Til the End of the Moon features Bai Lu and Luo YunXi in their second time partnering since the modern drama Love is Sweet (2019). Til the End of the Moon is a Xianxia drama- a genre that has been overdone in the last few years. It tells the story of Li Susu, who watches her father and all his disciples killed in a world ruled and ravaged by the demon lord. The only way to prevent this is to go back to 500 years ago, when the demon lord was still human and find a way to stop him. Li Susu is transported into the body of Ye Xiwu, the spoiled daughter of the Ye family. However, Li Susu sees the hardships endured by Tan Taijin and begins to empathize with him. Tan Taijin is a prince taken as hostage who has never experienced love from anyone. Li Susu must ensure he remains alive until she figures out how to stop him from turning into the demon lord. Will she be able to succeed?

The drama is currently airing on Youku, with the last episode anticipated for May 29th. Yes.. this drama is taking its sweet time riding out its popularity by airing 5 episodes a week…

Review

Til the End of the Moon has all the typical making of a Xianxia drama. It does feel a bit repetitive after the likes of Ashes of Love and Eternal Love. Fans of the Xianxia genre will enjoy as it is fairly well done and the acting from leads and supporting characters are on point. I do find Luo Yunxi to be too skinny and less pretty compared to his role in Ashes of Love. However, the thin and sickly look can also argued to be fitting for the malnourished Tan Taijin. The supporting characters were a bit of a surprise for me. Deng Wei is very handsome as Xiao Lin. Netizens have also been going crazy with Cheng Dulin as the second female lead who does the most evil things with the most angelic face. For me, it is Sun Zhenni as Pian Ran that wow-ed me the most as the broken-hearted fox demon.

Overall, Til the End of Moon is a must-watch for Xianxia fanatics or fans of the lead actors. The time-traveling aspect of the drama does make it interesting from its other Xianxia predecessors. However, those who are tired of the Xianxia tropes of reincarnation, the blood-spitting leads, and the fight between gods and demons should skip it as it has all of the above. I would rate this drama 8.0/10. Good drama but probably not something I would re-watch over and over.

*Spoilers below*

Summary and Recap

Li Susu lives in a world where Gods are dead and the world is ruled by a demon lord. Her father and his disciples are one of the last who can still take a stand against the demon lord. However, they soon find themselves in the demon lord’s way while protecting a precious magical artifact. As the last stand of humanity, Li Susu is sent back to 500 years ago to stop the demon lord while he was still a weak human. Li Susu travels back in time and finds herself in the body of Ye Xiwu.

As the spoiled daughter of General Ye, she does not possess any powers or martial arts. Just as she gets desperate on how she can possibly find the demon lord, she is told that he is in fact her (Ye Xiwu’s) husband. Unfortunately, she hears that there was no love lost between Ye Xiwu and Tan Taijin, as their union was forced due to an unfortunate incident. For Tan Taijin, he becomes surprised at the 180 degree change in his previously-abusive wife. He sees Ye Xiwu’s attempts to keep him alive as a sign of care and love. The icy heart of the demon lord begins to melt. However, Li Susu’s quest is to ultimately kill the demon lord while he was still human after she finds a way to rid of the demon bone inside him.

Li Susu is told by the last God in the realm that she will need 3 things to kill the demon lord: a dream, a tear, and love. The dream is a trip taken down the memories of the previous God of War. The tears are the first tears shed by the demon lord. The last ingredient is the demon lord developing the ability to love. As Li Susu gathers the necessary tools to kill the demon lord, she slowly falls in love with Tan Taijin.

Li Susu begins to wonder if she stays in this world with him and lives a fulfilling life, his hatred may not drive him to turn into the evil being that will come to annihilate the word. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to untwist Tan Taijin’s heart. He is driven to murder due to a misunderstanding with Li Susu. Dejected, Li Susu realizes that the only way to truly stop the demon lord is to kill him as she should not be betting the future of humanity on the goodness in the heart of a would-be demon lord.

Li Susu uses a forbidden power to use forge a celestial body. Then, she uses her her celestial body as sacrifice in exchange for the demon body of Tan Taijin, thereby preventing him from ever turning into the demon lord while saving his life. Li Susu/ Ye Xiwu dies as a result of using this forbidden power, leaving Tan Taijin heartbroken. Li Susu finds herself back in a different future 500 years later without a ruling demon lord. Meanwhile in the past, Tan Taijin is unsuccessfully at killing himself, and spends 500 years searching for Ye Xiwu/ Li Susu’s soul in the You Ming river. By chance, he becomes a disciple of Xiao Yao. There, Tan Taijin finally meets Li Susu again. Despite a new altered future, there are forces laying in wait in the hopes of awakening the demon lord once more. Tan Taijin and Li Susu fight side by side once more to prevail against the dark forces.

Characters

Tan Taijin/ Cang Jiumin/ Ming Ye

He is born incapable of love. He has never shed any tears, even at birth. His father held him responsible for the death of his mother during childbirth. As a result, Tan Taijin has never experienced love. However, after meeting Li Susu, he begins to change and tries to save the world she loves so much.

Li Susu/ Ye Xiwu/ Sang Jiu

Li Susu is the adoptive daughter of the Hen Yang sect. She is the daughter of the last Phoenix goddess and possesses potential for immense power. Li Susu returns to the past with the fate of humanity on her shoulders. Her hatred for Tan Taijin takes a different turn as she gets to know him better.

Ye Bingchang/ Mei Nv/ Tian Huan

The oldest daughter of the Ye family who is born from a concubine. Ye Bing Chan is very beautiful and attracts the attention of many men. However, she is not able to earn to love. of her family members. Ye Bingchang believed that Xiao Lin’s love for her was due to something she stole from a fox demon rather than true affection. As a result, she betrays Xiao Lin and is self-serving. She tries to kill Ye Xiwu out of jealousy.

Xiao Lin/ Gongsun Jiwu/ Sang You

Xiao Lin is the 6th prince of Sheng and one of the only people to treat Tan Taijin nicely. He fell in love with Ye Bingchang at first sight but that love is never fully reciprocated. Xiao Lin dies as a result of Tan Taijin misunderstanding that Ye Xiwu loved him. His death marked a turning point in Tan Taijin and Ye Xiwu’s relationship. Xiao Lin is reincarnated into Gongsyn Jiwu, Li Susu’s senior and bethrothed in the Hen Yang sect.

Pian Ran

Pian Ran is a powerful fox demon and Tan Taijin’s subordinate. She fell in love once with a general who died at war, and gave her heart away. However, she finds love again with the love and persistence from Ye Qingyu.

Ye Qingyu

The second son of the Ye family and Ye Xiwu’s brother. He is just to a fault and an extremely capable general. He was saved in battle by Pian Ran years ago and has been in love with her ever since.