This review may contain spoilers
How lighthearted and refreshing!!
My personal tags/tldr: no annoying love triangles, a toooon of mutual pining, she falls first but he falls harder, she actively woos him, you get a love line and you also get a love line, 9/10 CGI I’m actually not cringing for once, yes amnesia but it’s actually well done for once (I couldn’t believe it either), no hate like sisterly love (ugh), a main relationship that actually feels healthy, getting jealous of yourself, yes master-disciple relationship but disciples are taken in at 17/18 (they aren’t raising them as kids but yes there's an age gap), “you are my guiding light in this terrible world” meets “I will sacrifice myself to save you,” nice bursts of angst, so sweet you’ll get diabetes, the stylists did a great job at clothing symbolism, the lead couple did a great job, some of the camera shots are so well done, did I mention how sweet the romance is? Finally a happy ending for once!How long has it been since a drama last captured my attention like this...? I just finished watching it and I had to write a review! I'm sorry in advance for the long essay, but I swear they spent so money on production, I feel like it doesn't get nearly enough love and promotion!
If you want straight up romance, hurry, come and watch this!! And I promise, he does actually deserve her and she'll fight tooth and nail for him to see it. I feel like his suffering redeems him, but you should watch and make your own opinion ;)
The story isn't as deep/mysterious as it could be, but it absolutely deserves a 10 overall! Goodness, it's so refreshing!! In a sea of xianxia and wuxia (which are my favorite genres), this stands out, seriously!!
If you are like me, these are the following reasons you'll enjoy it:
1. SO MUCH PINING. Like, expect to get so much beautiful pining from BOTH leads! But mostly the male lead in the beginning. It just feels like they're putting in an equal amount of effort into their love. Like they truly deserve each other and you're rooting for their love every moment. I haven't enjoyed a ML's suffering as much since Ten Miles w/Ye Hua~ But I like this more because it's self-inflicted :)
2. The second ML is bearable but not likable enough to make you root for him. MQG/XRR is firm in her choice of SYS. I have very little patience for love triangles, so this was welcomed to me. I think Su Yu got it off pretty easy in the end tbh.
3. MQG/XRR! Her past self as Mu Qingge is refreshingly straightforward and playful while still having a just and kind heart. Xiang Hanzhi truly did a great job with this role! It feels so right with her as the FMC, she's got this natural carefree aura without being too distant, and she draws you in with her earnest smiles. People have mentioned that her reincarnation isn't as tough as her past self, but I don't think that lessens how impressive she is. You know how it can take ten episodes for a FMC to realize the ML's coldness is just hiding his feelings for her? But here, she gets it within 3 episodes of meeting him! She's strong, but not OP. BUT I will say, if you want a revenge storyline, you won't get it. I'm not lying when I say this is romance heavy.
4. I'm a shallow woman. I see a beautiful man, I will watch lol. The ML is... stunningly beautiful (I really think he could win 1st place for best looking ML w/white hair). Deng Wei’s acting really improved here. He did a great job portraying the guilt hidden behind his stoniness and his lovey-dovey eyes made me swoon as he flirted with MQG/XRR. I loved watching him crumble over her cuteness from him being in pain to then fully accepting her love~ His love for her is so pure and within the first 6 episodes you understand why he fell for her. Definitely one of his best works!
5. So much SUGAR!!!! It’s so sweet you’ll die just to be revived to watch more sweet moments between the leads. For once, I’ve found a drama with chemistry that actually made me blush! How the heck did SYS get away with some of those lines lol! It feels so refreshing how openly in love they are and the lengths they'll go for each is incredibly romantic.
6. Music and fighting was enjoyable. I'm off to save some of the songs to reminisce to later (btw how does Liu Yuning have such a sweet song, Circle of Fate, but he stars in so many BE dramas :')). I think they really did great with their CGI and wire-work! I've seen so much bad CGI but my tolerance is still so low, so this was a blessing to my eyes. I vote Little Bai as the cutest Divine White Tiger I've seen. The CGI isn't perfect, you'll still notice something's a little wonky, but I promise you, this is actually some of the higher quality CGI in the industry (especially w/the animals, iykyk). Fighting is typical xianxia style but still is enjoyable.
There are some cons though. No one really gets that badly punished? Like I've seen wayyy worse fates in other xianxia dramas. Also, some CPs came out of no where. Look under your seat, you might have a love interest waiting for you to notice - that's how sudden they would happen. But again, I'd say romance is the strongest tag of this drama.
Watch and swoon as two lovely people fall in love~ I'm gonna go use SYS's line w/the mirror on my partner now lol.
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