Utterly Hooked

hooked... and utterly so!

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Till The End Of The Moon 长月烬明 2023 

Episode 1 | Opening credit art in clips and BTS’s | Promo poster 

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“After being plundered and plundered by him, she was extremely tired.”

I’m reading a machine translated cnovel and it can get frustrating sometimes when I’m not sure what it actually means and it’s getting lost in translation but there are times when gems like this pops up. I definitely know what it means, the choice of words is very interesting! hahahaha

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There’s hunger and ferocity in the delivery of this kiss! It seems in this cdrama, Changheng Zhànshén is not a good boy. How delicious!!!

and the jawline... Whoa! *fans self*

The trailers of this cdrama keeps popping up everywhere. I don’t know much about this but I loved Bai Lu in TTEOTM and Zhang Linghe was great as the goody, goody 2nd ML in LBFAD.

I’m looking forward to this now but its been postponed a couple of times and now, there is no actual airing date because of reasons (many it seems) and the chatter are giving possibilities that it might not be shown at all ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  

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Thanks @arlothia for making this. Yes, I am a Shangque fan.

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I got mine too! Thank you @arlothia !!!

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I had to sleep on it and I have calmed down a bit. Till The End Of The Moon hooked me from the very first episode which is very rare. Even my favourites took a while, The Untamed took 21 episodes for me to get really into it. Love Between Fairy and Devil took around 18-20 episode mark for me to care. I really loved them afterwards!

You are probably wondering, what does the GIF above have to do with what I have to say. Well, it’s simply there to remind me why I love this drama because I still do but I am heartbroken about how the ending was handled. My thoughts are everywhere, so, I’m sorry if it’s incoherent.

The takeaway from this drama is tribulation, one after the other. Just suffering, suffering, more suffering, and martyring yourself to an ungratelful populace in every realm and only acknowledged by a handful. Yes, a handful, or maybe the Yiyue Tribe would add to that number but, we don’t know because Nian Baiyu was just flung into the Barren Abyss never to be heard from again. *sigh* Apologies, I’m being bitter. Li Susu probably told everyone and got the sects in line.

If they were going for a sad ending, then what was that?! If an open ending, again, what was that?! And then a happy ending audio was thrown in to the mix! The indecisiveness was breathtaking, it simply makes you seethe! Pick one, commit to it and do it well! They were trying to please everyone and utterly missing the target.

Those who love this kind of Xianxia with very dark themes (for cdramas, I think this is dark) mostly are not averse to sad endings. Sometimes it’s even expected. Great sad endings leaves you sobbing, heartbroken, and melancholic. That’s the beauty of it, it makes it memorable! If it’s a happy ending, fantastic! Everyone loves a happy ending. Great open endings make you think, not angry!!! however, I find that open endings are generally just ok (with exceptions), but thats ok too! The tragic thing about all this is the source material already had a sad ending, if a sad ending was what they were aiming for, and the epilogue of the novel provided a happy ending, if a happy ending was what they intended to do! They did not even have to think of an alternative because it was already there! And yet... *sighs*

Some mutuals decided to end watching at episode 35. They are happy that they did it and I am happy for them. But if I was to recommend this cdrama, I can’t really say that they should end at that episode because subsequent episodes brought us

Shifu and Cang Jiumin scenes which was beautiful, I was sobbing.

Li Susu thinking that TTJ was dead and was trying her hardest to fight and kill her awful bio dad and failing miserably

TTJ saving her and killing Di Mian, extremely satisfying!!!

The relief in her face seeing him alive only to realize that he had the intention of becoming the Devil God. The scream alone is worth watching!

When he took out the soul extinguishing spikes from his heart to convince her that he indeed has become the Devil God. The sorrow in her eyes.

I’m sure theres a bit more

and of course, the later part of episode 39... the Ye mansion scene. The sadness and longing. Somehow missing each other so much while they are in each others arms. So bittersweet.

Having read the novel, I knew from the few chapters in that they have deviated from it so much. I thought, ok, at least we are getting 2 stories out of it. Its just that precious screentime was used on characters that I thought was irrelevant to the overall story. Mo Nv could have been taken out completely and it would not have mattered to the story at all. They could still made Gonye Jiwu a jealous, vindictive, and bitter (ex) without her. Li Susu and Tantai Jin meeting with Ye Qingyu in JIng Kingdom was cut out instead. I saw some stills, so they did film it. It would have been better story showing on how the emperor can be the same emperor for the last 500 years.

I still have a lot in my mind but this is getting too long. Anyway, I now have 2 new favourite actors, so there is that.

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iQIYI must be happy! They could probably relaunch Love Is Sweet!

All those who love Till The End Of The Moon and are infuriated with the ending who need a HE fix (which was probably nearly all of the audience) can just watch Love Is Sweet to relieve their frustration. We also get great kissing scenes, we can just pretend that they got reincarnated in modern times. Theres a number of parallels we can draw from it anyway.

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Excuse the language but... what BOLLOCKS!

and just after watching, I learn that there is an audio which is a happy ending. An audio???!!! Uuuuurrrrrggggghhhhhhh!

All the important stuff was cut off in favour of more screentime for Gongye Jiwu and Mo Nv.......... and we get a fecken audio that you have to scour for to find! We get an AUDIO!!!!

The rewatch value of this drama just plummeted. It’s now probably NIL.

* I know that its not really the reason but we know that a lot of it was cut but even then, we got a lot of unwanted GYJ / MV precious screentime.

Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu was amazing though.

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I am hopeful that it is a happy ending. Okay, okay... look, I know I’m grasping here but it is not without basis because...

and Little Devil Ami...

and Little Devil Ami with Mum

So for today, I’m going to believe it’s a happy ending until proven otherwise in tomorrows final episode.

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I think if she had reached out and caressed his cheek, that he would falter. His resolve would have wavered even for just the briefest of a moment.

Her heartbreak is palpable. And for him, seeing her like this, telling her that he willingly became what he promised her he would not become, his heart must be hurting more painfully than the six soul extinguishing nails that was embedded in his heart and carried for centuries.

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Parts of episode 39 trailer

“Only a true god can destroy the Devil God.”  so she must become a God?! (dialogue reminds of of Wonder Woman 2017, when Ares told Diana, “Only a God can kill another God.”

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Till The End Of The Moon opening credits art used in Youko clips and BTS

for @ thantophobic-heir-blog 

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I saw this trailer when episode 35 aired. I cry everytime I see it. I don’t know from which upcoming episode it’s from.

“The love I received may not be much, but it does exist. It’s her, breaking through the darkness time and time again, making me see the light. It’s her, who’s desperately trying to hold my hand, wanting to pull me out of hell.”  - Taintai Jin

*I’ve been trying to watch trailers, and I’ve seen 37 and parts of 38, 39 - 40. My guess is there is no mortal arc, unfortunate as it was a favourite of mine in the novel. There is also high probability that it is a sad ending. I’m hoping it’s a happy ending, the novel was afterall.

ETA - I just saw this so maybe there is hope of the mortal arc?

or maybe... honestly, I don’t know anymore!

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So this is how the drama writers made Gongye Jiwu! Uuurrrrghhh! They reduced him to a jealous, vindictive, bitter ex. How frustrating!!! While I did not pay much attention to Xiao Lin / Gonye Jiwu (although it irritated me so much that he and Mo Nv / Ye Bingchang was getting so much precious screen time later in the drama), the appeal was that he was upright, moral, and righteous.* A stark contrast to how dark Taintai Jin was. He was even more so in the novel! He had unbreakable resolve, righteous to and fault, extremely loyal and a kind soul. From beginning to end of the novel, he was an admirable character. But here, now, it’s sad and infuriating what writers made of him.

*Although he did march the army to an impending defeat, he did so by being loyal to his father. I thought he was wrong to do so but in a way, there is virtue of being loyal and filial, he might be a good person but he was not without fault.

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source

BTS... much spicier than whats in the final cut! I suppose they were making it more cenematic, a bit mellow, and sweet romantic but!!!! I think this would have been more fitting, leaning in and showing a bit of hunger! It’s been 500 years after all.

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Pester power! Pester! Pester! Pester! If I cant convince her, I’ll annoy her!

* only works if she loves you back otherwise, it’s harassment and stalking XD

After “operation pester the love of my life” ... must also give sincere heartfelt compliments.

Result!!!

Repeat as needed.

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When I was first watching this, my heart was pounding. This is just so highly anticipated that when it was happening, I just could not help but be carried away, and with the background music.. it was like magic! I have been listening to it so much since.

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I think they kinda blended in the nightmare demon dream arc with the immortal sect arc. I’m just wondering, at this late in the drama with only 7 episodes left, this seems more like they are doing side quests?!

There are so many arcs to go through, I don’t know how possible it is to fit them in. The mortal realm arc they could probably do in one episode?! Maybe?! *SPOILERS* I watched an interview and it says something about visiting the tomb, which has high probability that it is a happy ending if we base the sequencing in the novel..