Madeleine Kyi

A nice watch

I finally ended up watching it because of the confession scene which I though happened way later but it turned out to be the very first ep. A pleasant surprise might I add. But I was also worried because if a couple gets together this early on and it's 28 eps, for cdramas (iykyk), that means lotssss of unnecessary misunderstandings and drama. But this wasn't it. And it's also not a romance-focused drama, as you'll already see from the synopsis. Sorry for the long review ahead.

First of all, it's a very realistic watch. As a psych graduate, the way they portray and explain emotions and human behavior is, while jargon heavy at some point, I understand the use because this is supposed to be somewhat a psychological type drama and it's nice to see. Some people might not agree with some things and the way main leads were acting at times but in my opinion, very realistic instead of just following the cliché predictable path of some idk blind heroic act trope or misunderstanding trope or whatever. All the characters have their own reasons for the way they act, good or bad or ambiguous (at least as someone who watched it from the pov of psych). And no, I don't think the FL was annoying in anyway. She was acting the way all humans would react, as you and I would react to situations she was in. There was a little bit of good cop/ bad cop and moral high ground stuff as it would in all police dramas, but it's necessary so I won't say much on it.

Secondly, the acting. I don't think anyone's acting was bad in this per se. They all did a good job. But I really have to applaud the portrayal of emotionally tortured Jiang Hansheng (ML) and Qi Yan. JHS's non reactive demeanor that become cold and stoic to shock and traumatic in literal seconds was well done. And then Qi Yan, don't get me even started. In all the scenes he appeared, he managed to disgust me and intrigued me by the way he portrayed his traumatized and twisted self so well. Jiang Cheng also did very well in the ways he showed the mind struggle of being inbetween 2 polar worlds. FL did okay, not much to say because her character isn't supposed to be as complex as the other main leads and is rather straightforward. She acted well in portraying moments of dilemma.

In conclusion, I didn't focus on any of the cons because I was preoccupied with the pros, And like another comment said, if you're looking for romance heavy, push and pull situations, this is not for you. But if you give this a chance, like me without having preconceived notions, you might find yourself surprisingly enjoying it. Overall, I liked it so much I finished this in 2 days. And this kinda pulled me out of the cdrama slump I was in with all these copy paste romance dramas these days.

Also Jing Boran was effing HOT. K thx bye.

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Nice world building and insanely hot cast

I picked this up because of Joseph Zeng, but I think I also became a fan of Tian Jiarui.

Both pairs did so well, but later on I feel like the focus became more on the story of Ji Ling and Lu Wuyi, esply Ji Ling. Which I'm not complaining. The whole backstory on him, his sacrifices, and all the misunderstandings he had to go through to get rid of Jiu Ling is just so terrible and my heart breaks for him. Nearer to the end, he became my favourite character. And the way his loyal followers all believed in him unconditionally is so heart warming. The number of death tolls in this destroyed me lmao (hot guys and girls dropping dead one after another), although the ending salvaged it a bit. Safe to say, Ji Ling never had to worry about becoming forgotten and unknown because all the viewers felt for him. And he became one of, if not the biggest, reason everyone can live peacefully.

The plot and world building is also very good. Although a bit puzzling at first, they all came to make sense. I was looking for another drama that'd give the vibe of Fangs of Fortune and this came very close to it. Lots of the same cast from FOF too. Another drama that I finished in 2 days, soooo thankful that it's finished because I'd die if I have to wait with the suspense.

All in all, I'd say this is a great addition to well done Xianxia dramas.

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