Best Characters!
Has an amazing dark, brooding character with schizophrenia. It also had a very funny character. Episodes 3-17 were very slower and somewhat confusing, but don’t give up on it. I liked the atmosphere and tone of the show. Tons of great characters/side characters. Great music. This is one of my favorite shows now!Was this review helpful to you?
I guess people still like bad boys.
This series was on my watchlist but it wasn’t quite the time to watch it but the hype and rave reviews made me watch it ahead of schedule and I will say that overall I can totally understand the reason for the hype.Don’t get me wrong I liked the drama in the totality of what it is and although some arcs weren’t properly fleshed out (I won’t go into details here as someone else already did so read review by #PeachBlossomGoddess for further details if interested) it was still a good drama, aesthetically pleasing drama. I completely agree that ZLH was overacting sometimes but honestly i didn’t mind it at all, I can totally understand why people especially the ladies are into his brand of crazy (judging by the many reviews I read), his ferocious deranged snarl looks, was one for the record books and gave the likes of Wen Kexing ( my favorite male CDrama character tied with Mei ChangSu), DongFang QingCang and Wie Wuxian a run for their money.
My Girl Bai Lu always delivers and that chemistry was off the charts, I wish we got more of them as a couple but the ones we did get was definitely worth it.
As much as I liked the drama for some reason I didn’t crazily love it and I only give 10/10 to a drama I love and will definitely rewatch.
I highly doubt I will rewatch this but never say never.
Rewatch value 6/10
Overall value 8.5/10
Was this review helpful to you?
Red Flags Never Looked This Good
If you're looking for a male lead who is obsessively in love and terrifyingly devoted to the female lead, pick this up immediately. This drama features the kind of man who makes the term “red flag” feel insufficient. Calling the male lead manipulative and cunning barely scratches the surface. At some point, I genuinely started believing the phrase “red flag” was invented because of him. (ദ്ദി˙ᗜ˙)This show is psychologically disruptive in the best way possible. Half the time, I found myself dissecting every sinister plot twist and hidden motive while simultaneously waiting for the two leads to finally realize they were emotionally orbiting each other. The story follows Jiang Xuening, a deeply flawed and ambitious woman who manipulates her way into becoming Empress, only to be cornered into sui•cide during a rebellion. After being reborn into her younger self, she becomes determined to rewrite her tragic fate, avoid the deadly court politics that destroyed her life, and redeem the sins of her past.
What truly carried this drama for me was the complexity of its characters. Every major character feels layered, dangerous, and emotionally damaged in some way. The cast delivered visceral performances, especially the two leads whose chemistry thrives more on psychological tension than outright romance. The cinematography and visual atmosphere are also stunning. Almost every episode feels like a slow-boiling descent into paranoia, manipulation, and emotional repression.
The storyline itself can feel dragging at times. The slow-burn pacing occasionally works against the suspense, making some twists predictable. In fact, there was one major reveal I had already guessed as early as Episode 6. Thankfully, the pacing becomes significantly tighter and more gripping near the climax, especially once the emotional payoff between the leads finally starts surfacing.
Still, I would hesitate to call this a full romance drama. Despite the happy ending, the relationship between the leads revolves more around manipulation, calculation, obsession, jealousy, and political maneuvering than actual romantic intimacy. Compared to Ling Buyi from Love Like the Galaxy, who would destroy enemies and sacrifice himself for the woman he loves, or Xie Zheng from Pursuit of Jade, who would openly defy imperial authority for his beloved, the male lead of Story of Kunning Palace operates differently.
He is less: “I’ll burn the palace down for you.”
And more: “I already set the palace on fire emotionally years ago, and you were unknowingly at the center of it.” 💀
Overall, the emotional engagement during the first half felt slow and almost agonizing at times. But once the romantic payoff finally begins around Episode 30, it becomes compelling enough to keep me fully invested until the very end.
▶️ May 22-26, 2026
Was this review helpful to you?
Story of Redemption and Changing Fate with brilliant politics play out and interesting relationship
The moment it started, you can't stopped. Every episode is so intriguing that you keep wanting to continue, not boring, well pacing. The story is so solid, almost perfect political planning, thanks to Jiang Xue Ning previous life and the delicious cunningness of Xie Wei.There are a lot of twists and turns, from the strategic planning against the enemies (Xue family and the rebel King Ping Nan); added with interesting characters development a long the way, how the main characters are reacted to each other toward the plan, whether to trust or distrust each other; to unusual romance and relationship between the main characters (Xie Wei, Jiang Xue Ning and Zhang Zhe), from enemies to working together, then trusting and falling in love each other.
There is also a nice and touching sisterhood between the Jiang sisters, their sisterhood develops naturally and they support each other with fairness, not like the typical hating and plotting against each other as we normally seen in the drama. Best friends’ relationship between the characters (Xie Wei/Zhang Zhe/Lu Xian/fake Xue DingFei/2 Xie Wei's side kicks, Yan Lin/Jiang Xue Ning, Yan Lin/Shen Jie, Jiang Xue Ning/ShenZhiYi) are matured, full of loyalty, funny and understanding with each other.
The overall performance of the main and supporting casts are splended and well acted, although most of them are young actors and actresses in term of their age. Whatmore the actors are good looking.
They portrayed their characters beautifully and with a lot of tensions, especially for Zhang Ling He and Wang Xing Yue, and last but not least of course Bai Lu to whom you know what to expect from her, although she looks much older than her supposedly her real character's age in this drama. As for Zhang Ling He, Wang Xing Yue and Zhou Jun Wei, this is my first time seeing their acting, but love them all, looking forward to see their other dramas.
Overall, this is the best cdrama in 2023 I have seen so far, full of excitement and fun, and the best part of it is it has a happy ending. Don't miss out, it is a must watch historical cdrama.
Was this review helpful to you?
Kept me watching
It kept me watching and had some good twists and turns. But it was frustrating because at some point, the main character stopped being proactive and went all reactive instead. I like a good isekai as much as anybody else, but the whole sucked into a fantasy world, dies, and reborn felt forced and useless. I didn't feel any connection to the character in the modern world, so that nixed any efftect an ending for that character would have.This poor actress... Is she going to be stuck playing emotionally stunted characters her whole life? She does a great job, but the lack of/snail pace character development in the emotional department got old.
I didn't know I could like the ML in something more than The Princess Royal, but he was spectacular in this!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Can we have more queer coding and less toxic men plz?
The Story of Kunning Palace has a fantastic premise. It starts where most historical Cdramas end: a despotic empress dies after losing a coup d'état. But lo and behold! She suddenly wakes up, reincarnated in the same life but as an 18 year old again, with a chance to set things right.For fellow fans of the latest isekai craze that has hit the anime scene, this plot may sound familiar. But unlike the comedic anime takes that places anime FLs in otome games, Kunning Palace takes itself far more seriously. Our FL is determined to do the right things by the people she wronged the first time round and does not mind using some underhand methods to do so. Along the way she (once again) meets the ML who, similarly, has good intentions and subscribes to an ends-justify-the means approach. A perfect match, right? So I thought initially.
Frankly, I quickly lost interest in the political intrigue of this drama and stayed around for the romance. Unfortunately, a gross error on my part. What the drama tries to construe as romance – I can only assume this from the sappy romantic soundtrack – is actually just the ML sexually assaulting the FL. Sorry to be blunt, but that's what it is.
This sexual violence would not have been an issue if the drama treated it as such. But with both the soundtrack and with the ML lead 'winning' the FL in the end, what the drama does instead is normalise violence in a romantic/sexual relationship. Ultimately, this ruined what I liked about the drama – two deeply flawed characters finding each other as soulmates.
Given this situation, I would have loved to see more romantic development with the FL and other characters. Obviously being a Chinese production, there's only so much you can do given censorship (especially recent crackdowns), but there was already clear queer coding happening between Jian Xue Ning and the Princess and You Fang Yin respectively. Perhaps this can be my pitch for a Kunning Palace baihe spin-off :)
Was this review helpful to you?
Another side of Zhang Linghe
ML is always playing a hero, it’s refreshing to see he has a mean streak. I was bored at first, but the more I watch, the more I wan to watch. Bai Lu is excellent as usual, but ML is definitely the one to watch. He needs more roles like this. Most disappointing series for me was My Journey To You. The script was terrible. But this one, I’ll watch again and again. I’d love to see him in more anti-hero roles. And matching him up with the right FL is a MUST. Nothing more to say right now. I shall continue watching and hope it gets even better.Was this review helpful to you?
The romance is absolutely crap. Don't waste your time.
After watching POJ i've been watching Zhanglinghe's older shows and this one was just awful. That said, i'd have to say ZLH is an extremely versatile actor - he was TOTALLY UNLIKABLE in this whole series.Folks, if you're here for the handsome ZLH who left us so thirsty and breathless in POJ, skip this series altogether! Don't ruin your ZLH experience! He's not even handsome in this series, and the male lead character is a complete a-hole to the female lead most the time. And the female lead? Equally unlikable. Petulant. Spoiled. Unyielding. No chemistry.
both male and female leads actually have more chemistry with other characters of the show. But their romance is totally unbelievable. It's hard to know if they even really like each other much.... Male lead is literally obsessed with her. He comes to her rescue repeatedly but no feelings or reciprocation from her side AT ALL.
Mainly they are both very emotionally damaged people = female lead has PTSD from her past life, the male lead has PTSD from his childhood, but unlike other dramas, neither of them help each other get over their past trauma. in fact, both leads just exacerbates the fear in each other. he's obsessive, possessive and physically rough with her but at least he's always rescueing her and putting his life on the line for her. And what does she give bacK? Nothing. She repeatedly withholds her approval, her love, her care and throws a tantrum when he asks for a little bit of her concern. The Male lead never feels secure of her love EVER. Not until he nearly dies. In Ep 38. In the last 10 mins of the series. That's when.
Not to mention how awful the romantic scenes are. In fact.. WHAT romantic scenes? Every "romance" scene is borderline assault. Male lead grabs female leads by the throat... throttles her.. forces himself on her.. i mean really - they are agonizing to watch. Their first kiss happens in ep 32 and even then, it's just awful! There are literally no swoon-worthy moments AT ALL that i want to rewatch. She finally realizes that she wanted to marry him on the last 10 mins of the last episode.
The plot itself is just meh... same like every other quasi revenge plot. The male lead needs to see a shrink. The female lead is just stupid. There are WAY MANY MORE c-dramas worth watching than this. Don't waste your time.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
tw: toxic relationship | not for the judgemental!!
Honestly I really liked this drama, it's definitely a slowburn that's worth waiting for unlike most fluffy dramas. I definitely love the FL and ML, had such great chemistry in the bts. I don't wanna spoil anything, so just gonna briefly describe the story.1. Story. Not too harsh for the heart, definitely a smooth and satisfactory story that I really like. The plot(s) weren't that surprising either which is good imo, because complex stories are harder to understand but this drama definitely gives a nice ride.
2. Acting. Of course, per usual, well done. ZLH's expressions definitely do make me feel some type of way, smirking, grinning and scoffing I love it! For me, I really hate it when characters have a really stale expression, small details really do matter just like micro expressions so he did them really well. Bai Lu, insane acting skills however I do think she could use a little more expressions as well that isn't written on the script, in order to emphasize her character even more. (As a Bai Lu fan)
3. I think the music was alright, but I do think it's low-key overused, but definitely can't blame them as the OST's that are used for the scenario must fit the situation. When I first heard of the opening scene of SOKP, I was rlly invested though, I liked the unique idea of it.
4. As for rewatch value, I don't think ut deserves a 10 because everyone have their different preferences and opinions, so I'll leave it open to everyone's own idea.
5. Overall, I think this drama definitely should be watched, toy can watch it during your free time (recommended) or anytime!!
Was this review helpful to you?
From story of BORING palace to story of LOVING palace
Well !! I would have rated this show a solid 9 if it weren't for the boring first half. No doubt the story is good, but the way it is written failed to impress me ... The issue is stated on the screen pretty much within the first two episodes after that they are just beating around the bush with absolutely no rigid substance being added the development of the story . Honestly I thought of dropping this drama a multiple times but I like bailu a lot so I kept going.Around Episode 18 the plot picks up some momentum and remains the same till the end.
There is nothing much to pin point about the casting as all actors including leads are veterans and they known how to deliver the best.previously I wasn't much of a fan of the ML actor but he was amazing in his role here ..I guess I like him now ❤️❤️❤️ ok might as well check his other shows.
Ost was just so-so.
Rewatch value ..well that's subjective.. If i were ever to watch it again I might skip ep 3-17r
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Elevator boy on a rampage
I really liked this drama for around 20 episodes - or more? All the characters are well played and the plot wasn't super fast-paced, but engaging, set up well. Characters were well rounded and believable. Plot was coming along nicely.And then the ML transformed into a creepy dude who doesn't care if the FL wants him or not, kisses her without consent, grabs her by the throat multiple times, forces her onto a bed and: she starts catching feelings for him around that time.
Under the guise that "she was misunderstanding his intentions the whole time and now that she knows spoilery stuff about him, she isn't afraid of him anymore and realizes what a great guy he is". Except that he just demonstrated he isn't. He forced a kiss, he didn't stop, he strangled her.
Sure, there should be multifaceted, grey characters, bad guys in a story. This is the ML and this story is set up in a way that shows "hey, just be forceful and persistent and the girl will be yours" and I freakin cannot stand it.
She tells him off after they spent the night together, he asks her to marry him, she needs to think about it and he acts like a four year old who didn't get to keep his favorite toy. But that is the extent of it - after that she's back to liking him.
There's imo nothing steamy about their interactions, because they are all forced - from kiss one onwards. I despise this kind of narrative. I don't even want to give it one point, if it wasn't for all the stuff that they did great on before that.
Was this review helpful to you?
watch this or else
I'm not very good with words but here I am. 😅Hooked from start to finish, this drama has been worth the wait. Despite the limited budget, this drama delivered a high quality production. The script is quotable, there's so many lines that are memorable. It would've been better if iqiyi made more effort in translating them. The acting is top tier. It made me starstruck and engrossed. It felt like i'm there with them, I kept holding my breath not to miss anything. The costumes are also good. I like xie wei's hairstyle with his hair down and the ribbon on his back. He also looked great in his court official attire, that's my most fave look of him. The women's dresses are also so fine. I love the pastel colors. The gold on the royalties are also so fitting. I like a drama that invest in costumes because it adds to my watching experience.
I'm not sure how the drama plot stayed true to the novel but the drama plot was well done. I liked the pacing. There's something significant happening in every episode. There's no unnecessary fillers. Nothing was dragged or rushed. I think my main problem was the romance of xie wei and ning'er. While they have a lot of interactions in the first 30 eps, the love line hasn't really started there though from xie wei's perspective it's been going on from the earliest eps. Ning'er still hasn't have that kind of feelings for him yet. This is the slowest burn i have ever experienced in my cdrama life. But those moments of xie wei and ning'er from the first 30 eps are still serving chemistry. They're not doing romantic but they're burning of chemistry. bailu and zhang linghe did so well in that department. Came ep 31 onwards, some may say love was forced to ning'er but no. From the start, she might have develop something but only at later eps did it awakened. And mostly, xie wei's love for her reached her and she took it. They have such a toxic development but they're both intense so I think it suited them both fine.
I am not into love triangle, what more reverse harem. I liked how every men and woman in jxn's life are important to her story. I was stressed and seething of jealousy (for xw) when seeing her with zhang zhe though. Such a sad love story. Their moments were sweet.
When it comes to palace dramas, the scheming will always be present. Mostly, I get stressed watching those but this one our mains are mainly involved in the scheming. As the saying goes, they may not always win but they will never lose. That's how powerful our main leads here that I never have to sweat about them losing anything. They will pass through challenges again and again.
I think this is the kind of drama that I would want to marathon and watch with friends. Never a dull moment. Watch it, highly recommend!
Was this review helpful to you?
