Ackery

Great comment! I agree and it is obvious by how well written and complex their characters are.

And the way, I actually didn't want to see it anyways 🙃

I feel that we will either get a flashback much later or it was the director's choice, cause he didn't want to show that type of over-affection between those two characters. After all, this would be the first actual hug in the series, at least from what I remember.

For me, she is there for censorship purposes and it got even more evident in ep. 26.

I personally do enjoy and prefer the ZYZ + ZYC relationship. Their dynamics, chemistry and generally their scenes are very impactful and powerful and I think that was also GJM's purpose. Most of the "big" scenes are between ZYZ and ZYC and not between other characters.

But like you mention, WX is an extremely underdeveloped character which is unfortunate, cause from the first few eps I expected her character to be completely different. More layered and complex.
She is weak, which is okay -and is acknowledged in the series-, but most of the times when something important or life threatening happens, it seems that she is there for no reason. She is just shouting names and crying, doing basically nothing and it is also apparent by the way the director is "using" her. When the relationship between ZYC and ZYZ gets a bit "non platonic" suddenly he remembers to show WX's face just to remind us the FL is there.

GJM has used homoerotic undertones in his dramas before and for me it is apparent he is doing it in this one too -and it is not subtle at all-. It's not just the scenes, but many other things like the symbolism behind many things happening -even had a convo about the actual chinese phrases that are uses in some cases that prove it-. But, it was a bad choice to actually not develop the FL. She had to be better written, because for a drama to be great, all characters must be developed -if not equally, at least to some degree-.

Exactly...

Been saying this from the get go and it was even more evident in ep. 26. It feels like she is there for the drama to pass censorship. Even directing wise, it feels like GJM makes her face pop up when things get too bl-y.

The problem is that her character is extremely underdeveloped which is a pity cause she could have been pretty great, if they kept the vibes from the first few eps-.

It's a love or hate drama. I personally love it a lot.

Don't take douban rating into consideration. Besides the "fandom wars", Cnets hate the director -since he is a very controversial figure- and I am sure that is partly why it has such a low rating on douban.

The production quality is insane and it is generally a very easy and entertaining watch having "free will" as the main theme. Even though the drama has comedic elements, the main characters truly go through a lot, but it is well executed most of the time.

If you ask me, give it a chance and judge for your own. If you like aesthetics, mythology and (b)romance, I think you will enjoy it.

I think that some characters are splendidly written and others are unfortunately extremely underdeveloped, but it is an entertaining watch!

Thank you!
I do ship them romantically, but as you are saying, it doesn't really matter if someone sees them like that or not, cause it is evident that they are soulmates in a way or another.

"The drama also shows in the few flashbacks that LL is slower to understand the human world or learn certain human traits akin to a frog in a well when compared to ZY"
-> I generally agree, but I would add that aside that, from what we were shown, it seemed like ZYZ was also more eager to learn about humans and he seemed to have a type of admiration towards them -and it is always easier to understand something when you really want to- comparing to LL. Plus, ZYZ seemed to visit more often the mortal world comparing to LL, so it is natural that what we see make it seem like it is easier for him to learn. After that, it was the experiences that made them have opposite ideas about mortals and choose different paths.

"When LL realised humans could exploit and torture low-level demons, he became completely emotional and reacted badly. LL was wrong to kill all humans in the medicinal shop, including the customers who knew nothing of what was happening underneath the shop. That also shows LL unable to parse the specifics of context for this situation accurately. ZY was naive to touch the Ever-Burning Wood without first exercising some caution, which could have destroyed ZY but fortunately it only became absorbed and part of him."
-> Agreed. LL aside, I think his choice to kill everyone was human-like. Not only in real life when people tend to punish everyone instead of the one at fault, but also in the drama (with all demons getting ostracized, when not all of them are evil).

I won't dwell much on the ZYZ x LL story cause I think we have both analyzed it a lot. All I want to mention, is that both ZYZ and LL are deeply flawed characters with each of them making mistakes and wrong choices. Like I have mentioned in the past, I don't dislike ZYZ and I also don't dislike LL.

Both of them have different perceptions of the world, and are both on the extremes -or at least were- (LL considers humans bad and ZYZ considers them good). Both of them had their reasons to do what they did under those circumstances and they have completely different mindsets.

What happened to LL was considered as a punishment worse than death by LL, but probably for ZYZ it was merciful. They are two people that are and were always opposite.

Same with ZYC. We can't truly compare cause they were different species, but choices are choices no matter how you were raised and no matter what you have been through or what you are. ZYC chose the righteous path and LL didn't.
We can't compare their way of living, cause LL's was harsher, but that doesn't mean he was forced to turn the way he did. Same with all humans. Many abused people turn into abusers, but not everyone does. Many people that grew with love end up being kind, but not all of them do. Not every wounded person turns "bad" and not every loved person turns "good".

And the thing is that at the end of the day there is no good and bad or black and white. No evil and kind people, just people/yao with different experiences and different choices -both good and bad- and all the characters in the drama fall in this category.

Conclusion? GJM being all poetic 😂

I don't know what I should comment about episode 26, but the love story between Zhao Yuan Zhou and Zhuo Yi Chen (call it platonic, brotherly or romantic, doesn't matter) is portrayed immaculately. It is an epic journey of two souls that, despite their differences, got to understand one another in a way that no one else could ever understand them and formed a bond that would never break.

I won't talk about their heart to heart conversation in the beginning of the episode, nor the plead of ZYC to ZYZ ("please don't die"), but I must talk about the final scene of ep. 26.

Zhuo Yi Chen chose to remain frozen, pledging to keep company to that beast for eternity. He chose himself and he reconciled with death.
One of the ultimate purposes of all beings is to die without having regrets for the life they have lived and by mentioning Bai Jiu in his last moments and his will for him to be saved, even when he is not there, is just heart shattering to say the least. The way he turned his head around, waiting for his "death" was devastating.

And then, we have ZYZ. The demon that always sought death. The one that hated himself; hated the despair he had inflicted. The one that fought to get as close to ZYC as possible to try to save him, knowing that it could cause his demise.

When he touched him, and how, in the end, they both shared "death", was soul crushing to watch and at the same time poetically beautiful.

Very well said! I wish I could save comments.

You're welcome 😊

They are 😭

You brave. The other day I blocked a few people because of that 🙃

Doubt has good acting and a very interesting plot, but it is way too slow.

The slow pace is not the "this actually contributes to the general atmosphere" (like Beyond Evil), but more the "we need to have 10 eps instead of 5".

But plot is intriguing enough, so I'm still watching, but wouldn't really recommend if you are not 100% in the mood for something veryyy slow.

Girl, you are playing a dangerous game!

Very well said!

I won't hide that I laughed when they threw him all that expensive vegetables in a previous scenes and Pei Si Jing was just standing there being a queen.

But YL and bromance with ZYC in that scene and the first one where he was the only one defending him -> perfection!

Same 😂😂😂

Love to read your comments, especially the sandwich one below that I may or may not find relatable.

Oh you have a point, I totally see it! The enemies trying to "kill" each other turned into bickering partners.

I'm loving the (b)romance! It is insane.

Tian Jia Rui was phenomenal this episode and so was ZYC!

Hope to see him more in the future! Costume dramas fit him perfectly and he looks ethereal.

Keep your murderous tendencies for later. I feel it will get worse and I will join you.

"No matter what happens, I do not lose myself." -> Exactly and that is the main difference between him and LL. Both went through different things, obviously with different intensity, but LL lost himself on the way and put his protection above most things.

"This graceful firmness of not-yet-fully-demon ZYC in black clothing still retaining his humanity hits hard, because this is what LL used to be." -> I didn't really make that connection, but I can see what you mean especially thinking about their interaction. TJR looks so good in that clothing though. Same with the blue one before and it fits perfectly with his new self.

"I actually see it as a good sign that LL rejects the umbrella to remember he never needed one to begin with. It can be interpreted in multiple ways..." -> The comment I mentioned previously also has to do with that scene. It was very nicely shot and like you said it can be interpreted with many different ways and many of them can be true at the same time.

"And yet, the gulf between them is not about how long one has lived, but how one chooses to live."
What ZYC said to LL was a hurtful, but truthful reminder. ZYC, for me, is a painful realization of what LL could be, but chose not to and it truly is hard to take.
LL has his reasons for turning to what he is today and it is understandable why he did, but in reality he was never "forced". He chose that path, like ZYC chose his own and I believe that LL had justified his choice in his mind, but now, seeing ZYC, he realized that he could have chosen a completely different route despite what he went through and that hurts the most.

ZYC was superior to LL in that scene and it was evident from the way GJM shot the scene. At first we had Li Lun above ZYC both literally and metaphorically. He seemed to be having the upper hand. He talked to him like he is in the right while ZYC listens. Later, when ZYC "attacked" and LL fell into the water the perspective completely changed. Now, ZYC was the one "above" LL shot wise and from the interaction that followed, it was evident that ZYC was superior mentality wise too and LL did realize that something that made the umbrella scene that happened next even more impactful.

"Demons seem to become very vulnerable when they trust (could be due to emotional naivety and innocence akin to a child), and hence a betrayal hits them more deeply, but it doesn't mean they have the emotional ability and maturity to process the emotional wounds of what they have experienced. Zhu Yin was very knowledgeable and old but in the end, that one betrayal from the scholar who became the Prime Minister made him believe humans will never accept demons." -> I think it does have to do mostly with emotional naivety and general naivety about humans and the way they work and betray.
Both humans and demons are prejudiced when it comes to one another. Humans believe all demons are bad and demons believe that no human will ever understand them. That's why, like mentioned before, LL was satisfied with WX's answer about humans having multiple faces, cause from his perspective demons don't. If they are evil, they are just that. If they are kind, they are kind. They don't create lies about them being kind. But humans can act kind and considerate while stabbing you in the back.

And that is the reason why ZYC is such a powerful character. Cause now he has 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 -that he felt the need to keep- not because he truly hated ZYZ, but because he lost important people because of an uncontrollable force.

Now, with him turning into a demon, he can fully understand ZYZ and what it truly means to be a demon. What it means for everyone to hate and resent you, even if you didn't do anything wrong; just because of who you are. 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 what you become is your choice. You chose the path for your own self. In reality, and the team of the series proves that, every person and every demon is different and that is the beauty of life, immortal or not.