like genuinely just think about whay we couldve had: bo li, free spirited and battle worn xiongnu heir, vs qian hongchu, pampered jiangnan prince and last ruler of wuyue...... entirely opposite figures in history....... aughhhhhh the world has suffered a devastating loss...
that's 75 episodes of zhang ruoyun, mao xiaotong, bai yu, plus a bunch of other familiar faces.... thousands of hours of work from the cast and crew and screenwriter ughhh such a waste. and i wish i could've seen bai yu bringing both qian hongchu and bo li to life on screen
i have not watched nor will i watch 交锋 (the long watch) but im sure its good if youre into that...兰香如故 (against the current) wouldve made the list if it was about half the number of episodes. hoping 两京十五日 (river of no return) will make it on this list too
on account of all the costume dramas of 2026 sucking straight dookie, here is my short and irrefutable list of good cdramas this year:
1. swords into plowshares 《太平年》
2. the lead 《主角》
3. born to be alive 《生命树》
honorable mention: a prophet《我不是大师》
end of list