Song of the Moon – First Impression

EPISODE 1 RECAP

A girl, Liu Shao, is playing in her garden when a hooded man descends from the sky and makes a bargain out of the blue:

I can take you to see the world and do great things if you are willing to trade your destiny for this opportunity, he said.

Which is the kind of thing that warrants at least some eyebrow raising. But kids are kids; the girl says yes right away and they take off.

The man takes Liu Shao on a 3-day trip where she gets to see… the Avatar: the Way of Water theme park, I guess.

Then he returns her to her home, saying that ten years from now, her life will change.

Ten years later, Liu Shao (Xu Lu) is all grown up, she still thinks about the stranger in black every day and is super excited to have her life “changed”. Strolling around safely in a mansion is a little boring for her nowadays, even though her parents dote on her a lot.

On her 18th birthday, while she and her parents are having a peaceful dinner, the moon suddenly flares and singles her out. Then a group of men in beggar fashion jump out of nowhere and attack them. Shortly afterward, a mysterious lady appears, she knocks out the men but also attacks Liu Shao’s family. She seems pretty vengeful and her goal is to capture Liu Shao.

You know what happens next? That’s right. A man swoops in to catch Liu Shao when she is falling in midair. The staring that follows doesn’t last as long as in other dramas, though. So… progress?

Here he is, the male lead (Zhang Binbin), with the same lipstick shade they put on him in every drama.

He fights the mysterious lady and almost loses when his teacher appears to declare that he’s still got more up his sleeve.

The teacher conjures up something that looks like an invisible airship in the sky, which helps the man recharge and ultimately defeat that lady.

We get a little background info here: this man — Lu Li — is charged with the responsibility of protecting Liu Shao. She possesses strange powers since her birth for some reason that even the teacher doesn’t know. Yes, well, no explanation needed. At this point, I just kind of go with it that all female leads are out-of-this-world.

Anyway, because Liu Shao can’t yet defend herself, and because Lu Li and his teacher belong to a demon-slaying sect, it is up to Lu Li to make sure she doesn’t get harmed by evil beings who desire her power. That is, if she doesn’t get herself killed first by looking for trouble, which usually has a higher chance of happening in these dramas.

The news of the attack on Liu Shao’s family spreads. A powerful institution sends their people over to ask if the family need help, one of those people is a guy with the doomed single-forehead-strand hairstyle who THINKS he looks cool.

One night, Liu Shao sneaks out to look for the man who saved her life recently. She finds him with no trouble since he isn’t exactly hiding. In fact, he owns some kind of business, selling rare, valuable items and all that.

They meet – in a normal manner — I’m happy to say. Lu Li is friendly. He offers her a boat tour, they chat like regular people, and in the end, he gives her a pearl bracelet.

Afterward, Liu Shao decides to enroll in a training program at this elite institution to learn how to defend herself. Lu Li’s teacher plans for him to go with her.

Lu Li is not too enthusiastic about it because he doesn’t like to spend all his free time following her and lying to her about it, but his teacher reminds him of something important: He is searching for his true origin, and Liu Shao is “destined” to be a big help in this process. Yep, sorry, Lu Li, you’re stuck with her; fate doesn’t need a reason. Neither do writers, because FATE.

By the way, they really don’t need to bother disguising the male lead with a black hood because the lower half of Zhang Binbin’s face just kind of gives away his entire identity.

Unless, of course, Lu Li has a twin.

COMMENTS

Surprisingly, I don’t find the beginning of this drama frustrating or eye-rolling yet. Yes, all the overused tropes are there; the female lead is the chosen one just because; the unauthentic costumes: I’ve seen worse; and the antagonists are not exciting. But there’s no silliness here that hasn’t shown up in other fantasy dramas already.

Zhang Binbin plays the mischievous and friendly male lead well. He may not be a believable Qin Shihuang, but he’s definitely convincing in the role of an amiable and dependable hero.

The female protagonist’s connection to the moon is an interesting concept. Let’s hope it’ll be properly explored. I will say, though, that Liu Shao’s attempt at the “cute pout” isn’t selling, and she does it a lot.