This review may contain spoilers
What a beautiful historical drama.
I didn't know that this was based on true historical events and characters I'm not gonna lie, not until the very last episode where they showed on screen the text of what happened after. Probably the only cdrama that made me look up the characters and check their wikis, and even looked at the life back during the Qing Dynasty. I was so invested lol. So invested in reading wiki, I made it to Wu Zetianm Four beauties of China, etc. like bruh I don't how I even got there lmao.My favorite character is definitely Chenbi or the Noble lady Shun. I think her introduction into the very later episodes, just when we all thought no new character is gonna be introduced anymore, is brilliant imo. Her perfect character was just *chef's kiss*. Probably the only character in a Cdrama that have fooled me twice. Like I really fell for it when she said she wants to help Yinglou and the 2nd male lead because she was previously saved by him. I really wanted to cry at that time coz wdym you're not a part of the good gang T_T. Anyways, she quickly rosed as one of my most favorite characters in watching cdramas.
I think the part that I didnt really like is the emperor, like they tried to make him as someone competent but it doesnt really show. He's the most annoying emperor/king I've probably encountered.
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Ultimate palace revenge story
Initially, I was drawn by the epic music, costumes, and set, but I stayed because of the FL. She's capable and outwits her enemies through fairly dramatic, but more importantly, refreshing schemes for a palace concubine drama. This is shown right when she first enters the palace. Sure, she has ppl helping her out, but a lot of it was also her machinations and quick thinking. Throughout the drama, we are introduced to many different characters, all with their own motivations, and I like that FL does not always win against them. Characters in the story are drawn to her for her fearlessness and straightforward demeanor - she fights injustice and helps others where she can, but she's not stupid. She doesn't suffer losses without paying them back and she always has her eye on the bigger picture. She actually learns from her failures, too. Because most of the main characters are concubines and the plot is mostly in the palace, this is a "palace concubine" drama, but ultimately, it's a revenge story.Was this review helpful to you?
One of the best series I ever watched in this lifetime
I want to give an outstanding review to the actors, the directors and most importantly the Writers ✍️. I loved this series from start to finish what made this so amazing is that the writers kept the attention of the audience throughout the whole storyline, it was never a boring moment, even when a main character you got to know died, this series still captures your attention, This was the 1st introduction to me craving to watch more, and more historical Chinese dramas, I am from a different country and I fell in love with Chinese historical drama 🎭 just by watching this full series.. unfortunately as much as I craved the same high I received from this show, no other show can top this one from start to finish, they neither have a weak start or a very poor ending after engaging all your time in watching it, most of them left me very upset because the ending was very pitiful, after so much sadness the world would like to believe in happy satisfaction endings to a great story and many writers need to learn from this show and give us a great ending like this one.. I love the FL she held her own strength, she was clever, quick wit and highly intelligent.. some shows have the FL overly stupid, too playful to the point of being annoying, or childish talking like a retard and needing someone else to always save them, but this drama she carry her own weight, I love most of the shows she is in because she is quick wit and highly intelligent.I give a standing ovation 👏🏾 and round applause 👏🏾 to the actors, directors, dressers, and a double applause to the writers ✍️ you guys set the tone on what a Chinese drama series should be like… every choice was well thought out and imperfect but perfectly balanced. 😍🥰🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞💞
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This review may contain spoilers
This is a very good period drama. Although it is a solid drama for content and performances, and the actors did a great job bringing these characters to life, the romance lacks energy. If you are looking for romance, this is not the drama that will satisfy that genre. The story is about Wei Yingluo and her journey from palace embroiderer to Imperial Noble Consort. The drama explores the dynamics within the Emperor’s harem and how everything is related to the never-ending schemes to gain the Emperor’s favor. Although Yingluo, through a series of unfortunate events, becomes one of the Emperor’s women and eventually falls in love with him, she buried her true love, Fuca Fuheng, in the most inner part of her heart to pursue justice for his sister, Empress Fuca Rongyin, whom she regarded and loved as her mentor and sister. Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Saw the final episode's ending credits not more than 15 minutes ago, and I told myself I'll write a review the moment I finished this mammoth of a series.Wanted to give this a 10 (I wanted to. Really did): music overall was timely, tastefully placed. Acting was believable. The story was great .... for the first half.
Two different roles Wu Jinyan had to play (Ying Luo the servant, avenging her sister. And Ying Luo the consort). She played the first exceptionally well, but I found the second role (and not just the acting and fit, but the storyline) lacking. Wanted to love this with all my heart.
Having said that, it was still a gripping plot. The first half (and I still stand by this) was solid.
C-dramas are unique in a sense that things normally only start gaining momentum around episode 10 or so. For this, I found the first episode to completely demand your attention; it was so well done, details executed to perfection.
While I wish I could say the same for the second half, I still love the thought put in the last episodes. They didn't have to wrap things up the way they did, but it was reqlly generous of them to.
Overall, I give this a 9. Well deserving of the hype.
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What exactly do the women of the inner palace do all day?
In many big epic historical dramas, the pettiness, boredom and despair hinted at by the inner palace is never truly explored. This explores the characters of various women in the inner palace, with beautiful design, costumes and cinematography, and a nuanced, take on many different types of romance to boot.
The true strength of the series is that it's all about the characters and their relationships - how they all struggle to keep some sense of self-worth whilst competing for the attention of a very impatient and somewhat distant emperor and the current harem favorite.
The weakness is the plot points can get repetitive (multiple poisonings, very important things mysteriously disappearing, at least two women do the evil cackling going mad thing), but I kept a high score because I never felt the need to skip - the dialogue, acting and character revelations made me want to watch every minute.
The acting is generally extremely good. The opening credits are the most beautiful, haunting TV credits I think I've seen in my life. There are many scenes that I like to revisit again, but due to the repetitiveness of the plot points, I don't know if I'd ever watch the series again from start to finish.
I will note that this series does feature many petty/cruel/torturous acts.
I have other criteria I score by:
Complex Themes - 9
(The series does not jump from random plot element to plot element, but actually builds on concepts regarding patriarchy, revenge/justice, trying to live above the fight vs. engaging with it, and different types of romantic love and love between friends)
Character Growth - 7
(Characters do not undergo huge changes but they do exhibit full ranges of emotions - it's not just angry, serious all the time, but there are lots of moments of sillyness, joy and tearful gratitude as well.)
Nuanced Women -10
(Women everywhere! Esp. liked the characterisations of the main character - Wei Yingluo, the empress Fuca Rongyin, and Mingyu. Even the straightforward characters, would show surprising strengths or weaknesses).
Cinematography/Production Values - 10
(Just incredibly gorgeous and beautiful. Lovely colour combinations and interiors - whilst not too many exterior sweeping shots - the ones that did happen were very well done.)
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This review may contain spoilers
good palace drama
i started this cuz i watched the actress in 'the double',70 episodes is longg but i Enjoyed it (for a person who doesnt like 30/40+ episodes drama)
spoilers :
- FL did a gud job in acting; shz quick witted,
i felt in the starting 20+ episodes she was too obsessed with revenge for her sister's death & it was too exaggerated, also she is always saved by the empress/ fuheng/ emperor(unknowingly) which in reality doesnt happen everytime ; nonetheless i liked her plots n schemes for her revenge whether its for her sister/empress/for fight against other concubines n consorts.
- xu kai(fuca fuheng) role was short, but his story wid FL was amazing, their romance should have been explored/shown more;
he ditched FL first i get it so FL avoids any kindof interaction btwn them, but his love for her was until his last breath which is truly hard to see in a palace cdrama (without any expectation/response frm FL).
- Emperor was easily swayed along for eg: doubts regarding his birth mother, his concubines/consorts, various plots n schemes(imo);
also with whoever he was infatuated with at that moment/situation like in the case when he supported FL regardless if she was wrong/right (he loved FL unconditionally)
- empress/ex empress/ fuca rong yin ruled justly, loved the emperor but didnt receive his love, faced too many tragedy's regarding her offsprings, also her role was short i feel
- chunwang & FL relationship was good, they understand, depend on each other
his revenge for his birth right was ok but there no need for him to go plotting n scheming against her.
Summary :
the drama was good with its plots n each actor played his/her role well, their stories were worth watching
highlight is obviously the FL, her story
Rewatch :
i would watch it again maybe, to understand subtle details, schemes right from their start
-> to those who are contemplating whether to watch or no :
Just give it a tryyyy, & decide for yourself to watch further or no
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Plural Marriage ⛩⛩️⛩ Fallout Edition °10° °masterpiece° Lite spoilers only!
This is why I don't give out many 10's. I save them for shows like this, that are far above the rest. SOYP is in its own stratosphere.Talk about hate, love, HATE… Welcome to the Forbidden City, where the trees are treated better than the people. “This is power.”
Forget the trees, the Forbidden City is about to get a shakedown. Many will be killed, several will kill themselves, others will be executed, and 1 or 2 will go completely mad. “Even if you know, you should pretend that you don't know. That's how you live a longer life in the palace. That's how you can be the last one standing and laughing.”
SoYP is a 2018 release that is rated 8.8 on MDL. It is 1 season consisting of 70 exquisite 45-minute episodes. I was so caught up in watching this that I didn't take many notes. Any show that causes one to be sad around ep26 because it's already 1/3 over has got to be pretty dang good. Right from the start this looks and feels like Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace, which was released the same year. {Ruyi's episodes 1-49 are a 9.3. While looking up its historical accuracy, I learned how heartbreaking the rest of the show is. It's over 80 episodes, so that's a hella-lotta hurt. I am not up for it now, so I stopped at episode 49, which is a perfect ending. I cannot recommend eps1-49 enough. It's nearly perfect).
We're following Ying Luo (YL), who is pretty, talented, smart, resourceful, and strong minded. She makes friends wherever she goes. She also makes lots of enemies. Smart? She could arguably out-talk Joan Rivers. Even the Emperor walks away befuddled. Wu Jin Yan (The Double) is the extraordinary FL. She inspires anger and jealousy from many other women. She enjoys teasing overly serious people. Teasing? Certainly, yes. But she's also capable of torturing those who take themselves too seriously. That includes His Majesty.
We follow these actors through many years. The characters begin young and they age; their performances near magically reflect that. Nie Yuan (Will of Steel, Three Kingdoms) is Emperor Qianlong. Oh.My. He is superb. Qin Lan (The Magical Women, The Rational Life-7.7) plays the lovely and fragile Empress Fuca Rongyin. The scrumptious Xu Kai (Once Upon a Time in Lingjian Mountain-7.5, Ancient Love Poetry-8.6, Falling into Your Smile-5.7) is guard Fuca Fuheng, brother to the Empress. He looks dreadful with a mustache. Still, all the young (and not so young) girls love Fuheng - all the girls love the cherub-faced Xu Kai, but His Majesty is the daddy of all. Charmaine Sheh (Winter Begonia) portrays Consort Xian. Tan Zhuo (Dying to Survive, Game Changer) portrays the heinous Noble Consort Gao - she's a feisty one. Jenny Zhang plays Consort Shun. She was stunning as Wu Huan in Ancient Love Poetry-8.6. Here, she doesn't show up until nearly the end. The directors are Hui Kai Dong (Winter Begonia), Wen De Guang (Forever Love) & Guo Hao (Scent of Time). Screenwriter, Zhou Mo, also directed Royal Feast.
I wouldn’t classify this as a romance. It's a historical drama that contains some romance. ‘I like you… you /bad/ girl.’ YL and Fuheng gravitate from dislike & distrust to love. But His Majesty has his eyes on YL, too. YL isn't thinking about love when she arrives at the palace. She's investigating her sister's death. Her sister died under suspicious circumstances at the palace a couple years back. YL knows suicide would never have been an option, so she's sworn to catch the killer and administer retribution. This requires a lot of finesse. She questions people but she must do it delicately. They mustn't realize they're being questioned. She also refuses to play along with the mean girls. That, coupled with her unusually aggressive style and undeniable talent, queues up her adversaries. As soon as one enemy recedes, another rears its ugly head. 70 episodes allows for an array of dramatic vignettes.
Women's cages are “meticulously created by the men of the world.” YL soon learns that her sister is rumored to have had indiscretions with a man, and she may even have been pregnant. YL believes that if any of that is true, it wasn't voluntary on the part of her sister.
“I am the empress, before I am a woman.” Duty is one of the primary themes. That includes a duty to justice which is what our heroine seeks. Another theme is the dignity of every human being. Our protagonist is a “lowly” servant who shows that she isn't so lowly, in reality.
“If you give too much importance to gains and losses, how can you win? …If you encounter a huge hindrance on your way forward and you cannot move on, don't just keep thinking of your goal. Try calming yourself down. Focus your attention and do your task well… I want you to remember that not everything will go your way. As long as you are a human, you will have failures. So you must learn to wait patiently... Wait until you are strong enough. Wait until one day, you're not being restricted by anyone. Wait for the right time…“ Smarter than most people, YL is always thinking 20 moves ahead. I got upset with her once or twice, only to realize several episodes later that she had a long-con going.
Perhaps the main theme is about the nature of pride and power. The Forbidden City is not a nice place. All the toxins roll downhill. Even servants abuse eachother. People are terrified, under an unbroken threat of harsh (brutal!) punishment or death. The wives and concubines eat eachother over power and prestige, but they also long for love from his “majesty”. The children even moreso. A simple life with a single loving family would be better. Chinese historical works make the palace seem like the worst place on earth.
“Pain can awaken your senses.” “At this point, grief won't do anything. I'd rather think about how to take advantage of this incident to benefit myself the most.” This from someone who just lost her father. There's characters who seem decent but they get twisted, because power and privilege are corrupting. “People won't change that fast. If she really has changed, you must not have noticed it before.” One of the palace maids is able to make an upgrade through marriage. She becomes a cruel, power-hungry snob. It's part of Yanxi's dissection of the nature of humans and power, and one character points out that the current version of this person is the true individual. Once she became free to be what she wanted to be, that is what she chose.
Everything about this show is exceptional. The writing is like a mousetrap. Our FL will get into what looks like impossible situations. Her superior wits and sheer moxie is what saves her time and time again. The directing is superb. The relationships are subtle. The acting is stellar. The costumes, set, design, and overall artistry are sublime. The opening song, by Lu Hu, sounds almost silly with its heavy & ancient opera inflections, but I grew to love it. It seems to be loaded with irony. There's a waltz in ep51 that is lovely. The corner piece of the piece is YL's interactions with the emperor, which are priceless. He wants to kill her so badly he can taste it. But he knows he would be less of a man if he did so, and the empress won't let him, anyway.
In the last handful of episodes they go forward several years. The princes and princesses are in their teens. YL & the king's relationship is adorable and she's apparently “the fun mom.” About love: According to YL, the one who says it first, loses. Later, the emperor tries to coax her into saying it (👁💘👉) and has a many tantrums when she won't. But YL isn't one to bow to pressure. “Your majesty, regarding my answer, it's going to take a lifetime to know. Just be patient.”
QUOTES📢
If you talk too much you will surely make a mistake.
A woman's hatred is the most horrible thing.
How can the murderer escape punishment, while the victim gets trampled?
The more grudges you have in your heart, the more pain you will feel. The more gratitude you have in your heart, the more blessings you will have.
Being indecisive always leads to trouble.
Do you know what it feels like to be jealous? It's like a poisonous snake gnawing at my heart every moment.
One's vision and insight need years of cultivation. If a day won't do, then a year. If a year won't do, then 10 years. My skills are lacking but I will make amends with diligence.
Life is like moving against the current: One will fall behind without moving forward.
To obtain what others can't, one should endure what others can't.
Over time, I forget more and more who I am.
The world is so vast; how could anything be impossible?
Look at the galaxy above. Actually, no matter how noble people are, even if he is the descendant of an aristocratic family, he's still just insignificant within the vast galaxy. So who can really be more noble than anyone else?
〰🖍 IMHO
📣10 📝10 🎭10 💓6 🦋5 🎨10 🎵/🔊9 🔚10 ▪ 🌞5⚡5.5 😅3.5 😭5.5 😱3 😯4.5 🤢3 🤔7 💤0
Shazams: Opening credit song: Lu Hu 看 (電視劇《延禧攻略》主題曲)
Age 10+ Language: b!+ch, jack@$$ but there's very little of anything remotely objectionable. As soon as kids can keep up with subtitles, theu can watch. Rated TV-PG-13: Parents Cautioned
Re-📺? Most definitely.
In order of ~lite & trite~ to ~heavy & serious~ you may also like:
🎎 -
C🇨🇳: Overlord 8.4,
Under the Power 8.6,
Legend of the two sisters in chaos 7.7 - bittersweet,,
The Rebel Princess 9.1,
The Sword and the Brocade 8.6 (in ancient Chinese opera style),
The Rise of Phoenixes 9
K🇰🇷:
My Only Love Song 8.7 excellent comedy;
Mr. Queen 8.5;
My Sassy Girl 8.5;
The King's Affection 8.3;
Mr. Sunshine 9
🔮🐉-
C🇨🇳: Love Between Fairy & Devil 8.9;
Once upon a time in Linglian Mountain 7.5;
Douluo Continent 9.4;
Handsome Siblings 8.7;
Eternal Love 8.3,
Ancient Love Poetry 8.6;
Love and Redemption 10
⚡/😱 -
C🇨🇳: Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber 9-Kung-fu!;
🌐💓 -
C🇨🇳:
Find Yourself 8.9;
The Romance of Tiger and Rose 9.8;
The Sleepless Princess 9.1
K🇰🇷 :
Love To Hate You 8.9;
Crash Landing On You 9.1;
Oh My Ghost 10;
It's Okay Not to Be Okay 9;
My Mister 9.5;
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palace drama
This drama is extremely enjoyable and perfect for rewatching again and again without ever getting bored. It even has some connections to real history, though of course it shouldn’t be taken too seriously. The story of a servant who rises from a lowly position to a low-rank consort, and eventually becomes the highest-ranking consort in the palace, gaining control over the back palace, is truly amazing. Watching her journey and growth is both inspiring and captivating. The female lead is incredibly smart, systematically taking down her opponents one by one.Was this review helpful to you?
Revenge
One of the few dramas I've seen with such a smart and headstrong FL.Fell in love with her character within the first Episode. Don't let the number of episodes deter you from watching. Once you get into it, you'll be praying you have one more episode as you get closer to the end.
Bittersweet, revenge, plot twists, friendships, this drama has it all.
Be ready for the tears to flow and the laughter and anger to ring out. You'll love, you'll hate, and you'll feel empty when it's over. You'll wish you could forget it all to watch it for the first time again, just like me <3.
Don't hesitate. Watch this ASAP.
Note: My guilty pleasure is that I absolutely love the emperor.
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amazing ?
Au XVIIIe siècle à Pékin, au cours de la 6e année du règne de l'empereur Qianlong, Wei Ying Luo entre dans la Cité interdite en tant que brodeuse pour enquêter sur la vérité derrière le viol et le meurtre de sa sœur aînée. Croyant que la garde impériale Fuca Fuheng est le principal suspect, Ying Luo s'approche intrigante de sa sœur, l'impératrice Fuca Rongyin, et est transférée pour travailler comme sa femme de chambre. Prenant rapidement goût à l'attitude intelligente et courageuse de Ying Luo, l'impératrice au bon cœur lui apprend à lire et à écrire et devient son bienfaiteur, tandis que Fuca Fuheng tombe amoureux d'elle et soutient son enquête. Réalisant que les frères et sœurs Fuca sont innocents du crime, Ying Luo porte son attention sur les autres personnes présentes dans le palais dans l'espoir de retrouver l'auteur du crime, tout en protégeant l'impératrice des conspirations du harem, à mesure qu'elle gravit les échelons. (Source : kisskh) Modifier la traductionWas this review helpful to you?
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