Revenged Love is about a young man whose girlfriend leaves him for a rich dude – and so the shafted little guy decides the best revenge would be to seduce her new boyfriend. He enlists the help of his gay bestie and fully commits to his scheme.
The plot was refreshingly different and took us through several plot arcs. There was obvious and meaningful character growth of all four main characters. It felt natural and real (within the context of this wild storyline), with a wide variety of sets, indoor and outdoor filming locations, and a solid pace throughout the 24 episode runtime. It was gorgeous without being overly cinematic. There were tons of side characters and tons of extras and it felt like everything was happening in the real world, not a closed set. I was never for a second bored.
I only have one complaint.
I finished watching the show this weekend and couldn’t help but mourn the loss of our main character’s libido in the second half of the series (why did this show get more PG after they’d had sex?). Sure, there were allusions to it, some very, very quick cuts, some fades, some implied naughtiness. But OMG, you filmed this outside of China so you could give us a live action version of one of the horniest characters ever written: Chi Cheng! A man whose love for snakes is only surpassed by his desire for ass, a man whose libido is so overwhelming he actually takes medication to calm his feral hormones down. The censors were not coming from you, Revenged Love, so why hold back? I’m not saying I needed full NC17 scenes in the second half of the show, but at the very least we could have had some hardcore, passionate make out scenes and more of the ass grabbing, aggressive boyfriend we’d come to love.
Alright, I’ve got one more tiny complaint and that’s it – I promise! Let me say as much as I enjoyed both actors playing the second couple, I think we can all agree it was clear one of them did not enjoy kissing men. Let’s be honest, that boy’s lips were firmly sealed.
Despite my minor complaints, this was still one of the best BL dramas I have seen in ages and I highly recommend it to everyone. I loved everything else about this show and have been active in the fandoms gushing and chatting about it all summer.
If ya’ll did not know, Revenged Love is based on the novel Counter Attack 柴鸡蛋 by Chai Ji Dan 柴鸡蛋, the same author who wrote Addicted and Advance Bravely. Addicted was the first Asian BL novel I read and I ate it up, but it was tame in comparison to Counter Attack which I read directly after. The source material has fast paced short chapters; yes, it’s sometimes extremely cringe, but it’s also brave enough to casually toss in taboos and insane behavior left and right, it’s very very sexy, and best of all it had me laughing out loud with all the jokes and witty banter. It was a memorable reading experience. The drama Revenged Love is a serviceable live action version. I’m actually quite proud of how much they kept in, while simultaneously being a tad disappointed at what was missing. Oh, the curse of book adaptations, am I right?
And don’t get me wrong – it was still very, very sexy even if it didn’t include the many intimate scenes in the book. The show still managed to be titillating and exciting. In particular Tian Xuning’s performance as Chi Cheng, slinking through every scene like panther who has locked in on their prey but first wants to play with it for a while. Ya’ll, the flirting and seduction scenes between these two were so hot! That man’s pursuit of Wu Suo Wei (and Wu Suo Wei’s pursuit of Chi Cheng followed by his hasty retreats) were soooo intoxicating to watch. They may not have given us much to work with as far as sex scenes are concerned, but for at least 60 percent of this drama it was clear there was only one thing on Chi Cheng’s mind and it was delicious to watch this deep voiced (thank you voice actor Shun Zi!) dom corner his man.
I would say the success of this show is entirely due to the tight script (a good script seems to be hard to come by in the BL industry) and its vivid trope-defying characters. The author of the original novel wrote the screenplay and was heavily involved in the show’s production – and you can tell she worked hard to bring her vision to the screen.
The actors knew who their characters were and nailed their roles. The dialogue felt natural, the line delivery was perfection, and the quirky scoffs, sexy purrs, frustrated sighs, alarmed squeals, and jittery rambling were all true to human behavior. Everyone was allowed to be many shades of gray. They made mistakes, they lied to each other and themselves, they were insecure and they were confident. They were emotionally varied, with pros and cons. None of that dull binary green flag / red flag business, these characters were human.
You will laugh, you might even cry, but most of all you will fall in love with these boys falling in love with each other. I hope we continue to get more uncensored adaptations of Chinese BL novels and webtoons in the future, because there are soooo many quality stories just begging to be brought to life.
If you haven’t watched Revenged Love yet – get on over to Viki or GagaOOLala or just go the Youtube page of the show.
Revenged Love – Overall Rating: 10/10 – Snakes, Sluts, and a Hot Polycule.
The Blossoming Love had all the things I adore in a Xianxia (fantasy) drama – magical arrays, cultivator sects, sword graveyards, gorgeous costuming, and an abundance of glowing, glittering special effects. It had mixed worlds and peoples (immortals, humans, demons, and more) and their usual struggle to get along. It may not have had the highest budget, but they used their money wisely. Everything looked fantastic.
But what elevated this drama into the upper echelon for me was the surprising development of the three main characters and the really wild plot line. Even by Xianxia standards (where anything can happen and usually does) this storyline stood out.
Quick Plot Summary for the Set Up (when things still seem “normal”):
In this story, there are two ancient divine artifacts: the book of fate and the chaos pearl. These two artifacts have been controlling all three realms since time immortal. Due to some dramatic events that will be revealed later in the show, the chaos pearl fell into the human world.
There is a magical barrier between the human world and the Dark Realm (a magical hellscape filled with evil immortals that can’t be killed cause they constantly reincarnate) – and that barrier is old and weakening, with the baddies inside eager to break free.
The chaos pearl was used to create the barrier between the Human World and the Dark Realm and it has been closely guarded by the cultivator alliance for centuries.
Recently a mysterious group has been helping the Dark Realm… trying to steal the chaos pearl and break the walls between the worlds forever…
That’s the basic set up of the drama to get you through ACT I.
Let’s peek at the major locations:
The Dark Realm
Snow City
Hanging Sky Pavilion
Jade Sky Palace
Profound Excellence Villa
Mirage Palace
The Heavenly Immortal Realm
Now let’s meet the three main characters!
***very mild spoilers for the first part of the drama below
They all have X names… so I gave most of them nicknames to help us out.
ML – XIE XUECHAN – “White Knight”
The male lead Xie Xuechan, our White Knight, is the most upright, moral, rigid and respectable man you can imagine. He’s the top sword cultivator in the realm, heir to the Snowy Mountain Sect folks who are guarding the chaos pearl, and a total badass in white robes.
Our White Knight has followed the righteous cultivation path, meaning he’s closed himself off from his emotions so he can care for all people equally, with no one in his heart who might sway or influence his decisions in protecting the whole world. He’s noble to a fault and you may not love him right away but trust me… you will fall hard for this big hunky man with an iron will and pure heart.
He’s irresistible.
The actor Vin Zhang is very manly, too – he doesn’t have the typical idol look, nor the beautiful ethereal look that I tend to lean towards. He’s a bigguy with a deep voice, exactly the type to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. I firmly believed he could protect all of humanity – by himself if need be. I mean… look at this colossal man!
Formidable. That’s the best word for him.
Only a certain type of dude can manspread to this extent and still look cool af.
He’s larger than life (and larger than the majority of chairs). Comically huge swords look natural in his hands instead of like cosplay props.
He can wear the most delicately embroidered robes – hell, you could put this dude in full drag – and you will not get any rainbow vibes from him whatsoever. He’s a zero on the Kinsey Scale.
He ain’t my type, but I love our White Knight. Just… totally love the dude.
And so does our exceptionally beautiful leading lady.
FL – MU XUANLING – “Saintess”
The female lead Mu Xuanling, also known as The Saintess of the Dark Realm, is a petite beauty whose only goal is to steal the heart of our stubborn White Knight cultivator… who in turn wants nothing to do with her. She’s a feisty spirit that cultivated demonic energy and is well known as formidable villain. Obviously not an ideal partner for the purest of pure heroes who is not supposed to fall in love – and obviously a perfect set up for the romance of the century.
In the opening scene our hero is tied up in the Dark Realm and our Saintess saunters right up to the guy and makes her intentions crystal clear.
When I say her only goal is to win her man, I mean it.
This girl is relentless.
A non-stop flirting machine.
She doesn’t care who is watching or what others might think.
She’s never gonna miss an opportunity to press herself against her big statuesque man, bat her lashes, and drop some innuendo. It’s a nonstop assault on his puritan armor.
And it is soooo fun to watch their push and pull dynamics!
After he escapes the Dark Realm in the first episode, his powers are temporarily locked away and this tiny spirit girl is suggestively bullying him – pushing him around, jumping on top of him, pinning in to the bed. He’s batting away her eager hands (or sexy legs), exasperated and very clear with his intentions but she will not be deterred! She is having the time of her life teasing this big dude.
And you can feel the zing between these two in their first encounter. Their chemistry is sizzzzzling. He’s saying no every five minutes but his eyes are always following her. You know he’s gonna break out of that restrictive shell eventually (and probably break a few bed frames with her).
Viewers, it’s deeply satisfying to watch a tiny woman claw her way into the pants of this huge virginal knight.
Whether fighting or flirting, they are the OPT of the year. They OWN this drama.
The casting director deserves an award, too. Just look at them! The height difference! The natural chemistry! The casual playfulness of their interactions both on and off screen!
Legends.
Listen, I was totally in love with the second male lead from the moment he came on screen – and I still didn’t ship anyone else with the leading lady other than this big hunky hero. Nothing could come between the two main leads, you hear me! Not even God! (spoiler? Haha, if ya know you know)
So let’s talk about my man – the second male lead.
SML – NAN XUYUE – “Xuyue”
The second male lead is Nan Xuyue, the character that made me lose my freaking mind and drove me to obsession. He is 10,000% my type, aka a pretty, pretty man with an agenda.
If you’ve seen Fangs of Fortune you might recognize him as the older brother of Yichen (and if you haven’t seen Fangs of Fortune then add it to your watchlist!).
He was also the sexy serpent guy in the movie The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity.
Wang Duo!
When will this actor be the lead in a drama, I ask you?
I am not alone in my second male lead syndrome – I think most viewers were spellbound by this complicated character. And I also think that as much as we loved our second male lead Xuyue, no one was seriously shipping him romantically with the female lead at any time throughout this drama. We were all happy to love him separately. Personally.
He was ours, damn it.
this is what I signed up for with C-Dramas… lovely, delicate men with perfect eyeliner and long wigs and exquisite robes… I could stare at this beauty all day….
Our beautiful, strange creature Xuyue.
Xuyue is a refined, calm, soft spoken, genius-type who rose to fame for creating exceptional magical arrays (teleportation wormholes, carriages that are bigger in the inside, letters turned into origami birds that fly to the intended reader, so many cool things). He’s the type of guy that plays chess by himself, playing both sides with equal seriousness. He does not delude himself as to his value or importance – he always knows when he’s got a winning hand or a losing hand.
He’s also a very insular character – closed off from others, and full to the brim of secrets. You can always sense the wheels turning in his head, leaving you wondering what he’s really thinking about in that vast and fathomless other world of his mind.
And at his side is his female servant, Feng Yao. She’s probably the only person who really knows this mysterious guy – and even she knows she doesn’t know everything about him.
At one point he and our White Knight were the two best fighters among the cultivators, both born with an extra aperture (the best cultivators have nine but these two boys both have ten). They were a cool duo, our White Knight wielding his massive sword, while Xuyue wields his magical fan.
But they did not stay a dynamic duo for long, as poor Xuyue’s body and apertures was broken sometime in the past, greatly reducing his powers and leaving him relegated to the side lines. The two cultivators are still friends though, with our White Knight being one of the few people Xuyue genuinely cares about.
Most second male leads are used as love rivals in dramas, but not Xuyue. He is something much more intriguing: a true outsider. More so than our hero White Knight who is isolated in leadership, and more so than our slave spirit Saintess who had to run away to hell to survive. Xuyue is an outsider because he’s basically a genius asexual sociopath (I don’t mean any of those terms in the derogatory sense either).
He is the definition of OTHER.
He understands the concept of feelings but struggles to actually feel them. When he feels anything at all he attaches an undue importance to them.
He’s someone who is no stranger to disappointment and has learned to keep a distance from the things that might hurt him, to observe from the peripheral. His insight into others is keen and accurate. He gets why people do the things they do… and recognizes that his own motivations and feelings are not the same as them. He knows he’s different.
And Xuyue is inexplicably drawn to our female lead.
They’d met briefly over a decade ago and the impression she left on him was far beyond a reasonable response. In the ten minutes they were together, he felt a sameness between them – something he had never felt with anyone else. What is instant connection? Who can explain why we feel comfortable with some people from the first encounter? He is as baffled by it as we the viewers are, but for whatever reason he is compelled by her – pulled towards her with a subtle urgency he cannot control or ignore.
And again it’s not a sexual attraction. He is well of how she feels about his friend and is fascinated by their interactions and their growing love for each other. But he’s like a man possessed. He just knows with each passing day his need to be near our little flirty Saintess grows stronger and stronger.
This dynamic was sooooo different from the norm.
Who can tell where the story is going when you’re given such an unusual “love” triangle?
I mean… WHAT??? That is quite a statement, Xuyue! If it wasn’t already clear from the beginning, it’s obvious by this point that Xuyue is a true wildcard.
As the fandom watched this show air – one of everyone’s favorite speculative games was WHAT IS XUYUE GONNA DO?! It was anyone’s guess – so we entertained ourselves imagining all kinds of crazy scenarios.
So… that’s our basic set up and three main characters and their dynamics.
There are more people than the three main characters of course – side characters, side couples, more bad guys and good guys and inbetween peeps too. This is such a well written show – even the super campy, cheesy characters have unexpected depth or insane backstories. You’ll have fun with all of them.
The Blossoming Love is a long drama (there are longer, of course, but this one is still quite lengthy). It’s 40 episodes jam packed with sects and secrets and reveals and reincarnations. My first experience watching it was several episodes at a time for several weeks as it aired. And I recently rewatched it before writing this review, committing to a binge watch of about ten or more episodes a day – and it holds up to my initial high impression of it (though admittedly binging a 40 episode drama is a task in our distracted age – so if you do binge it just put your phone down and take frequent breaks, cause what’s happening on screen matters). The best thing about lengthy shows is you can’t possibly remember everything – so rewatches are always full of rediscovery.
If you haven’t seen The Blossoming Love yet and you like fantasy dramas or romance dramas, go check it out. It’s available on some streaming platforms and docked on several pirate bays.
Trust me when I say it’s gonna surprise you and charm you. Several times.
After the madness unfolds (and it goes hog wild) and you’ve gotten through it all – come back here and let’s reminisce on the insanity of the second half of this drama together in the spoiler section below.
There is so much more to discuss because the first plot arc is just an overpainting of what’s really going on. This show unfolds like the puzzle box from Hellraiser. In that you might have expected something wild to happen but no one can me they were expecting the Cenobites, ya hear me? That story broke the mold as far as what our expectations of Hell were. This story breaks the mold as far as your expectations of rebirth stories in cdramas. (Is that Hellraiser reference too random? I was a Clive Barker girlie growing up)
Overall Rating: 10/10. Don’t Let Fate Decide: Love Your Lovers and Kill Your Gods.
WARNING!
Everything below is full of massive spoilers for the whole show!
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