I wish it is more culturally realistic, more mind-provoking, and more dramatic.
There is no doubt that this drama has excellent production quality. The settings, costumes, music, and characters are fitting and captivating. The main and supporting characters have distinctive personalities and are very entertaining. I love to see every interaction between them. I view this drama as successful at combining mystery, romance. and light comedy. However, even after finishing all episodes, there is still a big hole in my heart.
First, I'm not sure which aspects of this drama are real or fictional, especially when it comes to case-solving. This drama is excellent at incorporating elements of law and traditional medicine. It has the potential to be more intellectually engaging, but it is wasted. Repeatedly, during each case investigation and resolution, I compare the plots and storytelling to the legendary Jewel in the Palace (2003), from which I learned so much about Korean culture—its cuisine, medicine, traditional clothes, monarchy, and society. These cultural aspects are so believable, causing me to dig deeper into everything about Korea and the Koreans, and to watch more historical K-dramas.
This issue leads me to conclude that China is still far from creating a Hallyu-like wave despite its historical and cultural richness. I wonder if it is really that difficult for Chinese drama producers to incorporate authentic cultural elements into their works and help audiences become more knowledgeable and appreciative? Are the use of herbs, poison, and legal codes depicted in the drama grounded in reality, or are they merely fabricated to serve the plot? I mean, this drama is not a wuxia or xianxia where people can fly, and I know people cannot fly, so I shut by brain to enjoy it. This drama is somewhat "scientific" to serve the case investigation's believability. But things seem imaginary and heavily fictional.
Second, the cases are mostly felt rather strange to me. It is not about the incidents but how they are resolved. It is good to see how a coroner did forensic work to do an autopsy and collect evidence, and the empire's justice system works pretty well, too. They have a legal book as a reference, sufficient officers, and an investigation and testimony collection procedure. All of them should serve like pieces of a puzzle waiting for arrangement. However, the resolution often stems from mere deduction based on an insignificant, later-found hint or coincidence, throwing the previously collected pieces of information out of the window. After following one or two cases, I found that this show has the habit of spoiling the viewer by revealing the culprit through certain gestures and camera work. It makes the cases highly predictable and not enjoyable.
Third, this drama lacks emotional moments. Everything flows too smoothly, and the main characters are portrayed as perfectly capable, smart, and invincible. They never make a single mistake or show any meaningful weakness or vulnerability—traits that would make them feel more human. There are no moments of setbacks, deadlocks, or desperation, as well as moments of learning and reflecting on things beyond their control. No pivotal moments deserve rewatch. Nothing to worry about, and they bounce back far too easily. Even though people die horribly, they are safe and "protected". It is very atypical considering the world they live in. I mean, there should be a moment where efforts failed, the strong ones are injured, or get sick, and their lives are at stake. The cooperation between the main characters thus feels lacking something profound.
Fourth, the villains in this drama are disappointingly weak, lacking both intelligence and strategic cunning. The princes (Che and Qi) come across as foolish and impulsive, respectively. As antagonists, they feel too much like shallow tropes rather than compelling, formidable threats. The evil empress and consort are also the same; they are practically doing nothing throughout the episodes. There are no moments of good decision-making, considering pros and cons together, and implementing the plan into action. All of them are bad in character and thus, doomed to fail from the beginning.
This makes me compare them to antagonists in "Princess Gambit" (2025). There, we got antagonists who possess at least one admirable trait, and this makes us "love" them to be on screen. In Coroner's Diary, the problem-solving strategy of the antagonists is just killing, killing, and killing people, and leaving traces to be tracked by our leads. Had they used more political maneuvering by moving factions in court to help them, our main characters (the male lead is a military man and the female lead is a doctor) would be devastated. But it would result in a better challenge that pushes our leads to grow beyond their comfort zone of competence.
Despite its flaws, this drama is still enjoyable. However, I don’t think people would rewatch it often, as it cannot even hold a candle to the expectations of its own genre, “mystery.”
First, I'm not sure which aspects of this drama are real or fictional, especially when it comes to case-solving. This drama is excellent at incorporating elements of law and traditional medicine. It has the potential to be more intellectually engaging, but it is wasted. Repeatedly, during each case investigation and resolution, I compare the plots and storytelling to the legendary Jewel in the Palace (2003), from which I learned so much about Korean culture—its cuisine, medicine, traditional clothes, monarchy, and society. These cultural aspects are so believable, causing me to dig deeper into everything about Korea and the Koreans, and to watch more historical K-dramas.
This issue leads me to conclude that China is still far from creating a Hallyu-like wave despite its historical and cultural richness. I wonder if it is really that difficult for Chinese drama producers to incorporate authentic cultural elements into their works and help audiences become more knowledgeable and appreciative? Are the use of herbs, poison, and legal codes depicted in the drama grounded in reality, or are they merely fabricated to serve the plot? I mean, this drama is not a wuxia or xianxia where people can fly, and I know people cannot fly, so I shut by brain to enjoy it. This drama is somewhat "scientific" to serve the case investigation's believability. But things seem imaginary and heavily fictional.
Second, the cases are mostly felt rather strange to me. It is not about the incidents but how they are resolved. It is good to see how a coroner did forensic work to do an autopsy and collect evidence, and the empire's justice system works pretty well, too. They have a legal book as a reference, sufficient officers, and an investigation and testimony collection procedure. All of them should serve like pieces of a puzzle waiting for arrangement. However, the resolution often stems from mere deduction based on an insignificant, later-found hint or coincidence, throwing the previously collected pieces of information out of the window. After following one or two cases, I found that this show has the habit of spoiling the viewer by revealing the culprit through certain gestures and camera work. It makes the cases highly predictable and not enjoyable.
Third, this drama lacks emotional moments. Everything flows too smoothly, and the main characters are portrayed as perfectly capable, smart, and invincible. They never make a single mistake or show any meaningful weakness or vulnerability—traits that would make them feel more human. There are no moments of setbacks, deadlocks, or desperation, as well as moments of learning and reflecting on things beyond their control. No pivotal moments deserve rewatch. Nothing to worry about, and they bounce back far too easily. Even though people die horribly, they are safe and "protected". It is very atypical considering the world they live in. I mean, there should be a moment where efforts failed, the strong ones are injured, or get sick, and their lives are at stake. The cooperation between the main characters thus feels lacking something profound.
Fourth, the villains in this drama are disappointingly weak, lacking both intelligence and strategic cunning. The princes (Che and Qi) come across as foolish and impulsive, respectively. As antagonists, they feel too much like shallow tropes rather than compelling, formidable threats. The evil empress and consort are also the same; they are practically doing nothing throughout the episodes. There are no moments of good decision-making, considering pros and cons together, and implementing the plan into action. All of them are bad in character and thus, doomed to fail from the beginning.
This makes me compare them to antagonists in "Princess Gambit" (2025). There, we got antagonists who possess at least one admirable trait, and this makes us "love" them to be on screen. In Coroner's Diary, the problem-solving strategy of the antagonists is just killing, killing, and killing people, and leaving traces to be tracked by our leads. Had they used more political maneuvering by moving factions in court to help them, our main characters (the male lead is a military man and the female lead is a doctor) would be devastated. But it would result in a better challenge that pushes our leads to grow beyond their comfort zone of competence.
Despite its flaws, this drama is still enjoyable. However, I don’t think people would rewatch it often, as it cannot even hold a candle to the expectations of its own genre, “mystery.”
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