7
77
3
Well-acted, Mature and Political, the OG is worth a watch!
“Scarlet Heart” is a very mature, reserved and political drama. This is probably because it’s based on real people, real princes and emperors. You have to honor what actually happened and fill in the gap between each event with creative writing. We know the ending of each prince, but how do we get there?
“Scarlet Heart” brought together a cast of veterans and newcomers with top notch acting. Liu Shi Shi is great and beautiful (with no modern technology to smooth her skin). I like her character development. I can’t believe this is Kenny Lin’s first drama. I also remember crushing on Kevin Cheng when I was young and when he first started singing. I was quite surprised he’s so good here. I enjoy the casting choice. Oftentimes, a drama would cast a young idol and make me believe he’s charismatic and can lead an army. Not here. All the princes look like princes and not young boys. These are scheming princes fighting for the crown, I have to believe they are intelligent and mature enough, and I do believe.
The pacing of the drama is quite good. I was very entertained in the first half of the drama and time went by fast! I enjoy seeing the different relationships FL has formed with each prince, and supporting characters. It’s lovely to see strong platonic friendships, young loves, rivalries, mature and complicated romances. The second half of the drama becomes more serious and darker. When palace politics take center stage, personal relationships change and that’s fun (LOL) to see their demise. Unfortunately, I also think there’s a little too much crying in the last few episodes and the drama’s pace slows down big time.
I have to applaud iQiyi for having good quality video and audio for this 2011 drama. Afterall, I’m watching this 14 years later. Otherwise, I might end up disliking it. I love the traditional palace setting, the set designs, costumes, hairstyles, accessories and everything that helps me immerse myself in their stories.
What’s missing for me, is the chemistry between FL and Prince #4. Their relationship is where the majority of the angst happened. Their early romance is too controlled, reserved and on the down low with limited and short conversations, minimal and secretive touching. I was unable to feel the sizzling chemistry and longing for each other. By the time they were in an open relationship and all the bad things happened, I was not as moved as I should be. I also didn’t like Prince #4 very much before he’s king and less when he became king. Is this Nicky Wu’s acting problem or just how the writing is? On the other hand, despite a slow start with Prince #8 (I can’t tell when he fell in love), at least later on I could feel the longing, the desperate desire to be with FL. The romances are so different because they happened at 2 different stages of FL’s life. One is not better than the other.
I also have a hard time with the passage of time. This drama spans many years, and oftentimes I don’t know how much time has passed. Didn’t Prince #8 just cry over FL’s sister and now he’s professing his love with a gift? Didn’t FL just move in with her sister and still have months before going to the palace? All of a sudden and it’s time to pack up and go! Time passes by in a jiffy and she’s been a tea girl for 10 years?
Since this is an old drama, I just need to laugh off the crappy green screen, especially the fake lotus pond. The scenes with the lotus are just hilarious. What’s up with the dubbed-over singing that totally didn’t match with anything. Don’t forget the regular bad dubbing and the body-double horseback riding.
Overall, I have a surprisingly good time watching this classic and I’m glad the Clown wheel picked this drama as my bingo challenge. Otherwise, I would never have picked it and now it makes me want to watch “Moon Lovers” (which I avoided) and might even watch the Thai adaptation when it airs. “Scarlet Heart” has its flaws, but with an excellent cast, interesting palace politics, beautiful sets and costumes plus a lovely OST, it was time well spent.
Completed: 2/7/2025 - Review #540
“Scarlet Heart” brought together a cast of veterans and newcomers with top notch acting. Liu Shi Shi is great and beautiful (with no modern technology to smooth her skin). I like her character development. I can’t believe this is Kenny Lin’s first drama. I also remember crushing on Kevin Cheng when I was young and when he first started singing. I was quite surprised he’s so good here. I enjoy the casting choice. Oftentimes, a drama would cast a young idol and make me believe he’s charismatic and can lead an army. Not here. All the princes look like princes and not young boys. These are scheming princes fighting for the crown, I have to believe they are intelligent and mature enough, and I do believe.
The pacing of the drama is quite good. I was very entertained in the first half of the drama and time went by fast! I enjoy seeing the different relationships FL has formed with each prince, and supporting characters. It’s lovely to see strong platonic friendships, young loves, rivalries, mature and complicated romances. The second half of the drama becomes more serious and darker. When palace politics take center stage, personal relationships change and that’s fun (LOL) to see their demise. Unfortunately, I also think there’s a little too much crying in the last few episodes and the drama’s pace slows down big time.
I have to applaud iQiyi for having good quality video and audio for this 2011 drama. Afterall, I’m watching this 14 years later. Otherwise, I might end up disliking it. I love the traditional palace setting, the set designs, costumes, hairstyles, accessories and everything that helps me immerse myself in their stories.
What’s missing for me, is the chemistry between FL and Prince #4. Their relationship is where the majority of the angst happened. Their early romance is too controlled, reserved and on the down low with limited and short conversations, minimal and secretive touching. I was unable to feel the sizzling chemistry and longing for each other. By the time they were in an open relationship and all the bad things happened, I was not as moved as I should be. I also didn’t like Prince #4 very much before he’s king and less when he became king. Is this Nicky Wu’s acting problem or just how the writing is? On the other hand, despite a slow start with Prince #8 (I can’t tell when he fell in love), at least later on I could feel the longing, the desperate desire to be with FL. The romances are so different because they happened at 2 different stages of FL’s life. One is not better than the other.
I also have a hard time with the passage of time. This drama spans many years, and oftentimes I don’t know how much time has passed. Didn’t Prince #8 just cry over FL’s sister and now he’s professing his love with a gift? Didn’t FL just move in with her sister and still have months before going to the palace? All of a sudden and it’s time to pack up and go! Time passes by in a jiffy and she’s been a tea girl for 10 years?
Since this is an old drama, I just need to laugh off the crappy green screen, especially the fake lotus pond. The scenes with the lotus are just hilarious. What’s up with the dubbed-over singing that totally didn’t match with anything. Don’t forget the regular bad dubbing and the body-double horseback riding.
Overall, I have a surprisingly good time watching this classic and I’m glad the Clown wheel picked this drama as my bingo challenge. Otherwise, I would never have picked it and now it makes me want to watch “Moon Lovers” (which I avoided) and might even watch the Thai adaptation when it airs. “Scarlet Heart” has its flaws, but with an excellent cast, interesting palace politics, beautiful sets and costumes plus a lovely OST, it was time well spent.
Completed: 2/7/2025 - Review #540
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