im wondering was it successful in China during its airing?
LOL
I just did a Rewatch and came to post .. Have a look at the posts I made today on WHY it didnt garner as much acclaim and awards .. and my two but thoughts on that
Did the crowned prince just finally figured out her real identity in ep53?? DAMN!! I always thought he knew and…
After MY second watch it struck me even more potently : THE BEAUTY of this romantic tale and the way it was directed and acted.
The 'falling in love' with the 'same person' .. His SLOW and inevitabe falling in love with Gu-Neiran is SO CLEAR. It begins as a tiny ripple, of catching her eyes at his wedding, and then more and more ripples and waves after that .. harsh ones, gentle ones .. Nianzhi KNOWS her husband SO well .. Maid Chen KNOWS and is eaten up with jealousy .. Soon the other Maids know Even 5th Prince knows that the CP has feelz for her, and the whole story has to be seen with the 'Song Period' lens on - an era of Imperial China that had certain structures and codes.
LOL No .. he is not "playing stupid" .. he does not genuinely connect (maid) Gu-Neiran with the elegant (Lady) "Lu Guniya" .. how would it EVEN be possible for him the Crown Prince. NOT until Ep 53 do things begin to connect for him .. That leads to his CRUSHING depression and self hate and pain at how he had spoken to and treated her - each memory of his actions that HURT her are like floggings for him, lashes to his heart. And you will realize that even in the Special 12 eps he is almost swayed into thinking that it's NOT Lu Guniya (5th prince designs to confuse him) BUT says : it doesnt matter .. THIS WOMAN is the one he LOVES.
I don't know if you remember the scene (in the Special) where during his 'confused state about her being Lu Gunya' (thanks to 5th Prince) he holds up his translucent sleeve and covers her face trying to remember how she had looked that first time at the Yamen Guard Prison where she was veiled .. he tried to match the contours of her face and remember the curves of her body as he saw her at Teacher Lu Shiyu's home.
JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights .. I HAD to work my way through…
I was curious to know what impact it had in the AWARD and critical acclaim circuit : and that's when I looked for an AI overview of WHY it FAILED to garner much.
WHAT AI summarized : My query was :What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama,…
I get this : the motivations that drive awards
And then I think when Award are based ONLY on these OVERT categories some TRUE GEMS fall away into oblivion.
Has me wondering HOW would the SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDIES have fared under such criteria LOL
THINK: - HAMLET - MACBETH - OTHELLO - KING LEAR
The Classic QUAD that is EVEN to this day studied and analysed LOL
It would FAIL for - being "weak and masochistic" - lacking "a triumphant spirit" - for "characters that spend time weeping, kneeling, begging" - for 'crushed and humiliated' leads
If any English Lit student is here .. who had ANY of the ABOVE as their high school syllabus would understand how and why this Drama is SO TOP OF the LINE and IMO amongst the MOST CINEMATIC and LITERARY of PERIOD Chinese Dramas
And that is talking about JUST the characters and story arc
JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights .. I HAD to work my way through…
BUT .. WHOA it was STILL EPIC
Even MORE EPIC in the second round.
SO much of the machinations fell into place .. could finally understand causes, motivations, chain of actions, thought processes EVEN much of the PLOT points.
It's like in FIRST round, I gobbled down a delish dish when I was hungry and missed SO MUCH .. then another day, on my SECOND round, I decided to savour it and pick out ALL the smells, tastes, textures and the look of it.
JUST BINGE WATCHED my SECOND round through the 60+12 eps over 5 days and nights ..
I HAD to work my way through : TERRIBLE subbing
Ok not as bad as YouTube machine translations; but this drama deserved Viki / Netflix (even more Pro) level of subbing.
It was ripe with poetry, innuendo, between the lines conversations. Besides, the fact that many of the 'texts in letters - memorials' etc were on screen but NOT translated. (I had to flick out my Google Translate and it was like an idiot. SIGH! I guess it's NOT easy to Translate Mandarin).
Then there were the BLANKS .. NO SUBS in crucial scenes when you want to hang on to each word.
What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama, for example Magnolia or Eagle?
Royal Nirvana faced a "perfect storm" of obstacles that kept it from winning the top-tier government awards (like the Flying Apsaras or Magnolia Best Drama) that Nirvana in Fire swept.
While visually stunning and well-acted, it fell short of "legendary" status for four key reasons:
1. The "Suffering" Factor (Tone vs. Preference)Major Chinese awards, particularly the government-backed Flying Apsaras, heavily favor dramas with "positive energy" (正能量), constructive values, or inspiring heroes.
The Mismatch: Royal Nirvana is famously bleak. It is a tragedy about a hero who tries to be moral but is repeatedly crushed, humiliated, and traumatized by his father.
The Consequence: This "depressing" tone can be viewed by conservative jury panels as "too dark" or lacking the triumphant spirit usually rewarded in top national accolades.
Unlike Mei Changsu, who suffers but wins, Xiao Dingquan suffers and loses.
2. "The Crying Prince" Controversy The reception of the protagonist, Xiao Dingquan, was divisive.
Audience Split: While Luo Jin’s acting was praised, the character spent a significant portion of the series weeping, kneeling, or begging. This earned him the nickname "The Crying Prince" (哭包太子) among netizens.I
Impact: A protagonist who appears "weak" or "masochistic" (even if historically realistic or psychologically complex) often lacks the broad mainstream appeal needed to secure a "Best Actor" or "Best Drama" win against more dominant, clever heroes.
3. A Year of Titans (The Competition) The drama aired in late 2019 and competed in the 2020 awards cycle, which was one of the most competitive years in recent history. It was overshadowed by massive hits that had both critical acclaim and mass appeal:
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
Did you watch the 12 eps?
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you
I just did a REWATCH ;-p
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you - after I read your reaction
I just did a REWATCH ;-p
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you
I am fresh from a 5 day rewatch Binge of the 60+12 eps
Left "some" ;-p comments today also
I just did a Rewatch and came to post .. Have a look at the posts I made today on WHY it didnt garner as much acclaim and awards .. and my two but thoughts on that
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
I hadnt see your comment till now
Did you also watch the 12 eps?
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you
Scrolling to recall who all I chatted with ha ha
Did you watch the 12 eps?
I left some comments today thought I'll ping you
I can give a longer one with more analysis of scenes and dialogues LOL
I JUST finished my SECOND run BINGE MODE over 5 days ..
I just made some new comments after my rewatch .. I think this drama has a special place for you too?
The 'falling in love' with the 'same person' .. His SLOW and inevitabe falling in love with Gu-Neiran is SO CLEAR.
It begins as a tiny ripple, of catching her eyes at his wedding, and then more and more ripples and waves after that .. harsh ones, gentle ones ..
Nianzhi KNOWS her husband SO well ..
Maid Chen KNOWS and is eaten up with jealousy .. Soon the other Maids know
Even 5th Prince knows that the CP has feelz for her, and the whole story has to be seen with the 'Song Period' lens on - an era of Imperial China that had certain structures and codes.
LOL No .. he is not "playing stupid" .. he does not genuinely connect (maid) Gu-Neiran with the elegant (Lady) "Lu Guniya" .. how would it EVEN be possible for him the Crown Prince.
NOT until Ep 53 do things begin to connect for him .. That leads to his CRUSHING depression and self hate and pain at how he had spoken to and treated her - each memory of his actions that HURT her are like floggings for him, lashes to his heart.
And you will realize that even in the Special 12 eps he is almost swayed into thinking that it's NOT Lu Guniya (5th prince designs to confuse him) BUT says : it doesnt matter .. THIS WOMAN is the one he LOVES.
I don't know if you remember the scene (in the Special) where during his 'confused state about her being Lu Gunya' (thanks to 5th Prince) he holds up his translucent sleeve and covers her face trying to remember how she had looked that first time at the Yamen Guard Prison where she was veiled .. he tried to match the contours of her face and remember the curves of her body as he saw her at Teacher Lu Shiyu's home.
Have a look at the posts and comments I posted just now ;-p
Have a look at the posts and comments I posted just now ;-p
Have a look at the posts and comments I posted just now ;-p
I've copy pasted the response ..
And then I think when Award are based ONLY on these OVERT categories some TRUE GEMS fall away into oblivion.
Has me wondering HOW would the SHAKESPEAREAN TRAGEDIES have fared under such criteria LOL
THINK:
- HAMLET
- MACBETH
- OTHELLO
- KING LEAR
The Classic QUAD that is EVEN to this day studied and analysed LOL
It would FAIL for
- being "weak and masochistic"
- lacking "a triumphant spirit"
- for "characters that spend time weeping, kneeling, begging"
- for 'crushed and humiliated' leads
If any English Lit student is here .. who had ANY of the ABOVE as their high school syllabus would understand how and why this Drama is SO TOP OF the LINE and IMO amongst the MOST CINEMATIC and LITERARY of PERIOD Chinese Dramas
And that is talking about JUST the characters and story arc
Even MORE EPIC in the second round.
SO much of the machinations fell into place .. could finally understand causes, motivations, chain of actions, thought processes EVEN much of the PLOT points.
It's like in FIRST round, I gobbled down a delish dish when I was hungry and missed SO MUCH .. then another day, on my SECOND round, I decided to savour it and pick out ALL the smells, tastes, textures and the look of it.
I HAD to work my way through : TERRIBLE subbing
Ok not as bad as YouTube machine translations; but this drama deserved Viki / Netflix (even more Pro) level of subbing.
It was ripe with poetry, innuendo, between the lines conversations.
Besides, the fact that many of the 'texts in letters - memorials' etc were on screen but NOT translated. (I had to flick out my Google Translate and it was like an idiot. SIGH! I guess it's NOT easy to Translate Mandarin).
Then there were the BLANKS .. NO SUBS in crucial scenes when you want to hang on to each word.
What might have led to the lack of HIGHLY prestigious awards for this drama, for example Magnolia or Eagle?
Royal Nirvana faced a "perfect storm" of obstacles that kept it from winning the top-tier government awards (like the Flying Apsaras or Magnolia Best Drama) that Nirvana in Fire swept.
While visually stunning and well-acted, it fell short of "legendary" status for four key reasons:
1. The "Suffering" Factor (Tone vs. Preference)Major Chinese awards, particularly the government-backed Flying Apsaras, heavily favor dramas with "positive energy" (正能量), constructive values, or inspiring heroes.
The Mismatch: Royal Nirvana is famously bleak. It is a tragedy about a hero who tries to be moral but is repeatedly crushed, humiliated, and traumatized by his father.
The Consequence: This "depressing" tone can be viewed by conservative jury panels as "too dark" or lacking the triumphant spirit usually rewarded in top national accolades.
Unlike Mei Changsu, who suffers but wins, Xiao Dingquan suffers and loses.
2. "The Crying Prince" Controversy
The reception of the protagonist, Xiao Dingquan, was divisive.
Audience Split: While Luo Jin’s acting was praised, the character spent a significant portion of the series weeping, kneeling, or begging.
This earned him the nickname "The Crying Prince" (哭包太子) among netizens.I
Impact: A protagonist who appears "weak" or "masochistic" (even if historically realistic or psychologically complex) often lacks the broad mainstream appeal needed to secure a "Best Actor" or "Best Drama" win against more dominant, clever heroes.
3. A Year of Titans (The Competition)
The drama aired in late 2019 and competed in the 2020 awards cycle, which was one of the most competitive years in recent history.
It was overshadowed by massive hits that had both critical acclaim and mass appeal:
- Joy of Life
- The Longest Day in Chang'an