The Best Historical Drama of 2025 So Far
Many Asian drama netizens have called the first half of 2025 a Chinese drama “drought” for the most part. I totally agree. “Prisoner of Beauty”, therefore, was a freaking rainstorm in the middle of it. I haven’t watched a historical C-Drama that I finished since the masterpiece that was “Blossom” (ended Dec 24).
Is “Prisoner of Beauty” a perfect drama? No. But despite its occasional flaws, it’s still excellent. I’m not even going to list the cons in this review. The truth is that they don’t matter. “Prisoner of Beauty” rises above any of its shortcomings to deliver a phenomenal historical drama with one of the most compelling ensemble casts ever. It's phenomenal, plain and simple. One of the best historical dramas I've seen in ages.
Let’s go to the big wins.
* A top tier FL — I had my doubts about Song Zu Er in this… Goodness I was wrong. Man Man is a character who is not only written to perfection but acted to perfection. She is strong but gentle, loyal but unbiased, resilient but human. She is one of the most lovable FL leads I have EVER seen in a historical drama. Her determination to heal the ML’s heart despite his initial anger, resentment, and ill treatment of her is beautiful. She’s clever and spunky too. I don’t know how to put it. She’s just great.
* A romance for the ages — This is arguably the prototype for a good arranged marriage drama. The slow melting of hearts is stunning to watch. The ML undergoes incredible development to become the man who openly, loudly, fiercely loves his wife, even forsaking his revenge to move forward together for a better world. Their chemistry is incredible. Kiss scenes? Just plain well done. I could have sworn those two were truly in love with how much ease they touched each other and interacted
Rapid fire:
* A great plot that takes cliches and actually shifts/morphs/alters them to create something highly engaging
* Cinematography and costuming that is top tier
* A STELLAR cast resemble of lovable and relatably flawed characters
* Great OST featuring Liu Yining’s amazing vocals
The ending? Bittersweet. Very bittersweet. Be prepared to weep. I definitely did. I could have gone without some of the tremendous losses, but, in the end, love conquers all, and we do get a happily ever after. Add “Prisoner of Beauty” to your watch list. You won’t regret it.
Is “Prisoner of Beauty” a perfect drama? No. But despite its occasional flaws, it’s still excellent. I’m not even going to list the cons in this review. The truth is that they don’t matter. “Prisoner of Beauty” rises above any of its shortcomings to deliver a phenomenal historical drama with one of the most compelling ensemble casts ever. It's phenomenal, plain and simple. One of the best historical dramas I've seen in ages.
Let’s go to the big wins.
* A top tier FL — I had my doubts about Song Zu Er in this… Goodness I was wrong. Man Man is a character who is not only written to perfection but acted to perfection. She is strong but gentle, loyal but unbiased, resilient but human. She is one of the most lovable FL leads I have EVER seen in a historical drama. Her determination to heal the ML’s heart despite his initial anger, resentment, and ill treatment of her is beautiful. She’s clever and spunky too. I don’t know how to put it. She’s just great.
* A romance for the ages — This is arguably the prototype for a good arranged marriage drama. The slow melting of hearts is stunning to watch. The ML undergoes incredible development to become the man who openly, loudly, fiercely loves his wife, even forsaking his revenge to move forward together for a better world. Their chemistry is incredible. Kiss scenes? Just plain well done. I could have sworn those two were truly in love with how much ease they touched each other and interacted
Rapid fire:
* A great plot that takes cliches and actually shifts/morphs/alters them to create something highly engaging
* Cinematography and costuming that is top tier
* A STELLAR cast resemble of lovable and relatably flawed characters
* Great OST featuring Liu Yining’s amazing vocals
The ending? Bittersweet. Very bittersweet. Be prepared to weep. I definitely did. I could have gone without some of the tremendous losses, but, in the end, love conquers all, and we do get a happily ever after. Add “Prisoner of Beauty” to your watch list. You won’t regret it.
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