This has to be one of my favorite cdramas ever. I loved almost everything about the drama from the story to the acting, etc. Even initially, I was super intrigued by the synopsis and I went in with high expectations. I was not disappointed.


The plot of this drama was not only paced well and logical, but it was the perfect amount of revenge, palace intrigue, and romance. The flashbacks of the past life were also placed well. The pacing of the story was quite even throughout, although at the end, it got somewhat quicker, most likely due to the fact that certain scenes may have needed to be cut to meet the current 40 episode limit. Still, it did not impact the pacing too much. The way the revenge was done felt extremely appropriate but also satisfying. There were multiple things that happened that I did not entirely see coming. The romance was quite slowburn regarding the leads, which I think we necessary given the characters, but it also made it so that each of the 3 MLs had their own story with the FL and that nothing was rushed. I think that the climax and the ending were done really well. Everything was tied up really well and almost everyone got the ending that they deserved. I am glad that the end scenes were shown with all the characters that mattered since it made the drama extremely satisfying.

I think that all the actors did a wonderful job portraying their characters. In particular, I think that Zhang Linghe did fantastic as Xie Wei and really made me believe that he was as broken and as vengeful as he was portrayed as. His facial expressions in particular have really improved from his past projects. Bai Lu also did amazing as the FL. I just love watching her because her acting is always on point. The supporting characters held their own and the villains acted heinous enough to the point of believability of their character and actions.

The only thing that could have been improved on was the lighting and angles. There were multiple extremely weird angles shown that took me out of the plot because they were so awkward and weird. In many scenes, there was also extreme lighting shown which made everything super lit. That also took me out of the story. However, compared to how amazing the drama is, they honestly pale in comparison.

Overall, I really enjoyed this drama and will definitely rewatch it. I'm glad to finally get a cdrama that has only minor flaws and issues and that is as enjoyable and satisfying as SoKP is. I'm going to recommend this to as many people as I can because it is just that good.