I really enjoyed this drama telling the tale of a woman and the three important men in her life. There are very mixed reactions to this drama so I will be upfront; this isn't a pure romance drama like the excellent 10 Mile Peach Orchard or the flawed but very romantic The General and I. So if you are in it for romance romance romance, this might not be for you. Also, Bin Bin isn't the lead.... Yes, let that sink in for a moment. Truthfully, 50% of the complaints are about this situation. I watched them together in The King's Woman and that is a romance centric drama and they have chemistry in spades. But it is what it is and truthfuly I ended up fast forwarding through almost every scene the leads weren't in in TKS.

First the Cons:

1. Not so much about the drama but the synopsis. It's horrible wherever you see it. Someone on the page wrote a new better one if you want to take a look. This is unfortunate because the drama throws you right into the story and we are there figuring things out on our own. It took me three episodes to adjust; however, this isn't necessarily a negative to me. I actually kind of liked just figuring things out and checking out MDL if I needed some insight. I do miss Dramafever's episode pages because there is always someone who has read the book and this really has helped me with other dramas from Cheese in the Trap to 10 Mile Peach Orchard.

2. The drama sagged a bit in the middle. I do want to disagree with some who thought it was all filler. It wasn't. It was getting all the characters in place for the second half so because there is quite a cast of characters, this took a # of episodes. Basically stuff happened in these episodes, but the romance definitely wasn't front and center, and most viewers realistically are there for the romance.

3. I can't get into details because of spoiler territory and someone who read the book might have insight but it has to do with the birth secret (that's not a spoiler, we know going in), and someone looking like someone else. I'll leave it there.

Now to the Pros:

1. I just really liked the story. I liked that every character - Every Single One - is fully fleshed out. The characters aren't cookie cutter. Their motivations aren't as simple as good/evil. Rather there are shades of gray that seem more reality based in a non-reality type story. I liked this a lot. There is not some higher purpose to this drama; it's just a story about these peoples lives over a few years time. I like that the three men are more nuanced than we might believe; not a cookie cutter arrogant jerk in the bunch (not even Bin Bin).

2. Acting: No problems here. I've heard some had issues with Dilraba. I'm fine with her though I don't love love love her. There was no performance that hindered my enjoyment of this drama. I want to do a shout out to Vic Chou for taking on such a whimsical character the likes I've never seen before in an Asian drama. It took a bit to wrap my head around it but it ended up really working for me.

3. The best action scenes/choreography that I've seen in a Chinese drama...ever. Dilraba with the whip. Even if you choose not to watch. Check out some of her scenes (not the bloopers) on You Tube. All the actors had their chance to shine. Awesome.

4. Production Value: It is from the same team as 10 Mile Peach Orchard. Sets were amazing, costumes on point though whoever designed Vic Chou's hairstyle could have perhaps come up with something else. $$ was spent on this and it shows.

5. Writing: Okay this should probably be the first thing since it is the most imporant, for me anyway. Again, you will be thrown in not knowing what is going on. I just went in and figured things out when the audience did and I actually found it refreshing and just went with it but could be frustrating for new drama watchers. The first half of the drama is learning the lay of the land in all these relationships, the middle episodes get characters in place for culmination of drama which is well paced imo. It is my understanding that the writer of the novel didn't even know how she was going to end her book. I'm just going to say it given what I have learned about the book, I actually think the screenwriter improved on the original work.

6. Side Characters: I read somewhere that someone judged dramas on how the writer treats the non-lead characters. Let's face it, many times they are filler. Every character in this drama has a story thread and we know where they are all in the end. Some wanted more of some favorite characters, but you know the situation they are all in and how they are dealing with it but the focus is where I want it.

So as you can tell, I liked it quite a bit and it left me satisfied. Some complaints that others had that I didn't or just didn't think were a big deal: Where's the smexy? Okay, I get it but - again - not as romance centric in the sense of this girl is 100% ending up with this guy (because, hey, the writer of the book took a while to figure it out and then the screen writer switched things up.) Therefore, this drama is romantic but not sexy and, realistically, she's got a broken heart to start off with at episode 1. So the smexy is just not gonna happen here. Some indicated a lack of chemistry with everyone but Bin Bin, but I actually think a writer could have written a romance with each of the three guys and made it work. Some just found it blah.

One last thought about why this worked for me is that some of the same type characters we see in these dramas didn't pop up or, if they did, it was limited: the pyscho obsessed woman comes to mind. Nope not so much here. As much as I love 10 Mile Peach Orchard, 70% of the leads love story was moved forward because of one character. Not here. This drama has some similar character types but it's limited and not as narrowly portrayed (Exp: crown prince fighting for throne type stuff.)

So this is a 9 out of 10 for me. Maybe I'm in a generous mood because I just watched the last episode but here's the deal: I maybe fast forwarded through 30 minutes of 52 episodes at about 40 to 45 minutes each. I don't think I've ever skipped less than that because generally there is a storyline I don't care about. So if you jump in and you are not feeling it by 15ish , this might not be for you and my apologies. The point off is for the question/inconsistency I had but can't get into, and I do think things could have been explained along the way here and there a tad bit better....and okay, I'll admit it, a little more smexy would have been nice.

General Warning: Beginning and ending credit/songs show a mountain a spoilers so beware.