Oh My, What a Show

I had waited for this show since it started filming. I was super excited that we would see Zeng Shunxi and Liu Yuning in a drama together again after Ultimate Note. As well, I am a huge fan of Liu Yuning and I LOVE the journey he has been going on with his acting.
Story: I-..do not have many words for this plot line. It was so all over the place sometimes that it left me confused. (if you know the Jackson Wang meme face from when JYP performed that was my face). The plot seemed simple in the start, three besties, encounter another bestie. And live a domestic life in the capital. When the show got dark...it got dark fast. And it remained that way. I knew nothing good was going to happen with the foreshadowing of the first scene with the storytelling in the show. I knew that Bai Choufei essentially is the villain. But that did not prepare me for the utter pain the show had. I am disappointed in the treatment of Lei Chun. I think that *scene* was a cheap way of making her a villain, even though she would be a villain with just the death of her father. I also did not like the cheap romance between WXS and WR. It felt rushed and just did not fit with the plot of the show. The show tried to force us to understand why BCF loved WSX so much, and why he hated SMZ so much but they focused so much on WXS and WR that it felt. Even in the last episode, WSX shows that he loved his brothers more then his wife. "I have nothing now" as he burns his two brothers and his sword while is wife stands behind him. I know she can not die because she was the daughter of the Wen family (by the way, a huge PLOT HOLE) but she was in a sense...useless.
Acting/Cast : I did not doubt the acting of ZSX before coming in at all. He is a fabulous actor and his wide, doe eyes really just played into the innocence of his character. I do not have enough words for LYN. I know he really downplays his acting skills since he was a singer first, but his acting towards the end of the show was insane. Not many people can do the crying while laughing while also appearing unhinged. He had so many pivotal scenes where he was alone and his acting made them amazing. I am proud of him. Chen Chuhe was someone I knew from Lost Tomb: Reunion and he did amazing in Heroes. His coughing felt so real, and you can just tell the emotions he was feeling with just his eyes. Yang Tong (Di Feijing) and Yu Bin (Yang Wuxie) were AMAZING. Every time they appeared on the screen I wanted to just hug them and give them love. They are stand out actors. Meng Ziyi in her role was effective. I am not a fan of her acting (I have never been since it feels one-note) but I did appreciate the scenes where she emoted more. But I also know this may have been a decision of the director to make her more one note, since she was the daughter of the leader. I was disappointed in Yang Chouyue. I did know anything of her before I watched the show, and I just could not handle her scenes. Her crying was not good, and I think I skipped over them a lot. She was very one note and acting wise it fell flat at times. I do know people said she was better in this role then in her past roles. The rest of the cast were great, and they pulled together the story. It was a large cast of people. But they all acted well.
Music : If you put Zeng Shunxi and Liu YuNing in a ost I will love it no matter what. The ending theme now makes me so upset because I am used to watching the show end with tears in my eyes and hearing the first couple of notes.
Rewatch : no. I will not do it. This is one of those shows that leaves you defeated. All shock value on who is who, and knowing who is still alive is gone. I might only rewatch for certain scenes but I can not see myself watching the entire show again.
Overall: It disappointed as a wuxia. With more glamour shots and cutting the fight scenes to one move. I was expecting strong fights but it did not happen. I really wanted to see the fight between Fang Yinkan and Di Feijing and I am so angry the show gave us stupid musical montages of WR and WSX all the time but not enough fight scenes. The plot was a bunch of twist and turns that let me disappointed in the end. The show is full of plot holes, and un-glamorous deaths. I know the show is called "heroes" and I think who is the hero in the end. I think only Su Mengzhen and Di Feijing are the only heroes in this story. I have thought a lot of about this show after it ended, and while I love the show, I also hate it.

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Eh. Could be better, could be worse.

So, I went into this show for the sole reason of supporting one actor Yalkun Merxat (Yu Ming). I will preface this review by saying that I do not like romance dramas, so I did expect to drop it after the second episode. But I did finish the show, so I will honestly review it. I really enjoyed the e-sports side of the drama, but I am upset that they basically spoiled the ending of the show (winning the championship), so I went into the show knowing no matter how many downs they had, and the fear of them disbanding they would prevail and win the game. Which took the tension out of watching the show. I do watch LoL streams for fun, so watching the games was like that. I did not like the CGI bits of them characters fighting since I want gameplay and not that, but that's whatever.
The two leads personalities were not to my liking. Normally I will tolerate them but their arrogance and the inconsistencies of their character development disappointed me. Cheng-Ge was a warm and caring person before Tong Yao joined the team, but he seemed to be cold after Yu ming retired. There was no actual reason for why that was a thing, but his development made no sense. I do think Cheng-Ge is a caring person, he cares a lot for Yu Ming (you can see it in the first episode, I am not lying), so everyone saying "he's cold and heartless" was so weird. Even after Tong Yao joined the team, you can see the way Yu Ming and Cheng-Ge talk to one another and he SMILES and LAUGHS with Yu Ming so that cancels out the cold and heartlessness. But once Tong Yao takes more lead in the team, he becomes closed off and acts like he shows no emotion, which is wrong. I could go off about my dislike for the Tong Yao character. As a female who games, she came off as a "pick me girl", and that rubbed me the wrong way the first episode. I understand that females are not respected in the gaming world, but the way she carried herself is what made me annoyed with her most of the time. I am a huge fan of strong female characters who do not change once they find love, and I felt like her development was also stagnant at times. They called her out for being abrasive and that never really changed.
The supporting cast is what made the show for me, and if it was not for them I would not have continued. Yao Chi ( Lu Yue) and Kevin Xiao (Lao Mao) stole my heart and really were the scene stealers. They had perfect comedic timing, played off the other wells and were able to show their range of acting with emotional scenes.
Now the plot, I must admit I skipped all the couple scenes having to do with the main CP if I knew the conversation did not lend itself to the plot. Even by doing it I understood the entire plot and the progress of their relationship. I would have enjoyed if the show actually opened up more about the team's backstories. A lot of them mentioned that their parents do not support them and Cheng-ge and Tong Yao have the privilege of having supportive parents while the others seem cut off from their parents because of this career choice. In retrospect, ZGDX is found family for those people. Yu Ming, Lao K and Lao Mao all mentioned they did not have a supportive family and they essentially ran away from home. ZGDX was a brotherhood before Tong Yao joined, and it was still evident when she was there. The members hung out without her and Cheng-Ge (he is a loner it seems during the course of the show except for the first 2 episodes) and you can tell how close they are. I WISH we could get a show that is pre-Tong Yao era (this is not a diss at her, but rather I want to know the dynamics of the previous team Yu Ming-era). It feels like everyone has their own cliques but we as viewers do not know why, we know why they are close but why? Why are Lao Mao and Lao K basically a couple? Why are Yu Ming and Lu Yue that close with one another? Tong Yao was only on the team for 6 months, and while they cherish her as a friend and a teammate I feel like the bond that is there for the remaining ZGDX team minus the main CP is extremely strong.
I think the plot touched on a lot of e-sports things that can happen, but kind of glossed over the nitty and gritty bit about actually being a professional sports player because they wanted to add the romance and the light-hearted moments. Overall, I would not watch it again. I think that it is what it is. An e-sports, romance drama. Maybe too much romance for me. Xu Kai and Cheng Xiao did well with what they had, but I know Xu Kai can do better acting-wise, and for Cheng Xiao's first role it was not the worst but I was not a fan of her acting. I frankly did not see a romantic connection between the two when it came to the romance scenes. I preferred them when they bickered as friends rather than as a couple. But I think the support ZGDX team stole the show. Yalkun Merxat, Yao Chi, Kevin Xiao, Gao Han, Sun Kia and Cui ShaoYang stole my heart in their respective roles.

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The worst lace front wigs

Story: It wasn’t a strong script and the actors did do the best they could do with that they had. Because it was only 24 episodes and the episode were shorter then 30 mins it just didn’t seem like enough time to actually give us anything substantial. I font like the romance drama but the romance in this show didn’t seem…right. Like it seemed like they needed more. Why did the emperor love her so fast? Yea she’s pretty, but I’m sure there is more to loving someone than just looks. I was quite upset by how fast things was in the end. It was too fast, and not enough closure. Things were happening right after another, and there needed more time to space things through. I think ending the last episode like that was begging stupid, and it angered me. We finally got the boyish happiness back with Yuwen yong. He was smiling, his eyes were sparkling. He looks healthy and was glowing. He was SO EXCITED to think about forever. To think about his kids and his future with her. And she just dies. She doesn’t even give him time to talk about how much he loves her. She just dies IN HIS LAP. I can’t even imagine what he went though. And then to give us a STUPID musical montage about it. I wanted to see Yuwen yong just break. I needed that emotional ending. To go from she’s dying, musical montage, she’s dead, mystic montage, ending credits was a waste. It was a worst version of the ending of Legend of Yunxi (merxat do you see a trend?) . It was a romantic comedy for most of the show and it just went downhill. I also want to scream about the lace front on Merxat. I get he is a bit tanner then other people but could they have not gotten the wig to sit better? It put me off with the immersion that I could see the plaster and the lace on his face. I even saw his hair underneath the wig in the last episode. Which made me not pay attention to the fact she was DYING. Also his makeup was inconsistent in the same exact scenes. he normally has pretty pink lips so when they cover it with concealer to make him look sick, it was obvious. Then 5 seconds later his lips were pink again and his natural skin tone was there.
Acting/Cast : I think Gong Mi and Merxat held it down. But Gong Mi was so mature looking that the even possibility of her being with Zhao'er was weird. Especially since she was so immature and irrational, that it seemed more like a grown adult who acted like a teenager. Her temperament would have fit more with zhao'er then with yuwen yong. Otherwise she did what she needed to do. And she was able to showcase her emotions correctly without making it cringy. I am a huge merxat fan so i might be biased, but he did good. He is someone who will put his 110% into something no matter how big or small the part is. I only watched this show for him, so I am glad he was good in it. He was really able to showcase essentially the different sides of Yuwen Yong and make it feel natural. He is possessive, a walking red flag. But he also loves her genuinely and has a boy-ish part of him that's not seen often. You can see the internal strife in him most of the time, when something switches and he can go from calm to being dominant the next moment. It is not his best role but it is a very good job he did.
Music: Hmmmm nothing memorable. It was a romance ost where they were trying to make it too modern at times.
Rewatch Value: not a rewatchable show. when you end the show wth such a jarring ending it really makes things feel lackluster. I knew how it ended before i finished it and I was like "when she gonna die?". It doesn't hit the same.
Overall: can we get a show where merxat actually gets a girl in the end? it is getting old fast, and kind of rude. overall, the low budget of the drama was obvious throughout the show. it was upsetting since it was a good cast. it is not the worst show I've watched but its upsetting. it was a waste of merxat's talent because i know he can do so much with his skills. i will be fighting his manager over this. he was very handsome in this role, even though his makeup and wig were so bad. I will forever be crying over him in the armor though, my favorite outfit. otherwise, eh. watch it if you like cheesy romances with some death. its a quick watch.

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Great Wigs

Story: 8.5/10: the story was nothing spectacular and its funny how everything was fengnians plan all along. so everything fit like a puzzle piece. while I liked xu fengnain i really liked the little side stories they had about people he would encounter. The tale of Xuanyuan was the best arc, and the father literally sacrificing himself for his daughter reduced me to tears. Otherwise, it was a typical palace/political drama at times. The cast-out emperor's son wanted to become emperor. That being said Zhao Kai is a FASCINATING character and I wish he did not die. He had his reasons for doing things, and while it would have thrown the country into chaos, I want him to be happy. He deserves love and a family, and he deserves a hug. And some soup. I know him and Xu Fengnian would have been great friends, so its upsetting that his story had to end this way.
Acting/Cast: I do not think I went into this drama knowing much people in the cast. All I know is Xi Fengnians dad (I call him Papi Xu) and Meng Ziyi. Which she had a small role. Otherwise the acting was..well acting. Nothing was immensely insane that it left me with chills but they did what they needed to do. I was not a fan of Jiang Ni's actress. Now I am unsure if it is because of how the character was written, and then given the directors notes OR if the actor just resorted to pouting through all her lines. She was a character I found skipping over her scenes. I did like her backstory and I felt that she should have packed more a punch. As well, I know the bio of MDL says she is 12 years old, and if she is then that makes me extremely uncomf with everything.
Music: It did what it needed to do, but nothing stood out. Not a memorable ost.
Rewatch Value: I mean it can be rewatched, do not think I will. But it is a show you can easily have on in the background.
Overall: I want to shout out who ever was in charge of the wigs in this show. I have a huge issue with wigs in shows when you can visibly see their lace front, and the wigs in this show was amazing. I was in love with Xu Fengnians wig before I even watched the show. I also loved how the color grading of the show was similar to Nirvana on Fire. It was not too bright and garish and everything was kind of muted. While some of the fighting was eh, I did like that we had a lot of fighting scenes. It made sense since the show was about the martial arts world. I liked the show and I am excited for season 2.

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Worth the Tears

This movie is not for the faint of heart, esp if you do not like movies where the dog is put in a dangerous situation over and over again. It is quite anxiety-inducing.
Story: it is a straightforward plot with some twists and turns. Not knowing actually how it would end. This was based on a true story, so that makes it even more upsetting to watch knowing that a dog had this tenacity to find its original owner. I will not spoil the end of the movie but just know you will probably be crying. I like how they kind of twisted in morals regarding how we treat dog into the story, while also throwing in the product placements. ABCMaps and Purina dog food.
Acting/Cast: But I watched this movie for Ying Haoming, as an international fan getting to see Chinese movies is so hard but I was thankful to find it on youtube. He is essentially acting with a dog for the majority of his time on screen. And it is gut-wrenching. His crying felt so real, that I was crying I think 10 minutes into the movie and by the end, I was sobbing into my 4ft bear on my bed. The acting of the dog was also great! While I can not comment a lot on a dog's acting, you can tell by his mannerisms and whines the dog's emotions. But I will never shut up Ying Haoming's raw acting in this movie.
Music: the music was essentially a main lead. without the music the dogs scenes would be stagnant. it pushed the feeling fo the scene, and helped guide your emotions. whether it is a chase scene or a sad, depressing scene in the cold. it gave hopeful feelings and left me screaming in other times.
Rewatch: sometimes when a movie has such an overwhelming emotional story, it can be hard to rewatch but those initial feelings have already been used the first time. so you will not get the same reaction the subsequent times. but I would re-watch this. The acting, and warm fuzzy moments showing the bond between human and dogs is such a strong part of its reachability.

Overall: It is a quick movie, and it is a movie that will induce teras. And it is worth it. I am so happy I found the link (with 97) views and watched it. Ying Haoming is one of my favorite actors, and he was amazing in it and so was the dog.

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Weak Ending, lots of crying

Story : going into this show i was skeptical. i have watched kdramas before this, so I was curious why locals were shoving this show in my face. i was surprised while watching it, that it was indeed good. but i think what i got out of it, is different then what other people may have taken out. while we understand the reason for the games, and the meaning behind the show (something that goes over people's heads), i really enjoyed the characters. i am a sang woo apologist, and his character fascinated me. i enjoy having background stories for each person, because it opens up the ability for us to feel when they are eliminated. the ending was...odd. but it was in a sense, closure for Seong Gi-Hun. While I am upset with the red hair dye and not getting on the plane, it leaves open the idea of a season 2. but since almost the whole lovable cast was killed off...i am not sure about that.
Acting: the acting (as to be expected by these names) was stellar. not a dry eye in episode 6. and esp the last scene for sang woo.
Music : i always appreciate shows who actually create a whole new soundtrack for a show, and make it so quirky that it fits. But also makes it so dramatic at the right time that it hurts.
Rewatch Value: i think the shock value of the show makes it not rewatchable. that being said. i am more intrigued in the relationships between he characters as the show progresses so i would only re-watch it for that reason.
Overall: i think it is a good show. not the best kdrama i have watched but good. i will only say its overhyped because of what the western media has turned it into (Mr. beast I'm looking at you). i always laugh that we need to gatekeep kdramas, and this feels like it. i enjoyed watching it, and was exciting to be introduced to new actors.

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Fell Flat For Me

Story: the story was pretty one note for me, and fell flat a lot of times. it seemed repetitive, and there was way more flashbacks then i think we needed, esp of scenes we already saw before. i do not watch romance dramas, so i knew going into it i would dislike the romance story, and it felt also pushed into the plot rather then a large plot point. i think the show would have been successful without any romance at all, and just political drama. it had a good backdrop of the drama when it came the palace and the harem, but they were not given the same attention as the main CP. I was even intrigued by YaoGui valley a lot, but that was also not given the same attention as the Qin Household.
Acting/Cast: I knew going into this that ZZH and MR are good actors. I am an MR (Mi Re) fan so I knew that I would be rooting for him, but I expected ZZH to have something else in this role. While Prince Qin was a flat role it left me not caring for his end goal and for his romance. He had some scenes where he showed emotion but to have that has the main lead is weird since its hard for the audience to connect. Now I did not like JJY's acting. She at times felt one-demonsional. I was not sure why, but she did not feel natural to me when she acted. While she is a pretty face I do not believe her acting was amazing, but she did what she needed to do. Now for Merxat I can go on and on, since I am one of his fans. But I can say that I really enjoyed his acting. I can be critical of persons acting even if I stan them, but I do believe he stole every scene he was in and his emotions were portrayed with so much raw power, and naturalness that I felt the pain he was in. He created a character that completely fleshed out in mannerisms, quirks, and microexpressions that I felt Qishao was one of the most well-rounded characters in the show.
I do think the supporting cast did a good job (I liked the actor for Tang Li and for Concubine QIng).
Music: I can only remember two of the OST's for this show so it is not memorable for me.
Rewatch Value: I would not watch it fully again. I may watch some scenes again because of the emotional power they had (mainly Qishao's scenes) but this is not a drama I would enjoy watching again.

Overall, I think the show was too many episodes and it needed more closure. I appreciate the costumes and the ambiance the show created. I think if you are a fan of the actors you are more likely to watch the show since it drags on and gets too repetitive. I caught myself dozing off or fighting to continue an episode. Thank being said, I do believe that Merxat did an amazing job in this role, and if it was not for him playing the role of Qishao and carrying the emotion through emotionally charged scenes it would not have succeeded. The show needed some editing but it was not the worst show I have watched,

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Bromance overload, with a side of "what?"

Story
As a DMBJ fan its not the best-woven tale, but it does a good job of setting up the lore for the consequential DMBJ shows. Now, I went into this show knowing none of the actors and frankly confused most of the time. The DMBJ universe is known for poorly written females and this show went along with this trope. I also believe that if you are to watch a DMBJ show you must understand that the plot will not normally make sense. I have come to terms with tht, and have not thought much about the plot holes. It will hurt your head more.

I really enjoyed the character of XinYue in the hotel arc but really was upset with her after she joined them back in Changsha. She was shown to be witty, not caring about how people viewed her, wore men's clothes, gambled. But once she saw Zhang Qishan she changed into wearing very frilly dresses, and her hair is always done. She changed who she was for a man she barely knew. And a man who rejected her over and over again. He essentially was bullied into allowing her to stay in his house, and she disobeyed him over and over. I felt no chemistry between the two, even though they have acted with one another before. It was disappointing to say the least that she become a tool for him to be “humanized” when he didn't need that. He already was a human without her. I dont think she aided much in the story, nor did their romance. I did not see much development in their romance and he was always eager to push her away. UNTIL the arc where he kind of loses it and he only is kind to her, but assaults his literal best friend. I will not go into that, but I do not think their relationship was healthy to begin with. As the "main romance' in the show I was annoyed that they tried to push it on us, while Zhang Qishan literally didn't need a wife.

Yatou and Er Ye were such a tragic couple. While Yatou was a weak woman who did need her man to protect her, I did like her. I was upset at her death and I just wanted all women to leave him alone. I think it was rude of XY to push her cousin onto him when he was very much still in mourning. Er Ye was also terribly written. I know he could have been a stronger and snarkier character, but they dulled him down after the death of Yatou. I did really like his fighting scenes though because he had a very fluid way of fighting. He got better as the show went on, but most of the time I wanted to yell at him. The writers making him see images of Yatou wherever he went was...a choice. But I wish we had more time to understand the couple and why they loved one another so strongly.

The story in a way was straight forward. The Japanese and Americans are working together to do experiments, and bring down Mystic Nine and Changsha. There are delusional big bads who can't think for themselves. And the merry band of brothers will die for one another and for the safety of Changsha. I think the story leaned TOO MUCH on showing us what the villains were doing. I could care less about their whereabouts. Chen Pi was a character that made me audibly groan every time he appeared on the screen because of my disdain for him. Cox Hendry was someone that I have never liked anyway, but his snark made me laugh at times. Miss Huo was an interesting character.

For me the best part of the plot was actually Zhang Qishan and his right hand men. There is no secret the bond that ZQS shares a bond with Er Ye, Qi Tiezui and Zhang Rishan. They were the trope, “through love and trust, we will defeat the villain”. Since episode two we know the relationship between ZQS and QTZ runs deep. And while we never get the full explanation of their friendship there is enough scenes and actions to know that these two would die for one another without a second thought. QTZ is the force behind ZQS, and Cox Hendry even suspected that QTZ was the reason why the Buddha statue was moved. Engraving Fo Ye into the history of Changsha forever. I yearned for more backstory behind Er Ye and Fo Ye and was upset we did not have more. They fight well together and seem to always be in a tumultuous relationship, always at one another throats. But that is it. They seemed to always be tense around one another, but in the end they worked with one another and had the same goal. Zhang Rishan was essentially Zhang Qishan’s witty lap dog, but he grew in the story. He was someone else who would do anything for Fo ye, and in the end he would do anything for Ba Ye.

While Ba Ye is listed as comic relief for many people, I think people tend to ignore that without him, Fo ye would be dead multiple times over. He is very cunning and extremely manipulating. Where the goofiness in him seems more like a facade at times so people's guard will be down. He is very serious at times and is known for basically convincing people to do things with very little work. He is also extremely smart and knows a lot a knowledge, aka they need in order to survive most of the time.

Acting/Cast
Honestly, a good cast. For me, the stand out was Ying Haoming (Hanson Ying) as Qi Tiezui. He was honestly the one who held the tone of the show and was the most human. I believe that without out then Zhang Qishan would not have landed as well. ZQS is an arrogant man who acts with a large ego that not many people actually seem to enjoy his company. While QTZ is someone who doesn't seem to enjoy being around people and prefers the company of a few. And yet they work with one another, and bounce off each other well. I think this was because of the friendship between William and Ying Haoming and they were able to work well in these roles. (they have been friends since 2013, and behind-the-scenes shows they were close even sharing friends). The touches, glances, and looks they shard with one another helped solidify the "they were each others, first friend".

With this show, Zhang Mingen (zhang rishan), LAY (Er Yuehong) both debuted. While William Chan earned a wax statue for this role as Zhang Qishan. And Ying Haoming (Qi Tiezui) was given an award for this role, and this was considered his stand-out role. I do not think I would enjoyed this show as much if it wasn't for the four of these actors and what they brought to the characters. I always laugh that Ying Haoming is literally became Qi Tiezui. He was able to become small and cowardly when he needed. But then also stood tall and acted as Zhang Qishan’s guard dog. I can talk for hours about his success in the role.

I had no qualms with anyone acting per se. I just think better writing with the females would have made the acting stronger. But they frankly didn't have much to work with compared to the other people. I know Zhao Liying and Crystal Yuan are better actors and I have seen them in roles that I enjoy. I just blame the poor writing for the most part.

I think all the actors pulled their weight and are the reason for the success of that show.

Music
I love this OST. It was funky at the right times, and it fit the show. I do love the theme song that Wiliam Chan.

Rewatch Value
I have rewatched it multiple times, so I guess it is good. I do not think the entire show is rewatchable. I skip a lot of scenes and focus more on the tombs and high-action moments. Sorry, XinYue but I skip all of her scenes.

Overall
It is not the best show and not my favorite show. But it is one of the shows that keeps me thinking. Not because of the lore but because of the characterizations. The show introduced us to so many people that of course, it is easy to get lost into who these people are and their backstories. But because of this, we get lost in this and do not get to actually see more of the main characters growing. Even though the people who were main characters, Xinyue and Yatou, were not present a lot. I think if the story focused on the actual main characters it would have been more streamlined and easier to get behind at times. But i should not go almost an entire episode of just the Japanese and their backers before I even get a smidge of Fo Ye.

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It is a romance show...

Story
The editing for this show was frankly all over the place and so was this story. I only watched for the romance between Xu Shijin and Shen Yu (I do admit that flat out) and did not care for Liu Ling and Shen Yan's story. So I will admit that skipped most of their scenes together. Actually, I skipped a lot of Liu Ling's scenes of her being sad over him or thinking of him. I think there was a lack of actual development with the characters because they pushed romance at us (3 couples) and political turmoil, palace drama, etc. And nothing was really well developed for me. Even the relationship between Xu Shijin and Shen Yu was not developed., and it felt like immense tension. I do love mutual pining, but I really wanted to see her side of things. We knew he was in love since he wears his heart on his sleeve. It was just disappointing that the show did too much in the time they had.
I think having the third couple get together in the last episode is frankly lazy writing, and it made me feel nothing. AS WELL, I DISLIKE HIGHLY how the storyline of Xu Shijin and Shen Yu ends with the true love knot being broken. It literally adds NOTHING to the story and is like a little "HAHA YOU THUNK". I was rooting for them and it was quite rude.
I WISH we got more political drama and palace drama in the show. Touba Lie and his kingdom of Yigu were really interesting and I kind of wanted more out of it. I think it was a missed opportunity. The ending felt so rushed and I literally felt zero emotions over the death of people. Overall, not a horrible show. But the story could have been a lot better.
I will say my favorite scenes was when we were actually able to see ZYC and MR fighting others, or one another. I know MR is good with stunt work and fight scenes (he has done a decent amount for movies and other shows), but I am glad that ZYC was good as well.
Acting/Cast
I knew when the cast was announced that they were going to do great. This is my first drama though with ZYC and he did really well since I know this cold demeanor is not at all like him. I watched a live stream when the show was initially airing and he has such an annoying personality (in a big brother way) that this character was def different than his personality.
Crystal Yuan must have done a good job for me to dislike the character of Liu Ling so much. She was not a bad actor at all, and she played the complicated character of Liu Ling quite well. All of her emotions were different and she saw her slowly maturing and growing. In the end, she did actually act like a wife and a mature young woman, rather than the very spoiled woman at the start of the show. So I commend her on that.
NOW I watched this drama for Mi Re. The only reason I sat through this show, and it was worth it. He is someone who never tends to play characters similar to his personality (he is extremely introverted, and to himself) so I loved seeing him being mischievous as Shen Yu. Also FINALLY he got a girl. He is notorious for being 2ML and not getting the girl, or the one time he was ML and she died. He also usually dies a lot so seeing him have a happy ending was so rewarding. I remember before airing saying MR would gain a lot of fans from this role, and be commended. So I am disappointed that most people do not mention him too often in this show since he did a great job. Between being stoic when needed, but also the fun loving flirting side of him. But still making it the same character overall.
I want to say good job on ZYC and MR on acting like brothers. Sometimes siblings in shows don't always come across awesome, but they had the bickering down solid. Even though they both had wildly different personalities, they still cared for one another, and also appreciated one another.
Music
You have Liu Yuning singing the theme song so I am going to be in love with the OST. And we had Zhou Shen singing the ending ost. They put a lot of money into this drama and the OST. Even the promotion for this show was insane. The billboards in China for the finale. All of the photoshoots they did. Having them CONSTANTLY together for little skits, douyin trends, reaction videos, live streams.
Rewatch Value
I frankly wont, but I also have very little shows I am willing to rewatch. This will not be one of them.

I do want to shout out the wig and costume department. The wigs were laid correctly and they looked natural. The ponytail that ZYC had and that MR wore for a hot second was so nice. I thnk I screamed when MR appeared in it. The costumes were also splendid and really showed the personality of the wearer. I think Shen Yu had the most varied costumes, since his professional self was very different then his brooding self. While Shen Yan kind of always felt stuffy even though his hair was "out" which is very much his personality. He was not free while Shen Yu is (the large sleeves, the many layers with different textures, his hair being more free flowing). The girls costumes were also great and it highlighted the position they held and them maturing.

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Amazing Costumes lackluster plot

I watched this show because I fell in love with the actor who played You Tong (Mi Re). I was not sure what I was going into beside it was romance (my least favorite genre) and that it had the typical love triangle. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the opening song, it was amazing. As well, the lead actors did a good job with this show. While I feel that the plot of the show was very slow, and made no sense at the time the actors did what they had to do, and made it bearable.
I had extreme second lead syndrome for You Tong. I wish there was a demon who would sweep me off my feet and buy me a dance studio haha. I can not speak enough about his costumes (especially his wedding outfit) and the need to have him shirtless so often.
I also believe that QIngCheng deserved neither of the men, and they should have someone better. I was sad that QingCheng feelings were so inconsistent that they hurt other people. The deaths in the show were extremely upsetting, and I caught myself crying at times. I was very upset about the ending for You Tong, I believed as a character they weakened him for the female to feel something rather for her to actually learn naturally.
In the end, I believe if it was not for the acting of Zhang ZheHan, Li YiTong and Mi Re then the show would not have done well.

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Best Drama I Watched in a While

SPOILER ABOUT THE END OF THE SHOW:
I was apprehensive to watch this title because I was always watching costume dramas. But I was taken aback by the extreme love and tenderness the leads showed each other. Huang XiaoMing (played Cheng FengTai) and Yin Zheng (played Shang XiRui) are great an acting pair and were able to show the harshness of the incoming war and the love they had for one another. Yin Zheng flourished in every scene he had, and he was constantly stealing the limelight for others. His ability to switch from the reckless, impulsive Shang XiRui to the elegant dan singer on stage was amazing. I was constantly waiting for the next episode, and it was always on my mind. If not for this drama, I would not have found one of my favorite actors (Mi Re) who plays the support role of Fan Lian.
The ending still hurts to this day, not knowing if he got on the train or if he stayed in BeiPing with his troupe. But everyone that he cares for already left his life in some way so I feel he left opera behind the follow Cheng FengTai and FengYi. I can not speak enough about the costumes, actors, stylization, and the set of this show. It was a show that felt so real and raw that it made me forget the place I was in. I was transported to their time, and I sensed their urgency and their love. I wish we had more episodes to tie up the loose ends with everyone's story. Or to give us more time with SXR and CFT, but in the end the smile in the snow will always bring me to tears.
I can not thank Yu Zheng and HuanYu enough for bringing this book to life. While the novel is different in many ways compared to the show the show breathed the overall plot and overwhelming love to life. Characters were changed, some characters were more present, but in the end, it was the same feeling when it ended.
I know a drama is important when the actors in the role love it. The actors in the show have shown their support for thier show, the role they played, and for one another. Love was used creating this masterpiece and I believe that it shows.

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