This series had its pros and cons for me but I was happy to watch it and the ending was quite satisfying for our leads and other couples. So let's get into this review, shall we? I never read the novel but knew from fans who had that production deviated heavily from it but am not surprised as many series and films do on an international scale. Let's get the bad news out of the way first.

Cons: As a writer and published author myself, plot and character development are essential especially when creating a character or making a written one into a 3D version of itself. There were so many useless or underdeveloped characters that it was honestly confusing to follow the storyline sometimes. For starters, why so many villains? A proper series needs maybe maximum 4 antagonists but they need a base and development where you could see them progress with the series, not just laugh evilly, narrow beady eyes during conversations, and disappear without a trace somewhere towards the end with a soft explanation (ex. Yu WenZhi). I legit lost track of the bad guys and had to ask someone. Some were turned into bad guys but the attempts were lackluster at best. The two real proponents of evil in this series were Shen TianShu and Pathetic Clam. The two of them would have been enough. And of course Yin Pei's transformation but his entire storyline was very short lived and wishy-washy. Perhaps add the Eunuch but for more then a few episodes that killed Xie Yun's father as an extra.

So many great or interesting characters were never really explored or were given fast deaths like Phoenix, the lady in red as I called her who fell for ZF's grandfather or Old man Chonquio while useless characters like the 3rd prince and I don't recall his name weak kid who had a crush on Ah Fei but his family was massacred and he joined Yin Pei's cult of crazy were created to confuse. There are probably other characters too but they were so underdeveloped that I forgot all about them.

It was also sad that even though Xie Yun was the ML his backstory was barely explained in tiny flashbacks. I wanted to know; how did he get poisoned? Where was he? Why? Who gave that order? Why the worst poison on earth? He was just a kid. This was a fascinating arc which was never properly explored. Where did he learn his footwork from? How did Yu WenZhi know him and vice versa? Not to mention the whole mystery of The Color of Ocean and Heaven; no one knew what it was, but ppl got killed for it and I felt like I was in a game of "Clue".

Continuing on to costumes and scenery. This was probably one of the saddest parts; this production had such a huge budget and I wonder what it was used on? The forest surrounding the fortress and every other location was so fake it was cringeworthy. They were filming in Hengdian where there's great terrain all over the place; why not use that? There are trees and bamboo and forests that were perfect for every outdoor scene. Rocks and hills could always be built in. The leads ever changing costumes made me dizzy. Why so many? Pick a few really well made ones and stay in them. The fake facial hair was atrocious at best. I can now understand Zhao Liying's post on Weibo last year after filming wrapped showing two hamburgers; one was the real deal and one was half the size of the original with discoloration. The first was of the expectation for the series and the second was the reality.

Ok, now that I have everyone depressed, let's get onto the good news.

Pros: The primary reason I watched this in the first place was because I'm a fan of Zhao Liying and Wang Yibo. She was the first actor I saw in c-ent that I really liked in Princess Agents and she pulled me into this rabbit hole. Wang Yibo I first saw as many did in CQL a month later and so started following him as well. Knowing that this was ZLY's first wuxia drama since PA and since her pregnancy, I was very excited and she didn't disappoint. I wanted to see Yibo in a totally different character to the ones I've seen him play, now as a chatterbox with martial arts and sweet talk; he too pulled it off.

I loved their playful banter, their bond before love set in. Though he was the flirt, there was a difference between that and when he really started to have serious feelings for her. The same thing happened with Ah Fei, she was stiff at first always smacking him or pulling her sword on him which made for very comedic scenes, but it was obvious with her too when just liking him as a friend or traveling companion turned into love. There wasn't a hot and heavy romance but it was still obvious and most importantly they formed the bond of trust and friendship before love. Both actors gave their all and it showed. Does this mean they stop growing in their profession? No. Yibo still has a long way to go but with time and different roles, I believe he will be a wonderful actor; at 23 he's already accomplished so much that he's really a prodigy in many ways. Liying has done many different roles and I appreciate all the hard work she puts in, I look forward to more things from her and already added both of their upcoming works to my watchlist here amongst others. The other actors that impressed me were named above but sadly weren't given enough screen time to have their stories flushed out. The second leads held their own but Ah Fei's female cousin I wanted to strangle. She acted 12 and her voice was like nails on chalkboard; if it wasn't for Bonehead and the doctor dude with the snakes for some comedic relief, I probably would have skipped more if not all of her scenes.

To tally it up;
The winners were Ah Fei, Xie Yun, Shen TianShu, Pathetic Clam, Yin Pei, Madam Nichang, and Xie Yun's masters on Penglai Island.
Ok characters: Li Sheng, ChuChu, Bonehead, Poisoner snake dude, Grandpa Li, parents of Ah Fei, Mr. Bai, General Wen.
Sadly not developed: Phoenix, Lady in Red, Old Man from Qi School, Eunuch killer.
Everyone else had massive character flaws, were unimportant so didn't need to speak about them or they didn't belong and should have been cut. Not the best series I have seen but certainly not the worst and there were very cute scenes between our leads to rewatch.