xinclouds

This is the best show I’ve watched in 2025 so far. At first, I was hesitant about the show, because the pace of the first few episodes was a little slow and thus, dry. However, I pushed through and from ep4 it started to get really interesting. This is honestly a 10/10 for me - and unexpectedly as well, since I went into this show thinking it would be an 8/10. What this show did best was: breathtaking cinematography, beautifully tragic characters, and complex relationships crafted through unpredictably heartbreaking storytelling. I LOVED all the characters and their backstories, I LOVED watching their friendships and relationships flourish (from platonic and familial to romantic), I LOVED finding out what the next plot twist was going to be. This show honestly kept me on the edge of my seat with how the plot kept twisting and turning - I’m not a big plot person, but I was very impressed by how this show was able to keep the viewers in suspense while giving just enough to make us suspect something/someone, yet when the reveal finally occurs, we are still surprised. My favourite part of this show has got to be the way the complicated relationships between the characters unfolded and progressed, and I will talk more about this later.

First, the cinematography was insanely good. Every scene was just so beautiful it took my breath away. The views were spectacular and so picturesque, I genuinely felt that I should be paying to watch this. The CGI, too, was incredible. I never once thought about the CGI while watching because I genuinely felt that they were real - that’s how good it was! The best scenes in terms of cinematography has to be hands down the fight scenes - they’re so beautiful and elegant yet poised and accurate, the genuinely feel like a work of art; more of a dance than a brutal fight. This type of angle taken towards fight scenes might not be for everyone, so if you’re someone who likes seeing the brutal and bloody, this might not be your cup of tea, but I still believe that you’d be mesmerised by the beauty. I particularly enjoyed the water scenes because you could see every. droplet. And it was so beautiful, I was awestruck. Big kudos to the director - he’s known for his artistry, and he truly lives up to his name.

Next, the music was also really good. Not insane and not my favourite from all the shows I’ve watched, but they added the right amount of aura and emotion to the show. The rap score wasn’t my favourite at first, but I warmed up to it. I think this show really took a brave step out of the typical "recipe" for historical cdrama OSTs, but it was worth it. Every OST added something to the show and elevated the emotion of the scene.

The storytelling was one of the best I’ve seen. Getting to explore each character's past and present as the show progressed was so gratifying and immersive - I was truly invested! I appreciated how we got to really dive deep into every single main character's story and background, including the child and the mountain god who joined the gang halfway into the show. Every character had something unique that managed to tug on viewers' heartstrings, and I really identified and empathised with all of them. I think that’s not an easy thing to do, to write a story such that viewers are able to connect with every single character - including the side characters who only appear in a few episodes. I also really liked the common theme of "love but lost"/"a love that's impossible" throughout the mini-stories/plot points throughout the show, from the stories of all the side characters to the main characters as well. It's beautifully tragic, and it tied the whole show together very nicely. The only other show in which I’ve seen such good connection between the side characters and the main characters is Love Between Fairy and Devil - both shows incorporated a strong common theme extremely well. I also really need to commend this show on its impeccable foreshadowing, because the way the ending was echoed in the beginning with a couple of the main characters really just plunges the viewer into a state of emotional investment that only grows from ep1, and throughout the show you just become increasingly invested and heartbroken because you know what’s about to come. You echo the characters' own anguish, because they too know what must happen, even if they don’t want it to.

I wouldn’t recommend watching this purely for the romance, because it is very much a sideplot. The main focus of this show is about self-forgiveness, self-discovery, personal growth, acceptance of one's past, concurrently with developing deep emotional connections and forging the strongest of friendships. Truth be told, I was much more moved by the platonic friendships in this show than the romantic relationship between the two main leads. Chinese netizens often joke that this show is a BL that passed the censorship laws in China HAHHA, and after watching I really have to agree. I do think that everything in this show was set up to be a BL, and it would’ve fit much better as one too. Not that there was anything wrong with how it is now, but I strongly believe that the connection between the main male leads was anything but casual. Their bromance was my favourite relationship in the whole show because [SPOILERS] they were sworn friends for life eons ago, and today they started as enemies and ended again as sworn friends for life. Watching their friendship develop and flourish as they battle with their deepest emotions and complex past connections was so gratifying - I really think they might be my favourite bromance in the history of all the cdramas I’ve watched (and I have watched HUNDREDS). Their dynamic is always hilarious to watch too, because it’s very much grumpy x sunshine and tease x tsundere/flustered HAHHA. I love their relationship so so so much and they both have so much aura it’s crazy. If you don’t want to watch this show for anything else, please watch it for them - they make the entire show worth watching!!! The sisterly relationship between the two female leads is also very heartwarming, though much less developed. I also really loved the familial relationship between the child and every single one of the main leads - the show definitely does the found family trope very well, especially with all the plot twists and [MINOR SPOILER] betrayals and almost-betrayals.

I will say that the villain(s) are very elusive and not too focused on, which I found worked pretty well in this show because the focus could then be on the main characters. I did think that the "conflict" was resolved in a careless and a bit of a sudden/illogical manner towards the end, and I was not a big fan of the ending because I really believe there could’ve been a much better resolution - I think the ending was only the ending because of the foreshadowing in the first ep. I think there could’ve been a better build-up to the ending plot-wise, because a sudden deluge of information was dropped in the last ep and I didn’t appreciate that. For those of you worried about the ending, [SPOILER] I would personally say that this is a sad ending, though it can be argued otherwise. Yes, there is major character death, which is why I would classify it as sad, though I guess on a wider level it is a happy ending since the rest of the characters are safe and happy, as is the world, and the conflict is resolved. I think they could’ve done a better job with tying up the loose ends because the conflict had great potential to be developed further but it wasn’t fully fleshed out. Also a fair warning: this is very much a tearjerker, perhaps the most intense I’ve ever watched. As someone who cries very easily when it comes to consuming media, I’ve cried every episode from ep25 onwards. That isn’t an exaggeration - I truly did cry every. single. episode. I was fully sobbing and bawling the entire time but it was so good and so touching!!!! The show is pretty much sad from the beginning because I cried from as early as ep9 too LOL. But it’s definitely a very meaningful type of sad, it’s very inspiring and thought-provoking and insightful. The emotional depth of this show is insane.

As for the cast, they ALL did an impeccable job. Hou Minghao stole the show for me because he NAILED his character, with how complex and nuanced he’s supposed to be - his crying scenes absolutely shattered me, and the emotions in his eyes blew me away, I genuinely felt like my heart was being squeezed into a pulp. He nailed every single nuance of his character and portrayed every side perfectly. Out of this world acting. He was born to play this role!! Another character I felt deserved high praise was Tian Jiarui's portrayal of the 2nd ml. He was perfect in executing his cold exterior but soft heart, I really enjoyed watching his scenes. The fls fell a little short in comparison, but I do think that might also be attributed to their characterisations, not their acting skill. Another warning: the fl is pretty useless in this show and while I didn't hate her, I definitely did not like her very much. It just feels infuriating because she's supposed to be the strong powerful goddess but whenever trouble comes she's either the one who caused it or the one who dooms everyone by needing to be saved. She spent more than half the time crying on the floor while the rest of the team engaged in action scenes. So tbh she annoyed the hell out of me LOL, so if you like strong independent fls, she isn't for you. The 2nd fl, however, is very much the strong independent type, though her skills aren't shown as much as the mls. The child also delivered a phenomenal acting job, especially towards the second half of the show (he was a little annoying in the first half). The 3rd ml/villain was also insanely good of an actor!

I have so much more to say but I’m running out of characters, so here’s my favourite quote from the show: "世间法理万千，难敌一句甘愿" - this loosely (directly) translates to "there are many powerful forces in the world, but nothing defeats one's word of willing" (the more accurate semantic translation would be "for all the power in the world, nothing is able to defeat he who is willing"). The dialogue in this show is really insightful and deep too, very beautifully written but unfortunately most of it is lost in translation, just like the quote above. Either way, I’d highly recommend this show, it’s one of the best in terms of platonic relationship development and found family.