watched the first episode and boy are eric tsang and franis ng unnecessarily mean.
I think it's due to the fact that the bar to be an actor in mainland China became really low (compared to the golden age of HK). A lot of contestants blindly sign up for reality shows as a method to become viral, instead of taking it serious, like those idol survival shows...
I wouldn't consider Zhen Huan a villain. She never actively harmed anyone. All she did was take revenge on those…
She started out as idealistic and kind, and gradually became morally grey to survive. She did have transformations after each depression phase (caused by Emperor), but actual corruption happens at the near-end. She is not represented as evil. The show consistently frames her as tragic and justified.
Btw, her maids represented different sides of her (Huan Bi was her dark side), and their lifespan symbolized her love for each ML (when she died, ZH's love for him died too).
I wouldn't consider Zhen Huan a villain. She never actively harmed anyone. All she did was take revenge on those…
Ahh then Yixiu would just be a normal villain! Recently I've been seeing a lot of fanmade AI videos on youtube where the Yixiu was reborn and fighting everyone while she waits for Zhen Huan.
There's also one fanmade video where a modern girl time-travels and uses all her knowledge from this drama to survive, and framed the Emperor as an imposter, so that her loyal General dad wouldn't fall into a trap. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_2ayDaRqwk
I wouldn't consider Zhen Huan a villain. She never actively harmed anyone. All she did was take revenge on those…
For context, even to the last episode, Zhen Huan wasn't power hungry. She could have killed the Empress and made her own son the Crown Prince, but she didn't. Girl chose the safe ending.
The real anti-villains are Nian Shilan, An Lingrong, Ulanara Yixiu, and Emperor Yongzheng.
I wouldn't consider Zhen Huan a villain. She never actively harmed anyone. All she did was take revenge on those…
In my perspective, a villain is someone who initiates harm, or willingly sacrifices innocent people for revenge (like the ML in Goodbye My Princess).
I would say 80%-90% of things Zhen Huan did are actually self defense. She only retaliates after being repeatedly targeted. She’s reacting, not initiating. In that setting, not fighting back isn’t moral; it’s suicidal. She adapts because she has to survive, not because she wants power for its own sake. If anything, she’s closer to an anti-hero.
I should correct something. In the 'details' section it said the story was about a 'fictitious' general named…
I think it's because they confused Xue Rengui with folklore character Xue Pinggui. To be fair, Xue Rengui did also campaign west (Tibetan Empire), so it's easy to get them mixed up.
I just submitted an edit. Next time, please don’t hesitate to submit one yourself—the approval team is quite fast.
Unfortunately nothing has changed even after years and now it's worse with the ongoing genocide in Gaza
I literally know someone whose girlfriend's dad was put in a camp back in 2018 and never came home. Poor girl couldn't even openly talk about it on Wechat because everything was being censored. She had to say that her dad was "getting an education."
Nothing special, just another crappy c-drama made from a good manhua. when young actors and actresses with no…
Also missed opportunity to cast minority actors from Xinjiang, given that some of these characters are actually Central Asian (Gokturk, Tiele, and Tocharian). Opportunities for these actors are already limited due to their exotic looks, and roles that could fit them are often not written with them in mind or are cast elsewhere.
I have mixed feelings about this. It's beautifully shot, with historically accurate hairstyles and clothing, and raw, immersive scenery. Unfortunately, the pacing was painfully slow, like a documentary. It was really lacking in dialogue and music. Also didn't help that the film was dark and blurry. Every time a female character was surrounded or grabbed, I was worried that something really bad would happen, but thankfully it didn't.
Like another review on Douban said, "The screenplay was written very poetically. Unfortunately, the film failed to capture that quality."
After being super frustrated with Yinzhen (4th prince) in Zhen Huan (Empresses in the Palace), I need to rewatch this as eye bleach. But it's impossible to look at 4th prince's wife, lady Ulanara, the same way again (evil queen)...
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Btw, her maids represented different sides of her (Huan Bi was her dark side), and their lifespan symbolized her love for each ML (when she died, ZH's love for him died too).
There's also one fanmade video where a modern girl time-travels and uses all her knowledge from this drama to survive, and framed the Emperor as an imposter, so that her loyal General dad wouldn't fall into a trap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_2ayDaRqwk
POJ is also fantasy because there's no emperor in China with the surname Qi (齐).
The real anti-villains are Nian Shilan, An Lingrong, Ulanara Yixiu, and Emperor Yongzheng.
I would say 80%-90% of things Zhen Huan did are actually self defense. She only retaliates after being repeatedly targeted. She’s reacting, not initiating. In that setting, not fighting back isn’t moral; it’s suicidal. She adapts because she has to survive, not because she wants power for its own sake. If anything, she’s closer to an anti-hero.
I just submitted an edit. Next time, please don’t hesitate to submit one yourself—the approval team is quite fast.
(I hate YoYo TV for buying out the copyrights and forcing the Uyghur version to be taken down. YouTube used to have the full episodes back in 2017.)
Like another review on Douban said, "The screenplay was written very poetically. Unfortunately, the film failed to capture that quality."
Eng sub is pretty accurate, while chinese subs are kinda off