A murder mystery wrapped in horror wrapped in romance. Beware of ethics violations, puppy eyes and obviously ghosts!

“Goddess Bless You From Death” opens with blood & gore and ends with kisses & stars. And in between, we have suspense, guilt, black magic, heartbreak, not getting over your ex and even a trip back to your hometown with your newly in relationship boyfriend. The show has its highs and lows, but what it doesn’t do is let you forget about it.

First- The Highs

Along with their Greek Gods-like facial features, the cast also delivers a punch with their acting. As a reminder, this show isn’t just one genre. It’s detective, horror and romance. So the cast has to deliver a no-nonsense hardcore police officer in one scene while giving heart eyes to your FWB in the next. I praised the makeup and costume department in my previous review, and I’ll keep that going. They do an excellent job of keeping up the feel of horror throughout the series.

Some of the mysteries are excellent and keep you hooked. For example, you wonder what happened to Bom? Then his reveal. Then thet find out Thup is the son of Aisoon. In my opinion, these ones, were fantastic.

The use of Southeast Asian cultural stories and legends is also amazing. As one might know, this side of the planet is filled with beliefs and practices of black magic and, as an Asian, watching this creates a sense of dread in you as you watch things very familiar to you on screen. The banyan tree, red clothes, marigold flowers, the thick smell of incense will remind you of a story of brushing with the ‘other side’ that has either happened to you or someone you know.

Next- The Lows

If you have seen as many detective dramas as me, you will already figure out who’s the killer by the third episode. The mystery/who did it? Arc is not necessarily unique. It has been done before. And as much as I would like to stay positive about my review, the show does get confused about its genre from time to time. The mixing of all very contrasting genres does not work out properly. Does it want to be a Mystery/Detective story with a side of Romance? Or Romance with the occasional Detective/Mystery in it?

We never get a clear ending to the detective/ghost story. Do all the skeptics end up becoming believers by the end of the show?

What happened to Aisoon finally?

What happened to all the souls he had captured throughout the years?

Did these rituals actually keep saving Aisoon and Boms’ lives or was it something that could be explained scientifically?

The show fails to deliver its proper ending for the Detective/Mystery part and just focuses on the Romance. The final episode felt very rushed and anti-climatic. Just like I said- since Thup and Singha had already become an established relationship, there seemed to be no interest given to ending the detective story in a satisfying way. The intense cat and mouse chase which we were promised in the first few episodes fizzled out to exactly 1 scene of confrontation between the detective and culprit. The master of dark arts ended up being defeated by a 20-year old and 2 lines of prayers. It was… disappointing for a mystery lover like me.

Overall it is a good show. Not great but good. And I may be a bit biased because it has my favorite actors (I absolutely am). But this is definitely a first in the realm of BLs. Even though it is not perfect, it does open a trailblazing path to a whole new world of shows in the Y industry.

Rating- 3.5 out of 5

Streaming on- IQIYI