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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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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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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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Like watching thumbscrews turn in real time
If you’re expecting a typical medical drama, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re expecting a typical romance drama, you’ll be disappointed. The Imperial Doctress is a tragedy. Through and through.This is my second time watching this drama. I don’t remember it being this dark the first time round. But that’s likely because I was a teenager when I watched this ten years ago. I didn’t even know the term ‘coercive control’ – let alone recognise its signs – which may explain why my experience watching Imperial Doctress this time round felt a lot different.
**The selling point of Imperial Doctress***
What I think Imperial Doctress executes beautifully – excruciatingly – is the No Win condition of misogyny. The FL, Yunxian, is perpetually surrounded by men who, in one way or another, want to control her and own her.
When I first watched the drama as a naive teen, I remember being super frustrated whenever Yunxian would seemingly freeze up instead of speaking up for herself or trying to explain her actions. Now, as an old and wise 20-something year old, I see this response in an entirely different light. It depicts how she is constantly between a rock and a hard place. No matter what she says or does, a man will condemn her for it. Find it a way to make it her fault. Blame her for all woes. She seizes up because she never knows what to do without digging an even deeper grave.
I went from seeing this drama as a messed up, confused romance during my first watch, to seeing this as a tragedy that follows the spiral downwards of a woman who simply wants to pursue her medical passions but is torn down every step of the way.
**Qiyu as the embodiment of coercive control**
Look, I would love to know what the intentions of the writers and creators were. What Qiyu – Yunxian’s love interest – demonstrates from start to finish is coercive control. As a teen, I didn’t clock onto how much of a dickhead he was until he become emperor. But with this second watch, it’s evident practically from the get-go that this mf is an absolute menace to Yunxian.
He promises the world. But as soon as he has Yunxian in his palm, he goes back on his word. Not only this, but every-single-time, finds a way to victim blame Yunxian and gaslight her (and I’m talking about BEFORE he becomes emperor). Unlike Qizhen who at least starts to mature and learn the error of his ways, Qiyu is Yunxian’s thumbscrew until the very end.
Qiyu’s character is clearly put into Bad Guy territory, but it’s not clear *to what extent* the writers actually want the audience to condemn his actions. There are multiple scenes (and this applies to scenes between Yunxian and Ye Xian as well) that are NOT AT ALL romantic – and more often than not depict elements of abuse (including coercive control) – but have romantic music playing in the background. Would LOVE the creators to come forward and explain their thinking.
**Ye Xian as the Northern stereotype**
The character of Ye Xian is a tricky one to analyse. Yes, he too goes to immense lengths to try and control Yunxian and make her his possession. He attempts rape. However, I think he needs to be viewed through a different lens than Qizhen and Qiyu because he’s treated through the Cdrama as the ‘northern foreigner’.
On the one hand, Ye Xian is yet another facet of patriarchal control in the plot. On the other hand, the writers have trapped him into a cardboard trope where, I’m tempted to argue, raping the Han FL is part of the convention. To me, it felt like there was a trend in 2010s historical costume Cdramas of this ‘northern foreigner’ character appearing as the uncouth northern barbarian, sprinkled with a bit of ‘noble savage’ characterisation. The Rise of Phoenixes, Rebel Princess, and Legend of Huolan featured such characters. Their mistreatment of women was portrayed as a cultural inevitability.*
This is not to dismiss the misogyny of his character, but rather recognise that his characterisation is complicated due to this othering.
It’s also interesting that his character seems to be more attuned to gender oppression than the Han MLs. He explicitly states the sexist double whammy Yunxian is caught in: either accept his marriage proposal or go back to Da Ming to face the scorn and derision of having her reputation sullied. But at the same time that he recognises the reality of her impossible situation, he also doesn’t seem to understand why there are practical reasons for her to reject his proposal. She knows (subtextually) that while he can proclaim to love and protect her, that this is entirely subjective to changing feelings and is no long-term guarantee of safety. This is deja vu of what she has already experienced with Qiyu’s own unreliability.
On a tangential note, this is why I actually have a lot of time for Princess Wanning in The Double. She is married off to [insert cardboard northern character] royalty. Eventually, she is able to return home after this marriage, only to face a royal court that sees her as used goods, but feels so uncomfortable about it, that they don’t even dare say it aloud.
**The tragedy form**
I think the main reason behind why a lot of other reviewers are unhappy with Imperial Doctress is because they tried to watch the drama as a romance or medical drama rather than a tragedy, and hence are disappointed with the second half.
Personally, I find the second half is when the tragedy really hits home. It follows the acceleration of Yunxian’s downward spiral as Qiyu intensifies his efforts of coercive control (and this becomes physical abuse too).
This drama has a lot more in common with a series like Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, than dramas like Rebel Princess or Princess Weiyoung.
So, unlike others, I thought the ending was perfect. Obviously it wasn’t rainbow-and-uniorns happy, but nor was it morbid (like in Rise of the Phoenixes or The King’s Woman). For me, it was a well-balanced bittersweet ending that suits the tragedy form.
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*Although Rise of Phoenixes’ Helian Zheng doesn’t fulfil this particular convention, he is indeed depicted as unsuitable for the FL. I’d argue that he suffers at the hands of the Han superiority complex, but that’s a can of worms for another day.
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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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