This review may contain spoilers
Another rare gem
I have been in a costume drama drought since Blossom, so I tempered expectations when this drama premiered. I have learned the hard way that a costume drama can betray you and more often than naught too much time is spent on a convoluted political plot with nearly everyone dying.
Prisoner of Beauty has taught me to believe in costume dramas once again. Brilliantly remarkable from start to end, no other drama has affected me as emotionally, aside from The Untamed. The cast was absolutely perfect and everyone made me either love them or hate them with a vengeance. Each person in this drama played their role so well. Not a single moment was wasted and the character development was fantastic. Each person conveyed their emotions with such depth and scenes that never would have truly affected me in other dramas wrenched right into my soul here.
At the heart of the story is love and family. This drama never lost sight of that and it felt as if each episode was a lesson in love and forgiveness. Nothing came easily and the losses were painful. Wei Shao's trauma was never downplayed and I could understand the hatred and betrayal that he felt and continued to feel. Manman fixed something she didn't break, although she took full responsibility for it on behalf of her grandfather. Their growth was simply beautiful to watch and they will live on as one of my favourite costume drama couples (first place goes to Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian forever).
This drama is filmed with such care and the scenes are really stunning that even a scene with no dialogue can be so utterly moving. Liu Yuning and Song Zu Er were magnificent and their emotions were conveyed so wholeheartedly. I'll miss this world they created for us very much.
Spoiler from here!
I always wait to watch a drama when it's nearly done airing (blame my impatient nature), so I knew about Wei Liang's death from the get go. I told myself to not get invested in his story and to just accept it. What a fool I was. I held it together through the scene of his killing, but broke down when I saw what they had done to his body and when Wei Qu grieved while holding him. I completely lost it in the last episode when they all visited his grave and Qiao Tao turns and sees him smiling and waving at her with those damn orchids in his arm. A truly cruel choice to do that to a fan favourite character, but his loss reverberated across everyone who loved him and was handled with such care that I could not bring myself to be angry about it.
As for Qiao Fan's death - this one I saw coming from the start. It seemed ominous when she and Bi Zhi were still very much part of the story. Her sacrifice was an act of true love for her husband, and I would also like to think to some extent for Manman as well because he did come close to killing Wei Shao. It was devastating, but again one I can live with.
Prisoner of Beauty has taught me to believe in costume dramas once again. Brilliantly remarkable from start to end, no other drama has affected me as emotionally, aside from The Untamed. The cast was absolutely perfect and everyone made me either love them or hate them with a vengeance. Each person in this drama played their role so well. Not a single moment was wasted and the character development was fantastic. Each person conveyed their emotions with such depth and scenes that never would have truly affected me in other dramas wrenched right into my soul here.
At the heart of the story is love and family. This drama never lost sight of that and it felt as if each episode was a lesson in love and forgiveness. Nothing came easily and the losses were painful. Wei Shao's trauma was never downplayed and I could understand the hatred and betrayal that he felt and continued to feel. Manman fixed something she didn't break, although she took full responsibility for it on behalf of her grandfather. Their growth was simply beautiful to watch and they will live on as one of my favourite costume drama couples (first place goes to Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian forever).
This drama is filmed with such care and the scenes are really stunning that even a scene with no dialogue can be so utterly moving. Liu Yuning and Song Zu Er were magnificent and their emotions were conveyed so wholeheartedly. I'll miss this world they created for us very much.
Spoiler from here!
I always wait to watch a drama when it's nearly done airing (blame my impatient nature), so I knew about Wei Liang's death from the get go. I told myself to not get invested in his story and to just accept it. What a fool I was. I held it together through the scene of his killing, but broke down when I saw what they had done to his body and when Wei Qu grieved while holding him. I completely lost it in the last episode when they all visited his grave and Qiao Tao turns and sees him smiling and waving at her with those damn orchids in his arm. A truly cruel choice to do that to a fan favourite character, but his loss reverberated across everyone who loved him and was handled with such care that I could not bring myself to be angry about it.
As for Qiao Fan's death - this one I saw coming from the start. It seemed ominous when she and Bi Zhi were still very much part of the story. Her sacrifice was an act of true love for her husband, and I would also like to think to some extent for Manman as well because he did come close to killing Wei Shao. It was devastating, but again one I can live with.
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