"A good bone structure,
what's so special about these bones?
Even the royal family fears them,
and all the people in the land praise them."

I, like most people, awaited episode 16 knowing episodes 17-24 were coming out on the same night. I said "I'll pace myself..." Needless to say it was impossible for me to last more than these last two days! HAH. So here's my honest review on this.

STORY:
The early synopsis description of the show actually stated that ZSC 'died'. It didn't state that he was 'injured', I read that on a few fan sites, drama review sites including My Drama List. I think they changed it after a while realising that it might have been too detailed. I remember reading it thinking.. "Great, so I know what happens to him". I don't even think they should have mentioned that he got injured. So if you think about it, the storyline was already quite predictable. But like most period dramas, there's a lot of plotting, scheming, killing, heartbreak and love. I think in that sense, it's like any other drama within this genre.

PRODUCTION:
I think it's safe to say episode 1 was a real slow burner, so if you're struggling to get past it like I was (I watched it in 10 min intervals because I was loosing concentration), just know, you'll eventually get past it! It definitely picks up around episode 2-5 and by then if you're not hooked, then maybe it's not the show for you, but come back and try again!

I love that they filmed in real climates. All the snow scenes were beautiful! I also loved the way they edited the scenes. The cue's for all the music were just spot on. The library setup was my fave. I also like that all the action shots were up to parr, and not fake-looking or exaggerated.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of voiceovers. I see the need for it sometimes and I get why some directors/writers/producers might opt for it, but personally, I feel that this is a discredit to the actors who already put so much time and effort trying to memorise lines and act the scenes. I honestly couldn't get Shawn Dou's image out of my head every time Allen Ren spoke, but that's also because Bian Jiang voiced him in 'Tears in Heaven' too. It didn't ruin the show for me, but it made it really hard for me to be fully into Allen Ren. I know what Allen Ren actually sounds like—honestly, he doesn't sound that bad! He's a singer, like.. ???

Same with Bai Lu, I loved her in 'Love is Sweet' and thought she was already amazing as an actress, but I hadn't seen her in a period drama setting and I didn't think her actual voice was going to ruin the image of Shi Yi and I was curious about her portrayal. But all things considered, I was pleased with who they got as the voiceover actors and think they suited what a 'ZSC' and a 'ShiYi' should sound like. I love that the two of them are actually really great off-screen too. They're both just such extroverted people and you can tell they've got good chemistry!

CHARACTERS:
Shi Yi's inability to speak did drive me nuts in the earlier episodes and I was almost convinced she was going to speak like this the whole way through. Thankfully that stopped early on. I love the way Bai Lu portrayed her. Her smile made 16 year old Shi Yi look so innocent and it was great to see her character's growth through her change of looks. From the change of hair styles and even clothing colours.

Considering ZSC is supposed to be 25, I thought Allen played a rather convincing and matured ZSC, I almost wasn't sure about what their age gaps were which could make you believe that their relationship felt inappropriate (I know I did) but I love that they weren't too heavy on the romance for that very reason. I read a few comments below about people asking if he was going to kiss her and I can't believe that that's all some people look for. Cause can you imagine? 16's technically not a legal age! LOL.

I'm not saying there aren't plenty of CP moments (episodes 13-15 have plenty), but if you look past the need for any physical romance, there was such a deep and profound love between the two characters that didn't need to be publicly or verbally voiced out. There were many many things he did to show how much he cared for her and likewise with her—the writing of her name as their 'secret' in episode 17 was my fave because it was basically his declaration of his love for her. Shi Yi even says in episode 16, "I never had any wild thoughts, I really just want to be with him, and stay by his side, that's enough". You can definitely see that they could never have been anything more than the master/disciple relationship. *cue Forever and Ever.

PS - episodes 15-17, 23-24 will possibly require you to have tissues handy.

MUSIC:
I could instantly recognise Zhang BiChen's voice the minute her song played, I loved that they got her to sing the theme song for this. BUT my favourite would have to be Vanessa Lin's 'Ruo'. If this doesn't scream ShiYi, I don't know what else does.
"My obsession is silent,
I use all my life to guard only one person
I say nothing, only hoping to spend my life with you
I'm full of love for you
Waiting to unlock the years of time
Our eyes willl still be full of stars when we reunite"

<3

Overall, I still think they did an amazing job, and it's unlike any other Chinese Drama production that has thought to split their story in two timelines like this. I think that's a great idea and I wouldn't be surprise if we start to see more shows follow the same suite. Like many others, I'm awaiting to see what 'Forever and Ever' will hold for ZSC and ShiYi, because let's be real, that ending gave us all a heartache and we can't wait to see them finally have the ending they deserved.