Love and Redemption (2020)

Xianxia Drama With Lots of Angst!!

I was super doubtful about this drama when I first saw its poster and read the plot because the plot was a bit vague and Chinese dramas easily mess up in the middle. However, the first episode wasn't bad and hooked me in. I was even more hooked when I listened to the soundtrack and that's when I decided to watch and see how this drama will go. And it did not disappoint! The plot flowed smoothly and was an enjoyable watch! The CGI was pretty good in some scenes and a bit cringe in some other ones, but it was still okay to watch. The chemistry between Xuan Ji and Si Feng is just top notch also! Love this couple! However, some parts later in the drama annoyed me and I started watching in 1.5x speed in order to continue the drama, but it wasn't because the drama was bad overall, only because I was impatient at how some thins were going. Totally recommend anyone to watch because it is worth the hype.

SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Now, what I liked:
1. The OST! Such an amazing soundtrack with such talented singers! It brought scenes to life and I can't keep replaying the songs!
2. The acting! - Cheng Yi is just so talented at playing Si Feng and bringing those painful scenes (blood-spitting scenes) out to its full potential and to give viewers the pain as well. Some actors were not as great, just average, but it was still pretty okay to watch.
3. Script (for the most part) - characters developed well, flowed pretty smoothly, and wasn't too difficult to understand how the story is going. I really liked most of Si Feng and Xuan Ji's friendship and romance development and it was fun to watch.
4. The ending - was a great conclusion to the story with everything wrapped up neatly. I was really happy that they showed viewers what happened after Xuanji and Si Feng's marriage and what happened with everyone else.

What I didn't like:
1. The script/writing - It was really hard to watch Xuanji keep misunderstanding Si Feng and keep asking him to explain himself based on only what she sees. It was like the writer got lazy because this portion of misunderstandings continued for so many episodes and I really had to speed through those episodes. Xuanji seemed really dumb in those parts and it was just hard to watch such predictable scenes. Also, the writing for Xuanji's dad, Ling Long, and the 6th senior brother on how they treated Si Feng was so terrible. They turned their back on him so easily even though he helped them with so much. This also was hard to watch because they aren't using their reason to decide whether or not to trust him. It was also really annoying to watch Hao Chen brainwash Xuanji so much and she doesn't even realize it until the end.
2. Dumb characters- I really hated the part when the Fu Yu Island leader kept believing in his wife until the very end. It was really illogical of him to believe her when he knew she tried to hurt him.

I enjoyed this drama quite a lot even though I got annoyed and lost a bit of interest near the end. I would recommend it!

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The Good:
- Their wigs are really nice. Hairlines look great and the hair looks real.
- The chemistry between our main couple is strong. Some skinship and cuteness abound fairly early on in the series and even in her innocence, those scenes give me tingles with how sensual they can be (and by watching Sifeng react to it). Their angst is also equally explosive, and I can feel their yearning, love, and hate viscerally.
- Cheng Yi. He smiles a lot more in this than he did in the last series I watched him in (Stand By Me) and is generally more expressive in his emotions, which I love. It's a shame his smile is so often guarded because he has a gorgeous smile that totally transforms his face. I also like that he gets to act a little off-kilter sometimes, like when he's embarrassed or unsure or transfixed by Xuan Ji's close proximity - it breaks away the otherwise cool-monotone exterior he tends to display and I really like seeing that.
-Motives are clear. I understand why the good guys do what they do, and why the bad guys do what they do. It's not muddled in misunderstandings and weak writing.
-Plot twists are really good. I found my excitement renewed a few times with each twist.
-The small bits of comedy are great. I love Teng Shi, the heavenly beast. His physical comedy cracks me up. Sometimes it's a little cringe, but I'll take the good with the bad, haha.
-Whump. Whump. Whump. It's yummy. I'll never get enough of Cheng Yi in physical or emotional pain.
- The chemistry between our FL and ML is great. They look genuinely in love, and their misunderstandings and grievances are warranted and painful to watch. I really enjoyed them as a couple.
- The villains are formidable, despicable, and easy to hate.
- WHAT BLESSED BL IS THIS?! Episode 55 + Hellllooo? Lmao. We stan for it.

The Not So Good:
- Have patience with the first quarter of the series. Misunderstands are pretty rife between our first and secondary characters.
- Have patience with Zhu Xuan Ji. Her ignorance without her six senses can be very frustrating.
- The Lover's Curse mask Sigeng has to wear is h i d e o u s and covers his face for way too long. I was itching to skip past the episodes where he wore it (dying to see his face again), but for the sake of not missing any story, I trudged through it. It takes a hot minute before you get to see his face again, but for the sake of not spoiling the plot, I won't tell you when, since its important to the storyline.
-The Lover's Curse mask is supposed to have certain consequences and it seemed like there were continuity issues with it in the storyline since there were instances that should have definitely called for it to react and it didn't.
- The CGI is Power Rangers lvl bad, but honestly, I'm used to it with the xianxia-fantasy series, and I was able to look past it for the sake of a good story and great casting.
- How many packets of fake blood do these poor souls have to put in their mouths and spit out? (I'm looking at you, SiFeng). It lost its effect after a while (and that's saying a lot for a professional Whumpee like me). I also had an issue with some of the close-up shots of the actor's and actresses' faces in regard to their makeup application. I could often see the double-lid eye tape under makeup, circle lenses, foundation lines, and lipstick (like when SiFeng was especially sick and wore that ghoulish pastey lipstick).

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Take the title literally. Drama redeemed itself in last 10 eps.

Pros:
- the acting in this drama is one of the most skilled acting I've seen. Every actor was convincing and I felt all their emotions when watching.
- the visuals of the cast! They all looked majestic.
- the romance was good! the lead couple had good chemistry <3 SF is a very loyal ML. He nearly went BL at the end for XJ lol
- the flying snake carried the show. He is such a likable and funny character, I would have dropped the drama if he didn't appear in episode 31-ish. I would 100% watch a spin off about him! He was such a cute companion to Xuan Ji.
- the last 10 episodes had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't help but binge. It was worth skipping masses just to get to the last 10 eps, trust me.
- the ending was satisfying and cute. I was hoping we could at least see SF's reaction to XJ getting pregnant because they had suffered so much but I'm satisfied with what we got. It's the typical wuxia happy ending where the main couple lives out their happy life in the mortal realm so no complaints.
- a good wuxia, if that's what you're looking for. Watching the main couple use their powers to fight the enemy together was lovely. I enjoyed that XJ was also immensely protective over SF.
- the opening song!! Couldn't ever hit skip :)

Cons:
- SF had a terrible case of a martyr complex. Once or twice, fine. Anything to get the story going, but he literally sacrificed himself for XJ every opportunity he could? It got repetitive and warranted the extreme skip button. It was noble idiocy and it felt like the story had nowhere to go by the middle so the writer kept adding in chances for SF to keep sercrets to himself and cause rift after rift with XJ. Again, I understand that this is typical of wuxias but LaR took it to another level with miscommunication. I was really ready to drop it half way through because of how much he suffered for XJ to no avail- it ruined the good chemistry.
- Why on earth did SF even love XJ so deeply? Maybe I skipped too much but I feel like they never touched enough into it. Yes, he spent time with her in heaven but why did he like her so much when he was a phoenix? It wasn't clear. I guess it's just one of those things you gotta accept at the beginnimg as a fact. I felt like this affected my ability to like the main couple at first, there was no foundation to their relationship and you realise there was no proper build up when it's revealed that SF was the phoenix in heaven with her.
- Dragged on. Skip button was a gift.
- Wasn't interested in Ling Long's story (they styled ZYX so bad). I didn't feel like it added much to the plot.
- XJ was dumb even when she recovered her senses. The last 10 episodes were only good because she finally trusted SF (took her bloody long enough) so I'm inclined to think this drama could have been a lot better if she stopped being stubborn and SF stopped thinking he was always doing what's best for her without communicating.
- Overrated. With the 8.8 MDL rating and the way people have been raging about this drama for nearly a year now, I was expecting it to be one of the best I've watched. Not by far. It was good, but not as good as people made it out to be. Go in with low expectations is my advice. The drama only pulled it off at the end bc they pulled together a perf cast. Any other cast, it would have been a trainwreck...

Overall, 8/10. Worth a watch, satisfied my love of wuxias, but be prepared to skip skip skip!

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I started watching this drama because of the 8.8 rating. I started getting dissapointed a 13 episodes in. The FL was dumb she wasnt getting any better, the ML was pitiful the whole time spitting blood, getting heartbroken every damn time, lots of misunderstandings being repeated each time the couple argue just repetitive nonsense. Also the drama somehow felt disjointed for me, we never got to know if SiFeng still leads LizeGong, the ending felt rushed for me, the series was too long and draggy...they basically ruined a potentially good Xianxia drama. Also i kept getting annoyed with the FL because she was so dumb. Even if it is a fantasy there has to be limits to its realistic ability. Honestly this show doesn't deserve above 7 rating. They could have wrapped this up in 30 or 40 episodes. The other characters, Tenshe daren, monkey and the fox I preferred them compared to the male and female lead characters. All in all it is a very emotional show but it wasn't that great.

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2nd best drama so far

First of all thanks for production teams, actors and actresses to give us this almost the best drama.

Story
The story is good, a lot of moral lesson, about bad is not always bad and good is not always good, too bad the bad guy is reveal too soon, I really like if the story can be dragged a bit far without reveal the bad guy, give us more curiosity to watch more patiently

Actors and Actresses
I love SF and XJ, their chemistry is top notch, but too much blood lol, and nothing is hidden even for viewers, everybody give their best, maybe just RY i slightly dislike him, too flat

Production
Most of the CGI is done at max effort, just few minor mistakes, like the GoW sword, Ding Kun, when XJ release it, it can talk, but silence till the end, the swords always missing, I don’t know why, maybe it’s difficult or lazy, example when LL fight with WT at the mountain, it clearly WT dispose LL sword on the ground, and next second suddenly the sword is summon at her hand, that’s weird.. But anyway good job

Overall
It’s my 2nd best so far, i wish there is more explanation about the 9 tribulation, so little info, maybe prequel, 30-40 episodes, just to explain why only at 10th tribulation that XJ can turn to be GoW, or in every tribulation she is. Anyway it’s a good drama, worth watching

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Came late but with no regrets

I first started this show last year but gave up in the first episode because of the FL. I just couldn't like her character and stopped watching. I decided to pick up this show again while waiting for Immortal Samsara to finish airing & i can only say the only regret i had is watching this too late.

LAR from start till end is absolutely beautiful. The love of Si Feng ML and Xuan Ji FL is one of the BEST I have seen in all c-dramas (atleast it tops all the xianxia i've watched). FL's character really grows on me because I thought she would be immature but she never once blame/doubt ML first before waiting for his answer. She trusts the ML completely and vice versa. ML on the other hand loves only Xuan Ji and will do anything for her. Although there are a few misunderstandings in between, i really liked that each time, Xuan Ji tries to hear from Si Feng. They also have a very touching love story that started way back from their past lives. In addition to this, the evil one this show (aka. hao chen shi shiong) is very annoying because he is always there is break them up. Thank god the supporting characters for this show makes it very bearable to watch - Xuan Ji's family including his dad, sister and sister's love line which is her senior are all very nice people which really wants the best for her.

I see a lot of people compare this is Ashes of Love and I can really see the similarity in this two. As a big fan of AOL, i do think that overall LAR has a better plot, love chemistry and character development. For both shows that has more than 50 episodes, LAR is very well distributed in covering all aspects and it makes my heart full as we get to see a lot of love moments and a lot of their own couple time. Their love felt more natural in LAR and i get to see it develop each time they interact. However, I didn't think Bing Yan (FL) did well in terms of acting. Her character was well written which carried her more. Her sad scenes didn't felt impactful while Cheng Yi (ML) acted really well!!!! (would already rate a 10 for ML)

In my heart, both drama have its own place and I would rewatch both anytime! So if you haven't watched this drama yet, please watch it because you won't be disappointed! It's one of the best xianxia.

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what a journey!

I like this drama, but at the same time i've never been so aggressiv while watching a drama before lol let me explain why:

First of all, I love the male lead. Fu Shiqi delievers an amazing performance as an actor. Yu Sifeng is a great character. He has a lot of character development throughout the series and is the only person i this drama that i really liked. Sifeng goes through a lot of hardships im life, experiences many diappointments, but he never gives up on his loved one. Truely admirable.
The female lead is quite annoying sometimes tbh. She does have a major charcter development tho. So I started to like her more and more throughout the series. She's a hardworking person who's constantatnly failing in cultivation despite her effort. She has a hard time understanding emotions of other since she leaks her six senses since birth. With Sifeng she goes on a journy, trying to find her 6 senses.
I have quite opposite opinions about the supporting chacacters. There are some that I just adore, for example Teng She (Lord Flying Snake)! But there are also quite a lot of chacacters I really can't stand, the are just soooo annnoying! I don't wanna spoil the plot, so I won't say who. I kinda miss the character development for the supporting characters, the mostly just stay the same throught the whole show. So only the main chacacters really shine.

Okay, now some words to the production. I would say it's nothing out of ordinary. Pretty costums, scenerys aren't that special. Visual FX are kinda bad, but it's okay to watch. It's pretty much like in the most low budget cultivation dramas.
Music is good, the have some really pretty songs in this series :)

I can recommend this series! It might cost u some nerves from time to time, but there are some interesting plot twists and the love story isn't every other love story, I would say it's quite special. So it's definetly worth it to watch the series for that! :)

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Misunderstandings repeat, then repeat, then repeat again . . .

Chu Xuan Ji and Yu Si Feng are enemies turned lovers in lifetime after lifetime. While the mythology and creativity of the world, and the different lifetimes are intriguing, there is no huge change in character growth or plot dynamics 40 episodes in. Chu Xuan Ji and Yu Si Feng are caught between their duties to their family/clan and their love and over and over and over again the same pattern repeats . .

The actor who plays Yu Si Feng is an excellent mix of intensity, brooding, with a bit of playfulness. Chu Xuan Ji has more of a split personality: innocent and hapless or arrogant and powerful. Everyone else dramatically overacts.

Music is fine, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criterias well:

Themes: 7.5
Elders can be misguided and not know what is best. Appearances can be deceiving: what's on the surface does not always reveal ones true character. Love that support, cherishes and empowers is far superior to love that suffocates and controls.

Character Growth/Development: 5.0
Yu Si Feng warms up a bit, and Chu Xuan Ji reveals her 'powerful' side every couple episodes, but that's about it.

Complex women/relationships: 7.0
Chu Xuan Ji does have relationships with an 'aunt,' her sister and friends she meets along the way. They do mostly talk about men or act as plot devices, but they do exist.

Cinematography/Production values: 7.0
Shows in this style (see Ashes of Love) are attempting a kind of deliberate, 2010 era video-game type CGI and it works decently well here. I wouldn't say there was anything shockingly beautiful or unique. Action scenes were competent but not particularly innovative.

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Almost done. I need sleep! ???

I'm binge watching this series because it's just that good. I had it on my Amazon watch list for at least a month and honestly the first 2 episodes kind of put me off because one characters kept whining and I thought, not 50+ episodes of her ass 🤣😂.
But everywhere I looked everyone's recommending this drama so I said okay let me give it another shot and I am hooked!!🥰🥰
I've watched over 30 episodes in probably 4 days because I'm home recuperating from hip surgery and can't get out much.
My roommate asked if I was leaning Chinese🤣😂.
So many plot twists and the actors do a good job relating to their characters.
Can hardly wait to finish!! Thank you Viki, Amazon, Netflix, and YouTube for bringing us Cdramas❤️❤️❤️!

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Enjoyable although very cliché

An immensely enjoyable drama but not without its faults.

Here are some of the positives and negatives for me personally that I’ve noticed while watching!

+ comparatively fast pacing for a xianxia (especially at the beginning)
+ great actors
+ some reversed stereotypes (ex: the FL is mostly saving the ML)
+ starcrossed lovers
+ surprisingly nuanced characters —> not all cultivators are good, not all demons are evil

- soo many overdone tropes (spoon feeding each other, the ML always catches the FL, so much blood spitting it’s getting funny (and difficult to take the MLs suffering seriously) etc)
- I’m starting to get sick of the overly childlike behaviour of FLs in Xianxia (although here it does make more sense and she starts changing)

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Don't expect too much

I have visited this website for drama informations a plenty of times, but this drama really urged me to create an account and post a review. I can't help but post my review because I don't want others to end up like me (quite disappointed 😞).
Because of the reviews and high rating of this drama, I started to watch it, luckily it's available on YouTube.

Starting off with the first episode, visual effects are really nice that it hooked me. Then comes the start of story which is interesting, but I am not quite convinced with how they come up with "without six senses" basically it isn't really "without six senses" because she can see and hear. I was actually curious how would she live "without six senses" (how can she communicate with others) but dhurrr, she can actually see and hear. Continuing, because Zhang Yuxi only got the role for supporting, I was actually expecting more for this drama. For me, the acting skills of the main leads are just so-so, I mean that they have the potential and I'm sure they can cultivate it to be better. There are parts in this drama where scenes are abruptly cut then jumped on a completely different scene that got me wondering if I have mistakenly tapped forward, but I really didn't.

It was interesting at first few episodes but as I watch the next episodes, it's like I'm just watching it for the sake of just to "complete" it. From 1-12 then jumped to the last episode.

I don't think I will continue to watch this, because I find it quite boring.

P.s. I find this is not really a review because it contains much of my personal opinions that are quite biased on my taste lol.

But honestly, If you really want to watch this drama don't start to expect highly so you won't get too disappointed.

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