Lightning doesn't strike.
Season 2 picks up where Season 1 left off with Wuxie and Xiao Bai leaving Warehouse 11 and assembling a team to journey on to Thunder City. At this point Wuxie is desperately ill and it is not clear whether he will survive long enough to get closure on what happened to Wu Sansheng and unravel the secrets of the Thunder God. This season is better paced and more tightly written, avoids the digressions characteristic of Season 1 and comes to a satisfying conclusion. In this journey, Wuxie learns to live life in the present moment and appreciate the people around him rather than chasing mirages.Unlike Season 1, this season is a lot less about the Iron Triangle. Although we see them and their rapport and witty banter remain the most memorable highlights of the drama, this would be more aptly titled Entrourage rather than Reunion. The issue is that too many members of the team that travels to Thunder City only have modestly well developed relationships with Wuxie and/or Xiaobai but are pretty much strangers to each other. So when they are thrown together in suspenseful or dangerous situations, there isn't that very enjoyable natural chemistry or seamless bond that emanates when the Iron Triangle is together. The only execptions are Xiao Bai and Liu Sang and possibly Hei Yanjing so things markedly improved towards the end when all the "extras" get left behind.
The other enjoyable aspect of this season are that we have two very good villains - Boss Jiao and the spy and one excellent grey character Jiang Zisuan. In fact I would say they somewhat stole the limelight in this season. I was particularly impressed by Wu Lipeng's portrayal of Wuxie disguised as Jiang Zisuan. He literally knocks off all of the little mannerisms and micro expressions of Zhu Yilong's Wuxie to a T. However, it goes on for way too long and to the point where it was no longer even logical from a plot point of view. So the season ends with this feeling that Zhu Yilong/Wuxie was missing in action toward the end. This is particularly disappointing because in the final arc, I expect to see the "real" Wuxie cunningly out maneuvre and confront the last villain. Instead, he pretty much just rocks up for the final two "real" episodes. Even though Zhu Yilong/Wuxie returns for that final showdown, it has a hollow and anti-climatic tone to it, as if he is not fully in character.
Although this season progresses at a much better pace without the marked ups and downs of Season 1, I actually still find both Sea King's Tomb arc and Warehouse 11 arc of Season 1 superior to both Thunder City arc and Imperial City arc of Season 2. That is not to say these arcs are not well done, they truly are but they just were not as dangerously thrilling or mythically suspenseful - I did not feel my heart in my throat the way I did in the first arc of Season 1. This is probably because the Iron Triangle is somewhat overshadowed in Season 2 and it is hard to care as much for the entourage cast. I was praying for the Iron Triangle's survival every moment of the Sea King's Tomb arc. That does not happen in any of the Season 2 arcs - in fact if anything it seems a bit too easy. So despite its overall better cadence of storytelling, Season 2 feels like the thunder rolls but lighting doesn't strike. Thus, I rate both seasons a very enjoyable 8.5 for very different reasons. I separately reviewed Season 1 in greater detail.
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Better than season 1
I don't want to add any spoilers to this review so I'll keep it short. I enjoyed this season a lot more than the first, I found it paced a lot better throughout and kept me hooked on each episode, during season 1 I found myself skipping parts. More characters were re introduced back into the storyline and it flowed really nicely. I liked the villains and twists of this season as it always kept you on your toes. I really recommend giving this a go! Out of many of the tv shows in the lost tomb series this ranks up very highly for me!Was this review helpful to you?
Hands down the best DMBJ to date!
Despite the truly disappointing disappearance of an interesting plot line towards the end (which was apparently due to censorship), this series—including season 2–is without a doubt the best DMBJ adaptation so far. The casting and characterization is downright astonishingly good. The decades-long friendship between Wu Xie, Pangzi, and Zhang Qilin feels completely real and much deeper than in any other version I’ve seen. Their chemistry is incredible and all three actors completely embody their characters. Not only is our Iron Triangle brought to life better than any adaptation before or since, but it also gives us the most enjoyable minor characters in any adaptation, too. Liu Sang, Bai Hao Tian, Hou Dao Fu, Wu Erbai... and a great Xie Yuchen and Hei Yan Jing.Seriously. This has literally everything a DMBJ fan could possibly ask for. It is THE superior version.
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This review may contain spoilers
Yeah, best Daomu, for what that's worth.
Most of what I wrote for "season 1" holds for this one too.It's without a doubt the best adaptation of the Daomu Biji series, even a bit more enjoyable than Time Raiders.
This time they really worked on the main characters and they did feel more three dimensional, it genuinely felt like Fatty and Xie had a relationship.
The actors had really good chemistry, almost all of them.
As is quite typical, the actor for Zhang Qiling is stiff as a plank, with about as much acting ability. He's not the worst Kylin there ever was, but it's close.
Newcomers like Bai and Liu Sang were wonderful. This "season" even gave me a drinking scene with drunk Bai, which is a huge plus.
The cast of characters is quite large and unfortunately that means some of them sometimes don't have anything to do, so you get crowds literally standing in the background of many scenes as the main characters do the acting.
But for the most part they really try to give people something to do.
Sometimes it's a bit silly how Shades and Zhang Qiling suddenly disappear, or are somehow held up, so they can't solve the current problem with their superhero fighting abilities. But that's what you have to do when you have characters this powerful. If you want to keep any tension and conflict that is.
The story is a story this time, I wouldn't call it just barebones plot this time. There's set up, there's payoff. They mostly remember to tie off loose ends! (more or less successfully)
There's a mystery that gets solved, explained and is quite clear. This is unusual for Daomu.
There are several villains and all of them have proper motivation and their arcs are resolved by the end. Honestly, from the story standpoint this is shoulders above any of the other Daomu adaptations.
One thing I didn't care for were minor characters who get killed off in oddly unsatisfying ways. There are TWO different girlfriend characters who get fridged pretty much, with one of them being only hinted at surviving at the very end of the show.
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This review may contain spoilers
The best adaption from The Lost Tomb series
So far, this adaptation is the best from all of The Lost Tomb's adaptations.The acting from the actors, especially The Iron Triangle, always on point. Of course, Zhu Yilong and Chen Minghao are senior actors with a lot of experiences but Huang Junjie's acting as Zhang Qiling can compare to them. The chemistry between them make me really love this adaptation's Iron Triangle.
The story in season 2 is more interesting and not draggy than season 1. Full of actions (fyi, the main actors didn't use stuntman for their action), and twists. I feel really satisfied with the ending because we got a "true ending".
For the music, the production team really did a great job. No meaningless bgm.
Overall, I think it will be hard for the next adaption to surpass Reunion.
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Only one thing to say
First off I have to say Zhu Yi Long is incredible. All of the actors were top notch in their roles. Overall great story with some frustrations in my opinion . My only complaints lie within the story and production which I won't get into as I posted them in my review on season 1. In my opinion, Bai Haotian and Chinese censorship ruin this story. Her character would have been perfectly fine if it wasn't obvious that her sole purpose was to throw off bl vibes between Wu Xie and Qiling . Same can really be said for the other female roles as well. It's a little bit annoying that it's clear that was their only use.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Sound of Providence .... Mwaahhh.. Mammamia......
I already watched Reunion: Sound of providence 1 & 2 mutiple times already....I loved it more than the other Lost tomb prequels...
Also the Casting.. Damn!!! Casting was perfect for all the multiple mains...
Everyone gave their best..
But there isn't an open romance between Wuxie and Bai haotian????? WHYYYYYYYYYY?????????
Bai haotian declared that she is interested in Wuxie.. Even Wuxie cares for Xiao Bai.. Then why there isn't any romance between them??? That's my only regret in this.. Otherwise everything was perfect...
If there is a next season, please put the same cast and let Wu xie and xiao bai in love with each other....
Also i would like to watch Fatty raising Xiao mei and Chuchu (who is still alive) with Glasses....
Please let Xiao ge to get close with his fan... TEAM LIU SANG ;) ...
Waiting for the same cast in next season.. Please make my wish come true...
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It's pretty decent, great at places, but one thing was really irritating
I mean, honestly, a lot of people are watching the series because od Zhu Yilong, who played the main lead, Wu Xie.And he is overall an amazing actor and in this drama he is amazing once again.
Now don't get me wrong, the other actors are great or at least good to decent as well, but. You can't just switch the main actor with a supporting character's actor for some 10/15 episodes under the pretense of going under cover as someone else!
It made me so. angry. Just why? Why would you put a completely different actor to play the main role for so many damn episodes that contain a few really emotional scenes that I wanted to see Zhu Yilong play!! I have nothing against the actor who plays in Zhu Yilong's place, but I love Zhu Yilong, he was the main actor in the drama for damn 30 episodes before, than some good 15(?) episodes in the next series and then you put a new face for so many episodes, TOWARDS THE END NO LESS, and expect me to be ok? I'm really disappointed in this aspect.
And not only that, Zhu Yilong had almost no screen time during those episodes, even though he played another character, he was shown few times in some short scenes ( which I loved a lot), but yeah, without him, Fatty, Xiao Bai and Sang were the ones who were holding it up for me (uncle Erjing's actor too), but I missed Zhu Yilong as Wu Xie.
Now all of this is juts testament to how great he was in the role, I definitely recommend watching it, just, you know, be prepared.
In regards to music - I loved it quite a lot. The ending song is soooo beautiful and then there is one more song, that gets played in really sad moments, where the singer sings just some vocals with no words and it just makes you want to cry.
Another great aspect is how horror like it is at places, i personally really enjoyed it, it made it all the more thrilling. :)
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I'm gonna miss this cast
That was my first thought after finishing this season.I liked the previous casts and adaptions, but to be honest I think I liked this cast the most.
In my opinion the drama picked up pace in the second season and we get to see a nice additional character (I fell for the sassy Dao Fu).
Previously supporting characters become main characters which I appreciated a lot as I love this drama for its characters and the teamwork.
The second season continues the story where Season 1 left it. Wu Xie prepares to go search for Thunder City and gathers people to build a team. Now I mentioned in the last review for the previous season that the drama is one of the victims of Chinese censorship and this applies also to this season but overall I think it did get out of it better.
There's one plot hole that is quite obvious and also a bit annoying when you tend to dwell on stuff like that but it does not lead to any lasting consequences which is good enough for me.
The Horror genre misses here for a good reason. Aside from some flashbacks to season 1 in the first three episodes we rarely get to see something scary and the few things are easy to deal with even when you're not into stuff like this.
I liked how the story progressed and I think it wrapped up in a satisfying way. The end is not rushed and well chosen.
The cast stays mostly the same, a few characters go and a few become more important in this season. The acting is good, no complains on my side.
The OST is the same as in the previous season which is totally okay as I really like the songs a lot.
Rewatch value is middle to high. The mystery part is solved once the drama is completed but I would rewatch for the interactions of characters anyway so it would not spoil the fun in a rewatch.
For me this drama was a solid production, not entirely flawless (hence not a 10 rating) but well written and produced with a well-chosen cast. Can definitely recommend.
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Perfect Actors, Perfect Story and Perfect Ending!
The best last tomb season after season 1 with Yang Yang and Ling Yi Feng, Season with Candle in Tomb with Jin Dong.The actors especially Wu Xie, PAng Zi and Zhang Qi Ling very perfect! I like Zhang Qi Ling look more human And he get more line on script. I like the actor who plays Glasses, his style look cool. The ending soundtrack is awesome suitable with the theme.
I am a fan for last tomb series and followed from first until now, indeed Zu Yi Long perfectly can bring Wu Xie character to life! I hope there will be another story with all same cast again!
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ZYL was amazing as Wu Xie, I don't think any subsequent actors can surpass his portrayal now.
I have one issue with season 2 and this happened in the last 6-8 episodes of the series. They had the actor who played ah ling's brother act as Wu xie for 4-5 episodes! It totally ruined those 4 episodes for me, I skipped most of it. Admittedly, I am a big fan of ZYL. I have nothing against the other actor and I think he would have otherwise done a good job, but I just don't think it was wise of the production team to replace the main actor for 4 episodes towards the end of the show. Even in scenes where there was no one around and Wu Xie could have taken his mask off and be played by ZYL, they still had the actor play him. I don't think it was a scheduling conflict and I believe ZYL is fully committed to the production, but a plot device which was a really bad idea.
Happy with the ending though. I'm going to miss the series.
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A few things to say
The story does move at a slower pace than the other shows I’ve watched but overall I loved it the music, acting, was just amazing I’d rewatch it but some of the episodes are a tad bit long but it’s still amazing!A few really good actors in the show the main cast was truly extraordinary, it just starts from we’re season 1 left off and it goes from there the actors did a really good job at making it look as real as possible and making the show definitely worth rewatching some people may have difficulty watching it if they like a fast paced story but it’s still my favorite and it showed me some really good actors/actresses.
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