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The Devil Made Me

In China the Xianxia genre of dramas is very popular, and after watching a few episodes from various series I decided to watch one from start to finish. Since I liked Dylan Wang in Meteor Garden (a review of that is in the works) I went with his Love Between Fairy and Devil from 2022.

First, an explanation: Xianxia is the Chinese version of epic fantasy, and usually features otherworldly settings with immortal characters. On the upside the action is a combination of special effects and martial arts, most of which is quite exciting. For me the costumes and settings are the standout elements, as they're really beautiful and super creative.

On the downside, the storylines (which I assume are based on Chinese fiction or mythology) are muddled, over-plotted and/or rather ridiculous. Misogyny runs rampant; the sheer idiocy of some of the characters is annoying, too. Since Tolkkien's middle earth books and movies are the same in my opinion I think epic fantasy will never really work for me, so keep that in mind.

As fantasies go Love Between Fairy and Devil is both high and epic in a visual sense, with fantastic otherwordly settings with characters to match. Everyone has hair down past their waist, they wear gorgeous flowing robes and highly stylized accessories; the design department should get a massive raise for what they did with the head pieces alone. The storyline, while a bit convoluted, wasn't that difficult to follow, and while the dialogue is just as lofty as the settings it made sense. The romance between the fairy and the devil is likewise epic (if unlikely) and there are some interesting subplots including another romance and an ancient conspiracy.

Dylan Wang did a first rate job playing the devil Dongfang Qingcang, a tortured and dark immortal who is accidentally released from an eternal prison by the fairy. Anyone who believes Dylan doesn't have any range of emotion as an actor should watch this series. Yu Shuxin as the fairy Orchid was an excellent choice, as she's completely convincing at every stage of Orchid's journey through the series. The two of them together are perfection, and they command attention whenever they're on stage.

There were some problems with the series, such as a plodding story and a few too many flashbacks. It was nice to watch a Chinese production without too much visible government propaganda, although I picked up on a couple subtler shows of that. The excuses used to keep the fairy and devil apart became more forced and unnatural as the series progressed. Some of the actors went a little overboard with their emotional portrayals of their characters; I don't think gods and goddesses should behave like angry toddlers.

I believe Love Between Fairy and Devil is worth the watch, as long as you don't mind high/epic fantasy and long series. Available on Netflix.

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