Started this after The Legends cuz I loved the on-screen chemistry between Xu Kai & Bai Lu.

I binge-watched up until the last few episodes & then needed a break cuz they did one of my fav characters dirty. It's a show w/heavy pro- Chinese/anti-Japanese propaganda since it was set in the early 1900s, lots of military-style operations & plot-developed events that developed pretty decently, plotting & back-stabbing & power struggle, great natural comrade-chemistry w/a bit of love-sick pursuit tossed in alongside it and really strong female characters. Our main girl is NOT the strongest character, even. There are actually two other more mature FLs who nail the different ways of being a bad-ass lady boss. The men are attractive in addition to XK & I think I have a new crush on the chairman in glasses. (That one sure snuck up on me; dang!)

Sadly, even though the chemistry was simply adorable between the leads, there was little romance. I say this because I will be 100% up-front about the fact that I watch dramas for the romance but if a story is good & the characters are good, I'll stay to watch even if my original intention isn't fulfilled. :) A good story is a good story. :) For those in disagreement, I will say he DID romance her as he was pursuing her, sure, but they cut out all the kiss scenes & even though he helped her & protected her as a mature man might, I never got the grown-up-guy-in-love vibe from him. Yes, their chemistry was super cute. But he was like a little puppy, wanting to chase her round and give her licks to show he liked her and get attention from her. It was cute but it went nowhere during the show, mostly due to editing & other plot developments. I did enjoy the way he teased her, though. OML. It was just too long of a show since a) I usually don't care for military dramas and b) I wasn't satisfied with the way they eventually got together BUT I finished it because all the other characters were GREAT. I mean, really great. The story started to lag in the last 1/3 (typical) but then things progressed quickly at the end, as the cadets teamed up to take care of business. Satisfying explosions, people die who should die & it's all wrapped up neatly in a bow.

Opening credits song is pretty cool & some other decent OSTs help but I would not watch this again. I didn't skip much, though, which is really sayin' somethin'...