I have been following fantasy dramas halfheartedly lately. This one came under my radar and it looks cool in terms of film sets and costumes. I make no promise about the quality, though, OK?
EPISODE 1 RECAP
Here we go, The Last Immortal.
The story begins when a little baby phoenix is born in the sacred Phoenix Realm. This is a big deal because the current Phoenix ruler is still alive. Very rarely is a new phoenix born when the ruling one is still… you know… ruling.
But that baby phoenix is Zhao Lusi, ok? So you people shouldn’t be complaining or speculating. Just celebrate it.
And celebrate they do. A gathering is held so the other immortal clans/tribes can congratulate this unusual birth.
Not sure I’m a fan of her bird form, though.
When the news reaches a Lord Donghua — not the purple one — he comments on the uniqueness of the situation and decides to send one of his students to the gathering to deliver gifts and stuff.
Donghua also reveals to us that he believes the fate of this student of his will be entangled with the new phoenix somehow. So he sends the kid over to see what happens. Sly old Donghua. By the way, for a character who’s supposed to be old and growing a white long beard, he kind of has a young face. Not sure if that’s on purpose.
Now, there’s something you should know about this student — Gujin — who’s going to the Phoenix Clan: he’s kind of a goofball. His martial arts skills aren’t that great, he’s still young, and it looks like he’s being spoiled a lot by his seniors and friends.
As the immortal people get on with the celebration, the baby phoenix walks around, getting used to her new environment. She wonders why these people are so obsessed with small problems like marrying into a good clan, befriending powerful leaders, etc. Me too, girl, I’ve been asking that question for ages. If the gods/immortals just live by mortals’ Confucianism-inspired rules that aren’t even creative, what is the point of being gods/immortals?
Anyway, Gujin gets into trouble with some petty students of another clan. The little phoenix sees this and her instincts tell her to help him. So she does. But what do you know, there are TWO girls who are wearing red outfits at this gathering, so Gujin thinks it was the other girl who helped him. This is her, Huashu.
It’s not clear if she’s evil, but she’s definitely not noble. She accepts Gujin’s thanks, knowing full well that he’s mistaken her for someone else. She’s also bitter about being called “inferior” too, because her family is from the Bird Clan, but it’s not as powerful as the Phoenix Clan. I’m not sure why she takes it personally, though. It seems like no clan here is as powerful and prestigious as the Phoenix Clan.
Later on that day, when Baby Phoenix is doing something inside her fire bubble — I don’t know what she’s doing, but it looks like a very important meditation session — Gujin tries to get near her because he wants to see the Fire Jade. It’s a kind of cool artefact so he just wants a peek.
Gujin doesn’t know he is bleeding from the fight earlier on. Nothing would’ve happened if he was an ordinary immortal, but it doesn’t look like it. His blood is sucked into the fire bubble, throwing Baby Phoenix off balance.
Also, neither of them knows that a spy from a bad girl-boss is also trying to do something to Baby Phoenix.
But before either of the men could do anything, poof, she disappears!
Oh no. The immortals rush to the site. Chaos breaks out because their unique little phoenix that they had so much hope for is completely gone. One old guy breaks down in tears right there.
Gujin, even though a goof, is a responsible person. He accepts responsibility and is prepared to take any kind of punishment.
Somewhere out there, the big bad girl-boss — who seemed to be attached permanently to a giant glowing orchid — is concocting a plan to steal an important artifact and do Baby Phoenix harm.
COMMENTS
So… there are good things and bad things.
This drama definitely has a unique introduction arc. For once, it’s the male lead who’s goofing around and creating problems, not the female lead.
The male lead Gujin also looks like he has to work from the bottom up in terms of skills and intelligence, but will the drama explore in depth that aspect of the character? Hmm, don’t hold out hope because this is still a romance first. If it does, I’ll be extremely grateful to the writers. I can’t comment on the male lead’s acting yet because his story is still at an early stage, he isn’t doing much as of now. But if the drama does take the heroic adventure route for his character… fingers crossed that this young actor can pull it off.
I have no complaints about Zhao Lusi. She carries out this innocent but collected and noble phoenix character easily. There are some awkward moments at the very beginning when it seems like she is in another life with a slightly different personality, but other than that, Zhao Lusi got this.
Many things happen in episode one and many characters are introduced; there isn’t enough time to get to know them all and yet they’re already doing major things that influence the plot. Kind of making your head spin a little. Although, if my experience with Fantasy Romance dramas is to be trusted, I don’t think it will take a lot of effort to understand the majority of them since they are pretty standard characters from this genre.
Bottom line: I may stick around for a few more episodes — for Zhao Lusi and her phoenix outfits — and hope that the plot is as unique as it was introduced to be.
“The Last Immortal” was a disappointment for me on multiple levels. It felt like a step backward for Zhao Lu Si’s career, especially considering her earlier dramas were much better. In my opinion, the production quality was also lacking, with fake-looking and overused scenery that sometimes took me out of the story.
The male lead, who looks like Xu Kai Cheng (to me), felt miscast. I had to double check because XKC can act while this actor proabably gave up on good acting for this drama. His acting, especially in later episodes, appeared stiff and lacking emotion, making some scenes feel awkward and disconnected even in tragic scenes. Despite Zhao Lu Si’s efforts in portraying her character well, I couldn’t overlook the overall shortcomings of the drama.
Yes, it seems Zhao Lusi tried her best. The rest of the drama hasn’t amazed me yet, and I still can’t remember the male lead’s name😂
Absolutely agree. I saw someone online mention that Zhao Li Ying has incredible chemistry with all her male co-stars except for the male lead in this drama, and I couldn’t nod harder. There was a scene between ZLY and the ML that was meant to be tragic, but ZLY’s heartfelt acting clashed with the ML’s stony-faced attempt at emotion, making it unintentionally funny. It did seem like he was struggling (painfully) to hold back a sneeze!
Perhaps it’s because his face reminds me of an adorable bunny or a very innocent boy; it felt like he was miscast for a role like this.
It’s a shame, but I don’t entirely blame the ML’s actor because even the overall vibe of the drama screamed like ‘poor quality’ from the sceneries, drama quality, some supporting characters, an overused plot, and etc.
It did seem like he was struggling (painfully) to hold back a sneeze! Perhaps it’s because his face reminds me of an adorable bunny or a very innocent boy; it felt like he was too young and miscast for this role, which required more acting skills in later episodes.
Knowing he was from Dreaming Back to the Qing Dynasty makes a bit more sense now, doesn’t it? I’ll take precaution before checking out any of this boy’s work.