This review may contain spoilers
Ruyi's Royal Love In The Palace's not about fighting in the harem, not about being on the top, having powers. It's about Ruyi's and Hong Li's love. From flames to dust, from a beautiful rose to that of a withered one. People might not get why wouldn't Ruyi fight and kill all of those who have done her wrong. It's not because she couldn't but she doesn't want to. She, from the start of the drama until the end, her heart and endurance are all because of her most beloved Hong Li (Emperor Qian Long).
Hong Li said that she's the one who changed after she cut off a strand of her hair. But no, Ruyi has never changed. Right from the beginning until her very last breath, she's still being that Ruyi who loves Hong Li wholeheartedly.
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This review may contain spoilers
With palace dramas like this and Zhen Huan - fights between concubine are expected to happen. Initially the drama went off well with good amount of conflict and revenge between the concubines. In summary - this is a heavier drama compared to Story of Yanxi and Zhen Huan. Firstly - the negatives
1) The drama was intended to be about the romance between the leads, but there was still an emphasis on the inner court drama. The 'fights' progressively became repetitive and realistically you would expect the main to 'do something' in return for the tactics against her. But every time it kind of became a pity party and the 'innocence' became stubborn and unrealistic.
2) Although I really applaud the performance of Zhou Xun, unfortunately Wallace Huo was not on par with her level. It could be that he doesn't suit the character of Hongli/Qianlong because historically he is an emperor with great achievements and Huo did not portray this well. His chemistry with Zhou Xun was compatible during their 'younger years' in the drama but seem to be overpowered as the story progresses. I also watched Story of Yanxi prior to this so there was definite some comparisons (in my mind) between the actors.
Now - the positives
Again, the spectacular performance of Zhou Xun - she is really the representative of chinese actresses. I feel that for her poorly written characters she is the reason i gave this drama a 8/10. Furthermore, costumes and music was visually and auditory pleasing.
My favourite scene (SPOILER) - the last episode when Hailan brought in the series of fabric flags (?) that Ruyi handmade, with the names of all the people Wei YanWan had harmed, in the emperor's room. It was a very powerful scene and as a viewer you can feel the amount of anger and regret Ruyi has accumulated from WYW's act without her appearance.
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This review may contain spoilers
This is the most well-made Qing Dynasty drama ever and also perhaps... the most well-made historical Chinese drama. Everything is just perfect. From the acting to the writing of the characters to the music and the cinematography to the chemistry between the actors. Almost every actor in this show is an A-lister or B-list star. Amazing acting
I know some people feel Wallace was overpowered by Zhou Xun but I didn't feel it. I felt the chemistry was just right. This is not a story about underdogs always beating evil villains. For a good part of the story, the villains win.
But it's really about love and the relationship between Ruyi and Hongli and how that relationship evolved over time from their youth to their deaths.
It's also about power and how the desire for power corrupts. And the insecurities of the women in the harem. I felt this show really illustrated the different motivations of women and men in the harem and the palace. Whom do they serve? Why do they serve these people? Out of fear? Out of love? Out of blind trust and loyalty?
It's just a beautifully made show.
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The absurbness in the reasons and excuses to get the story twisted to fit historical fact became very lame and at some instances really portraits the immaturity of the writer.
Maybe the title should be change to "The Not so Legend of Ruyi".
On the good side... the costumes are nice. The acting are not too bad especially the main lead actress. She has the charisma and coolness of an empress.
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It starts off full of energy as Ruyi marries into the palace. Then it sort of slow down to a more majestic pace. With 87 episodes, they don’t need to rush anything. They can take their time and set up some really complicated plots with payoffs.
While this is a romance at the heart of the story, it’s very subtle sometimes. Simmering, battered, suffering and dormant sometimes. It’s hard to cheer on a romance where the guy is constantly picking up new women and believing their evil schemes. Sigh.
So this is enjoyable, but way too indulgent for me. I started skipping around a bit since it could have been edited a bit.
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