The Love Knot: His Excellency’s First Love 结爱·千岁大人的初恋 Review

★★★★★

The 2018 Chinese drama, starring Victoria Song as Guan Pi-Pi, Huang Jing-Yu as He-Lan Jing-Ting/Ah-Xi, Li Jia-Ming as Zhao Kuan-Yong, Li Shen as Xiu Xian, Liu Yong-Xi as Xiao-Ju, Zhang Bai-Jia as Tu-Shan Qian-Hua, and Jiang Qi-Lin as Zhao Song. 25 episodes long at 45 minutes apiece, directed by Leste Chen and Hsu Chao-Jen, written by Freddie Shen, and based on the book Jie Ai Yi He Feng Huan 结爱：异客逢欢 by Shi Ding-Rou. Also known as Moonshine and Valentine.

Brief synopsis: Right Priest of the Fox Clan He-Lan Jing-Ting has finally returned to find his lost love, Hui-Yan. Although Jing-Ting is immortal, Hui-Yan is a mortal and is destined to be reincarnated every couple hundred years or so and Jing-Ting intends to be there every time and make her fall in love with him again and again. This time, Hui-Yan is supposed to be modern young woman Guan Pi-Pi. Guan Pi-Pi is completely normal, living an ordinary life, aside from the slight relationship troubles with her current boyfriend. He-Lan Jing-Ting approaches Guan Pi-Pi, ready to resume his love life, but he realizes something that stops him in his tracks: this girl is different. Aside from the stress of keeping the love of his life from enduring another tragic fate and the tensions rising between the North and South divisions of the Fox Clan, He-Lan Jing-Ting now has to fumble about this girl who’s a bit more than he can handle.

Loads of people may have mixed feelings about this drama, but let’s just exclude the final episode for a while. This drama was astounding. The story was simple enough, taking a twist on Eastern folklore. I’d even love a chance to read the book (if it ever gets translated into English, that is)! It sparks some interest on the book and the literary ending in comparison to the drama’s adaptation. The cast was also excellent. There wasn’t anyone I could point out that did not act impressively. Huang Jing-Yu even won the Best Actor (in a Modern Drama) in the 24^th Huading Awards (2018) for his role as our favorite blind protagonist! Most of the characters and their behavior made sense, but this was especially true for Guan Pi-Pi. The rest of us can agree with her on so many things: don’t eat apples from strangers, we might back out of awkward situations, or run away after a selectively blind (yet attractive) acquaintance tell us he’s not even human and presses our heads to his chest only for us to hear his 3-bpm heart rate. Oh yes. Who wouldn’t run away?!

We found the relationship between Zhao Song and Qian-Hua to be one of the most dysfunctional interactions we’ve ever seen. We actually hoped for Zhao Song’s character redemption (and for a while between episodes 14-17 we came really close), but it didn’t come! Maybe it’s not so much a weak point for the drama as it is a character weakness for Song. It adds a bit more depth to him and his side of the story, even if it doesn’t give or take to the overall drama.

But most of us can agree that the real weakness of the entire drama was the final episode. The story was clear and concise, with few holes to even mention, until that finale. It ended too abruptly without addressing everything. For instance, what happened to the Princess that sought Jing-Ting’s demise? Was Jing-Ting still the Chief Priest? How far did his memory loss actually extend? Why does Qian-Hua try to use a lighter when she ends up using the mirror to light the wood anyways? When she and Zhao-Song disappear, why does the Princess’s henchman disappear as well, but no one else? None of those were exactly clear by the final minute.

Yet despite that finale, the rest of the show was fantastic! A lot of the dialogue made us laugh, especially between He-Lan Jing-Ting and his two companions. We also heard some strong lines like “She’s worthy of anyone. It’s you who isn’t worthy of her” (Zhao Kuan-Yong), “There’s no relationship that’s perfect, right?” (He-Lan Jing-Ting), and “It wasn’t death I was afraid of. It was having regrets” (Guan Pi-Pi).

We were all surprised by He-Lan Jing-Ting. For a character so old, he was hilariously immature towards Guan Pi-Pi and her boyfriend. Buying every size of the shirt Pi-Pi was going to gift to Jia-Lin (and burning them) and his “Wait. Let her suffer a little bit more” made it clear to us just how petty he actually was! This is in stark contrast to Guan Pi-Pi. She is set apart by her contentment and humility. She’s also incredibly easy to relate to. She immediately fled from Jing-Ting’s identity confession, tried to justify his behavior, and sought distraction. These are all perfectly normal and healthy responses! Yes, He-Lan Jing-Ting and Guan Pi-Pi complement each other well.

Most of the music felt authentic, such as Tian-Xin’s performance at school and the “A-Gui” concert (I tried looking him up but I still can’t figure if A Gui is a real artist or a made-up character. Whichever it was, I still found the songs pretty catchy!). Even little touches in costume caught our eyes, such as the stain from Pi-Pi’s nosebleed.

The drama played around with different emotions in relationships. We saw Guan Pi-Pi discover feelings for Jing-Ting, Jing-Ting’s constant devotion, and even Pi-Pi’s parents love for each other despite individual flaws, but we watched and felt Qian-Hua’s confusion over Zhao Song. He certainly seemed sincere in his affections, but we were also disappointed by his decisions. We also understood what was going on with Tian-Xin feeling disconnected in America even though she was with Jia-Lin.

But really, the most killer relationship in the drama was the love triangle we least expected. This complicated relationship doesn’t even involve the main couple! It unexpectedly formed between Xiao-Ju, Xiu-Xian, and Kuan-Yong, independently from everything else in the drama. When we watched the jovial scenes between the three in episode 22, maybe we could tell then that something else was up. We may have seen a different resolution to their situation that what we’re used to, but I couldn’t have been the only one left wanting more!

All in all, the romance and the story consistency were the most impressive. The romance between Guan Pi-Pi and He-Lan Jing-Ting was really top notch. They prove that love can take time and “love at first sight” can be a little too impractical. The story is fluid, easy to understand and consistent at least until we reach the final episode. Yes, the final episode lacked as a whole, but the end scene didn’t leave me completely enraged (I’ve seen worse endings before). I liked that Pi-Pi got her turn to wait for He-Lan Jing-Ting to come around, just as he had multiple times before. She also got the chance to love someone what didn’t recognize or know her much like Jing-Ting had to win Hui-Yan back time and time again. The ending itself is open-ended enough to provoke a sequel (however unlikely), but the distance between Pi-Pi and Jing-Ting’s love wasn’t what got me riled up. It was that Kuan-Yong and Xiu Xian were stuck as foxes with Xiao-Ju! Cute foxes, yes, but nothing more than attentive pets! What kind of resolution was that?! We could deduct for that ending, the drama was still great up to that finale. If we did take away stars, it would only be a quarter star missing (1/25). Instead, my hope from that ending is that loyal fans follow it up with some decent fan fiction! I’d be all over that!

The Love Knot: His Excellency’s First Love was fabulous and it’s hard to look away from. I’m probably not the only one who binged it way too quickly. Love it despite the final episode. I highly recommend this drama if you liked the Korean dramas Goblin or Bride of the Water God! 5/5 stars.