Must Watch Series

The bromance is strong in this one and I have no complaints! The friendship between these people are always my favorite part of these series.

If you have been an avid viewer of the series, then you will really like this adaptation. Even if you haven't watched the other series, you will still understand the overall idea of what they are talking about. So, this storyline is supposedly set after lost tomb 2, however due to differing production companies and other logistical stuff, the story plots don't flow smoothly from one series to another and has a bit of a time gap. Despite that, if you watched the other series, you will get hints of events here and there and can connect some dots.

In this series, the story plot thickens and more secrets are unravelled for Wu Xie and his team to find, mostly revolving around the Nine Families and Xiao Ge. It gets pretty confusing at times due to so many unanswered questions, however it does get my brain moving coming up with possible theories. The acting by the actors are phenomenal, I especially liked the actors that portrayed Wu Xie and Xiao Ge. I think this is my favorite Xiao Ge portrayal. But man am I glad to see so much xiao ge and wu xie interactions, I was a bit sad that there wasn't much interaction between the two in previous series. Also, xiao hua and hei yan interaction was not something I expected but loved.

Overall, this is a solid storyline where a group of friends set out to seek the missing memories of a friend and along the way happen to unravel hidden (not so hidden) secrets. It was an enjoyable watch and I really loved it as an avid Dao Mu Bi Ji fan.

So, I most definitely recommend this series to people if you like this genre and/or the actors that portray these characters!

***Ending Spoiler ***

The ending is a cliffhanger, however, I kind of expected that already because the author of the book is notorious for that and the previous series are also like that. The end leaves me with more questions than answers, like did the team leave the mountain unscathed, what is Wu Xie planning to do with the mask, and is this all set up by the elders? However based on what I read from the book I do have a small idea of what happens. However, after watching Reunion (set 12+ years later) and tomb of the sea (7-8 years later), I can already tell what happens to them.

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Happy Watching!

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Enjoyable with its flaws

I would say this was an enjoyable watch that has its own issues. Mind you, I came in damn well knowing what kind of trope this is and have read the novel. So, I was able to set my expectations right on the line of watching for enjoyment and the actors. The acting of the various actors are great and they acted their roles well. I would say the last 6 episodes plus the special episode were my favorite to watch. They are such a sweet couple mixed with a bit of jealous moments, makes me squeal. The beginning right up until the misunderstanding is enjoyable, nothing too extravagant or amazing.

I've seen other negative reviews, and I get what they are saying. However, I went in with a different mindset than them and lowered my expectations knowing damn well what type of trope this is. That helped a lot with my enjoyment of this drama. Also, I watched it mostly for Bai Lu and Wang He Di, so I may be a little biased there. However, I do recommend giving it a try, or at least the last 6 episodes.

My score is a little inflated as I can not let this dramas rating go below an 8. I would rate this drama an 8, enjoyable but not great.

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Unexpected Gem of 2020

At first I was hesitant to watch because I didn't think this was up my ally or would be a good adaptation. However, I was glad I decided to watch it. I didn't expect a story about GO would be something I would watch or would be interested in.

There is no romance in the drama, however, the bromance is more than enough. If you are into bromance dramas, the this is a must watch. The story is much more than a story about GO, it is about one's growth, passion, and friendship while trying to accomplish someone else's dream that eventually became their own. I was most drawn by the strong storyline that followed Shi Guang through his journey of being forced to play GO to him loving it and excelling in it.

It's in no way perfect, but as someone who fast forwards in drama's through the filler parts, I barely did that with this drama. The only thing I wished was there was more Yu Liang and Shi Guang parts and a follow-up with Chu Ying. Basically, I need a season 2 because 36 episodes is not enough!!

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A true underdog that had people begging for more

You may think I am a little overboard with the 9.5, but I can't bring myself to give this drama a lower score. Yes, this drama has flaws, but I will happily oversee the flaws because of how this drama honored the the original novel/writer, the actors, and the audience. The interactions between the two main actors made me laugh multiple times throughout the series and they also made me cry for them.

This drama is proof that there is no need for a drama to have a big production, well known big actors, lots of promo and/or famous scriptwriters/directors in order for a drama to be a hit. Despite having a low-budget, a newbie scriptwriter, a lesser known company that has the rights (Youku is weaker compared to big companies like iqiyi and Tencent, who usually has the rights to big and popular dramas) and zero anticipation from the public, the drama was one of the best in its genre to be put out in years.

Reasons why this drama is a hit:

1. The script follows the novel heavily (Finally a scriptwriter that shows respect to the original!)
Many dramas that are adopted from a novel are not well received because it strays away from the original source too much and basically becomes a separate entity. However, for this drama, the scriptwriter stayed true and respected the original book. Also, they included lots of interactions between the male leads! Which made me wonder what tricks Youku had up their sleeves to get it through censorship. They really need to share their secrets to other dramas that are currently in development.

2. The casting
Man, this is one of the best castings in a drama I have seen. The two actors fit their roles perfectly and they had great chemistry together. Who would've thought that they weren't the original choices for these roles! The original actor that was supposed to play ZZS dropped out and focused on another more popular project due to delays resulted from covid and the original actor that was supposed to play WKX thought he didn't fit the role and chose to play a supporting character instead.

3. The acting/story plots
Both main leads are very talented actors that showcased the personalities of their characters perfectly. Not only the main leads, but the side characters and side CPs are great as well. The drama did not drag out the meeting of the two for many eps nor did it have long periods of time where the two are apart from each other. After they meet, they stick together like glue, more like WKX sticking to ZZS and following him everywhere.

Also, a little side note. You know this drama is good when this drama debuted on duoban with an 8.3 and rose to a rating of 8.6 by the end. Duoban is very strict with their ratings as dramas rarely make it past the 8.0 rating. Even the very popular The Untamed debuted at 4.8 and managed to climb up to 7.7.


*Ending spoilers*

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Now, the ending, there were some loose ends, but since it is a happy ending I will forgive them for that. Youku made it weird by making the happy ending a 7-ish minute special episode and the beginning part of that special looks like a music video. However, I loved the last couple minutes, as it is a mirror of the fight scene they had on the boat at the river. My fave pairing will be missed, but I was happy to see that they managed to successfully cultivate and become immortals living in seclusion together on the snow mountain!

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Good series- so far

I am barely half way through the drama, but I am loving what I have seen so far. Usually I stay away from anything horror related or republican era dramas. However, this drama is an exception as the episodes I've seen so far didn't scare the crap out of me nor is it as depressing as most republican era dramas. There are certain parts that gave me a bit of a scare, but nothing too bad. However, if you do scare easily, it would be best to watch in morning or afternoon.

Also, I find the psychological part of entering into an individuals subconscious to find answers a very interesting and unique part of the story plot. Yes, it's a bit far fetched from reality, but this is a drama so anything can happen and it is pretty cool. I am also really enjoying the team of three working together to solve the cases, while trying to uncover the really identity of the mystery force that is popping up everywhere.

I may be biased in my ranking, but I do believe that this drama is way better than the 7.5 rating. If you are an individual that likes or can handle the lost tomb series or the candle in the tomb series, then I would recommend you to give this drama a try and see if you like it or not.

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