Empresses in the Palace (2012)

Cultural shock

I don't throw around the word "masterpiece" a lot, but if there's one, it's this drama. Back in the day I remember I was watching, and enjoying, a certain American show about politics. Then I came about watching Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan and I could never look at that other show the same. The intrigues and politics within the imperial harem made the other work feel like it was targeted at school kids.

Now, I don't mean to trash that other show. it was objectively good in its own right. But the reaction I had to Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan was akin to a cultural shock. The script, the dialogues, the thoughts of characters, their motivations and actions were so intelligent in my eyes, I couldn't get over the fact that at the end of the day, it was just a piece of entertainment.

The show has an impressive number of 76 episodes, but there's not a dull moment. The epic story spanning over the years had me gripped, worried, angry, scared, cheering for love and in constant awe. The pacing is phenomenal, the acting really good, the writing is perfection.

I love that the show is not simply set in historical setting, but characters are acting according to times and their position within the society. Some historical dramas feel like they're simply using historical aesthetics for telling modern stories. Not in here. The main character is an extremely intelligent, well-educated woman, but she knows what is the appropriate behaviour expected of her.

Which leads me to my other point. This is a show about women, featuring a lot of great female characters. Some of whom are incredibly strong and formidable. But the way it's done is not through girl bossification, cardboard stick figure character portrayal, who's just as smart as dumb are her opponents. This is a story of truly wise women, who use their power smartly. And as this drama shows, not always is the loudest person the most formidable enemy and the most dangerous ones are the ones you don't see coming. Consort Hua and what happens to her being the case in point (I love her character to the bits, by the way).

This drama is a 10/10. Absolutely fantastic.

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I believe the overall story and acting were done quite great.
However, what I did not like was really just that some scenes (personal preference) just seemed so out of place (for character development I guess) and dragged out the series to how long it really is. I wish they condensed and moved the story at a bit faster pace without trying to develop the characters too much. I feel even in like 50 episodes, if done right... they could've developed the characters enough, because I still could relate with the characters and the emotions of the scenes even though I honestly found myself pressing that skip 5 second button sooooo often to get through scenes. Of course I just read the subtitles a lot so I got the jest of it and moved on.

It really just pains me on how much slow talks there were that made scenes long and made this a grind through. Otherwise, overall the story does seem pretty good. Nothing completely original like something that has never been seen before, but still it does a pretty good job at getting you to feel and relate for some characters.

Also what I felt was dragged on, probably for dramatic purposes(?) was how long it took for some characters to decide on something. It honestly drives me crazy in a story where scheming is huge, for characters to just feel bad and not do anything. Of course it is satisfying once they start fighting back, but again it goes back to how slow the story was going...

Overall I'd say it isn't bad. Acting was great... sound/music was up there, but not like insanely amazing. Rewatch value is a bit lower mostly because of how long the story drags... and thus how long a series this is.

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Empresses in the Palace crawled so that The Story of Yanxi Palace could run

A disclaimer before I start the review: I watched this series a few months after I finished the Story of Yanxi Palace, so it is inevitable that I will compare the two a lot in this review. I understand that though they are set in damn near the same setting and have similarities in their stories, they are two very different stories told in an entirely different tone. However, I couldn't help but compare the two because of how many people recommended this show if someone liked Story of Yanxi Palace. Also, I enjoyed the Story of Yanxi Palace way more; just in case anyone won't be able to tell by the end of this review.

I started EitP (Empresses in the Palace) with high expectations. The description seemed to promise a palace intrigue story with a protagonist of questionable morals to boot. And I looove morally gray protagonists (Dexter fan here), and the comments I'd seen spoke of Zhen Huan's "darkening" that greatly contrasts her personality from the earlier episodes and the later ones. This excited me greatly and the outro of the show only made it seem more intense and brutal; I was speculating who it was in the cutscenes that were suffering and hitting rock bottom. However, I as of one day after finishing this show, I find myself feeling extremely disappointed and honestly frustrated with EitP. I'll start with a pros and cons list:

Pros:
-The outro was pretty cool; both music-wise and presentation of cutscenes. It's a shame that those scenes shown would be the only highlights in the entire show for me.
-The main actress did well in her role and I was honestly shocked by her age because of how young she looks (especially when next to the Emperor).
- The actor that plays the Emperor does actually look old af.
- The costumes were nice to look at and I couldn't help but want to overanalyze them and how sweaty it must've been to wear them in the beating sun.
- I liked how the story didn't seem to slut shame Meizhuang and Zhen Huan despite them having children with other men that the Emperor yet passing them off as his.
- Truly did have diverse personalities for the female characters and could show their fierceness whilst still maintaining their femininity.
- The older concubines were gorgeous and I have no idea why the Emperor avoided them for the new ones so much. He really fumbled the bag on that one.
- The Emperor is actually portrayed as a terrible person and gets his comeuppance in the end. Hated that guy.
- When the turning point of the story was Zhen Huan realizing she was just a stand-in for Premiere and that how the Emperor had a whole Sangwoo moment of snapping at her when she didn't live up to his expectations of being someone else. That was probably the most intriguing part of the show.
- The show was easily accessible because it was on Youtube. I know this has nothing to do with the writing or design or anything, but I just really appreciate the easy accessibility for all episodes. Though, it may have been better had I not gotten my hands on this series.
- Hongli and Zhen Huan's adopted family relationship at first.

Cons: Oh boy here we go-
- They overuse some music to the point that I could predict the exact sound track that would play the moment a "shocking" or "intense" scene came on. It also didn't help that the music wasn't all that titillating to begin with.
- The settings were interesting at first, but quickly become overused and stale to look as you see the same ochres and reds all over again.
- So many things are so exaggerated to the point that it takes me out of the show. How come the slightest of things cause the women in this show to have miscarriages? I swear a slight breeze will make them topple over and bleed everywhere. Also, I couldn't take their extreme fear over house cats seriously either. I was having to stop myself from laughing over the CG cat that was attracted to face cream or whatever because I knew some outrageous nonsense was about to happen that would cause people to topple over and have miscarriages left and right. It annoyed me so much by the sixth miscarriage.....
- The medicine and medical explanations were too drawn out and ridiculous that I couldn't take any of the ailments seriously. They literally blame people almost having miscarriages on some "cold air" and summer colds that seem to last three months long each. They also used a bunch of those old terms like "qi" and "yin and yang". I also couldn't believe how they could tell literally everything wrong with a person from their pulse.....like come on, people can have a heightened pulse due to a number of reasons that doesn't necessarily mean they are about to have a miscarriage or terminal illness.
- The actress for Yu Rao was terrible. Like, some of the worst acting I have ever seen in a period piece.
- How come they keep saying how characters look sooo much like each other like Jade to Zhen Huan and Noble Prince Guo's two sons? These characters don't really share a resemblance. The two sons looking alike can be explained away easily by the fact that their fathers are brothers. Oh, and a lot of kids tend to look similar before their features mature. And don't even get me started on the nonsense of how Jade and Zhen Huan look supposedly very similar because I have never seen two women look less alike. Zhen Huan looks more like Consort Fleur that she looks like Jade. Every single time they used the look-alike plot to further whatever agenda they had going on I just felt myself lose more and more braincells. It must be an adaptation issue because it could be accepted were it just in a novel, but seeing real life people next to each other that have nothing to do with each other and claiming they look like "sisters" or "brothers" is really pushing it beyond the real of disbelief.
- Noble Prince Guo's wife literally date raped him. She got him drunk on purpose and assaulted him when he was inebriated. Then they just treat this as a little woman's melancholic romantic moment. WTF????
-Long-winded dialogue even for a harem story. Dear god the urge I had to fast forward so many conversations just to get to the good bit. And I know it being a harem story isn't the issue because the Story of Yanxi Palace didn't evoke this feeling in me.
- The Empress' speaking looked off or something. Was there a voice-over done?
- This is entirely just a matter of preference but I wasn't quite behind how they treated Zhen Huan like the most remarkable beauty that no other woman in the harem could even hold a candle to. I personally thought Consort Honnette, Consort Fleur, Ling Rong, Attendant Joie, Consort Estime, Jinxi, and Noble Lady Guwalgiya were just as much, if not more better than her. This man had a whole treasure chest of gorgeous women and yet Zhen Huan is the only one really treated as a beauty except for maybe Consort Fleur.
- Now, for what might be my biggest issue: the plot points that seem to lead nowhere and the terrible "resolutions" to the plots that do have an ending. Good golly Miss Molly this pissed me off so much. So much feels like it was added just to fill time and to lead nowhere by the end. I am a firm believer in making plots link in one way or another and to have resolutions for as many as possible by the end of air time. This show, however, lacked this to the extreme. Also, why does almost everyone have such an anticlimactic and unsatisfying ending? Consort Fleur, Meizhuang, Empress Yixiu, Empress Dowager, Noble Prince Guo, Shen Shichu, Noble Lady Cao, Noble Lady Paix, Ling Rong, Concubine Beaute, Vermilion, and Third Prince Hongshi. The only endings I did actually kind of like were those of Noble Lady Guwalgiya, (maybe) Attendant Chun, and The Emperor. I deadass liked no one else's by the end.
- Bitches be dropping left and right yet I still don't feel any tension 9/10 of the time. Such a let down.
- Also, where the fuck did Wenyi and Jinghe disappear off to? They are also the Emperor's children yet I swear I couldn't even see them on screen later on.....
- Not enough Hongli and Zhen Huan interactions which soured her becoming Empress Dowager for me. It also kind of ruined the moment for me when Zhen Huan noted Hongli's tenseness over the sixth prince and how Zhen Huan seems distant from him because she isn't his "birth mother". Ruined the found family vibe for me.
- Creepy Mongol guy that gave rapist vibes.
- That excruciatingly long trip to the Buddhist mountains that I wanted to fast forward soooo baaaaad.

The Characters: I'll sum up how I felt towards each important one by the end here:
Zhen Huan: Overhyped and underwhelming, but still intelligent; which I appreciated.
The Emperor: Extreme asshole that deserved to suffer in his last moments after being poisoned. Served his role as an antagonist well.
The Empress: Underwhelming and frankly not intimidating at all. She never exuded regal vibes to me. Her scheming was also kind of weak. Empress Nara from Yanxi Palace did it way better. She stays ON TOP!!!
Noble Prince Guo: One dimensional and too idealistic for me to be invested in. So clearly written by a shoujo enthusiast.
Jade: So annoying and selfish. Couldn't stand her at all.
Jingxi: Loved her. She was just great all around. Loved her motherly vibes.
Fleur: Entertaining but underused by the end. I could have almost felt sympathy for her if they gave her more backstory and fleshed her character out a bit more. She got more screwed over than Noble Consort Gao in Yanxi Palace.
Meizhuang: Liked her but I have to admit that she just felt like background dressing in Zhen Huan's story (also I know this is called "The Legend of Zhen Huan" so don't come at me for disliking the intense focus on her, okay?)
Shen Shichu: Another background dressing that honestly annoyed me with his simping. Take a hint, mate.
Ling Rong: Bitch that was so insecure and took it out on everyone around her and lived her days being a pawn to someone else. I hated her ending so much like the most anticlimactic thing ever, man.........
Honnette: I liked her <3
Estime: I liked her :)
Joie: Deserved more time to shine. Unfortunate because I can tell I would have really liked her had she been put in a better show.
Empress Dowager: She existed, I guess? I liked her actress but her character barely did much for me to be excited about so she ended up dying pretty forgettably. She also didn't seem even slightly shaken up Meizhuang's untimely demise. That threw me off big time.
Everyone else: probably forgettable idk I'm getting tired of typing lmao.


In conclusion: Go watch the Story of Yanxi Palace instead <3 (which I'd rate a 7.5-8.0 btw if anyone was wondering).

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An absolute masterpiece

This drama is absolutely phenomenal. Excellent pacing, wonderful world-building, complex characters. Over 76 episodes, this story is brewed to perfection. I usually don't like long dramas but this needed every single one of those episodes.

We meet and get to know the characters, their world, and their patterns, and begin to see things from their point of view. At every point, we are shown and not told: we see love blossom, we see friends become lovers, we see the subtle suspicions that cause cracks in relationships, and the ways people fall out of love. It is, of course, a drama and therefore heavily fictionalised and not historically accurate, yet somehow it all seems very plausible and almost recognisable as the real world because of how well it does this showing without being overly heavy-handed at any one single point.

It's an amazing story of power, love, favour, joy, freedom, obligation, propriety, conflict and pretense that says to us over and over again "official records in history may not always be what they seem." I liked that the leads are normal people and not anime-style heads and shoulders more intelligent/talented than everyone else. They're normal people who find themselves in positions of history and do the best with what they have.

Another thing is that the characters are built for their context and not to satisfy our 21st century sensibilities and although sometimes frustrated by this, ultimately it made me appreciate this drama more.

Of course, the main plot rises and falls, and within it the arcs of the sub-plots rise and fall, and yet despite that it remains engaging and interesting throughout. Every arc is interesting in its self and not just as build-up for something else and that makes this drama really special.

100/10, would recommend.

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Best show with character development

This show is amazing. I was put off from it for a long time because the emperor (ML) looked unattractive and I couldn’t imagine the FL being with him but then as the show went on I see why he was made to be unattractive. For context, the emperor here is supposed to be the same person as the male lead in Scarlet Heart (who looks totally different) and I just couldn’t reconcile the two lol.

This show is about a young woman facing the realities of the royal harem, not a love story. It is a show about a clever and kind young woman having to change herself in order to survive. Every single episode was gripping and interesting. The villains were well written and the protagonists weren’t just helpless damsels in distress. The character development is just *chef’s kiss*.

Zhen Huan took control of her own destiny, and that is so empowering, especially for a woman in that era. Of course, she had to play within the rules of that era and she knows to bide her time. So her actions seem realistic for that era (unlike the FL in Yanxi Palace, which is a show that is commonly compared with this one). You can always see the reasoning behind her choices. I love intelligent FLs and Zhen Huan is a great example. She is a queen (well technically an empress dowager) and she slays.

Some of the Chinese cultural aspects flew over my head, but if you are well versed in that area, you will have an even deeper appreciation for the show. There is a lot of nuance and indirect communication that one would miss if one doesn’t know the culture.

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Dont be scared beacause of 76 episodes they are just a delight to go through!!

I started watching this after my finals started, as the series hit harder when you are about to give your exams!!! So I asked Deepseek (the chinese AI) to recommend me some chinese historical drama. It recommended a bunch of dramas. This one looked the most promising and had stellar reviews on MDL.



This is a very enjoyable drama. We follow Zhen Huan as she enters the forbidden city and rises to become an empress. The first few episodes are just her getting used to the palace. We are also introduced to other concubines. And we slowly get a taste of palace politics and, boy, the politics are BRUTAL!! But Huan is smart. She learns and finds better ways to protect herself. What I liked was this drama doesn't let you catch your breath. It's plot twist after plot twist. Over the course of 76 episodes, I cried, laughed and worried.

The characters are also so different !! Noble consort Ning she is evil, but she didn't hide. And that evilness was also due to the palace having to share your love with dozens of women is hard. I was always contemplating, is this character actually bad, or is she just trying to survive?! Although we cannot forget the fact that whatever the concubines did, it was out of choice and, as huan says, 'every action has consequences'. Obviously, Zhen huan is my favorite character!!! She was just trying to have a normal relationship with the emperor. And the emperor and other concubines did not let her do so. The emperor is truly a different story, but I think somewhere he seems to represent all the other kings. The insecurity, suspicion,weight of wearing the crown. But this emperor annoyed me quite frequently. He was great at finding plots at a national level, but in his own harem his concubines easily fooled him. And dare I say WOMEN are the best strategisers. I mean, if you look back at all the plots and schemes, they should be part of the court to help the emperor and his ministers!!!! Still, I could understand the antagontists' motivations and hated them for it!!

Zhen Huan's life was full of drama, which was a delight to watch!! This drama also gave detailed insight into the dynasty and I kid you not- I was reading about chinese harem before my i.t exam, so yeah, this was a compelling watch. I heard it is historically accurate and Zhen huan's character is based on a real concubine. I really hoped Zhen huan would get a happy ending with Yun Li, but it did not happen, alas. I LOVED THIS DRAMA. Go watch it now.

(P.S. please skip the start and end credits as they give major spoilers)

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Lackluster characters and boring script.

Admittedly, Yanxi Palace raised the bar in that I need all historical dramas to pull me in and keep me engaged and immersed in the lives of the palace characters and it is with that expectation that I went into LOCZH; alas, all I heard were words and words and even more words. The script was so dialogue-heavy with a lot of telling instead of showing that, in many ways, it ended up overshadowing the actual plot. Perhaps if I hadn't seen the perfection that is Yanxi or the witty and eminently watchable 'Love Like the Galaxy' I might have given LOCZH a pass. As it is, I'm just in it to finish it and hopefully move on to something much more entertaining. I do not care if it's historically accurate or whether the creators imagined they could school the audience on a bit of history, whatever their motivation, the execution was lacking.

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Too long

I am a fan of long dramas but this one literally pulled at my insides. I felt drained. It felt as though I was in a plot but wasnt going anywhere. The story is good but couldn't it have been shorter? What's the use of a long drama that has some irrelevant scenes? Asides that, i really liked Concubine Zhen but i had to read up from a few reviews to see how it ended.
The costume were beautifully made. The cruelty of the concubines hidden beneath their smiles was quite shocking but not unexpected. (Having all those women together and vying for one man is enough to turn one into a villain and stir jealousy and hatred)
The dialogues were too long. I mean...an episode could have ten scenes where dialogues went on and on and on.
They seemed to move around in circles too plus the parts i watched happened in the palace so, i got tired of seeing the same scenery, my head hurt.
The point where I stopped craving to watch the next episode, was an eye opener. I had watched enough.

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Peak Palace Drama

It's easy to make a ten thousand word review highlighting the brilliance and elegance of this show but I am not a historical intellect who wants to seat here for longer than I have to typing this.
GOOD THINGS:
- STUNNING visuals. And I mean STUNNING!!! The sets, costumes, and all the actors and actresses are perfect for their roles. They are the appropriate amount of beauty, if that makes any sense. They have good "historical" faces and not the type that you would expect to know what a smartphone is.
- All the characters are logical, well-thought out people! The antagonists aren't cartoonish and have really presences in the show. The Emperor isn't overly "evil" or "toxic" or whatever and feels like a real, overworked man who gets tricked, desires love, and acts irrationally at time. 90% of this cast is female and all of them are most are very compelling characters. They are selfish, angry, heartbroken, and hardworking people.
-However, though it is a female focused drama, it doesn't try to be overly modern in theme. It doesn't try to "fight sexism" or whatever. It perfectly highlights the effects of cultural and societal norms on women and how they tackle them or navigate, or embrace them.
- The pacing: I personally think the pacing was very good. You get used to the rhytmn and can usually guess when the plot will pick up again. And trust me, when it picks up it PICKS UPP.
BEST THINGS:
- Our Main character, Zhen Huan is a very intelligent but very well written character. She has a starting point. She loses so much in the story and changes her character and she grows with the battles in her life. Forgives and fights. And her ending point by the end of the drama is so.... no spoilers. It makes you think.
- The little details in the poetry and lines they say that in rewatching make your breath go away. This show has immaculate foreshadowing.
- THE ACTING!!!!!! I can't say this for every minor character of course but the main actress who played our main character did such a incredible job I was left jaw dropped. She entered that set with bills to pay!!! Her acting made me cry, it gave me chills! I think I am so used to actors in dramas having passing acting skills with a limited range but this woman really raised the bar for me. Her scene in the last episode when she broke the forth wall and said the iconic line....I will always reflect on it because anyone else and it would have been cringe. But the directors understood her endless potential.
10/10

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The Best Imperial Palace Chinese Drama!

When I said Legend of Zhen Huan is the best, it really is the best. Even Yan Xi Palace came in second sorry to say that. All I can say about LOZH is that everyone has their own story to tell.

LIKE

Scenes that still vivid to me

When Zhen Huan last visited Imperial Noble Consort Dunsu (it was painful)
When Zhen Huan last met with Aisin Gioro Yun Li (I cried a lot)
When Yong Zheng Emperor was suspecting Zhen Huan due to gossips and she was proven innocent
Bond between Zhen Huan and Imperial Concubine Ning

DISLIKE

Nothing really.

MUSIC

红颜劫 Hong Yan Jie by 姚贝娜 Yao Bei Na

The mtv was so good that whenever I watched it, all the memories from watching the actual drama came back to me. I could feel the pain.

REWATCH VALUE

Yes and I remembered my hubz was chasing me to off work just so we could catch up on the episodes together.

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