This review may contain spoilers
This one is dark, heavy, emotionally intense... and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful!!
From the beginning, Fan Xiao and Shulang’s relationship is marked by imbalance. Fan Xiao carries violence, trauma, and emotional restraint; he exists in the shadows, hardened by the world around him. Shulang, on the other hand, feels almost unreal — gentle, patient, and quietly kind in a way that contrasts sharply with Fan Xiao’s darkness.
What makes this story so compelling is how love becomes a force of transformation. Fan Xiao doesn’t change overnight, and the series never romanticizes his darkness. Instead, it shows change as something slow, painful, and reluctant. Shulang doesn’t “save” him in a cliché way — he softens him, simply by existing, by staying, by offering compassion where Fan Xiao only knew brutality.
This is where the symbolism of Shulang being called a Bodhisattva becomes essential to the story — and also deeply ironic. In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is someone who reaches enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world to relieve the suffering of others. Fan Xiao admires Shulang for this, but at the same time, he resents it. He hates that part of Shulang exactly because he doesn’t believe it can be real. Deep down, Fan Xiao knows that not even his Bodhisattva could save him, and that belief becomes one of the greatest conflicts within him.
Their love is quite devastating. It lives in silences, in restrained emotions, in the tension between wanting to protect and fearing to destroy. The cinematography, the melancholic OST, and the pacing all enhance this atmosphere, making every interaction feel heavy with meaning.
This is a story about love as redemption, about darkness meeting compassion, and about how sometimes, the softest presence can be the most powerful. And one of my favorites!!!
What makes this story so compelling is how love becomes a force of transformation. Fan Xiao doesn’t change overnight, and the series never romanticizes his darkness. Instead, it shows change as something slow, painful, and reluctant. Shulang doesn’t “save” him in a cliché way — he softens him, simply by existing, by staying, by offering compassion where Fan Xiao only knew brutality.
This is where the symbolism of Shulang being called a Bodhisattva becomes essential to the story — and also deeply ironic. In Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is someone who reaches enlightenment but chooses to remain in the world to relieve the suffering of others. Fan Xiao admires Shulang for this, but at the same time, he resents it. He hates that part of Shulang exactly because he doesn’t believe it can be real. Deep down, Fan Xiao knows that not even his Bodhisattva could save him, and that belief becomes one of the greatest conflicts within him.
Their love is quite devastating. It lives in silences, in restrained emotions, in the tension between wanting to protect and fearing to destroy. The cinematography, the melancholic OST, and the pacing all enhance this atmosphere, making every interaction feel heavy with meaning.
This is a story about love as redemption, about darkness meeting compassion, and about how sometimes, the softest presence can be the most powerful. And one of my favorites!!!
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