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P.S. I'm also waiting for immortality *crying
I generally don't watch republican dramas, cause they are not my cup of tea, but I really like him, so I will give this one and go.
I hope it's good 🤞
They also announce way too many series to a point that is basically impossible for them to get released when they should be.
I don't know that were the vibes I got. It looks pretty cinematic. Reminded me of Moonlight Chicken, that is why I said it may not be the typical 12 eps. Could be because it's the same director though. Well, hopefully we will find out soon enough!
And I was anticipating Dark Dice.
I do expect this to air in about a year. I just hope it won't be 2026...
Well, as long as it is good, I will wait...
Plus, I don't believe it will be of the typical duration. I expect eight eps or less, so maybe it won't be 2026 until we watch it.
Taking place in 1996, it seems like the plot will focus on belief and love and how religion shapes people to even question if they truly deserve to be "saved".
This is a very bold move by GMMTV, taking into consideration the story will be exploring homosexuality from a religious aspect and through the "lenses" of the Catholic church. It will be especially difficult for this not to turn preachy and be what it is meant to be; an ode to love.
From the trailer, it looks like we will be watching the story of two young men, each with different beliefs when it comes to fate, falling in love with each other.
Not only this is an LGBTQ+ series -and not a bl- dealing with themes like contradicting feelings, religion and homophobia, but the cinematography and music are also splendid.
I can already tell this will be a pretty raw and heavy watch and I expect this to be a mini series, probably with eight episodes or even less.
I was impressed by Neo here and I'm also looking forward to that series! I really liked Lu Yu Xiao in MJTY and I really want to see her again on screen. I also hope they don't butcher the adaptation, cause I feel that at least the acting will be good.
🥰💜
Romance is not the main focus and it is a objectively underdeveloped, but generally the series is very entertaining and the relationships between the characters are worth it.
The ending is more on the bittersweet end for me, not purely sad and it was as it should have been taking into consideration the general atmosphere and plot of the series. It shouldn't have had an unrealistically happy ending.
I do recognize that FoF has MANY flaws, but I was generally entertained which is something I personally value a lot when it comes to series/movies. For me, the drama felt more like a character driven series or at least that is how I decided to watch it as. That is why, even though the plot is objectively not well written, I wasn't that annoyed in general. I was more annoyed with some characters being underdeveloped.
Continue or not? Good question!
For me, if you are mostly interested in the plot -the events of the story- and not that much on the relationships or the characters (which is what I understand from your post), I would say you should drop it. But, since you are already on episode 24, I would definitely recommend you to at least watch episode 25. Even though it is character driven, it is very well made!
I loved it yes, but I can see it has many problems and from what you wrote to me I understand that those problems frustrate you which is totally understandable. Golden rule for me: If you feel you need a push to continue, it is not worth your time! Everyone likes and enjoys different things and I am sure that there will be a better series than this in the future that satisfies you more. So drop it (unless you are a big fan of one of the actors or are truly invested in the relationships)!
«But yeah. I'm not as satisfied as I would have wanted». -> Same
Mind going into detail on the plot though? -> Sure + It contains spoilers!
I personally enjoyed the plot from an entertainment aspect and there are specific reasons why. I will first start with the flaws though, cause what I enjoyed plot-wise also had to do with Li Lun (and subsequently with your question about him).
Flaws:
1. Underdeveloped FL
She was supposed to be a powerful character that would bring balance, but she was constantly portrayed as fragile and weak. The romance with the main lead was equally underdeveloped. Their feelings seemed to have come out of nowhere, especially since they barely shared any emotionally powerful scenes. As a result, her big sacrifice of 300 years in the later episodes felt bland for me, simply because the scriptwriter had not given us enough reasons to believe that their love was so deep and real for her to sacrifice so much. Even in the last eps she barely appears and feels like an insignificant character.
2. There were many unnecessary scenes
Despite some scenes lasting way too long -like BJ’s death- there were parts of scenes that could simply be omitted. For example, when ZYC was being attacked by LL, we had YL, a demi god, spitting blood on the ground and doing nothing to help him, because he was injured. Yet, when ZYZ appears and ZYC is half-dead, YL somehow finds the power to get up and go next to him. And there are many scenes like that that simply don’t make sense. Like when YL was dying and the powerful ZYC was laying on the ground without helping him.
3. Plot was repetitive
The dream sequences happened again and again and the stories of the demons where very similar to each other, all having to do with tragic love.
4. Even the ending was idiotic in some manners. We had WX telling ZYZ that he shouldn’t sacrifice himself because that is “the responsibility of the Baize Goddess” yet she is doing nothing to stop him, he just waits for him to tie her up and die… And there are many scenes like that that I would say they were written lazily and only worked as plot tools for the “next big thing” to happen.
These are not all the flaws, but were the worst for me.
Regarding the good parts
1. Mythology
All the creatures that appeared were based on mythology, something that I did appreciate, especially since they did keep some key characteristics of those creatures, while also taking a few liberties. Despite their repetitive stories, they were written good enough and made me as a viewer gain knowledge regarding Chinese mythology and having fun watching their stories.
2. Entertainment value
The series for me was quite entertaining plot wise. It could be because I am not watching that many Cdramas, so I didn’t feel the tropes as being overused.
3. There are many scenes that are simply very well written (amazing quotes etc.)
Like the scene with ZYZ and ZYC with the “slice” on his back that truly captures the emotions of the characters and their complex personalities. Even humour worked for me splendidly.
4. The relationships between ZYZ, ZYC and LL and some other characters like the one between WX and PSJ were pretty well written.
5. The drama in general is doing a very good job when it comes to dealing with subjects like good vs bad, prejudice and free will/choices/fate. Regarding this aspect, I will be mentioning specifics parts of the drama, relating to ZYC, ZYZ and LL -and also answering to your question about LL-.
As mentioned in my review, I think their relationship is the core of the series and it basically proves the point of the drama, that we always have a choice.
ZYZ was a demon from the get go. He could never truly embrace his demonic traits and self. He always admired humanity and everything that accompanied it. It seems that he hated himself, because it was his own nature that led him to do harm without his actual control. He hates who he is and knows full well how it is like to get blamed for something you can't control. He is a flawed, yet likable, character like the majority of the characters in the series.
ZYZ wanted to feel emotions like humans do, he wanted to have a choice to live the mundane and ephemeral life of a mortal human being. I am not even sure if he truly fell in love with humanity or he simply hated his real self so much that he had to find something "opposite" to love.
And that is why ZYC is such a powerful character. Cause he had been in both shoes. He was a human, considered a hero by everyone. Knowing ZYZ, the man that slaughtered his family, he hated him at first. When he got to know him and understand how and why all that happened, he still had an underlying hate, not because he truly hated ZYZ, but because he lost important people because of an uncontrollable force. He hated the fact that he had begun to understand him.
When ZYC turned into a demon, he fully understood ZYZ. He understood what it meant for everyone to hate and resent you, even if you didn't do anything wrong. What it meant to be hated purely because of who you are and because of forces you can't control. And that is a tragic realization that you can only truly comprehend if you experience it and ZYC does.
That is why that specific scene with the flashback in the pavilion was great along with the close ups to his face and the shot of everyone pointing and shouting at him. ZYC is what the series truly wants to point out. That no matter what you are and no matter what you experience; no matter the hardships you have been through, in the end you are the one choosing your path.
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Li Lun may seem completely evil at first, but is he?
For me, he isn’t. He is not the typical big bad threat that is just there to create chaos and has only bad qualities.
Li Lun was hurt by the only person he ever trusted. He had lived for 30.000 years and ZYZ was an extremely important part of his life. He was his friend and in my opinion -and according to some observations- probably more than that.
LL never cared about humanity. He cared about ZYZ liking humanity. He was gifted a drum by the person that ended up hurting him irreparably and injuring him fatally -even though he didn’t want to-. And despite all that, he kept that drum. And not only that. He gifted ZYZ an umbrella. That was a very symbolic scene showing how deep their connection truly was. LL is a “tree demon”. The umbrella shields humans from rain, the same way a tree does. It wasn’t a simple gift. It was him basically telling ZYZ that he will “shield” him.
When LL got trapped by the Baize goddess, ZYZ, despite the bond they shared, never actually cared enough to get close to him after that. LL was "protected" according to the Goddess, but in reality he was locked in a place for years, having no one -and according to him that was worse than death-.
It is vital to understand that LL was not really a bad person. He was a hurt person and he created an idea of the world where all humans were evil, cause his friend ended up hurting him -something that felt like a betrayal from his pov- after he killed humans, having seen what other humans had done to his species.
A person that he knew for thousands of years turned his back on him and at the same time created a friendship with people he barely knew. LL was extra bitter about that and he tried to hurt ZYZ. He tried to hurt him emotionally more than he tried to harm him physically, cause he wanted to hurt him the way he was hurt.
Plus, there is a scene in the beginning of the drama that fully proves how deep LL knew ZYZ. LL asked him if he is afraid of WX seeing his true form and it was evident that ZYZ was, indeed, ashamed. By the words LL is saying that basically states something along the lines of “she is no match for you”, he implies that he, comparing to his new “team”, is the only one that has seen both his human and demon form and cared for him regardless. He accepted all his forms and could be with him eternally.
Even when LL was “dying” he was crying only looking at ZYZ. That was a vital moment in the series for both us viewers and ZYZ. We got to understand him more and ZYZ truly saw the harm he caused and didn't want to aknowledge.
But then comes ZYC. In just 24 years of life, he was "lucky". He was born in a powerful family and had people that loved him deeply around him. But he lost them and sometimes losing someone you love that dearly hurts more than never having them to begin with. Similarly, LL was "abandoned" by ZYZ. He lost the only person that was ever important to him. Both characters dealt with a very tragic and life-altering loss.
But the difference is in the choices they made. ZYC turned into something he hunted all his life. Something he hated, something that slaughtered his entire family, yet he is righteous. He goes into prison willingly. He doesn't snap when every person that treated him as a hero in the past, turned his back on him. When they pointed their fingers at him, when they shouted at him, when they humiliated him.
LL on the other hand, chose a completely different path. Even though what he went through was tragic and some circumstances may have led him to act in a specific way, in reality no one truly made him become what he is today, only himself.
And that is why the scene between ZYC and LL -when ZYC turned into a demon- is so powerful.
LL tried to make ZYC like himself, but couldn’t. Because of the choice ZYC made to support ZYZ and basically state to Li Lun that he could never be like him, Li Lun sees in Zhuo Yi Chen the importance of "having a choice" and he understands that he too could choose, but he ended up choosing himself and revenge. For me, LL had a sword pointed at him and he decided to turn it to the world.
The loss of Ao Yin later on was also significant. He may have not seen her romantically, but he appreciated and was deeply moved by the sacrifice she made for him. It was the only time someone actually sacrificed themselves to help him.
ZYZ “sacrificed” LL to save the world. ZYZ is unable to express himself to LL the way he should have done so and that is what ultimately also lead to Ying Lei’s death.
Instead of telling LL that he found a way for him to survive, he tells him to sacrifice himself. He tells to a person that he shared a 30.000 year bond to sacrifice himself and die for a human he knew for what? A few months? That is another ultimate betrayal for LL.
Later on -when ZYC tells ZYZ’s intentions to LL- LL understands that ZYZ never meant to kill him. And because of that and the understanding that ZYZ never truly wanted to betray and hurt him -and also because he never truly stopped caring about ZYZ-, he ended up keeping his oath and basically dying -for good- to save both ZYZ and ZYC.
(+ Another interesting detail is that when LL appears to save them, his styling, especially his hair is not the usual we see. It is more similar with his “older and kinder” self, when he enjoyed his time with ZYZ in the mortal realm. It was like the director wanted to point out that “the real LL is back and he hasn’t forgot his oath”).
I could analyze LL even more, and I have had a very long conversation about this topic with another user here on MDL that basically enlightened me on many things. As a conclusion, I didn’t think of LL as a true villain nor did I found him annoying. I saw him as a very well written and complex character and I never truly hated him. For me, despite his one-dimensional perspective of the world he was just a very hurt person. I think LL and generally his relationship with ZYZ, -even ZYC- and the world is a great topic of conversation and brings moral dilemmas to the forefront.
That aside, all their scenes are very impactful. Even in the pavilion, it is the first time we see ZYZ lose control of his power cause of the pure anger and devastation he feels, when everyone is treating ZYC as an evil demon. I could probably write an essay about how their relationship is much more significant and romantic than the actual main romance.
I think that that scene was very powerful and could be interpreted in many different ways. For me, it was a mix of everything. It was about living WX screaming, cause he had been helpless in the past. It was about making his soulmate kill him. It was about losing everything and most importantly, for me at least, in that scene he was mourning for himself. He was always seeking death and now that he found a will to live he had to die.
Cried more than when I watched it the first time.
Rewatching some parts of that scene made me feel much worse now, since when I first watched it the scene felt a bit too long and the emotional impact despite it being big, didn't truly "ruin" me emotionally.
You know what I am truly in awe about though?
That the censorship board has a problem with promoting foreign cultures, showing explicit sexual scenes, having LGBTQ+ representation etc, but is totally okay with a kid being slowly burned alive on screen and having a person he cared about trying to take the bells from his little burned and unmovable hand...
Like, make it make sense...