Love Game in Eastern Fantasy

Presentation

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Overview

Synopsis

Ling Miao Miao is a young woman who’s passionate about novels written by her favorite author Fu Zhou. One day, she gets transported into the world of the novel she’s reading as secondary character Lin Yu. In order to get out, she has to realize the missions given by the system. One of them is to seduce the cold demon catcher Mu Sheng.

My Opinion (No Spoiler)

Love Game in Eastern Fantasy was such a fun drama to watch. First of all, I am huge fan of the duo Ding Yu Xi and Esther Yu. That’s their second drama as a pair and the more I see them together, the more I like them! That chemistry transpires on screen which allows for characters’ romance to really blossom. They are credible and you root for them, as Miao Miao and Mu Sheng gradually form a relationship. The plot is also quite engaging. Miao Miao is cheerful and bubbly which clashes with the evil character she ends up in. The tasks given by the system are also a clever way to make the intrigue advance faster, though we kind of lose focus mid-drama to really delve into the novel’s universe. That was not problematic per se, but it slowed the pace down and decreased my interest a bit. We were following characters’ journey rather than continuing with the main narrative. The last part of the drama made however all the elements converge. The ending was clever and offered proper explanations to connect the world of the novel and the real world. To me, the finale was intelligent and meaningful, though that opinion may not be shared by other fans. Anyway, I really recommend you watch that fantasy romance, it’s worth your time.

Analysis

• Characters
  Ling Miao Miao
  Mu Sheng/Zi Qi
  Mu Yao
  Liu Fu Yi
  The Four Bamboo Masters
• The quests
  Miao Miao’s mission
  Lin Yu’s house
  The inn and bamboo forest
  The mysterious village
  The Imperial Capital
  Fu Yi’s home valley
  Fu Yi’s hometown vs. Qilin Mountain
  Demon Tower
• The ending
  Fu Zhou, the creator
  The ending in the novel
  The ending in the real world
  

Characters: Love Game in Eastern Fantasy introduces characters who are mainly from a novel. This means that they have their purpose to serve in the story and the qualities/defects that makes them heroes or villains. Through the eyes of the female protagonist, we get to discover these personalities, but also deep dive into the background the author of the book has given them. That of course gives them more consistency and depth.

Ling Miao Miao: Ling Miao Miao (Esther Yu) has been a fan of Fu Zhou for years. She’s read all his works and has encouraged him throughout his career. She knows his universe, his characters and the kind of feelings that usually transpire from his books. That’s why she’s quite surprised when she reads his latest novel. Characters are mean and unable to change, the plot is monotonous and expected which makes her utterly disappointed. On a more personal note, Miao Miao has a tragic family history. When in middle school, she defended a schoolmate from bullies. This resulted in her father being called to her school. On his way, he was unfortunately hit by a car and died instantly. The death of her beloved father marked Miao Miao. She was very close to him and felt partially responsible for the accident. If she had not stood up against her mean classmates, her father wouldn’t have perished on his way to school. She was trying to do the right thing, but was ‘punished’ for it. Nevertheless, she’s grown into a bubbly, cheerful and kind woman. This personality completely clashes with that of Lin Yu, the character of the novel she ends up in. Indeed, Lin Yu is cunning and evil. She’s in love with Liu Fu Yi (Yang Shi Ze) and would rather kill him than give him to someone else. She would do anything to possess him, even assassinate others. Lin Yu is also cold, manipulative and treacherous. In the book, she’s responsible for her family’s demise after she’s killed Mu Yao (Zhu Xu Dan). That’s the reason why everyone is on his guard when Miao Miao takes over. She’s got nothing in common with Lin Yu. On the contrary, she’s the complete opposite. Her positive and warm traits make everyone like her with time. Though she looks frail and vulnerable, Miao Miao is brave and would even sacrifice herself for others – even if they are characters of a book. That’s what happens mid-drama when she decides to strike a deal with the system of the game. She’d rather lose her memories and way back home than witness her newly-found friends’ deaths. She also shows bravery, love and altruism at the end when she decides to exchange her life for Zi Qi’s. All in all, I would say that Miao Miao may not have the strength, but she’s got the spirit. She’s inspiring in a sense that she cares about everyone without differentiating between people (humans, demons in the novel/friends or not in real life). That’s what makes her attaching and lovable.

Mu Sheng/Zi Qi: Mu Sheng (Ding Yu Xi), also known as Zi Qi, is a character with an interesting back story that is only revealed at the end. All along we are however given clues here and there that his origins are not ordinary. Indeed, Mu Sheng is the son of Zhao Qing Huan (Xu Hai Qiao), marquis brother to the Zhao Consort (Wen Zheng Rong). His mother is the most powerful demon to have ever existed. She’s a tier-9 demon who lived in Qilin Mountain and goes by the name of Goddess Mei. Her parents fell in love and hid in the mountains until the Consort started looking for her brother. She was fearful of demons and destroyed Qilin Mountain after getting her brother back. The latter had forgotten the existence of his wife and son (Mu Sheng) and thus lived in ignorance and pain. Like an empty shell, he felt as if he had lost something all his life without really knowing what. As for Goddess Mei, she transferred her demon core to her son during pregnancy. Once Mu Sheng was born, her mother lost all powers and was thus incapable of defending herself. She was eventually captured by Mu Yao’s father who greedily believed that he could become the Heavenly Demon-Catcher by stealing Goddess Mei’s heart. Unfortunately, his action was the beginning of a cataclysm as Mei turned into the Queen of Demons after that. She became the Resentful Woman who destroyed Mu Yao’s entire household. Ever since, the young girl grew up hunting for the Resentful Woman and hoping to destroy her one day. As for Mu Sheng, he was raised by the Mu Family and lived all his life in the dark without knowing what had happened to him before his 7 years old. At first, he’s distrustful, overprotects his sister (Mu Yao) who’s his only family. He’s suspicious of everything and everyone, shrewd, would kill anyone if they were dangerous. He’s got quite a fiery temper which makes him difficult to approach. Add to that his proud and cold appearance and you get what I mean. Nevertheless, his encounter with Miao Miao melts his lotus heart. He slowly opens up and shows that he has a tender, soft and kind side, especially towards those he loves. There’s no doubt that he would definitely sacrifice himself for the people he loves, and that’s what he does at the end in order to save his world. Interestingly, Zi Qi is also the author of the novel named Fu Zhou. By becoming a character of his own story, Fu Zhou actually discovers many things about himself. His quest in the book, his search for his identity is also a journey to himself. In the story, Zi Qi has all the qualities Fu Zhou could dream of: courageous, able to defend himself, powerful. But the two of them also have common points such as their lack of confidence in themselves and in their skills. For example, Zi Qi is afraid of his demonic nature and of revealing the truth to his sister. He fears her reaction. Meanwhile, Fu Zhou has always felt like he could not defend himself and that he was not worth being loved due to his sickness. Both character and author seem lost and confused. They don’t really know who they really are nor their value. However, things change once they realize that they too are capable of change. At the end, Zi Qi sacrifices himself for the greater good, while Fu Zhou learns how to be more assertive and stops being frightened. Both become resolute, allowing for the ending to be different in the book and in real life.

Mu Yao: Mu Yao (Zhu Xu Dan) is the total opposite of her adopted brother Mu Sheng. She’s very calm, rational, down to earth, wise, and pragmatic. After the massacre of her family, she and Mu Sheng are the last remaining members of the clan. Her tragic family story also gave her a purpose in life: Killing the Resentful Woman who’s responsible for the death of her household. What she doesn’t know – and we discover it at the end – is that the Resentful Woman hides within her. She took possession of her body after Mu Sheng inadvertently released the demon. Using Mu Yao’s body, the Resentful Woman destroyed the Mu Family who kept her imprisoned for years. This news is a blow in the face for Mu Yao. All along, she’s been catching evil demons, training, and improving her martial skills in order to confront and win against the Resentful Woman. She was far from thinking that the demon would take cover in her own body and thus make her eventually die if she wanted to kill the demon. Apart from that challenge, Mu Yao proves to be a brave and generous character. Her life principles as a demon catcher are very simple: she would kill any demon who harms others. This also means that she’s not blinded by her status. She only attacks evil demons and gladly accepts others who are just living in harmony with other creatures. That’s also one of the main reasons why she accepts her brother’s demon nature so easily. He may have lied to her and concealed his origins out of fear of losing his dear sister, yet she doesn’t resent him for that. On the contrary, she understands and forgives him, while supporting Mu Sheng in his journey. I truly loved Mu Yao. I really felt that she was the group’s big sister and leader. She never had negative feelings towards others nor bad intentions. She just protects those she cares for and fights tooth and nail for them.

Liu Fu Yi: Liu Fu Yi (Yang Shi Ze) is a difficult to decipher at first. From the get-go, we understand that he has hidden intentions, though we’re not sure if they’re good or evil. He’s a cold and distant person, a man of few words who rarely shows his emotions. In many ways, I would say that he’s the male version of Mu Yao. He’s calm and pragmatic. He never lets himself be overwhelmed by his emotions, except if it directly concerns Mu Yao. When his love interest is in danger, that’s when he becomes more emotional. Continuing the comparison with Mu Yao, both characters also prove to have had the same difficult upbringing. When Liu Fu Yi was a kid, his family died. He took shelter in a village deep in the mountains where the inhabitants welcomed him with open arms. Whilst he was collecting herbs and wood in the forest, he met a little girl and took her under his wings. Later on, he discovered that this little girl was actually a demon. That same day, she killed everyone in the village. Liu Fu Yi tried to kill her as well and escaped. He was rescued by a great master on the way who happens to be a former friend of Mu Yao’s father. His teacher raised him into a skilled demon catcher and sent him on a mission to investigate Mu Yao. In the process, Liu Fu Yi fell in love with Mu Yao and was thus confronted with a dilemma: what to choose between love and duty? Fortunately, his master became an ally to the quartet and he was able to fully confess to Mu Yao. I have to admit that Liu Fu Yi seemed very bland at first. Considering that he was not showing a lot of emotions and that we didn’t know anything about his past, it was unclear whether or not this character would contribute to the narrative. The episodes in his childhood village were exactly what we needed to give him depth and consistency. On top of that, it strengthened his bond with Mu Yao before the grand finale.

The Four Bamboo Masters: A diverse group made up of demons, humans and demon catchers goes on an adventure to prevent the Resentful Woman from destroying the world. I have to admit that I really liked this nice and eclectic troop. Though they end up together due to circumstances, they have great synergy and chemistry. The dynamics are perfectly balanced with a petty and energetic couple on the one side (‘the kids’) and a mature and introverted couple on the other side (‘the parents’). Meanwhile, you have the kid demon in the middle creating the bridge between demon catchers and demons. The little bamboo demon is also quite useful to the intrigue, as his innocence allows the team to get themselves out of troubling situations many times.

The quests: Like in most C-Dramas, the main quartet goes on a long journey to uncover the mysteries of their past and prevent the apocalypse. Each stop is a new piece of information gathered. Interestingly here, there are two main quests happening in parallel. Miao Miao’s mission to return to her world and the fictional quest in the novel.

Miao Miao’s mission: Miao Miao’s main goal is to get out of the novel world. When she arrives in the game, she receives orders from the system in order to get closer to the end of the story and thus go back to her own world. However, Miao Miao intentionally makes changes in the narrative which results in the rewriting of the whole story. On top of that, she gets more and more attached to the characters of the novel to the point that she even considers them as real people who deserve to be saved from the final cataclysm. Finally, I would say that the red thread that makes the entire plot hold together is Miao Miao’s main task: conquer Mu Sheng and make him like her 100%. That’s the reason why she’s so keen on getting close to him, but also why she follows the group on their journey to find the Resentful Woman. Her 100% likability is also what saves the day at the end. Indeed, Mu Sheng sacrifices himself for Miao Miao and thus enables her to go back to the system and make a decisive choice.

Lin Yu’s house: That’s where the plot begins. Right from the start, we are plunged into action with the Resentful Woman trying to possess Mu Yao. That’s also the first location where Miao Miao gets entangled with the Mu siblings, receives her first tasks from the system and reunites with her father – or at least encounters her fictional father. Her changes of the overall narrative influence her future. Instead of being killed as Lin Yu – the evil and jealous host of the home – she travels with the troop as Miao Miao. The plot in Lin Yu’s house is crucial to set up the intrigue and the relationships between characters.

The inn and bamboo forest: The next destination is the inn next to the bamboo forest that results in meeting little demon Cui Cui who joins the team. But more importantly, the battle between Mu Sheng, Miao Miao and the water demon is the grounding stone of the leads’ relationship. While fighting against the demon, Miao Miao gets to discover Zi Qi/Mu Sheng demon nature. She also refuses to sacrifice him to save herself. That’s the first proof of love and trust between the couple. Mu Sheng is moved by her genuine feelings. It also raises his interest in her which is the start of the romance.

The mysterious village: After that, the group of 5 end up in a mysterious village where people seem to disappear in the foggy forest. The reason behind is the water demon who’s trying to escape after having been sealed years ago. This chapter of the novel introduces a future ally – the demon catcher present at the time who will then end up in the capital – and gives glimpses of the past, more specifically the person responsible for demons’ suffering: Consort Zhao (Wen Zheng Rong).

The Imperial Capital: This part of the story with the Marquis and the one-sided love of the Consort’s daughter was the longest – and to me least necessary. It slowed the intrigue down and made me die of frustration. Nevertheless, it allowed the team to unlock the mysteries of the past regarding the fire at the Celebrating Benevolence Hall where 400 people perished. It sheds light on the Consort’s misdeeds (she destroyed Qilin Mountain and was used by a demon to protect her brother from his demon lover). Miao Miao also reveals herself as a useful character by acquiring power to save her friends and Mu Sheng retrieves the crescent which is the ultimate weapon used by the Heavenly demon catcher to stop the Queen of Demons.

Fu Yi’s home valley: Fu Yi’s home valley is one of the last stops for the main quartet. Here, they find another ally in Fu Yi’s master; Mu Sheng finally reveals his demon identity to his sister; he trains and learns how to become one with his weapon but he seems to be missing something to fully take control over it.

Fu Yi’s hometown vs. Qilin Mountain: The last quest takes place in Fu Yi’s home valley on the one hand. These episodes are crucial in order to give some backbone to the character and give more importance to his romance with Mu Yao. Parallel to that intrigue, Miao Miao and Mu Sheng go to Qilin Mountain. There, they discover the truth regarding Mu Sheng’s past: who his parents are, what happened to them and retrieves his memories from before his 7th birthday.

Demon Tower: The last stepping stone in the journey is the fight against the Resentful Woman in the Demon Tower. It entails sacrifices, love, bravery and of course revelation on the reason why both novel and real world are connected.

The ending: Though many fans were dissatisfied with the ending, I have found it to be quite meaningful and clever. It properly wrapped up the plot and gave actual explanations as to why the two worlds (real and novel ones) were connected.

Fu Zhou, the creator: At the end of the drama, we get to see glimpses of Fu Zhou’s (the author of the novel) past and the reasons why he wrote the novel and its dark ending. As a kid, Fu Zhou suffered from a rare condition that prevented him from overexerting himself. Otherwise, he would suffer from a brain hemorrhage. This wedged a gap between him and other kids his age. He shut himself from the world and remained in his corner. His house was not a better place than school. His parents would argue every day over their sacrifice for their son. Fu Zhou felt lonely and started to write as a catharsis of his negative emotions. In his first novel – the one in which Miao Miao is trapped – he painted people as bad and evil. They would lie, betray, kill. No matter what you would do, there wouldn’t be a chance of redemption. Hence, the terrible and tragic ending that unfolds in the drama. The sky turns grey and the red moon appears – that’s a link with the blood that once tainted Fu Zhou’s page while he wrote a final point to his story. Desperate, insecure, isolated, Fu Zhou started however to find solace in one of his schoolmates, though they never really engaged in a conversation together. He started to see the world with less pessimistic lenses and softened up thanks to her. His crush even made him rewrite his novel by adding a mysterious character, Mu Qing Shi, an ancestor of the Mu Family, who mended the skies 900 years ago. This heroine enabled the novel’s world to avoid a cataclysmic tragedy. That’s also the reason why Miao Miao resembles her so much. Like Mu Qing Shi says herself “she’s Miao Miao, without being her completely”. Fu Zhou’s life took another turn when her schoolmate Miao Miao stood up against bullies. The teacher called her father which resulted in him having an accident and dying prematurely. After that, Miao Miao transferred school and Fu Zhou lost touch with his first love. Devoid of his only consolation in life, he returned to his dark world. Years later, he became a successful writer. With the support of long-lasting fan Miao Miao, he created new worlds full of warmth, hope and good. She’s been his ray of sunshine for years, encouraging him all along. That’s also the reason why Ling Miao Miao is catapulted in Fu Zhou’s novel.

The ending in the novel: In the novel, Zi Qi and Miao Miao manage to win against the Resentful Woman, but pay a heavy price. Indeed, Zi Qi decides to break all his inner barriers in order to protect Miao Miao out of love. So, his demon core merges with his human’s pure yin core. This turns him into both the Heavenly Demon Catcher and the King of Demons. His power brings him victory against his enemy, but he loses his life in the process. In the meantime, Fu Yi has died in the tower. So has Mu Yao after her body has been released by the Resentful Woman. Miao Miao is left alone. Though she has finally won, Miao Miao refuses this ending. She may be able to go back to her reality now, but she doesn’t want to abandon her beloved characters. So, she makes a deal with Mu Qing Shi – the heroine who saved the world once. She gives her life for Zi Qi’s and makes him come back to life. When he returns, Zi Qi is face to face with Lin Yu – the character Miao Miao has been impersonating – but his lover is nowhere to be found. He invokes powers as well and ends up face to face with Qing Shi too. He risks his life to fetch Miao Miao and together they rewrite the ending. They use Miao Miao’s magical power and Zi Qi’s demonic essence to recreate Mei’s crystal heart and give it back to her. The Resentful Woman disappears and the world is saved. No one dies. Or so it seems. Despite their efforts, the sky turns grey and the red moon appears. To prevent the apocalypse, all magical beings unite forces and create stairs to mend the skies, like Qing Shi did 900 years ago. From Miao Miao’s perspective, it’s the only way to reach Fu Zhou and convince him to save his world. Once at the top, we discover that Zi Qi is actually Fu Zhou himself. Hence Zi Qi’s knowledge regarding elements from the real world like the swing or snow. Now aware of his identity, it’s time for him to be brave. He jumps into a void and finds the confidence within himself to save the world.

The ending in the real world: After Zi Qi’s revelation, Miao Miao wakes up. It’s as though she’d been dreaming for a long time. She goes back to her daily life with a lingering feeling of that world she loved so much. Meanwhile, Fu Zhou wakes up from his surgery. The one he was so afraid of. Miao Miao helped him gather the courage to be brave, to save his world and to jump into a void as Zi Qi in his novel. Without the shadow of a doubt, reading his past manuscript was beneficial to Fu Zhou. There’s a real transformation between the scared and lonely boy he was and the successful and confident writer he became. It’s still unclear whether Fu Zhou was also in his own world as Zi Qi while undergoing surgery, though it’s my guess. I think both Miao Miao and Fu Zhou were asleep at the same time which allowed for them to join the novel’s world. That’s why, the events that happened in the novel are now impacting their real lives. Some time after, Fu Zhou has written a new novel named “Love Game in Eastern Fantasy”. It’s a rewriting of his novel “Demon Catchers” but with better characters, events and a happy ending. As a long-term fan, Miao Miao goes to his book signing event. There, she sees Cui Cui and his grandfather at a bamboo ice cream stall. She seems to be recalling something. Shortly after that, you hear Fu Zhou’s voice pronouncing her name. Though we don’t see his face – and can’t be sure it’s Fu Zhou – there’s 99% chance that the leads reunite at the end.