I can’t tell exactly why, but while with other dramas I soon forget what they actually were about, this drama left very long-lasting and strong impression even after a long period of time.


Plot: 9,5
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★★★★★ Main idea:
--> Very strong, intriguing and well thought out.
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★★★★★ Logic:
--> Whole plot has logical continuity and doesn't contain much irrational twists. It tells the story of powerless emperor struggling to survive in palace where many parties supposed to protect and support him follow each their different agendas to seize power, while the nation suffers.
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★★★★★ Pace:
--> It was interesting till the end.
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★★★★★ Impression:
--> Still can't stop thinking about it. There was a strong feeling of heaviness through the most of the story, since there was everyone at war with everyone, even allies couldn’t trust each other completely, and one couldn’t simply believe this could end well.
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★★★★☆ Skip rate:
--> I skipped some of the side plots, but not much.
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★★★★★ Annoying factors:
--> If that count’s, I hated the main antagonist beyond any rational level, however that shouldn’t be a reason to criticism, quite the contrary, for me it’s an indicator the story pulled me in completely.


Characters: 10
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★★★★★ Lead 1 - Emperor Qi Yan:
--> Loved this character. It's a man sacrificing everything, his happiness, reputation, love and whole life, in order to return the empire to its original order. He’s not complaining about this role, not pursuing his own happiness, he silently bears the responsibility of his position, looking for ways to win an impossible fight.
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★★★★★ Lead 2 - Swordbearer Cheng Ruo Yu:
--> Loved this character. I really liked her evolvement – she started as a naïve and a bit dim-witted child, but she has grown up by the emperor’s side and learnt all about scheming and plotting, but never turned out this way herself.
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★★★★★ Overacting:
--> There is no annoying exaggerating.
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★★★★★ Acting:
--> Actors are great, very talented.
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★★★★★ Annoyance level:
--> Not annoyed at all.


Background: 8
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★★★☆☆ Soundtrack:
--> Liked a song or two.
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★★★★☆ Visuals (camera, scenery, visual effects, ...):
--> Really liked it.
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★★★★★ Wardrobe (costumes, hairstyles, makeup, ...):
--> Absolutely loved it.


Rewatch value: 8,5
I assess this value based on impression, skip rate, annoyance level and overall preference.


Final verdict: 9,5
If I were to be objective, I would have to admit, there are some weird plots and behaviors in this story, that should probably lower my rating. Reason I am overlooking this, is that I usually move on from one drama to another with no difficulty, at most I replay the drama twice, then I move on. This drama however made me feel heavy and I couldn’t emotionally move on for a pretty long time. Since it left impression this strong, I can’t help but to rate high.