IdealLifeDreamRealm
This review may contain spoilers
Difficult Choices made in the name of Love & Protection
What is worth memorable for me after watching this drama is the love story of the second main couple, A Fu Jun & Luo Ning. However, I do badly wish the story of A Fu & Luo Ning was written out differently with slight modifications, and given a happy ending. In addition, the way the main male lead (immortal Luo Ge) falls for the main female lead ( mortal Liu Shao) all over again after he ascends to an immortal is also worth memorable.
One thing about this drama is true for sure: This drama lacks a proper well fleshed-out plot. This drama lacks a proper story. The storyline is hazy, confusing --- not coherent or organic.
The only good thing is: the story gets quite fast-paced towards the middle ( the in-between eps,18-35) .
However, the problem is the story writers of this drama really know how to confuse the audience by churning the plot into an entertaining, spicy masala story with dissatisfactory endings. The director really knows how to confuse the audience and get themselves tangled in myriad emotions such that, in the end, one is left wondering with questions like "what the hell is happening? " & " this is not how I expected it'd turn out"...
However, this drama really deviates from the usual stereotypes shown in the xianxia dramas so far. That's the unique factor of this drama.
The feel-good aspects of this drama:
1) the beautiful osts, especially two of the osts sung by Zhang Bin Bin ("If there's a prophet " & "Half-hearted"), and " Month by Month" Intro ost
2) beautiful, handsome actors with excellent acting skills: Zhang Bin Bin's acting and looks in costume as both Luo Ge, moon god & evil spirit is really sexy. His acting skills is the best out of all other actors in this drama. Only the actor who portrayed character He Na, Wang You Shou matched Zhang Bin Bin's skill levels in terms of both looks & acting.
3) in-between thrilling, enjoyable, entertaining developments in the love stories of all main couples, and engaging action scenes (especially in episode 40).
4) the thrill of watching the main leads duel each other
5) good duel scenes such as duels & fights in which all major characters get involved in the desert-like great wilderness battle scene clip, the fight scenes in ep 40.
Leaving all the above factors aside, both the endings (Liu Shao's chapter & Luo Ge's chapter), left my hurt crushed with disappointment. Yes, there were likeable aspects in both episodes such as the female lead sacrificing for the male lead in ep 39 & the coming together of all main couples in episode 40. So, personally, episode 40 was more satisfactory to watch. But there was no killing of the male lead in episode 39, so from that viewpoint, ep 39 satisfied me. In the end, it is confusing for me to decide which ending to choose because both endings felt highly incomplete. In episode 40, Liu Shao seems to be someone who survived, and roaming the mortal world as an immortal, and she happens to meet Luo Ge, A Fu and Luo Ning. Yet, it seems all of them except Liu Shao, have turned into mortals and living ordinary lives ( which is not what I expect in a xianxia drama). Both endings were disappointing. The only good event in episode 40 seems to be the reunion of immortal Liu Shao and Luo Ge( who could be mortal/immortal? Not sure) which isn't explicitly conveyed.
There are several flaws in the story of this drama which left me grievously disappointed. Firstly, the story was unique, different, refreshing till ep 36, but towards the end, the plot progression became so convoluted that viewers will be left puzzled. In episode 40 especially, the viewer will be wondering whether Liu Shao time traveled and came back with her sun spirit unsealed, to fight the evil spirit ( because in there, the plot progressed uptill that point in such a way as to leave viewers wonder whether the story has suddenly merged with Liu Shao's chapter in episode 39 ) or whether it portrays another alternate ending altogether.
Another big blunder in the plot progression is the marriage of one of the main leads to his brother's wife. Honestly, couldn't understand why the writers would complicate things between the next main couple (A Fu-Luo Ning couple) that way. Of course, the bride abduction by A Fu Jun & the forced marriage scenes compensated for that blunder in the storyline, because all the clips & scenes related to those two events were really entertaining to watch --- something that I've never come across in other Xianxia dramas so far. Yet the director, and storywriters again played spoilt sport by coming up with a sad ending for the second main lead couple (A Fu Jun-Luo Ning). If it were a happy ending, I'd have tolerated the introduction of 'the brother's fake marriage to one's bride' idea. The only thing consoling for me is that this couple at least died together without killing each other ( this is one aspect of episode 40 that I love) unlike the main couple.
Yet another big blunder is designing an attractive darker version of moon god character only to kill him off in the end. In the drama, the evil spirit doesn't behave truly like a typical evil being. It has an obsession for Liu Shao, prefers straightforward fights with its enemies and even gives its enemies time to prepare to scheme against him! Now, this was really funny. This evil thing seemed to be designed more like a sophisticated, borderline person with psychosis or split personality disorder. For such a character, I'd have prefered an alternate ending where the dark part of moon god's heart integrates with the light, good part of moon god's heart(who's Luo Ge) in a wholesome, positive way where both parts of the heart of moon god decide to arrive at a compromise, and get a happy ending with Liu Shao. Afterall, both are affected by Liu Shao. Even the so-called evil spirit ( dark version of moon god's heart) didn't chose to eliminate Liu Shao though she kept attacking & hurting him with her bunch of immortal friends. Even when the evil spirit was in its angriest moments, it only hurt her hand, and didn't kill her off while she went into sleeping mode to recover. So, why not unify both the light & dark parts of the heart of moon god and give this new being favourable traits of the evil spirit & favourable traits of Luo Ge just like "venom" Character in Hollywood's marvel franchise movies?
And a happy ending could've been given to this newly integrated version of moon god & Liu Shao. It'd have been better for the drama as a whole. Afterall, the chemistry between Liu Shao & the evil spirit was quite spicy, entertaining to watch. And the evil spirit even utters a monologue in episode 40 when it gets puzzled by Liu Shao's rejection. This was another flaw. The dark version of moon god/evil spirit isn't portrayed as completely evil. It still spares Liu Shao, and likes the feisty side of her whereas if it were really cold & evil, it should be focusing on how to eliminate this weakness of its host, Luo Ge. So, I felt this was another major flaw in the drama where the evil spirit was designed more like an anti-hero & given a bad ending. It's hard to stay detached from a character who doesn't completely behave like a true psycho-evil, but more like an anti-hero with borderline psychosis. Such a character will only appear more unique, appealing ( especially the way the dark version of moon god was portrayed in the drama) .
In all, I would've loved to see a completely satisfactory, fulfilling happy endings for:
1) A Fu Jun-Luo Ning couple ( where they don't lose their immortal powers & live like ordinary people or die & disappear)
2)the immortal Luo Ge and Liu Shao couple ( where both the bad & good parts of the moon god's personalities reach a compromise within Luo Ge's mind or heart), and thus the evil spirit turns into an anti-hero immortal Luo Ge & he & Liu Shao gets a happy ending.
But both of these never happened. What's worse, no other satisfactory alternate endings were written for these two couples which felt COMPLETE, SATISFACTORY.
The only satisfactory ending was the one designed for character, He Na in episode 40. I didn't like the ending for He Na in ep 39 which I found disastrous because it seemed to take all attention away from the main couple, and instead seemed to put the limelight on the chemistry between the main female lead & He Na. For a moment there, you might wonder whether Liu Shao-He Na is the main couple /main leads because He Na's poignant dialogues in his dying moments in ep 39 are so heartbreaking to watch, and one gets to sense the potential chemistry between him and Liu Shao.
To sum up, Overall, the episodes that focused on the mortal world were downright boring. And there is very little logic in this drama. It beats the logic of even xianxia dramas. Every event is made convoluted, dialogues made contradictory --- especially from ep 38. If the endings of all the main couples were happy in a satisfactory manner, I will definitely be willing to accept, enjoy even the illogical aspects of the story, but, unfortunately, that was not the case. In the end, there were interesting twists and turns in the story which made most episodes from 17-40 entertaining to watch, but the dissatisfactory endings didn't make watching the last five episodes that fulfilling.
The only episodes worth watching are the episodes that focus on the deepening of love between all main couples after they start living in the immortal world --- maybe from episodes 17-35. Uptill ep 35, the plot of this drama had lot of potential --- it was going strong (even without logic it is interesting & worth a re-watch). Each episode from ep 17 till episode 35 brought pleasant surprises --- not nasty ones.
I especially enjoyed watching the progress of the love story between the main leads after Luo Ge left his mortal life as Lu Li forever. The love story of the main leads gets more poetic and more intense after that. However, I didn't like the look of the wedding costumes of the main leads. They both looked like modified versions of santa clause, all dressed up for Christmas.
Lastly, I enjoyed the progression of the love story of the second main couple, A Fu Jun & Luo Ning ( Luo Ge's sister) till episode 35. Things go downhill from ep 36. At least, their ending, though not completely satisfactory to me ( because I love this couple the most), at least, it made sense and was beautiful, poetic.
Also, I found A Fu Jun character truly designed to be behaving like a main lead at many crucial points in the story, and Luo Ning behaving like a main female lead befitting the xianxia genre at many crucial points in the plot progression of this story. Their love story is sweet, simple, classy to watch. A Fu Jun reminded me of Dong Fang Qing Cang of Cang Lan Jue Xianxia novel. The only thing missing was a happy ending for them. Their story itself could've been made into another drama worth a happy ending.
As for the main leads, I really love their 'lantern floating scenes & dialogues' in episode 27 & ep 39, especially in ep 27. Immortal Luo Ge & mortal Liu shao's interactions felt magical to me as a viewer, while watching the 'flying the wish lantern scene' in ep 27.
One thing about this drama is true for sure: This drama lacks a proper well fleshed-out plot. This drama lacks a proper story. The storyline is hazy, confusing --- not coherent or organic.
The only good thing is: the story gets quite fast-paced towards the middle ( the in-between eps,18-35) .
However, the problem is the story writers of this drama really know how to confuse the audience by churning the plot into an entertaining, spicy masala story with dissatisfactory endings. The director really knows how to confuse the audience and get themselves tangled in myriad emotions such that, in the end, one is left wondering with questions like "what the hell is happening? " & " this is not how I expected it'd turn out"...
However, this drama really deviates from the usual stereotypes shown in the xianxia dramas so far. That's the unique factor of this drama.
The feel-good aspects of this drama:
1) the beautiful osts, especially two of the osts sung by Zhang Bin Bin ("If there's a prophet " & "Half-hearted"), and " Month by Month" Intro ost
2) beautiful, handsome actors with excellent acting skills: Zhang Bin Bin's acting and looks in costume as both Luo Ge, moon god & evil spirit is really sexy. His acting skills is the best out of all other actors in this drama. Only the actor who portrayed character He Na, Wang You Shou matched Zhang Bin Bin's skill levels in terms of both looks & acting.
3) in-between thrilling, enjoyable, entertaining developments in the love stories of all main couples, and engaging action scenes (especially in episode 40).
4) the thrill of watching the main leads duel each other
5) good duel scenes such as duels & fights in which all major characters get involved in the desert-like great wilderness battle scene clip, the fight scenes in ep 40.
Leaving all the above factors aside, both the endings (Liu Shao's chapter & Luo Ge's chapter), left my hurt crushed with disappointment. Yes, there were likeable aspects in both episodes such as the female lead sacrificing for the male lead in ep 39 & the coming together of all main couples in episode 40. So, personally, episode 40 was more satisfactory to watch. But there was no killing of the male lead in episode 39, so from that viewpoint, ep 39 satisfied me. In the end, it is confusing for me to decide which ending to choose because both endings felt highly incomplete. In episode 40, Liu Shao seems to be someone who survived, and roaming the mortal world as an immortal, and she happens to meet Luo Ge, A Fu and Luo Ning. Yet, it seems all of them except Liu Shao, have turned into mortals and living ordinary lives ( which is not what I expect in a xianxia drama). Both endings were disappointing. The only good event in episode 40 seems to be the reunion of immortal Liu Shao and Luo Ge( who could be mortal/immortal? Not sure) which isn't explicitly conveyed.
There are several flaws in the story of this drama which left me grievously disappointed. Firstly, the story was unique, different, refreshing till ep 36, but towards the end, the plot progression became so convoluted that viewers will be left puzzled. In episode 40 especially, the viewer will be wondering whether Liu Shao time traveled and came back with her sun spirit unsealed, to fight the evil spirit ( because in there, the plot progressed uptill that point in such a way as to leave viewers wonder whether the story has suddenly merged with Liu Shao's chapter in episode 39 ) or whether it portrays another alternate ending altogether.
Another big blunder in the plot progression is the marriage of one of the main leads to his brother's wife. Honestly, couldn't understand why the writers would complicate things between the next main couple (A Fu-Luo Ning couple) that way. Of course, the bride abduction by A Fu Jun & the forced marriage scenes compensated for that blunder in the storyline, because all the clips & scenes related to those two events were really entertaining to watch --- something that I've never come across in other Xianxia dramas so far. Yet the director, and storywriters again played spoilt sport by coming up with a sad ending for the second main lead couple (A Fu Jun-Luo Ning). If it were a happy ending, I'd have tolerated the introduction of 'the brother's fake marriage to one's bride' idea. The only thing consoling for me is that this couple at least died together without killing each other ( this is one aspect of episode 40 that I love) unlike the main couple.
Yet another big blunder is designing an attractive darker version of moon god character only to kill him off in the end. In the drama, the evil spirit doesn't behave truly like a typical evil being. It has an obsession for Liu Shao, prefers straightforward fights with its enemies and even gives its enemies time to prepare to scheme against him! Now, this was really funny. This evil thing seemed to be designed more like a sophisticated, borderline person with psychosis or split personality disorder. For such a character, I'd have prefered an alternate ending where the dark part of moon god's heart integrates with the light, good part of moon god's heart(who's Luo Ge) in a wholesome, positive way where both parts of the heart of moon god decide to arrive at a compromise, and get a happy ending with Liu Shao. Afterall, both are affected by Liu Shao. Even the so-called evil spirit ( dark version of moon god's heart) didn't chose to eliminate Liu Shao though she kept attacking & hurting him with her bunch of immortal friends. Even when the evil spirit was in its angriest moments, it only hurt her hand, and didn't kill her off while she went into sleeping mode to recover. So, why not unify both the light & dark parts of the heart of moon god and give this new being favourable traits of the evil spirit & favourable traits of Luo Ge just like "venom" Character in Hollywood's marvel franchise movies?
And a happy ending could've been given to this newly integrated version of moon god & Liu Shao. It'd have been better for the drama as a whole. Afterall, the chemistry between Liu Shao & the evil spirit was quite spicy, entertaining to watch. And the evil spirit even utters a monologue in episode 40 when it gets puzzled by Liu Shao's rejection. This was another flaw. The dark version of moon god/evil spirit isn't portrayed as completely evil. It still spares Liu Shao, and likes the feisty side of her whereas if it were really cold & evil, it should be focusing on how to eliminate this weakness of its host, Luo Ge. So, I felt this was another major flaw in the drama where the evil spirit was designed more like an anti-hero & given a bad ending. It's hard to stay detached from a character who doesn't completely behave like a true psycho-evil, but more like an anti-hero with borderline psychosis. Such a character will only appear more unique, appealing ( especially the way the dark version of moon god was portrayed in the drama) .
In all, I would've loved to see a completely satisfactory, fulfilling happy endings for:
1) A Fu Jun-Luo Ning couple ( where they don't lose their immortal powers & live like ordinary people or die & disappear)
2)the immortal Luo Ge and Liu Shao couple ( where both the bad & good parts of the moon god's personalities reach a compromise within Luo Ge's mind or heart), and thus the evil spirit turns into an anti-hero immortal Luo Ge & he & Liu Shao gets a happy ending.
But both of these never happened. What's worse, no other satisfactory alternate endings were written for these two couples which felt COMPLETE, SATISFACTORY.
The only satisfactory ending was the one designed for character, He Na in episode 40. I didn't like the ending for He Na in ep 39 which I found disastrous because it seemed to take all attention away from the main couple, and instead seemed to put the limelight on the chemistry between the main female lead & He Na. For a moment there, you might wonder whether Liu Shao-He Na is the main couple /main leads because He Na's poignant dialogues in his dying moments in ep 39 are so heartbreaking to watch, and one gets to sense the potential chemistry between him and Liu Shao.
To sum up, Overall, the episodes that focused on the mortal world were downright boring. And there is very little logic in this drama. It beats the logic of even xianxia dramas. Every event is made convoluted, dialogues made contradictory --- especially from ep 38. If the endings of all the main couples were happy in a satisfactory manner, I will definitely be willing to accept, enjoy even the illogical aspects of the story, but, unfortunately, that was not the case. In the end, there were interesting twists and turns in the story which made most episodes from 17-40 entertaining to watch, but the dissatisfactory endings didn't make watching the last five episodes that fulfilling.
The only episodes worth watching are the episodes that focus on the deepening of love between all main couples after they start living in the immortal world --- maybe from episodes 17-35. Uptill ep 35, the plot of this drama had lot of potential --- it was going strong (even without logic it is interesting & worth a re-watch). Each episode from ep 17 till episode 35 brought pleasant surprises --- not nasty ones.
I especially enjoyed watching the progress of the love story between the main leads after Luo Ge left his mortal life as Lu Li forever. The love story of the main leads gets more poetic and more intense after that. However, I didn't like the look of the wedding costumes of the main leads. They both looked like modified versions of santa clause, all dressed up for Christmas.
Lastly, I enjoyed the progression of the love story of the second main couple, A Fu Jun & Luo Ning ( Luo Ge's sister) till episode 35. Things go downhill from ep 36. At least, their ending, though not completely satisfactory to me ( because I love this couple the most), at least, it made sense and was beautiful, poetic.
Also, I found A Fu Jun character truly designed to be behaving like a main lead at many crucial points in the story, and Luo Ning behaving like a main female lead befitting the xianxia genre at many crucial points in the plot progression of this story. Their love story is sweet, simple, classy to watch. A Fu Jun reminded me of Dong Fang Qing Cang of Cang Lan Jue Xianxia novel. The only thing missing was a happy ending for them. Their story itself could've been made into another drama worth a happy ending.
As for the main leads, I really love their 'lantern floating scenes & dialogues' in episode 27 & ep 39, especially in ep 27. Immortal Luo Ge & mortal Liu shao's interactions felt magical to me as a viewer, while watching the 'flying the wish lantern scene' in ep 27.
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