If you haven't watched this, watch it.. I mean Bai Lu is in here!
To be honest with yall I really enjoyed the show, the story line in the beginning has alot of information that's true but all very necessary for the character building, without it the story wouldn't make sense, her change wouldn't be possible. The romance is slow but not in a way that it frustrating cause so much is happening they don't get enough time to breath let alone fall in love. Over all this is a really great watch. I absolutely loved it 💯👏🔥🔥🔥💯Was this review helpful to you?
such a slow burn romance
this story was the most intriguing slow-burn love story that was well and very well brought to life. From character development to plot line each move and dialogue was well considered as well as well presented by the actors. From start to end many questions had to be answered. The excellent part is that not all of them were kept to the end to be answered and some of them were on purpose revealed to the viewer to increase as well as decrease the anxiety of the viewer. Zhang Lianghe did a good of portraying Xie Wei (Xie ju’an). another notable actor other than Bai Lu was from Zhou Jun Wei. Overall worth a watch.{also beware of the kiss scene. they where wonderful}
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Very enjoyable revenge palace drama.
The revenge plot was really well done and overall pacing of the story was great. Watching all the machinations in the imperial palace/harem, secrets slowly coming to light, and plotting of our cunning Male Lead really made this an enjoyable series. We also had a very smart Female Lead who was able to take care of herself no matter where she ended up. She was never a damsel in distress and despite not being physically powerful, she used her smarts, wits, confidence and strong personality to get herelf out of sticky situations. Also, this is one of the few cdramas where the Emperor actually has common sense and isn't immediately influenced by rumors or accusations. Honestly you probably wouldn't think this should matter since the Emperor is not a character we would care about unless they are the main lead, but it does matter when the story revolves around the palace. So I had much less frustrations watching this drama because everybody that mattered in the plot line was actually smart and did their jobs as you would expect them to. This overall made the drama more enjoyable compared to other palace themed dramas. There was just one character death I didn't like, it was so unecessary to the story aside from wanting to make viewers sad, so I didn't appreciate that at all.In terms of romance, even though they I liked the pairing, I found the romance lacking a bit from the main couple imo. I personally felt more romance between the FL, Second Male Lead and even Third Male Lead because we got more healthy moments of affection/love shown between them. We only got to see more romance with the main leads towards the end, but even then it was more of a domineering type of love that could make you feel uncomfortable to watch. So I wish we also got to see more sweet moments between the main couple; or at the very least I would have liked to see FL be more expressive of her love with the ML like she was with TML. Granted the FL and ML's personalities and story lines don't really give off sweet vibes so it also makes sense that their love was more on the intense/obssessive/toxic side.
In addition to having a smart Emperor, other unique things I liked that weren't necessarily present 100% of the time but we did get to see were:
1) Bestest boy ever Second Male Lead who only wants the best for his crush and isn't possessive of her; 2) Non-competitive sibling relationship between the FL and her sister; 3) Healthy friendships between FL and other women; and 4) Parents apologizing to children.
Overall very satisfied with the revenge plot but would have liked to have more romance from the main couple. Bailu acted really well, crying scenes were so emotional. ML needs to work on his expressions but overall great job from him too and the rest of the cast.
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FIRE MEETS GASOLINE ROMANCE!!!
When the chemistry is chemistrying!!! They casted such lovely actors and actresses here and they did great!I have no words for Zhang Linghe's acting here as Xie Wei 🤭🔥 Therefore I conclude, they should give him more roles similar to Xie Wei lol he really ate being red flag! Bai Lu really knows the right script for her 💗 She doesn't disappoint!!!
Romance is romancing but I wanted more of them! It felt a little rush and it's very very slow burn on the FL's side lol. I can't say story is unique, but it's very entertaining and enough to keep me watching without skipping or fast forwarding. The two red flag FL and ML made me binge watch this 🤭🔥
I hope they make more series like this with mature FL and cast the right actresses. I'm so tired of seeing the same period drama FLs either very very childish, annoying or have no personality except having kiki voice. I don't hate actresses who have naturally baby voice, I just don't like others who does it intentionally and looks so old to have those type of voice or dubbing.
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This review may contain spoilers
Strong Cast Performance mees Quality Production. Must-watch.
Stellar cast with an entralling plot. Absolutely loved the deep, mysterious vibe of the ML. His deep voice and stern facade really played well into the character. Fell in love in EP 1 with his 1 word "可". Bai Lu is again, inexplicabily beautiful in a Costume drama. Enjoyed the strength and straigtfowardness of the FL, actions & thoughts made sense, though she did fall into a more Damel in Distress personality towards the end. The chemistry though was excellent. There was always some kind of tension between the leads that all the more made viewers anticipate their ending.The plot is where I thought could be more improved. While the pacing and arcs were decently written. many of the excellent premises were not woven and fully made use of. I fully expected the ML's schizophrenia to play a larger role towards the end. It would have been nice for the FL to also show more maturity in her behaviour considering she was "reincarnated" from an empress. Character growth kinda fell backwards from empress to a 19 year old girl..
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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
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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.
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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 :)
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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?
A Familiar Idol Drama
In many ways, familiarity is an recurring element for Kunning Palace. The FL was an Empress of evil deeds in her past life that transmigrates into a do-over life, intent on fixing her mistakes. So the setting, the people, and even many events are portrayed as familiar events that add tension to the story.As for my personal viewing experience, Kunning Palace also felt familiar‒A Familiar Stranger familiar. In fact having conscientiously avoided idol dramas‒costume or modern‒A Familiar Stranger was an rare exception that I attempted and enjoyed, perhaps mostly owing to its short mini-drama length. With Kunning Palace as the much anticipated big-budget drama, I joked to myself that all I'm looking for is AFS quality and I'm willing to turn my brain off for the ride. And to my cursed prediction, A Familiar Stranger is basically what I got: from the haphazard blinding lights, to the spinning shots, to the predictable OST that conspicuously serenades every modestly emotional scene, to the paper-mache world-building and story that I didn't dare staring into for the fear that even a lingering glance will set the whole world ablaze.
And sadly despite the modest expectations, I'm not sure if Kunning Palace matched the quality of AFS. Despite being a low-budget production shot in a pinch, AFS had arguably better production quality, better average acting quality, and better tropey romantic sizzle. And most of all, the short 3 hour run time and fast pace made all the irksome issues much more palatable.
To be fair, Kunning Palace is not a terrible show, and solidly above average for an idol drama. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people liked it, and liked it a lot. If you are not congenitally allergic to idol drama like me, the sets, costumes, pretty actors, and decent trope execution will be lighting up plenty of dopamine and serotine. And just some modest improvement to the script, acting, and cinematography would have made this a decent watch me. But as it is, the negatives slightly outweighed the positives, and multiplied by 24 episodes the cumulative enjoyment debt had become too much to overcome.
Complaints:
❌Kiddie level political schemes and too many plot issues
❌On-the-nose tension and dramatic moments, reinforced by even more on-the-nose dialog to make sure the audience understood the obvious
❌Too much try-hard acting; too modern line delivery, dialog, and general vibes
❌Amateurish cinematography and editing choices, the director feels like someone that likes to inject random effects into his Powerpoint slides to look professional
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 6
- Plot - 5.5
- Theme / Message / Impact - 6
- Acting - 6.5
- Visuals - 7
- Audio - 7
- Rewatch - 5
- Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8
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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!!
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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 3-17
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