Cang Lan Jue is a Visual Feast inspired by Hades & Persephone

★★★★★

Watch this if you like tropes like enemies to lovers, forbidden love, body swap. Also, if you like Tim Burton-esque retellings of Hades & Persephone, Romeo & Juliet, and Howl’s Moving Castle. 

I watched AvenueX’s review of Cang Lan Jue on YouTube a month ago, and she raved about it. Raved! Normally she’s very critical of most Chinese dramas, and after watching K-dramas and C-dramas for almost 10 years, I get it. The plots get super repetitive and boring. You can only see so much after watching 100+ dramas.  

Still, since she was so excited about this drama, and I trust her opinion sometimes, I wanted to watch it. It’s also on my highly anticipated dramas of 2022 list I made back in winter. It’s been on my radar since I became a fan of Dylan Wang (thanks to Meteor Garden), but I had low expectations. Dylan Wang is a gifted actor with talent, but he needs to refine it. Dylan Wang’s masterclass in acting was Cang Lan Jue because it’s his finest performance yet. In this, he proved he could act, and no one can take that away.  

Synopsis

My Thoughts on the First Episode

Earlier this month, I opened iQIYI and clicked play on the first episode on my desktop computer and my eyes were assaulted by an explosion of visual effects and top notch production quality.  

Okay, I’m being dramatic, but I really liked the part where the female lead explained what her life was like, and it immediately drew me in. Based on the trailer, I knew there was a body swap coming and Dylan Wang would be playing the bad guy “The Moon Supreme”. Since Esther Yu is supposed to be the opposite of the Moon Tribe King, I was intrigued by how she would be portrayed. And she totally is the opposite of him, so let’s talk about what I dislike and like about her character.

Esther Yu as Xiao Lan Hua or Orchid

Esther Yu plays the main female lead, a fairy cultivated from an orchid flower. At least, that’s what she was told. She doesn’t really know who she is, where she came from, or who her parents are. All she knows is that she was saved and raised by her master. Now she’s helping her master, Si Ming, who controls the fate of all beings.

Esther is totally at home in this role. Even though I haven’t seen her in any other shows, I can tell from her appearance and the way she conducts herself in interviews that she is the cute type.

That’s exactly how her character is, cute, innocent, and borderline naive. Her naivety and high-pitched voice make her sound unintelligent. As the story progresses, you realize she’s actually really smart, and her hyper-feminine nature contrasts with the male lead’s persona. Her emotional intelligence comes in handy when she’s dealing with a very dangerous opponent, the Moon Supreme.

Dylan Wang as The Moon Supreme or Dongfang Qingcang

Dylan’s character is known by a lot of names. People call him The Moon Supreme, because he’s the leader of the Moon Tribe who killed his own father to take the throne. People very close to him refer to him as Dongfang Qingcang, his real name. Orchid, our female lead, calls him all those names, as well as Wooden Head and Daqiang. He’s so emotionally vapid that she compares him to a block of wood.  

In fact, he doesn’t have any emotions, aside from hatred. Hatred is a value in the Moon Tribe, something his character will learn isn’t as useful as he was taught. Despite being the most powerful being in the world (of course), Dongfang Qingcang was deprived of emotions like love or empathy in order to maintain his power status.  

  When we meet him, he’s a selfish, hateful villain emitting heavy murderous energy.  

Dylan played this character so well. He’s perfect for bad-boy characters. I know it’s not cool to typecast actors, but that’s his thing. In The Rational Life, he played the good guy, but that’s not what he excels at. He’s a bad boy as Daoming Si in Meteor Garden and now a bad boy as Dongfang Qingcang in Cang Lan Jue. And he kills it at both.  

The Art Production

I could rave about how awesome the visual effects for the dragon were, or how cool Dongfang Qingcang’s massive head looked in one scene. I could also rave about how gorgeous all the visual elements look, from the architecture to the skylines.

The visual effects team didn’t just slap on VFX to make things happen. There was a clear art direction here. Every tribe and setting is different. Each tribe has its own wardrobe and customs, from the way they show respect to the food they eat.

There are four major settings in this show: the Mortal World, Haishi City, Shui Yun Tian, and the Moon Tribe at Canyan Sea.

The Mortal World

The mortal world has all the elements of an ancient Chinese village, from the traditional wedding dress to the architecture. When you’re in the mortal world, it looks distinctly different from the immortal world.

Haishi City

A city led by questionable immortals, Haishi City, is inhabited by Moon Tribe residents, but it’s distinctly different from the Cangyan Sea. I kind of feel like it’s a dystopian city in a way, and it reminds me of No Night City in The Untamed.  

Shui Yun Tian

In Shui Yun Tian, we see a typical xianxia kingdom, but I liked how they delved into the element of ice. The throne room looks like it’s made of ice, and even the royals wear ice ornaments. Also, this realm has Arbiter Hall, where the main female character lives.  

The Moon Tribe – Cangyan Sea

After that, The Moon Tribe is introduced with desert sands, a gothic castle that looks like Hogwarts or Howl’s Moving Castle, and some middle eastern elements.  

I hate reading books or watching shows that take place in one place. Take me on an adventure with everything I watch or read. Bring me to a different land or world. Let the colours contrast and the languages sound different. My character needs to travel to multiple places. Life’s too boring to be stuck in one place, and I can’t stand content where characters are stuck in one or two lame settings.  

This show takes you on an adventure. Those are the main lands, but within them are some amazing realms with incredible visual contrasts.  

Overall Production & Storytelling

Because of its inspiration from Hades and Persephone and Romeo and Juliet, this story naturally has two rival tribes, Shui Yun Tian and The Moon Tribe.   

Orchid is an insignificant fairy from Shui Yun Tian (so she thinks) whereas Dongfang Qingcang is the king of the Moon Tribe, so he’s an important person. Naturally, they are enemies.  

The production, especially the art direction, and the VFX are just proof that the money was spent wisely. Many shows get huge budgets and spend them on things that don’t matter. The show knew where to put its money, and it did a good job.  

AvenueX said this is some of the most stunning VFX she’s seen in a Chinese drama. I totally agree. The visual effects in this one will set a new standard for xianxia.  

The Tropes

The plot itself, as I mentioned above, is heavily inspired by the forbidden lovers trope, so it’s not really original. Despite the fact that it’s a story we’ve all read before, it’s how they’ve done it, from the acting to the world building, that makes it feel fresh.

Body Swap Trope

Also, there’s a body swap element in this story. The body swap trope isn’t my favourite, and I was worried they’d make it a huge part of the plot, but they didn’t!   

Only twice have they swapped bodies on this show, and it was hilarious. It’s funny to watch the characters get out of character when in each other’s bodies, especially Dongfang Qingcang, who embarrasses himself in front of his subjects for a day. The way Dylan performs with his adorable wide eyes reminds me so much of Edward Scissorhands. 

Frozen Heart Trope

With 6 episodes left, I’m crossing my fingers for a happy ending. They have a fascinating love story. I’m always a sucker for the unfreezing of the cold-hearted guy. It’s awesome, and I love that this drama knows that’s a trope they’re involving themselves in, so they show it through VFX by unfreezing his Love Tree.  

Final Thoughts on the Show’s Finale

It was amazing, but I needed one more slice-of-life episode about the characters getting married or doing daily activities to feel emotionally and psychologically satisfied.   

Would you be open to watching a show like this? Did you know it's coming to Netflix on September 9, 2022, in Canada? I highly recommend you give the first episode a watch as it starts with a bang!