Its definitely no surprise that NIF is one of the best rated dramas worldwide. It is still highly regarded by a large majority of the drama audience to be one of THE BEST dramas ever produced. It completely deserves that rating.
STORY:
The ultimate revenge plot. The best scheming and plotting (but in a great way) written for TV. Oftentimes, you'll watch a drama with tons of manipulations and plotting, and they'll feel repetitive or basic. NIF is completely different. Every step, word, every breath that Mei Chang Su takes all has a greater purpose. It's the best bittersweet story as you find out who was behind everything that happens to the Chi Lin Army those years ago and what happens when you cross Mei Chang Su. Although I feel like most people have watched it by now, I definitely don't want to spoil it for people who haven't gotten to witness the majesty yet haha.
Be warned, yes it takes a few episodes to get super hooked. The first few episodes are a little slow, but few tv dramas aren't. I'm honestly ok with the slow start because when it gets going, it doesn't really stop. The relationships between the characters (both romantic, familial, and brotherhood) are so captivating. Every character has a purpose and no one really feels unnecessary to the overall plot.
This is definitely a show you have to pay attention to because even some of the smallest, seemingly meaningless details can have a big impact on the overall story. Everything was honestly so well weaved together and everything served a greater purpose.
ACTING:
Phenomenal. Amazing. Outstanding.
Hu Ge, Wang Kai, Liu Tao: They were household names after this (if they weren't already before). They were all amazing at their respective roles. Everyone felt real and well rounded. They all had their moments of being serious or being comedic or whatever it might be. Honestly you just have to watch the drama to understand.
Comedic Awards go out to Meng Zhi and Fei Liu because they (with sprinkles from the other actors) were the bright spots in a fairly serious and dramatic tv drama.
REWATCH VALUE:
I've only watched through twice, but I will definitely watch again and again. The drama gets a little hard to follow at times because of how intricate the plot can be sometimes, so the second rewatch brought everything together for me as I was able to pay closer attention to everything since I already knew the outcomes. 100% recommend for anyone because this drama has all of the good stuff you want in a drama and almost nothing bad.
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This review may contain spoilers
I am normally very hesitant when it comes to watching Chinese dramas because I’ve tried crossing the boarders many times over my drama-watching -years but I end up giving up each time. However, none of the dramas were historical/wuxia ones so a dear friend of mine has once jokingly said, “maybe you’ll like their historical dramas?” It was a joke but I seriously thought it through and all the praise I’ve heard about NIF has finally pushed my button. It was time to take the step, and boy am I glad that I did.I have to confess one thing before I start, the storyline is what drew me in considering I did not really care for most of the cast prior to watching. Nevertheless, their portrayal was so captivating that I was won over completely.
Nirvana in Fire is a smart show. All the characters are smart and act in rational ways it’s so mesmerizing! The political maneuvering by the various competing parties in the show is like watching a brilliant game of chess being played in front of you. The show is so smart that sometimes I feel like I’m getting smarter as I’m watching it! Every scene, every action, every word has a purpose. Everything counts! The story forces you to stay alerted to every little detail, because every little detail matters and might be introduced ahead many episodes before you could understand what is it aimed for. Although some may say it’s slow paced plot but for me I was constantly holding my breath eagerly watching how our leads will turn a potential defeat into a victory.
The high production value evident with the impressive cinematography of the imperial court and countryside, beautiful costumes, dazzling sword fights… not to forgot the breathtaking introduction which is very deeply related to the story if you watch you will understand the meaning behind a butterfly emerging from cocoon.The story unfold bit by delicious bit. The plot had all the elements you could think of.. greed, betrayal, loyalty, suspicion, love, revenge, lust for power, implications of genocide, jealousy, honor, integrity, murder, cruelty, kindness, generosity and mixtures of these qualities in conflict and contradiction.
Characters:
Hu Ge as Mei Chang Su: My absolute favorite actor and character! Considering that his character is the emotional heart and of the show, it was vital that Hu Ge’s performance be no less than phenomenal and indeed it was. He was a piece of art! Hu Ge eyes were so expressive! By only looking at his gaze I’d immediately feel the chill and fire at the same moment! The character of Mei Changsu is very dynamic and complex! It requires someone who has the ability to portray the character in a nuanced manner. Hu Ge managed to portray the varying components of his character from mischievousness to deviousness, cunning to kindness, unscrupulousness to tenderness, sorrow to longing, etc. I am mostly amazed by how Hu Ge has totally embodied the weariness of his character so well! Every little gesture was so unbelievably well mastered! What a gem of an actor
Wang Kai as Prince Jing: I heard that this drama escalated his status as an actor; it’s no surprise to me! If I had to describle Prince Jing I would say he is the idealistic form of power/authority that everybody dreams of living under which why it took me sometime (over half of the show) to warm up to him and accept his stubbornness and impulsive reactions. It’s not that I had a problem with his beliefs, I admired that he would stick to his guns and would never sacrifice his morals for power. But sometimes it got too naïve and idealistic for my taste. The world isn’t an ideal place, a price will always be paid for the greater cause… is what I believe so his character frustrated me (sometimes) but by the end I came to like him very much. For me to even like or dislike any of Prince Jing’s actions proves that Wang Kai is clearly a very talented actor.
I would love to talk about each and every character but the review would go on and on so for your sake I’m just mentioning the two most powerful characters. Nonetheless I have to give everyone in the cast a big round of applause for their wonderful performances. The whole cast is just so darn likeable and everyone portrayed their character so fantastically! From the very top to the very bottom, from the veterans to the younger actors, everyone did a great job.
Music:
I fell for the OST the instant I heard it before engaging into the story (and that has never happened before). To my surprised 3 songs were sung by the 3 main actors, Hu Ge, Wang Kai and Liu Tao so they aren’t only great actors but can sing this beautifully? Talk about perfection :)
My favorite song is Aging of a Beauty by Liu Tao
Lastly I will leave you with “some of the spoiler-free” favorite quotes of mine:
“You know, this pair of hands, used to bend bows and tame horses. But now it can only hide in the dark and stir the pot.”—Mei Changsu
“People can only be betrayed by friends, enemies will never have chance to do so” —Mei Changsu
“If not for the people, what need for an emperor?” —Mei Changsu
“If you did things for others to see, then it’s a problem of your moral character, but if no one knew of your good deeds, then it’s a failure on my part as your adviser”–Mei Changsu
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Confession: NIF was the only historical drama that I didn’t skip episodes because you just can’t. Every episode was linked so you cannot miss any of it..
Story:10/10- I must say, the writer was a genius!! What I love about this drama is it was not rush to show how they achieved their goal. Every plan, every step, every person that is involved was important and it really display how the imperial court change because of Lin Shu’s magnificent tactics and strategies. Wow just wow. How they come up with that kind story??. It was well crafted from start until the end.. well done!!
Cast:
Lin Shu/Zhu Ze/Mei Chang Su- How can I describe this guy??!! Hu Ge was perfect for this role. A very sick but genius tactician was the heart of the story. Seriously he can never be ill and I’m really nervous whenever he’s in critical stage coz it will be disaster to all the people around him. I feel that all plans must be approve by him or else it will be a tragedy. That is how important his role is. I love how he didn't intend to get revenge but try to make things right.....
Prince JinYang- Jin Yang will be my most slow-to-pickup character ever!!but It has reason to that and Im glad that he was like that..watch this to know what I mean? I watched this prince grow from being reckless, well he’s still reckless until the end? until he became a good ruler.
General Meng-ahhh.. My favorite general. A funny,simple minded,honest, strong and very loyal general meng. I really love the interaction bet. him and other characters especially Lin Shu and Fe Lui. I have many laughs to this guy.
Consort Jing- This is the first time that I appreciate this kind of character. Jingyans mother was intelligent, gentle and a loving person to him and Lin Shu. She’s not like other consort that can be manipulate. A very graceful mother. I want to be like her actually.. ?
Fei Liu- This young boy will be my favorite bodyguard in dramaland. An outstanding fighter with a childlike attitude but very loyal to su gege.. I think all who watched this drama love him so much..
The other character that I love is the funny YuJin, beautiful Ni Huang, Jing Rui w/ a big heart, the great emperor, a genius physician Lin Chen but I hope he shows in many episode, all the body guards of Lin Shu and Jin Yang… In short all the characters was awesome even the villains like xia jang and xie yu.
Over all it was 11/10. I want to have a separate drama that shows the early life of Lin Shu.. What can I say you need to rewatch this well-crafted, magnificent, awesome drama.. WHY I WATCHED THIS! It’s hard to let go!! ?
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This review may contain spoilers
Maybe considered spoiler, so anyone who don't even want to know a single hint about this drama, don't look any further.After I finished this drama, what I like about it is there are no scenes that make me feel heart-wrenching anger (bad kind) or agonizing pain (also bad-kind) [that is if you exclude the main reason of the whole drama]. You can just enjoy how he strategized so brilliantly and completely, letting you feel the anxiety of whether his plotting will succeed or not. My curiosity of how he turn the whole situation around is satisfied too.
I like Fei Liu (simple, good-at-fighting kid beside Mei Chang Su), his scenes are so cute and funny!
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The story kept me going on and on and because each episode is only 45 mins, the time went by and before I knew it, I was on episode 25!
The plot is good, the actors/actresses were superb (villains were vile and the good guys got me cheering for them), action kept going at a good rate, the twists and turns believable - and at times, really caught me out. There were some funny moments as well as sweet romantic interludes, and they were done very tastefully. No nudity or adult scenes, which I applaud - I think often that modern dramas rely too much on sex and violence. I'd recommend my 11 year old daughter to watch this.
I liked the costumes, traditions, scenery and overall "feel". By episode 48, I did start feeling as if the drama was beginning to drag, but the final episodes redeemed the drama somewhat. However, the final episode, I felt, seemed a bit of a letdown. All in all, a good drama!
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Feels fortunate to have this legendary cdrama in our lifetime
The story is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Every episode there's something big happening, a character gets unraveled deeper; I felt like I watched years (or even decades)- worth of history in just 50+ episodes.Admittedly I took longer to finish this because I don't have much patience for slower-paced dramas, much more political ones, but once I got to it I couldn't stop. The first 20 episodes really just lay the foundation (and a strong one at that!) for the next episodes, and hopefully those who plan on dropping this watch at least up until then because not only the action gets going, but we will really appreciate all the work and planning that went on in those "slow" episodes.
The acting is on another level, there are no blackholes. I've watched other dramas before and I also liked the acting there, but here I came to understand that this is what happens when a cast is made up of veteran actors. It almost feels like I am watching actual figures in history.
I hope everyone gets to watch this once in their lives.
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This review may contain spoilers
The drama really lays on the 3 B’s of excellence: Birth Secrets, Bromances and Babelicious Bods. Beautiful cinematography (would that be a 4th *B*?), excellent writing, and carefully crafted suspense kept me on the edge of my seat. The knots in my stomach tightened as each episode led to some unexpected climax. I would say more, but the guide says “No Spoilers”. For more, see my MDL Notes. Was this review helpful to you?
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A brilliant masterpiece
This is one of the best TV dramas I've watched, up there with Sherlock, Wolf Hall and The Crown. More thought-provoking and less violent with hardly any sex scenes, I much prefer this to Game of Thrones. The story, writing, direction, acting, music, cinematography and over-all production are top-notch.Hu Ge is flawless as political strategist Mei Changsu/Su Zhe who is bent on restoring his family's honor as well as those of his much-admired cousin Prince Qi and 70,000 soldiers of the Chiyan Army who were wrongfully accused of rebellion thirteen years ago. The rest of the characters, notably Prince Jingyan (Wang Kai), Duchess Mu Nihuang (Liu Tao), the Emperor of Great Liang (Ding Yong Dai) and Mei Changsu's young but capable bodyguard Fei Liu (Leo Wu), are as compelling. Watching Mei Changsu navigate the political arena in the imperial court is like watching a grandmaster playing chess. His metamorphosis from vibrant young marshal Lin Shu to a frail, soft-spoken but formidable strategist unrelenting in his search for justice is awe-inspiring but heart-breaking as well, such that even just hearing the beautiful opening and ending themes makes me tear up.
The first few times I watched the opening sequence, I was underwhelmed, wishing that, in addition to butterfly wings, there were also dramatic images of people to complement the stunning music. Then I realized there ARE human forms, I just had to be more observant. Turns out, the opening sequence is more beautiful than I could imagine. Since then, every time I watch it, I would try to find more hidden images, much like discovering forms in clouds. Another delightful feature is the original dialogue that I understand is poetic, making me want to learn Mandarin. These easter eggs show how meticulously crafted this gem is.
The emotional impact is not forced but grabs the viewers organically, from the story, acting, music and other elements that subtly add to the power of each scene. I cried almost the whole finale episode, even though there were hardly overly dramatic scenes. In fact, I think it's because the emotional expressions are muted that I felt the urge to release pent-up emotions. Even now, I still tear up whenever I remember the scene where Lin Shu bowed and silently wept in his family's ancestral hall after he successfully restored the family's honor.
It is a testament to the brilliance of the storytelling that a sucker for happily-ever-after endings like myself cannot fault the ending. While a fully fairytale ending would have been inconsistent with the tone of the story, this may be considered as having a happy ending, one that Mei Changsu/Su Zhe/Lin Shu would have approved of, having been able to give his all in the service of truth, justice and country.
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Here's hoping there will be more dramas like this one in the future.
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This review may contain spoilers
The best C-drama probably until the end of time
I've written a review for my other favorite, TTEOTM, and decided I should write one about this one (I watched it years ago).If TTEOTM was a culmination of arcs and ideas that were exploited satisfyingly (albeit with some plot problems), this one seemed to start at a single point and expand outward relentlessly from there. The pacing is intense and substantive, the story is complex and masterful, and the acting is nothing short of wonderful. Very rarely do elements come together to form what could be an alternate universe or a chapter in history... Nirvana in Fire manages this, and is probably thus one of the best dramas I've personally ever watched.
Where to even start? Probably the story, the most wonderful thing about this drama. Although this meets the eye as the typical revenge plot with an ambitious strategist as the protagonist, there's so much nuance and many dynamics under the surface level that truly connect the dots together. How Lin Shu's history is intertwined with the present for many characters including Jingyan is beautiful, and the little twists and schemes involved (completely impossible but riveting) from how Mei Chang Su deals with Nihuang's suitor contest to how his aid towards Prince Yu helps Prince Jing is magnificent. Not only are the details critical and brilliant, they play a tremendous role in how the drama ultimately develops. Despite the numerous arcs, etc. that are present in the drama, they still fit into the narrative on how Lin Shu achieves his revenge goal. The writing in between, including the dialogue and script, excellently achieves this effect (not sure how the countless translated captions fare in corroborating the intent of the original script... watched this in Mandarin). Cleverness and wit are woven into every aspect of this drama and its characters' motivations (they all make sense given the time, personality, etc.). How the drama doesn't seem forced (besides its pacing at times) as well as the plot's fluidity is really impressive storytelling; it's also what separates this from similarly good Wuxia/Xianxia that doesn't reach its heights.
That being said, its complexity makes elements of the plot sometimes difficult to remember beyond the initial watching. That makes it satisfying to rewatch, and every rewatch I still find myself astounded by the numerous twists and ideas present. Given this, know that I watch a drama for the ideas and cleverness more so than the execution/logical sense (this one for the most part fulfills both, but there are some plot holes you find if you think carefully enough), and therefore I'd probably enjoy gripping stories much more than most/prioritize them over other things to make/break a drama.
I guess that's enough time spent on the story. I think the second thing to note here is the acting.
To be fair, there isn't much character development in most of the characters more than a change of motivations/desires, etc. I do think the characters fit perfectly with the setting and situation, but for those looking for those coming-of-age/character development arc dramas, this one is probably less so your thing... I'd push you to TTEOTM to see Tantai Jin if you wanted to see character development. The characters are mostly well developed already in this drama, and because of the abundance of motivations and schematics, it's hard to follow individual characters throughout (even the protagonist).
Given this, I don't think this drama would be a rave review for any individual actor. Instead, the entire cast does a great job portraying their parts to really make this story work. From Xia Jiang to Xie Yu (antagonists along the way), the antagonists of this drama are played amazingly. Their micro expressions, desperation, and different emotions are played realistically and believably for the plights they find themselves in. I do think a special shoutout has to go to Victor Huang who plays Prince Yu; his scenes are done beautifully to portray a pompous and crafty prince who eventually devolves into resignation. Additionally, the characters really do interact with the story and plot's purposes, something that I find often missing from a drama. The protagonists are played similarly well, with Mei Chang Su (Hu Ge) displaying the depth needed for a sick strategist who needs to finish one final task. He did remind me of Tantai Jin (Til the End of the Moon), but this one is significantly less dramatic of a portrayal (I think it's fair for the role Mei Chang Su plays) and therefore also less memorable. It's great acting nonetheless, and other protagonists like Consort Jing do really come alive with the acting of a splendid (and very expensive) cast.
Finally, I'll talk about the OST a little. I personally quite enjoyed the song 红颜旧 sung by Liu Tao (plays Mu Nihuang) and think the majority of the songs are quite pleasant. I did enjoy their melodies although I oftentimes found the singing subpar (that's okay, I do think it's more representative of the cast when sung by the cast). It's one of the great OSTs I've heard, despite having few songs. I wouldn't watch it for the OST (like I would Love Between Fairy and Devil), but it's kind of a bonus :)
Definitely the best drama I've ever watched and will be coming back to it over and over again.
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My first review for my top drama
Seriously the best Chinese drama I have seen so far. All dramas I watch will be compared to this one. I never rewatch dramas but I made an exception for this one. And after all these years it’s still awesome.Story
Enjoyable story keeps you hooked till the end. There could have been a little bit more romance, not necessarily for the ML but in general. The story is not too complicated but very interesting and well written. I didn’t find any unnecessary plotlines rather I want to know more about what happened before the drama starts and what happens after it. Season 2 sadly doesn’t really connect to the end of season 1.
Acting/Cast
Top notch acting and very well-chosen cast. The characters in general are a joy to watch and unique in their own way. You can tell it’s a veteran cast with lots of experience.
Music
I personally don’t pay much attention to music/OST so I can’t really judge but I certainly can’t complain about it.
Rewatch Value
First drama I have ever rewatched and will probably rewatch in the future.
Overall
A must watch for “historic/costume drama”-lovers and if not, should at least give it a chance in my opinion.
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