Kaleidoscopic

Reincarnation is not banned in China, time travel is banned. China thrives on reincarnation haha. I haven't watched the eps yet but if what you say is correct then I am a bit disappointed cause I had been excited to see her chasing after him with the heartbreak still in her eyes. I guess I will wait it out a bit and see how it goes first.

Hm do I remember it wrongly then. I cannot tell you exact episodes sadly because it has been a while so really, if you all insist on it then imma just accept that I remember wrong haha. Though I do find it unbelievable because I have never misunderstood such a major plot point but I guess there's a first time for everything (and adds a negative point for the drama regardless in the world building department. oh well). This scenario again brings up more questions however. If the tribulation was really a one time thing then why did some of the secondary characters equate Shanggu's comeback in the last arc with the tribulation coming back again? Bai Jue temporarily suppressing the previous tribulation was something only the true gods knew. Others thought the trial had been seen through fully and hailed Shanggu for it. Also, regarding the trial that happened way back when the Ancestral God was alive - Xuanyi (I think that was his name) refused to sacrifice himself. And yet, despite nobody suppressing the trial like Bai Jue did for Shanggu, the trial was calmed and only came back after 180,000 years, like clockwork. Now, while this wasn't really explained properly by the show because the true gods were supposed to be oblivious about it all, I think we can infer that a) somehow a sacrifice was made and that was probably the Ancestral God himself who was the God of Chaos. It was a combination of Xuanyi's attack and the trbulation that killed him and the true gods just hadn't realized the second reason. And, b) that the tribulation isn't a one time thing.

Yeah the second half had plotholes. Shanggu had been smart enough in the first half to doubt and try to find out the truth. But come second half, suddenly the same Shanggu cannot think ahead heh.

It wasn't a rumor. They had been told so by their Ancestral God. Maybe praying to him would work to stop it permanently but the drama didn't show that so. And if it was that easy to end it then we are just going to be brought back to "what even was the point of everything then?" Haha

At the start of the series, Zhiyang had said that the Tribulation of Chaos comes every 180,000 years.

That's great then! Felt like juvenile angst to me sadly. Had been waiting and waiting for someone who knew both their personas to sit them down and give them a pep talk. Would have solved all of the problems haha

P.S. Xu Kai as the adorable puppy and then the sexy black-clad majestic god was everything. And Liu Xue Yi as Tianqi was absolutely delightful!

This show took a steep nose-dive in the second half. It all started with the existential angst. This kind of a development only works when the characters' original forms are completely different from their reincarnations, like in the case of Love and Redemption where transforming into either of the FL's original forms would have meant complete annihilation of everything the FL had so painstakingly become. Not to mention, romance would have definitely been off the table then. Here, however, the reincarnations were exactly the same as their original forms with only some minor behavioral differences caused due to the way that they grew up. It would have been cute enough for one ep. Not stretched over as many eps as it was with everyone behaving like the reincarnations were going to actually die. Cause none of that lands with us viewers. With their original forms back, they would just have been better versions of themselves - with more power and more knowledge to figure out the situation around them. Because Shanggu/Houchi and Bai Jue/Qing Mu were literally one and the same in every which way. While I get the characters being melodramatic about it because they don't know their past selves like we do, this isn't a documentary. It only matters if it manages to make us feel for the situation. For heavens' sake, it's not even like their original forms where in love with someone else XD

And then, once that ended, the extremely-annoying-in-any-case noble idiocy arc started. The couple also regressed instead of growing and learning to go through difficulties together. Also, plot-holes. Major one being how the Tribulation of Chaos was supposed to occur EVERY 180,000 years. So hello? What are they gonna do the next time it comes, which is gonna be very soon considering how fast time flies for these gods. Finally, that crappy 2 min happy ending. Really, show? REALLY?

Honestly, Tianqi and Yuanqi were the saddest chars by the end. Fitting how their names connect. Tianqi permanently lost everyone close to him as well as all his liveliness while Yuanqi's parents don't reeeally care much for him tbh. That's at least true for Shanggu. Despite having told him to call her mother and spending some fun times with him at the start, she just throws him away into others' care the moment she gets into the mood for something and it doesn't really feel like she truly accepts him as her son. Bai Jue admittedly has better reasons and I do see him becoming a proper attentive father after coming back but WE WILL NEVER KNOW SINCE THE SHOW LITERALLY GAVE US A 2 MIN HUG AS AN ENDING WITHOUT THEIR CHILD EVEN IN THE SAME FRAME AS THEM.

While I enjoyed both the shows, L&R wins against AoL by miles. AoL had major draggy fillers (remember all the BTS drama everyone?) and could easily have been less than half it's length, not to mention how big of a plothole the no-emotions thing was here. L&R, on the other hand, is solidly written and paced, and it could actually have been longer (if they had decided to flesh out the past). As far as FLs go, while I prefer Yang Zi's acting in AoL, Xuanji was the way better written character with a full character arc and development that sees her go through realistic ups and downs. Most importantly, L&R had reverse-gender dynamics without reducing the ML to a plot object. It is very rare that you see such balanced leads in a drama who feel equally powerful and strong. Speaking of, while I like both the MLs and their actors, Sifeng REDEFINED romance, you cannot tell me otherwise. It's going to be at least a decade before we can see an ML rival his love.

Conclusion: AoL is addictive and enjoyable, mostly due to the crackling chemistry between it's leads, and is also grander since a majority of it is set in the Heaven Realm. And oof that OST! But L&R is overall the WAY better drama, hands down.

I saw the title of this article on the main page and actually exclaimed "YES!!" out loud. I had been eyeing a Novoland drama (eagle flag and of course pearl eclipse cause Yang Mi) but had been very intimidated and confused by all the linked spin-offs and sequels and prequels and whatnot. So THANK YOU for this great concise explanation! This was very very much needed. And scrolling tells me that this is your first article so congratulations!

Wow. Nam Joo Hyuk really be getting all the big leading ladies.

Wow. I can't believe that The Village: Achiara's Secret qualifies for this list. It's really really good and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. HOWEVER! It is not horror. It is more of a supernatural psychological thriller. Just putting this here as a disclaimer in case people go in expecting and wanting horror cause that's only going to lead to disappointment and would be unfair to the show.

"Zhou Jing Mang is naive and overly trusting" OKAY then, I will see myself out.

Ok. Bright said in a recent interview that he's still filming F4 and that it will probably be out around August of this year. So we have a long wait ahead of us. Time to settle down and make camp.

Um.....I dropped it bwahaha I don't remember why though. I only remember watching it for Noh Min Woo and then XD I think I found it just plain boring. I THINK. It could also just have been cause I wasn't crushing on his character as much as I had wanted to haha.

Done! and yay! First! :D

Hehe that kiss is from My Unfortunate Boyfriend!

Pfft who else loved that reverse-harem found family ending though. Get it, Kim Tae Ri XD

Everyone's talking about Song Joong Ki (which, he was great, don't get me wrong) so imma give my badass girl a special shoutout - Kim Tae Riiiiii!!! Sooo good to see her back!! It's been so long! I had missed her! And on a similar note, let me be that girl and say - this needs a sequel where sparks start to fly between Kim Tae Ri and Song Joong Ki amidst all the destruction and chaos. Cause how can you cast these two together and not have that?!

Now here's a question - if this returns for a third season, who would you like to see return as the ML? Arthur Chen or Dylan Wang?