Cang Lan Jue (2022)

Truly the most gutwrenching AND heartwarming love story, WORTH the watch - lifechanging

I kid you not when I say this drama is LIFECHANGING. I have watched so many c-dramas and xianxia shows and love stories and this one tops it all for me. It's been 3 years and this is still my favourite c-drama of all-time — there is a damn good reason why this show is as popular as it is! I HIGHLY recommend this for those looking for a love story that is actually convincing and emotional, full of depth, and I assure you this is the ONE show where you will fully understand why the characters fell in love with each other, and they prove their mutual love over and over again. There really is no doubt that yes, they LOVE each other, they embody it, they are head over heels for the other, and their love can change and shake the world. Yet while watching it we will understand why they love each other so much that [SPOILER] they are willing to die for the other — it's not one of those shows where suddenly the fl and ml are hopelessly in love and doing ridiculous things for the other at the expense of themselves and we are baffled as to why they're willing to go so far. TLDR — the strongest point of this drama is a very well developed and fleshed-out love story, we see the process of them falling in love, and yes, this is a slow burn, but there are SO many interactions between the two (this show is, at its core, focused on illustrating the journey to love the fl and ml are embarking on) that the slow burn is entirely enjoyable, and there are also lots of lovely moments throughout!

This show doesn’t have the most groundbreaking or unpredictable plot — on the contrary, the plot can be more on the predictable side, but imo it’s more of a sidelined thing as the show's main focus is on the fl and ml's love story. Plot-wise it's quite typical of a xianxia drama, but I do think it's also entertaining and intriguing enough to be of substance. So I wouldn’t recommend you watch this for the plot per se, but it is a good enough form of entertainment on the side if you focus on the ml and fl.

Music-wise, this drama is the best one yet (maybe tied with Love Game In Eastern Fantasy) when it comes to the OST line-up and BGM. The music really adds so much to the scenes and the show, it's like the final puzzle piece that elevates the entire scene and just takes your emotions and viewing experience to a whole new otherworldly level. It's really a stab in the heart and a warm fluffy hug all at once, depending on the OST and the nature of the scene. I seriously have no words for this OST line-up but it is simply too great — also, the BGM that plays whenever the ml has his kickass moments is soooo fitting and not corny at all, they did a wonderful job on the music on a whole.

CGI was spectacular in certain key scenes, and the worldbuilding is genuinely so pretty it really makes you feel like you’ve been transported to the world of the show and doesn’t feel like CGI at all. However, there are moments of poorly executed CGI, where it sometimes looks quite fake and flat/2D, but I think they can be glossed over if you look at the big picture — I do think they pick and chose where to spend more budget on for CGI, and I think the moments were chosen very aptly.

This show also has an overarching theme of [SPOILER] love wins all; love is salvation. This is another very strong point of the show, where this theme of love above all is highlighted and consistently embodied by every character in the show, including the side pairings and even the villain. The show does an excellent job of tying all the characters and sideplots together with this theme of love wins all, and it all culminates in a very satisfying ending for every character. I personally also find the side characters very lovable and likeable, and though there is a love triangle in this show, it is done very well and I love the 2nd lead so much — you will find yourself really empathising with him, and yet it is nearly impossible to get 2nd lead syndrome in this show (though you sympathise with and love the 2nd ml, you will STILL absolutely root for the ml and fl). Coming from someone who hates love triangles, I surprisingly liked this one because you can also really feel the love the 2nd ml has for the fl and he doesn’t do idiotic things that gets in the way of the fl and ml, the love triangle isn’t forced nor obnoxious, it actually does have quite a hand to play in driving the plot and it’s all intertwined very seamlessly. The focus of the show is still mostly on the fl and ml though, and the love triangle doesn’t appear as much compared to other shows, it’s definitely there but moreso in the background. So if you hate love triangles, give this one a shot and don’t worry — I would know, I truly despise love triangles with everything in me and this one was absolutely fine, even enjoyable (I’m shocked, too).

Trope-wise, here's the main tropes of the show [SPOILER]:
- grumpy x sunshine
- morally grey ml x pure fl
- bodyswap (will elaborate on this in the next para)
- forbidden love
- ml is the most powerful being in the entire 3 realms
- a little bit of starcrossed lovers?
- little bit of hate everyone but her
- touch her and you die (quite a few scenes of hero saving the beauty in this show and it's not even cliche!!!)
- slow burn, kinda mutual pining, idiots in love
- misunderstandings (but they’re not annoying they’re just so FUNNY)
- forced proximity

Now onto the STRONGEST point of this show: the love story. It's so well done I’m just in genuine awe and shock. My favourite part of their dynamic is the playfulness, the genuine emotional connection they share, the vulnerability, the BANTER... they are so good together and SO hilarious when the miscommunication occurs (but it isn't annoying at all, it's so so so funny). [SPOILER] The ml and fl are connected by the one-heart curse, meaning whatever happens to the fl the ml will feel and experience as well — ie. if she's hurt, he'll get the same scar on his body and feel the same hurt; if she's crying, he'll cry too. Yet the fl is blissfully unaware of this while the ml suffers in complete annoyance and this is just so amusing to watch. BIG kudos to Dylan Wang for his acting because to watch the tears rivulet out of his eyes while his gaze is FILLED with indignance oh my goodness it's HILARIOUS. This is a rather typical all-powerful ml x weak fl, but don’t worry it’s not off-putting at all (even though I typically am not a fan of such tropes) and even though the fl is weak and yes, the ml saves her quite a number of times, she isn’t all quiet and shy and her weakness is NOT the bulk of her personality. You honestly wouldn’t think of her as weak at all because she’s only weak in terms of power, but her personality is strong and bubbly and bright and brave. Even though she has weak powers, she’s really brave and righteous and steps up for her friends, strangers, and everyone in general. She doesn’t let herself get bullied (even though she does — she stands up for herself) and remains steadfast in her beliefs no matter what. She’s a very typical "kind to everyone, loves everyone" Cinderella-esque fl character, but she’s portrayed and characterised in almost an entirely new way, such that I felt that she reinvented this type of character trope to make her so much more likeable and refreshing. As for the ml, I am just irrevocably in love with him. He has SUCH a powerful aura throughout the show, and though he has red-flag-esque behaviour in the first half of the show, we watch him become more human as the show progresses because of her and witnessing his character arc and change is incredible. He turns into the greenest flag ever by the end of the show and I am ALL for it. We really follow his journey of humanisation and learning to live, learning to love; it is a truly gratifying experience. I also really, really appreciate that this show doesn’t turn the fl and ml into brainless fools who would sacrifice the entire world and betray their own moral beliefs and values for each other — the conflict of this show is very much centred around their forbidden love and their differing stances/backgrounds, with her from the Fairy Realm and him as the ruler of the Moon Realm (both realms have been at war for 30,000 years), and neither of them are willing to betray their home for the other, nor are they willing to sacrifice their love for their home. It's a beautiful balance and a very touching story that is excellently executed, and I personally find it quite refreshing in the xianxia genre because though this show is full of old tropes, they twist it in a new, rejuvenating way that perfectly balances the satisfaction of these cliches and also imbues the tropes with a breath of fresh air.

About the bodyswap — I’m not usually a fan of this trope, but it was so well done here that I do firmly believe it’s one of the strongest points of the show too. The actors just did a phenomenal job of portraying each other: watching the bodyswap scenes made me laugh SO hard, but it isn’t done in a cliche corny way either, it feels so genuinely realistic because the actors really brought each other’s characters to LIFE — I truly applaud them. There are also lots of little moments, quirks, and details both actors bring out that elevate the bodyswap to a higher level such that we truly SEE the soul of the fl in the ml's body and vice versa. Dylan Wang and Esther Yu really gave their all into this show and I really truly believe no one could have done a better job, or even come close to delivering the absolute PERFORMANCE they gave us. The main reason why this show was done so well — and WORKED so well with the audience — was Dylan and Esther's electric, off-the-charts chemistry. Watching the behind-the-scenes will show you without a doubt that the pair are EXCELLENT friends and have a wonderful relationship. I think both Dylan and Esther have the phenomenal ability to have chemistry with literally Anyone (I’m an avid fan of both of them, and having watched their other works, I’m rooted in my belief that yes they are just naturally blessed to have amazing chemistry with anyone, so put them together and sparks literally fly everywhere, magic happens). Their irl dynamic is very much playful, goofy, LOTS of banter (like insane...) and bickering, yet also a lot of mutual care and comfort and concern and love. They really are very very good friends and that helped bring their characters to life so much. I think these characters are Esther and Dylan's strongest suits! I could go on forever about the incredibly magnificent job they did bringing SOUL to these characters and I will say again their acting blew me out of this UNIVERSE (especially Dylan!!!!) and they work so so so well together it's criminal that this is their only project together. I have truly never seen a better pairing when it comes to on-screen and off-screen chemistry.

(Also: there's LOTS of kiss scenes between the fl and ml in this show. I think I counted around 13? Definitely more than 10.)

TLDR I just love this show with all of my existence and Dylan and Esther are just absolute talents and the greatest thing to happen to the xianxia c-drama industry in recent years. Please give this show a shot and see it through till the end — the best parts of the show is around ep9-28 imo (personally I found ep20-26 to be the HIGHLIGHT because this is when their mutual pining becomes super obvious and the denial is really cute, it's the cementing of their feelings fr), ep1-8 is mostly quite peaceful (aka nothing much in terms of plot going on) and very focused on the fl and ml building a dynamic/friendship, which I personally found highly enjoyable to watch and not boring at all despite the slower pace because I loved watching them interact. The plot picks up a lot from ep27 onwards and it's honestly quite rushed but seeing as how this show puts its focus on the fl and ml's love story I can gloss that over. [SPOILER] Yes, there is a happy ending, but you WILL cry and bawl and sob and weep from ep30-36, almost right till the last minute (but hold out for the happy ending, I promise it's there). I highly recommend you watch the special epilogue episode(s) (it's around 2-3mins long) — it’s just reused scenes from the show but with a voiceover from the ml illustrating their life together after all the stuff went down in the actual show, and it feels like a much-needed post-credit closure. Watching the interviews Dylan did really shows the WORKKK he put into this role and this show and boy did he deliver!! I also recommend watching all the behind-the-scenes and the interviews Dylan and Esther did together (Dylan also did a lot more alone) because trust me you'll be HOOKED on them and their chemistry after watching this show.

I think this is Dylan and Esther's BEST show, but if you want to see more of them/their works...
- Dylan: Hello Saturday (this is a variety show he's in, not a drama, but his personality SHINES so much here and I just love him so so much so if you want to see more of him definitely go for this — but do take note he’s not in every episode so find those with him in the thumbnail! He did one episode with Esther too to promote this show and it’s absolutely lovely), Guardians of the Dafeng (currently airing), Meteor Garden (for a more boyish, modern, school-type drama)
- Esther: Love Game In Eastern Fantasy (comes second to this show, I wouldn’t call it a close second because LBFAD is PHENOMENAL, but LGIEF is really damn good too — I’ll write a review for this too), Moonlight (modern sweet romance), My Journey To You (her ml in that show is the same actor as the 2nd ml in this show!)

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