3
3
Sophisticated, intelligent and worth the effort
I’m not always in agreement with the ratings, but I think this one deserved its 9.1 (July 2025). It’s probably the best court intrigue I’ve seen and as it progressed it improved. The rough edges in the first episodes are generally smoothed out and a meandering plot delivers constant interest.
In court intrigue dramas, with so much emphasis having to be given to moving the plot forward, the downside is that characters are often cyphers as there is no room for character development. But here, the imagination of the original writer is colourful enough to create a raft of interesting characters whose variety kept me interested and also helped me to distinguish between the cast of thousands. And time is taken out occasionally to allow for the exploration of the full impact of events on the main characters involved, giving them emotional depth and credibility.
The ML, Mei Chang Su (Hu Ge) is passive in every sense. Incapacitated by illness he sits like a spider at the centre of the web, spinning the events around him. We don’t see him actively finding information, but always passively receiving it. He is the eye of the storm and the original cause: all cyclones start by creating an eye. This quietness is reflected in the plot as well. Although there is plenty of action and gore, the predominant theme centred around moral action, justice and strength, so there is less emphasis on the superhero vibe and more attention on the unfolding of emotional layers in the characters.
The way that information is imparted is very clever. In a situation where every scene needs to move forward the complex plot lines, rather than repeating stuff in order to show the cascade of information, i.e. A tells B & C, then B tells D, and C tells E etc which is clumsy, repetitive and highly tedious. We see all those interactions happening concurrently in an interleaved way using short snippets of different scenes, with the information spread between the conversations. Beautifully efficient. Or we see a less obvious character deliver information and automatically assume the relevant main character knows it. The sophistication of the writing here is the thing that lifts this drama from tedious to fast paced and absorbing.
I love some of the fabrics used in the costumes. The textures and woven patterns of the clothes worn by the ML and lesser status bureaucrats are more beautiful in my mind than the elaborate silks of the court. The music too, is subtle and added to the period feel of the drama.. However the makeup is not good. Someone got slap happy with the orange and on too many occasions there was a Trump lookalike contest in which Nirvana in Fire came out the winner.
There are fantasy elements which did not convince, but they couldn’t really undermine what was done so well everywhere else. Look the fight scenes, what can I say? If you’re into that sort of thing then they’re probably spectacular, for me they provided a good laugh and some light relief. ‘Nuff said.
In court intrigue dramas, with so much emphasis having to be given to moving the plot forward, the downside is that characters are often cyphers as there is no room for character development. But here, the imagination of the original writer is colourful enough to create a raft of interesting characters whose variety kept me interested and also helped me to distinguish between the cast of thousands. And time is taken out occasionally to allow for the exploration of the full impact of events on the main characters involved, giving them emotional depth and credibility.
The ML, Mei Chang Su (Hu Ge) is passive in every sense. Incapacitated by illness he sits like a spider at the centre of the web, spinning the events around him. We don’t see him actively finding information, but always passively receiving it. He is the eye of the storm and the original cause: all cyclones start by creating an eye. This quietness is reflected in the plot as well. Although there is plenty of action and gore, the predominant theme centred around moral action, justice and strength, so there is less emphasis on the superhero vibe and more attention on the unfolding of emotional layers in the characters.
The way that information is imparted is very clever. In a situation where every scene needs to move forward the complex plot lines, rather than repeating stuff in order to show the cascade of information, i.e. A tells B & C, then B tells D, and C tells E etc which is clumsy, repetitive and highly tedious. We see all those interactions happening concurrently in an interleaved way using short snippets of different scenes, with the information spread between the conversations. Beautifully efficient. Or we see a less obvious character deliver information and automatically assume the relevant main character knows it. The sophistication of the writing here is the thing that lifts this drama from tedious to fast paced and absorbing.
I love some of the fabrics used in the costumes. The textures and woven patterns of the clothes worn by the ML and lesser status bureaucrats are more beautiful in my mind than the elaborate silks of the court. The music too, is subtle and added to the period feel of the drama.. However the makeup is not good. Someone got slap happy with the orange and on too many occasions there was a Trump lookalike contest in which Nirvana in Fire came out the winner.
There are fantasy elements which did not convince, but they couldn’t really undermine what was done so well everywhere else. Look the fight scenes, what can I say? If you’re into that sort of thing then they’re probably spectacular, for me they provided a good laugh and some light relief. ‘Nuff said.
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