I want to emphasise that stopping around episode 35 will give you enough mental peace to love the show. Where do I start with this excitingly messy ride?

First, I want to address that the storyline is interesting from the get-go: a fearless devil who will destroy the entire universe to be stopped by a righteous immortal travelling 500 years back in time. Transmigrations are always so enjoyable to watch. I personally really enjoyed the first half of the show.

This drama in its purest form is the most enemies to lovers trope you will ever come across. It’s a tug of war between good and evil, might and right. The leads will create the most stupefying chemistry with the unbeaten tension and colliding worldviews. Morality is challenged countless times and the main lead Tantai jin will go through wonderful character development. Li Susu’s character is worthwhile. She’s not the damsel in distress. She fights her battles independently and saves the people she loves.

I love Bai Lu and Leo’s chemistry. They embodied their characters so well. It was amazing to watch. The soundtrack of the show also deserves a praise. Amazing music, perfectly expressive with each scene.

The list of things that I loved have come to an end, unfortunately. Whilst I loved the main plot and characters, I found the themes to be very repetitive. The leads would grow an understanding, bond, love, misunderstand, hate and boom, make irreparable damage. This is the viscous cycle till the 40th episode. It got so predictably annoying. The misunderstandings were also stupid. It irked me when a character as empathetic and intellectually strong as Yi Xiwu would misunderstand and act upon impulse. Sometimes I thought I knew the characters well but they’d prove me wrong when they’d do something completely incomprehensible next moment.

The writing falls really weak by the end. The desperation to end the show badly could be seen clearly. They just refused to give Tantai Jin a chance at happiness even when he had completely surrendered himself before the world. It wasn’t his fault that in his entire life, not one person could truly love him. When he meets Yi Xiwu, his desperation to hold onto her was poetic but the show demeans his attempts at living a righteous life.

Moving on, though Leo as Tantai jin was amazing, the makeup and costume watered down his character. I didn’t like the really exaggerated eyeshadows and lipsticks. It frankly made his intense scenes feel comical which is really a shame because Leo put his everything into the character. Yi Xiwi was a sight for sore eyes whilst Tantai Jin’s entire image was just unnecessarily bad. The editing also did not impress me, quite lazy and disappointing.

Overall, it’s good. Sometimes too good. Sometimes it’s awfully lengthy woven with a tower of misunderstandings and grievances, but the main leads and their chemistry will overshadow many faults. If you want to watch “I hate you so much, I love you” to an extreme, then this is perfect.