Papillonette

Love of the Divine Tree is Deng Wei's first ML role and a pretty traditional xianxia in story structure. The story devices aren't all that unfamiliar with rebirth, "saving the world", demons, amnesia, jealousy, etc. However, the details make it a gem in the genre, making it one of the best candidates for a rewatch in order to catch all the nuances of the story and acting. In particular, the pacing, and the set up for the characters and character development are the strongest I've seen in xianxia dramas. The contrast between the ML's cold, aloof, arrogant, "catty" character, with the FL's sunny, happy, warm personality made the couple very easy to root for. The acting can seem uneven if seen only in clips - however, DW's strength is in his strong understanding/empathy for his character in each scene and both actors come out pretty strong when seen in the grander story. Both actors are relatively new and don't necessarily have the experience of others in in the industry. However, both look very attractive and suit their roles very well. If nothing else, I think the sincerity of their efforts can be felt - they clearly enjoyed their roles, understood their characters, and wanted to make the best for them. The whole production actually feels very sincere - the screenwriter took care of many details to make a book with mediocre reviews into a nuanced cathartic story centered on regret and making amends; the director played with cgi with the best quality cgi in a cdrama I've seen so far; and the costumes are also beautiful in the many layers / fairy feeling they convey. All in all, I haven't enjoyed a xianxia like this for many years and am very grateful for the whole team to have put the production together.