WandereR:
I had a peek of eps 36-42 (on WeTV it's updated to ep 42, I didn't search for the raw on Duboku). In every scene involving MY, she has the same look. In fact, I think her expressions are mono-dimensional. I think she has difficulty projecting expressions of sympathy and kindness - it just comes across as...fake.
I see.
I will reserve my opinion regarding acting until the end of the drama. But, I agree with you. Ming Yu is one-dimensional character. I don't know whether it is the fault of script or acting. Her expression throughout the drama was the same. Whether she was with Cheng Xu, the King, her son. The nuances were all the same. It was that bad until I could no longer say for certain that she loved Cheng Xu still. She cried when the emperor treated her badly (which actually because she asked for it in a way) and then she also cried when hurting Cheng Xu. Two-faced woman.
Her life seemed to be without any spark of desire before she became a mother. She seemed content with her life. No Cheng Xu, have the emperor favor, and just made sure Cheng Xu alive (I don't think she ever care whether Cheng Xu happy or not). And then Qi Yuan came about. Everything changed. She became this dull woman who could think anything else but her son. I know woman tendency to favor her children. But Ming Yu took it a step higher. She would do everything, even white washed her son fault, just to make sure her son could go punishment-free. It was like she chose to be blind to any Qi Yuan fault and put all the responsibility on someone else.
As it was, her character is boring. No complexity. Her purpose is only being a holier than thou woman in the harem and then holier than thou empress dowager. As if she is the most wise human being in the drama. Everybody should just listen to her and bow to her every whim. Nothing that could make us rooting for her.