Qing Jin Zhi (2025)

2nd Dumpster Fire of 2025 but a much Cheaper One

I solely wanted to watch and support WRC, because he's so talented that he deserves great roles and I haven't seen anything of his in a while. I didn't know what I was expecting other than I knew it was a low budget, but I'd never thought it would be a disaster of this proportion. This is literally the second dumpster fire of 2025 but a much cheaper one.

The only pro is WRC's acting and sword skills and the some version of a small bromance between him and the SML. Even that seemed very wishy-washy and very haphazard. There were some times when I really liked how they worked together, and you could totally tell that they were having some sort of secret plans that they never told anyone. Some of the costumes looked either burrowed or decent.

Literally, this thing had no other redeeming qualities. The ear bleeding sound and editing from someone who took a ton of drugs was horrendous. The music would sometimes drown out whole speeches and conversations and dialogues. The sound would cut in cut off without any warning. The FL though surprisingly in real life older than the ML acted 12. Their romance came completely out of the blue. It was not forced down our throats, but it was never explained either. ML as the emperor and the woman who played his mother are practically maybe 10 years apart and it's obvious and it's cringe. The constant runaround with the fake princess from a previous dynasty was such a moronic thing; just kill her and get it over with. The dude with the white hair that eventually became good though he started morally gray kind of antagonistic was just shallow, but I like him a lot better than her. She was just beyond saving and a crappy villain.

The amount of loopholes and plot holes was staggering. The storyline was a complete disaster did not make any sense. It's sort of started to come together toward the end, but you still didn't quite understand what the point of most of it was. The ministers for the emperor were just a bunch of whiny crybabies just like his royal uncle who I just wanted to hit with a bat so many times. Costumes were too big for all the guards. Everything looked cheap. I feel so bad for WRC and hope he gets better roles in the future.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely not if you value your sanity look at his other works everyone else in there are either new or they picked them up off the street I have no idea who any of them are.

Leia Mais

Forcibly straightened by Chinese censorship.

The story had humongous potential if not for being made into a straight romance. The music were loud and I couldn't clearly hear the dialogue but I made do with it. The cast were good, and the plot could be a solid 100/100 if they followed the original story. Chinese censorship yes, but if they flexibly carried out the interaction between the FL and the ML, I wouldn't have had any issues. However, up until episode 6, there was chemistry between the ML and the FL's brother but then BOOM! somehow the FL entered in-between them while she was hinted to being together with the ML's uncle. That doesn't make sense. Abruptly damaging the plot seemed stupid to me.
I am merely writing this review out of pure spite towards the drama team for forcibly turning the story into straight when it's clearly a BL. For those wondering why I hate it so much, the team could've easily passed censorship like The Word of Honor or The Untamed or other BLs if they stayed true to the BL plot-line while only leaving subtle hints. I would be more than happy to lick off the table even if I saw those subtle hints because that at least would mean they stayed true to the story. Next thing. if they had skillfully carried out the tweaks, the attraction between the ML and FL would seem natural but since they had forcibly tried to make them end up with each other, it feels so unnatural.
Caution: These are all just personal opinions. Attacking isn't intended to anyone. If anything at all, they are mere rambles and some advice in areas which could use some intervention, if anyone even cares. Still, the drama was somewhat passable.

Leia Mais

A Prime Minister’s Disguise: Political Intrigue? More Like Plot Confusion with Bonus Ear Damage

So… I came in expecting politics, strategy, and a prime minister playing 4D chess in the palace. Instead, I got sound assaults, random romance, and a title character who barely got to be the prime minister. Honestly, this drama feels like someone wrote five different stories and then shuffled them together blindfolded.

Characters: So Much Setup, So Little Payoff

Let’s start with Yue Chi, third lead despite the drama is named after him. Half the time it felt like he was a side character in his own story. He started off with brains, guts, and a real goal—to protect his sister and investigate the emperor’s intentions. And then… he just kind of stood around looking suspicious while other people took the spotlight. No schemes, no major wins, just vibes and occasional sword fights.

Consort Yue had such promise. She came in smart, manipulative, politically sharp—basically a power player. I really thought she was being set up to become an empress who’d manage the inner court while Yue Chi and the emperor handled state affairs. But she got nerfed hard. By the end, it was like she forgot how politics even work. Suddenly she’s just a love interest, constantly misreading everyone around her. Waste.

The emperor was decent in the beginning—righteous, thoughtful, wanted to build a better dynasty. But then his judgment started slipping anytime Consort Yue was involved. Like, seriously? He kept saying he wanted peace and a strong court, but he keep letting villaina dn bad people go, because he was supposed to be benevolence ruler.

Imperial Family: Actually Refreshing, Then… Not

One of the only things that felt a bit fresh at first was the imperial family dynamic. The Empress Dowager was introduced as a clever and strategic woman, someone who genuinely cared about the country. I thought she’d be the classic wise older figure guiding the emperor. But nope. She quickly got reduced to just another mother pushing her son to fall for Consort Yue, ignoring the bigger political picture. Why build her up as intelligent if you’re just going to turn her into a soft-focus background mom?

Then there’s the imperial uncle, who holds the title of Left Prime Minister but literally does nothing. Like, what’s his job again? Because when Yue Chi gets dismissed, suddenly the emperor is off near the military camps and the uncle is… hanging out in the woods with Consort Yue?? So who's running the actual government? Eunuch Gui?? At this point I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if the court was managed by the set decorators.

Adaptation Mayhem: From BL to Bromance to "Huh?"

Knowing this was originally based on a BL novel, I was fine with them adjusting things for broadcast. But what we got instead was just a confusing downgrade. They couldn’t commit to bromance, so they shoved in a romance that had no buildup or logic. The chemistry was off, and the relationships didn’t feel earned. It was like the scriptwriters were too scared to lean into anything real.

Sound Mixing: A War on My Ears

I genuinely thought my headphones were broken a few times. Two different background audios would play at the same time—like bustling market noise during a serious palace scene. Emotional dialogue? Drowned out by blaring music. It felt like the sound editor was doing karaoke with the volume cranked up. It pulled me out of the moment every single time.

Final Thoughts: Where Did the Plot Go?

This drama had all the ingredients to be a tight political thriller with strong characters and emotional depth. Instead, it ended up a disjointed mess. Weak writing, wasted character arcs, sound issues galore, and no one actually doing the jobs their titles said they should be doing.

Even the title is misleading—“A Prime Minister’s Disguise” sounds like it’s about power, espionage, and clever moves. But Yue Chi barely got to lead, let alone plot. The story ran off in five directions, and not one of them really worked out.

And honestly, the story got dumber as it went on—and so did I for still watching it to the end.

Watch it if you’re a fan of the cast or enjoy yelling “what is happening??” at your screen. Otherwise, save yourself the confusion and the hearing damage.

Leia Mais

Get rid of Jiang Yunqing early doors!

24 episodes approximately 40 mins each.

The first 16 episodes I thought this was going to be a strong 8 because it was fantastic. Funny, not too much political intrigue and an excellent story. I really liked the Emperor and he had some gravitas for the role he was playing. He was smart, righteous and a real benevolent leader.

Even 20 episodes in I was still thinking this could be around about 4 rating.

Then it became a complete and utter shambles.

I can forgive you for billing it as a romance when the love interests barely have any screen time together when it’s actually more of a bromance drama, I can even probably forgive the terrible production, including the loud music which drowned out the dialogue at times.

But what I can’t forgive is constantly letting the villains off because you want peace but EVERY… SINGLE… TIME…. They go back to plotting and scheming how to kill everybody.

And what were we left with? Most of their friends and families got killed by the end episode war and even Yue Chi just stood there while the fake princess stabbed him and tried to blow everything up.

She was then allowed to just jump off the building to her death and that was that…… hmmm!

The white haired prince then turns around to our hero and says, “actually we are the same and have the same goals. I’m good now and will look after my people.”

Okay dokey then. Sigh!

It ended up being a complete farce and became really unwatchable.

Leia Mais

Anticipated It, Endured It, Dropped It—No Hard Feelings Though

I’m officially dropping this drama—and not even with tears, just a sigh and a “what could’ve been.” First of all, this was literally based on a BL novel, but then poof—female lead magically appears for the sake of censorship. I get it, but still... why does it feel like she was copy-pasted in with no chemistry and even less plot?

Also, can we talk about the background music? It's not just loud, it’s concert-level loud. I needed subtitles just to figure out who was talking because I swear the violins were arguing louder than the characters.

I didn’t even watch the trailer—just read the synopsis and thought, “Yes! This might be it!” And it was it… for like the first 3 episodes. I was blushing, excited, totally hooked. Then the vibes left, the plot wandered off, and now I’m here writing this like a jilted fan.

No hate if you liked it though! This is just my opinion. Please don’t throw digital tomatoes. 😅

Leia Mais