Moonstruck

Yes, I'm not BJS apologist but in a few days I'm pretty sure we'll see more of what happened to him in the past as well, and then we'll also cry for him.
I'm hoping the child can be revived, that book about immortal devices can be a clue. The two 'drunk' masters also seem to be key characters.

I was the opposite, I didn't even read the plot before watching. I clicked because I thought the ML looks glorious with that silver hair.hahaha
I was partially disappointed in the beginning because I thought it was cliche. I thought is was as simple as the bubbly naive girl who fell in love with a deity who cannot let go of his past love. I thought that is where the angst will be from. Happy to be wrong 😆

Likewise, but often I use the trending list to check which one to pick as there are simply too many cdrama option haha
For me what also sparks interest is when the reviews are polarizing, like a lot of 10s and a lot 1s (specially when red flags are mentioned cause I know then it's gonna be good lol).

The rewatch value is really high, I'm already excited to rewind it and see all the hints we missed.
Although the truth between the maincouple is already half revealed, I think there are still many characters that are suspicious.

He didn't kill him literally. She meant that it's his fault he died because he abandoned them. Plus he unknowingly prevented the child from being revived.

I don't care what the MDL ratings says, I LOVE this story!
It's been soooo long since I was this invested in a series (last one was when Lighter&Princess was airing) and I've been disappointed by many other dramas in between, even the high rated ones.
This story is really well written, with the emotions it's draws out on me, I'm putting it with TMOPB and AOL which are my classics. I also like how it is unique in itself, there's like an inside joke within the episodes whenever they break usual xianxia cliche plot.

I do not interpret him talking about the will of Heaven and nature running it's course as far-sighted or righteousness in a positive way. Specially not righteous in the human moral compass. These Deities are not meant to be viewed as all knowing Biblical God, they are more like the Greek Gods who have their own set of faults.
What he was in that first descent, was nothing. He felt nothing for the mortals, neither love nor hate, nor any sense of righteousness or justice for them. He didn't want to interact with them, mortals were like ants and NPCs to him.
I think this was highlighted when HRY said he was just there to make money while she goes out of her way to help others.
In that sense, how is he far sighted, he does not even understand the way of life of mortals. He was ignorant of many things.

That desert scene where he talked about the Divine will and HRY being reckless, I think it was brilliant. They were born as a pair of opposing energy, yin and yang that are meant to always co-exist and balance each other. I think that scene highlighted their extremist opposing beliefs. You say BJS was far-sighted, I can understand how you interpret it so as he talked about the Universe and the big picture. But again, I will not necessarily categorize this as a positive trait. He only sees the big picture and would not compromise.
And then HRY, on the other end has myopic view, who also would not compromise. Like why she has to directly kill the dragon. She could not see past her emotions, what her eyes see and what she experienced.

I think they have been consistent with their characters, BJS as I wrote in my comment above was the same the 2nd time, but he went thru some character development along the way.

HRY was also the same, she's still wearing her heart on her sleeve and her myopic views. See how focued she was with her pain and how obsessed with killing BJS. She only seemed calmed about the Songhe county events because she knows it's illusion. Had that been real, pretty sure she'll be acting 'reckless' again.
I believe in the later part, it will be HRY who will go thru some character development also, once she sees BJS's side of the story.

I think that is the running characterization plot. By the end, they will attain internal balance. They would be 'complete' individually. Perhaps that is the real tribulation goal for them.

I've noticed this shift in Cdramas too. I think it has a lot to do with the shorter format. Previously, specially with Xianxias, it takes like 10+ episodes to get to the main point of the story. These days they do hook you right off the bat, it's now a matter of how skilled the scriptwriter is to keep you watching.
They did so well with this one, it actually felt like they were trolling the haters in advance.
The first premise was really so typical done 100x over plot, they threw as many cliche as they can in that 1st episode (cold ml, bubbly fl, demon cannot be with lover, rigid sect elders, silly naive fl who propose just because of an accidental kiss, etc etc). But they knew how to hook you enough with the mystery part. I love it so far, brilliant writing the way they paced each reveal.

Yes, the poster and synopsis doesn't give it justice.

That's why I like this drama because it makes you think and reflect on your own values.
Is inaction to do good considered bad?
It's still very much a dilemma in real life. I agree that BJS's initial indifference is extreme. On the other hand, you can't save everyone from suffering like what HRY tried to do.

Ofcourse you're totally entitled to your own interpretation, however I personally do not see any inconsistencies.
In their first descent, I don't think BJS was portrayed as righteous or far-sighted at all, he was simply detached and indifferent. We also didn't get to see him interact with many mortals because he didn't want to. He was neither good nor bad to them, only there for HRY and their love tribulation.
He was the same the 2nd time.
The only difference is this time HRY is basically manipulating him into a forced immersion.
He's also making conscious effort to connect with the mortals as he could see this is a way to gain HRY's favor back. But as time progress, he became genuinely empathic to them.

hmm, we still yet to see in the upcoming eps but for now I am of the opinion that BJS made a good decision given their circumstances that time. It was specifically mentioned she needs to be summoned to Empyrean for heavy punishment, I am quite sure he took that for her. Maybe he shld have told her, but I'm guessing he knows there's no way she'll allow him to take the fall. Classic 'I'm gonna protect you even if you hate me' martyrdom.
That 'child' is doomed from the start, there no way both she and the child will survive had she taken the punishment given her already weak state.
BJS thought (as also confirmed) that she'll be okay for 10yrs given their mortal wealth. His fault is he really didn't understand what could possibly go wrong. And also considering the time conversion, 10yrs is 10days in Heaven. If he was imprisoned or tortured in that time, there's really no way to check on her.
He made no acknowledgement of his own suffering and simply wanted her to be happy and resume their immortal life together.
I can understand how horrible that must have felt on HRY pov, but it was equally so for BJS.
Maybe even double for him,imagine being tortured up until few days back for someone, only for her to kill you the moment she came back, with no explanation whatsoever.

Gotta commend the scriptwriter and director for not heavily pushing a 2nd couple plot, and also there are no unnecessary comedic scenes like in usual Xianxia.
I guess this is the only upside of dramas being condensed to 30+ episodes these days.

They are so YeHua and BaiQian coded (TMOPB).
HRY is so loud with her pain and suffering, whereas BJS carries his in silence.
I love the angst, he will cry when he finds out what really happened in those 10yrs. But I think in the last arc, it will be her time to cry and regret once it's revealed what he also went thru for her.

I think the underlying theme is really Ying and Yang as they were born. And their extremist beliefs also reflects this. They basically always need to coexist to balance each other out.
I believe their real tribulation is to attain inner balance within each other. That is the divine will for them.

It's PG13 but we have several scenes where they obviously share a bed. It could be an 'accidental' baby.

In my opinion, they are both extremist in their beliefs. A true Ying and Yang as how they were born.
HRY although noble with her cause is not free from fault. She has myopic view on things she felt attached to and very emotion driven.
Her idealistic view is contradicting as in the microcosm, no action is universally good.
BJS believes in karmic fate and simply won't lift a finger to go against the 'divine will'. But if someone who is capable of preventing bad things from happening choose not to, is he considered 'bad' or simply 'not good'?
It raises a lot of deep thoughts on what are the purpose of higher beings. That desert scene where they were discussing these ideas was really well done.

I believe in the end they will both manage their extremist nature and be balanced individually. I think this is their real tribulation.

I keep thinking about this drama, It's been a while since I've watched a xianxia with unique and intriguing plot. Often the plot becomes convoluted or cringe that it's not fun theorizing or making sense of what is happening anymore.
It's a cerebral drama, one that makes you think of the mystery unfolding and the motivations of the characters, and reflecting on your own moral stand on who is wrong or right. Not just a drama where you gush over how handsome the ML is or how romantic or cute the scenes are.
Reminds me a bit of the time Ashes of Love was airing, I loved the deep character and event analysis discussions that came out of that.

This is true. Often it's great to just blindly start a series without reading reviews. This way you can form opinions that are entirely your own.
Our brain subconsciously looks for what we read as reviews before. The negatives becomes so magnified, while the positives becomes unmet expectations.

If it's true that it's all an illusion, I think she manifested him based on her dream on how BJS should have been ( a loving and selfless husband).