels like it's missing some sort of impact idk.

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thank god that's over

An upgrade from another popular show adapted from Jiu Lu Fei Xiang's work, Love Between Fairy and Devil, but only barely so. If you've seen Love Between Fairy and Devil, you've seen this. Obviously the specifics are different, but the amount of times where I was like "oh this plot development is like that plot development in LBFAD" was. actually insane. Anyway let me talk about BFTB in detail lol.

Given how central the romance is, let's start there. Tianyao realizes that Yanhui has the Heart Protection Scale (one of the many parts of his body that he is trying to recollect) and so he decides he wants to gain her trust so she will give it back. To do this he kidnaps her and then a few days later he stabs her to reawaken his powers. So...... not the best start to a romance, but I'm no stranger to romances that start with murder attempts (and technically he didn't try to kill her, he needed her blood for a ritual, but still he *could* have explained and it would have made that whole situation less painful for both of them lmfao). She, understandably, wants nothing to do with him after he stabs her, and he relentlessly follows her to try to convince her to help him in his quest to recollect his bones. Because of his weakened state, she manages to escape from him, but then — thanks to the Heart Protection Scale — she can sense when he's in danger and she feels guilty and comes to his rescue. She then agrees to help him, which annoyed me A LOT. She does not owe him anything. He kidnapped her, his village forced them into getting married, he stabbed her (even if he technically had a "good" reason for it and she was fine afterwards), and then he basically wore her down into agreeing to help. Then we get to what might be the arc I hated the most (and something I haven't seen anyone on here criticize????) — Yanhui being given a love potion where she will fall in love with the first person she touches; that person of course being Tianyao. Yanhui is then extremely enamored with Tianyao. Just can't focus on anything when they're in close proximity bc how downbad she is. It was deeply uncomfortable to watch her autonomy be taken away by a magic spell and have it be treated as haha funny. And as soon as it's finally reversed, now Yanhui is apparently Stockholm Syndrome'd into liking Tianyao. 🤢 Like it's just so painfully forced! Tianyao's feelings also seem to come out of nowhere as he goes from being very closed off and emotionally repressed to randomly being jealous of her spending time with a man she does not like but that she knows likes her. Like....... how did we get here? (Also, tangent, sorry, but the show stresses that Tianyao knows Yanhui deeply, but how is he confident about that given he must've thought he knew Su Ying deeply since he was going to marry her, but then she tried to kill him on their wedding day. Like, how would he ever feel confidently about a Taoist being genuine with him?)

Anyway, whatever, the romance — as I already said — felt super forced and so I didn't really care about watching them grow "closer." Sure, there were some moments I thought were cute and I appreciated them — I liked how attentive he was to her when she was affected by the dark aura and letting her bite him LOL — but bc the foundation felt so damn flimsy, I didn't feel anything about them as a ship. THEN there's the development that a lot of the more negative skewed reviews have an issue with — Tianyao stabbing Yanhui to get the Heart Protection Scale back. Honestly, if the show wasn't pushing this dynamic as a romance, I might've been able to get over this, but because the narrative is so aggressively insisting that these two are meant to be, I can't get past it. Yes, he did it to save those Dragon Valley kids, but he stabbed her and, as far as the audience knew for 10 EPISODES, he left her for dead. And yes, I understand that he was retraumatized by Su Ying kidnapping the kids after the massacre she committed in Dragon Valley 20 years earlier, but come on, if he is mentally present enough to tell Yanhui "I'm sorry," he is mentally present enough to tell her "I have to do it to save them." (ALSO GIVEN HOW THE SHOW HAS STRESSED YANHUI'S PROTECTIVE NATURE AND KINDNESS UP UNTIL THIS POINT, IF HE HAD GIVEN ANY SORT OF EXPLANATION, I'M WILLING TO BET SHE WOULD HAVE TOLD HIM TO STAB HER AND TAKE THE SCALE.) The show tries to gloss over this horrifying action (which, yes, was made under duress, but that doesn't change how Yanhui experiences it!) by telling us later that Tianyao had done something called the Life Swapping Spell so that if someone were to ever fatally harm Yanhui, he would be the one to die instead. But.......... he was perfectly fine when he went to kill Su Ying and upon returning to Dragon Valley he says that Yanhui will die in 3 days without the Heart Protection Scale so............... which is it?????????? Anyway, what I honestly find even more unforgivable than the stabbing is Tianyao's absolute refusal to leave Yanhui alone afterwards. Tianyao spends weeks? months? searching for Yanhui. Upon finding her, she has a panic attack and vanishes with Bai Xiaosheng, the character who saved her life by taking her to the Lord of Dark Aura. Tianyao SEES her terror, has unmistakable proof that she does not want to see him or be near him (which he had even pondered in voiceover while he was trying to find her), AND YET he continuously searches for her, determined to make her listen to his explanation. When she (RIGHTFULLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) refuses to listen to him BECAUSE SHE OWES HIM NOTHING, another character who knows Tianyao's reasoning for the stabbing relays it to her, and her resolve starts to soften a little. Tianyao then continues following her to "make sure she stays safe" which like........................ again, if he's set the Life Swapping Spell in motion, then he knows she won't die so... he shouldn't be that worried about her being in danger lol. Tianyao, Yanhui, and Bai Xiaosheng then get trapped in this contraption where Yanhui makes Tianyao write up a pact saying that he will leave her alone and, well, knowing that Yanhui/Tianyao is The Romance™️, I knew that shit wasn't going to last, so I couldn't feel any relief about him finally agreeing to respect her boundaries. The three of them are then in Qianqiu — Yanhui and Bai Xiaosheng are looking for a book on a certain cultivation technique, Tianyao wants to make sure Yanhui gets said book and also he's friends with the ruler of Qianqiu. When Yanhui and Bai Xiaosheng run into difficulties in getting the book, of course Tianyao inserts himself into the situation, even though he signed the pact to leave Yanhui alone. 🙄🙄🙄🙄 Of course them getting thru this ordeal together is the start of Yanhui forgiving him. 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 Yanhui and Tianyao successfully getting thru this trial together then leads to an old man insisting they get married 🤢 Yanhui initially fights against this but caves because the show prioritizes Tianyao's feelings lol. Yanhui then completely forgives him upon 1) him defending her and becoming an enemy of Qianqiu by standing by her and 2) learning about the Life Swapping Spell but like....... I've already talked about how this feels like a retcon to soften the betrayal of The Stabbing™️to the viewer, and it does nothing to assuage the issue of him bulldozing her boundaries repeatedly before she was open to being around him. Once she forgives him, there isn't anything I would consider red flag worthy, but it's impossible to overlook everything leading up to this, so I just spent all of their romantic scenes afterwards rolling my eyes.

Beyond the mediocre romance, I also want to (briefly) complain about how weak the writing is. One of the negative reviews on here complained about how people's powers were inconsistent and OH BOY yeah that was super frustrating with the last 10 episodes. At one point the Lord of Dark Aura has captured Bai Xiaosheng, and he very clearly overpowers Bai Xiaosheng and then somehow — literally it is never explained — somehow Bai Xiaosheng escapes and somehow he knows exactly where Yanhui and Tianyao are and somehow he knows exactly what is happening when he arrives and in 30 seconds manages to do the exact thing that saves both of them. HUH? The main villain's goal seems to be that he just doesn't want anyone to be powerful enough to kill him I guess????? The show really does not do a good job making it clear but like.... he wanted to kill Tianyao solely bc Tianyao could kill him...... He wanted that book on the cultivation method to destroy it and keep anyone from learning it...... Like is that really it???? Also apparently he's the personification of everyone's negative feelings????? Like the amount of times the last 10 episodes had me literally saying OUT LOUD "sure, I guess this might as well happen" because it was just getting so absurd that I could barely process the exposition dumps....... like lmao.........

Anyways this show would have been literally unwatchable if it weren't for Bai Xiaosheng and I will never watch any other adaptation of Jiu Lu Fei Xiang's writing bc all that woman writes is abuse apologia and I'm f*cking sick of it.

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Xianxia Chaos but Still a Good Time

So, Back from the Brink wasn’t the most polished drama out there, but I still really loved it in a “I’m invested even though it frustrates me” kind of way. Going in, the plot sounded great, but the execution—especially in establishing Tian Yao (Hou Ming Hao) and Yan Hui’s (Zhou Ye) relationship—was just okay. Their chemistry took a while to click, but once it did, I was on board. And honestly, that’s the heart of a romance drama—I need to care about the love story, even if it takes time.

What Worked for Me
1. Tian Yao’s Tragic Past: I mean, getting killed on your wedding day by the person you love? Brutal. Su Ying (Yang Rong) really did him dirty—marrying him just to snatch his heart-protecting scale to save the man she actually loved? Villain behavior. And the fact that Tian Yao was strong enough to resist her even after she repeatedly tried stealing parts of him?? Iconic.

2. Yan Hui's Growth as a Fighter: Watching her go from a rejected Taoist disciple to mastering the Dark Partitioner's magic? Amazing. She really turned her weakness into something powerful, and I loved seeing her fight back.

3. The Worldbuilding: My first xianxia drama, and WOW. Taoists, dark practitioners, spirits, demons—this fantasy world was so rich and full of lore. I was obsessed. The idea that taoists became more authoritarian after they thought they slaughtered Tian Yao? That practicing forbidden magic turned you into a dark practitioner? The layers to this world!!

4. That Ending?? Devotion: Tian Yao is immortal, so he literally just walked the earth waiting for Yan Hui’s next life to appear. That’s commitment.

What Didn’t Sit Right
1. Too Much Going On: The whole “finding his organs” plot was solid at first, but then we suddenly shifted to the nine-tailed fox spirit clan?? Then the dark lord?? Then random matchmaker-turned-love-triangle drama?? Like, pick a struggle. I skipped so many scenes that didn’t involve the main leads.

2. Bai Xiao Sheng's Random Crush: Sir, weren’t you just matchmaking Tian Yao and Yan Hui?? Now you suddenly like her?? Make it make sense.

3. Dubbing Issues (Again): Classic C-drama problem. I didn’t notice it at first because I was reading subtitles, but when I found out they had voice actors, I was like nooo. Why do they do this?? It takes away from the rawness of the performances.

4. Fake-Looking Sets: So much forest time, but why does it all feel like a set?? Just film in a real forest, please.

5. Overdone Childlike Acting: Some characters were literally acting like kids just to seem immature, and it felt so forced. Just let them be chaotic naturally.

6. Yan Hui Getting Scared of Tian Yao: Dragged way too long. You saw what Su Ying did to his clan—you really didn’t put two and two together that he needed his heart-protecting scale back to regain strength??

Final Thoughts
Despite the messiness, I still binged the whole thing (with some fast-forwarding). The worldbuilding pulled me in, and Tian Yao waiting for Yan Hui in another life? Absolutely had my heart.

Rating? 7/10 Would I watch again? Maybe, but selectively.

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Not bad

All characters are well projected
All leads are have good chemistry in all aspect
Director, artdirector, cinematography, editor and VFX these temes work are ultimate
In drama the main characters are -->Tian Yao, he is a dragon but he did not power full as---> [Su Ying]
Finally [Su Ying] drag down by her heart person
Pema Jyad ---->was dound by Yan Hui
Bai Xiao Sheng --->he need some more screen time
Xian Ge and Feng Qian Shuo ---->
Most of all historical films has nearly 40 and above episodes
Ending always tragedy why all leads dosn't have any lovely life episodes atleast last 20 minutes,,,,,,,,,

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I loved it til the end… i was kind of disappointed

So it started great got good in middle i loved as dragon boy finally started to like our lead girl and being jealous but i honestly CANT remember if he ever confessed to her he liked her 😦 i had been waiting throughout the drama and as it ended i even forgot all about!
Anyway they shows and made it all about the dragon 🐉 destroying the evil but at the end its was our lead girl.. sorry i cant spell their names… i feel episode 25-28 were waste drag… they should have ended the evil Dark Phantom and the remaining episodes be focused on our dragon find our Lead girl.. it was very disappointing that they kind of killed her not sure if thats what happened but she was brought back for last 5 mins or so and it ended! It felt like they wrapped it up too fast like they could have given us 20-30mins more of their life together

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