Brennnndda

I feel for Ying Yuan..it also doesn't help that he's the only sovereign lord left so leaving his duties for romance is really not an option. He already feels survivor's guilt from the war, add to that the knowledge that he was helpless to save the woman he loved when she was being accused...it's amazing he hasn't curled into a ball and crumbled yet.

So True!!
It was one reason I hated Ashes of Love. Xu Feng and Jin Mi were the most productive when they weren't together...yah, I get that they were devastated over having caused the other to die...but seriously.
Run Yu was doing Jin Mi's deity job for her while she wallowed in her own despair...and Xu Feng abandoned his duties as the Demon lord to go look for her remnants.
When they weren't together, Xu Feng freaking took over and ruled the demon realm! Talk about badass!

It's also why I love Love and Redemption. Si Feng's story arcs were love..hence why he always sacrificed so much for Xuan Ji...but he never thought of sacrificing his fellow rose-gold bird clan mates to be with her.
Xuan Ji's arcs were not love based. Her focus was about her true identity and the great travesty she suffered. I cannot stress how much I love that that was her focus. It upset me when people constantly said Xuan Ji should suffer more for hurting Si Feng...he withheld information from her; his pain was self inflicted.

The drama "will depict the journey of three poor sisters who will be against the richest and most influential family in the nation after being caught up in an incident" ... but that wasn't what the book was about at all . . .

I'm actually sad that Immortal Samsara doesn't have an OST by him TT

It seems that she chooses Yu Mo in the novel...but I'm willing to bet they will change it in the drama because it's Cheng Yi playing Ying Yuang/Tang Zhou. I'm thinking he won't let himself lose her twice so *fingers crossed.*

The Supreme Lord is probably hiding the truth about his heritage. He said "your mother was bewitched" which we all know to probably mean she fell in love.
I bet the only reason he didn't kill Ying Yuan when he was born was because not only did Ying Yuan inherit both heavenly and Asura power and had the potential to be one of the most powerful beings to ever exist..but the supreme lord was going to use him against his father and the rest of the demon clans eventually. . .kind of like how Hao Chen used Luo Hou Ji Du against his Asura clan.

I wasn't either, which is why I said bittersweet. If she was resolved to die and could find peace in death..why bring her back to suffer in a world that didn't welcome her in the first place? Because everyone who used to crucify her now need closure? Screw them and their self-righteousness. She lost everyone who loved her and in the end, she didn't even have her memories.

I normally love Wallace Huo..but he's played some shitty characters. Bai Zi Hua and the emperor in Ruyi..ugh.

I think that once you've seen one xianxia drama..you've seen them all. It's essentially a "wash, rinse, repeat" formula. The difference is whether you like the cast and perhaps the structure of the storyline.
If you haven't, you can watch Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms (Eternal Love). That's like the xianxia of all xianxia dramas. It's what got me started on my love of all things xianxia.

Then there's The Untamed..which is BL but censored so it's more bromance..but the drama follows the novel perfectly.

I completely agree. I highly doubt either of them would've kept their love a secret because both are too righteous to lie about it.

I was watching an interview with Cheng Yi and he was saying that while Ying Yuan is strict and upstanding..Tang Zhou is more playful and mischievous and he is the one who goes after Yan Dan and I'm all here for it!

It's infuriating. The ending is...bittersweet. They both survived and were together..if you consider that happy. In my opinion, Hua Qiangu was too kind and Bai Zihua was too unlikeable.
Watching it when it aired made it fresh and exciting..but now that the same outline and tropes have been used relentlessly in the past couple of years with xianxia dramas..it may no longer hold the flair it used to.

Rewatching episode 15 where she crosses the river and their conversations gives me Journey of the Flower vibes. Like Hua Qiangu, Yan Dan just wants Ying Yuan to admit that he does love her...but like Bai Zihua, he won't and that's where she becomes angered/bitter. She thinks their experiences meant nothing to him and it's the reason she can throw her own life away.
In truth, it's the complete opposite..he loved her so deeply but can't admit it because the lives of more than just the 2 of them rest of his shoulders (like Bai Zihua). Saying "I love you" is moot because it doesn't change their situation and he doesn't want to give her the false hope that they will one day be together.
It's just sad that everyone bears witness to his incredibly deep love...except her.

That's like when Ying Yuan was executing the previous curator who gave the 4 artifacts to her demon lover. He said "he didn't even ask about you when he died" .. or something like that.
It didn't mean the demon guy loved her any less..but considering that war was going to break out...it's reasonable that she (the curator) wouldn't have been the first thing on his mind.

I think I've been too spoiled listening to Zhou Shen's OSTs..
Now, every time I watch a historical or xianxia drama, I expect a song from him.

The scenes in the OST were what sold me on this drama. I was so disappointed after hearing Cheng Yi's Ying Yuan speak in his first scene. The disappointment was more overwhelming than I thought it would be.

The OST sounded more emotional and raw while the drama just sounds...well..dubbed lol

I personally haven't connected with his character either. I find myself fast-forwarding through his scenes yet I still get the gist of what's happening with him.

It's nice when there's more to Xianxia main characters than just a romance arc. I'm all for romance...but it's nice to see dramas show that while romantic love is important, it isn't everything.

I think it's better that way. If his memories were intact and he met Yan Dan again, he might be too filled with remorse and guilt to approach her. By forgetting, it gives them a chance to create new, happier memories without the burden of the past...at least for a little while.

I hope they fix their misunderstanding earlier and fight as a united team towards the end when his background comes out..and hopefully that is the final battle.
Nothing makes a drama better than having the OTP united in mind and heart and fighting together for their happy ending.
(Like The Long Ballad and Love and Redemption)

Honestly, Zhi Xi could become Ying Deng 2.0, it's too early to tell

I think what a lot of recent xianxia dramas (including TMOPB, AoL, Ancient Love Poetry, this one and even Love and Redemption, to an extent) have in common are:

In terms of love, it seems like the men are very self-sacrificing..while the women are usually let down and fall into despair because they think their loved one betrayed them. However..I think the dynamic actually makes a lot of sense.
The men are usually in positions of power. To them, love cannot be their sole focus since the consequences for them are very severe. The women, who are of lower status, can wallow more in despair after losing their faith in that love. Their lives are meaningless to those in power so the men can do nothing else but protect them silently from the shadows and take the brunt of the punishments for them without their knowledge. One technically does not love more than the other because if the roles were reversed, the women would do the same for their men.

I'm so excited for this scene since seeing the OST MV.

I'm thinking it'll be when they return to the heavenly realm and fixed their misunderstandings.