Ashes of Love
Feb. 21st, 2023 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yesmissjaneSo, I finally got around to watching this epic 63 ep behemoth from 2018 that Netflix has been relentlessly recommending to me. And you know what? They were right. (Whoops.)
《Ashes of Love》really is all that.
Apart from a bit of a dull patch in the middle (how can you not have a messy middle when the thing is literally just shy of two entire 24 hour days long) it is gripping, well cast, well executed and I really loved it, especially Deng Lun's performance. He was just so good as the reluctant favourite son/martial god/star crossed lover/demon lord/regret broken man. I spent a good part of the last third of the show screaming at the TV.
Among the many things I loved about the show was the ending: how many times do you get to say that? They really leaned into the whole thing, gave it room to breathe, even created a whole new narrative perspective to really spin it out. I've watched so many long C-Dramas with criminally abrupt, rushed or largely inexplicable endings. This one was a real treat, and will totally raise the bar for me from now on.
It's also a great relief to get to see another *good* high xianxia show. I've now seen a bunch of forgettable things in this space, as well as a couple of stand outs: 《Eternal Love》&《Love between Fairy and Devil》. As a fan of dragons, fairies, flying etc it's good to be reminded that it's not all half baked derivative tosh.
Anyhow, apart from the leads (Deng Lun, Leo Luo Yunxi & Yang Zi), my other favourite characters were Mr Puchi the snake immortal (Leo Luo's best moment was when he was playing Mr Puchi impersonating Leo Luo's character), the fox-spirit Matchmaker who looked about 17 years old and was everyone's uncle, the wobbly wobbly carrot fairy who was scared of rabbits, and the Flower regent with sparkles stuck to her face, who was just trying to do the bidding of her dead mistress who died leaving some questionable commands.
So, C-Drama's for 2023 running list:
Lighter & Princess ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
She and Her Perfect Husband ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
New Life Begins ⭐️⭐️1/2
Triad Princess ⭐️1/2
Ashes of Love ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
《Ashes of Love》really is all that.
Apart from a bit of a dull patch in the middle (how can you not have a messy middle when the thing is literally just shy of two entire 24 hour days long) it is gripping, well cast, well executed and I really loved it, especially Deng Lun's performance. He was just so good as the reluctant favourite son/martial god/star crossed lover/demon lord/regret broken man. I spent a good part of the last third of the show screaming at the TV.
Among the many things I loved about the show was the ending: how many times do you get to say that? They really leaned into the whole thing, gave it room to breathe, even created a whole new narrative perspective to really spin it out. I've watched so many long C-Dramas with criminally abrupt, rushed or largely inexplicable endings. This one was a real treat, and will totally raise the bar for me from now on.
It's also a great relief to get to see another *good* high xianxia show. I've now seen a bunch of forgettable things in this space, as well as a couple of stand outs: 《Eternal Love》&《Love between Fairy and Devil》. As a fan of dragons, fairies, flying etc it's good to be reminded that it's not all half baked derivative tosh.
Anyhow, apart from the leads (Deng Lun, Leo Luo Yunxi & Yang Zi), my other favourite characters were Mr Puchi the snake immortal (Leo Luo's best moment was when he was playing Mr Puchi impersonating Leo Luo's character), the fox-spirit Matchmaker who looked about 17 years old and was everyone's uncle, the wobbly wobbly carrot fairy who was scared of rabbits, and the Flower regent with sparkles stuck to her face, who was just trying to do the bidding of her dead mistress who died leaving some questionable commands.
So, C-Drama's for 2023 running list:
Lighter & Princess ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
She and Her Perfect Husband ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
New Life Begins ⭐️⭐️1/2
Triad Princess ⭐️1/2
Ashes of Love ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
