〰️ Hiss! ➿️ Legendary Bore〰️> °4.5° ⚕️ °too cold-blooded°
I was watching the show, Unrequited Love-7. The leading couple is teased by being compared to The Legend of White 🐍. That made it an easy choice as to what to watch next. Let me make it easy for you: Don't bother. It isn't worth your time given the many better shows out there.
I love Chinese fantasy. So, I went into TLOWS expecting to love it, which carried me through half the show. I ignored irritation after boring irritation until I finally realized that TLOWS is really, really bad. (Still finished it - waste of time). Its plot slithers around w/o going in a clear direction. It's frequently pleasant & the characters are likable, but it's boring. It stays in the dust & never lifts to greater heights. The primary couple is simply goodness in silk robes, but they're dull. I suppose we could say that it goes into snake-like Brumation.
The logic is insulting at times. Xu's older sister is often a veritable moron in the way she looks at things. She doesn't seem to understand that Bai & Xu are married ~ Ruyi is not part of their relationship. Xu’s amnesia doesn't change that. Another example is when Bai believes her own presence is the problem. Qing points out that Ruyi is a schemer. Bai shouldn't let Xu stay around her. Bai lamely replies that Ruyi truly loves Xu & would never hurt him. On the contrary! Ruyi's actions not only caused the current mess, but she has done /nothing but/ endanger & HURT others! There's betrayals w/ insufficient justification - it all happens too easily & is often the opposite of what was previously established. At one point Xu is focused on Bai & what he thinks is a wrong strategy to deal w/ a demon oppressing the family. He calls in the monk to help… w/ BAI, but NOT the demon doing the oppressing? Ridiculous. There's plenty more examples; they pile up. I started to actively hate it north of ep30, & by ep34 my fangs came out.
Lots of viewers enjoyed it, however. Maybe they hadn't seen Handsome Siblings-8.7 or Ancient Love Poetry-8.6 yet. Now /those/ are good fantasy shows. This show has groundwork for something spectacular but it never leaves the pit. The following is from the notes that I took when it still ‘had’ me.
Per Wiki, TLOWS “is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian & a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales…”
Tim Pei is Fa Hai, a fighting monk. His Shifu has foreseen a bad omen: A dangerous 1000 y/o evil spirit is in Lin'an. He equips Hai w/ a bowl to catch the demon & an elaborate pixie cane to 🆔 sinister forces. Hai is strictly forbidden to act w/o a sign from the cane. He wants to eliminate Qing, but the cane 💘 her. This monk is adorable. Don't get your hopes up. The monk has the potential to be the best romantic lead of the show, but monks are celibate.
Ju Jing Yi plays 🐍 spirit “Bai” Su Zhen. She's just cultivated into her human form after a millennia of effort. She is kind. She wouldn't dream of hurting people; she wants to be a Buddhist. Request denied: She must live as a human first. Humans have emotions, & Bai must learn how to overcome emotions. Off to 🌏 she goes, where she gets to experience the most wonderful thing on 🌎. Love? NO! FOOD!
Early on she meets physician Xu. She knew the doctor's previous incarnation but finds the current version lacking. He notices her, she's beautiful afterall, but she leaves, unimpressed. Yu Meng Long plays Dr. “Xu” Xuan (often called Hanwen). Bai encounters a darling young boy whose mother is very ill & offers to help. Guess who's already treating the woman? She clashes w/ the good doctor once again at the patient's house. Each thinks the other is a scammer. As attraction builds, though, he ain't gotta chance. One day when she doesn't want him to leave, she conjures a rainstorm. Still, a more willing victim may not be found. In the end, the romance is cold blooded & nearly emotionless, sadly.
In the meantime, Ruyi is also out to entrap Dr. Xu - into marriage. Yu Lang plays shyster Jin ‘Ruyi’. Selfish Ruyi is the source of most of the conflict in the show. Li Lin is one of the best characters as Xu's brother i/l & the constable. Prince Mu looks alittle like Chachi (Scott Baio) from Happy Days.
We haven't even gotten to our 4th lead yet. Xiao Yan is Xiao ‘Qing’, a naughty 🐍 deity. Qing's exactly what the good monk is looking for ~ to kill. The actress is adorable & the best thing about the show. Asian culture interchangeably translates the words deity & demon, but it's not exactly the Western/Christian concept of demons. In Chinese fantasy, demons can be good, & many are. In TLOWS & many other stories, cultivating power is excessively difficult. For demons, the same result can be achieved by devouring humans, & who doesn't love a shortcut? Many succumb to the temptation. Demons get a bad name from that. Early on, Qing has clashes w/ Bai, but it only sparks Qing's interest. Abandoned by her mother long ago, she's lonely. She was cultivating into a man. She's managed to become 80% woman when she meets Bai. When the quest starts (she opts to follow Bai) her cultivation stops, so they are two Sassy-lassies traveling together. Wait. Cultivating into a man is more difficult & takes more time than cultivating into a woman? The opposite should be what's true. Given their reproductive organs, women's bodies seem more complicated than men's anatomy. Even the creation story shows man as a warm-up & woman as the final prototype. Jusss sayin…
Most of our protags clash w/ a 🐺 demon, Lady Nexin. She soon has our 4 protags plotting against e/o. The centipede demon - the really bad monster - is also on the prowl. While the leads are, intermittently, looking squint & wide-eyed at e/o, things are increasingly dangerous. Children have already started disappearing from Lin'an. Soon demons & other bad guys are impersonating our protags causing greater confusion.
“Prejudices are not formed in a day.” “We differentiate between demons & humans w/ our hearts.” The primary theme is racism. Though genetically human, Ruyi is the actual demon in TLoWS. The monk is the one who struggles w/ the issue & must ultimately fight the monster w/in himself before it takes control & changes /him/ into a demon. When Qing helps Monk Hai fight the centipede, Hai is forced to re-examine his presuppositions. “Common people seek benefit, but wise people seek the core…” once Bai passes on her essence to Xu to heal him, she's no longer fully a demon, & he's no longer completely human. As a literal thinker, this is a conundrum for Hai, & he spends a good deal of the show working it out. We also see a person who is indwelt by a demon accuse another person of being a demon. The message is unmistakable: We are all blind to our own stuff, & we are often what we hate the most. That's one of the funniest (and most tragic) things about racism. The very word is a lie. What is race? There is only the human race, w/ its many ethnicities. Ethnic groups are just large, old families. We all hail from what is now the Middle East & Ethiopia. Scientists & theologians agree - we came from 1 woman. Race & racism are just pride-based lies that we've all decided to believe. It is hard enough to find a decent human being. Limiting yourself to 1 shade of skin makes the challenge all the more difficult.
They do have fun clashing up Qing & the monk. Once he realizes he can't kill her, he thinks it's a good idea that she sit & copy scriptures. She's totally flummoxed that anyone would think copying scriptures is a good way to spend one's time. “All the joy in the world comes from one's desire to help others. All the misery in the world comes from one's selfishness. Sadness & happiness are nothing but thoughts,” he reminds her. She reminds him that he has no idea what fun is! What would have been fun is if those two paired up. Monks are celibate, though. Sigh.
There's beautiful shots & lovely action, despite somewhat clunky special effects. At the 🏮 festival they look into e/o’s eyes & everything stops. Next, the background blurs by, while they stay frozen. They have fun showing the deities’ true forms as translucent overlays, particularly in fight scenes. The opening looks like a Maxfield Parrish / Thomas Kinkade collaboration. Costume & design are usually beautiful in a Chinese fantasy piece, & such is the case here. I love the girls’ hairdos, & the wedding headdress is especially nice. Shazamed: A song, by Ju JingYi.
I'll finish w/ a transcription tip & other fun facts: GRUE. The Chinese, historically, don't differentiate between green & blue. So you might see Qing's 🐍 form referred to as green. The thought of not differentiating between basic green & blue takes me straight to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada - “But what you don't know. is that that {Qing} is not just blue. {She's} not turquoise, {She's} not lapis. {She's} actually cerulean.” ;)) Bai returns to Mt. Emei to bolster her power. Mt. Emei is a real place. Located close to the country's center, it's the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Finally, you might notice swastikas floating around the screen. The Nazis co-opted this symbol from ancient times. Per goog “In Chinese, the swastika is called “wan” which is a homonym for the Chinese words "ten thousand" & "infinity". It's a symbol of immortality, longevity, the universe, God's manifestation, & creativity.” It's also fascinating to see the traditional Greek scrolling on blankets & architecture. These are small evidences that we came from a common origin. We're 1 race.
QUOTE📢
A moment of beauty may lead to a lifetime of love.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣5 📝4 🎭7 💓4 🦋2 🎨7 🎵/🔊7.4 🔚6 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡4 😅1 😭4.5 😱4 😯6.5 😖2 🤔3.5 💤6.5
Age 12+
Language G0d@mn
Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned
Re-📺? Not a chance, and with the benefit of foreknowledge, I wouldn't watch it for the first time.
Romance -
Find Yourself-8.9;
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose-9.8;
The Sleepless Princess-9.1
Historical/Period -
Overlord-8.4,
Legend of the two sisters in chaos-7.7
Under the Power-8.6,
The Rebel Princess-9.1,
The rise of phoenixes-9,
K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song-8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen-8.5;
My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo-8.5;
The Kings's Affection-8.3;
Mr. Sunshine-9
Fantasy -
Love Between Fairy & Devil-8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain-7.5;
Douluo Continent-9.4;
Love and Redemption-10
Action -
Heavenly Sword-9 (Kung-fu!)
I love Chinese fantasy. So, I went into TLOWS expecting to love it, which carried me through half the show. I ignored irritation after boring irritation until I finally realized that TLOWS is really, really bad. (Still finished it - waste of time). Its plot slithers around w/o going in a clear direction. It's frequently pleasant & the characters are likable, but it's boring. It stays in the dust & never lifts to greater heights. The primary couple is simply goodness in silk robes, but they're dull. I suppose we could say that it goes into snake-like Brumation.
The logic is insulting at times. Xu's older sister is often a veritable moron in the way she looks at things. She doesn't seem to understand that Bai & Xu are married ~ Ruyi is not part of their relationship. Xu’s amnesia doesn't change that. Another example is when Bai believes her own presence is the problem. Qing points out that Ruyi is a schemer. Bai shouldn't let Xu stay around her. Bai lamely replies that Ruyi truly loves Xu & would never hurt him. On the contrary! Ruyi's actions not only caused the current mess, but she has done /nothing but/ endanger & HURT others! There's betrayals w/ insufficient justification - it all happens too easily & is often the opposite of what was previously established. At one point Xu is focused on Bai & what he thinks is a wrong strategy to deal w/ a demon oppressing the family. He calls in the monk to help… w/ BAI, but NOT the demon doing the oppressing? Ridiculous. There's plenty more examples; they pile up. I started to actively hate it north of ep30, & by ep34 my fangs came out.
Lots of viewers enjoyed it, however. Maybe they hadn't seen Handsome Siblings-8.7 or Ancient Love Poetry-8.6 yet. Now /those/ are good fantasy shows. This show has groundwork for something spectacular but it never leaves the pit. The following is from the notes that I took when it still ‘had’ me.
Per Wiki, TLOWS “is a Chinese legend centered around a romance between a man named Xu Xian & a female snake spirit named Bai Suzhen. It is counted as one of China's Four Great Folktales…”
Tim Pei is Fa Hai, a fighting monk. His Shifu has foreseen a bad omen: A dangerous 1000 y/o evil spirit is in Lin'an. He equips Hai w/ a bowl to catch the demon & an elaborate pixie cane to 🆔 sinister forces. Hai is strictly forbidden to act w/o a sign from the cane. He wants to eliminate Qing, but the cane 💘 her. This monk is adorable. Don't get your hopes up. The monk has the potential to be the best romantic lead of the show, but monks are celibate.
Ju Jing Yi plays 🐍 spirit “Bai” Su Zhen. She's just cultivated into her human form after a millennia of effort. She is kind. She wouldn't dream of hurting people; she wants to be a Buddhist. Request denied: She must live as a human first. Humans have emotions, & Bai must learn how to overcome emotions. Off to 🌏 she goes, where she gets to experience the most wonderful thing on 🌎. Love? NO! FOOD!
Early on she meets physician Xu. She knew the doctor's previous incarnation but finds the current version lacking. He notices her, she's beautiful afterall, but she leaves, unimpressed. Yu Meng Long plays Dr. “Xu” Xuan (often called Hanwen). Bai encounters a darling young boy whose mother is very ill & offers to help. Guess who's already treating the woman? She clashes w/ the good doctor once again at the patient's house. Each thinks the other is a scammer. As attraction builds, though, he ain't gotta chance. One day when she doesn't want him to leave, she conjures a rainstorm. Still, a more willing victim may not be found. In the end, the romance is cold blooded & nearly emotionless, sadly.
In the meantime, Ruyi is also out to entrap Dr. Xu - into marriage. Yu Lang plays shyster Jin ‘Ruyi’. Selfish Ruyi is the source of most of the conflict in the show. Li Lin is one of the best characters as Xu's brother i/l & the constable. Prince Mu looks alittle like Chachi (Scott Baio) from Happy Days.
We haven't even gotten to our 4th lead yet. Xiao Yan is Xiao ‘Qing’, a naughty 🐍 deity. Qing's exactly what the good monk is looking for ~ to kill. The actress is adorable & the best thing about the show. Asian culture interchangeably translates the words deity & demon, but it's not exactly the Western/Christian concept of demons. In Chinese fantasy, demons can be good, & many are. In TLOWS & many other stories, cultivating power is excessively difficult. For demons, the same result can be achieved by devouring humans, & who doesn't love a shortcut? Many succumb to the temptation. Demons get a bad name from that. Early on, Qing has clashes w/ Bai, but it only sparks Qing's interest. Abandoned by her mother long ago, she's lonely. She was cultivating into a man. She's managed to become 80% woman when she meets Bai. When the quest starts (she opts to follow Bai) her cultivation stops, so they are two Sassy-lassies traveling together. Wait. Cultivating into a man is more difficult & takes more time than cultivating into a woman? The opposite should be what's true. Given their reproductive organs, women's bodies seem more complicated than men's anatomy. Even the creation story shows man as a warm-up & woman as the final prototype. Jusss sayin…
Most of our protags clash w/ a 🐺 demon, Lady Nexin. She soon has our 4 protags plotting against e/o. The centipede demon - the really bad monster - is also on the prowl. While the leads are, intermittently, looking squint & wide-eyed at e/o, things are increasingly dangerous. Children have already started disappearing from Lin'an. Soon demons & other bad guys are impersonating our protags causing greater confusion.
“Prejudices are not formed in a day.” “We differentiate between demons & humans w/ our hearts.” The primary theme is racism. Though genetically human, Ruyi is the actual demon in TLoWS. The monk is the one who struggles w/ the issue & must ultimately fight the monster w/in himself before it takes control & changes /him/ into a demon. When Qing helps Monk Hai fight the centipede, Hai is forced to re-examine his presuppositions. “Common people seek benefit, but wise people seek the core…” once Bai passes on her essence to Xu to heal him, she's no longer fully a demon, & he's no longer completely human. As a literal thinker, this is a conundrum for Hai, & he spends a good deal of the show working it out. We also see a person who is indwelt by a demon accuse another person of being a demon. The message is unmistakable: We are all blind to our own stuff, & we are often what we hate the most. That's one of the funniest (and most tragic) things about racism. The very word is a lie. What is race? There is only the human race, w/ its many ethnicities. Ethnic groups are just large, old families. We all hail from what is now the Middle East & Ethiopia. Scientists & theologians agree - we came from 1 woman. Race & racism are just pride-based lies that we've all decided to believe. It is hard enough to find a decent human being. Limiting yourself to 1 shade of skin makes the challenge all the more difficult.
They do have fun clashing up Qing & the monk. Once he realizes he can't kill her, he thinks it's a good idea that she sit & copy scriptures. She's totally flummoxed that anyone would think copying scriptures is a good way to spend one's time. “All the joy in the world comes from one's desire to help others. All the misery in the world comes from one's selfishness. Sadness & happiness are nothing but thoughts,” he reminds her. She reminds him that he has no idea what fun is! What would have been fun is if those two paired up. Monks are celibate, though. Sigh.
There's beautiful shots & lovely action, despite somewhat clunky special effects. At the 🏮 festival they look into e/o’s eyes & everything stops. Next, the background blurs by, while they stay frozen. They have fun showing the deities’ true forms as translucent overlays, particularly in fight scenes. The opening looks like a Maxfield Parrish / Thomas Kinkade collaboration. Costume & design are usually beautiful in a Chinese fantasy piece, & such is the case here. I love the girls’ hairdos, & the wedding headdress is especially nice. Shazamed: A song, by Ju JingYi.
I'll finish w/ a transcription tip & other fun facts: GRUE. The Chinese, historically, don't differentiate between green & blue. So you might see Qing's 🐍 form referred to as green. The thought of not differentiating between basic green & blue takes me straight to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) in The Devil Wears Prada - “But what you don't know. is that that {Qing} is not just blue. {She's} not turquoise, {She's} not lapis. {She's} actually cerulean.” ;)) Bai returns to Mt. Emei to bolster her power. Mt. Emei is a real place. Located close to the country's center, it's the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China. Finally, you might notice swastikas floating around the screen. The Nazis co-opted this symbol from ancient times. Per goog “In Chinese, the swastika is called “wan” which is a homonym for the Chinese words "ten thousand" & "infinity". It's a symbol of immortality, longevity, the universe, God's manifestation, & creativity.” It's also fascinating to see the traditional Greek scrolling on blankets & architecture. These are small evidences that we came from a common origin. We're 1 race.
QUOTE📢
A moment of beauty may lead to a lifetime of love.
〰🖍 IMHO
📣5 📝4 🎭7 💓4 🦋2 🎨7 🎵/🔊7.4 🔚6 ▪ 🌞4 ⚡4 😅1 😭4.5 😱4 😯6.5 😖2 🤔3.5 💤6.5
Age 12+
Language G0d@mn
Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned
Re-📺? Not a chance, and with the benefit of foreknowledge, I wouldn't watch it for the first time.
Romance -
Find Yourself-8.9;
A Little Thing Called First Love-8.5;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose-9.8;
The Sleepless Princess-9.1
Historical/Period -
Overlord-8.4,
Legend of the two sisters in chaos-7.7
Under the Power-8.6,
The Rebel Princess-9.1,
The rise of phoenixes-9,
K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song-8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen-8.5;
My Sassy Girl / Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo-8.5;
The Kings's Affection-8.3;
Mr. Sunshine-9
Fantasy -
Love Between Fairy & Devil-8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain-7.5;
Douluo Continent-9.4;
Love and Redemption-10
Action -
Heavenly Sword-9 (Kung-fu!)
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