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Started out okay but soon flatlined
It's okay to have an independent female lead so far as she can dial it down when it comes to loving the ML. Unfortunately, that was the downfall of this supposed political romance. The lead actress was, to me, too brash and needlessly antagonistic toward the ML which might be her fault as much as the writer's for not fleshing out her character. Whatever it was, the drama was flat and boring, albeit watchable.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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Mouth watering cuisine with a side of romance
I never shipped Fuca and Wei Yingluo so I was a bit ambivalent about seeing Xu Kai and Wu Jin Yan in another historical drama, however, I ended up enjoying it more than expected. Two things bothered me about Jin Yan though...1) her makeup was done by someone who clearly hated her because she looked like a ghost onscreen and
2) she looked tired, skinny, and so much older than Xu Kai.
Otherwise, I really enjoyed the use of food as a driver for the plot.
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Intense
Yes, every positive review you've read about this series is true. The stunning cinematography, the dialogue (oh my god, the dialogue), the characters, the intricate and soul-ripping plot, and lastly the intense chemistry between the protagonists. The flip side of these will gut you at every turn: deaths, betrayals, fratricide, filicide, suicides, and hate. At some point, I just had to start laughing at all the betrayals and deaths otherwise I would have lost my damn mind. Heed the warning, do not attempt this if you have suicidal ideations or depression.Then there's the Emperor (Crown Prince's father) who is probably the best antagonist I've ever had the pleasure of watching. I hated him with all my soul and yet I waited with bated breath for him to speak or act because a mere flick of his eyes could deal untold hardship on those around him. I rooted for him as much as I wanted him dead. How is that not some insidiously perfect scriptwriting?
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One of the worst things in any drama is when the writers purposely use miscommunication as a plot device. As in, a particular character chooses to remain silent instead of clarifying a dire situation. It's frustrating and needlessly angsty. More than this, I absolutely hate when supposedly smart characters act in ways that are contrary to who they are. This drama is littered with plot holes and deus ex machina moments where either leads walk into traps with eyes wide open yet our ML never uses any intelligent counter measures rather he and the FL just keep ploughing forward with no forethought. Then we have this arrogant FL who thinks she's so smart even though we can see that all she does is blow smoke up her own ar@e. I screamed many times at my screen while raining multiple curses on the writers who chose to give us such situations and characters. Did they think we are all idiots? I would have been content had they given us just one smart character but no, from the Emperor to the ministers and even the main leads....all we got was nonsense. Lastly, not even the “love story” could redeem this clusterfuck of a drama and I’m only watching this to the end mainly because of the hours invested. Save yourself and watch Yanxi Palace or Weiyoung.
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I'm trying to hang on to my last shred of nerves cos this is so boring
A weak Xianxia made even more lackluster by the apparent lack of chemistry between the main leads. If you've seen one Xianxia then you've seen them all and IMO, it's the dynamics between the various characters that elevate one above the other. The problem with TSL is that the characters don't look like distinct individuals who are unique or peculiar but as extensions of each other where they're rendered useful or useless depending on the current status or experiences of the leads. I could probably overlook this had there been raised stakes where we didn't know who or what would pose a threat to our leads. Except we knew from the outset who the villains were and we understood their simplistic thoughts which is what almost all XX characters want. Power. Or specifically becoming the Crown Prince (for the Void dwellers) and becoming the Powerful Overlord (for the Heavenly Prince).Even more spirit-dampening was the '3 shards' arc, where all the interesting things about the preceding episodes went to die. I legit yawned and FF'ed my way through it.
Look, I've been upfront about my lack of love for this genre because if not done properly, it tends to veer toward the "doom to mankind and only our hero can possibly save the world" kind of drama.
Which is what this was.
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Interesting
A lot of this was about greed and obsessive love which led to many years of heartache and grief for quite a few of the main characters.Our ML's family has grappled with rumors of a hundred yr old curse that afflicts the bride of the firstborn son and with him about to enter an arranged marriage, the bride's family decides on a hare-brained scheme to circumvent said curse.
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Good, unproblematic romance
It's been a year since I watched it and it must have left a deep impression since the story is still quite fresh in my mind. I loved the reincarnation of an ancient soul having to adapt to living with the one who resurrected him and the hilarity that ensued was solid.OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Second time watching and it did not hold up to scrutiny
Princess Wei Young was the second C drama I watched and I suspect the novelty of something other than Hollywood or franchise movies made this seem much more interesting than it actually is otherwise I wouldn't have given in to nostalgia and chosen to watch it again. First off, the lead characters were insufferable and whoever chose to have a whiny arse childish hero and a martyr complex heroine did us a disservice. By the time we reached the 25th episode most of the characteristics that I liked about the leads were reduced to them being/doing/speaking irrationally.What the heck happened to Tuoba Jun and Wei Young? The initial 10 stars is now reduced to 3.5.
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Ji Sung in a suit should be bottled as elixir
The Devil Judge is an intense character driven story that was let down by the plot and the melodramatic performance of Kim Min-Jung who played, Chairman Jeong, the main villain. Min-Jung's acting was just so bad I actually had secondhand embarrassment for her although one might also lay the blame at the feet of the writers.I must say that the idea of a dystopian SK where the people vote on the guilt or innocence of the defendants was novel and the method with which the tension escalated was well-paced, however, there were too many instances where the story itself was redundant and lacking the emotional connection needed to make us sympathize with the other protagonists, namely Ga-On, Elijah, and Soo-Hyun, the stupid female cop who jumped to all sorts of conclusions without even attempting to investigate.
Overall, a great drama with a captivating male lead who owned the screen from the very first scene hence the ten stars.
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The Flowers Filled the Palace and Missed the Time
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Seeing the murderous Yongzheng brought to life will leave you traumatized
The writers and actors did the best they could with this macabre, true-life story about Emperor Yongzheng who ascended the Qing dynasty throne after plotting against and murdering many of his brothers (and possibly his father-Emperor Kangxi).I cannot state enough how this story will break your heart. So many deaths, so many betrayals...and for what? Yongzheng barely made it through 15yrs on the throne before he himself was eventually poisoned. The biggest irony is that he killed hundreds of thousands because of his paranoia yet ended up being killed by the one person who slept next to him. Props to whoever that woman was cos she did the whole world a great service.
The only good thing Yongzheng ever did was to sire Hongli, the Qianlong Emperor, who reigned for 60 years and is considered one of China's most successful monarchs.
That said, I did wonder whether Hongli's success was inadvertently made possible because his father had killed off his potential detractors. I mean, there was literally no one left except for some obscure uncles...even Hongli's half-brothers were put to death at a young age. I would recommend watching Story of Yanxi Palace if you don't mind a romanticized retelling of the Qianlong Emperor's harem.
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It was okay for the most part, however, this was an average script that was elevated by the many cute couples but ultimately let down by plot cliches. Best and most hilarious scene was in the last episode when the Emperor and his brother both tried to give up the throne. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXCXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
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Looks older than it is
Personally, the Qing dynasty is the most intriguing in that it spanned nearly three centuries and had not one but two long-reigning Emperors who innovated and reformed the arts, religion, cultural, and political spheres. The dynasty officially ended in 1912 so it's not that farfetched to say there may be a few living centenarians who witnessed its demise. All that to say it's one of my favorite dynastical dramas to watch and I've seen a few good ones such as Yanxi Palace and Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. This, on the other hand, is abysmal, especially the cinematography which looks dated as if film stock was used instead of digital; adding to that, the color saturation made every hue bleed at its edges. It was like watching a b & w movie that had been badly colorized.Similarly, the plot was weak. A watered-down, palace drama with terrible characters that strayed so far from history that it's neither a true historical retelling nor a fictionalized version. What tf did I just watch?
Another review said much of what went through my mind so I won't regurgitate the same, however, I can't stress enough just how terrible this series is. Even Yang Mi couldn't save it.
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I Like dramas that don’t increase my stress level
If you like dramas where injustice flourishes while good people die then I can’t recommend this enough. I read somewhere that the scriptwriters like to kill off characters and this became abundantly clear by episode 6. Watch if the above works for you.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCXXXXXXXCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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An exploration of life lessons
I now find most Korean dramas offputting because 5 out of 10 dramas will be some melodrama that advances the plot by throwing grenades when a simple lighter would have sufficed. Most are vicious, violent, classist, and demeaning to those who aren't part of the super-rich, mostly though, I'm tired of how the characters are always so damn loud which makes me simultaneously cringe and sigh. Like, seriously, do Koreans not have an inside voice?All that aside, Woo-bin gave an excellent performance and I pray he's cancer free forever because the world needs more kind people like him.
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If you like Joy of Life or Snow Sword Stride, do not miss this
Never have I watched a series that kept the suspense level up as this one and not once could I even imagine what the next episode would bring. Whoever wrote the screenplay should be lauded for giving this such depth and strength. The main and support characters were drawn well although I didn’t much care for the FL, Yingying, who was nothing more than an airhead but I suppose her character was pivotal to the evolution of the ML’s character from a seemingly unperturbed good guy to one who could very well turn into an anti-hero. In all, the storytelling was outstanding and for once, I did not want the 48 episode-long drama to end.A word of caution though, it ends on a cliffhanger and the likelihood of us getting a second season is low. Still, do not allow this to deter you since season one gave us a definitive resolution.
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