Reasons to watch Love Between Fairy and Devil.
A Chinese fantasy romantic drama with a dash of comedy in the beginning and a huge wallop of angst in the second half.
(take careful note of this gesture, please, it will break your hearts in the future)
Okay, so this is honestly one of the best told love stories I've watched in recent memory. And that is honestly very impressive when you consider how very easy it is to mess up this kind of love story.
She's Xiao Lanhua (or 'Little Orchid Fairy'), bright and innocent and kind. And in the beginning more than a bit naive and foolish. A fairy who is looked down on because of her damaged immortal root, who bends under the pressure of the bullying she's always known from the other fairies. Lonely in her home of Arbiter Hall where she looks after the destiny books alone by herself because her shifu left to wander the mortal realms.
He's Dongfang Qingcang. The Moon Supreme, the leader of the Moon Tribe who has been imprisoned following the last war between his people and the Heavenly Realm 30'000 years ago. He's cold and unfeeling and quite literally heartless (this involves fantasy reasons and some pretty horrible childhood trauma that gets slowly unraveled through the story).
And in the beginning the only reason he doesn't kill her as soon as he's free is that there's an accidental curse that ties his life to hers. If she dies so does he. If she's cut, so is he. And whatever emotion she feels, he will feel too. Whatever order she gives, he must follow. And sometimes, under certain conditions, they switch bodies.
(the actors have great fun with it, warning of huge amounts of second-hand embarrassment in two out of 36 episodes, I nearly died, it was worth it)
He keeps her safe because he has no choice.
And the thing is that he doesn't actually ever try to seduce her. The normal formula of this kind of story is 'he lies, seduces her, then falls in love, but still breaks her heart, she forgives him' right? This show though? It plays with the formula, yeah, but it twists it in a very interesting (in my opinion) way.
There's a misunderstanding between them. And here's some of the comedy of the show. She thinks he's fallen in love with her and she's trying to gently let him down. Meanwhile he's not actually pretending that he's in love with her, he's just not telling her exactly why he can't let her out of his sight.
And the development in both their characters is incredibly detailed and intricate. They both grow immensely through the story. As Dongfang Qingcang first experiences emotions through her and then as his own emotions begin to wake up following that. As Xiao Lanhua starts out wanting to return to her normal life and then falls in love not only with him but also his land and his people.
They're very Hades and Persephone (minor kidnappings including). And very Romeo and Juliet (though more mature about it, she isn't actually willing to compromise her own morality just because she's fallen in love with him).
And their love story isn't at all rushed. It takes nearly three quarters of the story for them both to fall in love, it is gradual and believable and mutual. And then once they have fallen in love despite the fact that there are all kinds of very familiar angsty plots thrown at them, none of them get dragged out to annoying lengths and many of them get resolved in very refreshing ways.
(angst, there will be such big whallops of angst, my friends)
But the romance is not the ONLY thing this show has going for it. It is what changes the fate of all three realms, yes, but there are other relationships that deserve to be mentioned.
And other characters, because this is actually a pretty beautifully built ensemble show.
One character is Dongfang Qingcang's brother Xun Feng, the character that in a different show would be the malicious underhanded brother who wants to steal his brother's throne and cares only of power.
Here though, after an old secret is revealed and he finds out the truth behind the reason (a good one) he's hated his brother for thousands of years his wish to rebuild his relationship with his brother is genuine. And though there are things he does after that which could have been because of cruelty in a different show, here they are simply misguided.
(there are lots of awkward Dongfang Qingcang trying to show affection for the first time since childhood scenes, they're adorable, and hilarious)
Then there's the false friendship between Xiao Lanhua and Jie Li which slowly develops into a real one through the power of Xiao Lanhua being simply too stubborn and too good and too genuine for Jie Li to remain stone against.
(here portrayed scene of Jie Li flinching under horror that is Dongfang Qingcang doing his very best to make Xiao Lanhua as ugly and unattractive as possible)
Jie Li is an orphan of the Moon Tribe from Haishi City who has spent her entire life scrapping for survival by lying and cheating. Including by selling to Xiao Lanhua fake cures for her damaged immortal root.
Again, there are certain ways you'd expect her story to go. You'd be wrong.
And then the relationship between Dongfang Qingcang and his most loyal guard, the Black Dragon Shang Que.
(here shown the reaction to the miracle of his lord patting his brother on the shoulder).
Poor dragon needs to deal with a lot and deserves a raise. He's also just as dumb as the rest of them. And FYI falls in love with Jie Li.
And then of course is the very healthy way this show portrays unrequited love too.
There are two characters who this is shown through. One is fairy Dan Yin who is in love with the God of War Chang Heng and is introduced as a spoiled bully but very quickly is shown being capable of fairness and ultimately gets developed into a character that you want to see gaining happiness.
The other character is Chang Heng himself who is secretly in love with Xiao Lanhua (who actually does have a crush on him bourne from gratefulness and a little hero-worship at the start of the story), but he ultimately loses his chance through inaction and silence that he abandons too late. But I want to make clear that he is not an unlikable character. In a different show he would have been the other lead. Just... not in this one.
Anyway, the two characters experience unrequited affection and though both go through stages of denial and unwillingness to abandon hope, neither do either one of them ever turns into something despicable - and when the time where they must choose between selfishness that would hurt the ones they love, and selflessness that would save them comes around both do the right thing.
Which is something I found refreshing and a relief.
And this show has so many relationships that get fully developed and explored. Not simply between the main couple and those around them. But between the secondary characters themselves. Other than the relationships I've already mentioned, other ones that have their chance in the sun are Xiao Lanhua and Dan Yin, Dan Yin and Jie Li, Dongfang Qingcang and Chang Heng, Xun Feng and Xiao Lanhua. And more besides.
And then there's the villain of the story who is both monstrous and utterly unforgivable and yet also has a very sad story and motivations for what they do. I can't really say anything more though.
Basically I just really recommend this show to fans of fantasy and people with a weakness for a very compelling, well developed love story.
For those interested, the first five episodes are available to be watched free on the official streaming site here (at which point you can decide if it's worth subscribing for a single month to finish watching).
I think it's also going to be available on Netflix on September 18, 2022 update: September 9, 2022.
That's of course for the... official sites. There are of course other options available 🏴☠️.
P.S. I finished the entire show with all its 36 episodes in three days (despite it being my first time watching a live action Chinese TV series) am now going into withdrawal. Seriously, this show is SO GOOD, I PROMISE.
P.P.S. It's got a happy ending. I will not tell you anything other than that. But yes, it's got a happy ending.
