Best costume drama this year!

Amazing drama from beginning to end!
The production value of this is top notch. From the sets, to the costumes to the fight scenes and music, everything is excellent!

The story kept my attention the entire time and the overall pacing was done quite well. My only issue was the ending seemed a little bit rushed and I wish we got to see more of the happy life of the main leads before the end. The love story between the main leads was full of angst and longing and the two had really good chemistry (not the super hot kind, but fitting for the master/disciple turned lovers type). They also looked really good together and seemed age appropriate as Yang Mi looked younger than William Chan, but not too much. Yang Mi's portrayal of all the different stages of Hai Shi's life were excellent. She is still believable and likeable acting as as teenager, which is something not alot of actresses can pull off. Her transition to scorned lover and finally regal Empress Dowager are all done so well. William Chan was also good as FJM. He seems one dimensional at first but you slowly get to see more range as the story progresses. His final emotional scene was so heartbreaking! The second leads and supporting characters all acted well. I didn't like Xu Kai Cheng from "a female student arrives at the Imperial college" but he is actually quite good as Emporer here! Chen Xiao Yun was also really good as Tilan. Her portrayal as an abused, scared Consort was amazing. She has a very pretty and expressive face!

I really enjoyed Haishi and Zhuoying's sibling relationship. You can see how Zhuoying looks out for and cares for Haishi. Also the friendship between Haishi and Tilan was really sweet although I wish we saw more of it. The bromance between Di Xu and FJM was really touching. These two actors have really good chemistry together.

My only complaints about this drama are that the ending seems a little bit rushed and that I wish they used a voice actor to dub for Yang Mi as I found her voice very high pitched and distracting sometimes. Also, I wish we saw more of Zhuoying's life after he went back to the Huku tribe. He was such a good character and kind of just disappeared. Lastly, I'm not sure why they use such a strong filter when Yang Mi appears onscreen. In the BTS, she looks amazing so I'm not sure why they feel the need to blur her skin much more than the other characters. It actually was a little distracting in some scenes. I saw in an interview she had eczema from wearing the armor in hot weather, so maybe that's the reason?

Otherwise, this is an excellent drama! In my opinion, better than The Long Ballad, which I also enjoyed very much!

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