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If it's Wallace Huo's, then it must be great!
Great storyline, cast, direction, cinematography. Of course if it's Wallace Huo's drama, it must be great. I love the emotional intensity he brought to the film. His eyes are very expressive - that sexy teary eyes that touches my heart every time. He has great voice too! I've seen most of his drama TV series and I loved all of them. I love the air of superiority that he exudes especially with his enemy around. His eyes that can freeze the hell fire even with just one gIance. I love the scenes together with Yun Xian when the snow is falling. Every time is a moment to cherish. There's been always too much emotion but with the situation they were in, it's been impossible to articulate because Yun Xian's really a virtuous lady.Was this review helpful to you?
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All I can say is that the show was not really worth watching. I thought it would of added more history versus a love triangle that made no sense. Less focus on the evil that people were doing and more focus on the true story. I couldn't even watch it till the end. As for the actors they were for a better lack of words mediocre. (I don't want to offend anyone who loves Wallace Huo he's okay) but i felt like the story line really had no heads or tails to make sense.
The only two actors that I really loved in this series was the Oriat that wanted to marry the main lead, and the emperor who clearly loved her and couldn't have her.
Not worth watching again either. Sorry
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the long suffering female lead
look, we love c-dramas for a reason: the drama, the plot, the costumes, you name it. but good grief. our poor female lead went from one bad situation to another with very little relief in between. every man she comes across wants her for his harem. The phrase “not all men but always a man” does not apply here. Every single man has bad intentions for poor Doctress Tan. Two assaulted her, one being expected to be forgiven just because he finally decided to believe her. In the end she got her happy ending, but I was genuinely just hoping she could do what she wanted all along: be a doctress.Was this review helpful to you?
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Story: 10/10
In some aspects the story drags (as expected from usual historical drama with so many episodes) but overall the storyline is great. VERY GREAT. as said above, those are some reasons I love this drama. Unlike other dramas, it was very very well made and the storyline ain't all about fluffy, cringy, cliche romance. The plot twists are great and in the end what happened to the villians are just so satisfying. Many people disagree when I thought the ending was good and happy. I can't give away too much at this stage. But let's just put it that for me it is a happy ending. The path Yun Xian (Liu Shi Shi) took in the end was right for me, personally.
The romance...it's complicated and many may not like it because it is not typically the kind of romance that is potray in most asian drama. But, for me I think that it was good enough because in the end I didn't really watch the story for the romance but the storyline itself.
Acting/Cast: 10/10
I'm a big big fan of Wallace Huo and Liu Shi Shi. I watched every dram they starred it so I'm happy the have a drama together. That was enough for me to give it a 10. Of course as expected from them they'd do a great job in acting out their characters. Chemistry is on spec and sides character do their roles very outstandingly.
Music: 9/10
I love love love love the OP and END, and OST. Very much. The end.
Rewatch Value: 7.5/10
I gave it quite low despite having enjoying the drama because it is long and once you watch it, that's it. It wraps up and there was no reason for a rewatch.
Overall I RECOMMEND :) for those looking for relaxation, comedy, extremely fluffy romantic happy drama. this might not be for you... but if not then watch it!
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Story
It was okay up to episode 40 th but it become suddenly dragging after episode 40 so that I became so bored.Sometimes, I even feel like Yun Xian ‘s sentiment for Qi Yu is unnecessary. The story can be so beautifully written but instead it became dragging with unsatisfying ending.
Cast
Both Liu Shi Shi and wallace huo’s actings are top notch. But Qi Yu didn’t leave any good impressions on me after watching.
Music
Both of Lala Hsu’s songs are awesome, especially “Being Forgotten”. Overall, the osts are not bad
Rewatch value
Definitely “no”. I can’t suffer such kind of torment again. If I want to see Liu Shi Shi and Wallace Huo together again , I would rather watch The Vigilantes in Masks.
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A Historical Medical Romance
IMPERIAL DOCTRESS was a very enjoyable Chinese drama set in the era of the Ming Dynasty. This series had great plot and characters and really left a lasting impression.Yun Xian is a determined young woman with a lifelong dream to become a female medical practitioner or "doctress" in a era exclusively dominated by male physicians. I really appreciated the theme, both of medical history as well as the female absence in practices that was much needed. Due to injustice towards her family, Yun Xian is striving to right the wrongs of the past by saving lives.
This was an excellent historical medical drama. The cast was superb and very memorable. I'm a huge fan of both leads, Lui Shi Shi (Cecelia Liu) and Wallace Huo, and they both have a chance to exceptionally shine here. The premise, story, costumes and settings were are very fascinating. The music was great as well. This was a very memorable and rewatchable show. I love historical dramas, especially ones with medicine as a theme. Ancient medicine is so fascinating to me. It may seem a bit slow in the beginning but if you give the show a full chance it will grow on you deeply by the end. Loved it.
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Educational
This drama is not unique in the world of C-Dramas. It talks about the struggles of women and how men underestimate them. But the female lead is interesting, in that she follows her goals while also pursuing romance.Although I hated the SML, the yearning between the emperor and the FL carried me through. This was helped by the amazing music, and the emperor helping the female lead to achieve her dreams.
I believe romance is done best when the couple help each other. The FL and ML could not be together, but they supported each other. The romance carried me through, and I loved it. Not a boring moment.
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Hang Yunxian is an aspiring female doctor in a time where women were under lock and key to keep their "virtue" intact. Her grandma secretly taught her medical skills and she learned by absorbing by those around her, regardless if they are well known doctors or poor witches. She combines all this knowledge and applies it to the rich, the poor and everyone in between to become one of the top doctors of her era. This is a mix of political drama, history, inner palace intrigue, romance, and fantasy. The story, while not well written due to character inconsistencies and character depth and pacing issues, kept the story interesting enough to keep watching. Liu Shishi had a lot of chemistry with Wallace Huo, made obvious in the last episodes where his yearning just makes your heart tremble.
By the end, I truly hated Zhu Qiyu. He had no redeeming qualities after he forced himself on Hang Yunxian. The writers glossed over it and tried giving him a redemption arc that really fell flat to me. Zhu Qizheng was an interesting male lead but both him and Hang Yunxian were too hard-headed to be compatible as a couple. Yexian would have been an interesting option but he appeared too late in the game and Yunxian was clearly never interested.
I was actually quite happy with the ending. It felt realistic because Zhu Qizheng put the good of the people before his own desires and Yunxian put herself and medicine first before love. Only when the kingdom was stable and after his wife passed could Qizheng go and find the person he had yearned for those twenty years. I probably wouldn't rewatch, but if you are a fan of historical dramas or the actors Liu Shishi and Wallace Huo, this is certainly a worthwhile watch.
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Do not recommend for people with trauma
Caution: triggering words ahead!I don't want to write a negative review but feel I should warn anyone who still might consider watching this. I have some traumas from some people close to me having suffered bad things happen to them (for privacy reasons won't go into details). It has led me to be sensitive to certain subjects and react sometimes pretty strongly when getting in contact with content that has these subjects in them. So, because I reacted very extremely to some scenes in this drama, if you have any similar traumas for example people you care about that have suffered or you yourself have suffered, I don't recommend watching this drama.
The drama is pretty much a depiction of all kinds of possible bad things that could happen to one woman back in the day. I don't know if their intention was to leave viewers with some kind of a message to not give up no matter how hard it gets... it doesn't really turn out like that. The story gets more and more depressing and ends in depression. The last seconds two of the three main leads are still there and give each other a depressed smile after life had crushed them but they kept going. Did not find it inspiring at all, just a slap on the face. At the beginning of the story you're still hopeful for something good to come at the end, like often in dramas the main characters go through ordeals and trials only to ultimately conquer at the end. Nope. If still breathing counts as conquering, then yes, but I don't think they looked very triumphant: both of their spouses dead, one of them lost their child on top of losing a whole lot more during her whole life.
The story focuses mainly on the FL. She is oppressed first by her father and the societal norms for women, then by her colleagues and their distrust in women as professionals, then her fiance who says one thing but does the other giving empty promises, then by a foreing enemy who kidnapped her, then by her husband and his first wife and his mother who all do evil things to her, until finally she almost dies, survives, has had enough and gets a chance to leave everything behind. However, the drama doesn't show her getting a happy ending after all the suffering; she does get to continue in the profession she loves and help people which I guess is the closest to happiness she can get. Also, the other ML appears in front of her at the last seconds of the drama but we are never shown if they ever manage to be together or if she is so traumatized and broken that she is unable to ever be happy with anyone.
And when it comes him, his wife was the most loyal, faithful, kind, goodhearted, wonderful wife he could've ever asked for, yet he never loved her back. So he is a douchebag, pining after another woman instead of being grateful for his wife who went blind from one eye from crying when he was kindapped and imprisoned by the enemy and had one of her legs crippled after bowing down so much in front of the statue to pray for his safe return. Still he doesn't love her at all but clearly states that he only ever loved the FL of the drama. Am I supposed to be happy he appears in front of FL at the end? No, I am not, she'd be better off alone without any of these guys in the drama! Also, this man dumped his responsibilities and the whole empire on his pre-teenage son after the death of this loyal wife leaving to look for the FL. Seriously? The boy is probably not even 13 yet, maybe like 10 or 11 years old, and he just lost his mother, and now the father leaves his son all alone to sit on the throne while he goes to have fun with the love of his life? Not a good guy. Bad husband, bad father.
These are not the reason, though, why I don't recommend to watch the drama, but the reason is the following: There are disturbing scenes in this drama where FL is subjected to attacks and violence when a guy tries to forcibly "take her" and then stops and pretends like he wasn't really going to hurt her, and then later an old lady tries to cut her private body parts and then tries to kill her, and then later she is ultimately subjected to even r*pe by the other ML. Thankfully they don't show everything too clearly since it's a Chinese drama (censorship) but still the r*pe scene was enough to have me experience an extreme trauma reaction. I screamed loudly at the screen several times like I went mad with rage. I have never had such a bad reaction to a drama I watched. The r*pe scene comes after this ML had already behaved more and more horrendously toward the FL. I could have still stomached all the rest of that and not have it affect me so deeply but that scene was too much for me and has left possibly a permanent mark on me.
I am grateful they make it clear in the drama that even marital r*pe is r*pe all the same since during that scene she is already his Noble Consort. However, I resent that they depict the FL as being quite all right after she had just had a bit of a cry. Basically a day or a few days later she is already quite calm and sitting around and talking as if nothing happened and as if she has no trauma whatsoever. She would have physical injuries from him forcing himself on her while holding her down, and she would have deep psychological trauma to the point that she could not stand being touched by him again but would flinch, draw back and probably shake from terror any time he even came into the room. She would feel disgusted by him. So in this drama the depiction is not done well enough, but it belittles the huge physical and emotional suffering a woman experiences when she is r*ped.
Moreover, what is absolutely unforgivable is that they later have the FL pretend to forgive the ML who r*ped her and have intercourse with him several times, even if she does it to survive. This is just so wrong I have no words for it. Basically she gets repeatedly r*ped because it's not consensual: she does not want to do it but has to in order to stay alive since she is now a prisoner for life, so in a way she concents to it, but just to save herself. To make matters worse she of course gets pregnant, at which point they have the nerve to turn the story into a lovestory again! FL and r*pist ML are now happily and lovingly waiting for the arrival of a baby because now the FL actually forgives him for everything, as if the baby magically solves her psychological trauma from being r*ped by him and solves all the marital problems and the bad attitude, the temper and the behavior of the husband ML. All of a sudden, she is not in danger anymore from him and doesn't have to force herself anymore just to survive. Suddenly, she is not traumatized at all, but radiating with pregnancy joy and he magically turns to Mr. Good Husband all of a sudden and starts to treasure her again. Nasty! Hideous! How dare they?!! As far as I know, usually r*ped women do not feel happy about a pregnancy at all, instead, it makes what they've been through even more tormentous. This aspect being muddled in the drama yet again belittles the suffering of a r*ped woman. Yes, yes, I know, women back then had to do what they could to survive, but at the very least they shouldn't depict the FL and ML like a happy couple that has gotten over their "little disputes and small issues". Very disturbing.
I wish the ML actor had never taken such a horrible role, he is quite a good actor and usually I've liked his other roles but what on earth was he thinking to take on this role? Wanted to expand his reportoire and play a bad guy? Not a good choice. There are other ways of exploring a challenging role than to take on the role of a r*pist to prove what a great actor you are for being able to pull that off. Many MLs will take on a role as a bad guy but there is a delicate balance that has to be maintained so as to not go too far in a role to make the viewers feel so sick that they will feel repelled by them later. Bad guy role where a character is killing folks and being ruthless can still be pulled off. Bad guy role where a character is physically abusive towards women, walking on thin ice, but still, can be pulled off without losing the audience permanently if played carefully. But there is a line that - when crossed - can be too much for the viewers for the actor to be able to come back from it. I personally would have adviced ML not to take such a role since I've been his fan. Now I feel conflicted. Hopefully, with time, I'll be able to get pass this, forget and not attach his face to the face of an evil guy, even if fictional.
Without the horrible scene I would've given the story and the drama better ratings, but there's a line that got crossed for me here. I've seen other dramas where women had traumatic experiences and had been harassed or even r*ped but I didn't have such a strong reaction to those. I think it's because in those other stories a bad guy is a bad guy all the way, so you are prepared to see him being evil, but the character in this story is first depicted to be a loving and kind person who then slowly decends first into a nasty person and then from that to a full on beast whose erratic mood swings from one moment to another are volatile and who completely loses himself in a narcissistic illusion where everything revolves around him. In his mind, he never does anything wrong, it's everyone else who is bad, and even if he admits to doing something wrong, he brushes if off thinking he should be forgiven fast just after he says "don't take it to heart, don't be mad at me anymore" as if it never happened. Dude's a psychopath or something.
Then he is magically cured of his insanity and narcissim by the arrival of the news that the FL is pregnant. If I have to pick one good part of the story, then it's that he comes to his senses realizing he is not a good enough emperor and finally apologizes to his brother for what he put him through. However, this also kind of makes it more glaringly obvious that the drama belittles the r*pe, yet again. ML gets a deadly condition, courtesy of his psycho Empress wife, then says that it is retribution for what he has done. At that point I thought, okay, he has now realized how evil he has been towards the FL. But no, he says the retribution is from him allowing his Empress wife to poison Empress Dowager and doesn't even mention what he did to FL! He did say a few apologetic words right after r*ping FL, but that was nowhere near adequate repentance nor aknowledgment of how horrific it was what he had done to her. Now, since he is at deaths door, he feels the need to repent and makes up with his brother, which is kind of a moving moment, except that he never mentions his deadly condition being retribution for hurting his own wife who he claimed to love but then r*ped because he thought she had been with another man. Sick pervert; who does that?!! Good riddance!
Watched to support Liu Shi Shi, Huang Xuan and Wu Lei (who only appears at the very end of the very last episode for only one minute) but unfortunately I now wish I hadn't watched it. Yes, yes, pretty accurate depiction of what it was like for women back then (and in some aspects even nowadays), but I just felt sick to my stomach every time I saw that ML after the r*pe and kept wishing someone would murder him brutally. I don't think it's good for my mental health to have such violent thoughts!
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My first thought about this show was that wow, this is long, after mostly watching Korean dramas with 16 episodes I was a bit afraid I will get bored of this. However nothing was further from the truth, this show is very much worth watching, it never gets boring and there is always something new it shows us.Story: Basically it is about Tan Yun's journey from early adulthood till her mid-ages when he gets married to the then-current emperor and we can see her struggles to become a female doctress in a time period when only men were allowed to practise medicine. She nevertheless never gave up, we see a lot of fails and successses of hers, she always collects herself and stands up stronger than ever. She become proficient in medicine, her life long passion and gets recognition and respect from fellow male doctors. Her character is based on a real Ming dynasty female physician Tan Yunxian and the Empress Hang who lived a generation before Tan. Now the story also kind of mixes the story of these two time periods, so we see Oirat invasion, the capture of the emperor etc etc, but all in all it does contain quite a lot of historic accuracy, not to mention the show creators also did research on ancient medicinal methods, so this part was very well done. The show can be divided into 3 main parts story-wise, first Tan Yun's time with her family and learning medicine, second the Oirat invasion and her and the emperor being captured by the khan. Here we see a lot of scenes of daily lives of the steppe people who has their own costumes, and during this time she really grows up and becomes a survivor. Third part is the return to the capital and her becoming noble consort than empress, this is mostly about the new emperor who was in the beginning a naiv gentle man but we see how power and some influential political people ruined him and made him greedy.
This is what the best part of the show is, character growth and development is huge, not just for the main actress but for everyone! We never get bored of them because we see how their struggles and circumstances made them change (sometimes for the worse), develop etc. The love story is not really the most crucial part, yes she did marry the younger brother, however it is obvious her real soul mate was the original emperor, with whom she only gets a chance after both his wife and her husband dies several years later. There is a minor love-line with the Oirat khan Esen, I really shipped them, would have loved to see them together, but oh well.
Music, visuals: For the other part of the show, the music is not really special, it's nice but not something I would remember to mention, however it is obvious the show is low budget. I have never seen such bad costumes in a show before, you can clearly see the gluey attachment of the wigs!!! The fight scenes, especially the one with the wolves, oh dear lord, like watching WOW in its earlier stages, just worse. So visually it's really bad, especially for a show that aired in 2016 and not like in the 1980's. One warning though, don't watch while eating, some of the medical scenes are downright disgusting, so if you are sensitive, watch it after eating. A lot of people complained about the last 10 episodes, as it is indeed more slow-paced, but still it has value as it shows how humans change due to power. The last episode was a bit dissatisfying, and a bit weird, I didn't really got why she had a miscarriage, she was slightly pushed by her motherinlaw, but I never got why in chinese dramas they are so overprotecting pregnant women, just because a bit of a push you don't die and don't loose a baby, and you can certainly do more than just lie in the bed! It was weird for me and didn't make sense, and the same goes for why she really married Zhu Qi Yu, when at the time it was clear he was not the sweet loving man anymore. Anyway apart from this it is a great show and I think it really teaches us about life and how to overcome difficulties and never stop pursuing our dreams.
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