Becky
North Pole
This review may contain spoilers
Victory belongs to the brave and heartless
... and because he was brave but too much heart, he was destined to fail just like his brothers had predicted. Yet those who supported him either refused or couldn't see that he did not have what it takes to accomplish the objective of becoming king. And that is the tragedy in Royal Nirvana Special.
The excellent cinematography and stellar acting continues in this last installment of Royal Nirvana. Zheng Yecheng's surprising turn towards the dark side was an absorbing watch-- not just because he acted well, but I've never him in a negative role before. The greatest character development in the story is Gu Feng'en (Zheng Yecheng's character)-- how he went from a playful and protective man, with dreams of becoming a scholar and serving in court, to a seasoned general, bitter with the sacrifices made by his family and disillusioned with the regime.
The script and dialogues however... Although I am glad for the more factual and less angsty storytelling, the dialogues lack the elegance in Royal Nirvana. The flow is also a bit odd-- for eps 1 to 10 the story develops in a steady and factual manner, then it suddenly went into angst in eps 11 and 12. I appreciate the change in screenwriter, else I wouldn't have been able to finish this 12 eps in 2 days (the original screenwriter would probably have made this very angsty). But at the same time, somehow Royal Nirvana Special is not as gripping as Royal Nirvana. This is just my pov, as I see a lot like this as well as RN, but I prefer RN to the Special. Because the scenes of Zhang Shao Yun and the Emperor, felt unnecessary other then to add more emotional tragedy to the ending. And this is something that did not happen in the script in RN, every scene was just as it was required, nothing extra or unnecessary was added.
I'm left wondering if anything would have made a difference at the end? If the Emperor was less stubborn and could have talked to Xiao Dingquan much earlier, or if Lu Wenxi could have been more persistent to talk him out of suicide? When he removed the hairpiece, she had reacted as if to take it back, and the way she insisted to inform Xiao Dingquan of her pregnancy even when he wasn't interested. But she was aware of his decision, and ultimately chose to support him. I guess the pain and senseless deaths at Changzhou was the last straw for him, at which point he had given up on the throne and on himself.
The excellent cinematography and stellar acting continues in this last installment of Royal Nirvana. Zheng Yecheng's surprising turn towards the dark side was an absorbing watch-- not just because he acted well, but I've never him in a negative role before. The greatest character development in the story is Gu Feng'en (Zheng Yecheng's character)-- how he went from a playful and protective man, with dreams of becoming a scholar and serving in court, to a seasoned general, bitter with the sacrifices made by his family and disillusioned with the regime.
The script and dialogues however... Although I am glad for the more factual and less angsty storytelling, the dialogues lack the elegance in Royal Nirvana. The flow is also a bit odd-- for eps 1 to 10 the story develops in a steady and factual manner, then it suddenly went into angst in eps 11 and 12. I appreciate the change in screenwriter, else I wouldn't have been able to finish this 12 eps in 2 days (the original screenwriter would probably have made this very angsty). But at the same time, somehow Royal Nirvana Special is not as gripping as Royal Nirvana. This is just my pov, as I see a lot like this as well as RN, but I prefer RN to the Special. Because the scenes of Zhang Shao Yun and the Emperor, felt unnecessary other then to add more emotional tragedy to the ending. And this is something that did not happen in the script in RN, every scene was just as it was required, nothing extra or unnecessary was added.
I'm left wondering if anything would have made a difference at the end? If the Emperor was less stubborn and could have talked to Xiao Dingquan much earlier, or if Lu Wenxi could have been more persistent to talk him out of suicide? When he removed the hairpiece, she had reacted as if to take it back, and the way she insisted to inform Xiao Dingquan of her pregnancy even when he wasn't interested. But she was aware of his decision, and ultimately chose to support him. I guess the pain and senseless deaths at Changzhou was the last straw for him, at which point he had given up on the throne and on himself.
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