I'll admit I went into this one with a bit of trepidation; I haven't watched many period pieces and the first two episodes were just confusing and loudly overacted — and the CGI was kind of bad.

Now having finished all 50 episodes, everything hits different. This is one of those dramas that I, who never rewatches things in full, would actually rewatch because there is just SO MUCH to the story. It's big-brained and even though I found myself figuring out small plots pretty quickly, it was still enjoyable to see the characters figure it out, and the final wrap-up was satisfying and mind-blowing. Essentially, this drama is intensely plot-driven, every episode moves the story forwards and even small scenes are endearing, foreshadowing, or have delightful easter eggs in them. This is one that grows on you over the episodes and sticks with you forever.

There are so many characters but that just adds to the beauty of it; upon rewatch you see every character differently, you notice their habits, you revisit their backstories, and more. The character development and personalities for everyone are so natural, and this drama perfectly depicts morally gray areas. Every single character plays their part in the story and they do it so well.

I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the two leads especially, who are such intriguing characters and have such fleshed-out stories and personalities. Thank GOD for such intelligent and communicative characters, who actually figured things out to move the plot forwards instead of having things occur by happenstance.

And yes, it's censored but they did such of a good job of showing the WangXian relationship implicitly; the chemistry was there, and there are just so many little hints (visual symbols, motifs, quotes) that make the slow burn just that much better.