lilmeow

My favorite thing about this show is probably its philosophical / existential bent. Xianxias like to treat human lives as quick and fleeting, trivial compared to a god. So you can see how a show might use this to make us think about things like the arc of a human life, and what we want out of our brief existences.

These ideas are expressed through some well-written dialogue. So many times the characters say things that are thoughtful and on point, going right to the heart of the matter. The dialogue is both easy to understand and insightful. I could see where the characters are coming from, even e.g. on both sides of an argument.

Another thing I really love about this show is the FL. Ji Tanyin is a goddess, which means she’s powerful- she certainly holds her own in a fight- but she can’t use too many powers in the mortal world. Luckily, as the Goddess of Craft, she’s also an amazing engineer. Honestly, after watching so many xianxias featuring only powerful male gods, it made me so happy to see the more powerful, in control figure of the two leads be female.

But maybe what I like most about Ji Tanyin is that she is compassionate and sincere. It feels very genuine, not pretentious at all. Maybe because she also makes such a bumbling human; after watching so many scheming leads in other shows with their carefully chosen, manipulative words, her lack of guile is really refreshing and kind of hilarious.

The ML Yuanzhong, on the other hand, is a darker character. He’s been through a lot. I didn’t dislike him at any point, though, and I found his complicated emotions and reactions to be understandable and relatable. I empathized with this complex character.

For awhile, Ji Tanyin’s unwavering belief and selfless support for Yuanzhong actually reminded me of a parent-child relationship. He of course doesn’t know the full story, and I like being able to see and relate to both sides. Their relationship morphs slowly into a romance; its development is nice, though I like it better before they get together.

There is also a second couple with a poignant story. Zhi Dai’s younger self sounds exactly like an annoying Cdrama character; but uniquely, here we instead get her retrospective on that experience. Her story ties well into the more global theme of what we want out of our lives, which Yuanzhong also struggles with.

People seem divided on whether they want more or less of the second couple. For me, Zhi Dai’s story resonates with my own existential crisis, so I found it meaningful and touching. I was happy with the amount of screentime it got.

There are some other lovable side characters that get fleshed out to various extents. The show is pretty clear on who to hate and who to like, so at least you’re not feeling angsty about that.

Actually, a good chunk of this show has some great humor and a fairly lighthearted tone. I was regularly laughing through maybe 2/3 of it. My favorite story arc is when they are essentially raising a child together (she’s the working parent). It is cute, sweet, and funny.

Just don’t make the same mistake I did and get fooled into thinking this is a fluffy xianxia where everything will magically work out in the end. Be prepared for some very bittersweet developments.

I do feel this show gets worse in the last 10 episodes or so. I don’t know if it’s because the leads finally get together, or just the plot, but it starts to feel slow and draggy. Dialogue gets repetitive, scenes go on for too long, people spend too much time staring at each other while music I don’t particularly like plays, that sort of thing. I used 1.5X speed liberally.

Plus, the show gets more sloppy. Examples: I really liked the weapon spirits and I don’t know why they mostly disappear. Previous story arcs do not get tied back in and some characters are not seen again. The leads’ transition to a sticky sweet couple is rather abrupt, and her oath against it is apparently totally glossed over until the storyline needs it again. And while I was previously happy with the worldbuilding and the level to which it was explained, the show does not continue to build and explain as it should.

In addition, the final villain is not done well; the motivation that is finally revealed is quite weak. From what I read online, it seems the book’s version is similar but more fleshed out, thus making a lot more sense. The drama just doesn’t present it well. I wish they focused on this instead of all the drawn out "artistic" scenes.

Acting-wise, Liu Xueyi does a phenomenal job. I think he won an award for it. This role requires a lot of range and a lot of nuance, and he portrays it all so well. For Tiffany, at first I thought she looks a bit old, but I got over that quickly; both of the characters are more mature anyways. Her voice, whether hers or not, is a bit shrill sometimes, but it’s fine. Overall I think she does a good job. The side characters also do a good job.

The styling is... uh, not the greatest. They especially messed up on Liu Xueyi with hair, makeup, and clothes that somehow make a good-looking guy look less good. But it’s ok, it helped me focus more on his acting and expressions.

The CGI is not the greatest (but not the worst). Fighting is not a focus but what’s there is decently done. I like that Tiffany maintains her frame instead of hyperextending, and some of the actors seem pretty athletic. It’s cool how the goddess of embroidery uses threads and embroidery as her weapons.

For music, there is one song I love that keeps playing at all the right moments to make me cry. Unfortunately it seems underused compared to the excess of slow love ballads that I didn’t particularly care for. The background music is pretty good for setting the mood, though not my personal favorite.

All of this production-level stuff is not masterpiece level, but it’s not bad enough to truly detract from the experience. Overall I give this show a high score for its thoughtful, philosophical tone; characters I love; good humor; good acting; and some truly poignant moments. I fault it mainly for being sluggish and sloppy towards the end. Well, that's kind of an understatement- ¼ of the show is not trivial, and it legit gets pretty bad. Objectively I should probably give it a lower score. But the rest of the show was so meaningful for me that I'm willing to overlook a lot.

I also fault it for not having the happy, cheerful ending that I totally expected, but I won’t subtract points for that because it’s probably better writing this way.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





I would consider this ending to be bittersweet and beautiful. It’s actually very fitting, both from a narrative perspective and a logic perspective. But I’m still annoyed because I preferred, and thought I would get, an illogical happy ending.

It’s not just the main leads, where at least they throw us a bone (she might come back- apparently in an epilogue of the book, she comes back after 600 years). The second couple story, which seemed like it would work out for a lot of the show, also goes bittersweet (more bitter than sweet, imho). I don’t know what happens to a lot of the other characters, like Mei Shan and the weapon spirits (and what about that lamp?), and I dislike that they pretty much just left it open. Qian Lin seems to turn out ok, but we don’t get much view of his life.

I charged through so much of this show thinking all would end well. I remember crying at the end of the Pei Jiu / Lu Chen arc, but figuring he’d come back to his girl in the end... now at the end, I don’t even know if he’s alive.

It’s the kind of ending that leaves me scouring forums about the show and rambling in my own review, in a vague attempt to mend this gaping emotional hole it opened.