Legend of the Eight Immortals


Reviewed by: SwordMaster

January 28, 2008

Rating: four-point-five

Vietnamese title: Dong Du Ky

Length: 30 episodes?
22 episodes of 1 hour each

Cast:
- Steve Ma (Ma Canh Dao): Lu Dong Bin
- Jaceylyn Tay: He Xian Gu (Ha Tien Co)
- Phyllis Quek: Bai Mu Dan/ Mu Dan Xian Zi (Bach Mau Don)
- Yvonne Lin: Long San Gong Zu/ Zhen Niang
- Jerry Chang: Han Xiang Zi
- Lan Cai He, Chao Guo Jiu, Zhang Guo Lao, Han Zhong Li, Tie Gwai Li
- Tong Tian Jiao Zu, He Chun Ying
- Sun Wu Kong (Monkey King/Ton Ngho Kong)
- Chuan San Jia, Chun Shu Jing
- Kuan Yin (Quan Am), the Buddha
- The king of the immortals, his wife

Warning! Spoilers!
Beginning:
I'll try to retell the story as I have remembered it, I've watched it a while ago. It all started out with this demon who was taking the form of a man and was kidnapping kids. Then Mu Dan came to rescue the kids but couldn't. Dong Bin (now with a beard) came and rescued Mu Dan and the kids out of the demon's wrath. At this time, Mu Dan already fell in love with Dong Bin already, but immortals are forbidden to fall in love, if they do, they'll get kicked out of heaven to live as a mortal. In my perspective, Dong Bin also loves Mu Dan but it was forbidden and he still has a lot of pride in himself because he's one of the top immortals there and Mu Dan is just a maid of the immortal king's wife.

Dong Bin was now assigned a special task to find and unite 8 immortals to fight the evils that's wreaking havoc on the world. Dong Bin is supposed to be one of the eight, the leader of the eight. Dong Bin went and talked to Mu Dan about him leaving to find the 8 immortals. Mu Dan asked him who those 8 are and Dong Bin showed her an image of him in the water and left. And I think Dong Bin or Mu Dan also made a poem about something at the time too.

So Dong Bin left and reincarnated as a mortal. At that time, some of the 8 immortals had been found.

How those 8 became immortals:
1. The first to become an immortal in the eight is not Lu Dong Bin but Han Zhong Li. At first, he was an immortal child but was banished from heaven because he angered the Monkey King. Then Lu Dong Bin was sent down to earth to help Zhong Li become an immortal. He is usually pictured with a large stomach and a fan.

2. The second one to become an immortal is Tie Gwai Li. His spirit was venturing around the world so his body was left behind. When he returned, his disciple who was supposed to guard his body was gone. He then took possession of the body of a beggar, who was dying. That is why he was portrayed with a gourd and a crutch. He then met Tai Shang Lao Jun and became an immortal.

3. The third to become an immortal is Lan Cai He. At first he was this giant immortal but Sun Wu Kong did something to get him into trouble so he was banished from heaven. Later, he befriended He Xian Gu. He then met Sun Wu Kong. Sun Wu Kong felt guilty about getting Lan Cai He banished from heaven so Wu Kong gave him 500 years of his immortality since he had already eaten many of the peaches and pills of immortality already. Lan Cai He is usually seen in this series with a basket of flowers.

4. After Lan Cai He become an immortal, Zhang Guo Lao became one. He usually carry a bamboo tube with two rods inside. According to legend, he is sometimes pictured riding a white donkey with his back forward. One time, Chuan San Jia was making an immortality soup and went away for a while. While San Jia was going away, Zhang Guo Lao with his large appetite for food, came and ate all of it. San Jia caught him just when Guo Lao was just finishing it. Guo Lao then ran away and rode a donkey with his back forward. He then floated to heaven because he became an immortal by eating the soup.

5. Zhang Guo Lao became an immortal, so it's He Xian Gu's turn. I didn't really remember how He Xian Gu became an immortal. But I know that she befriended Lu Dong Bing before she became one. She probably became an immortal because of her good heart and compassion for others.

6. Lu Dong Bing now became an immortal. He had to do many good deeds before he can become one of the 8. In one of his many deeds, he rescued a king from the spirits that were bothering him and two of the spirits became his magic sword. Another of his deeds is summoning a crane to dance in a wine shop. He met Bai Mu Dan before he became an immortal when he was summoned up to heaven to attend a party with the king of the immortals and his wife. After his many good deeds he became an immortal.

7. Han Xiang Zi is the most aggressive of the 8 immortals. He had to pass five lives before he can become one. In his first life, he didn't want to become one. When he was about to become one, he yelled at heaven so he has to become one of the workers in hell for three lifetimes before he can become human again. In his fifth lifetime, he was a calm person, someone who plays a flute and was very kind to the animals. After doing the deeds and stuff to become an immortal, he succeeded.

8. The last one to become an immortal was Chao Guo Jiu. He was a court official and was really evil. The 7 immortals then send Lan Cai He down to underworld to bring up his brother/friend to convince Guo Jiu to become a good person. But the king of the underworld didn't want to so Cai He had to take the brother's place and his punishments until he return. Guo Jiu's brother finally convinced him to do good. He was the easiest one to become an immortal, the 7 immortals each gave him some of their immortality so he can become one.

Other Immortals:
1. Mu Dan Xian Zi: She was a maid of the queen of the gods. But because she loves Dong Bin and it was forbidden for immortals to love, she was banished from heaven to become a prostitute for 3 lifetimes. In her third lifetime, she met Dong Bin. He tried to make her good again for a long time and during the process, Mu Dan fell for him. Then that queen of heaven summons her again and she said that if Mu Dan wants to, she can become an immortal again if she meditate and do those sorts of things until she reach the state that she can become an immortal.

2. Sun Wu Kong: You'll probably know all about him already, mischievous, playful, a high official in the court of the king of heavens.

3. Long San Gong Zu/Zhen Niang: Yvonne Lim still perfects her part in this series. She was first the wife of Han Xiang Zi in his first lifetime, Zhen Niang. Zhen Niang can't talk but Han Xiang Zi still loves her. It was his love for Zhen Niang that Long San Gong Zu admired, at that time, she was still in the egg, about to come out. But somehow, Zhen Niang died, I can't remember why. Then the Lon Sang Gong Zu was now a little girl and she wanted to look like Zhen Niang and her father changed her appearance to look like Zhen Niang. She fell in love with Han Xiang Zi but later loved someone else.

4. Long San Gong Zu (LSGZ) loved the reflection of Sun Wu Kong. Played by TCS' Vincent Jiao (I'm not sure about his last name). Vincent really loved Long San Gong Zu because of her playful mind and her pretty face. When LSGZ went down to the underworld to rescue her mother, Vincent went with her. They later have eight children that looked exactly like the eight immortals.

The Bad Guys:
1.Tong Tian Jiao Zu: He's the top evil guy and his martial arts skills and magic are great. The only reason he became evil was because his brother (I'm not sure), Tai Shang Lao Jun, was always better than him. Most of the evils in this story just became evil for revenge, jealousy, those sorts of things. He was later stripped of his power and was killed by Chuan San Jia.

2.He Chun Ying: She's the mother of Long San Gong Zu. Her husband was killed by Lu Dong Bin and she wanted to take revenge. She was injured at the time so she went down to the underwater kingdom to become the wife of the underwater king to revive herself.

3. Chuan San Jia: Before he became human, he was an object/animal and then he meditated for years before he was transformed. He loved He Xian Gu but she doesn't love him. Chun Shu Jing loved him. San Jia then stripped Tong Tian Jiao Zu's power later for his own evil uses. Later, he wanted to take revenge on Lu Dong Bin because He Xian Gu only loves Dong Bin. He went to kill Bai Mu Dan because Dong Bin loves her. He then became very evil and was killed by the 8 immortals. He then became what he was in the beginning.

The love triangle: Every story got to have its love triangle, in here, it's Lu Dong Bin between He Xian Gu and Bai Mu Dan. The story didn't give us a clear idea of who he loves. But in the end, it was foretold that the one that he truly love would die, and Mu Dan died. There was a time that Bai Mu Dan and Dong Bin was both mortals so they went and live together. On their wedding day, Dong Bin left her because he had to help his gang fight an evil person. She got so depressed that she went and meditate to become an immortal. Bai Mu Dan was the most tragic character in here. In the end, it was foretold that the one that Dong Bin truly loved will die and Mu Dan died. Dong Bin went and asked Kuan Yin to help Mu Dan but Kuan Yin couldn't, it was like Mu Dan's destiny to die.

Emotional Scene: It was such a sad scene. It was the scene when Mu Dan and Dong Bin were on a bamboo raft and they both knew that she was dying. Dong Bin kept asking Mu Dan not to die. But Mu Dan said that she was happy to be the one who died because she now knows that she is the one that Dong Bin really loves.

The Ending: Just the very last part. All things calmed down. Long San Gong Zu and Sun Wu Kong's reflection had eight children with the personality of each of the 8 immortals. Then the eight immortals came to visit the children. After that, they flew away. As they flew away, the reincarnation of Mu Dan came and so the eight flying away.

Overall: This was a really good series. It has a lot of good actors and actresses in this series. Steven Ma, Jacelyn Tay, Phyllis Quek, and Jerry Chang were all good in here. A splendid and magnificent cast. I loved the graphics in here, it was pretty good. The heavenly scenes and some of the scenes in this series were good, it had some nice setting in the woods, next to to a waterfall, in a pavilion. The storyline was pretty good too.


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