PolarisJane

I think story-wise... the novel is way better. However, I do understand that this drama went through a lot before it could be released.

The start of this drama was very confusing. It was so rushed and didn't properly explain/show He Yan's background and the story about his revenge. But it gets better in the middle of the drama.

Then the scene in Rundu occurred, where He Yan became distracted on the battlefield. Crying, looking for Xiao Jue. I agree with the people who said it was very out of her character. He Yan was a formidable general who had experienced years on the battlefield, and for her to get distracted, which almost cost her life, is unnecessary. But maybe they added it for the added drama.

Honestly, watching the remaining episodes felt boring. It felt like we were suddenly forced to watch so much screentime of the villains. Also, they build up Chu Zao's character so well, only to destroy and trample it in the last few episodes. The last two episodes felt so rushed. So many things were happening at once.

I'm not sure, but it could be that they had to cut so many scenes and struggled to make the whole story cohesive. They also added new plots instead of focusing on how to make the new writing of the story cohesive (like the part where Chu Zao asked the emperor for He Yan to be wed to him and Xiao Jue to deliver the decree to He Yan himself??????). It was finally getting good, only for the last few episodes to confuse and make the story nonsense again.

In other aspects, the cast was exceptional. They had good acting. The cinematography was good. But it's a shame because the story in the drama was badly written.