Okay, so, I am LOVING The Legend of ShenLi! It might be in my top 3 C-dramas of all time, is definitely in the top 5, and is possibly the most exciting C-drama I've ever seen in the sense of making me want to watch the next episode right away. (I think that last one applies even more than Till the End of the Moon, to be honest.) But, all that being said, it's also clarified for me one of the things I hate most about a lot of romances (and why TTEOTM is so great).

Namely, I hate when crucial information is kept from the audience. I understand that that makes the show more suspenseful, which makes it harder for the audience to stop watching because then they're eager to learn the information. Clearly this is working with TLoSL and me. But, a well-written show can keep the suspense going even when the audience has all the knowledge of all the characters combined, and withholding that crucial information runs the risk of making the drama frustrating.

Let me give a concrete example. I just finished Episode 17 of TLoSL and these were my thoughts while watching the episodes yesterday and today:

Episode 13: I'm starting to get really annoyed. Xing Zhi is almost gaslighting her about being Xingyun. She told him flat-out that she liked him. She wasn't shy, she wasn't playing games, she wasn't unwilling to admit her own feelings. He clearly likes her back, so why can't he do the same?! It's not like he can be afraid of rejection when she's already been so open and honest about her feelings! And there are no outside repercussions he can face for admitting he likes her back. He is physically/spiritually the strongest being in the universe, and he's also got the highest social position in the universe. There can be no consequences for him for getting together with her, so why is he unwilling?! I've started cheering when she’s cold to or domineering over Xing Zhi, because she deserves to assert dominance over a man who's going to disrespect her by saying he doesn't like her and then taking her on romantic dates.

Episode 14: Okay, so he's finally stopped lying to her about not being Xingyun, but now he's explicitly told her that he doesn't have feelings for her. If you don't have feelings for her, why do you keep acting like you do?! She's right, it is really frustrating how he rejects her on one hand and seduces her on the other!

Episode 15: My cheering for her being cold to or domineering over him is becoming more sincere and less humorous.

Episode 17: His best friend lost his divinity for falling in love with the wrong person. So is that why Xing Zhi's afraid to tell her he loves her? Is he afraid to admit his feelings even to himself for fear of losing his own divinity? If that's the case, WHY WEREN'T WE THE AUDIENCE TOLD THAT EARLIER?!?! We could have spent this whole time crying for the poor immortal who can't love the woman he loves instead of getting frustrated by him!

Honestly, whether this is the explanation for Xing Zhi's reticence, or there's a bigger, deeper, truer reason coming down the line doesn't really matter. Either way, they've left us with a lot of episodes of frustration wondering why Xing Zhi can't just admit his feelings for her. This makes it harder to enjoy all the genuinely sweet and romantic moments they have together. It's hard to watch a character I love so much falling in love with another character who seems incapable of loving her back as fully as she loves him. Likewise, it's not a very fun self-insert fantasy to have: loving a man who won't say he loves you back. Being unable to fully enjoy the moments where he does show honest affection to her compounds the frustration in my opinion, because there's nothing else problematic in their relationship really (or what there is can be overlooked), so I want to cheer for them and their love, but Xing Zhi's making it hard.

Compare all of this to TTEOTM. We knew all of Li Susu's and all of Tantai Jin's complex, contradictory, and constantly shifting motivations and feelings from the get-go* (*episode 3. But that's still pretty close to the get-go!). What kept them together? Li Susu had to stay by Tantai Jin's side and show him kindness in order to save the three realms and four continents. Tantai Jin wanted Li Susu to stay by his side because she was the only one who'd ever shown him love. [Yes, my fellow TTEOTM stans, I know it's a lot more complicated and nuanced than that, but that's the biggest link in the chain holding the two of them together.] What's driving them apart? Li Susu's doubt that Tantai Jin can ever be anything but the Devil God; Tantai Jin's (correct) suspicion that Li Susu has an ulterior motive and (his incorrect suspicion that she) doesn't really love him. As soon as the main characters know these things, we know them, and it's wondering how the situation is going to evolve that pulls us through the story. We never have to be frustrated with a character decision, because every character decision makes sense based on the information we the audience have. It makes the story so much more enjoyable, in my opinion.

In addition to everything I've said above, I'd like to add a secondary point I've already alluded to but haven't yet made explicit: I think making important information a mystery decreases re-watch value. I admit, my re-watch of TTEOTM is proceeding MUCH slower than my first viewing, which in itself went much slower than TLoSL. But, I am at least re-watching it. I don't know if I'm going to want to revisit the characters of TLoSL once there's no more mystery about them. With TLoS, it's the ending that matters; with TTEOTM, it's the journey.

I want to end by saying that dramas are so complex, what doesn't work in one show might work in another. Not only is this all my opinion, but the way all the elements of a drama combine can make all the difference in whether one single element is good or bad. There are so many elements in TLoSL that I've HATED in other shows, but TLoSL did so well that I love them!

But, even with that caveat, I just think, as a general rule, making your main characters' motivations clear from the outset is the superior way to structure a show.

Oh no. Xing Zhi said "forget it" about Shen Li's mission to find Fu Rong due to the kidnapping plot against the Earth Immortals. This really doesn't bode well for all the Fu-Rong-being-a-idiot screentime I was enjoying. :/