Okay so the last third definitely took some detours, but I am actually pleasantly surprised with how well the ending of Cage of Shadows tied everything together. For a somewhat silly drama that did not always deliver on how insane it could have gotten with its premise, it actually managed to deliver a fairly neat, well-written story. Even the relationship between the two leads managed to win me over in the end, although I still wish we could have gotten more between them in the first two-thirds of the story.
Anyway, since Ashes to Crown seems to mostly be a disappointment, if any of you are looking for something quick and easy to watch in these trying times before The First Jasmine (hopefully) saves us from the cdrama drought, I'd recommend checking out Cage of Shadows. It's 23 episodes and each one is about 15 minutes long, and it's very solidly written and acted, with a smart main character and a large cast of side characters that each get some time to shine in the spotlight (as much as possible for a mini). Fair warning though, if you, like me, see two girls with swords on the cover and decide to watch it for them, it took way too long for me to actually get invested in their relationship. This is more of a "power of friendship" drama than an "power of homosexuality" drama.
Also, some screencaps from the last two episodes because the leads decided to go bonkers and kick some ass:
Zhuang Wujiu kicking a sword at her dad (he sucks)
Zhuang Wujiu killing the big bad (ft. his decapitated body in the background)
Nan Yanzhi killing the asshole who tried to force her to marry him in literally one hit (no big long battle for him)
Zhuang Wujiu jumping over some fire to go save her girlfriend disciple.
