Cang Lan Jue (2022)

A weird first episode, a great middle-part and a totally rushed finale

I've only recently entered the Xianxia universe, everything is still fresh and new to me, so bear with me and my totally subjective point of view and rating. My first one was Ashes of Love which I binged within one week (and only two weeks ago at that, hence still present when I started this one), so the bar was set quite high from the very first minute.

The story is intriguing and the title itself already hints to what you can expect (even though it sounds a bit cheesy). Two completely different beings fall in love with each other. You can already smell the scandal, the passion and the tragedy. Everyone who's a sucker for starcrossed lovers would take the bait. Me included, even though I didn't want to give in to the hype during its airing time. But the temptation was too big and I didn't regret it afterall. I'm actually glad because I can't be spoilered anymore (the risk was high, believe me).

The first episodes didn't pick me up right away. It was quite slow-paced and the female lead's voice was very high pitched. Many people complained about it. I bore with and got used to it pretty quickly though, until I didn't mind it at all anymore. At some point it started to fit her. It formed her character throughout the drama and became a special trait while she was evolving. It also helped distinguish different sides of her later on. She started off as a somewhat naive young woman who already experienced some hardships, i.e. not being accepted by others but her master, or loneliness. But she also got a sense of responsibility and took care of the destiny books in Arbiter Hall where she lived. Sometimes she behaved a bit childish but at the end she instinctively did the right thing. I wouldn't call her foolish either. She often found solutions on her own, even though those caused inconvenient consequences once in a while and were not always to my liking. But as the story went on, she grew with her tasks. I was really impressed by her resolution whenever she made a life-changing decision. Once she realized her biggest desire, she never wavered. I didn't always know what she was going to do, but I was never let down by her.

Dongfang, the male lead, had a hard time to win me over. But once the ice was broken, it was a pleasure to watch his character grow. In the earlier episodes he was moody all the time, what I could totally understand regarding the situation he was in. Sometimes though I found his expressions somewhat lacking, albeit that part was intended right from the beginning, and got explained later on. The missing emotions had positive effect though. It was quite impressive whenever his cold demeanor unexpectedly burst into fury. In the second half then, Donfang's character also gained a lot more layers and got complexier which made me happy beyond explanation. There was a point that completely changed my impression of the actor himself and allowed me then to fully enjoy his performance while finally wholeheartedly diving into the abysses of the lead.

The God of War, Changheng was never a character, I liked a lot. He was the second love interest which didn't even bother me. But he never thought twice about his implusive decisions. And when consequences hit him or bystanders hard, he rowed back. He decided on his own what was good for others. At some point though, he actually changed to the better, made me like him in some way which I didn't think was possible in the beginning.

The side cast was as intriguing as the main leads, I was invested in their stories alot, esp. Rong Hao's. Without telling too much, his tale was one of the most understandable and heartbreaking ones. On the other hand, Dongfang's brother got a reasonable history on his own. Whether intended or not, he never made me trust him completely though. There were also some loose ends of other people which I had liked to be explored some more, but I guess I can't have everything.

The acting was overall really good, however one or two people still need some fine-tuning, for example Dongfang's ~sidekick. At times he acted really well, in other situations he didn't seem confident at all.

What I really appeciated was that the love story took its time. It was slow-burning and subtle, hence it released a satisfying feeling when it finally bloomed, and got poignant at its climax. Misunderstandings get cleared pretty fast, too.

But as great as the middle-part became, the end itself was a small let-down for me. Alot of things suddenly happened in a really short amount of time. As if the writers didn't have enough time to tell everything. Fast changing scenes and small time jumps that led to a dysbalance of the overall atmosphere. Because it felt so rushed, the tension somewhat abated and didn't touch me as much as previous events in the drama. That part would have been a great finale if they had added one more episode.

As for the framing, beautiful music and CGI, and stunning costumes make this drama a feast for eyes and ears, but my absolute no. 1 highlight is Dongfang's hair. I can't even fathom what spell bewitched me here. I was always in awe whenever I saw it (which happened like... 90% of the drama, yes).

If someone is considering whether to watch this one or not, I'd say yes. It doesn't have that many episodes, the story is easy to understand and the character development is quite presentable. Also, there's a nice shifting of who the actual villain is even though it's predictable (if you include jerks, that damn almighty emperor would get first place, but who asks me).

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