lilmeow

I really liked this show. I binged it in just a few days, which is especially impressive when you consider how much additional time I spent flipping back and forth trying to figure out who is who did what. The characters, story, and overall tone definitely hit a combination that I really like.

To begin with, the FL, Cai Zhao, is my kind of girl. She’s smart and capable, compassionate and courageous, sunny and down-to-earth- the kind who diffuses tense situations with a smile and laugh- and on top of it all, anti-love brain! You won’t catch her blinded by love, made a fool of, or overthinking any potential romance (if anything, she underthinks). Or tossing aside everything for it, either. I don’t know how romance fans might feel about this, but I loved it.

I pretty much always agreed with, and could relate to, what Zhaozhao says and does. She’s the kind of person who was raised with love in a healthy family environment, and it shows.

The ML, on the other hand, wasn’t, and it also shows. At the beginning he seems just moody, but later we see how dark, scheming, ruthless, insecure he can be. He seems to genuinely like the FL, though, and it’s kind of sweet to see him smile for her- although she, and we, periodically have doubts about his sincerity.

I actually really like their relationship and how it develops. He is slightly red flag sometimes but I think she handles it well. I can also see why he’s like that and understand how he feels. I think it’s really cute how, for a while in the middle, he surreptitiously finds opportunities to take her hand, and she doesn’t even seem to notice (yay anti-love brain).

This show also has a lot of great side characters. There are friends who are good friends (ML’s two bros are truly lovable) and parents who are good parents. Many characters are multidimensional, and it’s nice to see some who at first seem unlikable, later show remarkable depth or insight. Characters stay true to themselves, too- I stopped being afraid the SML would go bad, for example, after I realized that this isn’t the kind of show to give somebody a petty personality change just to create a villain.

So yes, more nuanced character design means not too many dumb villains with dumb motivations. Of course there are plenty of classic “bad people”, but a lot of the conflicts are just complicated, and the characters know it. The only villain I was really disappointed by is the final one, who’s motivation made little sense. It is set up pretty well with clues and buildup, the show just fails to stick the landing.

That said, there is also the sheer NUMBER of characters. This show is definitely harder to follow than most. A lot of characters are introduced early- starting with the first episode where there are a bunch of pretty boys wearing the same uniform- followed by a steady stream of too many names that I couldn’t keep track of. And everyone speaks so fast, I found myself rewinding frequently just trying to follow everything.

Part of the reason for all the characters is that we are untangling two generations of storylines, as promised by the (English) title. A previous generation of Jianghu heroes had their adventures, and the consequences of their somewhat tragic story are trickling down to the next generation. In that way it reminds me of Blood of Youth. But I think this show has a more nostalgic air to the past, celebrating its joys and sorrows with an ultimate message of acceptance.

The plot moves along at a good pace, with story arcs that resolve in ways I was satisfied with. Tense/sad moments are balanced with happy ones, with some solid blocks of good adventuring. There are some really insightful and thoughtful speeches, as well as some great comedy that had me laughing out loud.

The show isn’t free of classic drama tactics, like plenty of convenient coincidences (eg characters arrive just in time to save the day; ML and FL happen to have to go to the same place; etc), improbable outcomes, too many poisons, and glossed-over plot holes. Some seemingly drastic situations get fully solved too easily. But I didn’t mind too much, that’s how drama works.

I also like the female empowerment message, which is not as obvious as some other shows but definitely there. A lot of implicit biases that would be baked into other shows are actually addressed, like one female character gets called out for being too focused on relationships, and women who never thought they needed to be as good as the men reexamine that teaching. Of course, the legend that inspired a lot of these thoughts and shaped everyone’s life is a strong woman. I do think Cai Pingshu has a slightly outsized influence, but it’s also kind of fitting in the way that somebody becomes a legend after she’s gone.

Acting-wise, I love this role from Bao Shangen. I thought she is so cute, and some of her mannerisms and expressions had me laughing. Zhou Yiran did a decent job, sometimes I thought he tried a bit too hard to look sinister but I loved when he smiled, and some of his other expressions were on point. The supporting actors, playing both generations, also did a really good job.

For the production... hm, it wasn’t as good. The fights are ok, full of hyperextension and they look sped up, but I got the idea and there are some well choreographed moments. The scenery sometimes looks very real and sometimes very fake, which probably means mediocre CGI. The costumes are not bad but I don’t think they looked that good- though I do appreciate that the uniforms aren’t all super flattering because they shouldn’t be. The music is not my favorite, but some of it grew on me after hearing it at the right moments.

Overall this story hit the right combo for me of thoughtfulness, insight, emotion, and nostalgia, and I also really liked and supported the FL. I even liked the romance which is not too played up. Of course the show is not perfect, sometimes confusing and sometimes sloppy, but all stuff I’m willing to overlook.

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





The ending is happy. It is surprisingly light on sacrifices of likable side characters, just a few deaths of people you probably weren’t that emotionally attached to. They do tease us by setting the ML up for certain death... but PSYCH!! Saved by a random miracle, thank you very much. We even get a decently long wedding prep and celebration.

MORE MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD





Here is where I pick on the show a bit more to help me break up with it.

I think the two key “villains” are too poorly done. The final villain, of course, has a motivation that makes no sense- the scriptwriters must also have known it too because the other characters keep screaming it at him. But also in the previous generation’s story, the ML’s uncle seems to genuinely love his girl, then is like “yup I killed all her friends and no regret.” Huh?

It’s kind of disappointing because the rest of the show sets up so carefully for a layered and nuanced conflict. Grandpa Yin and even the famously evil Nie Hengcheng were actually both just typically selfish, greedy, power-hungry people, but they still ran their sects well, and it was the combination of all the events and personalities that led to everything going so badly. And now to build on this the scriptwriters needed some plot twist-type villain for extra drama, so I get what they were trying to do, but what they came up with wasn’t very good.

Also, if the ML knew that the Ziwei technique requires sacrificing a blood relative, why was he even trying to learn it? Setting aside whether he’d have it in him to do it, I don’t think he even has family members left.