I stumbled upon this because it seemed interesting. It was actually quite addicting at first. Then it sort of dragged somewhat, but it wasn’t too bad. It was a decent series overall, considering it was adapted from a novel and got change somewhat, I don’t know how exactly it was, but it’s also on my to-read list. Anyway, what killed it for me was the ending, which I will save the rant for later.
Main Cast:
- Bai Yu (白宇) as Zhao Yun Lan (趙雲瀾) aka Kun Lun (崑崙). I actually started to watch his other series Fairyland Lovers but lost interest somewhere along the way because of certain characters, so I dropped it. After watching his performance in here though, I’ll probably double back and continue on since I do like him after watching this one. This was a funny type of character. Well, on the surface, he was very laid-back and seemed to not to care about some fussy details yet he was wounded by his past hence using humor to hide that side. It was trait for such characters in dramas. But the difference was seeing the stories unfolding and how he handled the situations itself.
- Zhu Yi Long (朱一龙) as Shen Wei (沈巍) and Ye Zun (夜尊). I watched Reunion: The Sound of the Providence before this–although the order of release was reversed. So, I saw ZYL in an obnoxious and funny role before seeing him in this calm, collected role. It was still an apparent contrast and he did very well. As for double roles in this one, that was a surprise for me since I resisted from searching for additional info coming into the series hence not knowing about spoilers, etc. But that made sense with some of the story details. His character, Shen Wei, was on the brink of OCD, lol. In some ways, it could get annoying–if you see it from Zhao Yun Lan’s perspective, lol, but other ways, it made him somewhat lovable. Shan Wei seemed to be ruthless and an enforcer of the rules to the T yet had a soft and kind heart below all of that surface. It made his character complex and addicting to watch in that sense.
Supporting:
- Xin Peng (辛鵬) as Guo Chang Cheng (郭長城). He seemed really cowardly and timid throughout yet when time called for it, he was there for them. He didn’t back down or quit because he learned a lot with the team and realized how much he liked the job. In fact, he wasn’t treating it just like a job anymore. He loved helping people and contributing to however small part it was to the team. All in all, he had a kind and simple heart.
- Li Yan (李硯) as Da Qing. A Yashou who could transform into a cat. He was an interesting character all right. His appearance could be considered cute and cuddly, but don’t try to hug him, lol. That could be a mistake. Well, if he didn’t let people pet him on purpose, it wasn’t a good idea to approach. He had quite a mouth on him too, always making comments about Zhao Yun Lan, lol. But he had his own capabilities, so can’t just get rid of him because of annoyance. In other words, he was quite a valuable asset to the team when it came to spying.
- Gao Yu Er (高雨兒) as Zhu Hong (祝紅). A Yashou who could transform into a snake. She was feisty in her ways and was not to be messed with. It was mistake if one tried. But she also had a soft heart when it came to team members and especially Zhao Yun Lan. Although she fought with him constantly, it was later revealed she liked ZYL since ages ago. It was quite cool that she became the ultimate leader to reunite all races near the end.
- Jiang Ming Yang (江明洋) as Chu Shu Zhi (楚恕之). A Dixing who used psychic marionette strings to fight. He was quite hot-headed and had quite an attitude toward others. It was later revealed that Shen Wei sent him there to collect info regarding the holy artifacts. It was also revealed that his attitude had caused trouble in the underworld realm and led to his brother’s death. So, he lived with the guilt everyday. He managed to confront that demon later and moved on, focusing on the team and helping maintain peace all around.
- Liu Min Ting (刘泯廷) as Lin Jing (林靜). A tech genius who was responsible for forensic and experiments in the lab. He was later revealed to be a spy. He was sent back as a double agent for Zhao Yun Lan later.
- Li Si Qi (李思琪) as Wang Zheng (汪徵) aka Princess Ge Lan (格蘭). She was a ghost. Yes, a ghost. It was later revealed in her story. She was probably the contrast of Zhu Hong because of her gentle side. However, when time called for it, she showed courage and strength like the rest of them, always backing her team up.
- Wang Chao Wei (王超伟) as. Sang Zan (桑贊). Wang Zheng’s lover. He was rescued and later became the archivist for the team.
Relationships – family, friends, romances, etc.:
- Bai Yu/ Zhao Yun Lan and Zhu Yi Long/ Shen Wei as a team. They worked quite well together as a team and whatever it was they did, it helped show their friendship on the screen. As characters, they were the typical opposites and the lively character pulled the quiet out of his shell. Yet they learned to work together and trusted each other as the story moved forward. The fact that both characters were intelligent made it even better for me. It was funny at times to see them trying to outwit one another. It was just a harmless bet at the beginning. But through those side fights, they understood one another’s routine and worked together quite well to solve different cases. It was too sad and tragic how the ending turned out though. Sorry, I can’t accept it. It made me want to throw something at the screen.
- Bai Yu/ Zhao Yun Lan and Li Yan/ Da Qing. They were equally hilarious whenever they worked together. Zhao Yun Lan kept calling Da Qing “Dead Cat” throughout, lol. Da Qing wasn’t any better, he tossed it right back, not fearing the boss’ wrath at all, lol. However, it showed at various points they supported one another through different trials–just like how all team members were loyal to one another. I also liked how their story was reveal when Da Qing first met ZYL as Kunlun. It was interesting how the story was set up and how ZYL chose to let Da Qing be the owner of his own fate hence placing the necklace on Da Qing, not keeping it as a control thing. He sure broke past the typical tradition of passing that thing around–like most thought as how it should be.
- Jiang Ming Yang/ Chu Shu Zhi and Xin Peng/ Guo Chang Cheng as a team. They were hilarious together all right. Chu Ge was very upset when he had to babysit the newbie–as he put it at one point. However, they later learned to work together throughout thus helping with the cases. Chu Ge later treated Chang Cheng like his little brother. It was a touching scene where Chu Ge thought Chang Cheng died because of him, etc.
Discussions:
- The story concept. It was very creative how the author created such a world where there were several types of races co-existing within the earth. Then the conflicts that happened throughout time, leading up to the current time. The holy artifacts concept also kept the story at an interesting level. Because it was inevitable that the evil forces tried to get a hold of ’em to use its power, etc. So, the journey was fascinating in trying to stop them.
- Pace. The pace was actually decent because there were many things happening, side cases that tied into the main story but didn’t linger for too long. What happened at each step actually drove the story forward. The suspense was kept at a right amount also.
- Music. The music was nice and gloomy, so of course, I was a fan of it.
- The team. I liked the overall team. The cast worked well together to reflect the image of each character and then the overall mood of the team. I liked how it was set up that every one of the characters had their special skills or abilities that helped with the cases and later the final battle. Although they seemed to fight a lot or get into silly disagreements with one another, they always supported one another when time called for it.
- The ending. Just why? In some ways, it made sense because of how intense it was. However, it felt like a wasted effort all along. They couldn’t change anything. Sure, they saved civilization but the truth was buried. I didn’t like that. It was choking, to say the least. How was that acceptable for the ending? Although I got it and all, I don’t have to accept it. Having someone live in Zhao Yun Lan’s skin? Really? It was good PR and tried to convince the audience that the public needed him, etc. But it was really hard to swallow–if one knew the truth. Of course, the characters in there had to move on anyway. But seriously, what in the world? Both of the main leads died? Just like that? It wasn’t like it had never been done before in the history of television or movies–for that matter. However, it really took some guts.
Recommended? For those who like tragedies, it could be worth it. I’ll probably check out the story one day and double back to say more. But that’s it for now.