This review may contain spoilers
The first 15 episodes make the whole series worth watching
*Review for parts 1 and 2*
Overall: This is a solid xianxia with great casting. It's trope-y and suffers from pacing issues and plot holes but ultimately I would recommend. I'm glad I watched but probably won't rewatch since I had to put this one on hold several times in order to get through it.
The Good:
- The first 15 episodes were incredible. The early Heavenly Realm episodes contain 3 unforgettable and moving sequences: The setup of Ying Yuan and Yan Dan's romance before the Divine-Devil War begins, the House of Rascal, and the Night Forgetting River. In just a few episodes, they manage to have you so invested in the leads' relationship that you're truly heartbroken to see it end. If any portion of the series is rewarchable, it's these Heavenly Realm episodes.
- Cheng Yi: I was very impressed with his performance, which includes 3 different characters, two of which go through significant character growth. Cheng Yi brought subtlety to the Ying Yuan character, and was able to amplify some of Ying Yuan's hidden personality traits for Tang Zhou so that the characters felt distinct yet still connected.
- The main leads have great chemistry and I always enjoyed their screen time together. Yan Dan and Ying Yuan's relationship was well-developed and believably deep. I always like when the leads' relationship changes and grows over the course of the show, which was definitely the case here. Their dynamic changed 4 or 5 times which kept things interesting
- The soundtrack is solid, with a few key themes that fit the show very well
- I really enjoyed the demons of Yelan Mountain. Usually in xianxias you see mostly evil demons, so I liked seeing a wide variety of regular demons with their own governments and politics and families / relationships
The Bad:
- The Mortal Realm arc is way too long. They could have cut those episodes by half and the story would still have made sense. I don't think we needed to watch Tang Zhou face every one of the 8 hardships and whatever else he needed to pass his mortal trial. Some of the side stories of minor characters could have been cut. Especially after Yan Dan regains her memories at the end of Part 1, I really lost interest in the cultivation sect drama and the demon hunting and was ready to return to the immortal realm
- The plot is full of holes, small and large --- too many to mention each one. Ultimately this didn't ruin my experience, but your suspension of disbelief is interrupted every time you notice something that doesn't add up
- Some critical plot points felt extremely rushed, including Lu Ming's death and the story of Xuan Ye and Ran Qing. The ending felt rushed as well.
- It was immediately obvious to me who the ultimate villain would be, which ruined the big plot twist / villain reveal. I'm unsure if other viewers had this experience, but I've seen the actor who plays Star Deity Jiu, Li Xin Ze, in a few other dramas. He has always played the bad guy in everything I've seen. Even when he was introduced as an admirable character in the early episodes, and even when he died, I knew he was untrustworthy and he'd be coming back. The plot twist is only effective if you've forgotten all about him by the time he comes back into the show
- I wanted more from Yu Mo's character. You never get truly invested in him as a romantic rival or as the carrier of the Nine Fins legacy. His character needed a greater part in the story, either as a more serious rival for Yan Dan's affection or some other arc that makes you care about him. He made a good sidekick, but his only personality trait is that he's a nice guy. His lack of flavor makes him feel like a plot device for whenever they need an extra person with powers to help the main couple out
- I didn't enjoy the heavy use of voice over. I know it's common in xianxias for characters to communicate their inner thoughts to the viewer through VO, but it feels like lazy storytelling to rely on it so heavily. There was a ton of voice over used here, so much that you begin to actively notice it
Overall: This is a solid xianxia with great casting. It's trope-y and suffers from pacing issues and plot holes but ultimately I would recommend. I'm glad I watched but probably won't rewatch since I had to put this one on hold several times in order to get through it.
The Good:
- The first 15 episodes were incredible. The early Heavenly Realm episodes contain 3 unforgettable and moving sequences: The setup of Ying Yuan and Yan Dan's romance before the Divine-Devil War begins, the House of Rascal, and the Night Forgetting River. In just a few episodes, they manage to have you so invested in the leads' relationship that you're truly heartbroken to see it end. If any portion of the series is rewarchable, it's these Heavenly Realm episodes.
- Cheng Yi: I was very impressed with his performance, which includes 3 different characters, two of which go through significant character growth. Cheng Yi brought subtlety to the Ying Yuan character, and was able to amplify some of Ying Yuan's hidden personality traits for Tang Zhou so that the characters felt distinct yet still connected.
- The main leads have great chemistry and I always enjoyed their screen time together. Yan Dan and Ying Yuan's relationship was well-developed and believably deep. I always like when the leads' relationship changes and grows over the course of the show, which was definitely the case here. Their dynamic changed 4 or 5 times which kept things interesting
- The soundtrack is solid, with a few key themes that fit the show very well
- I really enjoyed the demons of Yelan Mountain. Usually in xianxias you see mostly evil demons, so I liked seeing a wide variety of regular demons with their own governments and politics and families / relationships
The Bad:
- The Mortal Realm arc is way too long. They could have cut those episodes by half and the story would still have made sense. I don't think we needed to watch Tang Zhou face every one of the 8 hardships and whatever else he needed to pass his mortal trial. Some of the side stories of minor characters could have been cut. Especially after Yan Dan regains her memories at the end of Part 1, I really lost interest in the cultivation sect drama and the demon hunting and was ready to return to the immortal realm
- The plot is full of holes, small and large --- too many to mention each one. Ultimately this didn't ruin my experience, but your suspension of disbelief is interrupted every time you notice something that doesn't add up
- Some critical plot points felt extremely rushed, including Lu Ming's death and the story of Xuan Ye and Ran Qing. The ending felt rushed as well.
- It was immediately obvious to me who the ultimate villain would be, which ruined the big plot twist / villain reveal. I'm unsure if other viewers had this experience, but I've seen the actor who plays Star Deity Jiu, Li Xin Ze, in a few other dramas. He has always played the bad guy in everything I've seen. Even when he was introduced as an admirable character in the early episodes, and even when he died, I knew he was untrustworthy and he'd be coming back. The plot twist is only effective if you've forgotten all about him by the time he comes back into the show
- I wanted more from Yu Mo's character. You never get truly invested in him as a romantic rival or as the carrier of the Nine Fins legacy. His character needed a greater part in the story, either as a more serious rival for Yan Dan's affection or some other arc that makes you care about him. He made a good sidekick, but his only personality trait is that he's a nice guy. His lack of flavor makes him feel like a plot device for whenever they need an extra person with powers to help the main couple out
- I didn't enjoy the heavy use of voice over. I know it's common in xianxias for characters to communicate their inner thoughts to the viewer through VO, but it feels like lazy storytelling to rely on it so heavily. There was a ton of voice over used here, so much that you begin to actively notice it
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