I’ll start by saying, to some extent I almost wish I’d never found this drama. I’m at the end and it’s genuinely a painful experience. As if I will be parting with a friend and there may not be an experience like this again. This drama was found randomly. Bored on a Saturday, haven’t touched a drama in a year, I decided to go back to my masochistic ways of torturing myself with plots I never finish. My dropped list speaks volumes. Signed on to viki, laughed at the corny name and thought this would be a parody but boy was I wrong! This drama has wrecked everything. I have never watched a drama like this. I am the fickle and picky type who even if there’s a drama I like, interest wanes at around the ten episode mark as dramas recede to known formulas as they run out of ideas. This drama I reached episode 30 in feverish captivation, 5 AM, episode 15, forcing myself awake and splashing water on my face. At work it was blood shot eyes, yawns and excuses of not sleeping well. Not of course that a Chinese drama has taken over my life that I don’t answer phone calls. Now that I’ve rambled, here’s the review. This is just so expletively interesting and catered to my tastes that this drama is at this point is probably the best drama I’ve ever watched. The story at the surface is a battle for the throne but it is layered with well complemented sub plots and revelations that shook me. The story is of a political nature and so well-crafted it’s almost disgusting. I tell you, two guys talking politics has never been so interesting. The central character of this storyline is Mei Chang Su. A brilliant and ailing strategist with a hidden agenda that unfolds throughout the story. He is the most realistic hero we’re possibly ever going to get. He’s caring but also a realist. Ready and willing to recognize that sacrifices have to be made in order to fulfill his goal. He’s adorable, arrogant, and brilliant yet also such a devastating character. He’s main goal is to make one of the prince’s the emperor, his reasons, you’ll have to watch to know. The antagonists in this story truly elevate this plot. There will be different antagonists as this is a fight for the throne. However, each antagonist is different and just as well done as the main hero. The villains in this tale also have their own stories, their own agendas and ambitions which at times captivates you. They’re not in this story solely to antagonize the hero for some mundane reasons. There are also these emotional moments where we are forced into sympathy for some of these villains, forced to understand them and it’s frighteningly delightful. Other than the antagonists, the supporting characters definitely brighten and add to this drama. In a lot of dramas, a lot of the supporting characters are fodder, but in this, they induce humor or simple bitter sweet moments that make you remember them. Female characters are also a bonus that is done well. I swear if all political dramas were this well crafted, I would be a happy gal. It's the perfect blend of well thought out strategies and my gosh, when was the last time you watched a drama with a well thought out strategy? I'll start by saying none even match up to this. To end this, I confess, I know nothing of the actors and don't really ever venture into Chinese dramas (I've held the opinion they are pretty terrible...) yet weirdly, two of my favorite historical dramas (This and Scarlet heart) have come from China. As my name suggests, here is a picky musing that doesn't really change anything about this drama. Passage of time – I swear winter lasted about thirty episodes even though about only half a year had passed. It’s not particularly jarring but at times, I do wonder how much time has passed as it’s somewhat ambiguous but the drama cleverly lets you know when characters interact. It’s actually brilliantly done. Simple lines like “It’s been half a year since you came to the capital.” Nonetheless, I feel like this whole drama passed in the winter, with a splice of summer but my strongest memories are the puffs of air from the characters. I'm definitely giving this a masterpiece rating because this marks the first time I have ever watched this many episodes of any drama period. Plus, I can't think of anything significant that stopped me from enjoying this plot.