The full title of this drama is Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact. It doesn’t exactly sound exciting, but at least it’s not the generic “eternal” something.
When I first read the English title, I thought it would be a comedy where Yang Mi plays a know-it-all fox fairy who loves to matchmake and meddle in other people’s relationships and then has love thrust at her in the most unexpected way. Like Emma, in a way. Alas, we do get a fox fairy and some matchmaking, but the storyline itself is not what I imagined at all. On the contrary, it seems to be the old “let’s save the world and fall in love” kind of drama.
I’ve only seen the first few episodes, after all, so if I am wrong about this drama’s direction, feel free to correct me below.
EPISODE 1 RECAP
A war has been going on for 300 years between some immortal clans. You know… Genghis Khan would’ve only needed less than one-fifth of that time to change the map of Asia. What is taking you immortals so long to resolve a battle?
Anyway, the battle only comes to an end when the supposedly awesome female lead flies in with her fox magic — Queen Tushan Honghong (Yang Mi) of the Fox Clan.
Fox Queen Honghong brings the world to peace once again. I guess this war drains her so much that she is never fully awake afterwards. Because every time you look at her in here, her eyes are only half open.
The Fox Clan bans everyone from their land except their own kind. The clan is protected by the Tree of Grief, which is nourished by the love between the foxes. I’m not sure if they mean all kinds of love — like family love, friendship, etc — or just romantic love. Anyway, “love” is this clan’s battery.
Hang on, if they don’t let anyone in, does it mean that at one point, people will run out of marriage choices? What do they do then? Please tell me they keep in touch with other fox clans around the world.
Anyway, the Fox Queen is seen to give a newly… er… arranged fox couple her blessings. She gives them her gifts and promises them that they can count on the whole clan to maintain their eternal happiness.
If the couple runs into trouble, their fellow foxes can help them get back on their track. That’s basically how it works here. Hmm, very good sense of community. Although… What if they are, like, a mismatch and need help letting go of one another? Can they get free counselling for that?
One day, a boy mischievously runs into the Fox’ territory with two men chasing after him. But not for long, because Fox Queen Honghong makes her “epic” appearance again and has the men thrown out. Her two sisters also jump in and make sure these men understand that messing with Fox Queen is dangerous. Even if she is always half-asleep.
Queen Honghong decides the boy can stay. She recognizes that he is destined to be great — or to be doomed, it’s not very clear.
The boy is stubborn and constantly tries to run far from home so Honghong puts a leash on him. She shoots some kind of magic at his chest, which ties him to her, so… yeah, it looks pretty, but it’s still a leash.
The boy soon grows up into a young man. Honghong has been teaching him martial arts and magic. He likes to wait on her and tolerating her grumpiness is a big part of his life.
What he doesn’t know is that something is going on with Honghong’s health, and the Fox Clan’s defences can be at risk.
If this boy ends up falling for Honghong, I hope this drama got itself one heck of a good writer because it takes no less to spin such a story into something not problematic.
COMMENTS
A lot of things happen in this first episode, but at the same time, it feels like nothing happens at all.
In a short span of time, we have a war, some powerful female leads introduced, a mysterious boy runs in and grows up, an intruder killed, some bad guys shooting black smoke everywhere. The problem is: the drama is not giving us enough time to get to know any of these characters before thrusting the next big thing into the story.
Does the boy have a tragic past? I can’t say I was moved because it was only conveyed through some harmless flashbacks. He himself still looks clean and pampered.
Does the Fox Queen put her life at risk to save the world? I can’t really sympathize because all they show is CG and special effects, and all the character does is move her arms a bit while still looking gorgeous.
Does Fox Queen teach the boy well? I am not sure about that, either, because we don’t exactly see her methods.
The beginning of the main relationship looks a bit like Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu from Return of the Condor Heroes, if I am correct about where this is going. In Condor‘s case, however, we get an awful lot of character-building before we are asked to sympathize with the lead couple or their romance.
Then, there are the over-the-top attempts to show that the women in here are “strong”. The scene where the three queens chase away the men and rescue the boy is an example. Do we really need three powerful leaders of a powerful clan to fly out together only to kick away some useless invaders who can’t even catch a little boy? Instead of telling a story and letting the audience interpret it, this drama insists on its narrative with little to back it up.
As for Yang Mi, the lead actress, she is perhaps a severe case of Joey’s Acting Lessons. Like this:
A proud queen? Loll your head and blink very slowly.
A playful girl? Rest your chin in your palm and smile.
Abashed and confused? Open your eyes wide and pull your shoulders up like a cornered mouse.
An aloof fairy? Look sleepy.
These are some of the formulas Yang Mi has employed in all of her dramas, and so far they haven’t changed. Whether that is good or bad news is up to you.
Her character, on the other hand, is powerful and noble — a stunning queen who makes big sacrifices for everyone around. What she lacks, however, is a human side that we can relate to. The Green Fox Queen is nerdy and loves mathematics, for instance; and the Lavender Fox is hot-tempered but a cool teacher. Compared to these lively characterizations, Honghong fades into the pretty background despite the drama’s best effort to push her forward.
So far, I will say that the male lead’s beginning is the most interesting part of the show. I do sympathize with him for being stuck in this confusing immortal place with a woman he seems to idolize. Once his real journey begins, so — maybe — will the excitement.
The costumes and sets — very eye-pleasing.
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I’ve watched one episode and am not in a rush to continue. If you continue watching that would likely be the only way I’ll finish this story. Good luck! 🍀
I’ll let you know XDD
I haven’t watched this drama but just came to this post knowing how you feel about Yang Mi. Bc I feel the same way too. I highly recommed you take a peek at JJY’s magnum opus acting In Blossom. I’ve come to appreciate Yang Mi a bit more after that.
Maybe this one might be good unlike Pearl Eclipse as Gong Jun is a good actor. Fingers crossed.
Yes I agree. The costumes and the set are VERY VERY good. I love Yang MI’s looks here. Thank you for this post. I had a quite a load of laughs.
Thanks for the rec! 😂 I’m surprised, JJY used to be considered good, people loved Yunxi (I haven’t seen that one though)
JJY isn’t the worst actress. In her other dramas, her passable acting and obsession with looking perfect wasn’t too much of an issue. Her fans always had her back. But in “In Blossom,” it was painfully obvious, especially since the original actress did justice to her character.
Personally, it was a bummer because I love gothic dramas and the chemistry between the ML and the first actress was fantastic. Plus, a coroner female lead was so refreshing to me.
But hey, this drama broke many records. Maybe the company knew what they were doing by hiring JJY not only for her fandom but also her acting quirks—people love to hate-watch!
I see. Yes, doing too much of the same thing is a collective problem of this whole industry. Some actors get out of it, some just get stuck there until even the fans can’t stand their products anymore. *sighs*
I’ll definitely check out In Blossom XD