Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact Review

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact (狐妖小红娘月红篇) is a surprise flop given the brickbats it has been receiving on some rating sites. With a star-studded cast, I would have thought that this will be a great production. Nevertheless, I didn’t let it deter me. I decided to go ahead and judge it for myself whether this is indeed such a bad drama as many viewers have indicated. Suffice to say that it does have a few glaring weaknesses right off the bat. My Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact review below will have more on this fantasy drama.

My rating: 7/10
Episodes: 36
Type: Fantasy
Aired: May 2024
Images credit: iQIYI Facebook

The Cast Of Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact

• Yang Mi as Tushan Hong Hong
• Simon Gong Jun as Dongfang Yue Chu
• Cristy Guo Xiao Ting as Tushan Ya Ya
• Miles Wei Zhe Ming as A Lai
• Hu Lian Xin as Tushan Rong Rong
• Li Yu Hao as Tushan Guo Guo
• Liang Chao as Tushan Bu Zhui
• Wen Zheng Rong as Tushan Shi Ji
• Bambi Zhu Xu Dan as Bu Tai
• Yang Shi Ze as Shi Kuan
• Jerry Huang as Jin Ren Feng
• Hong Xiao as Fu Cheng
• Feng Xiao Tong as Dongfang Luo
• Han Dong as Wangquan Hong Ye
• Sebrina Chen as Lyu Jian Wen
• Mao Zi Jun as Yan Ru Shan
• Dong Bo as Chi Lei
• Zhang Ling He as Hu Wei Sheng
• Chen Du Ling as Yueti Xia

Main Characters

Tushan Hong Hong

Hong Hong is the Chief of the Fox Clan of Tushan. She is a spirit with very strong cultivation powers. Hong Hong appears as stoic and unfeeling but cares a lot for her clan and the oppressed. She is a fair leader who does her best not to harm the innocent. She takes her duties seriously and desires peace between spirits and humans.

Dongfang Yue Chu

Yue Chu is a human who was saved by the Fox Clan and grew up in Tushan under Hong Hong’s protection. He was an orphan and coveted for his pure spiritual blood. He could cultivate the Pure Spiritual Flame which could be used to deter dark forces. Yue Chu is smart and cheeky. He also sees himself as Hong Hong’s sidekick.

Supporting Characters

Tushan Ya Ya

Ya Ya is the Deputy Chief of the Fox Clan. She is the second strongest cultivator after Hong Hong. Ya Ya is a carefree spirit who is expressive and straightforward. She is a wine lover and has an idol whom she greatly admires.

Ah Lai

Ah Lai is Hong Hong’s good friend from the Nan Kingdom. He is a spirit with cultivation powers and a poison specialist. Ah Lai can be quick and sneaky. He also has a bickering relationship with Ya Ya.

Tushan Rong Rong

Rong Rong is the third-in-command of the Fox Clan. She helps Hong Hong to shoulder the clan’s problems and knows the danger that they are facing. Rong Rong is observant and smart.

Tushan Guo Guo

Guo Guo is a spirit that was taken in by Ya Ya after he escaped from his human master. He has been bullied by humans and sees them as a threat.

Tushan Bu Zhui

Bu Zhui is an Elder of the Fox Clan. He is respectful of Hong Hong and always willing to do his part for the clan even if it means sacrificing his life.

Tushan Shi Ji

Shi Ji is the previous Chief of the Fox Clan. She is an evil spirit who wants to control the 6 realms. Shi Ji is cruel and would readily sacrifice others to achieve her aim.

Bu Tai

Bu Tai is the Princess of the Spirit-Master Kingdom. She is a kind and generous princess who is in love with her personal spirit guard.

Shi Kuan

Shi Kuan is a powerful spirit and Bu Tai’s personal guard. He was chosen by Bu Tai’s father to protect Bu Tai when he was young. Hence, he grew up with Bu Tai and is devoted to her.

Jin Ren Feng

Jin Ren Feng is the Master of the Divine Flame Villa. He is a sinister man with evil intentions to be a more powerful cultivator. He killed Yue Chu’s parents and covets Yue Chu’s spiritual blood to increase his powers.

Fu Cheng

Fu Cheng is Jin Ren Feng’s subordinate. She does what she is told and is also Jin Ren Feng’s spiritual blood supplier.

Dongfang Luo

Dongfang Luo is Hong Hong’s childhood friend who has been in a coma for centuries. He is a human with sympathy for the spirits and wished for peace between the 2 groups.

Wangquan Hong Ye

Wangquan Hong Ye is the Chief of Yiqi Alliance and Wangquan Villa. He is assisted by Butler Fei as his righthand man.

Lyu Jian Wen

Jian Wen is a top constable of Yiqi Alliance. She is a capable and effective investigator with a responsibility in capturing wrongdoers. She also has a very keen sense of smell.

Yan Ru Shan

Ru Shan is a swindler of women’s feelings. He is known as the Thousand-Faces Gentleman with his ability to change his appearance. Ru Shan is also Rong Rong’s disciple.

Chi Lei

Chi Lei is a powerful spirit and leader of a group of bandits. He also has a younger brother named Chi Shan who is stupid enough to be easily deceived by others.

Hu Wei Sheng

Hu Wei Sheng is a disciple of the Ximen family. He is a timid young man who is contented with having a comfortable bed and full stomach after experiencing a harsh childhood.

Yueti Xia

Yueti Xia is the daughter of the Tree Spirits Clan Chief, Xueti Chun. She is an adventurous tree spirit who craves for her mother’s attention.

Synopsis

Yue Chu is the only one in the world with pure spiritual blood after his parents were killed when he was a boy. His blood is desired by many as it can be used to increase one’s cultivation powers. Hence, he took a gamble and went into Tushan to escape from his pursuers. But Tushan is occupied by the Fox Clan and its leader, Hong Hong, has barred humans from entering after a long war between spirits and humans which was started by her predecessor, Shi Ji. However, Hong Hong makes an exception for Yue Chu as his blood could save the divine Grief Tree which nourishes Tushan if the need arises.

Hence, Yue Chu grew up among the Fox Clan in Tushan and is close to Hong Hong. He finds himself falling for Hong Hong as a young man but a love relationship between a spirit and human is unheard of due to their differences. But then a dark force has started to invade the Grief Tree and is slowly absorbing its powers. This puts Tushan and the Fox Clan in danger. However, Hong Hong is unwilling to sacrifice Yue Chu to purify the tree. As Hong Hong tries to stop the dark force and unearth who is behind the evil deed, Yue Chu insists on helping her. Together, they protect each other and try to defeat the evil forces that would create chaos all around.

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact has a happy ending in an alternate dimension. Hong Hong decides to risk her life to defeat the Black Foxes by absorbing all the hatred to lure them into the formation that she has set up. This sacrificial formation helps her to kill off Shi Ji but before the latter dies, she transfers all her hatred to Hong Hong to pull her down together. Hong Hong is overwhelmed by the hatred that the Black Fox Empress could make used of.

At the same time, Yue Chu has also made separate plans to sacrifice himself to stop the Black Foxes. When he steps into Hong Hong’s formation, he learns that she has never planned to sacrifice him to save the Grief Tree. He uses his spiritual blood to free Hong Hong and save her soul but dies as a result. With his blood and her powers, Hong Hong then combines them to blow up the Black Fox Empress.

The spirits and humans make peace with each other after the Black Foxes incident. Hong Hong turns back into a child with no memories of the past after losing almost all her spirit powers to defeat Black Fox Empress. But the child seems to have a connection to Yue Chu when he appears in her vision.

An alternate dimension with happy endings for the main and side couples are presented to the viewers at the end of the drama. This is because Yue Chu’s sacrifice has opened up another dimension and the couples’ lives could continue from there.

Extra Episode

There is an extra episode that is about 10 minutes long for Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact. It has nothing to do with the original story but a modern day wedding of Ah Lai and Ya Ya to set the stage for Yue Chu to propose to Hong Hong. It is just a marketing gimmick for more romance and for the feel good factor. Thus, you won’t miss anything in the original story if you skip the extra episode.

When Did The Leads Get Together?

Yue Chu becomes more blatant in pursuing Hong Hong from Episode 13. He also risks his life to give Hong Hong his heart’s blood in Episode 15 to save her during a fight with Jin Ren Feng. This enables her to defeat the villain. Hong Hong’s heart is gradually melting for Yue Chu but she holds back when she discovers that Shi Ji is colluding with an outside force beyond the safety circle. The circle was put up by Aolai Sanshao in the past by using up half of his spirit powers. It is to keep the force out and ensure the 6 realms’ safety.

Hence, Hong Hong decides to cut the connection between Shi Ji and the outside force. To do so, she has to sacrifice her Love Seed to seal up Shi Ji inside the Grief Tree. But this will cause her heart to be empty of love and she will also lose all her memories of her beloved which is Yue Chu. Therefore, Hong Hong rejects Yue Chu when he confesses his feelings for her in Episode 18 as she has decided to give up her Love Seed for the greater good then.

Yue Chu reminds Hong Hong of their past and voices his dissatisfaction over her decision to forget him without discussing with him first in Episode 28. She begins to fall for him again. Inspired by another couple’s experience, Hong Hong feels that she should give herself and Yue Chu a chance in Episode 29. She confesses her feelings for him and they become a couple.

Love Seed

However, Hong Hong should not be falling in love again as she has sacrificed her Love Seed earlier. Each time the Love Seed is reborn when she falls in love, it will bloom and then wither. When it withers, she will then forget her lover once more and the cycle repeats itself. This will also takes a toll on her heart and she could die in the process.

To solve the problem, Yue Chu learns from Ya Ya that he could cut out half of his heart and congeal it with the Love Seed. Yue Chu does so in Episode 29 although he knows his heart would wither and he will die should Hong Hong no longer loves him.

Is There Any Breakup?

Yue Chu leaves Tushan to join the Yiqi Alliance in Episode 19 after having been rejected by Hong Hong in Episode 18. He wants to try to create peace between humans and spirits to fulfill Hong Hong’s wish which is partly fueled by guilt towards Dongfang Luo. However, Yue Chu has no idea that Hong Hong has decided to give up her Love Seed which is why she rejected him. She loses all her memories of Yue Chu after doing so. Hence, when they meet again in Episode 21, Hong Hong couldn’t remember Yue Chu and didn’t acknowledge him as a result.

After they got together in Episode 19, Shi Ji’s plotting caused Yue Chu to force to kill a possessed Bu Zhui in Episode 32. Fu Cheng is also possessed and goes on a killing spree which resulted in Liu Shang’s death in Episode 33. Fu Cheng subsequently kills herself after waking up and seeing what she had done. The Black Foxes’ intention is to sow discord between humans and spirits so that they could generate more hatred for them to boost their power and control the 6 realms.

Hong Hong uses this opportunity to break up with Yue Chu as she has decided to confront the Black Foxes herself. She doesn’t want Yue Chu to sacrifice himself to create the magic tool needed to defeat the Black Foxes. Shi Ji also feeds Yue Chu with information that Hong Hong only wants to be with him because his blood could save the Grief Tree. This causes Yue Chu to declare things are over between them in Episode 34 when Hong Hong deceives him with the admission that he is merely a tool to save the Grief Tree.

Is There A Love Triangle?

Yue Chu thought Hong Hong has feelings for Dongfang Luo when she rejects him in Episode 18. She lets him assume so since they couldn’t be together. But Hong Hong only feels guilty towards Dongfang Luo as she caused him to fall into a coma centuries ago. Hong Hong tells Yue Chu that Dongfang Luo was just a friend and that she didn’t love him after the latter’s death in Episode 28.

Wangquan Villa’s Background

Yue Chu’s identity as a Dongfang descendent is exposed in Episode 15 after he used his heart’s blood to help Hong Hong defeat Jin Ren Feng. Wangquan Hong Ye wants to protect Yue Chu and asks him to return to Wangquan Villa. But Yue Chu refuses because he is still bitter over their treatment of his aunt, Dongfang Huai Zhu, besides the fact that he is reluctant to leave Tushan.

After Jin Ren Feng betrayed the previous master of the Divine Flame Villa and took over his position, Huai Zhu sought the help from the leaders of Yiqi Alliance. But none of them was willing to help including Wangquan Villa who did nothing. Hence, Huai Zhu was forced to marry into the Wangquan family as a concubine to escape from Jin Ren Feng. The Wangquan family also wanted a strong descendent that has the Dongfang bloodline. Huai Zhu subsequently gave birth to a son but she died after childbirth.

But Wangquan Hong Ye is not as heartless as he appears. He is open to cooperation with the spirits in Episode 22. He also willingly steps down from his position as Chief of the Yiqi Alliance for Yue Chu to take over so that they could have a stronger leader to confront the Black Foxes in Episode 30.

What Happened To Jin Ren Feng?

After Hong Hong defeated Jin Ren Feng in a fight in Episode 15, he escaped but is subsequently tracked down by Yue Chu and his comrades in Episode 16. Yue Chu strips Jin Ren Feng of his cultivation powers and makes him suffer in pain. Since he is now practically useless to Shi Ji, she absorbs his inner core to boost her own powers. Shi Ji kills him in Episode 18 by taking his primordial core to become stronger. He wants Shi Ji to exact revenge for him by killing Hong Hong and Yue Chu in return for giving up his primordial core to her and hence, his life.

Who Is Guo Guo?

Guo Guo was Elder Xu Yi’s spirit slave at one point while in Spirit-Master Kingdom. He was bullied and tortured. Hence, he hated humans. This is revealed in Episode 9. Gu Guo then kills Elder Xu Yi in revenge in Episode 10 after the latter is imprisoned for colluding with Shi Ji to sow discord between spirits and humans. But Guo Guo himself is beholden to Shi Ji because she had saved him in the past.

Guo Guo also kills Bu Tai in Episode 12 on Shi Ji’s order. Bu Tai is the Princess of Spirit-Master Kingdom whereby spirits were slaves to humans. Guo Guo is unwilling to forgive Bu Tai although she was kind and freed the spirits from humans’ control after the death of her father.

Hong Hong is aware that Guo Guo is Shi Ji’s spy in Episode 16. Ya Ya kills him in Episode 27 for refusing to repent and continuing to work for Shi Ji.

Who Is Dongfang Luo?

In Episode 18, it is revealed that Dongfang Luo is someone who had saved Hong Hong and Rong Rong when they were kids. He awakens from his coma in Episode 20 and his history with Hong Hong is revealed then. They were childhood friends. But then Hong Hong and Rong Rong were captured by Dongfang Luo’s disciple brothers and locked up in a cage. Hong Hong became distrustful of him due to the ongoing conflict between humans and spirits. So, she stabbed him when he came to free them.

Hong Hong realized she had made a mistake but Dongfang Luo had fallen unconscious from her action. She regretted not trusting him and has been keeping him alive for centuries with a rare flower that nourishes his soul.

In Episode 25, Jian Wen is suspicious of Dongfang Luo as she could smell a victim’s blood on him. She tells Yue Chu about it to raise his awareness. Dongfang Luo is actually Shi Ji’s follower as she has used her powers to awaken him. He also has a selfish intention to make Hong Hong his with Shi Ji’s help. His deceit is exposed in Episode 27. He lures Yue Chu out instead of Hong Hong as instructed by Shi Ji. Dongfang Luo hopes Yue Chu and Shi Ji will end up killing each other but Shi Ji would rather save her energy for a confrontation with Hong Hong instead.

Shi Ji becomes angry at Dongfang Luo’s betrayal and takes over his mind in Episode 28. She uses his life to threaten Hong Hong. Dongfang Luo ends up stabbing himself to death to stop Shi Ji from using his body to kill Hong Hong during the fight.

Second Couple

Ah Lai has been interested in Ya Ya from the time they met while she slowly falls for him after being forced to work together with him to protect Tushan. He confesses to her in Episode 17 and she agrees to be with him. In Episode 30, Ya Ya finally finds out that Ah Lai is actually her idol, Aolai Sanshao, who kept the dark force out of the 6 realms.

They part ways in Episode 36 as each of them has their own heavy responsibilities to shoulder after the confrontation with the Black Foxes. Ya Ya wants to remain in Tushan to do her part since Hong Hong has turned into a child while Ah Lai needs to return to his kingdom to fulfill his duties.

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact Review – Glaring Dealbreakers

Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact certainly has been a disappointment given the star-studded cast and big budget. Where the money goes is obvious. The costumes are elaborate, the settings are beautiful, and the CGIs are top notch for a fantasy drama. The popular actors will also take a big chunk of the budget. Unfortunately, it takes more than just big stars and money to make a great drama. The story needs to be enticing and original. This is one of the few problems that confront Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact.

Basically, the drama is a typical xianxia trope of fighting evil forces that feed on hatred. They just swapped the immortals with spirits but the gist of the story remains more or less the same. The message that is sent is love can defeat hatred and the main couple’s story is to illustrate that point. There is really nothing refreshing about the plot. If it is an average production, it may not have received such brickbats. But because the expectations are high for this one given the cast, the disappointment becomes magnified when the story fails to inspire.

However, a common storyline doesn’t mean the drama can’t sell. The Legend Of Shen Li is also a typical xianxia trope but it has enjoyed much success. The problem of the very average story in Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact is compounded by a detail at the start that will immediately put some people off.

Questionable Romance

The questionable romance is the very first thing you need to accept before the main couple’s love story can resonate with you. The female lead is a fox spirit and leader of the clan. When she first came across the male protagonist, he is just a little boy. She took him in and protected him. So, the guy grew up in her clan and the female lead is like his mentor. For a romance drama, this could be hard to swallow for some because the girl watched him grew up under her protection.

Well, you can justify that this is a fantasy drama after all and the female lead’s lifespan run into centuries since she is a spirit. If you look at it from this point of view, it might not appear so iffy. But then another problem crops up and that is the lack of a strong reason for the guy to fall for the girl. The story just seems to lack a convincing trigger to make him suddenly see her in a romantic way after having grown up with her constant presence.

Therefore, I think it is hard to sell the romance to the viewers. It can be an important part of the story but it would be a tough sell to get people to watch this for the main couple’s love for each other. This is especially so when there is a total lack of chemistry between the 2 leads to make this pairing work.

Little Chemistry Between The Leads

Personally, I cannot detect any chemistry between Yang Mi and Simon Gong in their roles as Hong Hong and Yue Chu respectively. Hong Hong is stoic and serious while Yue Chu is playful and cheeky. The 2 contrasting personalities should create fireworks by right but they just fail to complement each other. Hence, there are no sparks there to make you feel invested in the couple. As a romance drama, there should be many butterfly moments for you to savor but the lack of chemistry just makes the overall love story of the main couple feels bland.

Some critics narrow this down to Yang Mi’s portrayal of Hong Hong which they deem as too wooden. It is definitely not one of her better performances but I think the fault lies more to the character’s personality rather than acting. The substandard script also wasted both her and Simon Gong’s experience and talent. After The Legend Of Anle, it is really time for Simon Gong to pick better scripts for his historical drama projects.

Fortunately, there are a few other side couples in Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact to make up for the dull main couple. They are part of the subplots and appear in only a few episodes but the couples do have better chemistry and touching love stories to help satisfy some of the viewers’ romantic cravings.

Vague Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

The ending is another weakness that is kind of annoying to me. It is not an open ending like The Longest Promise but it lacks the explanation needed to tell viewers exactly what is happening. It is like they are forcing a happily ever after for everyone when there are better ways to end the drama. So, an alternate time and space is created for the couples to continue their happy lives but time travel isn’t explored throughout the story until those moments just before the drama ends. If I’m not mistaken, time travel is only mentioned once in all the 36 episodes.

Perhaps the choppy editing has butchered the story to the extent that some aspects have become vague and incomprehensible. The less than smooth scene transition is very obvious in some episodes. You will notice that certain parts have been cut out for reasons best known to the editors and producers. So, the story doesn’t flow very well at times with these missing segments and it does affect viewing pleasure to a certain extent.

My Verdict – You Can Skip!

I don’t think you have much to miss by skipping Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact. If it is a good romance that you are after, this will not be a great title to watch. It doesn’t move your emotions much and the pairing is very short on chemistry to make you feel interested. Even a standard xianxia fare like Love You Seven Times has a more watchable romance than this. In fact, I skipped a lot of the main couple’s scenes that pertains to their romance.

What made me press on is just the story of fighting the evil forces. I guess if you don’t mind a typical fantasy based story of good versus evil, this drama still has its value. A few side couples also provide the distraction needed from the main couple to keep the interest going. So, if you keep your eyes on the plot of defeating the villains rather than the romance of the main couple, I think you are less likely to drop this halfway through. This is especially so when their romance starts off being rather debatable due to the nature of their relationship.

However, we still can’t run away from the fact that the villains and plot are cliche stuff for this genre and some might still find this drama boring. Together with other glaring weaknesses that include poor editing and a mediocre script, it is hard to recommend this as a must-watch. Hence, I would give 7/10 for this review of Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red-Moon Pact. At the very least, it did have great CGIs for a fantasy drama as well as Yang Mi and Simon Gong to feast our eyes on.

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