TC is right, 58 episodes is far too long for this drama, but all things considered, I wouldn’t miss it for a minute, if only to be able to enjoy seeing Mark Chao play not one but “3” men who are deeply, passionately in love and his Yehua character gets to indulge in some swoony skinship and serious kissing time.
I got to a point (by about episode 18) where I figured out that I could fast-forward through all scenes involving battles and evil jealous women (Xuan Nu and Su Jin) where they didn’t directly include our lovely couple because it was enough to watch the parts where Yehua and Su Su/Bai Qian are involved in the scenes because the schemes are easy to spot and unnecessary to understanding what’s going on. I did a lot of fast-forwarding because Su Jin gets a lot of screen time.
As I’ve already noted, Mark and Yang Mi look lovely together and have terrific chemistry, plus they have the very best long hair wigs I have ever seen — every little girl’s dream of long, beautiful, tangle-free hair — and watching those lovely locks in action, almost as much a part of the wardrobe as Yehua’s gorgeous black robes or Bai Qian’s floaty confections was a not insignificant part of the fun for me! I’ve had waist-length hair myself and sometimes miss it!
This drama has some pretty advanced dialogue considering China’s censors but maybe it’s because it is a fantasy world… However it only whets the appetites for some and some pretty interesting fan-fiction has sprouted! If you’re curious, check this one out, for example.
No doubt I am going to go back and swoon a little more over some favorite moments of Mark being all a fool for love. It’s not a perfect drama, but it’s definitely worth a long look at him and with liberal fast-forwarding you’ll enjoy it too.
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