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The Sacrifices of Upholding "The People First, The State Second, The Ruler Third"
On surface level this was an achingly beautiful tale about two people trying to do what they felt was best for their country. There is angst and heartbreak and tears and sadness radiating off the screen during the initial episodes.
Su Leyu comes off as an upright and honest woman who will always hold true to her promise to protect the country; even if she can no longer trust the man she once loved. She isn't afraid to play the long game in order to achieve her goals and is often a step ahead of those against her. Her biggest weakness though, is her unshakable loyalty to those she grew up with as she naturally wants to believe that the teachings she internalized from the Empress were also internalized by others.
Yin Changyan has an even heavier burden than his female counterpart. As the Emperor he bears the stigma of how he came into power as well as the teachings of his mother the former Empress. The world is his chessboard and he must delicately balance the pieces so as to not topple the game. Because of this he must often work against his own wishes and interests in order to prioritize his future success.
While the acting, chemistry, costuming and even music are all things that evoke strong visceral reactions, they are let down by the story connecting the plot points together. A 16 episode palace intrigue storyline was always going to be ambitious and here it does fall short. There are plenty of loose threads and hand-wave convient plotploints that are either not explained or inferred to have become known off-screen. The Emperor waltzes around outside the palace often each time he needs to help assist his Consort with an investigation. Characters dissappear from the plot and seem to have zero purpose. Sometimes revelations are made to the viewer only for them to later be found inaccurate despite there being no reason for the misinformation to be given originally. Even the very timeline during which the story takes place appears to not match what is "actually" shown during the episodes; the viewer is told the story takes place over three years and yet the actions don't feel like it and there are no time markers of "1 month later", "4 months later", etc.
So, while the acting and relationship between the leads was gorgeous to watch, the actual palace plot, while "good", needed improvement.
Su Leyu comes off as an upright and honest woman who will always hold true to her promise to protect the country; even if she can no longer trust the man she once loved. She isn't afraid to play the long game in order to achieve her goals and is often a step ahead of those against her. Her biggest weakness though, is her unshakable loyalty to those she grew up with as she naturally wants to believe that the teachings she internalized from the Empress were also internalized by others.
Yin Changyan has an even heavier burden than his female counterpart. As the Emperor he bears the stigma of how he came into power as well as the teachings of his mother the former Empress. The world is his chessboard and he must delicately balance the pieces so as to not topple the game. Because of this he must often work against his own wishes and interests in order to prioritize his future success.
While the acting, chemistry, costuming and even music are all things that evoke strong visceral reactions, they are let down by the story connecting the plot points together. A 16 episode palace intrigue storyline was always going to be ambitious and here it does fall short. There are plenty of loose threads and hand-wave convient plotploints that are either not explained or inferred to have become known off-screen. The Emperor waltzes around outside the palace often each time he needs to help assist his Consort with an investigation. Characters dissappear from the plot and seem to have zero purpose. Sometimes revelations are made to the viewer only for them to later be found inaccurate despite there being no reason for the misinformation to be given originally. Even the very timeline during which the story takes place appears to not match what is "actually" shown during the episodes; the viewer is told the story takes place over three years and yet the actions don't feel like it and there are no time markers of "1 month later", "4 months later", etc.
So, while the acting and relationship between the leads was gorgeous to watch, the actual palace plot, while "good", needed improvement.
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