Forgot to say that ending OST is very beautiful. People should pay more attention to XianXia/Wuxia and historical c-dramas OSTs. It would make their understanding of the stories less binary.
Ning is such a nice kid. I need now a second season with him and uncle Qian Qing slaying and keeping Great Qi safe ;) I truly hope there will come a day when people stop complaining about HExSE. This drama only mistake was CangCang's character development. She should have more prominence and leadership. But overall, this drama had a lot of emotional and beautiful parts, happy and sad at the same time. We were given unbreakable friendship (CangCang/Zhong Lin), conflicted brotherhood (Don't you just loved Qian Qing character?!), two pitiful princesses ( but certainly pitiful in different ways), love story cut short for both the emperor and his most loyal soldier, evil queen buried alive, a trapped turned evil queen who lost her son, and ultimately a loyal, responsible, smart, badass , resilient and tragic emperor. My favorite arc was Mo Er's story, and the saddest part was the miscarriage medicine scene when I cried my eyes out for Xiao Huan. Phoenix Terrace being the scenario for most of the story turning points was a detail worth to pay attention to, along with the great acting with no filters. This drama is for the strongest hearts. I agree the screenplay has some problems, but wouldn't give it less than 8-8,5/10.
👏to the comments in support of Cangcang . The once carefree girl forced into marriage , forced to drink abortion…
The main problem for me is that her distrust is directed solely towards the emperor. The emperor was the target of all her resentment; he was the one she chose to hurt, while her father, brother, and even her master, even after she discovered who the master was, received not a single drop of hatred or resentment. She was poisoned after drinking her father's honey milk and wasn't capable of connecting the dots. I sympathize with all that she is feeling but the girl must start to use her brain if she wants to stop being manipulated.
such a masterpiece and people are too early too judge the drama... I don't understand why ... if the story doesn't…
I don't like how the FL is portrayed, but still my rate is 8.5 and I will review it at the end. The story is good, no filter, great acting, good choreographed fights, direction and as you said, it made me feel very sad at many moments.
At least it is fast paced. The story is unfolding very quick, I wonder if we will get this emotional roller coaster until ep.35 and wish they give us more fight scenes. Although the emperor is sick, Ren JiaLun gives him such a badass aura that I'm dying to see him fight!! Xiao brothers dynamics is pretty fun too!
I can't wait to see the emperor fighting!!! Happy that he let CangCang go. Will she finally have a taste of real life or will she continue to be all brain but no brain?
His tears...I'm so sad :( 100% agree that CangCang is naive and I would say also blind and very confused person. She saw how sad he was and how he looked "so grim" in her own words, and still doubted his love.
The old school drama vibe is such a charm. I needed this inside palace conspiracy plot with regular production so you can pay attention on actors/actresses skills and acting resources. Modern visual effects are cool, but sometimes CGI-3D-AI make me look away from actors expressions to the action.
Nice start. An after marriage drama with a short and efficient flashback. Mature Ren JiaLun looks so cool. I'm impressed by his acting, or maybe the character was perfect for him ;)
I just loved it!! The drama may have some story line flaws, but I think it is due to 40 episodes limit. It is just that I needed more explanations for motivations, and story and character development. But it's my personal taste, I'm a huge fan of 40-60 ep dramas :) As everyone has said, Luo Yun Xi's acting was magnificent, this man is ART!! But Alen Fang and Jeremy Tsui (oh god I miss him) also delivered excellent acting given the difficulty of their roles . FLs did a great job too! I'm specially happy for Sabrina Chen. This was the first time that my heart felt light after an ending like that. It's as if, from my house, I could feel all the goodness that Tang LiCi believed was intrinsic to humans. I felt that his mission had been accomplished: well done Tang LiCi!!! Last, where was Fu Zhu Mei ??? I have waited until the last seconds for him to make an appearance!! You gotta be kidding me. The world's collapsing and the guy was tucked away in a kitchen? !? All in all, beautiful, beautiful drama, it's a 9/10 for me.
It's a good candidate for best historical c-drama of the year. Let's see how it will end, but so far I like how mature are the story, characters and most of the dialogues.
It didn't finish yet, but Whispers of Fate is already my favorite c-drama of the year and the only one I will give 9/10. 2025 was a little disappointing, but Luo Yun Xi saved it at the very ending :)
This was somehow...different? I don't care about who gets more screen time, as long as the script is coherent which seems to be the case here. I loved the FL/ML companionship and their "response-ability" with the world. The dragon and Rumu's love was a beautiful love story, and Chang Hua Sen was super cute as a "dog". Technically it was a very well produced drama too. The only thing that annoyed me in the whole drama were the evil characters - they were silly, plain, sometimes dumb. But I am happy with the ending. All we need in this world and society is peace and love :)
It is just a little pet that likes teddy bears and to chat with Xing Shen....
Zhong Lin being from another sect came out of nowhere, at least for me....did I miss something?
100% agree that CangCang is naive and I would say also blind and very confused person. She saw how sad he was and how he looked "so grim" in her own words, and still doubted his love.
As everyone has said, Luo Yun Xi's acting was magnificent, this man is ART!! But Alen Fang and Jeremy Tsui (oh god I miss him) also delivered excellent acting given the difficulty of their roles . FLs did a great job too! I'm specially happy for Sabrina Chen.
This was the first time that my heart felt light after an ending like that. It's as if, from my house, I could feel all the goodness that Tang LiCi believed was intrinsic to humans. I felt that his mission had been accomplished: well done Tang LiCi!!!
Last, where was Fu Zhu Mei ??? I have waited until the last seconds for him to make an appearance!! You gotta be kidding me. The world's collapsing and the guy was tucked away in a kitchen? !?
All in all, beautiful, beautiful drama, it's a 9/10 for me.