March 18, 2020

Love of Thousand Years | Recap and Review

Love of Thousand Years
A narcissistic god breaks the rules to save a princess.
Notable Actors/Actresses
Zhao Lu Si: Ah Man / Qin Chuan
Zheng Ye Cheng: Fu Jiu Yun
Jiang Yi Yi: Princess Yan Yan
Chinese Title
三千鸦杀
The Killing of Three Thousand Crows
GenresQihuanRomcom
NetworkMangoTVYouku
Year2020
Episodes: 26/30
First Impression: 4/5

Mini Recaps

[Ep1] Our male lead, Fu Jiu Yun has magical abilities. He makes paper appear out of thin air, and vanishes into thin air himself. His music scores can call upon magic and his artwork can make cherry blossoms rain. He’s a god, you see. It seems like he likes the Princess? Or at the least have some sort of twisted fate with her.
Beautiful
It all goes back to this picture his master gave him. It's a moving picture by the way, but it's not a movie. FJY has been searching for this girl for a thousand years and he happened to have seen her in the human world: the Princess.

But Princess Yan Yan has her sights set on someone else: Zhou Zi Chen. She performs this grand dance, and I mean graaaaand. It summons a cherry blossom tree. She then flies to the sky to call upon rain, autumn leaves, and finally snow. It's a dance of the four seasons. Meanwhile our female lead, Ah Man, is only the servant of the princess.

[Ep2] Going against fate and destiny, Fu Jiu Yun saves the Princess with a magical harp. He saves her from Zhou Zi Chen's father who's joined the enemy to throw a coup against the Emperor.
Ah Man also saves the Princess (twice; a sword through her back and a sword to the stomach), eventually passing away. The Princess is alive, but her entire family has been massacred. She slits Zhou Zi Chen's eyes and flies away on an enormous crane. To avenge her family she embarks on a search for the magical lamp that can kill all demons. However, whoever lights the lamp will have to die with it once it dims.
Three Years Later. The Princess, using some magical ability from her godly teacher, takes Ah Man's appearance and lives a new identity: Qin Chuan. QC is a Yes Girl. She'll say yes to whatever benefits her even if she has to accept a fool (Er Meng = Two Stupid = Too Stupid) as her husband. Her and her friend, Cai Ya, get selected as maids of this sacred temple where not only Fu Jiu Yun governs but also where the magical lamp is located.
Now he's playing a flute eh...
Cui Ya faints when FJY flirts with her. Standing at the side, QC snickers at his narcissism. Even if QC changed her appearance, FJY can recognize her immediately.

[Ep3] QC’s magical pet cat (tiger?) farts their way into a forbidden cave where she’s caught (seductively) by FJY. She stabs him with a needle that makes him faint but he doesn’t give up easily. He appears everywhere she is and flirts with all the girls around her, especially her bestie (who faints again) but when it comes to her, he enjoys teasing her and making her suffer. He’s a pathological flirter. When he learns her “husband” is Er Meng, he snickers. I translate that as ‘he’s no competition’.
She’s trimming trees and falls into his arms. Will he continue to be sweet? Nope. He gives her an antidote for the scratch she suffered from the fall. But there’s one side effect: a turtle mark will grow on her face (temporarily).

[Ep4] QC sees Zhou Zi Chen for the first time in three years and he’s still blind. She feels guilty. Despite knowing he wasn’t personally involved, she can’t accept loving a man whose family killed hers. Or so she tells herself. It seems like FJY isn’t the only one who recognizes her. Even though ZZC is blind, he seems to find her oddly familiar.
After getting too close to ZZC, the jealous Xuan Ju imprisons QC. (Xuan Ju is also QC's cousin) FYJ leisurely enters the prison where QC is begging him to help her. He wants something in return for freeing her and she offers her body, lol. He refuses but he still saves her even if it means upsetting Xiang Qu Master.

[Ep5] FJY makes QC work under him as his personal maid and promises her he’ll keep her undercover mission (the lamp) a secret even though he doesn’t know what it is yet. She returns to her dorm to pack up but she doesn’t know where he lives. Incomes a wedding carriage to pick her up. Ha. He’s using any means to seduce her but keeps his jokes minimal for her. I say minimal because I can imagine a god like him can go maximal any time. Her first assignment as his maid: sleep in his bed.
QC: Even if I am a maid, I still have my pride!
FJY smirks: We're already at this stage and you're still talking about pride?
QC: Even if you take my body, you can't take my heart!
FJY: Why do I want your heart? I just want your body. Nothing more. Lol
QC: Then I'll give you my heart. Okay? -her last plea -
FJY smiles and ponders: Really? That's what he really wanted all along.
QC nods 
FJY: From now on, treat me wholeheartedly, loyally. Your eyes cannot have anyone else
QC ponders and quickly nods
FJY leans in: Then what happened to Dou Dou? (Her fake lover she made up to make him give up on her) 
QC: Except Dou Dou. 
He teases her for her immediate betrayal after she said she would give her heart to him. Technically he only wanted her body to warm his bed. Anyways, her second assignment is to sleep next to him. Thereafter, she cunningly messes up every other assignment. Bai Jing Zi, another god, is upset and wants to throw her out of their manor but how can FJY throw away his precious little liar? So who’s this Bai Jing Zi? As his name foretells, he’s a mirror god, the same mirror that QC smashed and destroyed, hence his constant forgetfulness, heh

QC is quite the popular maid. ZZC wants her as a personal maid too and FJY willingly gives her up to her disappointment. This forces her to unwillingly admit she doesn’t want to leave FJY’s side. He knows exactly how to torment her. The one time QC is hoping FJY would want her, he doesn’t want her. Haha.
[Ep6] FJY pulls QC into his lap and she obediently sits there. He subtly warns her to not betray him and she nods. Romantically, he feeds her and she takes a sip. I'm assuming that means she agrees to not betray him? Until Bai Jing Zi walks in on them and they scramble away from each other.

We get a glimpse of FJY's honest feelings as he reveals to his buddy now that he’s found QC he won’t let her suffer. While he himself is suffering from a poison for saving her three years ago. It's a punishment from the godly realm for his interference in the human world. Presently, FJY saves her again when she failed to sneak into the sacred treasure vault. When she wakes up he keeps her night voyage a secret. QC doesn’t understand why he’s helping her and demands to know the truth.
FJY: You are the maid I love the most. Correction: ‘You are the one I love the most’.
[Ep7] With his help and those ^ words, he wins her over. QC is now willing to be his loyal maid. But ZZC isn’t ready to let her go even if he’s uncertain who she is. He duels FJY who of course can’t be a match not just because his opponent is a god but he’s also blind... QC comes to mediate between the two and tells him not to harm him. FJY misunderstands and tells her don't worry, I'm not hurt. But she meant to tell FJY to not hurt ZZC, lol.

Later that day, FJY takes her to the vault. He in/directly confronts her of the lamp. What she doesn’t know is that using the lamp will cost him his life.
FJY: Choose anything you like - walks around the treasure vault -
QC: Why are you being nice to me?
FJY: Because you are the maid I love the most.
QC: Da Ren, what kind of joke are you pulling this time.
FJY: I was always sincere - dramatic pause - sincerely want to keep her by my side; sincerely want her to forget what she shouldn't have to bear responsibility for; sincerely want her to be happy by my side; sincerely want her to experience the life of an innocent girl. It's okay if she pretends to be clueless but she keeps thinking I'm joking around.
QC quickly focus a smile: I don't understand what Da Ren is saying.  
Her stubborn desire for the lamp upsets FJY so much, he sends her away to become ZZC's maid
[Ep8] Now that QC is at ZCC's side, he finally agrees to cure his eyes. Oddly at the moment he regains his sight, the first person he seeks for is Xuan Zhu. Because of Xiang Qu Master’s spell, ZCC has forgotten all about QC/Princess.
Upset at being forgotten, QC sulks in her bed. FJY shows up very timely to retrieve the maid he loves the most.
QC: You men throwing me back and forth... what do you take me for!
FJY smirks: You are the maid I love the most.
[Ep9] To win back the artwork QC painted, FJY duels another god (Bai He Long). He suffers some injuries but it's all worth it for her smile. They enter the painting and she finds a memento of her parents. She tells him her painting looks a little different, he tells her it's all in her imagination. Although pleased with the present, she still is a little upset that FJY took part in the death of Qing Qing (another disciple from the previous episode) but she didn't actually die. It was all a ploy to lure the real spy, Xuan Zhu. Despite her betrayal to her family, QC begs FJY to take lenience on her cousin. Thus, Bai He Long 's scheme to take over the mountain and steal the spiritual lamp fails. However, he's still got one trick up his sleeve: he ingests a pill that transforms him into a ferocious dragon.
[Ep10] The dragon kills Xiang Qu Master (I think? He does transform into a garden snake). With his death, the spell he casted on ZZC is lifted and all his memories of the princess/QC rush in. Additionally, it seems like FJY's powers are significantly weakened without the Master's presence. When QC hears that FJY is in danger, she rushes back to save him even though he had ordered her never to return. Her appearance reminds him of the lady in the artwork from the first episode as imaginary drumming sounds fill his ears. However, the dragon injures QC and she faints over. Angered, FJY's demonic powers are unleashed. Hmmmmm. He's victorious against the dragon god but succumbs to his own injuries. When QC wakes up, FJY has already sealed himself in the artwork (the artwork he won for QC?). QC asks around for FJY but no one knows of his whereabouts.

QC has another priority: the lamp. She returns to the cave to retrieve the magical lamp but once she removes it from its spot the cave comes crashing down. Miraculously she's saved by Er Meng, LOL. Was not expecting that. He must have some sort of special ability to dodge those gigantic stalactites scath-free.  Before escaping the temple, she remembers to save her cousin. The three of them return to their original home. ZZC is already there waiting for her.
QC learns of the rumours that FJY has died and she's absolutely devastated. ZZC comforts her and tells her he loves her but it's too late. Her heart no longer belongs to him. The next day, she secretly escapes with Er Meng while carrying the lamp. BUT. Er Meng isn't actually a fool! He steals her lamp (while sort of confessing to her).

An injured Bai Jing Zi bumps into QC who's frozen because of Er Meng's talisman. He doesn't help her immediately because he wants to take a little petty revenge on her for smashing him before. He tells her that he can still sense FJY's presence but it's a very weak signal. He also tags along on her mission to retrieve the lamp because that’s the only way he can find FJY. FJY had promised QC that no matter where she is he would find her. Thus, Bai Jing Zi needs to glue himself to her.
Who designed this awful hair for him
[Ep11] What I understand thus far: Er Meng [Ting Yuan] is the second prince (he's the second son of the leader of that coup d'etat; if QC hates ZCC for being "part" of the massacre of her family, then she really should hate Er Meng too). He pretends to be useless to disguise his plans to overtake his older brother and perhaps the current demon king as well. He's just waiting for the perfect chance. Now that he has this powerful lamp, his chances are almost guaranteed. As long as he has the lamp. His older brother is following the orders of this statue, which I assume is the soul of the demon that is sealed in the lamp which is why they too want the lamp. The statue is starting to suspect Er Meng but the older brother is skeptical of his foolish younger brother. The guardian of the lamp was FJY and his master but with the master gone all of the responsibility lies on FJY. He's too weak right now so he needs to recover somewhere. Every time Er Meng uses the lamp, it disrupts his recovery. In his recovery he doesn't forget to check up on his little QC. Apparently he can use Bai Jing Zi as a secret IP camera to spy on her. How convenient.
He looks pretty here
[Ep12] Bai Jing Zi and QC have found their way into the palace in search of the lamp but Er Meng catches them. Or actually Er Meng saved her. Er Meng/Ting Yuan is actually a nice dude. Unlike the other prince, he would save all her (Li) people from slavery. That night he was also planning to save another bunch of slaves but QC gets there first. She runs into a little trouble with the crown prince but FJY comes to save the day. He's back! FJY was never really gone though. He'd always check up on her through his trusty mirror, Bai Jing Zi. He watches her dream about him. He can even blow through that mirror to move the blanket for her.

Er Meng almost kills his brother with the lamp but it shatters. It's a fake. The real one was always with FJY... If the lamp sucks out demonic powers and he’s using it against the crown prince that means he’s a demon, no? If the crown prince is a demon then what is Er Meng?

[Ep13] Feng Jiu Yun is back to play his little pranks on his Xian Chuan, calling him his wife and playing with her on the streets. When he uses his magic to fool her, she gets angry. However, she's not angry at him for fooling her, she's angry at him for using his magic and not resting to heal up. But FJY isn't just poking fun at her for no reason. He takes her to the street market so she can "experience the life of an innocent girl."
They pass by a storyteller depicting the love of a god and human. The god waited for the human's love for a thousand years. However this human did not choose the god because he has a duty to save his country. Every audience member hates the tragic ending, except QC. She fully understands the human's choice. Meanwhile FJY fully understands what it feels like to wait for his love for a thousand years. The audience finds her (for liking the ending) a party pooper. They chase her down hurling fruits and whatnot at her. If this isn't foreshadowing the ending, it's definitely foreshadowing what we, the audience, will do if we get a tragic ending like that. He takes shelter with her to hide from the angry audience. Being ultra close, QC is hearing an incredibly quick-paced heart beat. She thinks it’s his but it’s hers. He thought it was the perfect chance to give her a kiss. I thought she'd accept but she suddenly blurts that she's hungry. No kiss.
At night, he plays the pity card to make her let him stay. His sleep is interrupted by this demon lord trying to overcome the lamp's seal. He leaves the sleeping QC to secretly recover on his own. The sleeping QC was never asleep and sneaks out to find the lamp herself.

[Ep14] To prevent QC from running away on her own he promises to take her to find the lamp and on they go in search of it the next day. They're cheerfully chasing each other around after she pranks him. Night falls and the mood changes to a more romantic tone.
FJY tells her he doesn't know where he came from and never tasted loneliness until he saw his master's painting (of her). She continues to probe about when he's lonely and he replies it's when he sees this person fruitlessly fight against her own fate. She also asks him if he ever really wanted to change one person's fate. He looks right at her. Right at her. He tells her yes there was such a girl, someone very normal who can't be more normal. To make sure his message hits home, he reveals its her that he wants to bring happiness to. QC is in denial though.
FJY: I don't like you, I -pause- am in love with you. 
Girl is still in denial. She later resents him for lying about the lamp. She sends her tiger to attack FJY. The idiot FJY doesn't dodge and suffers an injury. QC calls him an idiot too. She frustratingly tells him even if he loves her, she won’t love him.
FJY: Even if you don't love me, it doesn't matter. Everything I have done for you is through my own will. 
At least FJY's idiotic non-dodging move makes her pity him and she doesn't leave him. That doesn't mean he's won her over. Shes engineered to believe she's a normal girl not worthy of his love. But before she's this "normal girl" that he claims her to be, she is also the Princess of Li Guo. She cannot let her people suffer at the hands of those vile demons.
So much skin
Serious revenge business aside. Once she doesn't leave him, FJY is back to his playful master role and orders his favourite little maid around. She lets him be, even smiling when he calls her his little wifey. After he finishes showering, he calls to QC to bring him his clothes. Reluctantly she does. When she enters the bath her eyes linger on his pouch (for the lamp) but puts it away, phew. She calls for him but he doesn't answer, he was waiting behind the doors ready to plant a kiss on her. She receives it. Scene cuts. Then after it's like the kiss never happened. She's back to refusing his love. Because she is the Princess of blah blah blah.I don't get why she's backtracking his confession.

[Ep15] This Princess of blah blah blah betrays FJY and steals his lamp. The only cute thing in this episode is that ZZC seems to finally have an inkling of liking towards Xuan Ju.
[Ep16] And QC has changed for good (or for worse). There's no more turning back. She strikes her bow and kills ZZC's father, collecting her first demonic soul in her lamp.
[Ep17] FJY takes on another identity: a renowned artist, Gong Zi Qi. He uses this identity to hover around his beloved maid, QC.
[Ep18] QC's next target is the crown prince. She masquerades as a dancer to approach him but her plan fails. I was expecting a performance of equal caliber to Princess Yan Yan's Four Seasons dance but this one is so mediocre. FJY's ever presence never left her and he continues to protect her.
[Ep19] QC's hairdo looks more croissant than Tang Song Yun's in Under the Power. With the help of Er Meng (uh Ting Yuan) she disguises herself as a palace maid. FJY sees through all her plans but he can't stop her.
[Ep20] Xuan Ju misunderstands that ZZC isn't over QC. Regardless, she joins the crew to kill crown prince since ZZC has decided to help. She's also the perfect person to approach the crown prince.
[Ep21] FJY and QC each have their mission but both fail. Although FJY almost kills the evil demon lord, he transforms into a fiery ball to escape and takes the lamp with him. QC had obviously shot her bow at the crown prince but it seems he's saved by the fiery ball. However, the crown prince was never the true villain. QC (after 20 episodes) just learned that it was the demon lord/fiery ball who had annihilated her country. She had her revenge target wrong the entire time. And she never really killed anyone either. ZZC's dad is still alive. Basically she never killed any human being, she just killed a spirit. Why make her have a fundamental change, and then take it back? We're back to square one. Oh and that master who changed to a snake is still alive too.
[Ep22]  That master who changed to a snake earlier is still alive. And he also wants this oh so holy lamp.
[Ep23] FJY uses his trusty mirror to spy on QC again. However, she finds out and Bai Jing Zi betrays FJY to take her to him. Although QC appears all smiley, he knows she's grieving inside (for her pet cat, her wrong hatred, her people etc etc etc). That night with him, she finally cries in his arms. FJY has successfully healed her heart. For now.
[Ep24] More happy moments. It's the peace before the storm. FJY is secretly leaving to battle the evil demon lord just when QC is returning his love.
[Ep25] Everyone is hailing Xuan Ju as the new princess because they don't know Princess Yan Yan is still alive. However, she doesn't want this glory and pushes the cowardly QC to her licit position. I think Xuan Ju's personality is more likable at this rate. She won't take what's not hers until she's rightfully earned it. As sister love start to unfold, elsewhere a father-son bond demolishes. The crown prince was actually a host for the demon lord's son to reside in. Now that the demon needs his dark energy back, he consumes his own son. Bleh.
[Ep26] QC learns the inevitable truth about FJY's fate with the lamp. She protects him and sacrifices her heart's blood. QC and FJY would have died if Bai Jing Zi had not sacrificed himself. The drama finally utilized his mirror's reflective ability to send the surge of power back at the demon lord. However, it's not enough to kill the demon lord, he just falls off the cliff. Only a shard of Bai Jing Zi is left. Bye bye Jing Zi. Bye bye Drama.
[Ep27]
[Ep28]
[Ep29]
[Ep30]

Remarks


First Impression (Ep1-8): Reading the synopsis, I thought this drama was going to be dark and serious but it’s much much lighter and cheerful. I also like how the drama created a whole new world of humans, gods, and demons and a whole lot of magical elements. If the plot doesn’t royally mess up, I can see myself loving this. The stakes are obvious and high. As she slowly falls in love I wonder if she’ll choose Fu Jiu Yun over her revenge.

Actor/Actress: To be honest, I don’t know how Zhao Lu Si scores all these dramas. She reprises her cunningly cute role. I’m looking forward to Zheng Ye Cheng. Liked him since Love O2O and Let’s Shake It! I want him to start picking up main leads consistently. I'm also quite impressed with Jiang Yi Yi's short appearance as the Princess. The drumming scene is stunningly gorgeous.

By Episode 14: Uh oh. It's at the peak or getting to the peak of their romance and I'm not quite feeling the chemistry I want from these two. When the scene switches from the old QC (the actress for the Princess) to the current QC, I realize how much I miss the original one.

By Episode 15: Alright, this will be a tiny rant. The pacing of this drama is poorly done. Why bother make her accept that kiss so sweetly for her to betray him the next second? Why throw your audience around like that, show? One second she likes him; one second she's in denial. Are you even trying to make me like the heroine?

Dropped (Ep26): For the latter half of the drama, I was waiting for plot to happen and when it does happen I'm still so bored of it. The romance couldn't save it either. If it weren't for my heavy investment in the beginning, I would have dropped this by Episode 14/15. I wanted to like this so I gave it far more patience than I should have. This drama has a plot that doesn't move or improve. It's the same plot established in Episode 1 that gets dragged for the entire series. The romance is established early, perhaps a little too early. The rest of the romance is her fluctuating between to love or not to love. When she finally chose to love, I have already had enough. If anyone is reading this and has finished, mind telling me why he fell in love with her a thousand years ago? And that drum scene.

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