The Diamond Who Went Through The Fire And Lived
I saw Minglan & Yanxi palace, enjoyed their 1st halves thoroughly but hated their later parts so strongly that I swore off long form/ harem costume dramas, I tried to give Weiyoung a chance but I couldn't even get through the 1st quarter of that before giving up
When I kept seeing Gifs of ZH & glowing recommendations, I reluctantly started this, intending to drop it at the 1st instance of the cliché storylines that always mark these kinds of strong FL costume dramas, well that was 6 days ago, I can't explain what it was really, it's something we've all seen in similar dramas so it shouldn't be all that engrossing: young girl enters the palace and works her way up the ladder to be the big bad boss (insert eye roll) but this, this has something much more
Maybe it's in the depth of the characters, no one is a cartoon villain, just being evil for evil sake, even the most annoying characters have a story, a motivation for their actions, it's like I was transported into this world where I didn't ever want to leave. Maybe it's the fact that everything that happened had a root it started from, foreshadowed through people's actions or occurrences, nothing just happened out of the blue or to push the script, the story was tight, it'll grab you and won't leave you till the last scenes in the finale.
Countless sleepless nights, feverishly going through the episodes, so much so that I forgot how lengthy it was and even wished it could be longer.
The lead female Zhen Huan played by Sun Li was captivating to say the least, there were occurrences that marked different stages of life, you could literally grow along with her, from being cautious, to scheming and then outrightly deadly, leaving no prisoners and paying everyone who hurt her in their own coin.
SL played ZH so well that her eyes, face, even hands had a story to tell, she brought a character that held you spellbound for the 76 episodes to life so effortlessly. The emperor as annoying as he was, was skillfully played by CJB, his expressions made you feel his rage, fear and even sadness at every turn, he indeed portrayed the suspicious, scheming, proud & ruthless emperor to the tee.
As for the supporting cast, everyone was so well suited for their roles, even the villains made you hate, sympathize with, then hate them again. It was such a roller-coaster of emotions.
If you're unsure of whether to start this, or you've been burned in the past like me, just watch the first 10 or even 5 episodes then decide, I promise you won't regret it
10/10
When I kept seeing Gifs of ZH & glowing recommendations, I reluctantly started this, intending to drop it at the 1st instance of the cliché storylines that always mark these kinds of strong FL costume dramas, well that was 6 days ago, I can't explain what it was really, it's something we've all seen in similar dramas so it shouldn't be all that engrossing: young girl enters the palace and works her way up the ladder to be the big bad boss (insert eye roll) but this, this has something much more
Maybe it's in the depth of the characters, no one is a cartoon villain, just being evil for evil sake, even the most annoying characters have a story, a motivation for their actions, it's like I was transported into this world where I didn't ever want to leave. Maybe it's the fact that everything that happened had a root it started from, foreshadowed through people's actions or occurrences, nothing just happened out of the blue or to push the script, the story was tight, it'll grab you and won't leave you till the last scenes in the finale.
Countless sleepless nights, feverishly going through the episodes, so much so that I forgot how lengthy it was and even wished it could be longer.
The lead female Zhen Huan played by Sun Li was captivating to say the least, there were occurrences that marked different stages of life, you could literally grow along with her, from being cautious, to scheming and then outrightly deadly, leaving no prisoners and paying everyone who hurt her in their own coin.
SL played ZH so well that her eyes, face, even hands had a story to tell, she brought a character that held you spellbound for the 76 episodes to life so effortlessly. The emperor as annoying as he was, was skillfully played by CJB, his expressions made you feel his rage, fear and even sadness at every turn, he indeed portrayed the suspicious, scheming, proud & ruthless emperor to the tee.
As for the supporting cast, everyone was so well suited for their roles, even the villains made you hate, sympathize with, then hate them again. It was such a roller-coaster of emotions.
If you're unsure of whether to start this, or you've been burned in the past like me, just watch the first 10 or even 5 episodes then decide, I promise you won't regret it
10/10
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