At this point in the evolution of C-dramas, when introduced to a show that features a romance between an innocent girl who unknowingly harbors dark energy within her body and a white-robed immortal who becomes her mentor, most people would just steer clear.
I, however, was more optimistic despite this drama’s questionable beginning. And the punishment I get for my optimism is a jaw-dropping experience that turns me off of the word “Shifu (aka teacher)” forever.
So what did I assume about the drama? That there was no way this could be worse than any other Chinese fantasy drama we have come across, and that since this drama has the exact same premise as Journey of Flower, maybe one of these two scenarios could happen: 1) It might fix the mistakes the writers from Journey of Flower made, 2) it might downplay the seriousness of JoF, and turn this into a heartwarming romantic comedy instead.
Turns out, it does neither. Yayy…
Let’s get to what happens beyond episode 1. (you can find the recap for ep. 1 here)
So here’s the deal
Luo Yinfan is your typical fantasy white-robed mentor character who takes on a female disciple because he suspects the dark energy inside her may one day destroy the world, and because — for no particular reason — he is the only person who can keep her under control.
But here are the things that make him not so typical: he doesn’t teach this girl a lot despite claiming to be her teacher, nor does he attempt to control her unruly behaviors. Not that teachers in other dramas teach their students anything, either; but this one makes a point to keep his student an ignorant baby.
If she disturbs other people’s routines and eats forbidden fruits in a sacred garden, it isn’t her fault; it’s the other people that need to adjust to her “cuteness”. If she wants to leave a meeting because she is sleepy and bored and feels offended, let’s leave, never mind the fact that a discussion about the safety of the world is going on. No no, our man only needs to hear his little student’s opinion, no one else’s counts.
Along the way, we meet some other immortals who hold different positions in this realm and others. Most of them are men who look like they should pack an extra sandwich or two in their lunches.
Right off the bat, three of these men seem to develop a soft spot for our girl Chongzi.
Normally, these secondary male characters have less of a connection to the female lead than her main love interest does. But after about four episodes of Luo Yinfan keeping Chongzi in isolation and refusing to give her a proper education, you’ll be begging for one of these other slender guys to jump in and do whatever silly stuff they do.
Along the way, there are some characters that you just know are going to cause trouble in the most clichéd manner.
A Taoist school leader who insists that the best way to kill “evil” is to kill anyone who is infected by a generic “evil force”. Dude, what happens to balance and peace and embracing things as they are, the core teaching of Taoism? Aren’t you the head of a century-old Taoist institution or something? Think of a more creative way to deal with theoretical threats, please.
But strangely, it is easy to root for these antagonists to bring trouble upon the female lead because, my goodness, this girl doesn’t know where to start and she has absolutely no plan to stop.
Girl, calm down and rethink your priorities
To be fair, Chongzi expresses a genuine desire to learn something from her teacher. But instead of figuring out ways to learn, she sets out to cause as much trouble as possible with the excuse: I miss Shifu and fear for his safety.
The leading girl’s logic is this: as long as her Shifu is alive and healthy, no one can touch her. So, instead of improving herself, she goes around making sure her Shifu is happy and comfortable instead.
She barges into places, begs people to break the rules for her, and preaches them for mistreating her while what they’re doing is pointing out her mistakes. Whatever her elders say, she makes sure to do the exact opposite.
With every catastrophe caused by Chongzi, the drama writes itself further into a corner. It is already established that Yinfan does not teach Chongzi anything from the beginning. So, If Chongzi gets punished by Yinfan for her mistakes, it makes him look like an unreasonable old grump who fails to educate but blames his student for his failure. But if she doesn’t get punished, then she will never stop. Ever.
Is this meant to be the beginning of a journey of tragic mistakes and long-term consequences which will force Chongzi to grow up? I hope so. Otherwise, I hope this ship sinks gloriously.
Saving graces
All being said, there is one side plot that is kind of interesting so far: an immortal falling from grace and turning into a demon while saving his beloved. And now his beloved shuns him for being a demon. Ouch. Love to see how that one turns out.
The human prince who studies at the same school as Chongzi is also a watchable character so far. If he dies for Chongzi at any point, I’m out.
His cousin, the bratty – and kind of evil – princess is made out to be the enemy of Chongzi. But since Chongzi is the enemy of sense and reason, I’m not sure the princess is so bad after all.
