Nie Yuan is the star of the show!
Story of Yanxi Palace is my very first chinese drama and I must say this is one of my favorite asian dramas. The cast is superb! There were two actors that stood out for me. First is the actress playing Empress Nala. She was amazing. You can feel her frustrations and sadness from unrequited love. She nailed it! The star of the show for me is Nie Yuan. He had amazing chemistry with every single character on the show. I mean, seriously? Even his scenes with Li Yu were as memorable as his scenes with his concubines. I didn't see him as an actor or a character. I see him as "The Emperor". Excellent acting skills! Wu jinyan isn't so bad but she still needs to improve in my opinion. Some of her scenes are not doing it for me and seemed a bit over done. All in all, great script, good plot and outstanding performance from the actors. It was fun watching this drama. I enjoyed it!Was this review helpful to you?
A Diamond in the Rough!
I was looking for a good drama to pass the time with while waiting for more episodes of When Destiny Brings a Demon to drop and I got HOOKED on the Story of Yanxi Palace. This drama has it all--great story, costumes, sets and outstanding performances. You can't go wrong with this drama. It grabs you from the very first episode and doesn't give you up until the last. It is very bingeable--with 70 episodes in the library, I sometimes binged 10--12 episodes per day. I got so caught up in it that by the time I got back to WDBAD, several episodes were already waiting!Wei Yingluo, masterfully played by Wu Jin Yan, is a young woman who enters the Forbidden City to investigate the murder of her older sister. She is young, clever and incredibly cunning for a girl of barely 16. She navigates the palace drama with ease and quickly rises among the ranks, staying one step ahead of those who wish her harm just to survive. Along the way, Wei Yingluo finds love, loyalty and friendship among those in the palace who she befriends, but also becomes the target of many envious servants, princesses and concubines. Wei Yingluo weathers every storm and rises to every occasion. She is the proverbial IT girl as she takes the Forbidden City by storm.
Watching this drama is a full immersion of Chinese culture and history, as the drama is a fictionalized account of life during the reign of Emperor Qianlong who ruled from 1735-1796--one of the longest reigning emperors of the Qing dynasty. It is said that most of the production budget for this drama was spent on costumes, set construction and props. It is truly a beautiful sight to behold. The actors, though not paid as much, were all at the top of their game, delivering noteworthy performances. My favorites were Tan Zhuo, as the evil Noble Consort Gao, the beautiful Qin Lan, as the long suffering Empress Fuca Rong Yin, and Jiang Zi Xin, as Mingyu, Empress Rong's handmaiden and Wei Yingluo's friend. The script is tip-top, no messy plot holes, or loose ends. What we are given is a highly entertaining romp behind the scenes of life in the Forbidden City. It literarily makes the audience feel like the "fly on the wall", listening to all the dark secrets and low-down plots that could bring down the empire.
By the time this drama draws to a close, we have been introduced and bidden farewell to many wonderful characters, and lived through years of life among this extended family. I was ready to let go and move on, appreciating the the time, dedication and patience of the production team in creating such an unforgettable masterpiece. Bravo!
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This review may contain spoilers
One Of The Best FL C-Drama!
I just completed this marathon c-drama! I've got to say that this drama is truly one of the greatest that I've watched in China. The story is rich, and the cast is phenomenal. All of the actresses really did try hard to portray the complicated, cunning, jealousy, and evil corruption that happened during the Qing Dynasty.This C-Drama actually has two stories. The first story, the first half, is about finding out the death of Wei Ring Luo's sister at the palace. And the second story, the last half, is about her climbing the ladder in the harem. A good analogy is peeling an onion; there are so many levels, and the more you peel, the more you shed tears. There are so many levels to this fantastic drama.
Lastly, if you really want to learn the complexity and complicated Chinese history, this is one of the dramas that I recommend watching. 70 episodes are truly long but worth every minute of it. Is it worth re-watching? I would say so if you missed a certain plot or if you didn't remember certain characters.
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Stunning !
What a magnificent series! It's based on real historical characters, filmed in a reproduction of the Forbidden City at Hengdian World Studios, and uses huge resources. The costumes, jewellery, ornaments and sets are sumptuous. The characters have real depth and interesting development, and the plot is very elaborate. The most interesting are the main characters, especially the LF, Wu Jin Yan, who plays a very intelligent (the most intelligent) and very fine character. 70 episodes (6 more if you add Princess Adventures) go by very quickly, I binged it to see how she comes out of it (if she does).Spoiler:
The chemistry between her and the Emperor is perfect, she plays with him like crazy. It's so well done that you wonder at the end if she only loved the second lead (Xu Kai) and after having her heart broken, played with the emperor only for her to survive. There's a happy ending between the emperor and her, but we're very sad that Xu Kai didn't survive.
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You don't have to like her but you will respect her
Is it one of the best Cdrama I've watched? Probably.Great story about the palace life, which involve multiple consorts, maids, eunuchs, guards and the emperor himself.
The female lead is a strong minded woman who can tell right from wrong. Her loyalty, determination and creativity made me respect her, even if at times I didn't like her ways. I think she is one of the best FL like ever, as she is also smart, hard working and confident.
Also, the drama is full with other interesting charcaters, sub-stories, heartbreaks, betrayals, intrigues and friendships. I was hooked from the start and it became even more interesting as I continued to watch (I did skiped through some episode at some point, because I was eager to know what will happen next).
I also really loved the setting and costumes, it's the first time I watched a drama about those times and everything looked majestic to me.
(I gave it a 7 in rewatch value because it's a long drama so I personally probably won't watch all of it again).
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must watch
stumbled upon 2 trailers on youtube. searched for the real thing and saw the scary "70 episodes lasting 45min". thought for myself "no, won't do it".... then was enable to forget the trailers. decided to give it a try and drop it if the first couple wasn't appealing. watched one, then 2, then 5 in a row. and thought for myself "I am so happy there is 65 more left!"it's just so catching! I watched all 70 episodes in 9 days. slept very late twice doing so. really, be careful and strongly plan your viewing schedule. otherwise it will mess with your sleeping time.
it's just an other palace story, with intrigues and bad guys. the main character is very unique though. I was a little disappointed with the 2 last episodes, but nothing really bad. the journey was enchanting because the character development is so well done! really a must watch.
when to watch? there is some violence and the relationships between the characters are very complex. it is still suitable for teenagers over 15. the complexity of the story can lead to very interesting conversations with relatives and friends. so watch with them!
(spoilers in my comment bellow, come and let's talk about it after you watch)
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NOTE: I gave this a very low rating and I see others have given it a 10-star rating... so let me rewatch it. I feel that I still feel the same way about how the story ends. I think I will give it a 2nd chance.
Since I decided to watch this a 2nd time. Since I said it wasn't the cast's fault of this storyline, I gave them a 10 which brings my rating up to 7. I have changed my mind to watch it a 2nd time. I just can't! lol
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This review may contain spoilers
Strong female lead!
Excellent drama! Unlike most historical or period c-dramas and k-dramas, the female lead is strong minded, strong willed, knows what she wants and isn't afraid to speak up for herself and others. In other words, she isn't a damsel in distress constantly making mistakes and looking for the male lead to save her. Additionally, the script writer did an excellent job, as there isn't any super long and unnecessary conversations between the characters. I also like the fact that the plots are not dragged out for 30 episodes; each scandle is resolved within 2 episodes and I love it! This is the type of historical drama I dreamed of, but to be honest I am shocked that I found. For example, when the female lead actually defends herself, take actions, and doesn't back down, I am pleasantly surprised because I am not used to this level of female confidence in c-dramas. I love it! I was turned off by the king's character, but realIstically, in every culture throughout history, kings most likely acted like this king (e.g. rude, arrogant, hasty, etc). So, while I hated his character at first, I've grown to be okay with it because it's a realistic character trait of kings throughout history. I am currently on episode 23, at the 36 minute 45 second mark to be exact and the queen's brother as fine as he is, just made a stupid mistake. I had to pause, to remember that it was culturally acceptable back in those days to disregard women, and slaves. So I decided to write this, while I allow my emotions to cool down.GREAT DRAMA
GREAT ACTORS
GREAT WRITING
GREAT FILM QUALITY (RESOLUTION)
Edited on 5/6/21:
One thing that kind of throws me off a bit is the fact that the emperor was going to rape the main lead but she was able to get away. She ends up falling in love with the emperor who wanted to rape her, and him with her. Most dramas have some level of toxicity but this is problematic because it romanticized rape, which is the reason why I dropped the rating from 9.5 to 9.
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Main characters are memorable, even though the story seems highly fictional.
It is unclear if Wei Ying Luo had true affections for Emperor QianLong. Personally, I'm not convinced. There seems to be too much at stake between them, always trying to outwit the other person.... Ying Luo's true affections for FuHeng and Fucha Empress are real and deep.
This drama is a refreshing take on the usual palace drama plot. Music, costumes, and sets are beautifully executed.
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BUTTKICKING FEMALE LEAD
AMAZING!!! The main female lead is a total badass and fracking awesome. She is scheming and so smart. She is one of the type of political figures that started from the bottom (literally the bottom of society) and climbs her way up while knocking her competitors flying. She is fierce when someone tries to harm who she loves and she never forgets nor forgive. Ultimately, she gives the audience a guaranteed protagonist character that everyone will love and root for. She is cunning and clever and remains so until the end (doesn't magically become "dumb" like a lot of dramas that need the male lead to come and rescue). Of course we all miss the characters that didn't make it. All the actors were incredibly talented, especially the villains. The convincingly pull watchers into the story and truly invoke really emotional responses. HIGHLY recommend (if you can pull through bc it is quite long).Was this review helpful to you?
Stayed up 5 nights to finish this
I had heard of this drama but had put it off because you have to be in a certain mood to watch 70 episodes of anything. But i was so caught off guard by the strength of female lead. I’m typically a romance drama watcher but this one sucked me in. The relationships of the cast with each other were so well developed. The development of each of the harem’s motivations was deep. The lines are beautiful and i just loved Wei Ying Luo. I loved her strength of character, her intelligence, her resoluteness, and i loved watching her and the Emperor’s relationship. I wish i had gotten just a few more moments with her and Fuca Fuheng. :)Was this review helpful to you?
A detailed production (I especially love the costumes) and a satisfying if bittersweet ending help make this a worthy binge watch and re-watch.
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