There is the outline of a good, possibly great TV show in here. The primary problem in my view is that the writers were not ruthless enough. It has one character too many. In my opinion, Li Yi Tong's role could easily have been filled by a kindly old Oba-chan with limited screen-time, and nothing would have been lost.

The focus should have been on the duelling visions of 'just' between the Heng Emperor and Jingmen, with the romance focus on how torn the Empress is between the two men, and with a reflection on the age-old question of the merits of the logic of the 'greater good'. That would have made the ending sensible.

You'll probably skip parts, I did, but it isn't unwatchable. A little cheesy, but not TERRIBLE. I enjoyed the music in the opening segment, as well as Liu Yu Jun's Heng Emperor. Quite heavy shoulders he has from all the heavy lifting he had to do.

As I wrote, the character of Qian Xue was absolutely unnecessary. Also unnecessary was at least three companions the hero acquires along the way. The writers should have trimmed the fat!