I watched this on Netflix, and I was obsessed; I loved it until the very last three or so episodes, hated the ending, that said still worth the watch. What stands out about The Rise of the Phoenixes is atmosphere and attention to period detail – it's a big, complex, grown-up story, rich in culture and period flourish, delivered by a talented creative team and performed by an exuberant cast. Military Academy Headmaster Xin Ziyan (Zhao Lixin), Prince Ning Yi (Chen Kun), and Feng Zhiwei (Ni Ni) were amazing. And sleeper star (Hai Yitian), he was brilliant in every way, does an excellent job showing the Crown Prince as the weak weasel he was.

It was twisted and complicated yet very well acted, directed, intellectually written by far one of the most beautiful dramas. I enjoyed the character development throughout the 60+ episodes and the lengths to which the prince went to protect the ones he loved and, of course, to get his revenge was extremely enjoyable. I am not much of a Chinese drama watcher as they tend to be quite long, especially the historical ones, but this one was great, and the music just amazing. I highly recommend, despite not being a fan of the crazy ending or how the romance or what there was of it got so tangled and convoluted, but I guess that's what made it very real.