Song Of The Moon Review

Song Of The Moon (月歌行) was on my watch list and it is good to see Vin Zhang in a xianxia drama again. However, I wasn’t expecting a breakthrough for this production given that xianxia dramas tend to have recycled plots. I was only hoping for a little bit of surprises here and there so that the drama won’t be too boring overall. After completing this series, I can now say that it is binge-worthy but could be better. My Song Of The Moon review below will tell you the reasons why.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Xianxia Romance
Aired: December 2022
Images Credit: iQIYI Taiwan Facebook

The Cast Of Song Of The Moon

• Vin Zhang Bin Bin as Lu Li / Luo Ge
• Xu Lu as Liu Shao
• Wang You Shuo as He Na
• Zheng He Hui Zi as Luo Ning
• Riley Wang Yi Lun as A Fu Jun
• Ma Yue as Bai Feng
• Zhang Ya Zhuo as Zhuo Qiu Xian
• Liao Jin Feng as Shang Yu Rong
• Zhang Zi Jian as Wan Wu Xian Weng / Immortal Master Wan Wu
• Lu Xing as Lu Sheng
• Chen Zi Han as Ao Hen
• Shu Ya Xin as Xie Ling Qi
• Liu Bo Xiao as Duke Wu Yang
• Li Xiao Pang as Wang Jian
• Lin Chen Han as Xiao Yue
• Lu Yun Feng as Wan Sui

Main Characters

Lu Li

Lu Li is a disciple of Lu Sheng. He is a demon hunter with cultivation skills. Lu Li is money-minded but playful. He is also shrewd and smart.

Luo Ge

Luo Ge is a high immortal and responsible for the safety of the 3 realms. He is a stern-looking man who takes his responsibilities seriously. Luo Ge has great cultivation skills.

Liu Shao

Liu Shao is the daughter of a noble. She supposedly possesses strong spiritual energy and is a target of demons. Liu Shao is kind and trusting. But she is spirited and will fight back when bullied.

He Na

He Na is known as the Demon King in White. As leader of the Aquatic Demon Clan, he has powerful water energy. He Na is upright and is someone with integrity. But he is not a risk taker. Instead, he is cautious and patient.

Luo Ning

Luo Ning is Luo Ge’s younger sister and he dotes on her. She is a carefree and happy fairy in the Immortal Realm. She is well-protected by her brother who keeps her confined in the Immortal Realm for her own safety.

A Fu Jun

A Fu is He Na’s younger brother and the Water General of the Aquatic Demon Clan. He is a demon with a lot of hatred and resentment in him due to the plight of his clan. The Aquatic Demons used to be the strong Melody race but their dignity has been trampled upon and cursed to live underwater with no freedom. A Fu is deceitful and stubborn.

Supporting Characters

Bai Feng

Bai Feng is the Chief female disciple of Duke Wu Yang. She is also Lu Li’s disciple sister. Bai Feng is a jealous and vicious woman who is good at pretending.

Zhuo Qiu Xian & Shang Yu Rong

Zhuo Qiu Xian is an immortal and the Master of Wuxie Palace which oversees rules and regulations in the Immortal Realm. Shang Yu Rong is her disciple brother. He is also an immortal and the Master of the Palace of Abyssal Mirror.

Wan Wu Xian Weng / Immortal Master Wan Wu

Immortal Master Wan Wu is Luo Ge’s teacher. He is a senior immortal who is only interested in keeping the evil spirit sealed up and the realms safe.

Lu Sheng

Lu Sheng is Lu Li and Bai Feng’s master. He is half demon and half human. Lu Sheng has his own agenda with an immediate priority to enable Lu Li to unseal the Moon Sword.

Ao Hen

Ao Hen is the Demon Queen of the land. Her clan is the most powerful and biggest in the Demon Realm. She is a ruthless and cruel demon whose main preoccupation is to feed her son, Ao Yin, with spiritual energy of other beings. Ao Yin has been reduced to an infant after a battle with the immortals.

Xie Ling Qi

Xie Ling Qi is an immortal lord who is spiteful and arrogant.

Duke Wu Yang

Duke Wu Yang is the leader of an academy of demon hunters in the Mortal Realm. He is responsible for keeping humans safe with guidance from the immortals.

Wang Jian & Xiao Yue

Wang Jian and Xiao Yue are students at Duke Wu Yang Academy. They are also Lu Li and Liu Shao’s friends.

Wan Sui

Wan Sui is an immortal and plant master. He has expert knowledge in plants and herbs. He is playful and likes to talk.

Synopsis

When Liu Shao was a kid, she was approached by a mysterious immortal who gave her 3 days of bliss in return for a change in her fate when she turns 18. Upon reaching 18 years old, Liu Shao is hunted by a demon for her supposedly strong spiritual powers. She gets entangled with Lu Li who is tasked by his master to protect her. Lu Li has no idea of his background or where he comes from. His main responsibility is to unseal the Moon Sword which he is told is the answer to his origin. However, Liu Shao and Lu Li end up falling deeply in love with each other.

With the immortals battling the demonic forces, Liu Shao and Lu Li get dragged into the mess. Both Liu Shao and Lu Li exhibit extraordinary powers but those powers are opposing forces. Lu Li is barred by his master from having feelings for Liu Shao which deepen the mystery of the lovers’ background.

Song Of The Moon Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Song Of The Moon has 2 alternate endings. In first ending in Episode 39, Luo Ge and He Na have planned to sacrifice themselves to enable Liu Shao to kill off the evil God of Moon residing in Luo Ge’s mind and body. He Na dies in a fight with the evil Luo Ge so that Liu Shao will have the conviction to kill the man she loves along with the evil spirit residing in him. But Liu Shao has a plan on her own. She sucks out the evil spirit from Luo Ge and transfers it into her body instead. Since she has the Sun spirit which collides with the yin nature of the evil spirit, the opposing forces will ensure both will die.

After her death, Luo Ge ends up looking for Liu Shao’s reincarnation. A three-legged phoenix which is Liu Shao’s immortal energy is seen following Luo Ge wherever he goes although he can’t see it. Hence, Episode 39 has a sad ending.

In Episode 40, Liu Shao kills Luo Ge with the help from others. As the evil spirit is too strong, A Fu sacrifices himself to subdue it. The immortal energy of Luo Ning tries to protect A Fu. They perish together as a result. Their sacrifices enable the evil spirit to be killed and Luo Ge with it. Liu Shao ends up wandering the world alone. While in the Mortal Realm, she sees A Fu’s and Luo Ning’s reincarnation and they seem like a happy couple. She also meets Luo Ge again at the end of the episode.

Who Is Lu Li?

Lu Li’s origin is partly revealed in Episode 11 through a conversation between Lu Sheng and his disciple. The other part is told in Episode 16 through Immortal Wan Wu’s and Luo Ge’s dialogue. When the 3 realms were in chaos, the God of Moon sealed up the demonic aura himself. But the aura turned evil and gained control of the God of Moon’s mind. The God of Sun killed the God of Moon and suppressed the corrupted half of his heart under the 4 Seasons Monument in the Immortal Realm. His Moon Sword was sealed up in the Mortal Realm. Luo Ge was born out of the pure half of the God Of Moon’s heart.

Luo Ge cut out half of his heart and sent it to the mortal world when he went into seclusion to cultivate with the aim to have the powers to protect the world. Hence, Lu Li is his mortal self in the Human Realm. Lu Sheng was once saved by the God of Moon who was kind to him. Hence, Lu Sheng has an obsession to revive the God of Moon. This can only be done by using the Moon Sword to break open the monument and Liu Shao is the key to unseal the weapon.

God of Sun & Moon

In Episode 36, Luo Ge reveals to Liu Shao the story of the 2 Gods. The God of Sun and Moon were once lovers. When the worlds turned chaotic due to an eclipse, they went into seclusion separately to cultivate in order to bring back peace. During this period when the realms were leaderless, a powerful evil spirit emerged. The God of Sun wanted to kill it while the God of Moon wanted to protect her. Thus, the God of Moon sealed the evil spirit inside his body.

In Episode 38, Immortal Master Wan Wu gives a complete picture of the story to Liu Shao. The God of Sun didn’t have the heart to kill the God of Moon when the evil spirit took control of the latter’s mind. That is why she only used his Moon Sword to split his heart into evil and pure halves. She wanted the pure half to live on through Luo Ge. If she had used her own Crown Wheel weapon, the God of Moon would have turned into ashes. Instead, she rather be devoured by the Moon Sword and her love for God of Moon allowed the evil spirit a chance to live.

Liu Shao is actually picked by the God of Moon to finish off what the God of Sun didn’t have the heart to do.

When Did The Couple Get Together?

Liu Shao and Lu Li fall in love with each other within the first few episodes. In Episode 7, Lu Li promises Liu Shao that he will protect her no matter what happens. He kisses her in Episode 9 and wants to protect her forever which she accepts. They happily see it as him selling himself to her for life.

After Lu Li’s death and reappearance as Luo Ge, the latter finally recalls his memories as Lu Li in Episode 21. This is due to the immense pain he feels after punishing Liu Shao who has been maliciously framed for stabbing Immortal Master Wan Wu. Luo Ge acknowledges he is Lu Li and vows not to let go of Liu Shao again.

In Episode 25, Luo Ge is back in the Mortal Realm to undergo another tribulation and gets back together with Liu Shao. This time, he wants to remain as a mortal to live happily with her. When Luo Ge successfully passes his tribulation, he gets back together with Liu Shao in Episode 27. He promises not to go back on his words.

Is There Any Breakup?

Liu Shao thought Lu Li betrayed her in Episode 10 due to Bai Feng’s and Lu Sheng’s scheming. She is given the impression that Lu Li is only using her to unseal the Moon Sword. However, Liu Shao nearly dies when she pulls out the sword as its strength slowly devours her vitality. This is because she is the inheritor of the spirit of the God of Sun who is a destined enemy of the God of Moonlight.

Lu Li is willing to undergo suffering and risk his life to get an ancient harp to save Liu Shao. When she finds out about it from He Na, the lovers reconcile in Episode 11. Lu Li and Liu Shao even discuss about getting married in Episode 13 but he dies following a battle with a demon to save her and stop the killings that were going on. When Lu Li returns as High Immortal Luo Ge in Episode 14, the latter could no longer remember Liu Shao and doesn’t think his trial as a mortal is important.

When Luo Ge finally acknowledges his feelings for Liu Shao in Episode 21, his Soul Devouring Spell that forbids him to love her turns increasingly stronger. Liu Shao decides to leave Luo Ge in Episode 24 as their opposing forces are causing him to become weak. As Luo Ge couldn’t suppress the spell, he jumps off the cliff to undergo another tribulation. Liu Shao follows him to the Mortal Realm.

Tribulation

During Luo Ge’s second tribulation as a mortal, he couldn’t recall his immortal life. He loves Liu Shao and wants to be with her in the Mortal Realm instead. But Liu Shao knows he is needed to keep the 3 realms safe from chaos. She makes him forget her in Episode 26 with the Phoenix Tears so that the Soul Devouring Spell wouldn’t weaken him anymore. But Luo Ge fights to retain his memories of Liu Shao. In the process, his cultivation strengthens as he returns as an immortal.

Is There Any Love Triangle?

Bai Feng who is Lu Li’s disciple sister is also in love with him. However, Lu Li has no romantic feelings for Bai Feng. He severs ties with her in Episode 9 after she has been vicious towards Liu Shao. However, Bai Feng refuses to give up. She works her way to remain in the Immortal Realm when Lu Li reappears as Luo Ge. Immortal Master Wan Wu uses her to keep an eye on Luo Ge and Liu Shao to prevent them from getting together. This is because Immortal Master Wan Wu is afraid that Luo Ge will not have the heart to sacrifice Liu Shao to save the world when it matters.

After much plotting and collusion with A Fu, Bai Feng’s attempt to get rid of Liu Shao and be with Luo Ge still fails. When her scheming is exposed, she is whipped by Immortal Zhuo Qiu Xian and falls off a cliff in Episode 24. She is saved by A Fu and reappears in Episode 27. Bai Feng is killed by the evil God of Moon in Episode 40 when she is flung against a pillar in retaliation for trying to kill him to save Luo Ge.

He Na is also in love with Liu Shao. However, He Na is a true gentleman. While he drops hints that he is interested in Liu Shao, he didn’t aggressively pursue her. He also knows that she deeply loves Luo Ge. He Na bids his goodbye to Liu Shao in Episode 33 when he is about to marry Luo Ning. dies in Episode 39 when he sacrifices himself to stop the evil God of Moon in order to protect Liu Shao.

Side Couple

A Fu and Luo Ning first met when he was imprisoned in the Immortal Realm in Episode 18. He wants to make use of her to escape and exact revenge against the immortals while she is just looking for excitement to relieve her boredom. But they gradually get closer to each other. Luo Ning falls in love with A Fu and thought he is sincere although he is a demon. He shows his concern for her in Episode 25 after she was injured and they consummated their relationship in Episode 27.

However, Luo Ning finds out that A Fu is only using her and leaves him in Episode 28. A Fu coaxes her back in Episode 29 but she finds out about his evil plans to harm her brother again in Episode 32. This time, she demands He Na to take action against A Fu. He Na imprisons A Fu for 100 years. Luo Ning is disappointed in A Fu and decides to let go of him. When she finds out that she has the power to lift the Aquatic Demon Clan’s curse and save them if she becomes the Demon Queen, she decides to marry He Na.

A Fu thinks Luo Ning has fallen for his brother and kidnaps her in Episode 34 before the wedding ceremony could be completed. He forces Luo Ning to marry him and feeds her the Phoenix Tears which could make her forget the one she loves. When A Fu finds out the Luo Ning is only doing it for his clan and she is already 3 months pregnant with his child, he regrets his action but it is too late. Luo Ning dies in Episode 35 after she shields Luo Ge against A Fu’s attack when her brother comes to save her.

Song Of The Moon Review – Marred By The Ending

Song Of The Moon is a xianxia drama with alternate endings. Viewers are fed 2 versions of the last chapter. Different people will naturally have different preferences over which is a better conclusion. But to me, I would have preferred if the producers have stuck to one and make it perfect rather than waste the resources to produce another version. Choose one that makes more sense and is a better fit to the overall story. I think that would be a more memorable ending than trying to please everyone. As it is, one of endings has an anti-climatic final battle while the other tries to wrap everything up in the last 2 minutes that it feels forced.

As for the overall drama, it starts off strongly. The plot is interesting at the beginning as the male lead’s background is a mystery. Viewers are made to wonder what happened to him in the past and his connection with the female lead. So, the binge value is there. The draggy part comes around the last third of the drama. After more than 20 episodes, I begin to feel that this production could have been shortened. 40 episodes is just too long for a not so complicated story.

A Little Repetitive

Xianxia dramas typically can’t move away from painful everlasting love and/or suppressed evil spirits looking to escape from Ten Miles Of Peach Blossoms to Immortal Samsara. Song Of The Moon is no different. It is very seldom that you will come across a xianxia drama that has a more refreshing plot like Love Between Fairy And Devil whereby the protagonist is a bad boy for a change.

In Song Of The Moon, the evil spirit keeps wreaking havoc in a repetitive way. Hence, you will find it trying to control our hero’s mind on and off. After a few times, it starts to get stale to me. This prolonged inability to kill the evil spirit once and for all just isn’t necessary. With not much interesting development to the plot after a certain stage, that evil spirit vs hero battle for control of his mind seems to get stuck in a cycle.

Therefore, the first half is a more exciting watch than the second. Once you know the male lead’s origin, a large part of the curiosity would have been sated. But you will plough on because you would have invested a fair bit of your time by then and would want to know how it ends for the couple.

Not The Greatest Romance

The romance between the main couple isn’t one that is really moving for a xianxia drama. It is definitely not in the same league with the classics such as Ashes Of Love. There is not enough angst and emotional depths to make the romance really stand out. Perhaps those heartfelt moments are minimal and the romance takes a backseat after the halfway mark with the side couple’s story and other issues taking centerstage instead.

Therefore, without an emotional romance, Song Of The Moon ends up lacking in some ways. It is just a pity that the plot execution fails to capture a more heart-wrenching love for the main couple. After all, all the ingredients are there to make it truly moving for the viewers. If it has been better executed, it would have easily propelled this drama to higher ratings.

Good Acting But Average Chemistry

If you are finding a good reason to watch Song Of The Moon, I think Zhang Bin Bin is one. He has the looks and the acting skills to project the different versions of the character that he has to play in the drama. It is not a particularly easy role because there must be subtle changes in each of the version that he has to depict. This is far more challenging than the cold professor that he played in A Romance Of The Little Forest. In Song Of The Moon, Zhang Bin Bin managed to pull it off and it is interesting to watch him switching between one version and another.

This is my first time watching Xu Lu in a xianxia drama. I’m more familiar with her in contemporary romance dramas including Love Scenery and Sunshine Of My Life. I think she did well in Song Of The Moon as Liu Shao. She has that cute demeanor which some may not agree with for this role. But she could emote for the teary scenes without overdoing it which I appreciate.

While their acting is fine, their chemistry does not exhibit sufficient sizzles to put them at the top of my list for onscreen couples. I think they have done better with other partners that they have worked with. The chemistry is not completely missing here but just enough to make it passable for an onscreen romance.

My Verdict – Decent Watch

Song Of The Moon is neither horrible nor great. It is simply a decent watch that could get you excited for a while before it plateaus. If you like the xianxia genre, it is still one that you should watch. The plot isn’t extraordinary with recycled themes but that is how most xianxia dramas are. So, it is just a matter of how well the screenwriter can get you hooked with the way the story is told and the characters.

For this drama, it is easy to get sucked in with the protagonists’ adventure for the first half and the curiosity over their background. But the excitement isn’t sustainable for me. The alternate endings also do not offer the same fulfillment as a single, well-executed conclusion. It is a nice try but falls short on the satisfaction scale. Some aspects are done well in one version but others are better in the second. So, you can see the imperfections in both and wish they had combined the best of both versions to give us a better ending.

For this Song Of The Moon review, I would say a score of 7.5/10 would be fair. It is a watchable production especially for fans of this genre. Watch it for Zhang Bin Bin and some of the cast. The romance is cute at times but nothing memorable. It lacks the angst that is required for a serious xianxia romance. Despite the weaknesses and the unoriginal plot, it is still not too bad overall. I just think that it has a lot of potential that the production team failed to capitalize on to turn it into a great saga.