The Starry Love Review

The Starry Love (星落凝成糖) seems like a captivating xianxia drama with high ratings which tempted me to give it a try. After having watched quite a few xianxia dramas to date, I’m kind of wary of another recycled plot which tends to afflict productions of this genre. But the positive reviews convinced me to dive in. So, I started watching about a week ago and finally completed it today to write up The Starry Love review below. There are some things that I like about the drama but there are also others that I dislike.

My rating: 8/10
Episodes: 40
Type: Xiania Romance
Aired: February 2023
Images Credit: Douban Movie

The Cast Of The Starry Love

• Oliver Chen Xing Xu as Shao Dian You Qin / La Mu / Mei You Qing / Wen Ren
• Landi Li Lan Di as Liguang Ye Tan
• Luke Chen Mu Chi as Chao Feng
• He Xuan Lin as Liguang Qing Kui
• Zhou Li Jie as Qing Heng
• Dai Ya Qi as Zi Wu
• Zhou Tie as Heavenly Emperor
• Kong Song Jin as Heavenly Empress
• Bai Yu Fei as Hu Sui
• Chen Si Che as Bi Qiong
• Li Bao Er as Jade Deity
• Lu Jun Yao as Rain Deity
• Fu Hong Sheng as Thunder Deity
• Russel Tang Guo Zhong as Void King
• Hu Ran as Void Queen
• Yuan Ran as Xue Qing Xin / Consort Xue
• Jiang Xiao Lin as Wu Dai
• Dan Zeng Jin Mei as Ding Yun
• Peggy Ji Tian Yu as Jia Lou Luo
• Gong Zheng Ye as Zhu Duan Shan
• Qin Tian Yu as Di Lanjue
• Xia Jia Wei as Beast King
• Yolanda Yu Yang as Beast Queen
• Wang Li Na as Man Man
• Xia Ming Hao as Liguang Yang

Main Characters

Shao Dian You Qin / La Mu / Mei You Qing / Wen Ren

You Qin is Empyrean Xuan Shang of the Heavenly Realm. He is the immortal tasked to ensure Chaos is sealed up and to protect the 4 realms. His father is the Heavenly Realm Emperor. You Qin is a reserved and cold immortal due to his responsibilities and training. But he cares for all beings at heart. La Mu, You Qing, and Wen Ren are shards of his soul. Fei Chi is his loyal attendant.

Liguang Ye Tan

Ye Tan is the younger twin princess of the Human Realm. She is cunning, daring, and rebellious. However, she is an unfavored princess who is deemed to carry bad luck. Hence, she spends most of her time being confined in her room. Ye Tan has a close friend in Man Man.

Chao Feng

Chao Feng is the third prince of the Void Realm. He is a shrewd and manipulative man due to his circumstances but pretends to be a useless prince. He is ambitious and determined to gain power. Gu Hai Chao is his aide.

Liguang Qing Kui

Qing Kui is the eldest princess of the Human Realm and Ye Tan’s elder twin sister. She is a gentle and kind princess with medical skills and her father’s favorite daughter. Qing Kui is accepting of her fate that she will be You Qin’s consort. Su Shui is her attendant in the Void Realm.

Supporting Characters

Heavenly Realm

Qing Heng

Qing Heng is You Qin’s younger brother and an immortal prince. He is a polite and gentle immortal who looks up to his brother. He is attracted to Hu Sui.

Zi Wu

Zi Wu is You Qin’s younger sister. She is a kind and understanding immortal princess. She is drawn to Di Lan Jue.

Heavenly Emperor & Empress

The Heavenly Emperor and Empress have 2 sons, You Qin and Qing Heng, as well as a daughter, Zi Wu. While the Heavenly Empress is more down-to-earth and prefers to see her children, especially You Qin, safe and happy, the Heavenly Emperor is more concerned about the safety of the realms and his responsibilities. Hence, the Emperor is a strict father and ruler.

Hu Sui / Su Zhi

Hu Sui is a lowly immortal with a spice plant spirit. She is timid and fears to offend others. She is Ye Tan’s attendant in the Heavenly Realm.

Bi Qiong

Bi Qiong is an arrogant fairy as she is related to the Heavenly Empress. She has feelings for You Qin who is her cousin.

Jade, Rain & Thunder Deity

The Jade, Rain and Thunder Deity are senior immortals in the Heavenly Realm. They are easy-going and can be clownish.

Void Realm

Void King & Queen

The Void King is a ruthless man who is determined to defeat the immortals. He has 3 sons, Wu Dai, Ding Yun, and Chao Feng but has yet to name his successor. The Void Queen is Ding Yun’s mother. She is an ambitious and evil woman who wants her son to become the heir. She is from the Snake Clan.

Xue Qing Xin / Consort Xue

Consort Xue is Chao Feng’s mother. She is from a clan that has been annihilated by the Void King in an internal power struggle. She was then taken as his consort as a goodwill gesture to unite all other clans to secure his position as the ruler. Consort Xue is a kind woman who doesn’t like her son to get involved in any power struggle. She only wants to lead to peaceful life.

Wu Dai

Wu Dai is the eldest prince of the Void Realm. He is a strong fighter but lacks intelligence. Hence, he can be easily fooled by his more cunning brothers.

Ding Yun

Ding Yun is a scheming man who has guidance and support from his mother in the fight for the throne.

Jia Lou Luo

Lou Luo is the Saintess of the Snake Clan. She has a marred appearance which puts off potential suitors but is principled and upright.

Zhu Duan Shan

Zhu Duan Shan is obsessed with revenge after his elder brother was killed by Chao Feng. He becomes Ding Yun’s underling with the aim of getting revenge.

Beast Realm

Di Lan Jue

Di Lan Jue is a prince of the Beast Realm and has a dog spirit. His father is the Beast King. Di Lan Jue has been interested in Ye Tan for a long time. He is always sneaking away which earns his father’s ire.

Beast King & Queen

The Beast King and Queen are Di Lan Jue’s parents. The Beast Queen is a domineering wife who spoils her son and would overrule the King’s orders.

Man Man

Man Man is Ye Tan’s best friend. She is a bird spirit and has the ability to transform into another person to mislead others.

Human Realm

Liguang Yang / Emperor Tun

Emperor Tun is the ruler of the Human Realm. He has a set of twin daughters, Qing Kui and Ye Tan. He doesn’t treat his daughters fairly with Qing Kui being his favorite while Ye Tan is often punished and confined. However, Emperor Tun is a responsible ruler with a close working relationship with the Heavenly Realm.

Synopsis

At the origin of time, Chaos wished to destroy the world. The immortals of the Heavenly Realm sealed Chaos up in Guixu. However, the deep roots of a sacred tree nourished itself with Chaos and a twin flower blossomed. This twin flower could absorb both purity and impurity and doubled as the key to Guixu. The 4 realms cooperated to destroy the twin flower but its essence survived.

10,000 years later, it reincarnated as a pair of twin sisters. Qing Kui and Ye Tan are daughters to the Emperor of Human Realm. While Qing Kui enjoys a high status and is loved by all, Ye Tan is an unfavored princess. Ye Tan is regarded as a harbinger of misfortune due to the sky’s ominous phenomenon when she was born. Qing Kui is betrothed to You Qin from the Heavenly Realm. You Qin has empyrean status and is deemed to be the hero who will ensure Chaos remains sealed up. On the other hand, Ye Tan is to be sent to the Void Realm to marry the future Crown Prince.

On the day of the send-off, the sisters’ carriages are switched. Hence, Ye Tan ends up in the Heavenly Realm while Qing Kui has gone to the Void Realm. As the 2 sisters find out what happened, they are forced to pretend to be the other for both their safety. Over time, Ye Tan starts falling for You Qin while Qing Kui lost her heart to the Third Prince of the Void Realm.

The Starry Love Ending & Recap (Spoilers Alert!)

The Starry Love has an implied happy ending. In Episode 39, Hu Sui tricks Ye Tan to Dongqiu and forces her into Guixu together. With Qing Kui’s flower spirit and Ye Tan’s presence, Hu Sui knows that Guixu will become unstable and Chaos will be able to break out of the seal. Hu Sui has deep resentment inside her as all the souls of her tribesmen had been destroyed by the previous Heavenly Realm Emperor. She is dissatisfied when Ye Tan spared the Heavenly Emperor’s life in Episode 38.

Hence, Hu Sui sacrifices her life to release Chaos so that the whole world will be buried together with her tribe. She dies in Episode 40 due to the destructive forces inside Guixu. While You Qin battles the evil forces inside Guixu to save Ye Tan, she receives enlightenment that the purpose of her and Qing Kui’s existence is to purify the place. The sacred tree was planted by the Grand Empyrean in the past with the aim for the Twin Flower to blossom so they could fulfill their purpose.

With this knowledge, Ye Tan pushes You Qin out of danger and sacrifices herself together with Qing Kui’s spirit to eliminate Chaos and bring back peace to the 4 realms. With her sacrifice, she becomes a respected and benevolent figure instead of being a jinx for a change. The Heavenly Emperor is ashamed of his mistakes and passes the throne to Qing Heng. He also gives his thoughts on how they could revive Ye Tan and Qing Kui.

One Year Later

One year later, Zi Wu and Di Lan Jue are together as a couple and she is shown to be pregnant. Wu Dai and Jia Lou Luo are now lovers. He has become the Void King. Dongqiu has been reconstructed into its previous form with the deities help as per the Heavenly Emperor’s advice. By having more floral spirits in the area, it will be able to stimulate the re-growth of the sacred tree and revive Ye Tan and Qing Kui. Hence, Dongqiu becomes a beautiful and happy place for the group of friends to gather.

In the last scene, Ye Tan’s and Qing Kui’s spirit is seen to be reviving as their flowers start to bloom and the sacred tree magically reappears. They have selflessly fulfilled their duty despite being misunderstood and are now seen as the ultimate symbol of benevolence. Although we are not told when they will return in their human form, the drama ends with a feeling of optimism.

When Did The Couple Get Together?

You Qin and Ye Tan get together in Episode 26 after he is revived and returns to the Heavenly Realm. He confesses his love to Ye Tan then. He has already fallen for her before he died but didn’t want to be distracted from the task to seal up Chaos. You Qin also could recall all the moments with Ye Tan in the Human Realm and how she tried to revive him when his soul was split into 3 shards.

The couple leaves the Heavenly Realm after Ye Tan’s identity is exposed in Episode 30. They get married in the Beast Realm in Episode 33.

Is There Any Love Triangle & Breakup?

Di Lan Jue is also interested in Ye Tan. But she never has any romantic feelings for him. She makes it clear to him that they can only be sworn siblings in Episode 9.

There is no breakup after You Qin and Ye Tan get together. You Qin only forgets her temporarily after his father seals up his memories in Episode 36. He regains his memories in Episode 38 through a star that he has given to Ye Tan as a gift earlier and reunites with her.

Did Ye Tan Reconcile With Her Father?

Yes, Ye Tan reconciles with her father in Episode 32. She overhears his conversation with You Qin at the end of Episode 31 whereby he explains why he needed to treat her badly. Emperor Tun was pressured by his officials including his uncle who is the Grand Chancellor to execute Ye Tan when she was born. So, he came up with the idea to marry her off to the Void Realm when she is older with the excuse that it has to be done to appease the Voids. Thus, he was able to keep Ye Tan alive.

However, Emperor Tun couldn’t stop people from hating Ye Tan since she is assumed to bring bad luck. This caused Ye Tan to become rebellious. He couldn’t show any concern towards her either as that would invite scrutiny from his officials. Thus, Emperor Tun could only confine her in order to keep her safe. But deep down, he does care about her. When Ye Tan finds that out, she is moved and patches things up with her father.

When Did The Identity Swap Get Exposed?

You Qin tells Ye Tan in Episode 26 that he already knew her real identity earlier. This is because he has memories of his time in the Human Realm with her.

The Void Queen finds out Qing Kui is impersonating Ye Tan in Episode 30. Emperor Tun who doesn’t know about the swap sends a portrait of Ye Tan with Wu Dai as a wedding gift when he hears that they are getting married. The Void Queen sees the portrait and deduces Qing Kui is a fake Ye Tan. She exposes them in Episode 31 in front of the Void King and Emperor Tun. Wu Dai pleads with the Void King to spare Qing Kui’s life since he loves her.

Bi Qiong also learns that Ye Tan is pretending to be Qing Kui in Episode 30 when she sneaks into Ye Tan’s place to look for evidence. She exposes her to the Heavenly Emperor. You Qin risks his life to break out from his confinement to protect Ye Tan from his father. He resigns from being the Empyrean against his father’s orders to leave the Heavenly Realm with Ye Tan.

The Twin Flower Spirit

Ye Tan and Qing Kui learn that they are the Twin Flower spirit in Episode 33. Hu Sui is forced to awaken their roots to prevent Zhu Duan Shan from killing them which exposes her identity. Hu Sui is actually a member of the Dongqiu Tribe which was annihilated by the 4 realms in the past. This is because a Twin Flower had blossomed on the tribe’s sacred tree. Leaders of the 4 realms believed the ancient legend that the Twin Flower could open a pathway to Guixu which would free Chaos. They wanted to destroy the tree and the flower.

The Dongqiu Tribe tried to stop them as the sacred tree was connected to their soul and there was no proof that the Twin Flower would free Chaos. As the 4 realms killed the tribe members, Hu Sui’s parents used the Soul Gathering Lamp to collect their souls until they perished in the battle. The lamp was then picked up by the Jade Deity. Hu Sui was also nearly killed. She made it by hiding the last fraction of her soul in a coriander plant.

That is why she tries to steal the Soul Gathering Lamp from the Jade Deity’s room in Episode 28 but is found out by Qing Heng. Hence, Qing Heng already knew her identity and feels for her suffering.

Since the Twin Flower Spirit supposedly could open a pathway to Chaos, Ye Tan and Qing Kui automatically become a target for execution by the Heavenly and Void Realms in Episode 34 after Zhu Duan Shan reported back to the Void King about what he has witnessed.

What Happened To The Sisters?

As they are being hunted by the Heavenly and Void Realms, Ye Tan and Qing Kui directly confront them instead of living life on the run. With the Heavenly Empress’ support, the Heavenly Emperor has to let them go and return the Soul Gathering Lamp to Hu Sui in Episode 35. But he tricks them with a fake lamp. Hence, when Hu Sui tries to revive her clan members’ souls with the lamp, they are captured instead by the magic powers hidden inside.

To save everyone, Qing Kui makes a deal with the Heavenly Emperor and Void King. She will kill herself on the condition that they let the rest go. As long as she dies, the Twin Flower spirit will lose its power and Ye Tan alone will not be able to free Chaos. Therefore, Qing Kui ends her life in Episode 35 but her spirit lives on in a flower.

Ye Tan then risks her life to revive her powers with Hu Sui’s help in Episode 36. She wants to avenge Qing Kui’s death. With her powers, she kills Zhu Duan Shan as well as the Void King. She takes over the Void Realm with the intention to go against the Heavenly Emperor. She confronts him in Episode 38. Showing mercy, she only destroys his cultivation but spares his life.

Second Couple

Chao Feng confesses to Qing Kui in Episode 10. She accepts him and they get together as a couple. The couple has a disagreement in Episode 19 when Qing Kui entraps Chao Feng to prevent him from killing a shard of You Qin’s soul. Chao Feng wants to end their relationship partly because he is angry at her betrayal and partly because he doesn’t want to drag her into the fight between the 2 realms.

In Episode 21, Qing Kui finds out from Ye Tan that Chao Feng is the one who swapped their carriages. Since Chao Feng wants Qing Kui to leave him, he readily admits that he has been lying to her all along and making use of her to achieve his goal to become the Crown Prince. Hence, Qing Kui is heartbroken and breaks up with him in Episode 22. Chao Feng wants Qing Kui to leave him because his powers have been sealed up by the Void Queen then and he can no longer protect her from his enemies.

The couple reconciles in Episode 25 after Chao Feng risked his life to save Qing Kui from the Void Queen in Episode 23. Hence, she learns why Chao Feng wanted to break up with her earlier. They quietly get married in Episode 27 at Qing Kui’s urging while being imprisoned by the Void King for their association with the immortals. The couple leave the Void Realm together in Episode 31 after Qing Kui’s impersonation of Ye Tan is exposed.

Other Key Events

• You Qin dies and his soul splits into 3 shards after sealing up Chaos and defeating the Void Army in Episode 12.
• Wu Dai confesses his love to Qing Kui but gets rejected at the end of Episode 14 and beginning of Episode 15 respectively.
• The 3 shards of You Qin’s soul fall for Ye Tan in Episode 16, 19, and 24 respectively. They meet each other and merge themselves to revive You Qin in Episode 25 in order to save Ye Tan from the Void Queen.
• Ding Yun is killed when he shields his mother during a duel with You Qin in Episode 25.
• Lou Luo confesses her love to Wu Dai in Episode 28 but gets rejected.
• The Void Queen pushes Wu Dai up to be the Crown Prince in Episode 29 to provoke Chao Feng since the Crown Prince will have the right to marry Qing Kui.
• Di Lan Jue and Zi Wu express their feelings for each other and become a couple in Episode 33.
• Man Man is killed by Zhu Duan Shan in Episode 33 when she shields Ye Tan and Qing Kui from his attack.
• The Void Queen is killed by Consort Xue and Chao Feng during a fight in Episode 36.

The Starry Love Review – A Comedic Xianxia Drama

The Starry Love has a pretty cliche plot of swapped brides and opposites attract. It is a typical xianxia story of sealed evil forces and a cold immortal hero falling for a woman who is not who she claims to be. But it does have 2 differences that make it stand out. The first is the comedic element infused into the scenes. Usually, the xianxia dramas are serious and heavy in nature such as Immortal Samsara and The Blue Whisper.

However, The Starry Love takes a different route. Some scenes are indeed funny especially in the first half. But it doesn’t make the overall production feel cheap as the the humor is not overdone and the timing is on point. This fun factor will cease towards the end when the story starts to take a more serious turn.

The second unique factor is the amount of roles the male lead has to play in this drama. There are 5 different personalities to his character which is really a test of his acting skills. How much you like the character’s change and different selves will also partly determine the watchability of this drama.

The Different Arcs (Spoilers Alert!)

The first arc will see the male protagonist, You Qin, being an unfeeling and filial immortal who only knows that his duty is to keep an evil force sealed up even if it will cost him his life. The second arc is when he dies and his soul is split into 3 shards. Each shard represents a different aspect of his suppressed desire and emotions. So, they are 3 different men although they are part of the same soul.

The last arc is when the 3 shards merged to resurrect You Qin. This You Qin will have a different personality from the one before his death due to his shards’ experiences. Therefore, you will get to see all these different aspects of the same character. You can check out The Starry Love drama characters for more details.

I have no doubt that some viewers will find this storyline interesting. At least, it is a little different from other xianxia dramas with this number of soul splits. Personally, though, I find the first 2 arcs to be long-winded. There is no strong catalyst for love to develop between You Qin and Ye Tan prior to his death while the process of romancing each shard of his soul becomes repetitive to me in the second arc.

Overall, it is not dreadful to watch but merely a little boring here and there for me. That is why I still managed to stick around to the end apart from the anticipation of how certain secrets will get exposed.

Plot With Substance

Despite the cliche theme, The Starry Love still has a good plot that is logical and cohesive. It is easy to follow the story with the way it has been executed. As the main plot revolves around a pair of twin sisters, you will get 2 parallel stories going on for most of the episodes. While the scenes will keep switching between them, I have to say that they are systematically done to keep the story moving forward.

Yes, it may be a little slow for me for the first half of the drama, but I do like the story and character development as we hit the last quarter. That is when I binge-watched all the way to the end. There is substance to the whole plot despite the comedic feel at times. There is a line of reasoning to what is happening in the story and filler scenes are kept to a minimum. This is the same screenwriter that gave us Ashes Of Love. Hence, it is not surprising that many viewers find The Starry Love equally riveting especially when they also love the cast.

Acting And Chemistry

Chen Xing Xu certainly deserves compliments for the number of roles he has to play in The Starry Love and still manages to make them unique and relatable. He expresses each character differently to suit the different personality and the switch from one to another seems to happen naturally. Perhaps the project has a great director who was also involved in popular dramas such as The Long Ballad and Eternal Love Of Dream.

This is the first time that I have watched Landi Li and I have no complaints about her portrayal of Ye Tan. She could keep up with Chen Xing Xu’s acting and their interactions flow well together. In terms of chemistry, I can’t say that they fire up the screen for me but are definitely good enough to play a pair of lovers. In fact, I prefer watching Landi Li with He Xuan Lin who plays her twin sister. Their sisterly love is heartwarming to watch.

Luke Chen is probably the most inexperienced in terms of acting compared to the other 3 main leads. But he surprises me with his performance as Chao Feng. His acting may not be as polished as Chen Xing Xu’s but he is still convincing as a demon prince.

My Verdict – Great For Xianxia Fans

The Starry Love should delight xianxia fans. It has all the necessary ingredients for a compelling love story with a cold hero and badass heroine who are not intended for each other at the start. It has the same cliches and yet, feels different for a xianxia production with comedy being thrown in to give it a unique flavor. The drama gets better over time and peaks towards the last 5 to 8 episodes.

I see this as a plot-driven drama and you must like how the story unfolds and the change in the male protagonist’s character to end up loving every minute of this. While the change is reasonable, I don’t find it particularly appealing either to see a completely different personality as it then makes it hard to reconcile that they are one and the same. Nevertheless, the drama is highly rated and I understand why given the many positives. It is a little overhyped to me though and the romance doesn’t really have a strong foundation to make it truly heartfelt when I watched it.

Overall, I still enjoyed it up to a point. Hence, my rating for The Starry Love review would be 8/10. The start is interesting but becomes long-winded after a few episodes until it reaches last third when the story picks up and gradually moves towards the peak. Watch it for the plot and the contrasting settings of the Heavenly and Void Realms. If you like the comedy, it would make it more entertaining. And if you love the main couple and their chemistry, that would propel this drama into your best list.

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