Noctis

Moonlit Reunion was one of my most awaited dramas of the year.. But guess what, it didn’t live up to my expectations.. Maybe it’s just me.. Maybe I was in the wrong mood, or maybe my expectations were set too high.. I wanted more.. In the end, I could just barely bring myself to give it 8 stars.. The story felt a bit too stop and start for my liking.. Almost every time it seemed to be building momentum, it slowed down again.. With the kind of material they had, the drama really should have kept ramping things up consistently until the end, but it doesn’t..

The visuals were top notch and I really loved the cinematography.. The VFX though, were a mixed bag.. When they were good, they were really good.. But when they were bad, they were just plain bad.. Some scenes felt outright poorly done.. And the action scenes looked well coordinated.. It’s always fun to watch action mixed with magic, spells and demons and they did a good job with that..

I stopped counting the number of guys in her life halfway through the drama.. They really could have eased up on it after the incident with her cousin.. But no they had to bring in yet another guy in the very next episode.. The ML and FL already know they love each other, so what more do they need to prove?? Honestly they could have used that time to explore more important story arcs.. Twenty episodes in and we have only caught glimpses of how good the drama could have been.. If they had just cut out this unnecessary nonsense, the drama wouldn’t have felt so dragged out and would have been far more interesting.. Instead halfway through, we still don’t have an established story to follow, we are just stuck watching him get jealous over the nth guy..

They both have their secrets.. So how is this relationship supposed to work?? I can understand her reason for keeping it hidden, obviously.. But him?? He could have told her about himself, at least before marriage.. I guess his silence comes down to that promise he made to never speak of it again and the fear of losing the person he loves most if he broke it.. Still I think he could have handled it better.. Anyway, their breakup was inevitable.. When it finally happened, it was long, hard and painful.. But it had to be done for them to start over I guess..

Xu Kai was impressive.. He had very limited action scenes.. His fights, even though short and scarce it created expectations.. If he had a full blown fight, it would have been awesome.. That whole speech to the Miasma Demon after, ‘ Do you know what kind of person she is?? ’ was damn good.. And then the use of his sword with the line, ‘ Since it’s a secret, you should take it to the grave along with your life.. ’ Absolute 10/10 scene.. His face off with the FL was also really good.. Tian Xi Wei was equally impressive.. Their romance and chemistry were good.. Their romance was another thing we just didn’t get enough of..

I definitely need to talk about Wu Zi Shu, the FL’s sidekick.. Honestly, his track record is as evil as it gets.. He killed countless demons to harvest their cores to make her a full demon, without her knowledge obviously.. He kidnapped her while she was with the ML and unleashed the demonic fire, which could have killed countless innocents and the ML as well if he was an ordinary person.. He killed her evil cousin and his girls, revived her archnemesis Elder Hui and even released the dream demon to wreak havoc during her wedding.. He also had a hand in the demonic fire incident 18 years ago, manipulated Hu Zhu into a reckless chase that got her hurt and used that rat Elder Hui again to hurt Liu Tai Zhen and ended up killing Xuan Hui.. He said some nasty things to the ML that made the FL sound like an adulteress with immoral relationships.. On top of all this, he was the mastermind behind the demon uprising which he staged to lure the Changxi Palace to Chang’an and spark a war between humans and demons.. So, someone who did all of this and how did he pay for his sins?? With an easy death.. His last moments were the best he could get considering everything he did, that was kindness overflowing from the writers.. The more I think of it, the more it annoys me..

The last arc had its moments but again, it was underwhelming.. The amnesia storyline dragged on for too long.. The villains were defeated too easily and we still didn’t get a full blown action sequence..

I would say the script was good.. It’s just my personal feeling that’s swaying me toward so many negative remarks.. I am tired of good scripts being butchered for the writers kink for angst and jealousy.. This drama is a prime example of what could have been.. Such a powerful script with talented actors, not just the main leads but the supporting cast too.. If only they had refined the story and fine tuned it, it could have been so much better.. The ending comes a little too fast for my liking.. The last task felt very short and rushed.. And why did it have to be a rushed ending?? I mean you had 38 episodes to play with, yet we get another rushed conclusion.. Even though there is a post credits scene, it doesn’t feel like enough..

P.S. It seems the CDrama industry is blessing Cheng Lei with all its satisfactorily ending dramas…