This is not a love story

Rather, this dorama is about the changing societal expectations of relationship, the roles of gender, and their interplay. Questions like what does 'to protect the woman' in a relationship or the significance of a piece of paper to define your romantic connection is discussed in modern society where nuclear family is no longer the norm. So, this is not a love story. It's a story on navigating modern relationship, both platonic and romantic. It doesn't necessarily give you an answer but it treats the audience as intelligent and invites you to ask these questions yourself. This is probably one of the most thought-provoking dorama I've watched ever that questions self-love and the relationship without shoving an answer down my throat, which I so much appreciate and recommend this.

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Xianxia that would be beautifully adapted for a theatre show

This is my first toe-dip into xianxia since I left the genre over a decade ago and it has set the bar very high going into the future. So high that after years on this website I’m finally writing a review. I don’t believe in having to defend a culture’s set of norms, ideology, values, gender expectations, and such when reviewing a storytelling production. I may touch on it and analyse some parts but I won’t go around telling societies how to behave because that would be disrespectful and reductive.

To start, I’ll discuss the overall value of the production. It can be very jarring when you are unfamiliar with cdrama or xianxia/wuxia from recent years. All of the scenes, with no exception, are done as if on stage. I think this is brilliant that it did not hold back the storyline by showing us the travel from one place to another. Nor did it concern us with logistics. I take it as these are immortal beings, they can go to places as they see fit - it doesn’t matter if they walk, fly, take the train or Uber it. The background for the most part are CG. The CG can be rough in some places, but this is a TV series and not a blockbuster film production. More importantly, it doesn’t take away from the story and for the most part, I think it’s the production’s artistic choice within the confines of their budget. And I can wholeheartedly accept that.

Moving on to the core of the story, it starts off rather typical: the kind and clumsy woman, her perceived hero, jealous competition of the woman, the cold and distant man. If you are not open to go on for a couple more hours, this can lose you because it is too formulaic. And it’s not to say it’s not formulaic, but I say it’s not about the plot as much as how the plot delivers the characters’ development. What I think is important in storytelling of any length, but especially at this length or more, is character progression. And that’s how this story succeeds in unveiling the changes in the characters. This is done through tropes of grumpy/sunshine, body-swapping kiss, misunderstanding, etc. Many times, love is told to be panacea for all ailments. And this is where I would eye roll. And to an extent, a part of me does that in any story that centers on the transformative power of love! However, here it actually recognises the many forms of love and the way it affects different types of pain in life. Romantic or platonic love, love for your home or your tribe, love your mentor or mentee, love for a long lost family member or a stranger - it’s all covered. It’s telling me, if you navigate life with compassion and remember where you heart is, it will serve you the best way possible. I don’t like quoting non-English work because unless you speak the language the translation/interpretation will definitely lose meaning yet the phrase “everything in this world happens so fast except for love”. Love as first sight is incomparable to love that has been nurtured mutually with effort and time. It is not the same concept of love when you first meet and feel sparks. Slow love gives you hope and carries you through tough times because it changes you and your heart. It's more than just sight and it's life-changing.

Finally the actors, they all did amazing. I haven’t seen Esther You in anything before and on a personal level, my sensory issue took some time in adjusting to her voice. Overall, she is adorable and her acting is highly commendable when she body-swapped. I am most impressed with Dylan Wang who had to do many heavy deliveries due to his literally dead tree of emotions slowly regaining life throughout the show. I’ve only seen him in the remake of Meteor Garden and did not think much of his acting (which tells me what I already know - the script wasn’t great). But I’m happy to be proven wrong. He clearly has an affinity with his craft and I will keep an eye on his future work particularly in this genre.

Conclusions, personal note & TL;DR: I haven’t been in love with a fantasy romance drama like this since Goblin. While it’s not perfect, and I don’t believe there is such thing as objectively perfect storytelling, it has given me deep thoughts and pure enjoyment to watch the story developed. This is one of those dramas that despite being predictable will leave a void in your heart for some time. I already have plans to rewatch.

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