Nelly
Canada
Best FL & Worst ML
OVERALL
This binge-worthy drama brings epicness to the least epic historical setting: the Qing dynasty harem. Watch it if 1) you enjoy never-ending catfights, 2) you love strong, smart, complex female leads, 3) you dig Qing dynasty culture. If you 1) hate long dramas (this is SEVENTY episodes y'all!!), 2) can't stand unlikeable male leads, 3) need well-developed, emotional love stories, then think about it. Think hard...and then maybe still give it a try.
THE STORY
For the longest time I shunned this drama. Qing dynasty stories really aren't my style; the costumes, the customs, the fact that the world seems to be restricted to the Forbidden City and women don't seem to have anything else to do in their life than fight for the emperor's attention, well, I'm not a fan. But this drama is rated so high, I had to give it a try eventually...and I don't regret it!
The Good: Although this drama is essentially about women fighting for attention in the Forbidden City (which I dislike with a passion), the first half of the plot also involves a murder-mystery, which gives it a refreshing twist and makes the repetitive catfights quite bearable. Another thing that helps swallow them well is the fact that FL is just absolutely AMAZING, definitely one of the best I've seen, and the best C-drama FL hands down. What's great about her is that she isn't the typical "innocent, pure" FL that responds to evilness with kindness. She stands between good and evil and when she says she wants justice, she'll do just about anything to get it. As such, she's scheming like the bad girls, and it's super satisfying to see. The drama not only has a number of epic scenes (all linked to the FL - is my girl crush obvious?), but it also has several, really emotional scenes, and a few fun ones too. Finally, the end is a fairly good one (considering C-dramas, especially period dramas, don't typically have well-written endings, that's really a blessing!). It's not rushed and it wraps up everything nicely.
The Bad: Unfortunately, there are pretty massive flaws that keep me from rating this drama higher. The biggest one is the ML, who is absolutely despicable. The emperor is egocentric and tyrannical from beginning to end. He treats everybody like they are from an inferior race, can't empathize or sympathize with anyone and makes few attempts to try to understand others . This includes FL - even though he lets her get away with more "insubordination" than others. As a result, it's impossible to enjoy his relationship with FL. Not fully, anyway. I couldn't imagine why the FL would like him, and even the screenwriters probably couldn't, because it's never clear why (or how) FL falls for him. I almost wish there wasn't any reciprocated love between them (a first in my drama journey!!) and FL was just using him for her own personal goals. That would have made a lot more sense, especially considering she has a second ML - who also isn't that great, by the way, but much better than the emperor - dying for her. Also, while there are GREAT moments in Yanxi Palace, there are also chunks of the drama that are draggy and/or sloppy. About half of it (roughly eps 20-40 and 50-60) felt like a bit of a let down. There is too much coming and going of characters, too many evildoers, less coherent plots, not enough of the FL. There also isn't a big picture anymore (once the murder-mystery ends). I wouldn't say that these chunks are bad, but they're not as good as the other solid episodes.
THE ACTING
Since the drama is mostly about the women in the harem, it really relies a lot on the female cast, and they did great. The main women - FL, Consort Guo, Consort Chun, the first and the second empresses, they are all absolutely fantastic in their roles. Most of them can appear angelic one second and the devil incarnate the next. The makeup artists also did an amazing job; the makeup really helped in making them creepy at times! Male actors also are fine, they just don't stand out as much. There isn't much chemistry between FL and ML, but they got me smiling once or twice (even though I couldn't fully ship them), so it's okay.
THE MUSIC
I wasn't a huge fan of the violin background track that was played excessively in the drama to make you feel sad, but I LOVED the opening music. Although I'm not taking any song from the drama, overall, the OST was fitting and not too distracting from the story, so that's good.
REWATCH VALUE
High. For sure I'll rewatch the drama, there are too many epic scenes that deserve to be seen again. But I will definitely be skipping lots of parts too when I do.
This binge-worthy drama brings epicness to the least epic historical setting: the Qing dynasty harem. Watch it if 1) you enjoy never-ending catfights, 2) you love strong, smart, complex female leads, 3) you dig Qing dynasty culture. If you 1) hate long dramas (this is SEVENTY episodes y'all!!), 2) can't stand unlikeable male leads, 3) need well-developed, emotional love stories, then think about it. Think hard...and then maybe still give it a try.
THE STORY
For the longest time I shunned this drama. Qing dynasty stories really aren't my style; the costumes, the customs, the fact that the world seems to be restricted to the Forbidden City and women don't seem to have anything else to do in their life than fight for the emperor's attention, well, I'm not a fan. But this drama is rated so high, I had to give it a try eventually...and I don't regret it!
The Good: Although this drama is essentially about women fighting for attention in the Forbidden City (which I dislike with a passion), the first half of the plot also involves a murder-mystery, which gives it a refreshing twist and makes the repetitive catfights quite bearable. Another thing that helps swallow them well is the fact that FL is just absolutely AMAZING, definitely one of the best I've seen, and the best C-drama FL hands down. What's great about her is that she isn't the typical "innocent, pure" FL that responds to evilness with kindness. She stands between good and evil and when she says she wants justice, she'll do just about anything to get it. As such, she's scheming like the bad girls, and it's super satisfying to see. The drama not only has a number of epic scenes (all linked to the FL - is my girl crush obvious?), but it also has several, really emotional scenes, and a few fun ones too. Finally, the end is a fairly good one (considering C-dramas, especially period dramas, don't typically have well-written endings, that's really a blessing!). It's not rushed and it wraps up everything nicely.
The Bad: Unfortunately, there are pretty massive flaws that keep me from rating this drama higher. The biggest one is the ML, who is absolutely despicable. The emperor is egocentric and tyrannical from beginning to end. He treats everybody like they are from an inferior race, can't empathize or sympathize with anyone and makes few attempts to try to understand others . This includes FL - even though he lets her get away with more "insubordination" than others. As a result, it's impossible to enjoy his relationship with FL. Not fully, anyway. I couldn't imagine why the FL would like him, and even the screenwriters probably couldn't, because it's never clear why (or how) FL falls for him. I almost wish there wasn't any reciprocated love between them (a first in my drama journey!!) and FL was just using him for her own personal goals. That would have made a lot more sense, especially considering she has a second ML - who also isn't that great, by the way, but much better than the emperor - dying for her. Also, while there are GREAT moments in Yanxi Palace, there are also chunks of the drama that are draggy and/or sloppy. About half of it (roughly eps 20-40 and 50-60) felt like a bit of a let down. There is too much coming and going of characters, too many evildoers, less coherent plots, not enough of the FL. There also isn't a big picture anymore (once the murder-mystery ends). I wouldn't say that these chunks are bad, but they're not as good as the other solid episodes.
THE ACTING
Since the drama is mostly about the women in the harem, it really relies a lot on the female cast, and they did great. The main women - FL, Consort Guo, Consort Chun, the first and the second empresses, they are all absolutely fantastic in their roles. Most of them can appear angelic one second and the devil incarnate the next. The makeup artists also did an amazing job; the makeup really helped in making them creepy at times! Male actors also are fine, they just don't stand out as much. There isn't much chemistry between FL and ML, but they got me smiling once or twice (even though I couldn't fully ship them), so it's okay.
THE MUSIC
I wasn't a huge fan of the violin background track that was played excessively in the drama to make you feel sad, but I LOVED the opening music. Although I'm not taking any song from the drama, overall, the OST was fitting and not too distracting from the story, so that's good.
REWATCH VALUE
High. For sure I'll rewatch the drama, there are too many epic scenes that deserve to be seen again. But I will definitely be skipping lots of parts too when I do.
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