Suliabryon

Thousands of years ago, humans used a magical artifact called the Chaos Pearl to create a barrier locking the Dark Clan in the Abyss. The leader of the Dark Clan wants to steal that pearl and do away with the barrier to invade the mortal land. The Dark Clan is trying to open a rift in the barrier to do that. The ML is the most power sword cultivator (ie, spiritual warrior) in the human world and uses all of his spiritual energy to close that rift, leaving him vulnerable so the Dark Clan capture him and take him back to the Abyss to torture him in a place constantly referred to as a "pit of lava". No one has survived for longer than three days of this, but he's still resisting and alive after seven days.

The FL is a member of the Spirit Clan who has been trained by the leader of the Dark Clan. She is not actually a demon, which I believe is why she (and the ML, who is human) can cross the barrier. The FL visits the ML in his torture chamber and kisses him to tease him -- but really, she passes a spiritual doohickey to him that restores half of his power for one hour, thereby allowing him to escape. Instead of leaving, he decides to attack the Dark Clan sect leader. The FL fights him off instead (because she knows his power is about to run out again) and they escape together. But now he's stuck without any spiritual power for ten days before he can recover. The FL insists on staying with him and convincing him she is his ally while he's trying to journey home. Demons from the Dark Clan can project illusions of themselves - basically physical avatars - into the mortal realm by using a special elixir and cultivating the illusion for a long time, but the illusion isn't as powerful as their true selves. A Desire Demon uses this and attacks them and traps them in a magical array where she can use their desires against them. The FL takes an arrow from the Desire Demon to protect the ML, and then confronts the Desire Demon

That's pretty much episode 1 in a nutshell.

Uh...he's weak in the first episodes because he used all of his power to close the rift that would have allowed the dark clan to invade the human world, and ON PURPOSE allowed himself to be captured and tortured for seven days so he could intelligence gather and see what the dark clan was up to, and then the FL dosed him with a magic antidote that gave him back half his power for one hour so he could escape, but the downside is after that hour he would be without his spiritual powers for ten days. If you watched at all, it explains why the dyamic in the first two episodes is her mostly protecting him.

For those hesitant or thinking ep 1 and 2 kind of drop you in the middle of the action and then use awkward exposition dumps in dialogue to give you the needed backstory....well, you are not wrong, but they also contain information you need to understand the story. There are definitely moments in those episodes that are good as well, it's not all bad. And as someone else said, the story smoothes out and starts hitting its stride in episodes 3 and 4. I think this show has a lot of potential, and I'm here to support both actors. Vin never disappoints, and I've thought SZ should be leading dramas since her supporting role in TTEOTM. I was thrilled to see her as the FL in this one in the trailers, and I'm enjoying it now.

I think the chemistry is a little rough in these first episodes because Vin is intentionally playing a super cold, removed from emotion type of character, and the story really has SZ's character really lean into the whole "demon messing with him" thing, but things get MUCH MUCH better as soon as he starts to regain his powers and the two of them really fight each other for the second time, and then fight as allies several times after that. Combine that with her real motives for getting close to him, shown in flashbacks, and I'm sold and going to keep watching. YMMV, of course. I hope people give it a shot for both actors, but especially for SZ who deserves more lead roles. Remember, it is the beginning of the year and not a ton of historical fantasy dramas for competition right now, lol. Guardians of the Dafeng is great and I'm enjoying the heck out of it, but if you want a show leaning more heavily into the romance, this one might be for you.

He's such a cutie! It's hurting my heart a little that he's playing such a scumbag here, lol. Still glad to see him, though. I recognized him immediately.

RIGHT?? That same thing happened to me with Blossom! I resisted right up until the last like 4 episodes were locked behind express and I waited a day and none of them unlocked (maybe due to the holidays? IDK.) So I caved and watched the last few episodes on my phone. And that drama was so good! It deserved to be watched in the larger format. FINALLY an HEA this year with a real epilogue that let us enjoy it.

So far, I am LOVING this drama! It is really allowing Dylan to showcase his comedy skills, but it's a great mix of comedy, family dynamics, action, with hints of more serious drama. I've thought Dylan Wang to be comedic gold since the body swap scenes in LBFAD, and this drama 100% does not disappoint!

Also thrilled to see Zhang Chen Xiao again (he played the little brother in LBFAD). He was my favorite supporting actor in that drama. I hope he gets many more roles in the future, and IDK if it's a coincidence that he and DW are in another drama together or not, but it's lovely to see.

I'm trying REALLY hard to resist the temptation of buying the express episode I can only watch on my tiny phone screen and wait for it to go to VIP tomorrow, but it's really difficult. The problem is, then I'll fall into the trap of always watching on my phone, and I'd rather stream it on my giant TV or my laptop. But so far, absolutely loving everything.

Right??

Just here to share how pleased I am with this drama! This director is one of my favorites for short form c-dramas (notably, A Familiar Stranger, Provoked, and Butterflied Lover). I've been saying for awhile that he deserves a bigger budget, long form c-drama, and here we are finally! I've watched up through episode 20 and loved every moment. The attention to small details and storytelling through character growth this director brings to his projects is top tier, and the actors cast for the leads are doing an absolutely fantastic job. I'm hopeful that this drama hitting the 30k popularity mark will mean more long form, larger budget work for all in the future!

For this particular drama, I love how the storytelling slowly built the relationship between the leads, how we're getting them as a strong couple together for half the drama, and how now that they are together, we're still seeing them grow as a couple and learn to navigate challenges like that. It was cute how the wedding night was handled (for those complaining about it, be patient. Pretty sure we'll be getting lots of romance between our leads in the coming episodes), and how they're contrasting Zhao managing her new status in her husband's household with Ming's situation. I'm sad for Ming, who in this life hasn't done anything against her sister and has been consistently bullied by everyone around her, starting with her own, awful mother.

I also love the hints of story arcs happening for some of our side characters, like Ru and Miao. There was also some really subtle hints early on at a forming connection between one of the Su sisters and the one unfortunate guard of Song Mo's. It wasn't ever deeply explored or even conveyed in dialogue, just in looks from the actors at key moments, but it's those exact kind of subtleties that make this director's works so compelling and deepen the world building and characters.

I have every faith that this drama will continue in the back half just as strong as the font half has been. As long as we get a happy ending (and I think we will) I think this is going to be my favorite drama this year.

Same! I really hope they release a physical CD, because I will buy it. The actors all look like they had such a fun time filming. Part of the fun for me is seeing which actor I recognize from other dramas is guesting as the next demon, lol.

I have to say, I am SO disappointed in Loumei. WTH?? YOU'RE IN LOVE WITH THAT PSYCHO?? WHEN? HOW?

This is bad writing. She's been shown to be an extremely smart and strategic thinker, and you cannot tell me she wouldn't see all of his scheming and then understand how he ALSO schemed to get her, not to mention her loyalty to the throne is supposed to be so ingrained, and yet she is standing by and doing NOTHING after finding out he poisoned the emperor? No. Nope. This character is broken for the sake of the plot. It would have been MUCH more interesting had she turned on the CP and he was forced to arrest the woman he's spent his life obsessed with.

Also, I am not thrilled with the trailers that show Mei Lin marrying the Xuyan prince. I get that the story has to go on these twists and turns before our main couple can be happy, but I feel like they're dealing with enough things to overcome that this was unnecessary.

Okay, rant over. Still enjoying the show. Just...man really disappointed in Loumei. I don't believe for a second that she really fell in love with that obsessive stalker/psycho.

And can I just add, I ADORE Hairu so much! She's always calling him on his crap and being the Most Supportive Mother. "I had the chef make you some ginseng soup." (Because clearly you are sick in the head, MF.) "Don't worry. I didn't poison it."

A VALID CONCERN, and I'm sure a tempting thought for her. 😂

The AUDACITY of her father - because he was her father her whole life - to act sad she's leaving after having her BEATEN just for being born! This guy is truly the worst father to all of his children, and an indifferent uncle to his nieces and nephews. Except for Yining, they had awful mothers, but at least their mothers actually love them and want the best for them even if they go about it in awful, scheming ways. This guy is like "if you're useless to me, you might as well not exist".

At least General Ying seems to actually care and want to BE a father.

I'm loving this actor while watching Kill Me Love Me. Does anyone know if the novel ends happy for this one? I know there's no guarantee the drama will be the same especially since it sounds like they change a lot, but still it's helpful to know.

There is NO WAY a character shown to be as intelligent and strategic as Loumei believes the Crown Prince's BS. She already suspected, that's why she asked Jinghe if the CP was responsible for what happened to him. And he said "I think you already know." She is 100% planting herself at the CP's side to spy on him and keep him from killing Jinghei and stealing the throne. We'll just have to be patient and watch how this plays out.

Truly, the CP is the most disgusting type of villain. The way he used that incense to manipulate Loumei is a whole new low. I despise him so much and can't wait until he finds out she's playing him.

OMG, we are on episode 24 you guys, and SHE STILL DOESN'T KNOW! This is killing me. Every time she is mad at him and they talk and he stares at her with his heart in his eyes and she professes her undying love to him AS HIS SISTER, I die a little bit inside. When does she find out? Someone who has read the novel, spoil me. Because MY GOD. These scenes where they fight because they care so much about each other and then talk it out and make up would have an entirely different context if she just knew!

I'm sorry about my rant, lol, but this episode about killed me with everything that happened and THEIR FEELINGS. And then even after she finds out, we have to have a decent amount of time for her to process and transition to romantic love, right? So how many episodes are we going to get of them BEING IN LOVE?

Don't get me wrong. I am invested. I love this drama. But I'm ready for there to really be "no more secrets" between them. Speaking of which, do you think his hand clench at the end was because he was reacting to her telling him? Like we didn't get to actually hear it?

😂

Just finished ep 19: I feel so sorry for Xuan! All that kid wants is to please his father and his family, and yet he has a scheming mother and sister who end up "helping" him to the point of sabotage at every turn, and a father he can't ever do enough to please, to the point where he has panic attacks from the pressure. That boy needs a new family.

Completely agree! I LOVE the intensity of Kill Me Love Me, but I also love the slower pace and more meticulous family drama of this show. They make a great contrast. I think they are probably helping each other out by airing at the same time.

No, they are not related. She has a different father, though they don't know it at first. The father treats him horribly because he was the mistake that happened after a drunken night with a maid who snuck into his room. The father can't bear the shame of it, or something.

Yeah, I felt so bad for him, too! At that moment, I could actually believe the father is a villain.