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This high-budget drama is written in a truly superficial way. It’s pathetic.

I’m on episode 13 right now, and so far so good. If it stays consistent until the end, I’ll probably give it a high rating. Hopefully, it won’t falter toward the middle to the end, like so many other Chinese dramas.

The plot is written in a rather lazy and foolish way—reminiscent of the logic found in soap operas. However, the dialogue is clear and straightforward, and the performances by the two leads are quite good. And I like the romantic and comedic writing in this drama. The execution is solid enough that I was able to watch it all the way to the end and remain entertained. Conclusion: Bad plot, Good Entertainment

It's a pretty good drama overall. The pacing is a bit slow at the beginning and middle, but it's still watchable. Though in my opinion, a few scenes and dialogues could have been trimmed down. Some scenes also felt fake-the clearest example being the climax near the end, like what was that even?"😅

The acting from both the ML and Main Antagonist was great, but I wasn't really a fan of the FL's acting-it felt a bit unnatural

Looking at your watchlist, here are a few drama recommendations you haven't seen yet:
"Are You the One"
Enemies-to-lovers.
Both leads are strong and intelligent characters. The pacing is a bit slow at the start, but it is very funny drama🤣🤣🤣 with a political tone that isn't too heavy. It’s a lighthearted, enjoyable story.

"The Princess Royal"
Lovers-to-enemies-and-back-to-lovers again.
Both leads are strong and intelligent, though the story focuses more on the female lead. The plot involves deep and somewhat heavy court politics, yet the relationship between the two leads remains fun and entertaining.

"The Legend of Shenli"
A Xianxia drama (Chinese fantasy involving deities).
It features a very strong female lead and a male lead who is powerful yet wise. Starring top-tier Movie Chinese actors, the plot is fascinating; the pacing is slow at the start—a peaceful slowness that is very soothing to watch—before becoming tense in the middle and towards the end.

Hope you like it.

Story of Kunning Palace

Like many other Chinese dramas, it starts off strong and remains consistent through the beginning and middle, but weak at the end.

This show is incredibly hot, hot and hot.
It was so hot that I could only watch one episode a day; I couldn't handle the heat.

The sexual tension in this drama goes even beyond porn.

Since the restrictions on episode counts were lifted last year, the pacing of Chinese dramas has generally improved. This drama doesn't really suffer from pacing issues; the only slight drawback lies in the writing of scenes during the middle of the story. Don't get me wrong—this is a great drama, and arguably one of the best historical Chinese dramas this year, even if it isn't perfect. Perhaps because I’ve watched so many dramas, my standards have risen and my expectations have grown higher. In the last three years, I’ve dropped many shows after watching just one or two episodes. The fact that I’ve kept watching this one right up to the latest episode speaks for itself.

Many scenes feel overly milked, and some are overly descriptive. This keeps coming up, giving the impression that the scene feels performative. While this occurred in the early episodes too, it wasn't to this extent; now, it’s becoming quite bothersome. The scriptwriting also is no longer as polished as in the previous episode. This kind of transitional phase is often problematic in Chinese historical dramas. I’m at episode 37 right now, and things have improved slightly. Let's see how the finale is handled.

I always rewatch the ending of this drama whenever I need a dose of cuteness.

Open ending.

The ban on episode limits for dramas in China has been lifted; some recent releases already exceed 40 episodes. Now, the episode limit is determined based on the drama's context. Hopefully, the situation continues to improve.

This drama faltered after episode 28. The writing deteriorated and became increasingly performative thereafter.

Because the crazy king and his evil consort are historical figures. Even the death of the crown prince and the punishment inflicted upon his wife were historical events that actually took place.

But rest assured, the one who ascends the throne to replace that mad king is the Crown Prince's younger brother—born of the same mother (who was actually also exiled to China alongside the Crown prince, though this wasn't shown in the drama)—not the son of that wicked consort. He deeply cared for his older brother and certainly knew the people who had accompanied him in China. He was the one who confined Ryaeng-eum in the infirmary to protect him during the early days of his reign (when his rule was not yet stable), and he released ryarng-eum in the final episode (once his rule had stabilized). This new king appears in the final episode.

Yes, but, when you finish this drama, your soul will be completely drained—shattered and mentally wrecked. It takes a long time before you can bring yourself to watch it again.

Jang hyuns sister lover his name is not ryang eum but "Sam Do", Ryang eum is child that jang hyun find after his run away.

I declare this to be as a "recap drama" with a budget.
there is no depth to the plot at all.
This is the fate that happens when a drama that should have 60 episodes is compressed into 24 episodes without wanting to miss out on many things in the source material.

Obviously the king. And Obviously the SML.

Yeah, They only included the essentials things i believe in the last 10 episodes, making it feel like a recap. There should have been a bridge scene in between.