"Love Between Fairy and Devil" is a beautiful reminder of love and loyalty

So, one year after this show premiered, I decided on a whim to watch it. You see, I haven't had interest in the C-Dramas. There are many people in the United States who have snide things to say about them. However, those same people also have snide things to say about K-Dramas, so maybe the opinions of those people don't matter, but I digress. I was on the Viki app, and I started off with "The Forbidden Marriage," which essentially only had two episodes per week. Since I watch 사극 every evening, as my web business revolves around it, I had to find something else to fill the time, and well, because my business is also open to creating C-Drama fan art, I decided to give "Unchained Love," a try. Which, similar to "The Forbidden Marriage," it was showing about four new episodes per week. Sheesh! It felt like the Viki Gods were not ruling in my favor here. Because of "Unchained Love," I was very intrigued by 王鹤棣/Dylan Wang, who had never so much as crossed my mind before. Seriously, I am so K-Drama loyal that I didn't even consider watching "Meteor Garden," which he starred in. So, I did a google search on the guy, and found these really sexy pictures of him from what appeared to be some sort of period piece. Did a little more homework, and a-ha! It was "Love Between Fairy and Devil," which dun duh duh dun(!) is available on the Viki app. (Yes!!!) So, I gave it a try to fill in the space left by the wait time with "The Foribidden Marriage" (hillarious show, by the way), and "Unchained Love" (strong show, right up until Episode 35, and the ending was very weak, and as you get to know me, you'll know I'm not keen on multiple season shows. The show diminishes in quality if there is more than one season). And wow! I am hooked. First of all 王鹤棣 is incredibly hot. I am jealous of Esther Yu (and my apologies to my poor husband). Second of all, great story. There were some moments that really triggered some emotions, and I almost walked away from this show, but I'm sticking with it, and it's been totally worth it so far. I'm currently on Episode 30.
But anyway, back to the main point I'm trying to make. Something I enjoy about this show as the plot develops is that I am reminded what a strong romantic relationship is all about: Empathy, loyalty, trust, compassion, sacrifice. I like how he respects Orchid's decision to wear the hairpin that keeps him from reading her thoughts. I consider that the equivalent of multiple gender issues we face here in the US, such as abusive men controlling what women wear, abusive men knowing the passwords to their wife or girlfriend's social media accounts, abusive men having access to their wife or girlfriend's every single thought. I think this is great modeling on trust. Because, I recently re-watched "Strong Woman Do Bong Soon," which is a great show, but what doesn't sit well with me is the boyfriend secretly putting a tracking device in her necklace, no matter how well meaning the intention is. It's just creepy.

I like how Orchid decides to prove her worth to the Moon Tribe by going to Fuju cave when she didn't have to. To me, her relationship with Dongfang Qingcang symbolizes an Intercultural/Interracial relationship, and a huge component (and as someone who is in an interracial relationship, I can say this with authority) for success is being willing to respect your partner's culture, which includes embracing traditions. Even though Dongfang opposed it because it had the potential to kill her, due to his ability to feel her pain, instead of numbing it out with a special potion like she wanted him to, he spat it out, and experienced the pain with her. When my own husband is struggling, sometimes I forget to share the load with him because I get so overwhelmed by all of it. This is a great reminder of why it's so important.

I like how Dongfang, even though there is loud and violent opposition to their union, I love how he doesn't give in to peer pressure, and he defends her at all costs, which is absolutely what one is supposed to do when they are in a relationship.
I seriously don't want this show to end, so as soon as I finish it, I'm going to watch it again! And then I'll get back to viewing 사극, as per usual. And below, are some more pictures from this beautifully done show!

The wardrobe design on this show is amazing!  I'm tempted to make something like this to wear to my daughter's college graduation (though she would probably be mortified beyond belief).

More wonderful images of 王鹤棣. He has such an expressive face!  I was initially disappointed to hear that his voice was dubbed because his voice doesn't match the personality of the character, and he has a very strong Sichuan accent.  However, I learned this is common in C-Dramas, and with his facial expression and movement, he is clearly excellent at what he does, so bravo!

So many excellent fan art opportunities with this image alone! His eyes also kind of remind me of 도지한.

What I like about this show is that the "Devil" is not necessarily bad, and the fairies are not necessarily virtuous.  Reminds me of Empress Ki (much of which was clearly written by a woman) when we see Empress Bayan virtue signalling all over the place, but true to female microaggresions, it's a total crock of crap.

Beautiful!

王鹤棣 looks fabulous with silver hair!
**Obviously, none of these images are mine. Credit clearly goes to the owner!!**