Sunbath12

While there isn't anything terribly wrong with this drama, there also isn't much that stands out. The story has all the skeleton and pieces that could be made into an epic period piece, but not enough flesh is ever put onto the characters, plot or themes. Shen Xihe is driven and ambitious, but I never quite get why. Not enough of her back story as Gu Qingzhi is portrayed on screen, so I feel little connection to her for most of the drama. It also makes her relationship with Prince Xin strange, and poor Jeremy Xu just ends up looking like an obsessed love-struck fool. Perhaps just nixing the rebirth element would have fixed that issue.

The political storyline is also weak in its pacing and overall development, opting for a last minute a-ha reveal that is void of dramatic weight due to lack of build up. The harder but potentially more interesting story to tell would have been to bring the back story into the forefront from the beginning and with the audience knowing, portray the cat-and-mouse game in the court in a more sophisticated manner. Alas, missed opportunity.

Romance in these type of dramas is always secondary for me. It should a nice icing on a rich story, but here it isn't even enough to make up for the story's major flaws. Additionally, Meng Ziyi and He Yu lack in chemistry on screen, and neither is a good enough performer to carry through on their own in their individual dramatic scenes.

While a much richer production with better costuming, lighting and set pieces than say, the recent Key to the Phoenix Heart, unfortunately this drama lacks in heart and soul for much of its 36 episodes. Check it out if you are a fan of the cast or period dramas in general, but it's just another meh one for me.