Rare Xianxia with a Happy Ending
A xianxia with a happy ending! Yay! Overreacting a bit? Maybe. But after watching xianxia and C-dramas with mostly bitter, bittersweet, ambiguous or slightly hopeful endings, it was refreshin to watch a C drama that had a happy ending for its 1st and 2nd couples.
But aside from its’ happy ending, L&D has an engaging story with a wide set of characters and villains (who range from petty and boring, irritable, irredeemable to even tragic).
L&D features Ni Ni as Ling Shee, a low ranking immortal that by fate or accient awakens the God of War (Jiu Chen) from his 50 thousand year slumber. She then becomes his servant and works at his palace in the celestial court as a maid. But Ling Shee’s happy days don’t last long because fate has darker plans for her…
Okay. This is what I can say about the story without spoiling it much.
The idea of the story and its’ execution is mostly good. Ni Ni as Ling Shee is great and charms the audience with her beauty and wit. Chang Chen is also stoic, strong and completely believable as God of War and they have very good chemistry. The others are well cast too.
Another great thing about L&D is its’ production value, which is superb. The costumes and sets for each realm are very well done and the props and make-ups for demons are great.
However, one thing that really stops me from rewatching it is the pacing. Even though the actors give very good performances, L&D really didn't need to be 60 episodes long. In fact, it can be broken down to three arcs and the second arc, which takes place in the human realm, is the longest (30 episodes). Sure, the story is interesting and actors do a very fine job of portraying the characters. But did it really need to be 30 episodes to finish what easily could have been 10 to 15 episodes? Basically, two major things happen in the second arc that determine the heroine’s fate. And in between these two tests, a lot of skippable drama happens; a lot of characters looking at each other either with doubt, longing, etc. Honestly, I had no problem with the first act because it managed to establish three things at a good pace: The world and the characters, the villains and the stakes, and the progression of the story. The 2nd act slows to almost a crawl and even with the actors’ talents you can’t stop noticing it. The 3rd act picks up the pace, but the editing could be tighter there as well.
I also had some issues with the ending and fates of some of the secondary characters. As I said before, L&D has a wide range of villains, one of which is a very irredeemable and nasty one. To its’ credit, L&D manages to use her very well for 90% of the drama. But in the last episodes, it dimishes her power and villainy and replaces her position as a major villain with a secondary character (who was a morally grey character before). In my opinion, it was unnecessary and seemed like a half-assed attempt at “seems like everything is going well for our main couple, so let’s ruin it for them!”
Despite it all, L&D has a definite on-screen happy ending and for that I give it a huge positive. However its’ unnecessary length and some plot choices near the end prevent me from giving this well-produced and acted xiancia a 8/7 or 9 rating.
Rating: 8/10
But aside from its’ happy ending, L&D has an engaging story with a wide set of characters and villains (who range from petty and boring, irritable, irredeemable to even tragic).
L&D features Ni Ni as Ling Shee, a low ranking immortal that by fate or accient awakens the God of War (Jiu Chen) from his 50 thousand year slumber. She then becomes his servant and works at his palace in the celestial court as a maid. But Ling Shee’s happy days don’t last long because fate has darker plans for her…
Okay. This is what I can say about the story without spoiling it much.
The idea of the story and its’ execution is mostly good. Ni Ni as Ling Shee is great and charms the audience with her beauty and wit. Chang Chen is also stoic, strong and completely believable as God of War and they have very good chemistry. The others are well cast too.
Another great thing about L&D is its’ production value, which is superb. The costumes and sets for each realm are very well done and the props and make-ups for demons are great.
However, one thing that really stops me from rewatching it is the pacing. Even though the actors give very good performances, L&D really didn't need to be 60 episodes long. In fact, it can be broken down to three arcs and the second arc, which takes place in the human realm, is the longest (30 episodes). Sure, the story is interesting and actors do a very fine job of portraying the characters. But did it really need to be 30 episodes to finish what easily could have been 10 to 15 episodes? Basically, two major things happen in the second arc that determine the heroine’s fate. And in between these two tests, a lot of skippable drama happens; a lot of characters looking at each other either with doubt, longing, etc. Honestly, I had no problem with the first act because it managed to establish three things at a good pace: The world and the characters, the villains and the stakes, and the progression of the story. The 2nd act slows to almost a crawl and even with the actors’ talents you can’t stop noticing it. The 3rd act picks up the pace, but the editing could be tighter there as well.
I also had some issues with the ending and fates of some of the secondary characters. As I said before, L&D has a wide range of villains, one of which is a very irredeemable and nasty one. To its’ credit, L&D manages to use her very well for 90% of the drama. But in the last episodes, it dimishes her power and villainy and replaces her position as a major villain with a secondary character (who was a morally grey character before). In my opinion, it was unnecessary and seemed like a half-assed attempt at “seems like everything is going well for our main couple, so let’s ruin it for them!”
Despite it all, L&D has a definite on-screen happy ending and for that I give it a huge positive. However its’ unnecessary length and some plot choices near the end prevent me from giving this well-produced and acted xiancia a 8/7 or 9 rating.
Rating: 8/10
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