A very different take on the genre

This is the first time I’ve ever written a review for a drama (more of a characters analysis and acting appreciation). I don’t even do this for dramas I love, however this is an exception I had to make because certain things had to be said.

I’m going to be honest, I have a hard time being engaged in the fantasy world Cang Yue has created. I was bored out of my mind watching Mirror Twin Cities but kept on because of Zheng Yecheng. Although admittedly, her concepts are definitely refreshing and different from the usual Xianxia/Xuanhuan genre. And watching MTC turned out to be a good idea because it paved the way for me to better understand the world of Yunhuang in TLP.
The Longest Promise is adapted from the novel Zhu Yan by Cang Yue. It is the prequel to MTC and spans a 70 years difference, however some pivotal characters from MTC makes an appearance in TLP (i.e. Su Mo). I have not read the novel but skimmed about the details and understood that the drama stayed pretty faithful to its original source with a few exceptions that I’ll get to later. As everyone is mostly familiar the story I’ll just get right on to the good part:

Xiao Zhan + Ren Min — this is my 3rd XZ drama, first being The Untamed then Oath of Love. I won’t say I was impressed by him in these two dramas, especially The Untamed which funny enough was what brought him international stardom. I felt that his performance was great, but nowhere near excellent, of course this is just my humble opinion. He was also great in Oath of Love, but did not leave much of an impression. Speaking of impression, I actually first noticed him years back (before The Untamed ever came around) from the trailer of the drama The Wolf. I was quite smitten with him just from the snippets in the clip even though I knew he wasn’t the Male Lead. Nevertheless, he definitely caught my eye and I always thought he’ll probably caught someone’s eyes in the future too, and he did because The Untamed happened. Obviously when the filming happened, a lot of people were unimpressed with the introduction of Ren Min as the Female Lead due to the Xiao Zhan’s rising popularity at the time. And indeed, after a 2-years long wait, TLP finally aired. I, like a lot of folks, were skeptical about Ren Min and not only because of her aesthetics but also her acting ability. Master-disciple relationships is a trope that has been done to the death dating back from Jin Yong’s Return of the Condor Heroes. And not just Ren Min, I had worried how Xiao Zhan was going to carry out his role (given that there were some similarities to Gu Wei from OOL) and how they’re going to pull off that tension and chemistry due to the characters’ nature of relationship. But turned out I had worried for not because both leads were amazing. Their loveline is completely different from the usual tropes in these kind of relationships; XZ’s Shi Ying does embody the usual traits with this type of character: handsome, cold and aloof. However this only scratches the surface. Shi Ying is a complex character; he is handsome but humble and unassuming, he is aloof but not cruel, cold but not unkind, and he is this way because of his past tragedies. He is singleminded and devoted to his craft and whatever (or whoever) it is that he chose, and he can be hard and ruthless when he has to be. And just like XZ, RM’s Zhu Yan also embody the usual traits of a spunky heroine, cute and bubbly but thankfully not nauseatingly so, heroic but with a touch a willfulness and stubbornness. She can sometimes grate on one’s nerves with her righteousness but she is not unreasonable and is very understanding. Zhu Yan’s fiery nature and Shi Ying’s cold disposition do make them clash at times, however, underneath it all is always a need to protect one another. Zhu Yan is completely oblivious to her master’s feelings and thus this makes for some humorous moments when they try to get together in the future. As for Shi Ying, due to his decisive nature and devotion to his priesthood, he initially drove her away. However, because of an event later on, he realizes he wants to be with her, but because of many things that happened concurrently, he was never able to fully confess his feelings before tragedy strike.
I can still remember the look of disappointment and hate in Zhu Yan’s face when Shi Ying killed A’Yuan, and the pain in Shi Ying’s eyes when Zhu Yan screamed her hate for him. It broke my heart to see him so hurt, and when she told him that she never wanted to see him again, I think it was the straw that made him choose to end his life. Shi Ying is a type of person that understands responsibilities very well; he does what needs to be done even if it’s the hardest or at times impossible task. He will feel guilt but above all he’s practical. And so I know that even had he killed A’Yuan, he would not choose to end himself because he feels guilt towards Zhu Yan. He did it because he would rather die than live with her hatred. That’s how much he loves her. And this where XZ’s characterization of Shi Ying shines; even teetering on the brink of death, he still has his own selfishness. He stabs himself to allay Zhu Yan’s rage yet he still harbors hope that she’ll miss him and mourn him when he’s gone, thus his “Will you be sad if I died? More sad than when that person died?”. What an acting master.
The chemistry between XZ and RM is very subtle and nuanced at the beginning. Both characters are crushing and unable to express themselves about it. Later, as each comes to terms with their feelings, that subtlety amps up to real romantic tension. It is funny yet also sweet and almost swoon-worthy at how Shi Ying goes about chasing after Zhu Yan, and later as they’re beset by tragedies and misunderstandings, this tension becomes more palpable with pain and longing mixed in and it’s almost beautiful to watch if it’s not so painful. It’s interesting to note TLP shares quite a bit similarities with MTC and not just because they’re in the same universe but also the way the relationship between the leads are handled. Both are plot-heavy dramas with romance indisputably taking a back seat. But that’s where the similarities ended. I could care less about Bai Ying and Su Mo, in fact I shipped her with the Crown Prince Zhen Lan. There were no chemistry whatsoever and I was wholly glad that they barely had any romantic scenes together. Whereas with TLP, I lament that Shi Ying and Zhu Yan did not get to spend much time together especially once everything started happening.
So besides the main leads, most notable mention goes to Alen Feng’s Zhi Yuan. His story arc is just as tragic if no less than the leads. He was such a sweet and gentle soul who fell for a woman that died 200 years ago. He stayed on to fulfill her wish despite his identity as a merfolk. He cared for her descendant Zhu Yan and yet somewhere along the way for him, the lines became blurred. He did his duty to his people and died as a result. In hindsight, I realized Zhu Yan tragically loses both of her beloved one right after the other, twice. The ending was an explosive feast to the eyes in terms of special effects, music, action and most of all the top-notch acting from the 3 leads. I can’t help but go back to XZ at this point, as he unarguably pulled out all the acting chops he’s accumulated in his entire career and spilled it all into this one moment; teetering between demonic possession and love for Zhu Yan, begging her to kill him and ending in a climactic, beautiful and bittersweet farewell for them both. XZ and RM have outdone themselves in this drama. I am completely and emotionally drained from the last episode and though I’m heart-sore, this is a drama that I will come back to because it’s just so beautifully made, from the acting, music, characters, cinematography, and lastly the expensive looking CGI. TLP has definitely set the bar high for CGI in future dramas. And TLP has irrevocably turned me into a XZ fan.

*** Now this where I have to decry the finale a bit. According to the novel, Shi Yu dies, Xue Ying is widowed and pregnant. Shi Ying is heir to the throne however he chooses to pass it on to his future nephew and in turns spend the rest of the remaining years with Zhu Yan elsewhere. As Zhu Yan had sacrificed half her life to resurrect Shi Ying this means their fates are tied, should one die so will the other. I was extremely gutted at the way the drama ended but I will choose to believe Shi Ying truly came back to her. The writers can’t choose to have Zhu Yan sacrificed half her life for Shi Ying just to have him die again for nothing, and as their fates are tied, this is one detail viewers will not overlook. So for me, this is a wide OE even if it’s not outright HE.

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