This review may contain spoilers
Everyone Needed Therapy, Including Me.
I had this drama on my watchlist since 2023, but I wasn’t really drawn to it because the male lead seemed like a red flag based on the synopsis.
After watching Pursuit of Jade this year, I wanted to explore more Zhang Ling He dramas, so I came back to it.
It wasn’t bad, but it was a very stressful watch. From episode one, I already felt tense. The female lead, who has already experienced death in her previous life, constantly panics in front of Xie Wei. I kept wondering what exactly she was afraid of—he already killed her in her past life, so why is she still so overwhelmed, to the point that it makes the whole viewing experience stressful?
Even with knowledge from her past life, she remains stuck in constant struggle and never really manages to handle things on her own. It became quite hard to watch. She wasn’t very likable from the beginning, and she rarely takes independent action as a “reincarnated” character, relying heavily on the male lead and second male lead, who are not supposed to be reincarnated.
The male lead is also a red flag for me. He clearly has psychological issues and violent outbursts that don’t feel normal or easy to accept.
The female lead’s mother is also toxic and adds to the overall stress throughout the story. In general, nothing felt particularly enjoyable to watch, and I ended up skipping a lot of scenes just to get through it.
I rate The Story of Kunning Palace 8/10 mainly for its production quality and storyline, but definitely not 8.7. And I don’t think I would watch it again.
After watching Pursuit of Jade this year, I wanted to explore more Zhang Ling He dramas, so I came back to it.
It wasn’t bad, but it was a very stressful watch. From episode one, I already felt tense. The female lead, who has already experienced death in her previous life, constantly panics in front of Xie Wei. I kept wondering what exactly she was afraid of—he already killed her in her past life, so why is she still so overwhelmed, to the point that it makes the whole viewing experience stressful?
Even with knowledge from her past life, she remains stuck in constant struggle and never really manages to handle things on her own. It became quite hard to watch. She wasn’t very likable from the beginning, and she rarely takes independent action as a “reincarnated” character, relying heavily on the male lead and second male lead, who are not supposed to be reincarnated.
The male lead is also a red flag for me. He clearly has psychological issues and violent outbursts that don’t feel normal or easy to accept.
The female lead’s mother is also toxic and adds to the overall stress throughout the story. In general, nothing felt particularly enjoyable to watch, and I ended up skipping a lot of scenes just to get through it.
I rate The Story of Kunning Palace 8/10 mainly for its production quality and storyline, but definitely not 8.7. And I don’t think I would watch it again.
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