This review may contain spoilers
Wolves in Sheep's Clothing VS The Grizzled Sheep Herder
Hello and welcome back to my dear review as usual. First of all, I need to tell you guys a great news – my exam period is over and now I’ve got a large amount of time to skim through dramas and write numerous reviews again (unlike my on-off hiatus period where I kept delaying). So, today’s review is about “Love on the Turquoise Land”, one of Wei Yu’s latest works which has gotten its live-action version. See my take about it below…
“Love on the Turquoise Land” is a thriller sci-fi based on Wei Yu’s novel, which has a similar name as this one. It tells the story about the earth fiends, which has been terrorizing the humankind for centuries. I don’t really know how earth fiends come to exist today, but they may have some kind of mutated DNA or contract an unknown stuff, transforming them from ordinary humans into earth fiends. Due to the rampant earth fiends on the earth, the ancient emperor sent a special envoy to thwart the earth fiends and protect the humans. They will be later known as Nanshan Hunters, its legacy continues until this day (though the number of members is dwindling day by day).
By chance, one of its hunters is none other than Nie Jiuluo, also known as “Mad Blade”. She inherits the title following her mother’s sudden disappearance and her father’s suicide due to depression. As “Mad Blade”, Jiuluo isn’t exactly thrilled and badly wants to resign from the organization because it constantly reminds her of her late parents. Years pass and Jiuluo grows into an astute yet exceptionally beautiful woman. To spend her free time, Jiuluo practices sculpting and sells her arts to make ends meet.
In one of her travels to the countryside, she accidentally meets her fated partner, Yan Tuo. On the outside, he is Roadsound Group’s general manager. But inside, he is being controlled strictly by a mysterious woman named Lin Xirou (who steals his mother’s original name) and is seeking to gain the so-called freedom. At first, they have the kind of enemies-to-lovers vibes as they never see eye-to-eye plus they’re on different sides from the get go. However, as time passes by, they begin to understand each other’s inner wound and heal themselves as they carry out high-stake missions to end the existence of the deadly earth fiends.
Joining in their groups are Lv Xian (Yan Tuo’s doctor friend), Lin Ling (Yan Tuo’s adoptive sister), Yu Rong (“Ghost Whip” who only returns to China for the sake of quelling the earth fiends), Xing Shen (“Mad Dog”, a queer bigot who has a high prejudice against Yan Tuo, definitely always up to no good), and more Nanshan Hunters on the go.
If I want to be honest, the premise is actually intriguing and makes me deep-seated for this drama (since it’s Wei Yu’s project, of course I’ll watch it). Moreover, the earth fiend also sounds like a new plot device, which has never been touched by other sci-fi dramas before (except for “The Seven Relics of Ill Omen”). Last but not least, we’ve got a new plot twist where the earth fiends ACTUALLY transform into humanoid creatures and blend into the human world seamlessly that it is very hard to make a discrepancy between a human and an earth fiend. So, Nanshan Hunters’ task is to learn how these virulent creatures manage to turn into humans and how to stop them before the whole world is turned upside down by the fiends (FYI, fiends need blood bags to ensure their well-beings by forcing humans to have sexual interaction with the fiends and produce an offspring (blood bag, I mean)).
Despite the mysterious yet enthralling premise, the drama falls short in the plot including the how’s and why’s. First of all, Nanshan Hunters need to be modernized fully – since when people still use hammers as weapons? I do agree blades and whips are also antique weapons, but I still have a deep affinity for them, which is why I won’t be complaining about those two. Nanshan Hunters are quite indigent in terms of income earnings since they won’t even buy new equipment and prefer to eat and laugh and drink or brooding instead.
Second, the antagonists always seem to be having an upper hand (same case with “Snow Eagle Lord”) and Lin Xirou and her little gang get a considerable amount of screentime, which I immediately skip because I can’t stand how slow she speaks and talks (it’s an essential point for an antagonist, but maybe I’m just being impatient here). In addition, Lin Xirou also has many modern gadgets in the mansion and the farmhouse (where she experiments with the transformation). Also, other than Feng Mi, I can’t stand the other earth fiends (especially get pissed off by Xiong Hei).
Third, weak ML. If you watch carefully, Yan Tuo is pretty weak and fragile in combat skills (on par with Qin Fang from “Rattan”). All he does is acting and sweet-talking Lin Xirou as if life were a slapstick comedy series, tailing other people, spying, recording, trespassing, or brooding (waiting for Jiuluo to save him). Even when he cradles the tranquilizer gun as if it were a little baby, it doesn’t help with his brittleness and makes him look more pathetic, if you ask me.
Fourth, the wacky ending and WTH the amnesia plot is for? To me, the ending seems to be off a little bit and why does Jiuluo has to forget everything about Yan Tuo, but remembers other people like Ms. Lu and Yu Rong? And after he takes her out from the membrane bubble her mother creates, how can he dive back to the shore with Jiuluo on his back (oxygen may not be fully sufficient)? All of these are plot holes like blah blah blah and suddenly you’ve got a beautiful ending even though it’s not.
Fifth, Yan Tuo’s sister Yan Xin is another wasted plot device as he’s hellbent on searching for him when Lin Xirou only takes a second to inform him that she’s also dead alongside his murdered parents.
After the plot holes, I’ll talk about the acting. As usual, Dilraba Dilmurat delivers a phenomenal act as the badass Nie Jiuluo and embodies her character seamlessly. Other than her, I can’t imagine who can pull off such a complex girl like her. Meanwhile, for Chen Xingxu, it’s my first drama of him (I’m sorry to say that I’m not a fan of his, so I’ve always been avoiding his projects, and if it hadn’t been for Wei Yu, maybe I would’ve skipped his drama), and I don’t what to say about him honestly – he does well portraying Yan Tuo’s conflicted emotions, but he still has room for improvement. For Lin Xirou’s actress, Zhang Li, I truly want to say her performance is laudable and I hope see her more (but not in Lin Xirou’s fashion anymore). Other casts are good to mediocre at best – that’s all I can say.
CGI, background, settings are so-so to me (the fiends look tacky, and the lighting is so f*cking dark, I have to enhance my screen’s lighting so I can see visibly, normally I won’t do this tho). As for the OSTs, I can’t say too much as I tend to skip the opening and ending credits (my habit) and the drama provides only “Paper Star” by Yisa Yu during the confession part. I badly need an ooze of the opera song, but I’m just too lazy for it TT.
Will I be rewatching? Only for the first few skirmishes between Jiuluo and Yan Tuo. And the rest can be buried beneath the grounds. I’m sorry if I’m yapping too much because I’ve been bottling my feelings up for days before I finally pour it into this review. Okay, time to end it, good luck and happy watching!!!
“Love on the Turquoise Land” is a thriller sci-fi based on Wei Yu’s novel, which has a similar name as this one. It tells the story about the earth fiends, which has been terrorizing the humankind for centuries. I don’t really know how earth fiends come to exist today, but they may have some kind of mutated DNA or contract an unknown stuff, transforming them from ordinary humans into earth fiends. Due to the rampant earth fiends on the earth, the ancient emperor sent a special envoy to thwart the earth fiends and protect the humans. They will be later known as Nanshan Hunters, its legacy continues until this day (though the number of members is dwindling day by day).
By chance, one of its hunters is none other than Nie Jiuluo, also known as “Mad Blade”. She inherits the title following her mother’s sudden disappearance and her father’s suicide due to depression. As “Mad Blade”, Jiuluo isn’t exactly thrilled and badly wants to resign from the organization because it constantly reminds her of her late parents. Years pass and Jiuluo grows into an astute yet exceptionally beautiful woman. To spend her free time, Jiuluo practices sculpting and sells her arts to make ends meet.
In one of her travels to the countryside, she accidentally meets her fated partner, Yan Tuo. On the outside, he is Roadsound Group’s general manager. But inside, he is being controlled strictly by a mysterious woman named Lin Xirou (who steals his mother’s original name) and is seeking to gain the so-called freedom. At first, they have the kind of enemies-to-lovers vibes as they never see eye-to-eye plus they’re on different sides from the get go. However, as time passes by, they begin to understand each other’s inner wound and heal themselves as they carry out high-stake missions to end the existence of the deadly earth fiends.
Joining in their groups are Lv Xian (Yan Tuo’s doctor friend), Lin Ling (Yan Tuo’s adoptive sister), Yu Rong (“Ghost Whip” who only returns to China for the sake of quelling the earth fiends), Xing Shen (“Mad Dog”, a queer bigot who has a high prejudice against Yan Tuo, definitely always up to no good), and more Nanshan Hunters on the go.
If I want to be honest, the premise is actually intriguing and makes me deep-seated for this drama (since it’s Wei Yu’s project, of course I’ll watch it). Moreover, the earth fiend also sounds like a new plot device, which has never been touched by other sci-fi dramas before (except for “The Seven Relics of Ill Omen”). Last but not least, we’ve got a new plot twist where the earth fiends ACTUALLY transform into humanoid creatures and blend into the human world seamlessly that it is very hard to make a discrepancy between a human and an earth fiend. So, Nanshan Hunters’ task is to learn how these virulent creatures manage to turn into humans and how to stop them before the whole world is turned upside down by the fiends (FYI, fiends need blood bags to ensure their well-beings by forcing humans to have sexual interaction with the fiends and produce an offspring (blood bag, I mean)).
Despite the mysterious yet enthralling premise, the drama falls short in the plot including the how’s and why’s. First of all, Nanshan Hunters need to be modernized fully – since when people still use hammers as weapons? I do agree blades and whips are also antique weapons, but I still have a deep affinity for them, which is why I won’t be complaining about those two. Nanshan Hunters are quite indigent in terms of income earnings since they won’t even buy new equipment and prefer to eat and laugh and drink or brooding instead.
Second, the antagonists always seem to be having an upper hand (same case with “Snow Eagle Lord”) and Lin Xirou and her little gang get a considerable amount of screentime, which I immediately skip because I can’t stand how slow she speaks and talks (it’s an essential point for an antagonist, but maybe I’m just being impatient here). In addition, Lin Xirou also has many modern gadgets in the mansion and the farmhouse (where she experiments with the transformation). Also, other than Feng Mi, I can’t stand the other earth fiends (especially get pissed off by Xiong Hei).
Third, weak ML. If you watch carefully, Yan Tuo is pretty weak and fragile in combat skills (on par with Qin Fang from “Rattan”). All he does is acting and sweet-talking Lin Xirou as if life were a slapstick comedy series, tailing other people, spying, recording, trespassing, or brooding (waiting for Jiuluo to save him). Even when he cradles the tranquilizer gun as if it were a little baby, it doesn’t help with his brittleness and makes him look more pathetic, if you ask me.
Fourth, the wacky ending and WTH the amnesia plot is for? To me, the ending seems to be off a little bit and why does Jiuluo has to forget everything about Yan Tuo, but remembers other people like Ms. Lu and Yu Rong? And after he takes her out from the membrane bubble her mother creates, how can he dive back to the shore with Jiuluo on his back (oxygen may not be fully sufficient)? All of these are plot holes like blah blah blah and suddenly you’ve got a beautiful ending even though it’s not.
Fifth, Yan Tuo’s sister Yan Xin is another wasted plot device as he’s hellbent on searching for him when Lin Xirou only takes a second to inform him that she’s also dead alongside his murdered parents.
After the plot holes, I’ll talk about the acting. As usual, Dilraba Dilmurat delivers a phenomenal act as the badass Nie Jiuluo and embodies her character seamlessly. Other than her, I can’t imagine who can pull off such a complex girl like her. Meanwhile, for Chen Xingxu, it’s my first drama of him (I’m sorry to say that I’m not a fan of his, so I’ve always been avoiding his projects, and if it hadn’t been for Wei Yu, maybe I would’ve skipped his drama), and I don’t what to say about him honestly – he does well portraying Yan Tuo’s conflicted emotions, but he still has room for improvement. For Lin Xirou’s actress, Zhang Li, I truly want to say her performance is laudable and I hope see her more (but not in Lin Xirou’s fashion anymore). Other casts are good to mediocre at best – that’s all I can say.
CGI, background, settings are so-so to me (the fiends look tacky, and the lighting is so f*cking dark, I have to enhance my screen’s lighting so I can see visibly, normally I won’t do this tho). As for the OSTs, I can’t say too much as I tend to skip the opening and ending credits (my habit) and the drama provides only “Paper Star” by Yisa Yu during the confession part. I badly need an ooze of the opera song, but I’m just too lazy for it TT.
Will I be rewatching? Only for the first few skirmishes between Jiuluo and Yan Tuo. And the rest can be buried beneath the grounds. I’m sorry if I’m yapping too much because I’ve been bottling my feelings up for days before I finally pour it into this review. Okay, time to end it, good luck and happy watching!!!
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