Worth a watch.

I've been a fan of Gu Man adaptations but what really pushed me to watch this was Yang Mi. Fresh off Eternal Love I've been looking for something to sate my appetite for both Yang Mi and Mark Chao and this didn't disappoint. HXM was also a bonus (as I did find him quite dreamy in Cruel Romance...which is quite strange for a self proclaimed feminist, he was quite overpowering in CR tbh but I couldn't resist) This review is purely for the film as I've not actually seen the drama

In terms of the story, this is quite fateful to the source (I'm reliably informed) so I have no complaints there. Kept me glued despite the frequent choppy editing (whoever they hired to edit this need to seriously up their skills as despite beautiful cinematography and framework, the way the scene's were cut and transitioned felt jarring) Despite that little gripe this second-chance -at-love story really resonated and made me ache for both the main characters. I really hope we get more Gu Man adaptations as I'm absolutely in love with her stories.

Acting was great...Yang Mi can really deliver, I love that she's beautiful AND can act, no wonder she's so in demand. I'm looking forward to seeing more from her. You can feel her character's emotions and her chemistry with HXM was spot on. HXM surprised me by his performance, man can emote well. Gone was the sometimes wooden acting from CR. I love him even more now.

Music was beautiful, I loved the main song (the one in the hospital and shower scene) anyone please put me out of my misery as I really want to know the name of this song. If I had to say anything negative, it was that the upload I watched had a weird carnival music playing in the background? It was disconcerting...

I would definitely want to watch this again, not for a while but yes worth a watch now and will be again I'm sure.

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I remember as a young girl watching Chinese historical dramas and thinking how ridiculous it all was, the over acting, the improbable flying martial arts, the bad wigs and costumes, I don't know specifically which they were but that was a general impression I got when my aunt would put it on the TV on weekends. So with that bias I tended to avoid Historical drama as a rule and Chinese Melodrama as I also remember thinking they never ever get a happy ending. Someone always dies. The only Asian output I consistently watched was Anime/Manga. And as an Asian living in the West I never got the appeal of pretty Asian boys/men (My taste ran more towards the cerebral Benedict Cumberbatch and the divine Tom Hardy), hence I surprised myself with this new obsession.

But that all changed when I came across this drama. I know this with certainty...this has the potential to be a successful crossover, Netflix get on that please! If there was ever a content you have to hammer out of China, this is it, right here.

This drama...Kdrama fans don't be intimidated by the 58 episode length, honestly by the time you watch the last episode you will think that its too short and will wonder how you're going to fill your time now?

Story: The synopsis on this does not do it justice and despite all the controversies regarding the original Author and the allegations and law suits with regards to plagiarism this does not detract from how creatively the script writer and director did an amazing job on translating this ethereal story into something amazing on screen. The world building alone was masterfully done.
This fantasy revolves around the story of Bai Qian, an Immortal Fox Goddess/Queen and her trials and tribulations in the framework of the Mortal and Immortal realm. The drama can be split in 3 arcs. First we see her as a young fox princess maturing and getting tangled up in a Holy war and her feelings for 2 different men on 2 different sides. Then her Mortal trial and getting tangled up and falling for Ye Hua and her suffering because of it. Lastly balancing it all out is her journey as a fully grown High God and falling in love with Ye Hua as an equal. So this is a story of her growth and those around her.
But this is also a story of enduring, sometimes obsessive, and faithful love from the whole cast of characters. It will fill you with hope and heartache and you definitely will not want it to end (and the fact that everyone is pretty much immortal does give one hope that there is more to this story).

Production values of this drama is quite high, although there are sometimes bad CGI you end up overlooking it as they are only set dressing for this amazing story. Costumes were amazing and well thought out and the way the it shot and edited was top notch, even the comedic bits felt organic and well timed.

Acting/Cast: Perfectly cast and acted. Massive kudos to everyone involved in this as every single character shone and shone brilliantly, even the most reviled characters. Acting was never ever an issue and whoever made the final call on casting must be praised. Yang Mi and Yu Alan (Fourth Bro) even look like Fox deities (its the long facial structure I think) Yang Mi was a marvel playing 3 different and distinct versions of the same person. She made Bai Qian a character that you can fall for. Unlike in some dramas I care not to name you can see why 3 different and distinctly marvelous men can fall for her. Her chemistry with Mark Zhao (Ye Hua) is sizzling. Off the charts. Enough that I wish they were dating IRL (but alas, both married to other people). There's enough kissing in this drama for one to be annoyed with other drama for their lack.
Speaking of Ye Hua, I'm sure i'm not the only one who fell for him too. I cannot praise Mark Zhao enough. The way he conveyed his emotions, the control he had with his body language and his passionate performance really sold Ye Hua as the ideal man. Ye Hua's growth was full of subtleties and you can't help but love him at the end. The cold Ye Hua, body language cold and controlled and imposing, the quietly suffering Ye Hua with his stoic facial expressions and expressive twitches, the caring Ye Hua with his subtle fond looks and mildly exasperated smiles and playful but strict attitude, the passionately in love Ye Hua who's eyes can melt steel and convey more with his face and eyes than a 1000 page poem could. Kudos to Mark as well for playing Mo Yuan so differently and so well I didn't recognise that he was the one playing both until I read the other reviews. I'm definitely looking forward to more of his work. I also have to mention the child actor playing A Li, definitely a stand out. He brought such flavour and playfulness to an otherwise fraught reunion and subsequently stole the show with every scene he was in.
The whole cast of characters was great, Dong Hua was definitely a favorite (with his perpetually condescending/amused/inquisitive facial expression and that amazing hair!) and even though Feng Jiu got annoying sometimes it was not due to Dilraba's acting but due to the circumstances and script. I definitely teared up at the end of their Mortal Love trial and am consoling myself by reading the Pillow Book. I also fell for the lovely pair Zhe Yan and his Zhen Zhen with their old married coupleness.

Music: Amazing OST, from the most wistful fantasy instrumentals to the Epic drums and the main romantic theme songs. I fell in love with it all and ended up humming the opening tune at work (if I knew mandarin I'd be singing it too).

Rewatch Value: YES, A THOUSAND TIME YES! I cannot recommend this enough and even though I just finished it a week ago I'm planning on rewatching this with my sister who is also a Drama fan though she's pretty exclusive on the KDrama. This raised the bar for all other dramas for me and even though I already am a fan of CDramas (I loved Boss & Me and Love O2O) this really cemented my love for them. I'm really looking forward to more from Mainland after this.

Overall: Perfect. Perfect story, perfect cast of characters and perfectly put together. Dare I say, it's flawless. What I liked was that not only was the Main Male lead swoon worthy, but that the Female lead was someone so awe inspiring as well. She was definitely not just a helpless Damsel in Distress constantly tumbling along needing to be rescued, she was strong and opinionated and for a Fox Queen pretty well rounded as a character. She was strong and smart and though naive sometimes, her empathy really shone through. Such a breath of fresh air from all the other female leads I've seen so far. Also I have to say there's something so appealing about a crying Ye Hua. As much as I like him smiling his fond sly smiles he was so heartbreakingly good when he cried. And he definitely made the fight scenes which usually look silly to me, look awe inspiring instead. Ye Hua is H.O.T. specially when he's staying put and asking Qian Qian to come to him and not doing the patented wrist grab that all Asian Drama think is the height of romance (although there is one pretty memorable scene but he was at the height of insecurity and not in his right mind).
Overall this is the highlight of my year so far (well...until the next season of Game of Thrones comes out anyway) and will always have a place in my heart. I have a feeling this is one I will watch over and over.

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I have very strong feelings about this drama, enough that I felt like I should skip-watch it to get to the last episode and see how it turned out and clearly I have more time in my hands than I realise as I definitely felt like I just wasted 12 hours of my life with this one.
DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME
Honestly, I was hankering for some Melodrama/Revenge stories after watching 'Secret' (which was excellent!) and the whole love/hate dynamic was heartbreakingly good to watch. In Secret the chemistry was amazing and I'm sure I'm not the only one who wanted some censorship friendly hate s** , or at least some bruising kisses between the Main Leads. This is how I ended up watching this show. Boy did I take the wrong turn! I really don't understand why this has a 7.9 rating and glowing reviews.
Story was not bad, immature at times but actually thought out. nothing earth-shattering or even highly original but easy to follow and the mystery that we follow throughout all 19 episode get resolved somewhat satisfactorily at the end. Just that the way it was filmed was confused in the sense that you realise that the director/writer just wasn't sure if this was a Melodrama, a rom-com, or a thriller.
Cast/Characters were totally mismatched. Nothing against any of the actors, they played their part well enough but whoever did the casting was either romantically numb or just plain blind. Marcus Chang had better chemistry with BFF/spy and should have been given the main female lead role. The actress playing Xi Yu should have been cast as the vet. and the vet as the bff/spy. The only perfectly casted actor was the fiancee. She did the job well.
Honestly the writer needs to learn to write better tv female leads. The main female felt like a caricature of a warm-hearted, kind, earnest & naive Damsel in Distress. Seriously I cried for feminism as she tumbled her way across the screen not even thinking about self preservation (seriously the whole town knows your face and are after your mommy, change your hair style and wear some Clark Kent glasses or something!) I get that's why the other characters are supposed to feel protective over her but one can be a spunky, sassy damaged heroine who others want to protect too!
Music/OST was the only real redeeming quality, both the opening and ending songs were very catchy.
Overall waste of time. I stuck it out because the reviews says it gets better. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't. I do respect that other people have different opinions and if you decide 1 bad review is not going to stop you from enjoying this, then go ahead. I reserve the right though to draw comparisons with this and the worst Harlequin romances I've read so far (and trust me I've read quite a few, don't judge, I travel a lot ok?)

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This is one I binge watched throughout. Its so good, the OTP's chemistry was amazing and they were pretty adult about it. I loved So Ji Sub in this (even though he looked like a hobo half the time which is not surprising for a trainer) and Kang Joo Eun was pretty even in her fat suit. The comedic moments in this was spot on I definitely laughed out loud several times whilst watching this. I loved all the characters in this specially puppy like 'kids'.
The story itself was quite straightforward and I loved the overall message of living a healthy life. It inspired me to take up jogging. Nothing really stood out in terms of OST but the cinematography and editing made the show flow quite well.
Definitely worth a rewatch. Don't hesitate.

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Amazing

I've seen this show recced several times and I was planning on checking it out as soon as, but having tried to watch Love Me, If You Dare several times it was not a priority (I might be a minority in terms of preferring this to LMIYD, but this show really grabbed me. Sure... Huo Wallace is better looking than Wang Kai but WK is his own kind of hella sexy and HW's Sherlock-esque character really grated on me as I'm a massive fan of BBC Sherlock and I couldn't help but compare) Then I stumbled into the VERY enthusiastic recap page for this show on dr-myri's blog (who did such a great job recapping Eternal Love) I trust those ladies so why not?

I started at ep1 and I was all...'Ok cool good-looking bad-ass in the house this is interesting' then as soon as Xu Xu appeared I was 'Yusss! Alternative/Atypical/equally bad ass female lead! I am all over this!' I thought Xu Xu was a little cutie from the get go (the hair cut took some getting used to though), so unlike most FL. She was this teeny tiny robotic ball of smarts. She was uncanny, enough to make people uncomfortable, blunt, a little arrogant (I laughed when she straight up admitted she thought normal rules don't really apply to her as she's a genius) with a lot of mannerisms and attributes one expects of a male character, I even loved the way she talked, the low intonation and the matter of fact way she speaks (This whole feminine whine 'aegyo' thing annoys the hell out of me) I actually initially thought the snail referred to the ML but quickly realised it was her and this was her story, I could not be any happier. I absolutely adore Xu Xu. I couldn't wait to see her meet Cool Bad Ass ML and honestly from their first meeting it was all gloves off love. Kudos to Wang Ziwen for her portrayal, she did an amazing job.

The other side of the equation Ji Bai (played ably by the swoon worthy WK) is the Popular Big Brother type. Upstanding, personable, smart, accomplished and a natural leader. He was what I wished more ML could be...actually reasonable and logical! Although the drama did not delve so much on his past (aside from what was relevant to the case) you can tell that through hard work and natural talent he has risen to his position as the undisputed best in the police force with the support of all his friends, coworkers and superiors. He's the embodiment of a lion fiercely protecting his pride. His chemistry with Xu Xu was amazing (I loved the fact that the way they filmed make it seem like he can just fold her up and put her in his pocket but the dialogue really emphasise how equal they are and can be) Scenes of him picking her up by the scruff and her nonchalantly ignoring this just make me happy. Romance fans have to live off this and other subtleties, like the amount of eye contact and mind reading as the romance was not the focus of this drama at all.

The story overall was great, suspenseful and nail biting with enough twists and turns and tangled up connections that I was glad I was reading the reccap/analysis to help me keep it all straight in my head. Other characters like Yao Meng (I love the fact that she is another atypical female character, beautiful and strong and fully protective and supportive of her female police sisters. She had a beautiful friendship with Xu Xu. None of this bitchy second FL nonsense that's prevalent in almost all dramas) and Wei Han (the bromance is strong in this one) was amazing too. The Villains were chilling and reprehensible (Jesus, the Po and Xu Xu stand off was nail bitingly good and lets not forget to mention Bloody Brother Lu) Everyone did an amazing job portraying their characters

The drama flowed amazingly well, the scenery, the framework and innovative shots and editing made me feel several times like I was watching a movie. The OST throughout was subtle and really fitted the story (there were as lot of tense scenes that had little to no background music and I felt that it specially heightened the tension and made it better) I loved both the opening credits (first C Drama opening with little to no spoilers) but adore the animated lion/snail scenes more. Also got to mention the Cold Opens in every episode, really put viewers off balance and makes you pay attention. Whoever edited this drama has a real sense of timing and flow.

Worth a rewatch? YES! I'm actually in the midst of rewatching as there's just too many subtle awe inspiring scenes I missed the first time round.

In conclusion, absolutely worth a watch. The romance in this is all about the subtleties, and not the focus. This is not your typical 'lust-at-first-sight' or even the 'hate to love' drama cliche. It's more the mature meeting of minds and I applaud it. You can really tell when they connect and when they start supporting and guiding each other to their mutual feelings (being more personable ML realises it first). The story and overall mystery is what drives this drama and I'm glad that they focused on it because it was very well done.

To those romance fans like myself, read the novel this was based on. I read it after watching this and it satisfied my thirst for more romance for this OTP. Its being fan translated and is available through Novel Updates. You won't regret it. It is too sexy for words and as you read you won't be able to picture anyone else but Wang Kai and Wang Ziwen as Ji Bai and Xu Xu.

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Observations about the drama:

A) Xiao Yan is THE GOODEST OF BOIS! He is made of starlight and all that is good in the world. I love him.

B) Pretty much the emotional arcs can be divided into 4 which makes for great character development
1. Fengjiu falls in love and we see it mature from adolescent hero worship, to real enduring love (to the point that she was prepared to not have him as long as he is happy and fulfilled
2. Dong Hua falls in love and we see it mature from curiosity to deep (Possessive - but then again he is a known conqueror, what do we really expect?) love. We see the consequence of him loosing her (Chen Ye anyone?) and despite threats to the contrary he never kills anyone out of jealousy in the end so I count that as real growth.
3. They test the boundaries and roles of their relationship. He treats her like a kid (despite the handy 'weak fate' excuse, he does!) and she runs away from her problems (guys it's really not about Jiheng)
4. They find an equilibrium. He starts treating her like a partner, she faces the problem head on. And they live happily ever after.

C) I like that the drama went linear with the timeline. Judging by Viki comments, people were confused enough as is!

D) Speaking of Aranya's dream. I actually like that she knew the Xize was Donghua early on. Neatly avoided the whole 'icky consent' thing from the book. I personally didn't like that part.

E) Kudos to Vengo Gao, his acting is amazing. I honestly found it difficult to reconcile Donghua and Chen Ye together. I found it super hard to even look at Chen Ye. He constantly felt like he was in the very edge of madness. He literally exuded crazy and it was painful to even look him in the eyes.

F) The Biyinao queen (in the dream) is cruel but she was shaped by her experiences. She had a large capacity to love but an even larger capacity to hate. The king is an asshole. He wanted the kingdom and the queen so he rebelled committed fratricide and took what he wanted. Neither of them would win any Parenting trophies.

G) Probably obvious, but only occurred to me on the 2nd watch that Aranya is a child borne from rape. And this is why the queen hated her so much that she threw her in a snake pit and why the king, after her reinstatement keeps 'indulging' her (Highness Qing etc)

H) The queen loved her 1st husband and this transferred to Ju'nuo, the only child they had together. She hated the fact that Donghua's version of Xize is suddenly close to Fenjiu/Aranya because she knew that Xize had enough power and influence to challenge her claimant to the throne. No matter how inappropriate her other daughters were with Xize she turned a blind eye because it suited her. She probably hated the fact that the king even got Xize and Aranya together (I suspect the king gave Aranya to a powerful but disinterested husband so she has the backing and the freedom to do what she wants; his warped way of caring for her)

I) Su Moye loves Aranya, but he is NOT in love with her, I'm convinced. He loves her like a father/teacher/brother but not as a man. He found her love misplaced with Chen Ye, felt sorry for her and I think he went away from her all those years to sort out his feelings, to see if he can give her that romantic love that was missing. In the book he cultivated a reputation of being a charmer, probably testing the waters, and by the time he had convinced himself he could love her romantically it was too late. After all that effort, of course he would be obsessed with what happened.

J) All you Furries out there probably liked the baby fox part early on, but I literally could not stand the juxtaposition of overwrought romantic music and scenes with Donghua and babyfox!Fengjiu. That part was a bit cringe to me.

K) In fact if I had to rate the 'arcs'
1. Biyiniao/training/competition arc
2. Aranya's Dream
3. Pre-wedding arc
4. Human Trial Arc
6. Bai Qian's wedding arc
5. Maid/Baby fox arc

L) I really like eternal wingman Liansong. I loved him in TMoPB and I love him here. His interactions with Donghua is hilarious.

M) People kept comparing the actor for Ah-Li, but come on, this Ah-Li is super adorable, people just have to get used to it.

N) I love Fengjiu's character a lot more here than in TMoPB. Here she's whimsical but mature, feisty but soft, clever and capable (not as much as Donghua but who is in this world) beautiful and brave and I literally had no issues with this pairing despite the age-gap. She is what he needs, and he is what she needs. They balance each other out.

O) Donghua is too good looking. He is unbelievably easy on the eyes. Rewatching is easy just for him alone.

P)I laughed so hard every single time someone fell into the hole trap. The comedy in this drama is ON POINT. In fact kudos to all who worked on this; the cinematography and editing, costume, sets, choreography. Amazingly well done. This is a beautifully made drama.

Q) People complaining about the ending, this it LITERALLY HOW IT ENDS IN THE BOOK! That's what fanfiction is for!

This got a bit long, but I really just wrote it for myself because it's the end and I am still obsessed ?❤️?❤️?

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