Story of Kunning Palace (2023)

cringefest

The biggest problem I have with this drama is the script. There were so many instances where I had multiple question marks thinking how can this be allowed?? ML had so many cringey forced actions and IMO did not convey the complexity of the character well. There were a few cute moments between the leads but the rest of the time, it felt really awkward. Bailu did well but zhang ling he unfortunately fell just a bit short. I watched it at 2x speed and some parts were still so draggy and unnecessary. Halfway through I realised I was just speeding through it for the sake of finishing it, the storyline became so repetitive and boring after a while. The only saving grace of this drama is the music choice, even then I sincerely do not recommend this drama.

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Disappointing fanservice

At the beginning I liked sokp much better and thought it was gonna be one of the best drama this year, but it turned out as a mediocre fanservice/wattapad for teens with dark fantasies. The breakup with ZZ felt forced and unnatural how can such a thing not be resolved by communication, it was not believable at all and I wish they stuck with the way the novel made them break up instead but they wanted to rush things probably pressured by fans that wanted the Xie arc, unfortunately that led to my discontent with Xie and what made matters worse is how bad his arc is turning to be forced kiss, forceful grabbing of hands and neck(wtf) forced kiss, overbearing and disrespectful that doesn't really respect jxn and treats her as a young girl that is his student another major eye roll as I am not into teacher/student type of romance its Hella creepy and disgusting.. I wish we can grow out of this weird fase where it's okay for a romance like this to happen in the first place. Unfortunately because of the reason mention the latest episodes began to drag a lot and what was a solid 9 drama became a 7 then a 4.. I felt like something was missing from the intrigue and like that it lost its appeal. Ps all that chocking was so cringe.. Felt like a bad version of 50 shades of Grey

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The most toxic of romances . . .

This drama's addictive qualities, and thrilling action scenes, do not matter, because the main romance is unbelievably toxic and romanticizes the most dangerous of red flags. It's as if the script writers went down the list of 'high risk factors' for murder suicide relationships :

1) Suicide threats and knives: Xie Wie takes a knife puts it into Ning'er-'s hand and invites her to stab him. This you, or I , or both of us attitude where the abuser takes a knife and points it at the other person, then at themselves, then starts screaming 'fine just do it, kill me, kill us' is usually the last step before the end. The show portrays this as showing intense love instead of an intense nihilism.

2) Strangulation and grabbing by the throat: Xie Wie repeatedly grabs Ning'er by the throat in order to force her to do something she doesn't want to do - including grabbing her by the throat and then kissing her. Strangulation and choking threats are huge red flags, mainly because it is a very vulnerable area to attack and often leads to brain injury. Strangulation/choking/non consensual breath play to initiate or coerce sex is often a sign of the same intense nihilism.

3) Drug use: Xie Wie has been using a highly damaging performance enhancing drug to make up for health issues stemming from his trauma. His friends have been trying to get him to stop, but they and Xie Wie insist that only Ning'er's love can and will get him to stop. Usually drug addiction/misuse cannot be 'solved' through a romance, and this belief causes many people to stay in toxic relationships enabled by the drug users family and friends who want someone else to bear the responsibility.

4) Untreated mental health: Xie Wie has episodes of extreme violence and paranoia due to past trauma. Ning'er and other innocent people are exposed to this dangerous behaviour repeatedly. Yet, there is no explanation on how this could be miraculously cured.

5) Romeo and Juliet sense of 'no one understands us': Xie Wie repeatedly claims to Ning'er that only they can understand each other - no one else can. That they are both meant to be forged through trauma and hardship, willing to go to lengths that other people cannot understand. Xie Wie repeatedly snears at Ning'er s love for Zhang Zhe - claiming that he's too simplistic and good for one such as her.

6) Obsessed with revenge, excellent at power games, petty to a fault: If Xie Wie only had this capacity of revenge for political wrongs, this wouldn't be such a red flag, but Xie Wie also shows a pettiness and jealousy towards the other family and friends in Ning'er's life and an inappropriate level of condescension towards Ning'er 's father.

7) Power imbalance in the relationship: Xie Wie is Ning'er's teacher and mentor at various points, and Ning'er s father and others treat him as one generation senior to Ning'er. Xie Wie often orders Ning'er around whether or not she is 'officially' his teacher at various points. Ning'er for various reasons begs him or kneels to him about various things throughout the show, but Xie Wie never puts himself in the humble position. Even when he's backed into a corner, he dramatically and violently seizes the power back.

There's probably a lot more. This is all to say in this modern age, there's no reason to teach people that these red flags are evidence of intense love - they are not. If you ever encounter anyone like this in real life - beware. That intensity is often simply a stalker like obsession and a strong desire for power and control over you.

It's one thing to portray a toxic individual who is NOT toxic towards the main love interest and is inspired by her to change (as unrealistic and problematic as that storyline is), but it's a whole 'nother thing to be directly harmful and toxic towards the main love interest.

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Disappointingly overrated

Ning an Ru Meng started off very well and somewhere around the 15th episode I was convinced this was one of the best historical dramas this year, It certainly had all the right elements: a potential redemption arc, political intrigue, interesting characters.

Let's start with the positives: I enjoyed many things on the show. The flashbacks to the previous "life" were very engaging and well tied to the present. I enjoyed many of the characters and their little arcs. Among them the characters with the most engaging character arcs were You Fangyin (whose arc kind of ended very early on) and the princess (a very good performance from Liu Xie Ning). The political drama was overall quite enjoyable till the second half of the show, although a lot of it wasn't particularly complex or unseen before.

Now the negatives:

The romance. Yes, the “romance”. Replace the handsome Zhang Linghe with a not-so-pleasant-faced actor and many of the things he did to Ning will appear creepy. Yes, very very creepy. A teacher who has power over her - who can kiss her forcibly and make her cry. And how many times did Xie Wei do this? Episode 32, episode 34, ep 36. This toxic love story is sold to audiences at fantastic paces. In episode 34 Ning tells XW that she does not love him, so what is his response? Basically it was something on the lines of- “the things you’ve done for me prove you love me” and then he drags her outside and forces her to plunge a knife into his stomach. Hmm. Ning has done a lot of good things for many people- does that mean that she loves them all?

Well, that brings me to the person she actually loved for most of the show - Zhang Zhe. She loved him so much that she died for him in the previous “life”, and she retained those feelings. It soon became obvious that the two of them loved each other. So, circumstances allowed his feelings for her to grow - he was certain she loved him too, and in this life there were no real barriers to them being together. In fact, as it is established later on, her father would have readily chosen Zhang Zhe as a son-in-law. Yet, the novelist/screenwriter decided to put an end to this love story in the most ridiculous way possible. No-one breaks up with the one they love when their beloved is suffering. Soon after his mother died, Ning decides to break up with him and she chooses to do it by pretending that she never loved him, wringing his heart dry. It was absolutely convenient for the story not to show Zhang Zhe much later either, and neither do we watch Ning weep over him.

What was the reason for that breakup? Truly insignificant. In order to prevent him from hurting further, she hurt him even more. It truly makes no sense. Are the novelist and screenwriters suggesting that good people don’t end well? Evidently, one need not look further than Zhang Zhe to find that.

In truth the purpose of cutting short this love story short is to allow the male lead and female lead to get together. By episode 34 however, she herself says that she doesn’t love Xie Wei. Of course, everyone is busy convincing her that she DOES love him. The music is suggesting that, and all of XW’s crazy, obsessive behaviour suddenly appear romantic.

Show don’t tell- evidently the screenwriter forgot that.

Xie Wei kisses Ning’s forehead after she is flogged by Xue Shu. As I said earlier- replace ZLH with someone ugly and this won’t fly that well. Her father happens to see this and confronts XW indirectly, but XW’s reaction is hardly apologetic. Instead it’s almost as though he owns her. Then when he goes “crazy” he kisses her forcibly. The background music really presents it as the most romantic scene ever.

This toxic “love” story is presented as the most beautiful one and that is truly a concern. The wrist-pulling, force-kissing abusive ML is presented as an ideal partner? Is it 2023?

I think had this story been placed in the back burner I would have been somewhat okay with it, but when the screenwriter decided that the ML and FL must be together the plot turned to ridiculous mush. All the palace politics that had held my attention earlier dissipated.

This show started off solid - it was interesting, and then it nosedived its way into a toxic “romance” with the historical bits taking . The performances have been good, and ZLH may have received his best role so far. I really enjoyed several characters and I wish the show makers had spent more time on those character arcs.

Overall I am so so disappointed. and I think 8 is already too high.
(My actual rating: 7.75)

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Let them stay bad and cunning - for that I am grateful.

To sum it up: great pacing, interesting and likable characters, solid chemistry, thrilling schemes, problematic gege throwing hands at both his enemies and his lady (which in this drama was perfection, don’t call me out). On the other hand, I was not crazy about how all the romances developed and in some areas, the acting could have been better.

Still, top level of solid entertainment. Thank god I was watching it as it aired - otherwise I would not be able to stop and binge watching all of the episodes would simply kill me - I’m too old for it.

It truly surprised me how much I enjoyed the pity palace drama. Usually I’m barely stopping myself from skipping this type of scene, but here they were some of the best aspects. I appreciated glorious slaps, calling out stupidity even on your own team, backstabbing for survival - it all sounds so dramatic, but in the drama itself, it’s presented in an engaging, but palatable manner.

What’s more to love are all the women in the drama. Variety of the characters, personalities, strength and weaknesses - exactly what I want to see. You don’t just get your typical - smart and cunning, and dumb, but loyal. They nicely mix it up. We get the asshole who overestimates her abilities, we have a smart and loyal friend. We saw women who push their limits and ones that prefer to not push them. We have bad, good and morally gray.

On the other hand the drama lacks quality men. Those that are fun are not developed enough, those that are developed more are annoying. Xie Wei being the only true saving grace. Yes, Zhang Zhe is cute and righteous, but that’s all he is. Yan Lin might be fun and good at fighting, but he is the definition of the “supporting from background while having little to no individuality”. I enjoyed them as I was watching, but by the end of the show I had little to no thoughts about them.

I’m glad plot wise the overall arc was well explained. I understood the motivation of all the characters, why they made the choices they made and what was their goal. Some strived for power, some for survival and some for redemption. I do wish the drama was longer. While they wrapped up everything quite skillfully, I still wanted to see more. Especially in terms of romance.

And that’s my biggest regret. Not even a flaw, since the final execution was done well, it just made me crave for more. All the romance driven plot lines were quite sidelined, so by the end, they tried to put 20 episodes worth of development into maybe 8. I enjoyed every second of it, but I wanted more.

Acting was good. Bai Lue did what she does best. In no universe she could fail delivering a character like that - it’s made for her and her only. Zhang Ling He was great in some scenes, not so great in others. Wang Xing Yue and Zhou Jun Wei both did not really have a space to show any skills - how the characters were written did not really allow that. I’m glad that the whole cast had a great chemistry though - be it platonic, romantic or rivalry. And them kissing scenes… we do not get kissing scenes like that often.

I know many people complained about the make up, personally I liked it. The over the top magical red eyeliner that showed up when Xie Wei turned into his toxic hot gege persona. Yes, the eyebrows for the female characters were… a choice, but after a few episodes I just stopped paying attention to them.

Overall, high level of entertainment. Story of Kunning Palace has such a high binge watchability, it’s actually scary and could be a health risk if you are not careful. It’s both exciting, but approachable - balances well between how dramatic, but also easy to digest it wants to be.

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GREAT STORY WITH BRILLIANT CAST

I will say the adaptation is the best, they remove some scene and make link to every story arc so is fit 38 episode.

Jiang Xue Ning, she is someone who has regret and willing to fix it. She try to help people around her and changing their fate for something better, she's not perfect but she'll try.
Xie Wei, he complicated person. He use to have everything then lose all of it in a day. He had traumatic past, he know that people is cruel. Like he said he is not a saint. He schemes everything not care about the world.

Their relationship grow a long time, JXN use to afraid XW but then she became to trust him.

For novel reader the ending little bid difference, they tone down some character. They connect story so is more fit and not feeling rush. And of course is HAPPY ENDING.

For me is pity they don't make longer episode, they are a few scene from novel I think gonna make this drama more greater that ever.

BEST

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Good palace politics, Horrifying ML

OVERALL
This drama is another heaven-and-hell production. Watch it if 1) you LOVE palace politics, 2) you're looking for mature cinematography and filters, 3) you want a drama with a smart(ish) FL. If you're looking for a great ML or a heartfelt love story, I can't urge you enough, SKIP!

THE STORY
So I was looking for another good historical drama after watching Wonderland Love and saw that this one was highly rated, so I decided to give it a try. Uff, what a disappointment! But let me start with the good stuff:
- The premise of FL going back to her youth to change history is interesting (while not original) because you want to see if she'll succeed. This I really liked, and I think the drama does a good job of handling this part of the plot.
- FL is smart (when the drama wants her to be) and in a mature, age-appropriate way
- For once (in a long time), we have mature cinematography with nice, dark(ish) filters and none of that childish quirky music that always plagues Chinese historicals
- Palace politics is thrilling, with the bad guys making the good guys sweat sometimes (which is good, it's boring when the good guys are always ahead)

Now, onto the bad stuff:
- Top of the list, 200%, is ML. He is so boorish, I can't believe a C-drama came up with a character like that in 2023. It's okay to have a cold or slightly aggressive ML when there is enough backstory to make us feel bad for him AND if he redeems himself. Kunning Palace's ML has neither. The backstory is definitely not enough to make me sympathize with him, and he never, NEVER redeems himself. He's just dislikable, from beginning to end.
- Obviously, the love story then falls very short. It was extremely funny (and disturbing) how his outbursts of anger and violence towards FL were romanticized. I just can't...Also, having such nice, 2nd and 3rd ML made it all worse, because in what world would a smart girl like FL EVER choose this abusive ML over her other options? It's hilariously ridiculous.
- The fact that ML is FL's teacher adds an extra layer of weird and bad for me, because of the power dynamics. He's already boorish, then you add to it the fact that he can just boss her around and treat her like a 5 year old as her teacher? Yuk.
- A third flaw in this drama (definitely less important but still worth mentioning) is how brushed aside the story of FL's sister was. I think the character is presented as somewhat important but then we never see what happens to her after a major event, which feels like a loophole.

Overall, if you are not into romance and are indifferent to ML's terrible character, go ahead, watch this drama. The palace politics will keep you going. If you really care about character development and you were craving a good love story, do yourself a favor and skip!

THE ACTING
Good, though nothing out of this world for me. I wouldn't say there was any chemistry between FL and any of the guys in the show either.

THE MUSIC
That, I liked! I'm all for more mature vibes!

REWATCH VALUE
Absolutely null. I'd rather re-watch Yanxi Palace than this, and I used to think Yanxi Palace's emperor was the absolute worse ML hahaha

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Story of how to create a toxic romance

5/10. I’m mad as hell that this type of abusive relationship is romanticized as true love. The plot is weak and got lost along the way.

- FL traveled back in time (same period, not from our future) to correct her evil ambition on becoming queen and the lives she cost doing so. She decided to change her ways. She wanted to right her wrongs and also change the fates of those around her. Sounds like a great plot, right? It is.. if they didn’t lose focus half way through.
- The first half focused on the FL. Long story short, she decided to be a better person. She couldn’t help but get involve in the royal family’s bloody war so to survive, she had to be smarter and less ambitious.
- Wtf happened with the plot after leading our heroine up to this? They shifted the focus on XW the ML. The FL followed him around like a lost puppy while he helped her save all the people she wanted to save but couldn’t. They then decided to give ML this crazy back story with trauma, medical issues, evil schemes, backstabbing, revenge, all of it!
- The evil villain they fought against was dumb af. He got caught in all the traps they laid out. Even when we thought the villain finally did something, it turned out the ML somehow planned it all. Take this formula, repeat it 10x , and you got the main plot. It was boring and too predictable. The endless political battles were childish and overplayed. They tried to be smart about it but it was redundantly mediocre.

Now onto the toxic “romance.”
- She had 3 suitors. The first 2 she turned down were GREAT men. Both were kind, loving, and treated her with the utmost respect. She chose the one who abused her mentally and physically

- ML was the biggest red flag.
- He obsessively claimed her. This was fine for his own delusions but she repeatedly told him, she belonged only to herself. When he couldn’t have her, control her or felt like she didn’t listen to him, he became a psychotic manipulator. 



- He got physical with her on multiple occasions and rarely was he respectful towards her. He repeatedly grabbed her by the throat (the throat!!), by the arm, wrist, and made verbal threats to her. 



- He became madly possessive. She couldn’t look at another man before he choked her and threatened her. 



-Their kisses were grossly forced upon her by him. When he asked her to be intimate, she gave in but left me wondering WTF and HTF did we get here?! This man manipulated her and it was romanticized as love?! 



-She told 3 people she loved him before she even told him. Another WTF moment for me. 



-The ending.. when he deliberately stepped on his son’s shirt to trip him and then kicked the poor boy after? Was that supposed to be funny and playful? Because it failed to be funny and playful to me. Even his daughter was shook. 

I watched 30 episodes and waited for the romance between the leads to start. I endured her giving up two potential great men for the ML only to be given 8 episodes of chaos.

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If only the secondary characters had been allowed more room to bloom.

I almost dropped it at episode 32.
I really tried to like this drama but by episode 10+, I realised I was slowly starting to look forward to the secondary characters story and would have stayed if they have been given say...five minutes tops every episode from 10 upwards. And then when episode 32 happened, I just couldn't fake it anymore 😭.
I couldn't pretend even for the dramatics of Dingfei and I really wanted to see more of the Jie-hui and Lu-Yin couple. Oh the story it could have been!
I was highly expectant of cast and story even after the basicality it decided to adhere to right after the sixth episode. That commonly plot vice of going back in time and wondering why the new timeline is not sticking to the script after hijacking it, then scrambling around trying to make it work and causing disastrous results. It ain't that drama for me, but you could enjoy it. Try it.

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The Manipulators: Sizzling Chemistry between walking red flag ML & walking red Flag FL

Subjective Gut Rating - 8.75

After finishing “Scent of Time” not too long ago, I was worried that I might find this drama repetitive. Both dramas have a similar premise of being given the chance to go back in time to correct past mistakes. “Scent of Time” focuses on family relationships more, and this one focuses on revenge and politics more. I like both dramas but like “Story of Kunning Palace” a little better overall.

What I Like:

1. Pacing - I am pleasantly surprised that I am kept entertained throughout the 38 episodes. I did not lose my focus or feel that the drama dragged in the middle episodes. In fact, there’s so much going on that I enjoy all the side plots and characters. It’s not perfect, as I want more episodes of the romance between Jiang Xue Ning (FL) and Zhang Zhe (2ML) in the present timeline, and less of the evil girl causing drama. Overall, I am quite satisfied.

2. Xie Wei (ML) and Zhang Ling He - I always love a good gray character, especially for the male character. After the success of Dylan Wang’s character in “Love Between Fairy and Devil”, I am happy to see another deliciously evil and cunning male lead. Oftentimes, he would be a second male lead. This is possibly Zhang Ling He’s best acting to date. This intriguing character provides ZLH an opportunity to showcase a side of him that we haven’t seen. He is so much better in this drama than in “My Journey to You”. Many fans (myself included) love seeing Xie Wei’s side-eyed glare, petty jealousy and cunning ruthlessness. Xie Wei is such a madman and I wish to see more characters like him in the future.

3. Acting - the overall acting of the cast is pretty good (but not exceptional) - both the younger and veteran cast. Bai Lu is Bai Lu. You know what to expect from her, though I wouldn’t say she exceeded my expectations. I just saw Wang Xing Yue in “Scent of Time” and felt that his acting is much improved and better here. Even though his character is quiet, he’s speaking with his eyes more. I want more of him.

4. Main Romance - Even though it took a very long while for us to see Jiang Xue Ning and Xie Wei’s romance to develop, it is worth it. They have so much chemistry together. I enjoy the development of their relationship from enemies to working together, then trusting each other and falling in love. Xie Wei is a walking red flag, and Jiang Xue Ning is not that much better deep inside of her. They really are a match made in heaven as they understand and accept each other’s strengths and flaws. The kisses are exploding with chemistry though not gentle or sweet (unless you watch the extra special). But no matter if they were in the past or present, scenes of them together are sizzling hot and you yearn to see them on the screen together more.

5. Sisterhood - I am pleasantly surprised at the relationship between the Zhang sisters. Oftentimes, we either see sisters hate or love each other. But true to the plot and because of the history between the two, their sisterhood develops organically and realistically. They are not forced to be super close.

6. No annoying character - sure there are villains and a girl here and there that are jealous of the female lead. But for the most part, they are not super annoying and are not frustrating to watch. I like many of the characters - the three male leads (all lovely in their own ways), the princess, the best friend, the guards, the sidekicks, and even those girls in the palace. No one really makes dumb decisions that make me want to shake some sense into them.


What I have Mixed Feelings About:

1. Jiang Xue Ning (FL) + Zhang Zhe (2ML) Romance - I was deeply moved by the flashback scenes of them together. Zhang Zhe’s internal struggle of doing the right thing vs. doing the wrong thing for the woman he loves. These flashback scenes are minimal, but they gave us such great emotions and just enough to tell us their story. However, their romance in the present time is not given enough opportunity to develop and move me as an audience. It’s such a waste as both Bai Lu and Wang Xing Yue also have great chemistry together. The way they steal glances, try to express their feelings through their eyes, but struggle internally - all could have contributed to a great romance and a big contrast to the main romance.

2. Xie Wei + Sidekicks/Guards - I would like to know the backstory between Xie Wei and his guards and friends. How did they all work together in support of Xie Wei? What else did they go through back in the day? Why are they following him and not the rebellious group?

3. Forced rom-com directing/editing - For a serious historical drama, we should never have so many forced romantic slow-motion scenes and music blasting to tell me how to feel. We have good actors who can convey feelings through their acting and subtle facial expressions, we don’t need these cheap and cheesy shots. I am also so irritated by the bright white backlighting that the director seems to like so much.

4. Dubbing - While I appreciate actors dubbing their own voices, not all are great at reading their lines yet. Bai Lu almost always dubs her own and does it well, and I think Zhang Ling He can learn from her. Some of his lines are spoken in monotone, or he screams and growls a little too overdramatically. Having said that, I am glad Bai Lu, Zhang Ling He and Wang Xing Yue all dubbed themselves. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the cast didn't.

5. Production Quality - “Story of Kunning Palace” does not seem to be a big budget production. The sets are on the small-to-medium scale. The costumes and accessories are average. As I said earlier, I don’t like the lighting and they did not use natural light. Bai Lu’s makeup is uneven and she could have been much more beautiful. I also dislike the use of BGM playing over the music instruments. The OST is OK. Compared to “My Journey to You”, this drama pales in comparison.

6. Fight Scenes - Except for the big fight in the last couple episodes, I am not impressed with the fight scenes. I feel that they are over dramatic and not enough good close-combat battle scenes. Since this is not a wuxia or xianxia drama, seeing someone being punched once and then fly over to the other side is quite hilariously unrealistic. Some guys got slashed multiple times and survived. Others die with one stab.


Overall, I had a fabulous time watching this drama. I enjoy the plot, the pace of the drama (though the ending is a tiny rushed), the development of the main leads’ relationship and romance, and of course the anti-hero male lead. It’s a good mix of romance, friendship and politics.


Completed: 11/27/2023 - Review #381

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One of the Best Chinese Dramas 2023

I really like the drama. Really deserves to be one of my favorite dramas this year!

It's slow going at first, but I advise you to be patient and pay close attention to the storyline. The more you watch, the more addictive you will become.

Even though there are flaws in the editing, I like the action scenes in this drama. The prison scenes at episode 20 and at the Shangqing Temple just amazing.

The chemistry between Bai Lu and Zhang Linghe is also great. Their acting is perfect and makes this drama even more worth watching.

I also love all the OST. Just amazing
Solid 10/10

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