Story of Yanxi Palace (2018)

WE need moreeeee

SUCH a good drama!! So many plot twists and a smart FL TY! Although 70 episodes is longer than any drama you would see but its totally worth it. My dumb self decided to binge watch this in 3 days 3 nights. Regretted it so much because then I didn't feel like there was a connection with me and the drama. And it sort of affected the other dramas I watch after yanxi. But that's my fault.Cried twice in this drama and some were almost forced tears lol. Usually I would cry more than that.

The storyline is good. Plot twists as I mentioned, but fuca and ming yu :( I personally prefer ying luo with fuheng just because he was her first love and they were just so PERFECT. The emperor and ying luo is also a good couple though. A chaotic one too.

Acting is on point. 100/10. The FL did a wonderful job and xu kai as well with the 'cold' personality. The acting WILL take you on a emotional roller coaster ride

Music is alright, the osts are pretty good, no complaints towards it

rewatch value: 9.0 just bc the episodes are quite long for you to go through every single one of it. There were some parts that stood out that you might want to go back and see it again.

overall: 9.5!!

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It’s an amazing drama! Watch Worthy

I first discovered this drama from the ending theme ost, The sound of snow falling; I fell in love with the song and then watched some music videos, and then I decided to watch it. When I saw that it had 70 episodes, I thought I wasn’t going to like it; I was totally wrong. I binged this drama! I finished it in like 6 days? At first, I really shipped Fuheng and Yingluo, but after seeing how adorable the Emperor is towards Yingluo, I love their interaction. I loved the Queen so much. When she died, my eyes were balling! At first, I thought that the Emperor and Yingluo’s relationship was a little weird since he’s much older, but then I came to like it a lot! This drama is really good! Yingluo does not need a man to rescue her. It is a little unrealistic that Yingluo didn’t die from her actions towards the Emperor, but if she did die, then the drama would not be 70 episodes. Watch it!

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Basically the drama is about the politics that happens between concubines in the palace. Concubines with high power will try to manipulate others for their selfish desires. We can make the story of drama in two parts
1. When Wei Ying Luo is a maid in the palace. Because of her smartness she evolves and becomes a close maid to the empress. When the empress died later she will become a concubine because of some situations
2. How she turns emperor attention towards her (I personally liked this part so much).
I like the way the drama has taken.
All characters made their best in acting and the drama is mainly about Wei Ying Luo

This drama is highly recommended for china drama lovers

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My FAVOURITE show!!!

I experienced such an array of emotions whilst watching this drama it is truly amazing. The way that this story was structured, the fact that they were able to have it span over 10 years and it kept me on the edge of my seat the ENTIRE time. Amazing spectacular phenomenal.

I have re-watched this drama at least five times and I still am so engaged during the entire show and even though I’ve watched it so many times I still get emotional during those emotional scenes even though I know what’s going to happen it just still gets me. I feel like at this point I’ve formed an emotional attachment to all of the characters and that’s not something that happens to me usually.

The only other drama or show that can hold a candle to this in my opinion would be Moon lovers: Scarlet Hearts of Ryeo the Korean version. So if you enjoyed this show as much as I did or even a normal amount I would highly recommend watching moon lovers.

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Absolutely Amazing

I am in tears. I cannot believe that I actually watched this monstrosity (I say this with love) of a show in less than a month. It was worth every second, every minute that I invested into it. Such an elaborate, intricate show with twists and revelations around every corner.

Wei Ying Luo was such a smart and interesting female lead! She got shit done in no time and also stood her ground (I ignore the strong plot armor)??. She even planned her own downfall on purpose, who does that?? Her relationship with Fuca Rong Yin was so beautiful. Both women saw something in each other and depended on one another greatly. RY was like a big sister and mother figure and YL represented freedom. I absolutely adored the development of YL and Ming Yu’s friendship and sisterhood. Ming Yu was such a childish and petty girl in the beginning but grew into YL greatest confidante. I wept like a baby when she died (I’m still upset about this)???. About that sneaky snake Yuan Chun Wang: I never liked him!! He was so incredibly weird towards YL from the beginning. I always felt like he had a very weird claim towards the female lead, a sort of entitlement to *have* her. It was so uncomfortable??‍♀️.

Despite her nasty nature, I also loved Noble Consort Gao. I think she left us too early (though the show did not lack drama – even without her). It would have been nice to have a deeper dive into her character/family since she was so interesting but not explored enough. Her loving the emperor so much was her downfall – as was all those women’s downfall. YL played the long game by never explicitly saying "I love you" to Hong Li lol. Though she did admit it in her own way in my opinion. I also would have loved to have more of Chen Bi, not going to lie!

I liked YL with both Fu Heng and the emperor to be honest. Her first love was sweeter while her second was more teasing and chaotic. But I loved the scenes with the emperor, they were such a fun couple to watch on screen??.

Hoifa-Nara Shu Shen??. The woman that you are. I don’t blame her one bit for all the things she did. She did everything so smartly and proved again and again how cunning she is. She never *really* got her hands dirty, she just made her enemies feel insecure and they’d ruin themselves. I also liked how she and YL were on eye-level. They respected each other’s wits and it went well for 10 years until Shu Shen kind of lost her mind a little lol (aging is a little annoying when the emperor has 7123918320 other wives that are younger than you (and especially when he favors your enemy – I get it)).

The last two episodes were… chef’s kiss. The twists, the emotions, the revelations were amazing. Only thing… if they really needed to kill my man Fu Heng (mind you, his existence was already sad since he married Er Qing – if delusion was a person – and thus lost his real love), then they could have done so on the battlefield. Why did he die of Malaria??

The OST was also great! Both the songs and the instrumental greatly supported the scenes and made everything feel grand. I never skipped a single second of this drama. When I first stumbled upon this show, I wasn’t really that deep into C-Dramas. I thought “Damn, what are you going to tell me in 70 episodes?! As if that won’t get boring!!”. I was proven more than wrong. I had a marvelous time. I laughed, I bawled my eyes out, I cheered, I got mad. This show made me feel all the emotions, and I can actually see myself sitting down for a rewatch.

Standout episodes from the top of my head:
- Episode 19 because that is the very first episode that YL and the emperor spend the majority of the episode together with little interruption.
- Episode 40… Rong Yin ☹
- Episode 54 Er Qing dies, YIPPIE
- Episode 59 because YL and the emperor finally reunited again after he found out she was on birth control
- Episode 61… I cried buckets of tears when Ming Yu died
- Episode 64 because YL successfully planned her own downfall to uncover Chen Bi, plus her reunion with the emperor, who had already understood her plan. The way they teased each other and finally were back together just ? I believe the emperor was always 100% confident that YL would be able to get out of ANY situation, which is why he always let her do whatever!
- Episode 69/70 simply iconic. Simply amazing. When Shu Shen cut her hair… I had seen that scene several times in edits and had been waiting (!!) for it to happen because the actress had perfected hatred, betrayal and defeat all visible on her face and man… it did not disappoint. So good.

Overall, a 10/10 show, I will miss it so much???

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A particularly delighful drama w possible continuity w Legend of Zhen Huan n My Fair Princess (1998)

I watched The Story of Yanxi Palace n Ruyi's Golden Love in the Palace. I found Ruyi so depressingly dismal w how the empress character relied too much on the emperor's kove n trust. Meanwhile, in Yanxi Palace, the characters Yingluo n the Emperor were basically equal. Just love the bickering between the two n how the emperor started off just being intrigued w Yingluo, starting to respect Yingluo as he discovered the depth of her characters n slowly falling in love w her w/o him realising it first. Li Yue character said in one episode where that Yingluo(Ling Fei) treated the emperor as a commoner n that's what make her special. For me, I love that it's the emperor that had to work to earn the love of Yingluo, compared to the usual trope of the heroine falling in love w the emperor first. While for Yingluo herself, we never really know if she truly love the emperor as a man or if she just come to love him as a husband. Love love the female characters in the drama, n how each character has a big moment where the dramatic focus is on them, like the Step Empress impassioned speech in ep 70, the Empress telling the emperor how she felt suffocated by the empress title, Consort Guo admitting that the emperor only pitied her, Consort Chun breakdown, etc.
While Ruyi is supposedly a sequel to Legend of Zhen Huan, I find Yanxi Palace to be a more appropriate to be called a sequel. In Zhen Huan, the heroine had to play palace politics to protect her loved ones. In Yanxi, the Empress Dowager (which could be Zhen Huan) didn't involve himself in political matters, which is reasonable as Zhen Huan wouldn't hv to protect her loved ones anymore once Yongzheng Emperor died n she became the Empress Dowager. In Yanxi, the Empress Dowager loved her deceased princess, Princess He Ang, more than anyone. Which tied in w Zhen Huan where she had a daughter w the 17th Prince, n thus would probably love her the most. In Ruyi, the emperor supposedly love Ruyi (Consort Xian). But, in Zhen Huan, Hong Li didn't like Consort Xian n actually requested Zhen Huan to replace Consort Xian w Consort Gao as his 2nd wife, which tallied w how the emperor treated Consort Xian in Yanxi n that Consort Gao was the 2nd wife. In Ruyi, the empress character was potrayed as someone evil, while in Yanxi, the empress is potrayed as good, which agreed more w how Chinese history wrote abt the empress.
Yanxi's connection w the 1998 drama My Fair Princesd is something that I personally thought of. In Yanxi, there's a period of 10 yrs between ep 64 n 65. The drama told nothing of what happened in that period but in ep 65, we know that the emperor has grown distant frm the step empress. In My Fair Princess, the emperor discovered that he had a daughter w a commoner woman, who he might hv met during one of his tours. The emperor was so taken w thus new daughter as well as her commoner best friend that he bestowed to them the title of Princess n doted on them. Ling Fei became friend w the two princesses. But, the Step Empress got jealous of them n used tactics to get the emperor to hate the princesses n punished them w death. The drama also had the character Lord Fu Heng who helped the two princesses to escape the Step Empress's threats. At the end of the drama, the emperor came to know of the Step Empress's wrongdoings. This then could be the possible reason for why the emperor was distant w the Step Empress in Yanxi, n also how the physician implied to the Step Empress to reign in her jealousy so as not to disturb her health.
So, for me, Legend of Zhen Huan, My Fair Princess (1998) n Yanxi Palace fit in so nicely w eo in term of the storyline n the characters.
Also, in Legend of Zhen Huan, My Fair Princess n Yanxi Palace, the main female characters are portrayed as smart n strong women, while in Ruyi, the main female characters are portrayed as those who are only interested to gain the emperor's love while the Step Empress was so annoyingly ineffectual that all her loved ones suffered due to her own inaction.

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This drama is worth the hype and high rating. Although I really don’t like harem plots this one was an exception. I admit that the first 20 episodes or so did not impress me but after a point (I forgot when) the episodes became exciting and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest. I like how Wei Lingyou’s character is smart and witty and that she is not a saint, she can punish and fight back when needed. The chemistry between the main leads was good even though the romantic scenes were limited and mostly implied this should not deter one from watching. Just the anticipation of when Wei Lingyou would show her love to the Emperor and how the Emperor would show his devotion to WL is enough as romance. Most of the cast did a wonderful job acting although some bits of overacting didn’t affect the drama as a whole. Cinematography was excellent. Locations, sets and costumes were high quality. My only complaint about this drama is the length. Even though the span of the story is about 25 years I think they could have shortened while keeping the span. I would have given this drama a perfect 10 if it was kept at 60 episodes or less. I love the happy ending between Wei Lingyou and the Emperor that they truly loved each other and also the promise of Wei Lingyou to protect/be together with Fuheng in her next life. Overall, this is one of my all time favorite historical dramas and I highly recommend.

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For me, no other drama will ever top Yanxi Palace

I could watch this every 3 months because it is the epitome of a great drama that encompasses perfect writing, beautiful cinematography, and characters with more layers than a mille-feuille. It's also one that gives the most believable depiction of the Qianlong Emperor unlike Ruyi's Love in the Palace which became all about Ruyi's martyrdom.
Also, I wonder why there aren't more strong female characters like Wei Ying Luo because if the viewing numbers are anything to go by, it at least tells us that audiences want a heroine who can triumph over adversity by the sheer power of her intellect and yet C dramaland is littered with the ghosts of limp-noodle, baby voice heroines who can't find their way out of a paper bag.

Anyway, watch this if you like a fast-paced and unpredictable plot with multiple strong female characters.

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Sets a high bar for Chinese historical dramas

After watching Nirvana in Fire (which was really great, I still hold upon my review for this show), this drama was what was the most recommened follow up to watch within the same genre. And when I read its synopsis of having a revenge story in a historical setting, I was already hooked. Initially, I watched this for its revenge plot, not knowing what lied ahead.

Chinese FLs tend to be meek, submissive, overtly cute-sy, just a typical Cinderella complex type of character. This is what was on my mind prior to watching this drama. After all, this was based on what I read while scrolling in this review site. It was also one of the reasons why I avoided Chinese dramas for so long. However, Wei Yingluo was the totally opposite of what was mentioned. She came to the Forbidden City with an identity, and remained there still with her identity intact. She didn't allowed the behemoth number of obstacles to fail her mission. She was smart, cunning, cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Genius is a gross understatement for her character.

What I also loved about this drama is its pacing and plot development. The numerous conflicts in the royal harem all throughout its 70-episode run, on paper, could've been boring since it was formulaic at times, but the execution were done really well. There wasn't any deux ex machina involved and the plot twists, were realistic in that a smart person could figure it out, and Yingluo is one such smart person, so... Intriguing is a gross understatement for the story's pacing.

Furthermore, the characters were really fleshed out. One special mention would be Royal Consort Gao, who was as villanous as one can be. But in depth, there was a reason why she was who she was. Her characterization was really thought out well, and she is someone who I will not forget anytime soon. Interesting is a gross understatement for the characters.

Production-wise, this was really one of the better Chinese productions and is comparable to Korean high-budgeted dramas. Its technical aspects (cinematography, lighting, camerawork, music) were aesthetically-pleasing, and enough for a drama. The CGI was actually very decent. But one aspect that I really commend was the wardrobe. It was just divine to watch, and was really able to capture the essence of Qing dynasty fashion. Qing dynasty was not the best among the Chinese dynasties fashion-wise, but this show represented its best attributes very well. It was just ethereal and magnetic in the eyes, except the men hairstyles.

My slight criticism for this drama is that it wasn't able to maintain the intense tension for its last episode. It was still cleverly written since it circled back to the reason why Yingluo entered the Forbidden City in the first place. But, it could've been more impactful, which was what I was expecting. Nevertheless, the ending was still very great, wonderful even.

This show solidified my awe and admiration for Chinese historical dramas. They are as straightforward as they can be. No unneccessary back stories, and focuses on the present dilemmas. There are a plenty of royal shenanigans and betrayals, which is a staple for this genre. Story of Yanxi Palace, for one, sets a high bar for Chinese historical dramas.

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This drama is perfect. The drama is really fun and interest to watch from the start to the end. You won't disappointed.
The reason why it is so good because it's left the ideal of thought. It's really meaningful in life. (No matter how hard or struggle to survive, as long as you find a solution. you will be happy in the end of the result). This is great unlike any drama which it just lead to watch for fun and no meaning in real life.
This is not mean i addictive to watch this drama. and it's perfect in my brain. but it's really good for my type. people have different ideal. let test yourself.

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Gorgeous sets and costumes!!

Not a fan of this period of time in China as the costumes are not not flowy like in wuxia dramas and cannot appreciate the half bald hairdo for the men and finger accessory for the women BUT

The story was engaging, the sets evoked grandeur and costumes were richly embroidered.

As this was my introduction to palace drama, I was not put off by all the back stabbing and plotting that happened at every turn. It was intriguing to watch all the events unfold as I empathised with all the women having to “share” one husband. I am glad I do not live in those times.

Yingluo was an exceptionally written character. She was placed in many different situations and through it all, her quick wit saved her and those she cared for.

If you only want to watch just one palace drama, this should be the one.

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I don't usually watch dramas that is longer than 40 episode,but then I'm a fan of xukai that's why i gave it a try.. as soon as i started watching it, I can't help myself from watching till i reach the finale?
The story is nice but then i wish that fuheng also have his happy ending,my heart really aches for him.. he sacrificed alot for yinglou. Though i understand that if only fuheng didn't gave up and fight for their love. I don't like the role of the emperor to be honest, he's a scumbag and selfish. He already have lots of concubines but still didn't want to give fuheng his love,he sacrificed alot and yet ... Haysst. Anyways. Maybe it's their fate.

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