It is very RARE that I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the drop of every new episode of a costume drama series. Typically I drudge through all the filler episodes to get to the exciting good parts, and most of the time I get very disappointed with an anti-climatic ending. The ONLY other drama series that defied all expectations was Joy of Life Season 1. I eagerly await for Season 2, but while waiting, I stumble upon this "Scent of Time" series. Seemed pretty contrived and over-played storyline in the beginning, but very quickly I was drawn into the unpredictable plot, and the twists and turns of events in every new episode. I have NO idea what the FL is going to do next, and THAT is why I have rated this series so highly - It is very difficult to achieve what "Joy of Life" and "Scent of Time" have done - keep you engaged, make you care about what will happen to the people in the story, and surprise you again and again. I haven't finish watching the end of this drama yet, BUT I can't wait!

PS - Of course, Joy of Life is still better than Scent of Time, but that is a high bar to overcome, and you can tell that a whole lot more money were spent on the production of Joy of Life than Scent of Time.