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For drama with a similar theme and a female general, watch Fated Hearts. FH is better than this one. FH handles "falling from a cliff" and "amnesia" very well.

I do hope they will continue this show. In the meantime, I will watch the donghua. The story is basically the same, but the donghua’s quality is superb—almost realistic. I just wish that, in the drama version, they would explore Han Li and Mo Caihuan’s reincarnation relationship more and establish it as the main love line throughout the story. I don’t like Nangong Wang or the nature of her relationship with Han Li. I find Mo Caihuan more relatable and pure compared to the others.

The real score is the verified one. Only 8.0.

Maybe you can learn something by watching Mulan (2009) as the closest comparison. Study Vicky Zhou's portrayal of a female soldier in that movie. The actress is beautiful, and she plays "man" in a humanly realistic manner.

Yeah. This drama undermines its own premise by revealing the FL’s true gender far too soon. If being female in the military is taboo in this universe, her feminine side should have been hidden much longer to preserve tension and raise the stakes. The worldbuilding promises high-stakes secrecy, but the execution leaks it away from the start.

I think this drama undermines its own premise by revealing the FL’s true gender far too soon. If being female in the military is taboo in this universe, her feminine side should have been hidden much longer to preserve tension and raise the stakes. Instead, from episode 1, her mannerisms, voice, and ease in women’s attire make her disguise implausible—especially after years of serving as a man among soldiers. This lack of believability flattens suspense. The worldbuilding promises high-stakes secrecy, but the execution leaks it away from the start.

Do you know what "realistic" means? It refers to things that are grounded in reality, not reality itself. A story is fiction. It is not real and did not actually happen in reality. To say whether a story is realistic, we evaluate the elements in it by the degree to which that fiction could possibly occur in real life.

Figures like a female general are fiction. So, of course, we can't and won't expect this figure to be a real person in history. However, we generally have some common knowledge about how a military general (as a masculine role) is "born", should behave, live, solve problems, lead others, etc. As we have "male general" as a template, we compare the female one here to the template. That is how we find some gaps and say some things are not realistic/ not believable enough to help us enjoy the story as a whole.

I know most of us love this drama. But some others just cannot shut their eyes and ignore the gaps between what should be and what actually is.

I just think that if being female—or assuming a false identity—is considered taboo in the military in this universe, the drama should have kept the feminine side of FL hidden for as long as possible, because such information could have significantly raised the stakes of the story in a positive direction.

But, unfortunately, this drama has already been leaking this critical secret to us since episode 1, through the FL’s subtle behavior and the way she carries herself comfortably when dressed in women's attire. After years of serving in the military, living among men, and most of her life being a boy/ young man, it is highly improbable for a woman to still talk and walk like a woman. That’s why, for some new viewers (not the novel readers), there’s not much left to spark curiosity about the FL as a character.

The only thing making the FL a man is the viewer’s own stubborn insistence, despite knowing full well she is a woman. Isn't that silly? That’s why many viewers can’t wait to see when the FL will finally be revealed as a woman. IMO, if the worldbuilding and story premise are right from the beginning, we shouldn’t and wouldn't be waiting eagerly for her identity as a woman to be revealed.

Just a piece of my thought.

I wish we had another drama like "Nirvana in Fire" where we have a female general character like Mu Nihuang. She is a general without pretending about her female identity. She is strong and mature.

Or, like Mulan in Mulan (2009), played by Zhao Wei/ Vicky Zhao, who perfectly portrayed a female military character from zero to hero. She stayed a man when in duty and only returned to be a female when she had to infiltrate the enemy camp, and when the war was over, and she finally came home.

Both actresses playing these characters are beautiful, but for the sake of the story, their beauty and romance plot are simplified, and their masculine personality side and maturity are amplified, so the audience can focus on their main role as military figures.

This rating is primarily a praise for the actor and actress, not the drama as a whole. See the comments here. Most of them are praises for the actors.

This rating is a blind rating, ignoring problems such as plot holes, relatability, believability, characterization, and weird introduction.

For critical viewers, to watch this drama, we should fight and defeat our intelligence first.

Soo, that is how they show us about someone being reborn? How lame!

For critical viewers, to watch this drama, we should fight and defeat our intelligence first.

Repeat this to yourself, "This is just a story. This is just a story." Close your eyes. "This girl is a man. This girl is a man." Now, open your eyes. Go. You are ready to watch this drama.

For critical viewers, to watch this drama, we should fight and defeat our intelligence first.

Repeat this to yourself, "This is just a story. This is just a story." Close your eyes. "This girl is a man. This girl is a man." Now, open your eyes. Go. You are ready to watch this drama.

I think, actually, it is an 18-20 episode drama.

Are we watching a drama, or... reading a novel through a drama??

1. They have been husband and wife since episode 2.
2. Not breakups, but separation. It is just some episodes, around 20-25.
3. No time skip. They still work together.
4. Around episode 26. But they reconcile slowly.
5. No third wheeler, no love triangle, no past love.
6. Happy ending. Some people said it is rushed. But it is better than a crash ending.

PG takes the route of the enemy-to-lover trope. However, there are nuances that set them apart from typical enemies: they are enemies with deadly intentions in the beginning. This is my breakdown of how this route works.

They start from:
(1) lethal enemies who want to kill each other - around episode 1-4, to
(2) comrades united by a common target (the map) and shared idealism (to protect common people), and acknowledging each other's good side - the gambling house, the village, the hunting ground episodes, to
(3) lovers still clouded by lingering distrust - first encounter with Wuyin in the Lan boutique, Wuxia assassination plan, to
(4) once again strangers after an angsty separation - the capture and interrogation, the cliff-amnesia episodes, to
(5) a team helping each other for a shared cause - to reveal the mystery behind Empress Lv and Wuyin and solve the case of Wuhen's murder, and to finally,
(6) united husband and wife cooperated and devoted to each other (to save the country, to protect each other, and their loved ones).

Some viewers cannot stand numbers (3) and (4) because they want to jump right to the unity-romance (5) (6). But if we hold on, we will get all the reasons behind SZY's love for JTH: the understanding, the pity and empathy, and redemption. These reasons make SZY's ultimate sacrifice to help JTH so heartfelt.

The part where we see "the rejection of romance" happens in (4). The amnesia is the surface (what we see as the rejection act). But if we closely look at how the amnesia is manifested, it is selective. She can remember many things (including Qingtai, Wuyin), except those related to SZY and their relationship. So, we can conclude it is an amnesia induced by some emotional hurt or suppressed trauma (caused by SZY). This dynamic indirectly tells us about JTH's love, her emotional injury, and how this should be healed. Of course, naturally, it shouldn't be through drastic action, like "She is my wife! I want to take her home!" and grabbing her hand.

We got a prolonged period of JTH in Wuyin's hands. I don't see it as an act of surrender, but intentional staying. Looking at Qingtai's whereabouts, finding the secret wedding chamber, finding more mysteries (such as Empress Lv-Wuyin's relationship, cases around the imperial exam), and getting a steady supply of antidote. This sequence of events is the political and mystery parts, not the romance, where (5) happens.

I agree with you that there is a gap between conceptual coherence and execution quality. But that is another matter. The storyline itself is legit.

Romance is the third now. But, I swear I am not mistaken, at first, there was no romance at all in the drama info. They have changed it.

"Finally, someone who suits me" is in terms of intelligence/ cunning, not personal compatibility as a romantic partner (they are already husband and wife, so finding love is not the main issue). Look closely at the context surrounding the event in that episode when SZY said so. This acknowledgement is the foundation of a supposed partnership in SZY's eyes.

As I perceived, the romantic feeling began to bloom after SZY divorced other women. However, this divorce is not only for romance, but also for political reasons.

You may see PG as a love story like in the book, but for me, this drama format has different nuances that do not primarily contain a love story. Our perspectives are valid. So far, we enjoy it.

He is deposed and locked in a prison.