Phoenix Lord

SO MUCH LIGHT FUN

A few months ago, I put this on hold just after 4 episodes due to horrible Eng sub translation on YT. When it popped on IQIYI recently I was still curious (how could you not be when there is literally no plot for the first 50 episodes other than men from harem vying for Queens favor???) and, as expected, I enjoyed watching half naked male beauties bickering like hens among themselves, or steeling each other's best outfits for diligently serving the Queen, or flaunting themselves at the FL from all directions. And what makes it really enjoyable is the current excellent translation. I mean, how can you not love "my butt is perkier than yours" and countless one-liners that fit a perfectly staged and shot scene (two concubines in the blurry foreground having a pillow fight while the camera focuses on a slightly embarrassed FL who sits calmly watching with glee two idiots wrestle and then finally getting up with "I am leaving. Carry on" or one consort telling the other "where is your dignity, you think her majesty will like you dressed like a cheap whore")?

People complained that the FL character is weak. True, but she has a consistent personality of a pushover dummy from the first life (who was manipulated by a man who hated her) to a reincarnated pushover dummy being sexily played by a man who worships her. How is that bad - particularly if we get to see abs galore, exposed legs and necks and some really skilled filming of what probably qualifies as Chinese version of a soft porn? 🤣🤣🤣

If you want an ambitious drama - look elsewhere. This is a straightforward eye feast for most hetero women who don't have to be strong as long as there is a fool in love who will remove all the obstacles from their lives and make love to them every turn while forsaking all other interests while we women still have other ahm... options available. It does not hurt to be loved by two handsome boys, right? Especially when they have been reborn with you and can band together to save you, perhaps even willing to share you? I giggled with abandon but was touched by Prince of Cang's dignity and self-sacrifice-a lovely detail.

But seriously, there are some turns of the plot here that will keep you glued to the screen in the end. Plus, the director created a solid, consistent look for this production with intimate feel in every scene which was done without theatrics and did not look cheap, regardless of the small budget (pay attention to things like the framing of the night talk with that old twisted tree trunk in ep 55 or the shadow theatre in the window in ep 12, or the stunning outfits of all parties- including three grooms on the wedding day). The 3 hours of the drama packed all the important things that are necessary for keeping your interest: conflict premise, opposing interests and views, scheming parties yet no single villain, catchy lovemaking scenes and seductive moves of various characters. Even flashbacks were incorporated seamlessly without the unnecessary refocusing. Add to it really good acting of fairly unknown actors (even though both Fl and ML have been each in over 30 micro/mini dramas since 2020) and excellent directing/edition and you get solid joyous experience of a S-drama in a nutshell.

The only thing that I personally did not like was lack of independently commissioned music - in QIYI version it was mostly borrowed from My Journey to You, One and Only, The Story of the Kunning Palace, and various other big budget dramas. While the use of these songs and BGM was very skilled and I loved the pieces in the original dramas, it was still distracting to hear them here: I dropped my rating one full point because of this. And I subtracted another point for lack of story/plot substance as there was not much empowerment or women's rights stuff here (a wasted opportunity if you ask me given the fact that the emperor is female guided by extremely powerful Dowager Empress). But still, what was once an incoherent seduction fest with really bad subs is now a reason to say that VD is alive and kicking in 2025 and still testing the boundaries of risqué and tongue in cheek fun.

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