Ok. Just finished this 5mins ago and i am burning with so much feels!

I’ll start with the good things about this drama. And bare in mind, i’m starting this show with 80% assurance that there will be tragic ending, so it’s not that the not happy ending is the thing that bugs me while watching.

-the chemistry between the FL and ML are thru the roof. From the first maybe 15episodes, they are still calling each other disciple-master, but somehow you get that theres more to them. No lovey dovey words, nor there are any kiss scene, but somehow, we know how in love they are. Which is basically what chinese dramas do best as compared to western ones (i hate when people kept commenting while watching chinese historical dramas for the leads to kiss already 🙄. Hello, this is chinese historical where basically for males to have a look at the female’s feet prior to marriage is considered taboo and disrespectful already, what more kissing or the french kiss you people from the west are clamouring for??)
-fight scenes are almost well executed and not cringey to watch. I’ll probably rate them 8/10
-costumes are aplenty and very beautiful for both the males and females. I especially like all the costumes for the palace scenes. They are all looking very majestic and flowy 😍
-the patriotism and ‘serving the country till death’ theme are very well potrayed and carried out thru the series.
-it’s quite refreshing to see such a character such as cui wenjun. She’s a matriarch alright, but still retain her humanity and respect almost all of shiyi’s decisions
-shiyi’s character is so mentally strong in my opinion. She is mature. She can still discern what she ought to do/her responsibilities as a daughter of a noble family even though she is head over heels in love. If zhousheng chen did not die unjust-fully like that, i bet she will carry on being such a powerful support to the country


Issues:
-the ML and FL’s look/beauty are something that grew on me. Not a fan of first FL’s look when she was younger but then she grows beautifully after. Props to the dresser/MUA. And i have a little issue with ML’s look initially due to finding him quite similar to Young Master Mo in Legend on Hua BuQi. Lol.
-the master-disciple love story may be slight disturbing at first, what with they equating them to ‘once a master, always a father’ sort of statement at start of the story, but then, with their narrow age gap and zhousheng chen being the ‘one woman man’ that he is, i grow to accept the love between the 2 leads afterwards
-liu zixing’s affection towards shiyi is basically creeping me out from start to finish. He’s complete obsessed lunatic i tell you!
-not sure what disciple shiyi is meant to be when she’s being sent to Nanshen Wangfu. I mean, it’s not like she has the build for or the motive for learning how to fight a war. The plot of master-disciple is quite shaky and unconvincing imho 🤷🏼‍♀️

Ok. That being said, what’s left is basically my biggest pet peeve regarding the plot!

Like, the hell with zhousheng chen??!!! I understand why he swore his earlier oaths like not setting foot in the central plain again and even not getting married and having child of his own. Truly, he’s a powerful Wangye. So, his oaths are just basically to remove himself from threatening the throne. But pray tell me what the hell is he thinking just basically surrender himself to slaughter by someone who are very clearly not fit for throne (liu zixing) and a traitor/outsider (jin rong) than claiming the throne himself and do right by the country??! If it’s only about honoring his previous oath, then he had no problem setting foot in central plain after he swore not to? And it’s not like he’s taking the throne from someone rightful, like his brother, or his nephew liu hui. Even the little emperor liu zizhen is forced to abdicate by the traitor liu zixing, so what kind of rightful emperor are you surrendering youself to?? I mean, that is just plain stupid and selfish of someone of his standing. He knows that he is unjustly accused and put to death, and knows that this will not sit right with the ministers and his uncles/elders (who btw are dropping like flies being killed due to his surrender) and also his battalions of Nanshen Royal Soldier and generals, who are obviously going to rebel in order to revenge him. What peace are you preserving by surrendering?? And did he even spare a thought to shiyi, his so called beloved disciple who are still, at his time of surrender, who is still trapped to marry liu zixing, the very one who ordered all this massacre?? He just goes on his merry way to death, like it is even honourable?? For me, at that point of events, the more honorable way to go is to put down the rebellion/traitor, pick up the throne and govern your country (you know you are better than the ones currently usurping the power. You are even from the royal liu family at birth, so it’s not like you are not qualified even though you already change the surname previously 🙄). You can even bring liu zizhen up and properly nurture him to become a good emperor and abdicate the throne to him later if you detest the throne so much! But he went the chicken route and surrender rather than braving the way and do the right thing. I mean, i kept on watching the coronation scenes so many times it drives me crazy! Hahaha. What ‘long live the king’?? No king lives that long in my opinion. Lol. And alas, the throne went back to liu zizhen, the child emperor who cant even govern properly by himself. 🙄🙄
And obviously, his decision will lead to shiyi’s death as no woman in love will stoop so low as to allow herself to marrying the one who she’s convinced killed the love of her life wrongly and is not the rightful ruler anyway. Anyone can see that. Daaaahhh 🙄🙄

And for god sake, liu zixing! The f* do you want the throne for??! You are obviously frail in health and will die sooner most probably rather than later, the hell do you want the throne for??! And basically killing all your Liu families by trying to work with Jin Rong when you know that jin rong does not even respect you and given a chance, will overthrow you for his own Jin family??

Finally, i found that the Yang Shou character is the most intelligent. Lol. Even if some of his actions are questionable, and even his loyalty is questionable, in the end, he push forward, knows whats he’s doing and his end motives are. He got his due as a general and can even appoint Liu Zizhen as the emperor in the end. That, zhousheng chen, is how an intelligent general works!

All in all, it is quite a good show and having a 24 episodes is just enough for the theme and plot (rather than having more and risk being draggy), but i dont think i will quite rewatch this in the future.