Sharlotka

I just finished episode 13 and I’m already tired of this Dreamshard Immortal arc. They're all so delusional... But me not enjoying this arc much might also be because we barely get to see Hong Ye - and Hou Minghao is the main reason why I’m watching this - and Bing Zhu, who I feel may turn out to be one of the more interesting characters here. I like the Little Leaf though, it’s cute!

I’m also a bit surprised by Dali and her sudden hostility towards the FL. I thought the reason why she came there was vanity, but the turn towards being angry at Xiao Yao… It came a bit out of nowhere to me when she was actually being all nice and sweet to her in previous episodes, getting the gift and all that.

3 episodes per day is a lot, too. I struggle to keep up with this pace, especially that it's not the only on-going drama that I'm watching right now. Good thing I have a few days off ahead of me, maybe I'll be able to catch up lol

Same here! I've watched a lot of crime shows over the years and I'm definitely enjoying how this drama is handling things so far, much more than I expected to :)

When I read the synopsis, I wasn’t convinced it’s going to be my type of a drama but one thing I’ve learnt is that synopsis sometimes presents things very differently than they are actually presented in the drama. It also has Luo Yunxi in it, so it was enough to convince me to give it a try.

It was quite a ride. While I haven’t watched a whole lot of dramas, I find it amusing that it’s the first one I watched with the plot involving time travel - I probably haven’t reached for those yet, but I had somehow expected to come across more of them. That said, I have slight mixed feelings when it comes to the three timelines.

Ming Ye’s memories that the group enters were quite interesting. At first, I thought that it was amusing how all of them seem to be almost exactly opposite of who they are in their actual lives; but then it was revealed that it’s not exactly true, and especially when it comes to Ye Bingchang, it was a twist that I didn’t see coming.

Then, of course, we have the events that happened between Jing and Sheng Kingdoms, which I expected to be the main time of the drama. And for most of the time we spend in that particular point in time with the characters, I genuinely enjoyed it. There were moments when I was a bit tired of the constant back and forth between Ye Xiwu and Tantai Jin as far as their relationship was going, but it wasn’t so bad that it would ruin my enjoyment. Although there is one thing when it comes to this time that I don’t understand.

Ye Bingchang wasn’t quite as good as innocent as we were initially led to believe - makes perfect sense given what we learn about her. And obviously, Ye Xiwu - even if the original, real Xiwu actually appeared to be a bit of a psycho - was the family favourite, fine. Why did the family seem to bully Ye Bingchang a bit, though? Not favouring someone is one thing, but I can’t help feeling like they were going a little bit too far at times, with how they didn’t seem to care about her and her wellbeing. But, perhaps, it’s just the modern reality me speaking.

And then, we have the final, or one could say original, point in time. Why we had to see Li Susu’s “present” is obvious for us to understand what it all is about but was the return to these times really necessary? Perhaps it’s because we’ve been already presented with two ‘lifetimes’ for the main characters, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit tired with it, although I obviously continued because by this point, I wanted to see how it was all going to end. And then we have Xiao Lin’s story and how he was brought back to life, and what happened later… A part of me can’t see the point of this little plot line, he may as well have stayed dead.

I don’t know, I can’t help feeling like it would be a bit better if the plot was actually resolved at the “500 years ago” point in time, and showing us “the present” would be more of a short ‘epilogue’ for the characters that we’ve been following during the drama. I can’t say I’m really satisfied with this ending because it left a lot of things open or unaddressed. If they had no intention to close the storyline, why even start it in the first place? Especially that they left the fact that Ye Qingyu was the one sitting on the throne after Tantai Jin completely unaddressed. Also, did people in the world know what actually happened (especially the immortal sects)?

Finally, is it just me, or did the dubbing not quite match with the frames and lip movements? Most of the time it was more or less alright and I do realise there were some moments when the characters were speaking in their minds, so I don’t count these, but there were some scenes in which I felt like the voice didn’t quite match with when the actor was speaking. Part of the reason why, no matter what I watch, I watch everything with original audio is because dubbing into another language makes the voice and lips not match, and it’s a bit of my pet peeve.

I did enjoy the drama in the end but I can’t say that I’m quite happy with it, either. I’m not fussy as far as endings and am usually happy to accept most of them, even if I at times wish they could be different, but I have mixed feelings here. Not a bad one, but I can definitely see ways in which it could be better.

Huh. Well, I guess I was right that it was Li Shuting after all, the hint was quite clear but I definitely didn’t see that twist coming. Both in terms of their identity and in terms of how that plot ended. Though I’m sure glad it did - I definitely prefer dismembered bodies to spiders lol

That argument between Qi Sizhe and Han Feng, though… Is it just me or Han Feng’s reaction was a bit overreacted? Honestly, he reminded me of a child throwing a temper tantrum. Like, I understand that he disagrees but that was a bit much.

This next case sure does seem interested. The woman they are looking for being the killer behind it all would be a bit too easy but who knows, maybe. I suppose we will see.

Another two good episodes, can’t wait for next ones.

Just finished episode 5 and I’m definitely properly hooked. Even if I feel like my whole skin is crawling and nearly had a heart attack when my cat rubbed itself against my leg lol

The webs and dolls are abandoned film props? That makes me feel a tiny bit better, though it’s sure not the kind of film I’d want to watch lol

It’s nice to see that, even if there is still tension, Han Feng and Qi Sizhe are able to move past it and work together on these cases. I was worried it was going to take longer, so it’s nice to see that it actually did not.

From the moment we saw the flashback saying that people will convince themselves that something is the truth mixed with the scene of the girl about to be taken by the ambulance, I had my suspicions that she will actually turn out to be the killer. It would also make sense for it to be a woman with what Qi Sizhe deducted based on the calendar with the mating and egg laying timeline.

Can’t wait for tomorrow, though I will sure be glad when this spider case is over. Why does it always have to be spiders? Why can’t they use snakes, or even scorpions, or any other kind of insects? T___T

I'm skipping it in later episodes too but in the first one, I decided to watch as I usually do with my dramas. It also doesn't quite help that the opening kinda starts with that lol I watched in a dark room just before bed but today, I've learnt my lesson and am watching right after I finish work lol

I don't know about Hong Kong police but there's plenty of this type of characters in western productions, too. We'll see how it all develops, I suppose :)

Well, episode 3 made me feel like he might come around and not be so quick to dismiss him, with how he didn't seem so unhappy that Qi Sizhe was on the crime scene like he was in case of that drug dealer. But I agree, we will see :)

I’m pretty sure Luo Yunxi could pull off just about any kind of role and I definitely enjoyed him in the period dramas I have seen him in, but there’s something about this dark, mysterious aesthetic that is very fitting for him.

That said, Qi Sizhe, what made you think that going into that creepy cave on your own, without telling anyone where you’re going, is a good idea? I don’t even want to think about the size or the number of spiders that it had to take to create the webs inside, I may already have nightmares even without my imagination adding fuel to the fire. I would never be dragged inside a place like this even if someone offered to pay me to enter, and this episode might have just solidified that.

After three episodes, it’s nice to see the group starting to properly function like a group, Qi Sizhe included. And we’re finally getting some answers as to what happened in the past, but a lot more is probably still to come.

Looking forward to next episodes. Note to self, though - watching this before sleep is a very bad idea.

A part of me is questioning why I’m doing this to myself when I have arachnophobia and the opening was enough to make my skin crawl but oh well, Luo Yunxi on my screen is enough to make up for that.

It’s actually my first modern c-drama and it’s off to an interesting start. I only watched one episode so far and have more questions than answers, though having watched a lot of crime series over the years, I definitely have some theories and suspicions. I’m curious to see where this one is going to go.

It may partially be because he’s put in opposition to Qi Sizhe but I already don’t like that Han Feng guy. I may be completely wrong about him with how there’s a lot of story to go, but so far he’s presenting himself as the type of character in police/crime drama that tends to annoy me even they’re friendly with main characters. We’ll see where this goes but I’m pretty sure he was involved in the investigation related to the car accident we see at the start, and probably didn’t do it well, at least from Qi Sizhe’s perspective. The question on my mind at the moment is, he just didn’t do a good enough job, or he did that on purpose.

Looking forward to finding out.

The blind girl giving Xiao Yao her necklace to make her parents believe her words… How come it has not occurred to anyone that it’s a terrible idea, and the parents might think she simply found it somewhere without the girl and/or it’s the only thing left of her, even if she had the cat go as well? I understand her underestimating her father’s personality since he probably never showed this side to her, but everyone else - and Xiao Yao in particular - should have expected that kind of reaction.

Also, can we speak about how the cat appears to be happy just sitting in someone’s arms almost the whole time? I have no doubts they must have filmed all these scenes on separate occasions and all but it’s something that drew my attention as I don’t think I ever encountered one that was happy being carried the whole time. Just a silly little thing that my mind latched on lol That said, the cat scratching the girl’s father was interesting, and I enjoyed how shocked everyone was.

And, what on earth, the blind girl’s father is the one behind the murders? I didn’t take him for a good person obviously, but I haven’t seen that coming. “We must eliminate evil spirits and uphold justice” - erm… Yes, that’s exactly what you are doing man. And does nobody hear just how loud he’s screaming, or are they just pretending to be deaf? At least everything had seen light in the end.

Though… Them assembling the mirror, when they went to that spot where the shape is and one of the pieces fell into place… I guess it’ll look better when the pieces are assembled but this hologram makes me think of a giant liver lol

Bing Zhu’s sword not reacting to Hong Ye anymore… It’s almost as if Hong Ye had a whole conversation with it that one time when he saw it react to his presence. I suppose he did calm it down with his energy, so perhaps that’s the reason and it sensed what it needed to sense in that energy to stop reacting.

I also find it amusing how Xiao Yao learns about the past events from two sides, and both sides have a very different story to tell. Though, with how the human kingdom is presented so far, a part of me wonders if they haven’t deliberately modified some facts to better fit their goal and narrative. I understand the idea of revenge, being angry for past events, but taking it out on those that are actually not to blame is going a bit too far. Not that the demons aren’t doing the very same thing.

I like the little demon academia, though. It’s quite fun so far, and while I doubt we’ll see an awful lot of it, I would love it. Hell, I’d happily watch a whole drama centered on classes like this.

Looking forward to seeing what the next mini-arc is, since that’s probably how they are going to go about assembling the mirror.

An interesting start. Hou Minghao’s character getting attacked and ‘killed’ on the day of his wedding gives me some Back from the Brink vibes. A lot about his character does, actually, so I’m curious how they’re going to be different other than the obvious differences.

I can’t help finding the FL character annoying so far. I understand that she was entangled in the whole thing against her will (or at least that’s what we are led to believe) but she’s not exactly helping her cause in any way. With how it’s not uncommon for me to feel about FLs at the start of dramas, though, I hope she improves over time. I wonder if she is a reincarnation of Ning An, or is it like in Feud that she’s just pretending, I guess we’ll get an explanation eventually.

I wonder if Bing Zhu will actually end up changing his attitude over time. Especially that the real villain is likely the guy with Sauron-like hand, who we’ve seen holding the cat and taking the blind girl. I expect there’s more to Bing Zhu’s story than what we’ve seen so far because so far, I’m not quite fully convinced by his motivations.

I’m definitely looking forward to more episodes and holy, 3 episodes per day? Not complaining but makes me wonder why so many when it’s usually 1 or 2!

A great review, and a very informative one! As someone, who has not really been watching C-dramas for too long and who might have learnt a bit of the language but not that much of the culture and history, there are some things that I inevitably miss and it was very interesting to read you explaining some of these aspects and what they are rooted in. I imagine being familiar with it adds a new layer to the drama that viewers like me might miss.

I definitely agree with a lot of your views here. Both in terms of the scenes, the actors, even the fact that I'd 1000% watch a Shui Duopo and Xue Xianzi spin-off even if it had little plot and was mostly focused on these two just bickering.

A rewatch of this drama is definitely on my list and I am likely to do that sometime in early 2026 as I usually like to have a bit of a break before watching something again. I am looking forward to finding new things to appreciate during a rewatch :)

I decided to watch this drama because of Zuo Ye being part of the cast, and I guess Hou Minghao is a bit of a cherry on top of the cake, and I have somewhat mixed feelings.

On one hand, it was a very enjoyable watch. There are quite a lot of characters that I found a bit (or more than a bit) annoying at the start, but they eventually ended up growing on me - Yanhui, Bai Xiaosheng, Feng Qianshuo among many others. There were some things that I found a bit silly, but at the same time, some of the things were quite funny. Tianyao turning into an egg, and later having a mentality of a baby is among those things and while it was funny, I really am not sure how to feel about it.

On the other hand, there are things and characters that I found insufferable. Suying and Lingfei being at the very top of the list. The evil villain, at least, was properly evil and all but these two? They didn’t even had that good or convincing motivation, Suying in particular doing everything for a guy that doesn’t even want her. Just, get the message maybe? Probably my favourite part of this particular plot was when he told her that he wishes he had never met her.

I find it quite funny that villains usually tend to be my favourites and here, I struggle to find a villain I genuinely enjoyed. If I had to choose, Zhanglan was probably the most interesting and I kind of wish his plot was a bit longer.

All in all, it was a very nice drama. Perhaps not the best one I have ever watched but enjoyable nonetheless.

With the way the drama starts, it took me a while to get properly interested in the plot, although I’m glad that I persevered. Usually, they start off strong and the middle and/or ending can feel a bit underwhelming, but here I feel like it actually picked up at a certain point. Though that may also partially be because I’m not a fan of love triangles and Chong Zhao’s constant attempts at getting Bai Shuo to change her mind were tiring for me.

It was a great relief when he eventually moved on and settled his attention on someone else, and I really enjoyed that portion of the drama. But then the whole plot with the deities came in and I honestly feel like the ending would have been more interesting if the real goal was to stop Zhen Yu from fulfilling his evil plans with the use of the stone, saving everyone and ensuring that the world doesn’t come to an end.

The whole ending part of the drama was just a bit meh for me. It wasn’t a bad drama by any means, I enjoyed most of the middle part of it but it went in a direction that I didn’t particularly enjoy. Probably the one thing I genuinely enjoyed was the reveal that Bai Xi turned out to be the bow, it was quite fitting all things considering, and made perfect sense that the bow would be with Bai Shuo.

Another aspect I really enjoyed was the plot of Fan Yue’s brother. At first, I wasn’t sure what to think about Chen Ye and I was skeptical when they revealed the twist that he’s supposed to be Fan Yue’s missing brother, especially when it’s already been revealed that Fu Ling is Bai Xi, but I actually really enjoyed that mini arc. I like that they didn’t completely redeem his character, and didn’t just make his hatred magically go poof, but I really like that in the end he chose to be Qi Feng. I really would have liked to see him live on and try to make up for all the evil he has done but I guess I can’t have everything. Liang Xuefeng really did a great job in this drama.

I also find it interesting that usually, I feel like the actresses and the female characters could be a bit more expressive, but here it’s the other way around. Bai Lu did a great job but Ao Ruipeng could have been a bit more expressive, especially when the character is supposed to be angry etc. In other times, I can get behind the way he acted but there are some scenes which I feel would have been better if Fan Yue showed what he felt a bit more.

And finally, given the fact that the main reason why I even reached for this drama is the fact that Zuo Ye is part of the cast… Why did they give him such terrible dubbing? T__T I think his own voice is great and I wish they would let him dub himself more often but out of all the dramas I have watched with him, the dubbing for him in this drama is probably the worst in my opinion.

It was a nice drama, enjoyable watch and I’m glad that it had a happy ending, all things considering, but I can’t help feeling a bit unsatisfied. At least it had nice visuals :)

To be honest, what I would have liked is not necessarily a rearrangement of scenes as just more development for some characters, more screen time to show how they arrived at a point where they do things that they do. Zhong Chunji in particular - she was basically like a yo-yo, heart eyes towards Tang Lici in one moment, and then suddenly stabbing him in another, with not nearly enough shown to support how she got from point A to point B. Her later behaviour could also use a bit more fleshing out but that, at least, can be justified with her having guilty conscience and her Master's influence.

But I guess I do agree that some rearranging would have made sense, and improved some plots. Or, instead of some scenes being replayed again and again and again, a bit more time could have been given to some different ones that would expand the plot, even if only a bit. I enjoy flashbacks, they let us learn about things but I don't need to see the same flashback 10 times, really.

Out of the trio, my favourite is definitely Tang Lici but I really enjoyed the brotherhood and would definitely have loved to see more of it. And one scene the lack of which I really can't get over is Shen Langhun reacting to Chi Yun's death, be it directly or in any kind of conversation with Tang Lici or anyone, really. It's a shame if the reason behind it is an actor's injury, and I don't mean to sound like I blame the guy because obviously that's not the case, but I feel like that after they built up the relationship between the two the way they did, it deserved a proper ending too.

And Fang Yilun's acting in this drama was really something else. He managed to portray so many different things, and each of them so well and believably. I usually complain about how some actors could be a bit more expressive in their roles, and I don't know if it's maybe a cultural difference or acting skills, but his performance in this drama was actually perfect in my opinion. This is what I want to see from a character who is a madman, who is angry, who is hurting, who feels guilty, etc etc. Luo Yunxi did a pretty good job too with Tang Lici, but Fang Yilun has outdone everyone. Then again, I'm the kind of person that tends to enjoy villains the most so I may also be a little bit biased.

Xue Xianzi and Shui Duopo is another plot that I'd like to know more about. They know each other - great, BUT HOW? What is the history here? I really enjoyed their bickering, and I would really like to have known more about this duo.

That's a great analysis and I 100% agree, shifting focus in certain moments would definitely make the plot developments better at times but especially with Zhong Chunji and A-Shui.

Honestly, on reflection after some time has passed since I watched the drama, A-Shui and what she did for most of the drama feels kind of pointless - I really feel like she should have at least questioned what she knows Tang Lici supposedly did to her brother after spending so much time with him. Or they should have indicated that Gui Mudan has messed with her mind again. And in the end, it would even be better and more impactful if they killed her off rather than have her leave this way.

One thing I would really loved to have seen more is more Gui Mudan, the actor really did a great job with the character. I would also have loved to see more Tang Lici with Xiao Shi, and with the twist at the end, I think it could potentially make it interesting in terms of what he has learnt from him, etc.

Oh, and I would have kept Chi Yun alive - I still fail to see the point of his death, beyond making Tang Lici suffer even more and he really had enough of that.

Luo Yunxi, Jeremy Tsui and Fang Yilun all did a great job in this drama. It's the first one I have seen with them, but their scenes, especially together in whatever combination, were probably the most enjoyable for me.

I finally finished all episodes and what a ride it was. I usually don’t mind whether a drama has a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as it’s satisfying to an extent. Yet, with this one, I just can’t quite get behind it. Episode 40 felt very rushed, and I feel like it would have been a bit better if there was at least one more episode. I liked how the reveal with Xiao Shi was handled, but that’s probably the only thing I really liked about it.

I am quite disappointed with the arcs of a lot of characters. I understand A-Shei’s bitterness but I’d expect that after spending so much time with Tang Lici, and seeing that he clearly cares about Fang Zhou, she’d at least question what she had been told. Zhong Chunji, at a certain point, seemed not to know what she actually wants herself, even though she had a potential to be a great character.

Chi Yun’s poisoning and death feels like a plot point that exists mainly to make Tang Lici suffer even more than he already had, losing yet another person that he was close with and in such a painful way, having to kill him himself. Also, the fact that Shen Langhun wasn’t anywhere near at that time is also so dissatisfying after the friendship the two of them developed over time. And Shen Langhun didn’t really get a proper closure in the original timeline, or even a chance to react to what happened

It’s funny that in a way, I am most satisfied with the character arc of Xifang Tao, who ended up being one of those I enjoyed the most in the drama. I’ve seen this actress in one or two more titles and she always annoyed me to no end, but in this one I actually liked her character. And, of course, her interactions with Puzhu.

It’s also nice that Liu Yan got a bit of a redemption arc, working hard to fix the mess that he had made, with the Hong girl whose full name I can’t remember looking after him. I always enjoy it when someone actually tries to fix their mistakes when they understand them. It's just a shame that these two are not going to cross paths in the 'happier timeline'.

There are still things that I’d like to know an answer to, and I’m not sure if the ending was supposed to provide us answers to. What happened to the Fu guy that was in Zhoudi Lou with the other three? Was he a chef in a restaurant that we had actually seen in the show? Though I still would have liked him to have some kind of interaction with Tang Lici or anyone really.

Another thing, what’s the story behind Shui Duopo and Xue Xianzi’s friendship? Their interactions are adorable and I’d really love to know more about the history they share. Also, I’m not sure if I understand the scene with him at the end - for me, it leaves more questions than answers but it may just be me, not that familiar with this kind of genre.

I don’t regret watching this, it was enjoyable. I like the whole idea of reverting time to fix the mistakes so that the future can be better but more as a journey, not a solution. Luo Yunxi is definitely earning a spot on my list of followed actors, and the soundtrack is great. But I just don’t feel satisfied with this ending.

I took a small break from watching this, partially because the one episode a day pace was killing me and partially because I got spoiled a bit when it comes to the ending, so I needed to prepare myself mentally.

I was going to leave a comment after watching it all but I actually have to say, there’s something very satisfying about watching Tang Lici beat Liu Yan the way he did in episode 33.

Also, Tang Lici - if you had such a technique up your sleeve, couldn’t you have used it on Liu Yan long ago, to make sure that he understood? It would save everyone and the whole world so much trouble.

I’m disappointed with the female characters in this, both Zhong Chunji and A-Shei. At least Xifang Tao is still enjoyable, even if I feel like she’s still up to something.

It took me a while to start watching this drama despite very much planning to do so, and I’m not even sure why I have been putting it on hold. It’s funny that I finally decided to do it because I have been avoiding sadness in the different thing I’m watching, and instead have found myself crying my eyes out more than I would ever have anticipated.

It feels like this whole drama was a rollecoaster of not even emotions but sadness. At first, I felt like the plot of each little arc is just unfair and tragic - Ran Yi’s arc definitely felt this way, and so did Fei’s sacrifice for the sake of ending the plague that ended up doing nothing, and Qing Geng being left behind with pain and guilt, and even Cheng Huang and Si Heng arc. Even Li Lun ended up being a character that I felt sad for, though it had taken a much longer while to happen, and there is something satisfying in him sacrificing himself to help Zhao Yuanzhou in the end, seeming to understand that his friend had never given up on him or stopped caring.

At the same time, I feel like the second half of the drama didn’t quite feel as good as the first one. A part of me couldn’t help feeling a bit tired of Bai Jiu being suspected, cleared of suspicions, proven to be the spy, switching sides again, then possessed by Li Lun and turning evil again. Ying Lei’s death was rather devastating though, it felt more so than Zhao Yuanzhou’s in a way, which is probably the one real issue I have.

I enjoyed most of the characters though, except for one. I don’t know if it’s the actress, or she was supposed to play her this way, but Wen Xiao could have used a bit more personality and more expressive emotions. It may just be me but most of the time, it felt like she had one expression and only showed sadness with her tears and her happiness with a smile, and nothing more. Pei Sijing had a bit of the same issue, though somehow it made more sense for her character.

Overall, a great drama and I can definitely see myself returning to it at times, especially when I need a good cry.

I knew it was him the second the masked guy appeared exactly because of his eyes lol I even paused at a frame that made me go "There's no way this isn't Zuo Ye behind that mask", though I doubted myself for a bit until I saw other people also pointing that out. I agree about his voice, too, I wish they'd let him dub himself more often T__T