KrazyDragon

Happy Ending!

For me, modern dramas should only be around 16 episodes . Anything beyond that is unnecessary drama. However, I prefer more than 16 episodes for historical dramas because I like the world building. But after around 30-36 episodes it can start to drag so I tend to FF then. For Xianxia dramas, the human trials are usually boring to me and mostly inconsequential so I tend to FF that part lol. Only long -C-dramas I didn’t FF we’re Nirvana in Fire (56 eps) and Joy of Life (46 eps). I think 35-36 episodes are perfect for historical dramas, which is Love Between Fairy and Devil. It was perfect @36 episodes & I didn’t FF at all!

I hope you enjoy it as much as many of us did!

I completely agree w/you regarding those things you listed, especially the part where the fairy emperor didn’t receive any punishment. Hoping for a sequel where someone slaps him a few times to humble is a$$ or something cuz he was the worst! Lol. Anyways, I really appreciated this convo! Enjoy your day!

I understand what you mean about something not living up to the hype and wondering if you’ve missed because it wasn’t quite as amazing as everyone claimed.

First, I really loved the costumes and sets pieces (including CGI) on the show. I thought they did a great job making the 3 realms feel and
Look distinct. It felt like each realm had its own culture and history and I appreciated that. Secondly, I really like the leads and the secondary characters. The ML, FL, and 2ML all had great character arcs. The main supporting casts also had depths and their actions aligned w/their motivations. Their actions, good or bad, made sense to the audience. I liked that the antagonist wasn’t just trying to rule the world (not counting the true villain). Third, I like the reason behind DFQC’s lack of emotion wasn’t because of his personality, upbringing, or betrayal. There was a reason behind it which made sense- he wasn’t a cold ML or Jerk just because the story wanted him to be like that…there was a reason behind it that was kinda sad and tragic. And I really liked the way they handled him getting it back. Fourth, consent, respect, and autonomy between ML & FL once they were together. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the fight they had before she went into the cave regarding respecting her choices was such a breath of fresh air. Five - DFQC was HOT X eternity lol

I can’t speak for others, but I can speak for myself. I have watched many XianXia shows and to me, LBFAD felt really fresh. I thought the story was great, the characters had depths, and they managed to use story tropes in ways that didn’t feel cringey to me. I appreciated that there were no mean girls or women scheming for the love of a man drama (one of my most hated tropes), self -sacrifices for love that happens so often that it becomes a joke, issues that occur because of miscommunications between leads (like, talk to each other instead of making assumptions), and I guess I’m just not a fan of multiple lifetimes ( which is a xianxia staple lol). I can go on….

Ultimately, it just boils down to personal preferences. What everyone is loving may not be your cup of tea, and if you’ve already finished watching it and decided that it did not live up to the hype, then whatever LBFAD fans who loved the show may say about it probably won’t sway you. And that’s ok!! Love and Redemption bored me and TMOPB was a drag to finish for me, but those shows were hella popular. But I randomly enjoyed Love and Destiny a lot and I know that it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea! We may never know why we feel extreme emotions for certain things…we just do!

I am looking forward to Story of Kunning Palace & Till the End of the Moon so maybe those shows will satisfy you more! Happy drama watching! (I think AveX says that !)

TBH, I was annoyed with FL at first because I've been conditioned to only want "bad ass" FL who has to be able to do everything to be acceptable. Luckily, someone in this message board brought up a good point about the FL having her own agency and making her own choices about what she wanted and how to get what she wanted, even if we ourselves wouldn't choose it as our own goals in life. But that's okay. Being a feminist means letting all women decide on what their goals are and not judging them for their choices. Orchid may not be the greatest fighter (we know why her powers were muted if you watched the show) or the smartest cookie, but she is one of the kindest and most gentle FL in a Xianxia in awhile. She is good at her job (repairing the book of destiny) and love is her superpower (I know it may sound cheesy lol)! She was able to restore a broken spirit (DFQC) and mend a family's broken relationship. She was able to forgive a friend (who betrayed her for her own survival) because she understands and empathize. We were able to see her growth because she was free and respected during her time with the Moon Tribe. Her love and her strength led her to making one of the hardest decisions of her life in order to save the one she loved and the world. Her sacrifice helped alleviate the conflict within the 3 realms. She was always consistent in her decisions -- her loyalty for her home and her empathy for the 100,000 moon tribe soldiers were always going to be tough choices to make. I know it might sound cheesy but the whole point of this story (I didn't read the novel so I can't speak about it) is how love is a powerful force :-)

Sorry, as you can see, I loved the little flower spirit and I know she may be considered "stupid" or "annoying" to many because her abilities are more "feminine" but I will defend her no matter what! We are often more lenient on ML and SML and their shortcomings but we're less forgiving to female characters in general. Anyways, this is the end of my rant. I know we all have different tastes and preferences when it comes to our likes and dislikes. And whatever your choices are, they are valid and should be respected.

I hope the next show is more your taste ! Happy Drama Watching!

Thank you for being so kind in your responses! Sometimes i’m hesitant to comment because some folks are not very nice and become very defensive if you have a difference of opinion :)

You're right. She does have agency even if I'm not too keen on it. She makes the choice to take the test so that she can repay his kindness. That's a good point! I am not familiar with any of those characters you mentioned so I can't comment on it. I do see your point about comparing personalities no matter the genres, but to me, most xianxia dramas focus on romance first, then good vs. evil second. Which is fine because I watch it for the romance. But when it comes to Wuxia, or palace intrigue, or detective stories, I need more from the ML and FL. I want the story/conflict to come first and romance be secondary. That's why Jin Xia from Under the Power was a great character. Chu Chu from Imperial Coroner was so great too! They're not perfect but they had substance. Chu Chu would be a good comparison to Orchid because they're both innocent, naïve, and kind. However, Chu Chu had aspirations to become the best coroner and she was great at it. That said, I am only on episode 8 and I am enjoying the show because it is engaging and the interactions between the fairy and devil are fun. I liked that Orchid stood up for herself against the bully fairies, and I liked how she took the initiative to help the Devil escape. I hope she grows more throughout the show :)

So far (I’ve only seen 8 episodes), the FL doesn’t have ANY aspirations in life except to repay the God of War for his kindness. That’s the only reason why she wanted to pass the exam in the first place. Not to better herself but only to serve him in his hall. I don’t mind sweet, innocent FL but I just want them to have more agency. I love Jin Xia in Under the Power but that’s a different genre so I wouldn’t compare the Fairy to her. She kinda reminds me Bai Fengjui in TMOPB. I hope the FL does more w/her life I later episodes…

I'm dropping this show. I'm so disappointed in the direction the show is taking regarding the sisters. I HATE jealousy tropes. I was barely tolerating catty women fighting over the ML but I draw the line when it comes to sisters, whether it's crushing on the same dude or envy over another's abilities. I hate it. I need supportive women relationships like Imperial Coroner and A Dream of Splendor! Even A Love Like Galaxy with all the girls fighting and bullying, the FL at least has her cousin and friend for support! Argh! So disappointing cuz I like Yang Zi and was looking forward to this show (after the Golden Hairpin controversy). Oh well :(

It was so weird seeing all four of them run back and forth everywhere!! And randomly QM is allowed to come along & she remembered the crates?!?!? But the others didn’t realize it? And QY was able to figure out stuff before LY could regarding the spy?? The writers just did not stick the landing **sigh**

And QM’s r* was pointless and didn’t not serve any purpose at all…

That was so random too! Seriously, they should’ve just ended it w/out the extra assassination plot!

Also, did i totally miss the whole plot about LY trying to reform the army? We heard it mentioned a couple times towards the last few episodes but they really didn’t do much w/it? So that came out of left field too !

Okay? That makes sense 👍🏽 I forgot about it the conversation at the end w/LY. I agree that everyone needs space to figure it out themselves so that there wouldn’t be any resentment in the future!

Um okay....that was the most random four episodes every. Seriously, C-drama writers do not know how to end anything or what? It reminded me of the Imperial Coroner because it felt so rushed! I hated how everything was rushed BUT I didn't mind where the characters ended up or their fates. I just wished they would have given it breathing room. For example, it made sense why LY's mother killed her husband. Back then, women didn't have a say in their marriage so I don't think there was any love lost there. She probably had no choice. But she and the Queen did have a true sisterly bond and loved each other enough to sacrifice for one another. LY's mother did what she did to protect the Queen, and the Queen killed herself to protect YL's mother, and to an extent, LY also. That is genuine love between two women that we don't see often in C-drama. Another show of sisterly love and hate was QY and QM's relationship. From the flashback, it seem that QM really did love QY and looked up to her sister, but QY was busy being bitter and selfish that she left QM hanging. QY was a strong woman and assumed that QY would be too, but didn't realize that QM needed support and love from her big sister. So QM grew up loving, admiring, and resenting her older sister. And it didn't help that QY found out about QM's love for QX and still pursued him. I don't hold it against QY for doing that but I also know that she wasn't totally innocent in how everything turned out either. Ultimately. QM sacrificed herself for QY and not QX so deep down there is still love. I was glad they were able to come to an understanding at the end. I will never forgive QM for what she did to QX but that is something they left in the air so I like that it was not a true happy ending for QM.

As for QY and LY, it didn't make sense to me that she would lie about it because LY would have figured it out eventually. But the writers just wanted some last minute angst I guess. It sucked that LY had to process everything and grieve by himself but they have a whole ass lifetime together to process everything. I am glad they didn't give her a child. I liked that LY and QY both became writers. And the ending where they found each other and showed the bracelets with the voice over was perfect for me. It was never a mushy romance so I didn't expect them to be mushy at the end.

And the random assassination plot? I'm going to pretend that didn't exist cuz WTF???? That was such huge misstep. The writers were so goofy there.

Anyways, this was just my two cents. It's a long random rant but overall I enjoyed it very much and give it a solid 9!

I like her character very much. She’s smart & pragmatic, and doesn’t suffer from romantic yearnings because she sees how women are treated so she takes her chances to make the best of her situation. She can be overzealous and selfish at times but I think it works for her. Of course, we all have different opinions on why we like certain characters better than others and that’s okay! Which FL have you enjoyed watching so far? I’m just curious.

Oh no! I’d be so sad and disappointed if they did that :(

I'm up to episode 30 and still loving this show very much! I'm so sad what happened to Song Jin and if the teaser about his mom comes true, then I think the writers are clearing up loose ends toward a happy ending. Why? Because QY wants to be free and LY said he is willing to give her everything she wants. I think they will travel the world and write stories together, but if his mom is still alive, as a filial son, he wouldn't be able to follow QY. This is my prediction.

As for poor QX, I feel so bad for him. It would be awesome if we can get a sequel so he can have his own adventures and find his true love because QM does not deserve him, and he deserves love <3