It's now 3 years old show but I have to vent my frustration somewhere...

If you haven't watched this show yet, don't, as there is a plenty really good dramas.

Story had a such a good potential but it is all over the place throughout all 58 episodes, which by the way could be easily squished down to less then 40 and nothing will be lost.
Show is essentially "carrot-on-the_stick" where main female protagonist at very young age became very powerful thanks to her Mom's training, Mom was a leader of very powerful organization. but was killed shortly after transferring %80 of her power to her daughter, who in turn got hurt, lost memory and ended up as a slave/maid.
She learned eventually traditional fighting skills but while in one episodes she would defeat skilled assassins, in the next she would get injured by lowly guards - Very poor story line development and characters growth.
Villans seems to be inexperienced actors or script demanded of them to act like 12 years old school yard bullies. If it wasnt for two main leads with great chemistry and few very experienced supporting actors/actresses many more would abandon the show after few episodes or skip through through most episodes.

Ending is not much better either as last 10 episodes were all over the place and instead of main female lead recovering her memories, perhaps in second half of the show, that was left as a cliffhanger for season two which will never materialize.

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Great Drama

Great drama with exceptional music: OST is in my humble opinion the best of any C-drama and I've watched 40ish so far. It doesn't matter how bad or stressful work is, once i hear first few tunes of opening song i'm transferred far, far away and my troubles are gone in an instant.

Main protagonist, Sing Sing & Ning Qui play their roles very well and growth of characters and their skills is nicely done. Support actors are exceptional as well .
Story, acting, sets, costumes, CGI effects and fight choreography are all done quite well and very often you will run in to very emotional moments.
While not perfect, definitely worth the time and highly commandeered if you like this genre.

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Superb acting, nicely developed characters and their growth, Not as good OST, a lot of intrigue...

I have attempted to complete the JoL novel 3 times and only on the 4th attempt, I managed to wrap it up. I find the novel of average quality, but it may be the translation I run into. But regardless of the translation and cultural differences, in my opinion, the novel suffers from genre focus: Is it court/palace, Wuxia, or Xianxia? I prefer all of it, but well balanced.

Season one, in my opinion, was by far the best drama produced in the last 15 years. Everything, from music, cast, acting, and choreography was perfect in every sense of the word, perfect. The icing on the cake was the fact that all aspects were perfectly balanced. Palace intrigue and Wuxia/Xianxia were perfectly balanced.

Season two followed the most boring parts of the novel, palace intrigue and I'm not a fan of it. But! Almost all actresses and actors are back, and once again they have proven they are masters of their craft.
I was hoping Xin Zhilei (Norternt Qi Senintess DouDou) would get more screen time. Sadly This was not the case, but she did have a few appearances, following the slow and annoying novel's storytelling.

Music was changed and it's not nearly as good as in season one, but some songs were kept.
Is it worth your time to watch this drama? A clear and loud YES!
I hope we don't have to wait another 5 years for the final season. If all cast and behind-the-scenes team members stay the same, Season 3 should be just as good as Season One, if not better.

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All over the place

I started this drama only because there were quite a few actresses/actors from Joy of Life, and it does have a bit of Joy of LIfe vibe. Sadly that's about it. The first 15 episodes were not that bad, but it went downhill quickly and culminated in a major cliffhanger for the ending. The cast was perfect, with the actors' looks matching their roles perfectly, but the acting in my opinion felt a bit forced. lines were not delivered naturally at all, and the translation on Prime Video was horrid...
Overall drama was all over the place, with few comical episodes followed by serious storytelling, but neither was executed that well.

Hopefully, I'm wrong, but this drama will suffer the same fate as Joy of Life, never to see a season two...

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Great story purely executed

Great actors and it is defensively worth watching but I don''t know what is wrong with script writers as some things are just, to put it mildly, not believable even for this genre.
Just one of the examples, One of the protagonists is holding a "mystical" pearl in his open hand starring up in the sky while two guys are fighting to get it. 3rd guy swoops in and picks the pearl from his hand and everyone looks surprised?! Then 5-6 episodes were spent fixing that mistake.

Growth of two main characters is carried out very well and it is nicely executed by cast members. Remaining cast is just a good. Chemistry between them is great and very often quite emotional.
Choreography is more of a dance then real fight as focus in on the magical cultivation and CGI effects.
Music is on the spot for my taste, except for a closing song - From my point of view is a bit out of touch and cheesy.
I compare all c-drama shows to "Joy of Life" which is in my opinion a master peace and we will not see anything that good any tie soon...Perhaps Legend of Fei...

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I've started Snow Tower but I've dropped it once I have found Princess Silver.

Very impressed with pretty much everything. Opening/closing video/music very nicely done and not many shows can compare to it, especially, opening video and music.
The strong female lead with minor physical imperfection makes her even more attractive - Definetelly actress to watch for.
Main leads are good for the roles and chemistry from my point of view is very good. Acting is quite good with just the right amount of emotions (Many drama show males crying/sobbing - I 'm no fan of that sort of thing).
Sets, costumes, and camera work are exemplary.

The fight choreography is very clean with some traditional Chinese martial art nicely implanted and just the right amount of CGI.
The white hair part surprised me as I know a person who did turn gray overnight due to extreme mental stress.

Highly recommended.

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By far one of the best shows I have seen. The story, actresses/actors, growth of the characters, acting/scripts, fight choreography, sets, scenery... are all nearly perfect.
I don't think I've binged so much ever as I've finished the season in 4 days. There is something for everyone from romance, twists, plots, fighting even some SI-FI.

I have one complaint only but it is my personal opinion: Cliffhangers - I hate it with passion as story can be partially wrapped up without it.
I will definitely rewatch it at least once just before season 2 comes out.

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One of the best in 2020

I watched this drama in 3 days and I am impressed how well, pretty much everything was done even though the drama is kinda short with only 24 episodes.

The story is simple but surprisingly well done! While there were minor holes in the story but with the satire around it, you will not even notice it.
The end was great but it does bring some questions like: Where are the rest of the "team"? There must be somewhere in the world -This aspect of the story could have been explored further but it would bring complexity to the storyline.

Main actresses and actors were great with good chemistry and just as good supporting roles. Mrs. Zhao is perfect for this role and despite her age, she plays the character very well with all the range of emotions. I have always enjoyed shows she's been in.

With the fast passed story, you will not even notice the music but I liked the OST nevertheless.

Overall, this drama is definitely worth your time!

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Very Different

Very different drama but in a good way. It reminds me a lot of graphic novel and most of the story base was told that way but it stopped 2/3 through the season.
Interesting love triangle was very nicely done but very sad and full of sorrow. Very dark including sad ending but they have to justify the title.
This is one of the rare dramas that could have at least 20 more episodes as story and some developments and facts were just...Well.. put in place. Ending was kind of rushed too.
Nevertheless, acting, camera, sets, constumes, CGI and choreography is nicely done. Even camera work shows high detail and attention to detail.

NOTE: This is my first drama with Li Yi Tong and she is a great actress but it was at the times very painful to watch. She is so skinny that throughout the season it would distract me - It would be really hard to do anything considering her bone and skin hands, never mind wielding the sword. I will definitely have to look up some drama of hers as I like her acting and unusual fiery character and voice.

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