Under-rated drama series
The story has not been boring but fairly entertaining and has a fair number of twists. I have aborted many dramas in past several months. I had watched Season 1, and Season 2 has been equally entertaining so far. I have rarely watched beyond 10 episodes this year. The change in scenery, from palace court, is a welcome change to the story. I enjoy watching Liu Li's uncanny intelligence to escape tricky moments. It's undeniable Liu Li is the star of this series. She remains a beauty who is worth looking for many moments.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Plot is more exciting and overall is an improvement from season 1
It's passable. There are some very good plot scenes+acting, especially the three cases that I re-watched a few times now; cattle thief, tear of the Buddha statue and the grain weigh. My all time favorite Judge Bao comes to mind during these cases. Oh, the memory. Conversely there are some questionable plots. In the end it sort of balances out but there are also some plot holes, which can also be ignored. If you don't like female scheming (I don't) the best part of the plot will pick up when they travel to Xizhou and in Xizhou. The clothes and props are simply dazzling, very unique to that time period and place. Kudos for the production team. Forewarn, the later 1/3 of the drama has many time leap. I dislike this a lot and I think may have something to do with trimming the drama from the initial 40 episodes to 37. Although that may not be it. Still don't like it. It's very lazy work, if you ask me. I think the earlier episodes can be cut to an episode or two to give room to play for the rest of the drama. Also, spoiler alert, expect no grand battle scenes. The white filter really bothers me at the beginning but someone must have some senses and darken near the end making it more comfortable for older people like me to watch. Overall it is watchable. It's better than the first part for sure. I will rewatch my favorites scenes.I will only evaluate Xu Weizhou as I follow this drama because of him. His acting improved drastically within one year since filming the first part (late 2020), also his first in costume drama. This second season was filmed two years ago, from Sept-Nov 2021. I want to applaud Xu Weizhou for his amazing portrayal and shaping of Pei Xingjian, a real early Tang Dynasty historical figure. I finally found the taste of ancient scholarly flair I loved so much as a child watching Chinese costume dramas through his performance. He doesn't look or feel like a modern person cosplaying in ancient China. Xu Weizhou's Pei Xingjian has the right etiquette, mannerism that fits his status of a highly educated noble man. He is gentle, elegant, scholarly yet firm and sharp in his actions in his belief for his country and family. The real Pei Xingjian was prolific and renowned in both civil and military exploits (a feat not many historical figure achieved) and Xu Weizhou's Pei Xingjian exude this unique charm. It's a pity that this drama cuts a lot of the novel's best highlights of Pei Xingjian's civil and military contribution and his influence in Xizhou. It even downplay it somewhat. But, what's in the cracks still shines. That shining ray of light is his microexpression. It is exceptional. Very delicate and particularly piercing during fight scenes. As a person who grew up watching martial arts films, it's just beautiful. Although these fight scenes would be even more awesome if the cut is wide shot instead frame rate. It's also a pity that the original voice was not used. I saw some behind the scenes of Xu Weizhou's original voice and it is much better than the dubbed. Oh, well. Finally, congratulations, Xu Weizhou! Well done. Pei Xingjian is a very charming and unique ancient character I haven't seen for a long while now. I look forward to more interesting roles Xu Weizhou will bring to the audience.
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This review may contain spoilers
he princess's intrigues
I watched 5 episodes. I couldn't stand it. It is about a princess dealing with the character called Liu Li. It is based on how they will separate her from her husband, how they will disgrace her, how they will accuse her of a crime and pin it on her. It's a series that gets passed over by watching the same things over and over again. I respect their fans. Some people like it very much. Some people don't like it. I did not like. It is not nice, it is wrong, for someone to constantly try to do harm to another and for this reason to use women whose identities I do not know. What right this princess has to do this is another mystery. It's as if he rules that city, those people. Supposedly there is a king. Our hero Liu Li's husband, Pei Xing Jian, is the Judge of their city.I think they are planning to bring a woman similar to Xing Jian's ex-wife, anger his new wife, and break them up. Female maid. She doesn't act like a maid, she acts like a woman hitting on the Judge. His wife, Liu Li, is also watching. If that woman is a maid, why doesn't she give her additional work and prevent her from taking care of her husband? Make you clean toilets all day long. Mop the floor. See when she can spare time for your husband. Or pull your ear, scold, punish. No sir. Is watching. If anyone has a clue as to why he did that, let me know.
In the second incident, they provoke Liu Li's sister against Liu Li. But they fail. Thereupon, Her Majesty the Princess punishes that brother by beating him to death and bringing him to Liu Li's house and leaving him. He was supposed to die there. The blame was left to him. It was very simple. But Judge Pei found a doctor and realized that the sister had been beaten and seriously injured. They even made her drink ginseng soup so that this would not be noticed and gave her medicine so that she could not speak. The sister only points out that the woman who brought him made him like this. Their father is also there. After all, this woman dies.
Here's the interesting thing: They make this woman like this and leave her there. The woman next to them is the culprit. The judge, his sister and his father do nothing against that person. They look like that. Will I forgive those who beat my daughter to death? Can't I say two words? I won't attack. No. They do not attack. They don't say anything. The husband, on the other hand, is supposedly a JUDGE and is not involved in the incident in any way. So you attempted to kill this woman. Let's take a statement from you. You come and see. You take him to a room and lock him. Then you call the security team and have them questioned. These are not happening. And this Judge is someone who can meet with the Big King. So he is not an ordinary personality. This being the case, how can we stand by and watch a person die in plain sight?
Who is this Princess that kills people? He's troubling some people. He gets rid of what he wants. He takes with him what he wants. He questions or performs actions such as rewards and punishments. He interferes in your affairs. With what right can this Princess do this when the King does not? Why not file a complaint? Deaths are tolerated. The treacherous approaches are ignored. I did not understand. I didn't want to understand either. It's a shame to put effort into a series like this. I started watching because of Gülnezer. She is very beautiful and a very good actress. But unfortunately, it was launched here with a model-like presentation. His acting was left to his sophomore year. Timmy Xiu is all about appearance. It's accompanying. His role is very low. The main character we can call the main character is Zhu Rui, who plays the role of the Princess. In the episodes I watched, they constantly focused on him as if he were the leading character and we watched his intrigues. He played his role well. Let's say that role suits him. But the topic is shallow. It has been turned into a game between a single princess and Liu Li and Pei, whom she wants to separate from each other. Simplified. It could have been much better. The fact that the events happened this way and were kept far from believability is another matter. Because there is no justice. Anyone can do as they wish. People are being deceived. He is being killed. The person doing it is obvious, but everyone is watching. There is no atmosphere of trust. That country also has rulers. They have kings. They stare without doing anything. Do you think it's normal? How many episodes is this series? Will we continue to watch this game until the end? In the end, will that princess get away with what she did, or will she be punished? Why should we wait for the end? I don't think it happened. I found it wrong. I won't watch.
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