Ashes of Love 香蜜沉沉烬如霜 brought in CSM52 ratings of 1.322% and CSMNationwide ratings of 1.638% on its final day of airing and also broke past ratings of 2% in realtime at one point. It may not be as impressive as last year’s Princess Agents, which hit 2% for days despite being a 10pm show. but it definitely counts as a hit drama for the summer.
I won’t bore you with my endless obsession over the show, other than to say that I’m really happy for the show and the cast. I am happy with the ending too, and the only thing I’m really sad about is that there will be no more episodes starting from today.
Yang Zi as Jin Mi. She’s the heart of the show for me. Other than Yang Zi, I really can’t imagine anyone as Jin Mi because she was too good at it. It’s not an easy role to play with all the nuances required of a character who didn’t know love until she had lost it.
Deng Lun as Xu Feng. He’s a sweetheart. I hear his god of war persona was toned down a lot, and while we’ll never know how a more war-driven story would have panned out, this is a man who cried, bled and died for love. How does one not fall for that?
Leo Luo Yunxi as Run Yu. His biggest mistake was to chase after a love that was never his to begin with, hurting everyone in the process, including himself. I can’t help but take his side on everything else though. Each time he got flak for taking over the throne, I’m thinking, the King and Queen deserved to be overthrown.
Yukee Chen Yuqi as Liu Ying. She’s a consistent character throughout. I’m with most people on this one in that her romance with Mu Ci got way too much screen time in the grander scheme of things, but for what it’s worth, she’s the best girl friend Xu Feng can ever have. She’s also brilliant at giving Sui He the evil eye, which is plus points to her.
Wang Yifei as Sui He. The villain everyone hates. Yet somehow, I find her story and her eventual outcome rather tragic.
Zou Tingwei as Mu Ci. I liked the actor since Siege in Fog and only wished that his character arc was written better.
Bella Du Yuchen as Kuang Lu. I’m still rooting for her to end up with Run Yu. They can be lifelong partners, in a way, they already are.
Xia Zhiyuan as Yue Xia Xian Ren (Moon Immortal). It took some getting used to to see such a young actor playing Xu Feng’s uncle especially since his voice purposely didn’t match his face. Eventually, I learned to appreciate the humor behind it.
Yue Lao is best wingman anyone could ask for. He’s a little too obsessed with getting Xu Feng and Jin Mi together though I supposed it’s part of the job as the god of marriage.
Daniel Liao Jinfeng as Pu Chi Jun (Snake Immortal). Being so flamboyantly egotistic and unafraid to speak his mind, his lines are the best. His words to Jin Mi, “why give up on all the snakes in the world and go into the arms of dragon just because of one bird.”
Zhang Junran as Liao Yuan Jun. Still waiting for this guy to be revived.
Kat
This was such a good drama! So sad it ended. I am experiencing the same post-drama withdrawals as when Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms ended last year. 🙁
Anonymous
With all the noise this drama is creating, you would have thought it broke 2 or something.
On the sidenote, TV ratings are really low this year I wonder why.
Anonymous
its on Netflix too 🙂
Anonymous
Are they subbed already? Anyone know where I can watch this with eng sub? Thanks
Anonymous
You can use VIKI its free with ads you wont get any bad stuff on your computer
this is the link to the first episode. https://www.viki.com/videos/1136996v-ashes-of-love-episode-1
Kyliee
The best C-drama this year for me! I'm just happy the leads got all the recognition and love they deserve, especially for deng lun.
Anonymous
Yang Zi is probably the only actor who stood out. I think the others could be replaced, so they weren’t exactly excellent.
kiwilove
^ I think all three earned their spots as well as the viewers hearts.
Deng Lun has been trending so much lately I'm so happy he's getting the hype he deserved.
But I'm still pissed about Liao Yuan Juns' death. They should have killed the guy that killed him!!
tpear
Check out:
https://www4.dramacool9.io/
The Eng sub is still far behind as the show ended yesterdady already.
Anonymous
If anything, im also glad Denglun got more recognition. I’ve been following him and he’s not only a good actor but also a sweet heart
Anonymous
I love the happy ending, but kinda feel a little bit incomplete without the appearance of moon god and snake god at the end. I thought they would visit Jin mi and Xu feng's little family and tease them.
Anonymous
Glad to discover Luo Yunxi from this drama. Too bad he has to suffer all the hate from novel and CP fans but I hope he gets better drama offers from now on.
The girl acting as Sui He is also a good actress. Heard she's going to be in the Pillow Book. Hopefully Jay Walk pushes her more.
Overall this was a nice summer watch.
Sunny
I dropped this but I will say this drama made me like Yang Zi again as she showed the acting abilities we knew she had but have been hidden by all these idiot bubble head roles she's played these last few years. I hope she continues picking better roles after this drama.
I also discovered Leo Yunxi and I hope all the behind the scenes drama doesn't effect him negatively. None of this is his fault, he's a very good actor, handsome and seems very likeable.
Ironically, I started watching this for Deng Lun as I usually think he is a great actor but he gave my least favourite of the performances by the leads and I felt he was miscast.
Anonymous
I am having drama withdrawal syndrome with this one! It was so hard for me to let go as well and coming to reality that there are no more new episodes. Yang Zi was definitely the highlight for me.
However, Luo Yunxi surprised me the most. At first, I felt that he didn't fit RY and his voice was rather too soft for RY. But somehow, I don't know when, he became very convincing as RY and I started to find his soft voice very appealing and very balanced with Deng Lun's lower pitch voice. His tragic scenes were performed beautifully, just as splendid as Deng Lun's crying scene if not better. To me, he was the cherry on the top. It made me wanted to know more of him as an actor. Will be looking out for his future projects, except for Princess Silver. Aarif Rahman is a no go for me.
Anonymous
I also feel that even though this drama never really hit 2%, it is still a success. Not only was it the only drama that steadily stayed above 1%, but was also the only drama to consecutively stayed above 1% throughout its entire run for this summer. And as some mentioned, this year is just not a good year with all the new stricter regulations. And that could have resulted to lower ratings compared to previous year.
Anonymous
its a good show styl. they should make a szn 2
Anonymous
I wish they would donmore of the epilogues!!
Also, just curious, does anyone know whether the scene where Xu Feng eats a centipede is real? Did Deng Lun really put a real centipede in his mouth? It looks kinda real…
Unknown
This drama has all the elements it exceeds beyond my expectation, though i find some characters lacking and some scenes unecessary. jim mi's ignorance,naivity,innocence to love were well blend to xu feng's sacrifising,enduring and passionate love keeps me going through out the drama.indeed their's is trully a bitter sweet tale of love.
At first i was reluctant to this drama.i was acctually caught in between of what to watch after fuyao…yun xi,bloody romance or ashes of love.i ended up the latter…no regrets though. a praise well deserve for both the leading party…deng lun as phoenix i think is the cherry on top…ghad! is it just me,he emote like a child in ep 63 but i wierdly find him sexy..specially that low husky voice …of course not to mention the chemistry of deng lun and yang zi ,it's cute but at the same time hot!!!!
Anne J
I read that somewhere haha it is fake.
Anonymous
This is considered the best C-Drama I've watch. I really like all the casts members and how well they portray each of their character, but Yang Zi is still number one. I really love how well she well she fit in as Jin Mi and how good she is as portraying her innocence then maturity. The story, scenery in the drama, their effects and the OSTs are also the reason why this drama is really successful
Unknown
After watching this, its left a gap within me where I constantly find myself thinking of the characters. Yang Zi's portrayal of Jin Mi is GOLD. She truly is a phenomenal actress. Deng Lung's acting I found rather simple, yet I believe it created the perfect balance to Yang Zi's overly energetic, cute, and naive personality lol. We got even more of a glimpse of Fire Deity's/Demon King's love for Yang Zi when she had appeared and disappeared 3 years after her death. That was heartbreaking. Honestly, all their scenes is very endearing and they definitely compliment each other :). As for fish boy… he is very interesting. Crazy how i could never imagine he'd become evil but the transition of it and the lies he told himself and his acting was awesome. I look forward to more great projects. as of now my top 3 chinese dramas are 1. 10 miles of peach blossom 2.Ashes of love 3. Princess Agents (though the ending very incomplete).
Anonymous
yes preach it boo
Anonymous
This Asian show's actually the best one so far, im surprised its not that popular yet. Still hoping they wud make an another szn.
Anonymous
BEST C-DRAMA, WE WANT SEASON 2!!!!!
clairebear
bro this show's amazing, still hoping theres a second season. And ngl the guys r damn hot
abby
I agree, best asian romance so far
tiffany j
The guys wer HOT so we want season 2 lol
Mercy Kline
Es un drama marabilloso,lo he visto 4 veces,queremos mas de Yang Zi and Deng Lun.
they are the best.