Beyond the Realm of Conscience (2009)

This is a great drama. The plot/story is not that intricate, but will leave you on edge. The themes you'll see in this are love (of course), betrayal, jealousy, fate, and friendships.

Charmaine (Sam Ho) and Tavia (Kam Ling) are besties, but as they grow up rivalry to excel in the imperial household (basically they are "maids" that are in charge of creating clothing and jewelry for the Harem), grows between them. Sam Ho is naturally kind and caring. Her mother was once a worker of the imperial household, and was considered one of their top jewelers, however due to a mystery she is executed for creating faulty jewelry. Kam Ling is raised along Sam Ho, but her ethics and moral are slightly different from Sam Ho and doesn't follow the teachings that Sam Ho's mother left behind for the two girls before she dies. Kam Ling eventually schemes her way to being  a concubine, but cannot give up the fact that Sam Ho's kindness has "touched" many people including the emperor, so she consistently goes out of her way to "get her."

I thought this drama was done quite well. The costumes are beautiful, as well as the jewelry pieces. I also thought both leading actresses were great. Tavia is such a great evil b*tch! Charmaine can be kind of dull, but I thought she looked great in here.  Kevin Cheng adds on the extra eye-candy for this drama ;)

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Survival of the evilest...goodness prevails

It's truly a drama, no frills or attempts for humor. It is a tale of survival. Palace life is cut-throat and only those who step on others survive.

Enters Sam Ho, literally the most FL of all the FLs out there. Not only is she beautiful and skilled, she believes in the goodness of people when she's surrounded by pure evil. Like seriously, her bonded sister got her mother killed making them stuck in the palace yet she stills believe in the good of her. It's almost obnoxious that she's in a love triangle with the gentle, hyper-intelligent king and the badass, hot general. She got everything going for her. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE loves her.

It is a satisfying drama just because Sam Ho does actually does defeat her enemies with "kindness". With every compassionate act, there is a ripple effect that leads to the FL being saved every time her foes try to take her down.

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