The Rise of Phoenixes

I love everything about this drama. I am always watching Chinese dramas and I think this one is just well made. Even though Nirvana in Fire (I and II) still are my forever favorites, it is impossible not to fall in love with every aspect of the Rise of the Phoenixes. Acting is great, bromances are awesome, sarcasm is perfect, double meaning in every sentence is spectacular. The romance I think is very little, but is the same way it was in Nirvana in Fire I. Well done, main lead actor is very handsome 😍

Visually stunning, lyrically beautiful, masterfully acted. Treachery and political intrigue at its finest. Game of Thrones minus the violence, nudity, and supernatural but with an added dash of rom-com and mystery.

I liked the comedy sprinkled throughout the darkness. The funny faces, the banter, the expressive hums.

I binged 45 x 45min episodes over a 3 day weekend, and currently suffering through withdrawal symptoms until new episodes are released.

I deducted one star for the botched flash-backs in the first episode. Took me a while to work out who's who and what was going on, glad I stuck with it.

PS. If you are watching this show with non-Chinese subtitles you are massively missing out. The Chinese dialogue is written with the skill of a bard. The language is sophisticated, succinct, elegant and poetic - as beautiful as the visuals. In comparison, the English subtitles were dull and prosaic, an abominable shadow of the original dialogue, using the vocabulary of a primary school student. It's as if the varying shades of blue - cerulean, sapphire, teal, indigo were translated into "blue, blue, blue, blue". I was truly disappointed by the English subtitles and eventually switched to a different app so I could watch it with Chinese subtitles.

Rather than a romantic story, it's more about humanity and the different kinds of people in the game of power

Growing up in China, I have watched so many dramas and this is definitely the best one I have ever watched! I lover the plots and narratives so much as well as the characters. I am so glad this drama is available on Netflix and had been translated into so many different languages that people around the world can watch it. Ni Ni is my favorite actress and she is so amazing in The Rise of Phoenixes. Her performance was very impressive.

To some people, this is very slow pace but that how it is for most Chinese period drama. They usually give background and full characters development. Plot and costumes, etc are similar to nirvana in fire because they are from the same people. Great characters development and insight you reach characters even to the supporting casts. It is a story of revenge, love, power, loyal, honor, and grievance.