The only thing this drama had going for it was the costumes. You can feel the passage of time in the changing styles. It's like watching an ever-evolving fashion show. As much as I enjoy fashion, 30 plus hours of it was a bit much. A lot of the budget went into the clothing, yet some of the wigs still looked fake and cheap. They pretty much ruined the overall aesthetic of the series.

There's nothing good to say about the directing. It's like the cast were told to "do whatever, just don't wrinkle your costumes or mess up your jewelry." Be like a mannequin, basically. This type of "formal" acting might be ok in an ancient drama, but it was all wrong in a modern setting. The only actor who wasn't stiff was Nie Yuan, probably because he didn't have many nice outfits to show off.

Since the actors weren't allowed to act, they were given long-winded dialogues to explain their actions and thought process. The show very quickly became preachy and boring. The writing went from bad to atrocious. In the end, our intrepid heroines perservered thanks to dumb luck and even dumber villains.

I love the OST, from Zhou Shen's majestic opening theme to Han Geng's gentle crooning in the closing sequence. You're better off downloading the songs instead of watching the series.