A few things before I write my review:
- I am Chinese so I watched the entire thing in Chinese
- I have never watched any MDZS materials before watching the show
- was not a fan of Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo before this (as in I didn't know who they were, so that was not why I watched the show)

Originally I watched this show because I heard the hype around the BL. However, I generally don't watch a lot of Chinese dramas because they're usually really bad, so it took A LOT OF hype to get to me to watch it. I also heard a lot of hype around XiaoZhan, and since I live in China, it's almost impossible to avoid his face, so I finally gave in.

First, the bad stuff (let's get it out of the way, but don't go away, cause the good stuff is worth all the cons combined)
- Horrible CGI...and questionable visuals: let's be honest, this was never cdrama's forte, I quit a lot of dramas because of this. So I would recommend people to try to ignore it when viewing and try not to be as pedantic as I was and try to focus more on the characters
- Horrible editing (and maybe a director's choice or script problem): Specifically fight scenes and sometimes certain scene would cut really weirdly (e.g. one scene will just cut to another and you'd be like...ok, how did they get there? how did the tension from the last scene not get resolved?) This DOES get in the way of story telling, hence why I didn't give the story 10/10, not because the story isn't good, but the way it's told is quite confusing at first. This is something that viewers will get used to, you just kinda get used to not understanding until the very end.
- A lot of jargon: this is not necessarily a con, but I can see how it can deter people from watching it. As someone who is fluent in Chinese, I don't see this as a problem for Chinese people or people who are used to "Wuxia" novels. Honestly I am surprised at the amount international viewings for this drama because honestly how did you guys figure out the clans and the 3 names each person has. Tbh, the jargon doesn't get in the way of the plot, so don't worry too much about it especially in the beginning if this is your first ancient/wuxia-ish cdrama.

Ok, let's get to the GOOD (hopefully you're still reading)
- Excellent casting and acting: Idols NEVER impressed me in acting. Never. I was not only proven wrong by ONE idol, but TWO! Let's just say that the main two leads realllllly understood what the source material was. As someone who can understand Chinese, I was worried about not only poor acting, but also cringey line deliveries. It also doesn't make it easier that they're supposed to be gay. But wow, if there's anything I have to give to the director and the two lead actors, is the fact that they got it "just right".
- Explored deep relationships: the main two leads being romantically attracted to each other isn't news, but I was pleasantly surprised at the other relationships this drama explored. Sibling relationships, friendships, psychopathic twisted love (?) ...just to name a few. Surprisingly, this show isn't just about BL like I had originally hoped, but I actually came out more invested in the other relationships because they were even more frustrating and heart-wrenching.
- Explored morals: I can't give too much details without spoiling too much, but this show has a message! (Ok I'm gonna guess you've come to realize that I had very low expectations for this show) The good thing about this show is that the message is actually quite important to the plot and is the main focus, instead of just the BL. And the message is surprisingly very important for us today (mental health, bullying..etc).
- Villain: This show has one of the best villains I've seen in a cdrama and that's all I'm going to say...

Ok, now go watch the show and remember to bring a box of tissues. If there's anything cdramas are really good at, it's that they make you cry your heart out.

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