I saw this drama on a lot of top recommended lists and was a bit weary of the idea of a censored gay love story. The first time I tried watching this series a year or two ago, I couldn’t get into it. I watched the first episode and was like, “huh?”

But hey, 2022 came and I saw this was still high on the rankings so I gave it another try and MAN. The love for this drama is so well deserved.

I lost sleep on weeknights when I had to work the next morning because I wanted to power through these 50 episodes. I have never been a true fanatic of anything - re-watching dramas is not something I do normally.

But after finishing the series in a matter of days, I went back to rewatch the first episodes and the most emotional and touching moments of this drama. Going back, the first episodes were so easy to watch. I found myself watching fan videos on YouTube, reading the comments of people saying they kept coming back to this drama. I found myself checking the Twitter tag for witty tweets about the characters. I even stayed up until 6 am one day because I wanted to read parts of the novel. I am still needing to recover from sleep deprivation.

This drama was BEAUTIFUL. The music is stunning - I’ve found myself humming it while I stroll through the park. I definitely teared up a few times. The characters had multiple layers so I even could empathize with the some of the villains. It was a ride of emotions for me - from feeling giddy over a glance, shocked from the deaths, vindicated with the revenge, angered by the injustice. I loved it. The chemistry between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji was 100% there. I am not someone who specifically seeks out BL stories and I don’t ever recall strongly shipping a BL couple but Wangxian is amazing.

This was a welcome escape from reality. 10/10, probably one of my favorites of all time.