max2n
This review may contain spoilers
FRUSTRATING!!!!
I actually liked this in the beginning, but it fell through for me from episode 52, and mostly because of the Demon Emperor and Bai Yao Yao. I really thought BYY and Xu Xuan were the most tragic characters in this story, but no, it's the Demon Emperor. And it's the same situation for me as with Ashes of Love and Ruanyu. Both characters did things that were inexcusable, but in the end, it was their fates that led them to those ends. Thing is, if it was the leads with an unfair fate, you know they're more likely to get to their happy ending than other side characters, even less villain characters. But their happy ending with the DE's ending could not make me happy.
I really hate it when they do this to a character, not exactly good but not necessarily the big evil of the world. I know it should count as good writing that even the villain is multi-faceted, but then we have an idiot like Taotie running around through the whole series and only dies out around episode 50 as well, and he was annoying for most of the time he was on screen, only his death made him somewhat sympathetic. But usually, I can accept a villain's death/tragic end no matter how sympathetic I feel towards them because they deserved it by their actions, but I just could not accept it in this case, and it's mostly because of BYY. Everyone in this world made mistakes in one way or another BYY herself made mistakes, and she championed for others who had done the same. But somehow the DE is supposed to be the biggest villain in this story and I just don't see it.
Do people just not know how to talk? How to communicate? HOW TO FREAKING EMPATHIZE!!! If someone other than his subordinates had done that for him, and especially BYY who he actually cared about, then I might have been able to accept it, but her attitude just made me dislike her character.
Even Jin Mi in Ashes of Love had some final words for Ruanyu when she was dying. But then she'd actually known him from the beginning. I didn't even finish that series, but watched a lot of clips that made me stop watching in the first 10 episodes because I knew I'd be hurting at the end for Ruanyu instead of being happy for her and Xu Feng.
Bai Yao Yao was a frustrating character in the beginning. It was understandable that she made mistakes because she didn't understand, having only just transformed into a human. But by around episode 52 when things go head to head with the demon emperor, I just can't like her anymore. She will literally empathize with every other character, no matter what evil they've done or atrocities they've committed, but she was in a position to do something about the Demon Emperor and she had zero empathy. SHE EVEN SHOWS EMPATHY TOWARDS TAOTIE OF ALL CREATURES! The entire time they met him in episode 54, she and Xu Xuan talk about how Taotie got HER into trouble and gave them a hard time, but no talk about the many people that ended up dying thanks to the plague he spread, not to mention the ones he killed personally.
And, when she had the moment to play it smart with the Demon Emperor, she completely threw it. When he, Xu Xuan and Qi Xiao(? I can never remember Ling Chu's reincarnated name) were in the temple and he started the Lotus Fire with his blood and flesh so all three of them could burn, she decided to drain water from West Lake to put out the fire and save Xu Xuan. She was TOLD that it would have consequences for the mortals, but she didn't care. When she could have literally asked the DE to give her his heart so she could stab it, and he likely would have agreed because he was dying anyway, after transferring his fate, and the fate he stole from Qi Xiao to her. In the end, there was a flood in the city, and her stupidity caused the death of many, including the baby of Xu Xuan's older human sister. She caused this knowingly for her own selfishness instead of being a bit crafty with the demon emperor, or at least trying to understand him and his motivations and working a way around it, she chose the selfish route and hurt a lot of people. Many died, others were injured, there were losses. Because demons came out to help, there was understanding with the humans, but I truly don't think it would have lasted THAT long for it to have been a true benefit after all that was sacrificed. (Episode 56.)
Because of this, seeing her beating herself up in guilt afterward, I just didn't care. Because from the beginning (though she did grow to learn better just not enough) Bai Yao Yao and Xiao Qing (green snake) failed to think of the consequences. They thought they would be the only ones affected and so, in the moment, acted impulsively with bravery, but when others were affected/needed to fix their fuckups, they cried and threw tantrums.
The Demon Emperor is just such a tragic character, and I wish he got fleshed out more in the story. Especially his relationship with his brother. In the beginning, we learn that he plans to go against the heavens because of how the demon clan was treated. And it turns out later he and the Heavenly Emperor are twins, but he got the shorter end of the stick because Fate. And I honestly think Fate was the biggest villain in this story (even Taotie and Leng Ning were just annoyances that dragged on for way too long. I was sick of them both by episode 40.) Because of his fate, he had to be tossed to the mortal realm by his brother. Because of fate, he got picked up by BYY beside Zi Xuan so she could nourish his broken soul, causing him to think the love and care she sent toward Zi Xuan was meant for him. It's so obvious that this is a being that didn't know how to love because he was never shown love in his life, and the first time he was, in his 10,000 years of life, he fell in love, but she was in love with someone else. I didn't want him for her, I just wanted him to be happy, or for someone to at least feel some empathy for him in his dying moment. After all the people he killed personally, even Taotie had that. So even the leads having a tragic ending was just fine for me and I hate tragic endings with a passion.
There's so much I could rant about, but I just really hate tragic characters. Because they're never treated well, and never have a good ending, at the end of a story, they're what I think about more than the leads being happy. If the tragic character has to suffer, then let everyone else suffer, too.
As for BYY, I get it's a normal thing. people are hypocritical whether they notice it, or admit it or not. But I hate how there's such a difference between what she says, her principles, what she does, and how she acts.
I really hate it when they do this to a character, not exactly good but not necessarily the big evil of the world. I know it should count as good writing that even the villain is multi-faceted, but then we have an idiot like Taotie running around through the whole series and only dies out around episode 50 as well, and he was annoying for most of the time he was on screen, only his death made him somewhat sympathetic. But usually, I can accept a villain's death/tragic end no matter how sympathetic I feel towards them because they deserved it by their actions, but I just could not accept it in this case, and it's mostly because of BYY. Everyone in this world made mistakes in one way or another BYY herself made mistakes, and she championed for others who had done the same. But somehow the DE is supposed to be the biggest villain in this story and I just don't see it.
Do people just not know how to talk? How to communicate? HOW TO FREAKING EMPATHIZE!!! If someone other than his subordinates had done that for him, and especially BYY who he actually cared about, then I might have been able to accept it, but her attitude just made me dislike her character.
Even Jin Mi in Ashes of Love had some final words for Ruanyu when she was dying. But then she'd actually known him from the beginning. I didn't even finish that series, but watched a lot of clips that made me stop watching in the first 10 episodes because I knew I'd be hurting at the end for Ruanyu instead of being happy for her and Xu Feng.
Bai Yao Yao was a frustrating character in the beginning. It was understandable that she made mistakes because she didn't understand, having only just transformed into a human. But by around episode 52 when things go head to head with the demon emperor, I just can't like her anymore. She will literally empathize with every other character, no matter what evil they've done or atrocities they've committed, but she was in a position to do something about the Demon Emperor and she had zero empathy. SHE EVEN SHOWS EMPATHY TOWARDS TAOTIE OF ALL CREATURES! The entire time they met him in episode 54, she and Xu Xuan talk about how Taotie got HER into trouble and gave them a hard time, but no talk about the many people that ended up dying thanks to the plague he spread, not to mention the ones he killed personally.
And, when she had the moment to play it smart with the Demon Emperor, she completely threw it. When he, Xu Xuan and Qi Xiao(? I can never remember Ling Chu's reincarnated name) were in the temple and he started the Lotus Fire with his blood and flesh so all three of them could burn, she decided to drain water from West Lake to put out the fire and save Xu Xuan. She was TOLD that it would have consequences for the mortals, but she didn't care. When she could have literally asked the DE to give her his heart so she could stab it, and he likely would have agreed because he was dying anyway, after transferring his fate, and the fate he stole from Qi Xiao to her. In the end, there was a flood in the city, and her stupidity caused the death of many, including the baby of Xu Xuan's older human sister. She caused this knowingly for her own selfishness instead of being a bit crafty with the demon emperor, or at least trying to understand him and his motivations and working a way around it, she chose the selfish route and hurt a lot of people. Many died, others were injured, there were losses. Because demons came out to help, there was understanding with the humans, but I truly don't think it would have lasted THAT long for it to have been a true benefit after all that was sacrificed. (Episode 56.)
Because of this, seeing her beating herself up in guilt afterward, I just didn't care. Because from the beginning (though she did grow to learn better just not enough) Bai Yao Yao and Xiao Qing (green snake) failed to think of the consequences. They thought they would be the only ones affected and so, in the moment, acted impulsively with bravery, but when others were affected/needed to fix their fuckups, they cried and threw tantrums.
The Demon Emperor is just such a tragic character, and I wish he got fleshed out more in the story. Especially his relationship with his brother. In the beginning, we learn that he plans to go against the heavens because of how the demon clan was treated. And it turns out later he and the Heavenly Emperor are twins, but he got the shorter end of the stick because Fate. And I honestly think Fate was the biggest villain in this story (even Taotie and Leng Ning were just annoyances that dragged on for way too long. I was sick of them both by episode 40.) Because of his fate, he had to be tossed to the mortal realm by his brother. Because of fate, he got picked up by BYY beside Zi Xuan so she could nourish his broken soul, causing him to think the love and care she sent toward Zi Xuan was meant for him. It's so obvious that this is a being that didn't know how to love because he was never shown love in his life, and the first time he was, in his 10,000 years of life, he fell in love, but she was in love with someone else. I didn't want him for her, I just wanted him to be happy, or for someone to at least feel some empathy for him in his dying moment. After all the people he killed personally, even Taotie had that. So even the leads having a tragic ending was just fine for me and I hate tragic endings with a passion.
There's so much I could rant about, but I just really hate tragic characters. Because they're never treated well, and never have a good ending, at the end of a story, they're what I think about more than the leads being happy. If the tragic character has to suffer, then let everyone else suffer, too.
As for BYY, I get it's a normal thing. people are hypocritical whether they notice it, or admit it or not. But I hate how there's such a difference between what she says, her principles, what she does, and how she acts.
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