MJN

I am really enjoying this drama. It seems all of BJT's dramas lately have been really really good. He is choosing some good parts. I am loving his character and his acting in this one. He is so cute and funny in this, I love it. The FL is growing on me, I really haven't watched any of Song Yi's performances before except in JoL. So I am not hugely familiar with her acting, but I think she is doing really well with this character. I know others sort of disagree, but actually I think she pulls this character off well. Honestly, I think the FL character would be a really hard character to act. I think there are very few actresses who could do this (like Sandra Ma for example and she was in one of my favorite dramas with BJT). Excited to see how this drama unfolds. So far everything has been really well. The costumes, acting, scenery, etc. are all really well done as well.

I haven't really watched Song Yi in anything before other than Joy Of Life and honestly I don't really remember her character in that. I have to agree with you in this, I can see where it can be really hard to try and pull this type of character off and she is doing well in that aspect. I am looking forward to the rest of the drama.

It was definitely unique, I hadn't seen that type of ceremony in any other costume dramas. I really enjoyed it.

I agree. The first few episodes up to about 10 or 12 were so good and I had high hopes for this drama then after that it went in every direction. To many characters, to many stories, different timelines, etc. way to much from initial story. I pretty much skipped, fast forwarded through all episodes til finale and then just grazed it. Was so disappointing!

Kind of how I felt about Ordinary Greatness. I finished that one and I would usually have dropped that type of drama, but I guess the acting is keeping me interested in that one and this one. I mean it isn't the most exciting of stories, but still I want to know what is going to happen lol.

I have to agree with you about the slow moving part. I don't know why I am sticking with it though. I am a bit intrigued even though it is not my usual type of genre to watch. I am actually only on episode 7. I like it, but at the same time I feel it is dragging as well.

me too, but I usually prefer regular historic costume dramas over the xianxia dramas, so the past episodes are so much better for me and the acting seems a bit better, as well as the characters themselves and I am loving JJY in battle costume

So I am wondering if he starts getting old again, if he will realize the phoenix isn't really dead.

I also think it was someone else, not the phoenix, cause those so called heavenly people are scheming. For being "heavenly" people they don't act very heavenly.

LOL...yes peahen is overly annoying

true, I agree. I also hate flashback scenes like that. I wish they would just show the whole scene, instead of bits and pieces of a flashback. I like to see a whole scene flow, not sure part and then a flashback later.

I agree I would love to see her in more of military costume role.

I am feeling the same. It was so good at the beginning, when they were in the Egret Academy and I was enjoying it a lot. But for some reason, I don't if the story slowed down or the story is just waning. I mean, it is still really good and I am going to finish it, and there are still some exciting scenes in the episodes, but at the same time there are a lot more boring parts that I probably should just fast forward through. I am not interested in much of the devil area (although, the wolf guy is a cutie), also, I am not really interested in that much of Wei Ling Yue and her father and her sister and all that drama.

LOL I still can't get over that they are putting a "peahen" on a pedestal and making the phoenix look like a bad person.

Right after they do the dance, after Rebecca accepts PSY's proposal.

They never reveal who her real parents are.

I ended up giving this a 9 and the reason being is the acting. The acting alone is what sold the whole story.

To begin with Zhao Lu Si's was basically born to play this part and she did it so well, as she does with almost every single character she acts. She knows how to embrace her characters and basically becomes them and you root right along with her or cry with her or laugh with her. Overall, she was exceptional.

Luo Yi Zhou, this kid was amazing. For being an idol turned actor, he has such a bright future. I can only see great things and wish him many huge roles in his career. What a talent and I am looking so forward to what he will do.

The rest of the cast all amazing, although there were one or two I didn't particularly care for, but they grew on me as the story progressed. Rebecca character being one. I really did not like her character at the beginning, but with every character I think she had some amazing growth in this story. So kudos to Alina Zhang for creating a wonderful hate to love character.

Another character, I want to point, whom I thought would have so much more protentional, but was so disappointed in how the writer took their story, but he played the character so well that we all ended up hating him toward the end, was Li Quan. Zhu Jun Lin, is another great talent and I was quite impressed with his acting, even though he was dealt a horrible story in my opinion. He excelled at his character.

And finally, all the veteran actors, amazing as always. Looking forward to seeing Wu Gang in JOL 2.

Now for my thoughts on the story in general:

I will start off by saying, I think this could have easily been only 24 episodes. I will go on further to explain why below. The focus on TCM was great and that is what the drama was suppose to be about. I loved all the lessons and the use on patients. Actually I even learned a few tidbits. It was really refreshing. I came to watch because of that and of course ZLS. The Covid arc did not bother me, because I liked seeing how they integrated TCM along with Western Medicine.

I wish actually there was more of that and less of say the Meng Meng storyline and the LQ storyline. These two stories/arcs were very very unnecessary, they distracted from the main point of the whole story. It was okay to have some side situations, but there was to much focus on some of these.

There were definitely some episodes/arcs that could have completely been left out and/or more added and it still would have been an amazing story. The relationship between master/apprentice and TCM as the just the main focus of the drama and it would still have been an amazing story. It was okay for a side story maybe half an episode or not at all, because a lot of those side stories made the drama look bad. No doctor in their right mind would have treated Meng Meng the way that RTZ did, she would probably have lived, if she had gotten the right treatment; LQ's story was just way to extreme for this slice of life drama; TT spending that many episodes looking after WSD; the lie about TT's parentage; all these are examples of wasted time that could have been used for more TCM or even more of master/student bonding and learning.

The last episode was also a bit of a disappointment. There were a few cute scenes, but the dancing (not that it was bad, was silly, I mean it came out of no where). I liked how they did all the Solar Terms, but I preferred them in each episode vs spending what 5-10 mins in one segment in the final episode. I wish they had given TT and RTZ a bit more bonding time. Rebecca and PSY's proposal was a bit cute, perfect for them. I did like the very final scene as well.

Overall, there was way to much drag, the writing was not the best I have seen, could have been so much better. The acting saved this drama and they were amazing. I wanted more TCM focused storyline. The OSTs were absolutely wonderful too. I don't usually pay much attention to that, but the ones in this dramas were amazing and very memorable. So thank the actors for the score, because otherwise, I probably would have dropped this a long time ago.

That's good to know, I didn't know that they did their algorithm like that.

I can't stand watching Avenue X. I think she is super bias. I think she also hates Zhao LuSi, who is an amazing actress. I won't watch Ave. X anymore because most of what she has to say is biased and just rude.

I would be happy if they started doing this or at least keep up this trend. I noticed Gen Z has stayed at an 8.0 for awhile now, it should have gone up (at least that is what I think). So MDL waiting til the drama finishes to display the actual rating makes me happy. I hate it when to many people rate a drama before it finishes. How can you already tell if it is going to be good or end badly. I won't even rate a drama if I drop it, because I never finished it, so I don't think it is fair to rate it.