This review may contain spoilers
Ranty Critique (with time stamps): Villain Wu Huan & Plot Holes
First, I'd like to state that this show is worth watching. Most of the characters are beautifully written and portrayed. The sets and CGI are breathtaking. The romances are interesting and engaging. The sad scenes crush your soul while the friendships make you laugh. However, I'd like to highlight some of the flaws (with examples and timestamps) in detail that other reviewers have been complaining about, namely the plot progression around the main villain, Wu Huan.Wu Huan's character arc is a twisted Cinderella/rags to riches to story. She starts as a lowly phoenix serving girl and becomes the queen of the heavens. This is where her story should've ended, but it doesn't in a strange string of events. Although she had a dark secret of killing the Goddess Yuemi, Wu Huan is the only one (believed to be) alive from the incident for tens of thousands of years. Tianqi, the only person who witnessed the killing, disintegrated into water and petals when Bai Jue stabbed him with his spear (episode 14, 16:08). ** Wu Huan has achieved nearly supreme power as one of the three remaining gods in the Three Realms following the fall of gods. She had nothing to fear. Her position was not endangered, especially after becoming queen. Muguang, her wishy-washy husband/heavenly king, lets Wu Huan do anything she wants. She had no reason to continue down the path of destruction and spark wars until her position might have been threatened when the true gods started returning some 60,000 years later. Her motive to be a villain is extremely weak.
The only good part of Wu Huan is the actress (Jenny Zhang) did a great job. I really enjoyed her expressions and regal appearance despite my confusion the whole time about why her character was so poorly written. Her character's villainy was only possible due to the misuse of powers and plot devices. The two most obvious plot hole problems are: Bai Jue's mind-reading ability and Puhua's Natal Chart viewing room.
In the first episode, Bai Jue demonstrates his mind-reading ability with Shangu. Bai Jue asks if Shangu is sincere in studying with him. Shangu lies and says she is the most sincere while internally mocking Bai Jue. Bai Jue comments on her personal thoughts. Shangu angrily replies: "You used mind-reading on me? How shameless!" (32:20). Bai Jue is unphased and counters: "You say you respect me, but curse me in your heart" (32:27). Bai Jue's flippant use of mind-reading demonstrates both how easy it is to cast plus his views on sincerity and truthfulness. This ability would add to his impartiality which is routinely brought up throughout the drama.
However, Bai Jue /never/ uses the mind-reading ability again in the series. This is particularly irksome regarding the murder of Goddess Yuemi by Wu Huan. In episode 14, Wu Huan returns after accidentally killing Yuemi and tells the Big Lie: "The Demon God killed Goddess Yuemi and used her God blood to fuel the formation" (9:31). Everyone says that's impossible, especially considering Tianqi and Yuemi's relationship. Bai Jue says: "How did Yuemi die? If you lie to me, I won't forgive you" (9:42). From episode one, we know that Bai Jue can use mind-reading abilities without casting and has little reservation in doing so. There is no reason why he couldn't have read her mind and figured out the situation OR at least deduced that she was not telling the whole story.
Considering the circumstances of Wu Huan's faulty testimony to Bai Jue, Bai Jue may have been too focused on the battle and forgot to read her mind. It would be understandable (albeit a little off character).
But there's no excuse for the second plot hole: Puhua's Natal Chart. As explained in episode 4, Puhua, god of matchmaking, has celestial Natal Charts of every being, recording their entire lives. (Puhua's Natal Chart is a plot device that allows ready access to flashbacks.) At the beginning of episode 15, Bai Jue goes by himself to view Tianqi's Natal Chart to figure out why Tianqi wanted to destroy the Three Realms and learns the truth of the Tribulation of Chaos from Tianqi's recording (2:30). Bai Jue could've watched to the end of Natal Chart to figure out how Yuemi died. This was not only something Bai Jue could've done but any mentally strong god or Puhua himself. They could've cross-referenced accounts between Tianqi, Yuemi, and Wu Huan to see the entire event from different perspectives.
The murder of Goddess Yuemi by Wu Huan was an accident, goaded by the already corrupted Goddess of Snow to kill Tianqi. If things had come to light when they should've (by episode 15), Wu Huan would've been lightly punished for being greedy and the Goddess of Snow probably executed/imprisoned for co-masterminding the murder with the devils. I imagine Yuemi's story would've continued in a similar fashion, with Muguang forgiving her and getting together sometime later.
From episode 15, it is clear that the writer is desperate to keep Wu Huan as the budding villain and it doesn't matter if people have the ability or resources to confront her. The rest of the season continues in this fashion. Any time there's an investigation around any of Wu Huan's shady business, the investigation is stalled or poorly covered up. No one reinvestigated Yuemi's murder. No one investigated why the wars with the demons/immortals keep restarting. No one questioned why Wu Huan kept attacking Houchi and her home. No one did a thorough investigation of the Feng Clan genocide (despite Bai Jue knowing it was her but couldn't prove it???). Lord Dong Hua started figuring things out but it was positioned so close to the end to be pointless. It was supposed to be the grand dramatic irony reveal but it was extremely lackluster. But kudos to Muguang for finally attacking Wu Huan in episode 46 (23:13).
The best villain in this series is the first Devil God, Xuanyi. His hate and rage are more than justified. As the True God of Chaos, he did not want to be sacrificed for the Tribulation of Chaos, so he rebelled against the Ancestral God. He is understandable, relatable, and scheming. All he wants is a chance to live -- and to tear down the world that built him to destroy him. If his god bones hadn't been destroyed, I think the Devil God could've returned like the rest of the True Gods.
** Tianqi's Death. There are some inconsistencies here. If you compare how true gods die/dying at the end of the series to this point, the same celestial events do not happen (ex: heavy rains for Tianqi). I'm guessing that this was a change in screenwriting between episodes.
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One of the best dramas out there!
I was impressed by this drama- when you think nothing would be able to top Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms-this gem comes along!The cgi's are great, the costumes are to die for and the scenography is just beautiful! The plot remains strong till the end and all characters are focused upon. The leads are a perfect fit, and there's a character growth in each and every person!
This surely is one of those dramas which will remain close to my heart- All cast needs a round of applause- for they have managed to convey their feelings wholeheartedly! We laughed with them, we cried , we grieved and we pitied the villains!
Kudos to all the crew! <3
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simply the best
If you’re looking for a drama to introduce you to this genre then you should definitely watch this. It is simply one of the best drama in this genre and can definitely compete or beat dramas of other genre such as the “Korean & Japanese drama.” Now, i would like to start with the casting; i truly love this casting, the actors acts like they were born for this role and contrary to the “chinese mainland” ideal actress, the main actress has done nothing but act beautifully, she embodied the beautiful natural face of Chinese. I am saying this because the main actress received a lot of hate for apparently “being ugly” however this main actress won prestigious awards from different acting academe and is recognized by the western audience.Was this review helpful to you?
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A classic slow burn drama
Gosh I wish I could rate this higher because it had so much potential! I've never seen anything from Zhou Dong Yu but this is the drama that made me fall in love with her cute smile! Overall I loved the actors, the story and hated the villains in the best way.What I couldn't do was fully watch the episodes without skipping. It felt like the first 10 episodes were in the Bermuda triangle and the story continued to repeat itself. I got to about episode 37, took a 3 day break and skipped straight to episode 49 and I don't think I missed a thing. And the character names changed so many times I was getting motion sickness.
I would consider this a slow burn fantasy drama that falls within the "3 lives" story except they mainly stay in the heaven realm. It is worth the watch for the actors, I wouldn't recommend it a second time.
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Hooked on Xianxia!
I absolutely loved this Xianxia. The acting was supreme! I have seen most of these actors in other dramas and xianxias. Glad to see so many of them together. Xu Kai, Liu Xue Yi, Leon Lia, Zhou Dong You and many, many, more are great actors.The music was fantastic. The story line went along very smooth. I am not going to say anything about the whole story line, because I want you to watch it for yourself, and enjoy every bit of it. One thing I will say you must pay close attention to the beginning first 4 episodes. I have watched this more than once and I am still fascinated at some of the things that I somehow missed the first 2 times I watched it! Also the Anime is very beautiful. I think that this is a must watch Xianxia!
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You can't miss this drama!
I watched a lot of Zhou Dongyu's plays. She is really cute. I like all her roles very much. In this play, she changed from a carefree little girl to an adult full of grief and pain, which made me cry. I am very sad that the two people have moved from the original congeniality to the alienation behind.This play is really brilliant and dramatic. It makes me have the impulse to watch it all the time. I spent two weeks chasing it. It's really recommended!You can not miss this exquisite xianxia drama!!Was this review helpful to you?
Good Xianxia Drama
It gave me TMOPB vibes. The ML was phenomenal. The chemistry between ML and FL was good. The cast in general did a great job. The storyline was interesting. The plot development was good and tbe CGI isn't too bad. I didnt skip any part of the drama. I would've liked to see FL take care of / show more concern for their son after ML died and she got her memories back ( seeing that the son supposedly looked exactly like the father at that age). Even when ML came back in the end the son was not around. Overall it was a good watch.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The ending ruined everything
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Killing/sacrificing Bai Jue and Shang Gu's reincarnations was a shitty move.
[the reincarnations love story was also much better than the actual couple's]
2. Bai Jue's denying of his love for Shang Gu was supposed to protect her but even after seeing how much it hurt her, he continued.
3. The ending meant that Bai Jue's ''sacrifices'' weren't actually sacrifices and made the whole story useless.
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Okay but not Great!
Some of the settings reminded me of Ten Miles & Ashes of Love. Some of the settings, Ancient Love is better but some environment like the palace, demon realm etc i prefer Ashes of Love. Power effect, fighting skills, outfits i prefer Ashes of Love.When i first watched it i didnt like the female lead for Shanggu. She is afterall the God of Chaos/Chief God, ideally she should look the part. Wu Huan looked more suitable to be the God of Chaos.
Bai Jue is known to be COLD, ignored all females but he developed a little feeling for Shanggu at Ep2. BORING. Too Soon and Too Easy for someone who ignored all females for a long time.
Storyline could be interesting but went off along the way.
Shanggu sacrificed herself to stop the Tribulation of Chaos but it was still on hence Bai Jue's "elaborate" plan to take over Power of Chaos in order to save Shanggu from the next tribulation.
I have a hard time looking at Shanggu romancing with Bai Jue because no offence its like looking at a brother confessing romantic love to his little sister. I feel yek.
It was also boring that a powerful being with the Power of Chaos doesn't show her power much. Finally when she managed to trained and successfully gotten stronger, i was like YESSS then she sacrificed herself and back to square one, a weak Houchi. Even after she absorb the spiritual energy of Pilgrimage Hall, she still did now show much potential. It was boring watching her character. Her acting is good but when shes with Bai Jue, shes the eager beaver smiling playfully like a child. Again to me this is not suitable for God of Chaos, maybe in the beginning but eventually needs to be developed.
She causes trouble trying to do big things but with no capability and ended up causing more harm than good and people have to save her (exp, collecting the 3 relic to help Boxuan).
Gu Jun is impressive, i wish to see more of him in action. His presence, the way he speak, the fear he instill is wow. He is more suited to be the Heaven King instead of weak Muguang.
Tianqi could be impressive but turns out quite disappointing. He could do a lot of interesting damage but hes too busy going around chasing after Shanggu who doesnt want him.
When Tianqi and Yuanqi are together, both of them bantering are so cute.
Wu Huan is pure evil, power hungry and her defeat was somewhat unsatisfying, I would say too easy. Her punishment also somewhat unsatisfying and am also wondering why Jingzhao is allowed to run around free even though she poisoned Bai Jue.
I wouldnt say nono to this series but do watch it, maybe you'll like it more than i do. As for rewatch value definitely no no for me, I cant bare to look at a brother romancing his little sister all over again.
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Story of sacrifice for love
one of the best Chinese drama that i have watched..the first 15 episodes are my favourite... it tells the love story of shanguu and bai jue... really loved the character of tianqi and yuemi ..
but after 15 episodes every emotions in my heart reaches their peaks ...
this drama deserves the line ..''IT IS A COMPLETE ROLLERCOASTER OF EVERY EMOTIONS '' ....
casting and production all are top notch ...even the costumes suites every character and their weapons are looking almighty ...and after all of this this drama has best CGI , i have seen in any c -drama ...
OSTs are main reason which left audience crying ...this drama has all Heart touching OSTs ..
i really love that our couple has a happy ending...
for future viewers - DO NOT HESITATE TO START THIS MASTERPIECE .....
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