WNx

I think the rating was skewed by haters.

The overall production, acting, and writing are above the other xianxas in my opinion.
Even the action choreography and CGI were much better.

Bai Jue is like Ye Hua and Si Feng; his selfless sacrifice for the FL hits the spot.

For me, this is the top xianxa above TMoPB, L&R, AoL, Love and Destiny, and ELoD.

I'm assuming the child actor couldn't pull it off. The scene of him calling Shanggu mother for the first time was very emotional but he couldn't really show more emotions.

That is why the dialogues were so important. Bai Jue and Tianqi had conversations about the first tribulation; so many things went sideways, diagonal, counter-clockwise, etc because they were trying to figure out the "best" way. Yet, she ended up sacrificing herself.

So, like Bai Jue said, he's not letting anyone affect his decision in taking the next tribulation for Shanggu.

Damn, just reading the "alone" part from what you wrote got me teary. His character didn't do it for recognition or responsibility -- he just simply wants her to be alive.

Miss the Dragon paled in comparison -- I wouldn't compare the two lol. If you have not seen Love and Redemption, then that one is a must watch.

Ep 41; I don't think I have cried that much in one episode of a drama before.

I think the writing did a really good job in contrasting Bai Jue/Qingmu and Shanggu/Houchi. So, some of the best scenes for me were when Qingmu and Houchi exclaim themselves as unique individuals -- completely separate and sentient beings from Bai Jue and Shanggu.

The dichotomy of their characters adds a lot of emotions. Like, current Qingmu only has his own memories and experiences, so he isn't Bai Jue and wouldn't know how Bai Jue feels. On the other hand, Bai Jue gains more memories and experiences as a second identity (Qingmu) once he regains his consciousness.

So, Qingmu and Houchi are quite pitiful characters. Like when Houchi believes that everyone only treated her well just because she's only a vessel for Shanggu's soul while she herself struggles with an identity crisis. Or when Qingmu realizes he will soon lose his consciousness and will never see Houchi again after waiting for almost a century as Bai Jue appears before him.

In addition to the scenes by Bai Jue and Shanggu, some from Yuemi, Jingjian, Fengran, Gu Jun, Zihan (Tianqi's assistant), and Sen Yu were memorable too.

In contrast; every time Houchi homes into Qingmu for a hug is quite sweet and cute. I don't think we see that often in a Xianxa.

Such a damn good drama. Eps 40-49 made it even better. Bawl fest not just because of the main leads but from the supporting casts as well. It hurts so good!

Jingjian can be a ML in his own story too.

Ooooo damn! Reading what you wrote gave me goosebumps! haha now I hope the novel gets fully translated! Or I will have to resort to machine translations... lol

I guess production costs were too high so they couldn't do more episodes. Because this drama looked quite expensive to make.

Hm been a while; maybe by ep 10 they broke up?

I also thought 49 episodes is short, but more episodes may mean more draggy scenes =(

FL and 2ML were already in a relationship by the time ML shows up again in present time.

FL and 2ML end up breaking up because of 2ML's infidelity.

Yes, but that relationship of hers fall apart and she falls in love with the ML.

Refreshing to see a quick-witted FL rather than the usual bimbo FLs.

Yuemi is also a loveable character as well.

I found the first episode's world building and setting to be interesting already. From episode 2, the characters got interesting -- especially our two leads.

She's mischievous but she's far from dumb. She's quick-witted. Early Jin Mi from Ashes of Love is dumb. She's also not simple-minded like Xuanji from L&R.

First time watching Zhou Dong Yu and she's so natural on screen she is fun to watch. Shang Gu's defensive reaction every time Bai Jue walks toward her is cute and funny.

That's funny because as I am watching this drama, I keep thinking, "Damn, this looks like a movie production rather than a drama." The settings, extras, little details, etc all add up and this drama looks so damn good.

He loosens up as he interacts with Shang Gu more. He shows more emotions on his face when others are not looking.

I like how our ML is a Michelin chef and Da Vinci yet still unconditionally supports the FL.