This review may contain spoilers
A change of heart - absolutely engaging
One of the dramas I have dropped halfway of airing, for the reason that I got bored and actually forgot about it. But then, it made me realize, "Dang, Bai Lu never miss out good dramas, why am I dropping this?" So, I gave it a chance, rewatched it from the beginning and not a single second wasted my time.
Imagine driving a car just to go to a restaurant that's only 1km away from you when you could've just walked. Not only did you waste your gas, added air pollution, but also have to take the effort now of reverse parking your vehicle going home. That's basically what Xue Ning did to her previous life as an empress, she did the quick way of grabbing the throne that negatively affected the people around her, and now she's trying to get back to the good points of her life exerting more effort when she could've done it right on the first try. Then, she realized, I could've just done it way easier? I could've just cooked at home, or I could've just ordered take-out. This is one of the best things I love about this drama, a change of heart after uncovering a deep realization of mistakes - and it made Xue Ning's character a jade.
I love how majority of the times, SoKP showed cruelty towards Ning'er, especially because of the people surrounding her like her mother. It's like a payback from the cruelty she did to other people before while taking chance of the throne. But she did not take it by heart negatively, rather accepted the fact that it was a karma from her past doings. It built the angst towards the viewers, but by the end, they showed acceptance, especially with Xue Ning's mother's confession before she travelled away.
The only downside about it is the pacing of romance. To be honest, Ning'er and Xie Wei did not have much chemistry at the start since all I can see is Ning'er being afraid by Xie Wei's dominance, but that is played on purpose and is perfect for the story build up. However, as soon as Zheng Zhe appeared, I rooted more for them than I do for Xie Wei. It just feels like they have more connection than what Ning'er and Xie Wei have. And the romance pace did not show much until the last 10 episodes of the drama, which is very lacking for me.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS:
(I will only include the ones who emotionally impacted me most)
1. Ning'er/Jiang Xue Ning - her character during the first few episodes of the drama shows how little her temperament is and cunning she can be. As a queen, she was ruthless when climbing the ladder, not minding how many stones she trampled just to reach the peak. However, in just a few episode, she was already shown as a round and dynamic character, and change was very much evident. From a selfish person into someone who built their empathy for the people around her. Ning'er has a great character building, from the beginning until the end, showed how someone can adaptably change their life after encountering the burden of guilt. In fact, she was pretty strong and dedicated to actually manage to change her fate and loved ones despite them not knowing what happened before she went back to the past, and I believe that itself shows how much selfless she actually is. It did not only stop there, as she used to be not caring other people's emotions as long as she gains something in the end, but by the time she changed, she even did her best just to help Shen Zhi Yi, which really shows how attached she became regarding their friendship. It takes a brave person to fix their mistakes, but Ning'er was courageous enough to even swallow the risks.
2. Xie Wei - starting off, he was viewed as someone who do not care about other people unless it gives him value, and he is that good of a pretender. Xie Wei is the type of person who always manage to hide the softness inside him through his cold appearance and demeanor. "Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield." - Lao Tzu. And I see Xie Wei playing a role of the rock here, as Ning'er softens him that slowly showed the side how he does care about people. Xie Wei is definitely the 'red flag' type of guy who is willing to burn the world for Ning'er, and it is honestly one of the things I love about him. After all, in a drama full of good guys, we still do want some bad for us, don't we?
3. Zhang Zhe - his character emotionally captivated me. He is too strong of a character that no wonder he only appeared halfway of the show. In fact, I rooted for him first before I did to Xie Wei. I don't blame Ning'er to actually see the different in him, as Zhang Zhe's characteristic is the type that every woman would want to live for - he has a heart of a servant. He loved Ning'er but not selfish enough to take the risk of it, and I don't think anything is wrong with that. Even after devoting himself for the goodness of people, which took something of value from him, he was emotionally well-checked enough to not blame his anger unto others.
4. Xue Shu - the first time knowing her character, it immediately reminded me of the old Ning'er, and made me question, "was this how cruel Ning'er actually used to be?" She is too selfish and cruel to actually push the people who messes with her off the cliff. However, if I put myself in her situation, I would not want to be married with a someone that would possibly harm me when war comes either. And I think as what she did at that time of desperation, I would very much do the same to save myself despite being called 'shameless.' In fact, I would rather be called shameless than lying dead on the ground. The only wrong thing about her was that she takes too much advantage with her position, that even her own action has betrayed her at the end. I see Xue Shu as a misunderstood villain, with the exceptions of the bad deeds she has done to achieve the higher position, but if she was given another chance like Ning'er, I can actually see her do much better. Xue Shu is basically the old Ning'er.
5. Xue Hui - I honestly felt Xue Ning's anger towards her at the beginning. Xue Hui didn't show much remorse towards the death of her original birth mother, despite receiving letters from her. However, same as Xie Wei, she was a great pretender, and actually just hid her feelings. I have a love-hate relationship towards her character, as Ning'er mentioned that she was not the biological daughter, but her getting all the good things in the family is kind of unfair for Ning'er. I expected her to atleast console or defend Ning'er at some point, but she never did. Along the way, it was Ning'er who tried patching their relationship, and not the other way around. But then, Xue Hui actually do plan for Ning'er to just stomp on her as a way of atleast Ning'er to have a 'payback' for all the missing experiences - and I think that's kind of selfish of Xue Hui still. Even though, the intention was good, the effect is clearly not good for Ning'er, and I thought Xue Hui is smart enough to actually think of that, but she is not. If she wanted for Ning'er to have a payback for all the missing experiences, she would've atleast defended her whenever her mother looks down on Ning'er, or atleast try approaching Ning'er first to atleast fix their broken relationship. But at the end, it was Ning'er who tried to put effort on it, which I think is kind of unfair. Xue Hui is told to be smart as the first daughter, but it shows the opposite. She knew the old Ning'er is selfish, yet she just let her take the empress role, knowing that being selfish enough to attain the throne will be the cause of her losing her life in the end.
ACTING ANALYSIS:
1. Bai Lu as Ning'er - No one could ever play the same character with the same impact as Bai Lu did to Ning'er. She basically embraced the character as her own, showing her pure emotions as if she really was the one in situation, especially at the part when she tried to save Zhi Yi. I don't understand how she gets too much criticism for bad acting, 'cause this show is clearly turning the tables for that. Her chemistry with Zhang Ling He was also top notch, but I think it was way better with Xing Yue. Whenever they are together, honestly makes me root for them more.
2. Zhang Ling He as Xie Wei - His glares and angry face is the best ones i've seen among all the chinese actors i've seen so far. He honestly does make me scared of him, whenever he is on screen and makes me feel like the character is already too cruel without even him saying anything yet. I could feel the desperation of keeping Ning'er from his acting (especially the kissing scenes), and I don't think no one can top his solemn facial expressions.
3. Xing Yue as Zhang Zhe- I have already seen multiple of his dramas, and how I wish that he could've used this drama as his stepping stone for actually improving. I think he is playing too safe of giving that same "bored out" expression again and again. However, he did pretty good when the mother scene happened, I seriously did cry watching it, and I thought "I didn't know he can act like this?" which I don't think he does to his other lines. He is definitely above average, but he can do better.
Overall, if you do not mind a very slow-paced romance with lots of political influence, this drama is suitable for you. Story-wise, it has a good build-up, but romantically, it's very slow for me. In terms of acting, you could never ask for more, as they exerted it very well on this one - no disappointment, especially for Bai Lu. Character-wise, if you are into smart female lead who are emotionally mature, this is one of the good dramas you can watch. As per the male counterpart, it's a struggle for me as I have deep love with Zhang Zhe than I do with Xie Wei. Just a head up though, there's not much of martial arts in this drama, but there will be lots of political strategies involved.
Imagine driving a car just to go to a restaurant that's only 1km away from you when you could've just walked. Not only did you waste your gas, added air pollution, but also have to take the effort now of reverse parking your vehicle going home. That's basically what Xue Ning did to her previous life as an empress, she did the quick way of grabbing the throne that negatively affected the people around her, and now she's trying to get back to the good points of her life exerting more effort when she could've done it right on the first try. Then, she realized, I could've just done it way easier? I could've just cooked at home, or I could've just ordered take-out. This is one of the best things I love about this drama, a change of heart after uncovering a deep realization of mistakes - and it made Xue Ning's character a jade.
I love how majority of the times, SoKP showed cruelty towards Ning'er, especially because of the people surrounding her like her mother. It's like a payback from the cruelty she did to other people before while taking chance of the throne. But she did not take it by heart negatively, rather accepted the fact that it was a karma from her past doings. It built the angst towards the viewers, but by the end, they showed acceptance, especially with Xue Ning's mother's confession before she travelled away.
The only downside about it is the pacing of romance. To be honest, Ning'er and Xie Wei did not have much chemistry at the start since all I can see is Ning'er being afraid by Xie Wei's dominance, but that is played on purpose and is perfect for the story build up. However, as soon as Zheng Zhe appeared, I rooted more for them than I do for Xie Wei. It just feels like they have more connection than what Ning'er and Xie Wei have. And the romance pace did not show much until the last 10 episodes of the drama, which is very lacking for me.
CHARACTER ANALYSIS:
(I will only include the ones who emotionally impacted me most)
1. Ning'er/Jiang Xue Ning - her character during the first few episodes of the drama shows how little her temperament is and cunning she can be. As a queen, she was ruthless when climbing the ladder, not minding how many stones she trampled just to reach the peak. However, in just a few episode, she was already shown as a round and dynamic character, and change was very much evident. From a selfish person into someone who built their empathy for the people around her. Ning'er has a great character building, from the beginning until the end, showed how someone can adaptably change their life after encountering the burden of guilt. In fact, she was pretty strong and dedicated to actually manage to change her fate and loved ones despite them not knowing what happened before she went back to the past, and I believe that itself shows how much selfless she actually is. It did not only stop there, as she used to be not caring other people's emotions as long as she gains something in the end, but by the time she changed, she even did her best just to help Shen Zhi Yi, which really shows how attached she became regarding their friendship. It takes a brave person to fix their mistakes, but Ning'er was courageous enough to even swallow the risks.
2. Xie Wei - starting off, he was viewed as someone who do not care about other people unless it gives him value, and he is that good of a pretender. Xie Wei is the type of person who always manage to hide the softness inside him through his cold appearance and demeanor. "Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield." - Lao Tzu. And I see Xie Wei playing a role of the rock here, as Ning'er softens him that slowly showed the side how he does care about people. Xie Wei is definitely the 'red flag' type of guy who is willing to burn the world for Ning'er, and it is honestly one of the things I love about him. After all, in a drama full of good guys, we still do want some bad for us, don't we?
3. Zhang Zhe - his character emotionally captivated me. He is too strong of a character that no wonder he only appeared halfway of the show. In fact, I rooted for him first before I did to Xie Wei. I don't blame Ning'er to actually see the different in him, as Zhang Zhe's characteristic is the type that every woman would want to live for - he has a heart of a servant. He loved Ning'er but not selfish enough to take the risk of it, and I don't think anything is wrong with that. Even after devoting himself for the goodness of people, which took something of value from him, he was emotionally well-checked enough to not blame his anger unto others.
4. Xue Shu - the first time knowing her character, it immediately reminded me of the old Ning'er, and made me question, "was this how cruel Ning'er actually used to be?" She is too selfish and cruel to actually push the people who messes with her off the cliff. However, if I put myself in her situation, I would not want to be married with a someone that would possibly harm me when war comes either. And I think as what she did at that time of desperation, I would very much do the same to save myself despite being called 'shameless.' In fact, I would rather be called shameless than lying dead on the ground. The only wrong thing about her was that she takes too much advantage with her position, that even her own action has betrayed her at the end. I see Xue Shu as a misunderstood villain, with the exceptions of the bad deeds she has done to achieve the higher position, but if she was given another chance like Ning'er, I can actually see her do much better. Xue Shu is basically the old Ning'er.
5. Xue Hui - I honestly felt Xue Ning's anger towards her at the beginning. Xue Hui didn't show much remorse towards the death of her original birth mother, despite receiving letters from her. However, same as Xie Wei, she was a great pretender, and actually just hid her feelings. I have a love-hate relationship towards her character, as Ning'er mentioned that she was not the biological daughter, but her getting all the good things in the family is kind of unfair for Ning'er. I expected her to atleast console or defend Ning'er at some point, but she never did. Along the way, it was Ning'er who tried patching their relationship, and not the other way around. But then, Xue Hui actually do plan for Ning'er to just stomp on her as a way of atleast Ning'er to have a 'payback' for all the missing experiences - and I think that's kind of selfish of Xue Hui still. Even though, the intention was good, the effect is clearly not good for Ning'er, and I thought Xue Hui is smart enough to actually think of that, but she is not. If she wanted for Ning'er to have a payback for all the missing experiences, she would've atleast defended her whenever her mother looks down on Ning'er, or atleast try approaching Ning'er first to atleast fix their broken relationship. But at the end, it was Ning'er who tried to put effort on it, which I think is kind of unfair. Xue Hui is told to be smart as the first daughter, but it shows the opposite. She knew the old Ning'er is selfish, yet she just let her take the empress role, knowing that being selfish enough to attain the throne will be the cause of her losing her life in the end.
ACTING ANALYSIS:
1. Bai Lu as Ning'er - No one could ever play the same character with the same impact as Bai Lu did to Ning'er. She basically embraced the character as her own, showing her pure emotions as if she really was the one in situation, especially at the part when she tried to save Zhi Yi. I don't understand how she gets too much criticism for bad acting, 'cause this show is clearly turning the tables for that. Her chemistry with Zhang Ling He was also top notch, but I think it was way better with Xing Yue. Whenever they are together, honestly makes me root for them more.
2. Zhang Ling He as Xie Wei - His glares and angry face is the best ones i've seen among all the chinese actors i've seen so far. He honestly does make me scared of him, whenever he is on screen and makes me feel like the character is already too cruel without even him saying anything yet. I could feel the desperation of keeping Ning'er from his acting (especially the kissing scenes), and I don't think no one can top his solemn facial expressions.
3. Xing Yue as Zhang Zhe- I have already seen multiple of his dramas, and how I wish that he could've used this drama as his stepping stone for actually improving. I think he is playing too safe of giving that same "bored out" expression again and again. However, he did pretty good when the mother scene happened, I seriously did cry watching it, and I thought "I didn't know he can act like this?" which I don't think he does to his other lines. He is definitely above average, but he can do better.
Overall, if you do not mind a very slow-paced romance with lots of political influence, this drama is suitable for you. Story-wise, it has a good build-up, but romantically, it's very slow for me. In terms of acting, you could never ask for more, as they exerted it very well on this one - no disappointment, especially for Bai Lu. Character-wise, if you are into smart female lead who are emotionally mature, this is one of the good dramas you can watch. As per the male counterpart, it's a struggle for me as I have deep love with Zhang Zhe than I do with Xie Wei. Just a head up though, there's not much of martial arts in this drama, but there will be lots of political strategies involved.
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