Big_Red_1011

Sometime the time apart (even for couples) is measured in hundreds of years in cultivation world. So 18 years is pretty minor on that scale.

Maybe novel readers could explain everything. In the drama, FL took over that body but still had qualities of Frozen Fish 🐟

We all wish the modern day scenes were longer, but they had to be smart about obeying censorship rules. For the censors, they had to make it seem like everything was a dream. But actually it’s very clear that this is a 4th lifetime together for the leads — lots of hints and creators even released some Weibo content that pretty much confirms that.

This will surprise no one, but they are releasing otter-themed merch 😊 🦦

https://cpop-universe.com/collections/when-destiny-brings-the-demon-2025-merch

Possibly Disney+? The trailer is on D+ international channels on YouTube:

https://youtu.be/7l6_aSFVf-Q

That was a great drama. Let’s hope this one will come close to that standard 🙏

They are the same age, so it’s different. Fake marriage is not a new concept, but perhaps I t’s better to compare this with “Because This Is My First Life” (a great drama with Jung So Min).

I hope they don’t do something cliche like him dying while saving her or something like that. This is a serious show, yes, but we don’t need sad endings all the time.

Two episodes are going to be released every Wednesday — 4 & 5 on Sep. 17, 6 & 7 on Sep. 24 and 8 & 9 on Oct. 1. I believe the release time is midnight PST — so 3 am EST / 2 am CST / 1 am MST (in the US).

It’s actually quite good for now, but all will depend on how they bring everything together and explain everything. That’s where many shows fail.

If this were an American TV show, the husband would turn out to be alive and the one paying for protection services 🤔

First three episodes are available on Hulu/Disney+ in the U.S.

Really wish they’d make season 2 of Vagabond 🥺😳😟

I don’t remember the exact episode they become a couple, but they live under the same roof almost from the beginning. There are no misunderstanding per se (at least, not the typical tired tropes as in many other dramas). In general, the leads have a good relationship with each other and fight against bad people. There are some plot twists related to reincarnation, but it’s easy to handle. This is not one of those dramas that will make you want to curse screenwriters or make you feel very anxious. I’d say it’s like Love Between Fairy and Devil, but slightly less stressful and with more kissing 😘. But vibes are similar and lead couple is ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

There has been no movement to up- or down-rank this drama (unlike many other dramas recently). It’s just a really lovely drama that is based on a pretty popular source (but not SUPER popular). The chemistry between the leads is great (tons of kissing 😘 scenes), the plot is pretty enjoyable and overall community in the comments have really enjoyed it watching the show. LoFG was a good show too (even given sometimes illogical screenwriting) and it has very, very good rating on MDL (it was 8.7 last time I checked but maybe it dropped to 8.6 now; it probably should be about 8.5).

It’s all going to be much less stressful than most other dramas. Characters are pretty smart :)

Yes, ML is the strongest character.

Thank you! I learned a lot from all the commenters and then did my own research to figure out broad strokes of what happens with Han Li & important characters at the end (I cannot wait until 2040 when donghua is finished 😳). The second novel (“Immortal Realm”) has an interesting main theme — battle between totalitarian Heavenly Court (determinism, “fate”, preordained linear flow of time) and rebel Reincarnation Hall (cyclical nature of existence and, broadly, ability to change things) 🤔 📕

Insofar as world building is concerned, the ruthless world of cultivation & sects is a metaphor for corporations & workplace in general. When you are a low-level worker, you are constantly trying to survive (keep being employed) while navigating sometimes difficult relationships with coworkers who are oftentimes not your real friends and use you for their own personal gain. And just like there are no truly “good” mega-corporations, things are not black & white when it comes to sects in the drama. Even “good” sects don’t always do the righteous thing — they care about the sect. Same for leadership — just like CEOs & executives lay off tens of thousands of employees easily, very high level sect leaders here also don’t care about wellbeing of low- or mid-level disciples.

Wonderful review as always. For those who are interested in reading the source material, for the full story you have to read the second novel too (another 1300-1400 chapters) as it fully concludes the storylines (even the origin of the green vial is only explained in the second novel). There is an ongoing donghua (animated) version that people enjoy and is available for free on YouTube. It has advanced quite a bit past live action, but will take years to finish up (only have done about 1/5 of combined two novels).
Finally, for video game fans — they are working on a video-game adaptation too. But even without a video game, watching drama DOES feel like playing a game because Han Li constantly has to fight for survival, level up, get better gear/equipment, etc.