Story of Kunning Palace

The man with a double life, and the woman with a second chance at it.

Admittedly, I was surprised to have missed Kunning Palace in 2023 - having only heard of the show in early December. Usually, period romance is right up my alley, but given a few disappointing dramas still in my recent memory it's been a while since I've watched anything of that genre. On this front, Kunning Palace succeeds.

From a period drama, this is exactly what we would expect; the domestic intrigue, the court intrigue, the 'hidden' past of the male lead. And, although nothing is particularly unexpected, the tropes don't necessarily grow wearisome. In particular, the relationships the female lead has with her other love interests are far from the usual "second lead syndrome" or "bothersome and obsessive reject who works to make her final relationship miserable". All of the stereotypically annoying clichés were toned down, which is a credit to the writers.

Yet, I do feel that this drama suffers from pacing and time delegation issues. Although we, as viewers, guess at the emotions of both love interests and see how they develop throughout the story - the realisation for both of the characters feels somewhat rushed. In the end, more time is spent on palace politics and battle scenes than on seeing them together as a couple. Unfortunate, given the emphasis that the drama clearly tries to place upon "love" and "loyalty".

Regardless, the stories outside of the main characters were gripping enough that I rarely skipped over them; particularly with regards to the princess, Xuehui and Fangyin. All of their characters were layered and interesting, and although I found the initial set up of the Jiang family relationship odd and forced; I liked how the tension between the family members resolved itself. It felt naturalistic and feasible.

However, the one cliché I cannot forgive is the set up for the entire 'rebirth' itself. It was superficial and poorly executed; feeling only like a weak attempt at trying to copy Joy of Life or Scarlet Heart (who at least had a purpose behind the usage which was relevant to the plot).

Ultimately, the drama is gripping and enjoyable. There is not really any criticism which can be thrown to the acting or the costume design, and the chemistry (both romantic and non-romantic) between all of the characters is palpable and poignant. It's unfortunate then, that they failed either to extend the drama, or to spend less time on its more superficial elements in order to focus on the relationships and plot that actually mattered.

Watch it though. I only have so many criticisms because it was so nearly perfect.

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Amazing Plot

I seriously loved this Plot!! The politics are written so well and i didnt thought one episode was boring. the slow burn for this was also perfect, early romance wouldnt fit in. I will say ml is quite the red flag, which i dont mind but short before they became together it felt like they suddendly wrote him even more aggresive. the forced kiss was kind of dissapointing, esp bc in earlier episodes he seems quite different. he was always a bit rough, but i wouldve never thought he'd force himself onto FL.
thats why im giving it an 8.5, esp bc the SA wasnt even adressed. but if we ignore that part i wouldve easily given it an 9.5!

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Can't Stop Watching but Slightly Let Down by Ending

Amazing story set in ancient chinese palace intrigue. Everyone (and i mean everyone) can act and acted well.
All was top notch but just slightly disappointed by the contrived endings for some plot and characters. As mentioned by the top reviewers, there was one death totally unnecessary and did not do anything to the plot. Maybe was there was a short and cheap emotional roller-coaster farming.
Also did not like the way the ML and FL behaved in condensing their loves toward the end; it was crass and somehow still revert back to misunderstanding and mistrust. That was totally stupid.
I would have given 9.5 instead of 9.0 if not for these.

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You will cry and laugh

This drama is about the FL, who went back in time to redo all her wrongs in her first life. The FL has three main guys in her life. One is her best friend, the other one is her first love, and the last one is her one true love.

This drama is also a kind of harem, in the sense that there is harem drama with the queen dowager. Anyways, the FL tries to redo all her wrongs and finds out the truth to save the people in her life.

I enjoyed this drama, and really like the ML. Love the ost, and cinematography in this drama.

I would watch it again :). 8.5/10.

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Redemption and Revenge

This was my first introduction to c-dramaland back in 2024. Once I started I couldn't stop watching, because the pacing of the storyline and character development was excellent. After watching many other cdramas, I realise revenge / rebirth plots are a dime a dozen but the screenwriters did a very good job in making you engaged with the drama and moving the story line forward in a way that makes sense.

Synopsis: The Female Lead (FL) in the story gets a chance to redo her life and she vows not to make the same mistakes, help her best friend avoid past tragedies, and right some wrongs. In the process, she uncovers the real reason why there was a rebellion in the past, and helps the Male Lead (ML) with his revenge. Of course, ends up with the ML. :)

I know some people have issues with the time period of the costumes and all, but I care more about the plot and character building. You can understand most characters' internal logic and motivations and there is enough action (sword fighting, etc) to make it interesting. The ML can be a bit of a red flag as he is a little mentally unhinged due to trauma when he was younger but Zhang Linghe makes it believable and it helps that he is very easy on the eye.

As usual, the story moves really well until the last few episodes when it feels very rushed and the screenwriters try to resolve the revenge / plotlines cleanly to the point that you have to suspend your belief in some scenes / plots. Still it was a good ending and probably that helped to make this the success that it was.

Acting wise, Wang Xingyue's Zhang Zhe stole the show in some scenes and it was evident when he delivered a major performance in The Double after that. Other than that, all the leads delivered a solid performance which helps to make this show something that you can rewatch.

The soundtrack is truly evocative and helps to bring emotions to the forefront. Jane Zhang's 与爱 and Zhou Shen's 借梦 is so hauntingly beautiful that it truly adds to the entire production. Bai Lu is not really a singer but she does a decent job with the love theme 雪季.

Definitely a good watch and something that I sometimes play again for background noise.

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Disappointingly Average

This drama's problems begin in the marketing itself. I will be candid, I'm not really a fan of the story within a story format. Especially for romances, because that always feels so unfulfilling at the end. But nowhere in the description of the drama on MDL or IQIYI did it announce it was that, so I went in thinking it was a regular historical thriller. Despite tending to dislike that plot, I decided to watch on because I love tension and everything I'd seen had promised me that in spades. However, I think this drama only partially delivered. The past life scenes between Ning and Xie Wei were so tense and just what I was looking for however it wasn't the same with the current timeline. Obviously, they did have chemistry and tension but for me, it just wasn't doing it. Like when you compare the two timelines, past her is not nearly as frightened of him so they have this intensity that just doesn't happen in the current timeline. It is basically a one-sided obsession for the majority of the current timeline, and I don't even understand how she fell for him. Another thing, what was with the mental health rep? I don't understand why they included the mental illness at all, he could have hated the snow and been cruel without bringing in a disorder that is already stigmatized to use as an excuse for his violence.
I do want to say I did enjoy this drama, it was beautifully shot, the soundtrack was epic, and the acting was great. This was my first Bai Lu drama, but I've been in the cdrama sphere for about a year so I'm familiar with her name, and I was really impressed. I will definitely check out another one when I have the opportunity. The male lead did great as well, as did all the supporting actors.
Overall, I would recommend this drama, 8.5/10

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"Story of Kunning Palace" follows Xue Ning, a woman who wanted to be empress and did everything to achieve that. She ends up dying and wakes up in the past. Now, she wants to changes things, with this second chance in life.

The problem is, not matter how much she tries, things kept happening how it was before. Xue Ning was afraid of Xie Wei, because she knew what he could do if he has power, so she tried to stay away from him and that only made him more interested in her. Xue Ning have always been in love with Zhang Zhe and that didn't change after she goes into the past, but by spending time with Xie Wei, she gradually sees his love and falls madly in love with him. Their kiss scenes is amazing, really impressive.

Zhang Ling He is truly an incredible actor, in the same year he played two incredible roles, showing two opposing sides of his personality: in "My Journey To You" he was an honest, good and caring man, here in "Story of Kunning Palace" he is calculating, cold and can kill without mercy... but we fall in love the same way! HAHAHA'

The chemistry between him and Bai Lu is tangible, which is why it's a shame that the drama took too long to form the couple, it was disappointing to think about everything we could have seen of them together, but that didn't ruin the quality of the drama, it's a wonderful story.

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Top 3 historical cdrama

I loved it. The acting was great and so was their chemistry. I loved the ost as well. The little snippet of their wedding left a smile on my face during the whole thing. I wish they got into a relationship sooner, but he was so insecure and there was a lack of communication from both of them. I understand why she was hesitant in the beginning, she knew another version of him, so of course she was scared. They had very cute moments in the last I believe 10 episodes, very small and short ones but got me giggling. I wish You Fangi didn’t die and wished we saw more of her and her husband’s married life. In the end him basically bullying his son was so funny, he’s so insecure over Zhang Ze (was only funny to see on the show, if it happened in reality that would’ve been disappointing).

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hmm

So this won’t top Scent of Time, but I enjoyed this c-drama, at first it would be a little confusing, but man the acting and chemistry is on point. I truly enjoyed this one and it only took me A day and a half to finish the whole 38 episodes plus the bonus short special.

I solely approved of the ending and who she ended up with, glad that out of all the sacrifices he did for her she was finally able to realize and recognize her feelings for him.

At first I was intrigued to watch this since Bai Lu was the FL and I truly enjoyed her in Till the end of the Moon, Zhang Linghe from Love between fairy and devil (I’m halfway from that series but had to take a break, I couldn’t stand the FL there sorry), and of course Wang Xingyue from the scent of time. (he was remarkable there!)

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rebirth palace politics debacle

The blurb explains the story well. I watched the drama because of Bai Lu, perceiving her character in this story to be strong. I was right.
While there were times when I wondered, why was she getting into trouble by interfering in everyone's business, I could understand her motivation and reasoning, so it was nice to watch. Towards the end, she builds several strong friendships.

I really adored her relation with her father. For me this is the main highlight of the show.
The male lead's story arc/character development is also slow and subtle. He doesn't really change, remaining shy, cold and grouchy, but the direction and path that he seems to be going in changes.
The side characters on the male leads side are given depth.
On the female lead's side, the cdrama rules for side characters applies: don't get too attached, anything can happen anytime. The main focus of the story is really the plotting and counter-plotting done and executed by the FL for her own motivations. The romance is really slow burn, significant developments happen only really close to the end. The romance chemistry is a mix of many elements: frenemies, teacher-student(very less), I see you you see me (in a strategy-chess way) and mainly a bit obsessive/possessive to a degree to which some might say is toxic, but there is also an element of "even if you were to roam the world ultimately, you will come back to me" (but angst version) .
It could have been really nice, but I think in the middle it became too tense for too long and lost steam. The story ended on a high tension note, the ending seemed a bit rushed. So I felt underwhelmed. But nothing too bad.

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A good historical drama

I have watched many Chinese costume dramas, and this one is one of the most well-made dramas. The storyline is really good and the acting of FL makes it even better. Not only the FL, but the ML, side characters, all of them are so perfectly placed, it couldn't be any more perfect.
I usually pay a lot of attention to scripts. The dialogue and the way each character enters or contributes to the plot is very good. A lot of dramas as such have a very typical story, but this one is quite well-presented. I would definitely recommend this drama to anyone who is a fan of costume dramas.

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