#suzhen

Recently I had a bought of something I refer to as “subtitle fatigue” where I just stop watching dramas or anime and instead gravitating toward shows made in America. This time I cooled down by watching Haven and The Boys. Now that my subtitle fatigue is over, let’s talk about Legend of the White Snake. 

I went into this show knowing that it was inspired by an old folktale, but I recently found out that it was an adaptation of a series that released in the 90s. I have neither read nor watched either of these, but I did want to acknowledge that they exist. 

The story itself is about a white snake who has achieved enough cultivation that she is able to take on the appearance of a beautiful young woman. Her name is Bai Suzhen, and she wishes to achieve enlightenment. However, in order to do this, she needs to experience what it is like to be a human. She eventually settles down in the town of Lin’an and meets Xu Xian, a young physician. 

It does not take long for these two to fall in love. 

And they are so sweet it gives me cavities. 

It truly is a love story for the ages, and I can totally see (if this is in all versions) why it has endured through the ages. Because the audience knows from the start that she is a snake demon and he is a mortal man, it is fun to play around with the star-crossed lover's angle, and I love it. Most of the plot revolves around their love story and the people who desire to ruin their perfectly innocent romance. 

The characters of Suzhen and Hanwen (Xu Xian’s nickname) are actually pretty interesting. Suzhen is aware of her strength and uses it to protect him and his family at every turn, but she is also stubborn and disinclined to let him do the same for her. Hanwen himself is an actual sweetheart, and I legitimately can’t imagine him hurting a fly. In fact, in a cast of cute characters, these two are the ones that probably change the least (though they do change) simply because they are already good people with positive goals. Be happy, help others, protect your loved ones. 

The side characters that surround them are also engaging because of how much they change in response to Hanwen and Suzhen’s paragon-ness. Qing is the most important, in my opinion, because she is Suzhen’s closest friend, and helps her achieve all of her goals. Qing is a green snake that Suzhen meets shortly after arriving in Lin’an, and after some shenanigans, she decides to follow Suzhen like a little sister. Qing goes through heartbreak and grows into a mature adult, instead of the reckless child she began the series as. It’s quite nice to see her grow~ 

Two other characters of note are Hanwen’s sister Jiaorong and her husband Gongfu, who are very genuine to watch. It is clear that they love their brother and only want what is best for him, but they also want him to stay safe. It is very charming to see them worry about whether he married a man-eating demon or not. XD

The last side character I want to mention is Hanwen’s childhood friend Ruyi, who I literally can’t stand. It is one thing to have a love rival. It is one thing to have a childish character who is close to the main family. But I literally can’t stand it when serviceable rival characters just don’t understand the word “no” and continue their stalkerish tendencies to death. There is no man (or woman) alive worth ruining yourself for, I promise. She does redeem herself in the end, but I’ll admit that I was glad when she was removed from the series. 

All in all, Legend of the White Snake is a fantastic series with engaging characters, a cute love story, a plot that makes sense all the way through, and a satisfying ending. Definitely give it a shot if any of this sounds interesting to you. 

LET’S GO TO HEAVEN.

[ animation meme for my Ginga OCs, Orizuru and Suzhen! ] 

Princess of Nothing