This review may contain spoilers
Could have been a 10/10 show
When I started this, I was convinced this was going to be my best xianxia, so I'm disappointed in how hard it fell off.
At first, I applauded the writers for doing their best to tell a beautiful story in limited episodes, because it's obvious that this is a show that deserved 50-60 episodes to fully bloom. But as I spent more time thinking about it, I realized that the writers held partial responsibility in the mess that the second half turned into. The story they were trying to tell was incredible, but they didn't have enough episodes to tell it well. To maintain the quality, they should have cut the story down. Or at least done it over multiple seasons, (which is rare, I know).
Unfortunately, they chose to do neither and the story suffered significantly. I know that the 3-lifetime romance is a big xianxia trope. But prioritizing a trope to the detriment of good storytelling is a decision that opens them up to criticism.
What I did like (let's get this out of the way because it's super short):
Wang Yinglu and Chen Feiyu deserve so much respect for keeping us invested in these characters despite the story going downhill. I can't give them enough praise!!!!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to rewatch this a few years down the line, but I'll be sticking to the first 13 or so episodes just to bask in Tingyan & Sima Jiao's beautiful story.
What I didn't like (no surprises here):
The pacing. The pacing. The pacing.
I'm just confused with how it was set up. The show starts off slowly, letting the characters get to know each other and fall in love realistically. Before you know it, you're halfway through, having a great time. And then you realize they're going to try and fit 2 arcs (demon + mortal) in the remaining half of the show, and question marks start popping up in your brain.
This problem with pacing is exacerbated by the middle arc that feels pointless (the cultivation school and body swapping plotlines that take up a lot of time and don't have thaaaat big of an impact on the overall picture.) It's frustrating to see so much time spent on side plotlines when the main story is so rushed. We also didn't need a second couple given the massive time constraints. Ruling and Black Snake Guy didn't really add that much by having a romance arc.
The pacing is even worse in the mortal realm, where Sima Jiao falls in love with Tingyan in 1-2 episodes, depriving us of the realistic romance that made the show special in the first place. At this point it felt like the writers were just ticking off things from their to-do list. The mortal realm also features a big drought that majorly impacts the characters, but it's introduced and resolved all in the span of, like, 10 minutes, so it all feels very bland. And of course, the fight in the last episode is laughable ... or frustrating, depending on which way you fall.
I really wanted this to be a 10/10 drama. If it had resolved in the demon realm, I probably would have given it a 9. I think it poses serious conversation around whether it's worth telling a whole story if you're going to tell it poorly, or whether it's worth to cut it down to something smaller and do a magnificent job from start to finish. It's all depends on personal opinion, but I much prefer the latter.
At first, I applauded the writers for doing their best to tell a beautiful story in limited episodes, because it's obvious that this is a show that deserved 50-60 episodes to fully bloom. But as I spent more time thinking about it, I realized that the writers held partial responsibility in the mess that the second half turned into. The story they were trying to tell was incredible, but they didn't have enough episodes to tell it well. To maintain the quality, they should have cut the story down. Or at least done it over multiple seasons, (which is rare, I know).
Unfortunately, they chose to do neither and the story suffered significantly. I know that the 3-lifetime romance is a big xianxia trope. But prioritizing a trope to the detriment of good storytelling is a decision that opens them up to criticism.
What I did like (let's get this out of the way because it's super short):
Wang Yinglu and Chen Feiyu deserve so much respect for keeping us invested in these characters despite the story going downhill. I can't give them enough praise!!!!! I'm pretty sure I'm going to rewatch this a few years down the line, but I'll be sticking to the first 13 or so episodes just to bask in Tingyan & Sima Jiao's beautiful story.
What I didn't like (no surprises here):
The pacing. The pacing. The pacing.
I'm just confused with how it was set up. The show starts off slowly, letting the characters get to know each other and fall in love realistically. Before you know it, you're halfway through, having a great time. And then you realize they're going to try and fit 2 arcs (demon + mortal) in the remaining half of the show, and question marks start popping up in your brain.
This problem with pacing is exacerbated by the middle arc that feels pointless (the cultivation school and body swapping plotlines that take up a lot of time and don't have thaaaat big of an impact on the overall picture.) It's frustrating to see so much time spent on side plotlines when the main story is so rushed. We also didn't need a second couple given the massive time constraints. Ruling and Black Snake Guy didn't really add that much by having a romance arc.
The pacing is even worse in the mortal realm, where Sima Jiao falls in love with Tingyan in 1-2 episodes, depriving us of the realistic romance that made the show special in the first place. At this point it felt like the writers were just ticking off things from their to-do list. The mortal realm also features a big drought that majorly impacts the characters, but it's introduced and resolved all in the span of, like, 10 minutes, so it all feels very bland. And of course, the fight in the last episode is laughable ... or frustrating, depending on which way you fall.
I really wanted this to be a 10/10 drama. If it had resolved in the demon realm, I probably would have given it a 9. I think it poses serious conversation around whether it's worth telling a whole story if you're going to tell it poorly, or whether it's worth to cut it down to something smaller and do a magnificent job from start to finish. It's all depends on personal opinion, but I much prefer the latter.
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