K-Drama 
The writers once again rely on cheap plot tricks. Most notably, they suddenly transform the up-until-now quite clever and well-informed Baili Wei Sheng into a gullible idiot. They also have nearly completed the transformation of Ten from a street smart punk turned fiercely loyal maid-friend of ZiQing ... into a stupid, gullible henchman of Meng Wan Yue. These character transformations are jarring and totally not believable but of course are apparently necessary for the plot the writers are contrstructing. Other lame tricks are of course keeping Xiao Sheng - a key witness to something important - unconscious so they can drag out the reveal as long as possible. The frustrating thing is that the overall plot they've constructed seems like they could have gotten there without using such cheap, lazy tricks. They could have gotten to the current scenario with consistent characters and fewer coincidental contrivances.
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Finally got the leads committed to each other and even married. It was a legit question whether ZiQing would overcome her reasonable fear of commitment (since if she goes back 'home' she would lose her lover) but she decides to not live with regret and chooses BeiYue with no reservations. This is probably going to be the emotional 'high' point for the series for a while because if this follows typical c-drama arcs, the last 9. episodes will include every possible problem and crisis to try to tear them apart. Overall, a great episode with the only negative is that the writers had to insert a few minutes of the obsessed psychopath Lige in at the very end, just to try to ruin the episode.
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The romantic tension being built in the relationship between Shen Man Qing and Wen Si Yuan is so thick. Both actors. (Deng Yu Li and Zou Ting Wei, respectively) are really delivering fantastic performances. Especially because it has all been built up slowly with subtlety and nuance and not overt romantic events. Both characters have been walking tightropes and forced to stay controlled. But then Shen makes herself so vulnerable, exposing her fragile heart, when the rain puts out the lantern, it's hard not to burst out crying with her. Ironically, amidst an episode where everything else seems to be going in the favor of the bad guys, her actions are low key the only thing that goes against what the bad guys want. Meanwhile, a potential train wreck feels like it is coming in the up & down relationship between ZQC and SYL due to the plot-contrived dichotomy forced upon ZQC between saving SYL's life and his promise to save her master's life. And then there is the inner demon that Zhu Yan is fighting as they seem to be building him out as the cliche' unrequited '3rd wheel' of the relationship. Will the writers send him on a full villain arc?
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MUCH better episode in a long while as we finally got the 4th Prince awake and doing things and he even was able to go and rescue his wife, finally taking some precious screen time from all the annoying side-characters. This episode still featured some epically stupid script sequences, such as the way Chief Meng was absurdly lenient with his rogue offspring. And the weird 'unrequited love' thing that the writers seem to be contriving out of nowhere for maid Ten (fawning over ML) is just bizarre . But we at least got the two leads back on-line and doing things and even getting some cute time together. So overall a big improvement over the last couple episodes.
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This episode once again leans heavily into trying to make us think Lige is a great guy, worthy of sympathizing for. The contrivances by the writers are pretty blatant and annoying. The keep sidelining BeiYue instead of having HIM do things to help save his wife. It's gotten really weird and makes one wonder if something in the nature of the actor's respective contracts is dictating that the Lige character get so much screen time. This episode barely features EITHER ZiQing or BeiYue. ZQ spends her brief appearances running in a jungle and BeiYue spent most of his passed out (with ZQ's maid Ten suddenly eyeing him romantically for some bizarre reason that the writers must want). The vast majority of this episode is spent on other characters, most acting so bizarrely illogical.
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Till the End of the Moon Episode 37
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Not a bad episode. Not a great episode. At this point, the plot is just kinda dragging. The writers have dove all-in on 'misunderstood hero' trope, with everybody blaming him for everything. While he clearly has a plan that requires that. Fine. We get it. Now they are just taking forever to get to the point.
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When is Zuo Qing Ci going to grow up and stop being an immature jerk to Su Yun Luo? And being such a smartass, asking her to marry him in exchange for helping her master was stupid because while it made him happy to hear her say, "yes", it will always be clouded by the question of whether she would have said, "yes" without the condition of helping her master. I do think she likes him legitimately and probably would have said, "Yes", anyway. But it is dumb to make a muddle like that out of a proposal His behavior continues to be that of someone very, very immature about love and romance. Otherwise, while this wasn't a bad episode, it wasn't very exciting one. Mostly this episode was just about the various relationships as they currently sit after the latest battle from last episode. ZQC & SYL, as mentioned, make up and even get engaged. Jing'er and ChanGe seem to be getting closer and the latter swears a blood oath of brotherhood with Zhu Yan. The most intense relationship addressed is Zhu Yan's relationship with his mother/clan master. That does not go well as she coldly pushes him away, trying to keep him out of the coming battles.
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Till the End of the Moon Episode 36
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Ugh. Once again. The "misunderstanding" plot trope. Cang Jiumin gets conveniently drugged and kidnapped by the idiot Nian BaiYu who is incapable of doing basic logic (trying to save his village by helping destroy the world - brilliant). Simultaneously, Di Mian turns traitorous and frames Cang Jiumin for both killing SuSu's adoptive dad as well as stealing the Evil Bone. And of course, because these are the idiots that consider themselves 'enlightened' immortals, they naturally believe the frame job without any questions or investigations whatsoever. And just to re-inforce the plot-trope, SuSu, the only one who doesn't buy into the trope, gets confined to house arrest by the idiot JiWu who has shown that living 500 years doesn't make you smarter or wiser. The whole thing feels like a repeat of the same plot cycle that we've endured multiple times in this show again and again.
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Till the End of the Moon Episode 34
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Feeling pretty mixed about this show at this point. On one hand, the overall arc is fine and the actors are all wonderful and doing a good job. But the plot implementation has really leaned into recycled plot tropes of late and has started to feel like a lot of cheap manipulation. Things like, characters misjudging each other and over-reacting based on lack of or wrong information, key people just 'happen' to be late / missing / in a coma when their presence would resolve drama. Stuff like that. It's all gotten a little tired at this point. I'm also really tired of the fact that (a) people keep spitting up cherry juice / blood every time they stub a toe and (b) no one takes one second to wipe their chin. I feel sometimes like I'm watching a cheap vampire flick.
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Till the End of the Moon Episode 33
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This episode had a lot of good plot content, but the editing was awful and made a mess out of the story. There seems to be some missing scenes and transitions were abrupt and weird at times. The final, closing scene, of a refreshingly healthy, adult conversation between ML & FL was almost shocking in that this seemed abnormal for this series which to this point almost always has avoided clear communication between the leads.
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Episode starts off with ZQC continuing to just 'not get it' and acting like a petulant 13 year old with regard to Su Yun Luo. Sigh. We all have to be patient with him, I guess. Fortunately Su Yun Luo is more mature and tough as nails. Looks like have a 'ship forming between Jing'er and Change. Some very good fight action, though it was strange how Su Yun Luo let herself get captured by Chi Ba's men, just when she started to get an advantage on him when she whipped out One Inch of Yearning.
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Officially the worst episode in the series so far. I'm sorry, but the completely, stupidly contrived way they writers brought Lige back to the same clinic ZiQing was recuperating at was already so bad and stupid. But then they made it worse by totally accommodating Lige's sick, psychopathic obsession to attach himself to the princess BY ATTACHING A PIECE OF HIM TO THE PRINCESS!!! And they did it while she was unconscious and completely unable to consent to this. And her stupid guard and made watched and allowed this to happen? And Doctor Sha broke probably every medical ethical boundary by going along and doing it? This made no sense whatsoever other than to continue the writers relentless obsession with trying to make Lige a sympathetic martyr. The whole event was just obscene to watch, robbing ZQ of her agency to make her own decisions. Disgusting and the writers should be ashamed.The only thing that makes it okay is that when she returns to the modern world that stupid disgusting piece of Lige slobbering all over her face will be left behind.
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Episode took a nose-dive at the very end. This episode started as a improvement over the prior few episodes, as it finally featured more time with ML, who they had sidelined in a coma for, like, forever. But it still is weak because the writers now have sidelined the FL in a coma. Who are the stars of this show? They can't seem to keep both the main characters active in the plot. Worse, the episode took a dramatic nosedive in quality at the end when they had Wei Sheng and Lige show up at the same doctor that ZiQing is recovering at. This is just pathetic plot contrivance and feels worse than cheap. And the amount of screentime being devoted to these side characters is really dragging on the show.
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Till the End of the Moon Episode 24
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Disappointing. This episode was looking great, right up to the point where SuSu once again decides to interfere on Xiao Lin's behalf. This totally sinks the episode because this is a case of the writers leaning heavily into plot-induced-stupidity. It was bad enough that they had SuSu make this mistake once before (with disastrous consequences). But for her to not have learned from that mistake and to be repeating it, is just an inexcusable idiocy that just seems totally contrived out of nowhere. It is insulting to the viewers. This isn't rocket science. SuSu has repeatedly shown she is not stupid. For her to think that Xiao Lin is being 'helped' by getting out of prison is ludicrous. He's far more likely to be killed by stepping out of that cell. So the best way for her to help him is to not do anything. Further, doing stuff like that is taking her ey off her mission. Her mission isn't to save Xiao Lin or to interfere with the politics. Her mission is to keep Tantai Jin alive, have him fall in love with her, and then destroy the evil bone. Nothing else matters.She seemed to have finally understood this and was making great progress and then bizarrely, the writers had her turn into an idiot, just to create a crisis and drama. It felt fake and manipulative (of the viewers).
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Too much Xuanyuan Li Ge in this episode. 'Would have scored this episode higher but the writers seem to have resumed trying to pump the white-haired psychopath's tires up to inflate his 'sympathetic' profile. They keep having him give 'knowing looks' at the FL and flashing his fake smile while also trying to look sad and pitiful. It's pretty stomach turning. And incredibly inappropriate socially for him to keep approaching a married woman the way he does.
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