A few problems
I’m not sure exactly what’s wrong with WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON, but this drama just didn’t land for me–partly because it’s so simpleminded. For example, when the demon army invades the Grandmaster’s stronghold in ep. 20, the demon fighters are all dressed in black. The good guys are dressed in white. Pretty convenient.
There are many parallels in this story with LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL. There’s a dragon buddy in one, a snake buddy in the other. Fairies and demons fight each other in the first. Immortals and demons are at war in the second.
The female leads in each series are different. While Orchid is sometimes irritating in LBFAD, she’s also lovable, funny, and appealing, and she grows into a strong, impressive woman.
But the writers of WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON infantilize Tingyan. She pouts and simpers and makes eyes at Jiao. Her goal is life is to eat, drink, and try on pretty clothes. It doesn’t hit home with her until about halfway through the series that her boy is a serial killer. Also, who is this woman? Is she a demon? a reincarnated human? or a fish?
What’s motivating the ML? Power? Revenge? The attainment of higher cultivation levels? Personal animus? The villains seem like a bunch of feckless, bungling clowns. It’s hard to take them seriously. Mostly they seem like a swarm of annoying insects buzzing around Jiao’s head. Every once in awhile he brushes them all away.
Arthur Chen as Sima Jiao is disarmingly handsome, but that’s not always an advantage for someone wanting to be taken seriously as an actor. His looks make him subject to everyone’s projections. Sima Jiao, is a pit of hatred, negativity and despair– in other words, a damaged soul.
The writers need to show us how someone who’s never known a kind word, can reach into his heart and find a boatload of self-sacrificing love for Liao Tingyan, a well-meaning, not-too-bright klutz. But character motivation is missing throughout. They don’t give Chen enough to work with, I’m sorry to say–so Sima Jiao’s transformation into Mr. Wonderful isn’t convincing. Or at least it wasn’t to me.
The comedy scenes in WDBTD are repetitious and not very funny. It’s cute that Liao Tingyan keeps using 21st century lingo and 9-to-5 work metaphors in her “employment” with her “boss,” but after the third or fourth time this device gets a little old.
The characters in this drama are always telling the viewers what’s happening: “Why isn’t the Grandmaster here? Looks like he’s figured out our plan.” Or, “If I can win the Grandmaster’s favor, perhaps I can help Mother through this crisis.” Weak writing.
The special effects and CG make many scenes seem low-budget.
My greatest wish for Arthur Chen is that he can find a substantial role that truly inspires him--maybe some kind of an eccentric character–a role that he can individualize and make his own. This drama doesn’t give him that.
There are many parallels in this story with LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL. There’s a dragon buddy in one, a snake buddy in the other. Fairies and demons fight each other in the first. Immortals and demons are at war in the second.
The female leads in each series are different. While Orchid is sometimes irritating in LBFAD, she’s also lovable, funny, and appealing, and she grows into a strong, impressive woman.
But the writers of WHEN DESTINY BRINGS THE DEMON infantilize Tingyan. She pouts and simpers and makes eyes at Jiao. Her goal is life is to eat, drink, and try on pretty clothes. It doesn’t hit home with her until about halfway through the series that her boy is a serial killer. Also, who is this woman? Is she a demon? a reincarnated human? or a fish?
What’s motivating the ML? Power? Revenge? The attainment of higher cultivation levels? Personal animus? The villains seem like a bunch of feckless, bungling clowns. It’s hard to take them seriously. Mostly they seem like a swarm of annoying insects buzzing around Jiao’s head. Every once in awhile he brushes them all away.
Arthur Chen as Sima Jiao is disarmingly handsome, but that’s not always an advantage for someone wanting to be taken seriously as an actor. His looks make him subject to everyone’s projections. Sima Jiao, is a pit of hatred, negativity and despair– in other words, a damaged soul.
The writers need to show us how someone who’s never known a kind word, can reach into his heart and find a boatload of self-sacrificing love for Liao Tingyan, a well-meaning, not-too-bright klutz. But character motivation is missing throughout. They don’t give Chen enough to work with, I’m sorry to say–so Sima Jiao’s transformation into Mr. Wonderful isn’t convincing. Or at least it wasn’t to me.
The comedy scenes in WDBTD are repetitious and not very funny. It’s cute that Liao Tingyan keeps using 21st century lingo and 9-to-5 work metaphors in her “employment” with her “boss,” but after the third or fourth time this device gets a little old.
The characters in this drama are always telling the viewers what’s happening: “Why isn’t the Grandmaster here? Looks like he’s figured out our plan.” Or, “If I can win the Grandmaster’s favor, perhaps I can help Mother through this crisis.” Weak writing.
The special effects and CG make many scenes seem low-budget.
My greatest wish for Arthur Chen is that he can find a substantial role that truly inspires him--maybe some kind of an eccentric character–a role that he can individualize and make his own. This drama doesn’t give him that.
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