Nirvana in Fire (2015)

WARNING: major spoilers below

I’m really glad I watched this; it’s definitely one of the better dramas and I can see why people like it so much. It’s not for everyone though, because it’s incredibly conversation heavy - about 70 to 80 percent of what takes place/exposition are conversations between the characters. The rest are action scenes and in one case, a military fight. This is fine with me because I am also a fan of mystery dramas and those are conversation heavy too, but this might not be for everyone.

What I liked:

I think the actor playing the main lead, as well as the entire cast did a great job in portraying their characters. I like the overall story arc as well as the smaller cases in between where they had to get rid of two princes and some corrupt officials one by one before getting to the emperor. I normally don’t like sad endings but this one fit and was satisfactory.

male centricity: This is one of the things that worried me at first. I thought this would be one of those male centric dramas that had mostly male MLs with only a handful of token strong female leads thrown in every now and then, ala Lord of the Rings. Thankfully it wasn’t like that. While there were more male characters, there were also plenty of diverse and strong female characters and they had a lot* of screen time, significantly influenced the plot and in some cases, were just as smart as the main lead.

character relationships: All the characters working with the lead were great and they seemed like one big family (regardless of whether they were related or not) who supported him. The strongest relationships in this drama were the filial ones. The relationship between Mei Chang Su and Fei Liu was like that of a father and son. He also seemed like a father figure to two of his younger friends JinRui and Yujin, who were much younger than him. It also has a strong focus on mother and son relationships such as the ones between the palace consorts and the crown princes- I really liked the relationship between Prince Jingyan and his mother Consort Jing. There is also a bit of romance although it is subtle. Mei Chang Su’s relationship with Nihuang reminded me a lot of Li Mu Bai’s relationship with Yu Shu Lien (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), except that they had far more screen time together. It also explores toxic filial relationships such as the relationship between the emperor and his sons.

What I felt undecided about:

Prince Jing. I think the actor did a great job but his role but could be very frustrating at times. He doesn’t have that many scenes until episode thirty something, and there is an entire arc where the ML gets into trouble because of him because he reacts in a way that causes a lot of trouble; this is in spite of everyone telling him otherwise. There were times when all the characters seemed smarter than him, from his foot soldier to even his mother. He is also the last to realize the main lead’s true identity in spite of supposedly being best friends with him and yet so many people, from the war general to the love interest and even (yes) his mother, figures this out earlier on. The good thing is that he redeems himself at the very end* of the drama, so I was glad to see him get a happy ending.

What I didn’t like:

There are some boring episodes…not many, but a few. I personally found the first episode hard to watch and this is the reason it took me awhile to get to this.

There were some events that were incredibly hyped but never shown. There’s one arc where they hype this debate among scholars and the appearance of a master scholar who was so wise he could end the debate…but they never show this debate. You see the master scholar arriving with melodramatic bg music…and then it cuts to after the event where they say he won and all is well now.

There’s also a major battle where they play up Prince Jing’s role as a Gandalf type figure who goes off to get some reinforcements. You don’t see him do anything at all while the rest of the characters are fighting. You get this scene were he is about to challenge his brother to a duel and then it cuts off again. The only good thing about this is that it is princess Nihuang who gets to defeat the enemy general.

Poison of the bitter flame: It’s not the illness I disliked but there is a character who reveals symptoms I found completely unbelievable…if this was a fantasy or xianxia drama it would be acceptable, but it doesn’t work here, IMHO.

I also don’t like ‘the ending’ of one of the female characters; it was too ambiguous and I feel that we deserved to know what happened to her.

Is this drama like Game of Thrones? Overall no, but I can see some similarities in the wide range of diverse characters, scheming/one-upmanship ( the main lead is very good at this) and a kind of fight for the throne, in a way. But NIF is much smaller in scope. It focuses on only one kingdom, getting rid of corruption (it doesn’t really have morally gray characters/views like GOT) and has a slight ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ theme. Also, it doesn’t have magical elements in it. It’s a pretty good drama but it’s its own thing.

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This is my favorite Chinese drama of all time, and I don't even usually like historical dramas. Political intrigue typically bores me. Dramas with 50+ episodes generally make me shudder. But I couldn't stop watching Nirvana in Fire. By the time I got to the 40th episode, I was dreading the fact that I was getting close to the end. I wanted this drama to never end.  The casting is STELLAR. Not just  Hu Ge, Wang Kai, and Liu Tao, but also Wu Lei, Chen Long,  Cheng Hao Feng, Guo Xiao Ran... There is betrayal and all kinds of plotting in this drama, but there is also humor and a hint of romance.  I've even watched this a second time.

The theme song and Liu Tao's  "Aging of a Beauty" are both spectacular songs.

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Superb rendition of a historical drama!

I have never like Chinese historical dramas due to the plot oftentimes being pretty slow-burning and a lot of times there is little action and Alot of talking...

This drama has completely changed my views abt historical dramas. I chanced upon this drama because I have been following several Leo Wu's dramas. His latest - The Long Ballad is another classic hit.... Read my reviews there.

It turns out this drama got a 9.1 rating on Mydramalist hence I decided to put this up in my must watch list.

It has not disappointed me at all. I loved everything abt Mei Chang Shu /Lin Shu. He plots, schemes and is able to turn greatly unfavourable situations to his advantage, and in ways you never expect it.

I sacrificed 2 sleepless nights to finish watching this as it was such a mind-blowing story! Kudos to the author /novelist who first wrote this story... Double kudos to the entire production team and cast for the EXCELLENT & EPIC performance too! Only thing I did was to play the drama at 1.25x or sometimes 1.5x speed just so that I get to the end faster...🤭

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Give it a try!

Normally I don't like this type of complex political-type show, but a lot of my friends were recommending it so I decided to give it a try. Honestly, I'm really glad I did. As a person who has anxiety and really hates misconceptions in shows, this drama had quite a low amount of plots that had me super anxious. Instead, it's really cool seeing how Mei Changsu is going to navigate the latest dilemma and what things he's got hidden in his sleeves. I absolutely loved his character, as well as Prince Jing, Meng Zhi, and Fei Liu. The acting for everyone is amazing. Even if you hate the character, you have to respect the actor and the script-writer for their work, because I was amazed every time. This show really gets you invested from the second episode (the first has necessary set-up) and really makes you want to re-watch to see everything that you missed, especially if you're like me and haven't read the novel. There are truly no filler episodes, and the only tiny thing that lagged was the semi-romance but frankly it wasn't at the forefront of the show so I didn't mind. I really recommend it, not only because of the plot, but because every aspect is really well done.

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A Series that Just Gets Better with Every Rewatch

There is a saying that the first viewing of a great series/ movie should be done for the plot, second watch for the details and third watch for the craft. While rewatching things (especially a long series) has never been one of my favourite things, i had done it for a very few JP dramas, which definitely the ones i love the most and since they just have a little number of episodes. Recently i had the chance to binge-rewatch this, and the sole reason was because i was triggered after seeing the series’ six-year anniversary post on twt LOL. I first watched it three years ago, though i had to finish it in haste before the university’s end of semester exam period coming up. I remember i loved the overall quality of the series, admiring some of the amazing casts, repeating the theme songs, looking up for the fanficts, but didn’t manage to rewatch it until this year, when i finally have more spare time and less thing to watch on my list.

STORY - They served us with the damn near flawless presentation of story and ideas, with a very well-written & executed plot, and various pacing for every arc. I didn't even touch the fast-forward button because there were no dull and cringe moments, made the 54 eps felt short honestly. I've watched so many great Asian series with great plots and production, but in terms of story-telling and characterization, nothing can top NiF on my list until now, with 1 Litre of Tears (JP) and Mr. Sunshine (KR) come next. The amount of subtle forshadows throughout the series is insane, every dialogue, manner even cinematography does matter to build the dramatic tension and suspense that will keep the viewers turning the page.
Note that if you're looking for a cute romance, then this series might not be your cup of tea. But if you're like me, who prefer a longing and tragic, but still an unwavering and beautiful love story, then come join the club~

ACTING/ CAST/ CHARACTER - It's an ensemble of stellar casts! I started watching this series as a total stranger to any of the actors, and i didn't expect to find a remarkable performance from EVERY actors that could brought me into their realm of thoughts and beliefs.

About the MLs, i like how Hu Ge acted with his whole body as Mei Changsu, he pulled off the cold demeanor and perseverance naturally, but also showed various ranges of emotion through that restrained expressions and gestures . His character was so resolute about his plans as he had a limited time & breath, he wasn't easily distracted by other things & always ready what to plan even in the last minute. He's smart indeed, but i prefer to say that he's a great observer and opportunist. He fought with psychological warfare, preparing for 12 years should have resulted in nearly perfect scheming capability.
As for Wang Kai, our Prince Jing with his utmost sincerity and fidelity toward family and camaraderie, i like how his character developed throughout the series without him erasing his roots, ideals and loyalty. Wang Kai did really great to act as a hot-headed but lovable prince, i did hope to see him doing more sword fights though!!!

There are a dozen supporting characters in this series with important roles. Mei Changsu and Prince Jing are indeed the pivotal characters, but the key figures who executed the major events are mostly the supporting ones, and that's soo satisfying to see them taking actions together for something of greater importance. Also this show is fun because it's not always the fight between protags vs villains, but the protags scheming for fights between villain vs villain!

Next, though this is a male-centered series, it exceeded my expectation by having the female characters stand out with different strength each. They're not superwomen, they have their own weaknesses but it's not a reason for them to back out from the difficult and unfair environments. We got the physically strong and loyal women like Nihuang, Xia Dong, Gong Yu. The benevolent & quick-witted Consort Jing, clever but ruthless strategist Qin Banruo, the mentally strong & brave Grand Princess Liyang! The first drama ever where i admire all of the key female characters.

MUSIC - I'm just glad that our 3 main leads are also singers in real life and they gave us the beautiful and legendary OSTs that i'll never forget, and all of Meng Ke's instrumental musics are absolutely another amazing thing in this drama!

REWATCH VALUE - it's all going back to the headline and introduction section of this review. For me personally, who hardly find a C-drama that mainly focus on palace politic intriguing back then (i only loved watching wuxia/ xianxia/ republican ones) and was a stranger to the actors (i only found out that Hu Ge played Liu Lang in The Young Warriors 2006 after like 20eps in!) this show is truly a gem and i could see why it was a BIG HIT, even bagged soo many awards for the creative team and actors. And guess what, NiF was also claimed by Chinese drama industry as the work that restored the confidence in historical/ costume drama back in 2015 due to its realistic setting and respect for history and the source material, and it started the cinematic style trend for historical drama. The deep messages, which is absolutely not about revenge, but about how to live, how to die, how to admit past mistakes, accepting our weaknesses and try to give ourselves and other people a chance to change into the better human-being are very well conveyed to the viewers. The lingering awe that were left for it's brilliant script, character dynamics, the warmness and slight comedy revolving around Su Household make every rewatch of this series worth my time.

A 10/10 overall score, which i rarely give to a series, is not an exaggeration. I'm happy that in this lifetime i could find such a masterpiece and the amazing actors involved there. To you who have just started watching this series, don't give up even if it doesn't hook you right away, everything will be unfolded beautifully as you follow the flow of the story.

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As the title indicate it the nirvana was indeed in fire through the judgement that Mei Changsu brought into the royal palace and in the imperial family.
This drama is what you would call a masterpiece, from the story to the acting and the set. Everything is made for you to fall in love with this drama. This drama didn't need any romance or any filler episode to make your heart flutter or your eyes turn red.
First of all the first episodes are here to set the pace and background story of all the characters. So you will discover the main one Mei Changsu aka Su Zhe who came to the capital to help one of the prince to become the crown prince but is actually helping this forgotten prince Jing to become the future emperor. As soon as the backgroung is set, you will fall into a rollercoaster of emotions between happiness and sadness over the interactions of the character but also their own stories which are heartbreaking. And I do think that all of these details doesn't make any of these characters fall short when it comes to this drama. They are all here for a reason, and which one of them has a story to tell and a goal to achieve.
Second of all the directing is magnificient. The set where they filmed the drama was thougth on a delightful level where your eyes will be cleaned from it. It it beyond beautiful. The costumes are beautiful. And each dressings was thought according to the personality of each characters.

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Story - Strong plot with several amazing aspects, build up is a good kind of heavy but you must be patient, the story will drag and take forever but if you're patient enough it'll get you through. Like every drama you will be bound to some disappointment and poor story development in some areas. Very little hints of comedy and romance but they give you enough to show different sides to the characters. Relational build up I feel wasn't too great, this drama was more focused on the goal than the relational development. There is a lot of soul and passion that makes the story great and intense but at some points it will drag because of the redundant political schemes.

Cast: - You will love the main character, I mean who doesn't love Hu Ge? I wanted to see more sides to him in this drama. It would have been cool to see different mini versions of the drama with the same plot but just Hu Ge with different characters. Knowing the past of the main character, how would the story developed if he was still aggressive and cunning? Or silly and clumsy? It would have been way cool to see Hu Ge fight in this drama. At first, I didn't get a good glance at the princes and I found that I didn't like her until I had a clearer look at her. She's beautiful! Wished they had more romance. Overall, the acting cast is great, they chose a good set of experienced actors and actresses. You can tell that it's not your typical mediocre cast. The main characters bodyguard was young and could tell he was a newbie but he has more fighting scenes than he does acting/talking scenes.

Music - I didn't pay attention to the music, I just like the opening song which was just music, very enjoyable. Other songs or soundtrack didn't stand out too strong for me.

Rewatch Value - I wouldn't watch this again because most of it is just political scheming. There are probably one or two scenes I'd go back to rewatch, that's it.

Overall - I rated this 7.5 which is a fairly high score for me. There were some things I was really looking forward too but I was left disappointed but it didn't make me hate it. Most reviews for this drama put a 10 and seemed to be absolutely in love with it, I wasn't. But it wasn't terrible.

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Another titular drama that deeply disappoints

My boyfriend and I discuss shows while we semi-watch them. Recently, none of the dramas has been interesting or good enough for us to sit idly by and stare at the screen. Thus, when a character is introduced on screen, we often predict where his/her alliance is, what will happen to the individual and the entire plot. Based on how highly rated this drama was, we tried our best to complete it. Episodes 1-5 were downright boring, episodes 6-15 were the highlight of this drama because this is when you are introduced to the supporting cast, the rest were predictable and truly not memorable. My least favourite characters were the protagonists. Throughout the entire drama, I felt no connection nor emotions for any of the characters (Lin Chen was my favourite and he barely had any scenes). Therefore, halfway into the show, my boyfriend played it in the background while he gamed and I worked.

Story:
This is probably the biggest reason why this title did not deserve so much hype. It was predictable from the beginning to the end, it did not help that the pace was so slow. The irony in this show was both amusing and annoying. The drama is named after Langya Bang, yet, it played almost no role in this story apart from setting it up. I found it irritating that the entire plot revolved around taking 'revenge', yet the protagonist is painted as a saint. The entire concept of exacting revenge on an Emperor who only did what all Kings do. It is as though this author and/or screenwriter has never had a history lesson. Despite throwing around words like 'ruthless' or 'cruel', the Emperor was none of those, he was a competent and selfish ruler, but many are. Moreover, it was clear from the beginning that the Emperor knew he had made a mistake, but one simply cannot change the past. As an Emperor, it was unlikely for him to admit he made such a huge mistake, this is normal and even common if we looked at history.

If we put aside the past, which obviously cannot be changed, Prince of Yu was the best candidate for Emperor. He was the most similar to the Emperor and hardly did anything one could deem to be too 'cruel'. It is a fight for the throne, he hadn't decapitated entire families or pillaged and raped, so what is the problem with throwing a few people under the bus for your dream job? One could argue that Lin Shu having thrown Jing Rui or the Empress under the bus is pretty much the same deal. HOWEVER, as a result of Lin Shu's meddling, we end up with Prince of Jing as the Emperor, who is just, but terrible in politics. I simply cannot imagine how he could rule. In the absence of Lin Shu, and filled with a courtroom of ministers with differing opinions, he is so inept that he would either crumble at the weight of the responsibility OR he would do what he wants (since he is so bloody stubborn), and is what he wants going to be the best for the country? One has to ask if he fits the bill of a ruler.

Prince of Jing is not very smart, he's not very good at planning or strategising, he's easily manipulated, even if by chance he was only manipulated in a positive manner by his trusted aide. If we were to boil it down to the real reason Lin Shu wants him in charge, it's mostly because of a he's-my-gay-bromance-and-a-good-guy sort of situation. Lol! It took his mother a mere couple of seconds to figure out that it was Lin Shu, and it took him well... THE REVEAL, to find out it was Lin Shu. Even as unbelievably stupid as one could be, seriously ROFL? Let's be frank, no one makes the good guy the CEO, you make the competent and smart guy the CEO. Why? Because that works. When you put all the puzzle pieces together, this is such a terrible political period piece because there was very little politics and almost no character development. Why anyone would call this title a great historical piece is laughable.

Acting/Cast:
This is the only redeeming factor. I have never seen many of the actors from this show, and one of the reasons my boyfriend and I had to rewatch episodes 1-3 approximately 5 times, is because of the lack of eye candies. We found none of the actors in this show physically appealing. Coupled with the slow pace and predictable plot, it was so difficult to focus. However, we held on and although I am deeply disappointed by the show, this cast did an excellent job. There were moments where the acting was stale or exaggerated, but otherwise, solid acting from nearly everyone.

Music:
A few decent pieces, but not crazy about the songs.

Conclusion:
A drag I had to sit through and would never rewatch. If you are into heavy plots and character development, skip this one. If you just need some decent acting because you are sick of terrible acting in C-drama, then, it's got potential. I was generous with the scoring mostly because of the acting, actors should not be penalised for bad screenwriting (or horribly misinformed authors who write mediocre novels).

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I was hesitant to watch this series but decided to give it a chance based on the reviews that I read. Most people have given it high reviews, I thought surely it would be amazing. I guess I am continuously the oddball when it comes to rating the series but anyway I will give My honest review.

Plot: The series revolves around a man who was betrayed along with his father, family and fellow soldiers by ambitious men both equal and superior in status. Our lead suffered greatly and as a result he was away for a very long time. The series starts off by showing his reentry into the world that wants betrayed him and his effort to seek revenge and clear his family‘s name.
It should be noted the series is predominately about revenge and revealing the wrong that has been done. There is a significant amount of brotherhood and loyalty shown within the series which made it more pleasant.
You will see the normal power-hungry royals and those people who will stop at nothing to please them and maintain their sense of value.

Message: Although it was revenge driven, I do believe that there was a significant message within the series one in which I believe that we can all relate to it in terms of admitting mistakes.

What I liked about the series was that it it had action as well as an intense amount of intellectual plotting. The young male guard was fun to watch.

Well I just like about this series with that it was extremely slow. The people tops slow. They walk slow. They argue slow and they plotted slowly. Everything just seemed so slow. I also feel that it was dragged on way too long. Although there are many significant moments that happened near me and it just felt draggy. Once the major event happened/big reveal happened the show kept going. That being said the last two episodes really added no value to the series. Nothing changed it was really anti-climatic and the ending was just blah.

I actually feel weird saying this but I really did not like our male lead. He did so many things and used people to obtain his goal but he is suppose to be good. He seriously used and betrayed someone who thought that he was a good friend.

On another note, I felt there were loop wholes. How he got to where he was. He just was.

Action: Some
Plotting: endless
Politics: yes
Romance: none present
Good acting: yes
Brotherhood: yes
Betrayal: YES
Karma: slow but yes
Suspense: sort of but not really.
Rewatch for me: nope, too long and slow.

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