A Poetically Gripping Tale of Tragedy

The unexpected comedic kick off and throwing out of the serious cold mode of the characters became a total charming twist of this drama, making the mysterious vibe surrounding it more intriguing, as each characters were introduced with different level of complexities in them. I thought the story pace which began with a lighter tone and transitioned to a darker tone was done smoothly and perfectly balances out with the main theme. It had me completely hooked in this roller coaster ride. I like the gradual transition in the relationship dynamics that were depicted in the storyline with the friendship being the center of focus all throughout their adventure. The characters were each shown making questionable and often arguably seemingly wrong decisions. This drama had a knack for opening viewers perspective to see different shades of choices and how it will tie out to the latter outcome.

I did fully enjoy the adventure of the demon hunting team as they solve various cases that seem to end with the same repetitive tragic outcome that obviously hinted for their tied down fate ahead. It was both a tearful and joyful watch but the side characters storyline each held a value that added to shape the growth of each member of the demon hunting team as they got to reflect and understand this drastic tragedies. Personally, I thought the most tragic and tearful story lies with the male lead, Zhao Yuan Zhou. As much as I was able to sympathize and empathize with majority of the characters here, his arc in the drama was the most grippingly painful to watch and brought me to constant tears of heartache. The gradual revelation of each secrets from the past to present about the demon hunting members were woven to the storyline well. I thoroughly felt so many degrees of emotions because of this drama.

However, the latter half of the drama had its notable flaws which I thought could have been done better if the director/scriptwriter had tried to maximize in fleshing out the main leads' characters towards the second half of the drama. They obviously failed to do a good job in that part and it left a bitter taste to my mouth. I liked the female lead's character but I thought it was a pity that she wasn't given any spotlight towards the end of the drama. She was obviously put aside, along with the male lead.

I thought there were certain scenes of the second male lead especially the ones where he had extended flashbacks of his brotherhood with Bai Jiu. I did love their brotherhood but honestly it should have been cut down to give room for the other characters. I didn't like how Ying Lei was often pushed aside either and only got to be recognize during his fatal end. It made the whole strong friendship trope between them seemed superficial during those scenes. Not to forget, the Ying Long arc was unexpectedly shorter than expected considering this was inspired from chinese mythology. Unfortunately, the abrupt cut scenes were questionable and one that I cannot look pass. I like the idea that a lot of relationship dynamics can be interpreted here, but it eventually became unsatisfying as there is evident lost of growth and focus on the main love line.

Overall, this drama has the most painful and remarkable ending for the main character which tied completely to the whole narrative of the storyline it has been trying to tell. I gave it a rating of 9.0 as it is still deserving of a high score for its poetic depiction of tragedy. This drama will surely have you in laughter and verge of tears. The portrayal of how fate and life intertwined was compelling. Each stroke of pain and sadness were magnificent. All the actors performances were deserving of recognition and applause. Especially the main leads. Although, I had a bit of a problem with the 2nd female leads delivery of emotional scenes as it felt stiff and lacking for me, I thought she still had more room for improvement when it comes to the conveyance of heavy emotions.

I definitely recommend this drama, as much as it is painfully tragic, it has its own marveling moments that will charm you.

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An Alluring Dark Beauty of Wuxia

My Journey To You began with a strong start that completely got me wrapped around its fingers at the very first watch. The strong female lead character who turned out to be a spy and a mysterious prince-like male lead battling out with his other brothers. The story on the first half has been very entertaining and had me seated enjoying every moment as I kept my toes awaiting every next moment. The romantic development, the unlocking of hidden identities and the cool fighting scenes. This drama had all the right ingredients from the get-go with so many complex characters present. Even the second female lead and second male lead had such good chemistry at par with the main couple. They were all hitting it off at the right notches. Ofcourse, the second male lead's brother adding to the storyline making it even more of an interesting watch.

I liked the mystery that was kept going around and how the main lead characters even second leading characters were eventually fleshed out. However, as the drama reaches its midway point, the plot lost most of its gripping tension when some of the scenes eventually became focused on the sister of the male lead. It felt almost filler and sudden how the tone of the drama changed from dark and mysterious to a quick light and comedic tone. I thought it was an inconsistency to the plot and had added no additional value, as even without it the storyline would still function well. Another thing which I eventually came to dislike is how the ending unfortunately failed to tie well with the whole narrative of the storyline. It wasn't as satisfying as I ought to expect it to be.

Overall, this drama still has a lot of good points in my opinion. Despite it having flaws which I thought could have been better executed, I still gave this drama a score of 9.5 for its uniqueness and wonderful start plus the actors, especially, the main leads great acting performance.

I recommend this drama to anyone who wants to watch something dark and unique. It is still a decent and watchable drama.

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