lilmeow

This little show is a surprisingly good watch. It engaged me a lot more than most other shows of this length. Even with the shorter runtime, it manages to tell a fairly complete story and build up characters I care about without being too disjointed.

I rather like the FL. Forced into the position of emperor, she is at first is a bit uncertain and out of place. But actually she has quite a backbone and a good heart too. I think this character is built up well to make me empathize with her, understand where she’s coming from, and then feel really proud of her when she pulls something off. Some of her actions made me actually clap out loud for her.

Partway through, the FL makes a somewhat abrupt transition to being assertive, badass, and the head of her own schemes. The dynamic after this is still fun to watch and I still clapped for her, but it made me less gleeful than the underdog feel of the first part.

The ML is one of those typical MLs who seems ruthless and cruel but is actually a good person underneath. It’s not that unique but he does it as well as any. Supposedly he has done actual bad things in the past, but we don’t get any specifics. He maintains a kind of lethal aura throughout the show, though.

Their romance is not so much enemies to lovers, as it is enemies to lovers to enemies to lovers again. This because they have a falling out in the middle which I think is pretty well done- I can see why it happened, and the characters recognize it for what it is too. In their inimical phases, I found the tension between the two leads to be smoking... even I, a non-romance fan, was holding my breath. It’s a power couple having power struggles, full of a deadly push and pull.

However, I think developing the relationship into lovers is not that well done. It feels rather abrupt, especially the first time around. A longer drama might have built it up properly to show what they like about each other and them falling for each other.

The villain is pretty obvious from the start. But he is powerful, so taking him down isn’t easy. I was pretty satisfied with this villain because he is easy to hate and I didn’t feel sorry for him, though I feel we missed some pieces of his backstory and motivations. It’s also not really clear where his power comes from (eg rather than seeing his factions exert influence or him executing deadly schemes, we just see him threaten to choke the emperor a few times), but whatever, details.

The plot covers several story arcs with minor enemies along the way and the ultimate villain as a common thread. Some of the story arcs have tones of female empowerment, showing women struggling against an unfair system and our emperor doing her best to stand up for them. There are a few splashes of humor throughout, dying down as the show goes on. I found the plot interesting, engaging, and the right level of complication.

The feel and tone of this show relies heavily on an aura of gravitas. You can see it in the cinematography style and the way slow-motion, music, and so on are used. As a side note, I liked that the slow motion is not used to play up the romance like so many other shows, but instead to make people look commanding and powerful.

So for the acting, the two leads and the villain all manage the gravitas really well. I didn’t question that they were badass. But it was also a bit overdone at times, because there was maybe too much slow talking with long pauses and too many slow and dramatic movements. Especially the FL- I think she should have talked more naturally most of the time, and saved the dramatic style for her biggest moments of authority.

There are also plenty of supporting actors and extras, more so than a lot of the shorter dramas I watched. It makes the show feel more complete and engaging.

The fighting is decent, especially for a show of this length. The costumes and styling are alright- some faces are a bit too heavily made up (and FL does not look male at all) but it’s not as bad as some other shorter dramas I’ve watched. I also liked the music, which leans more towards power songs than e.g. soft and slow love ballads. The BGM is quite good and used well for effect. I counted two OST songs (but one of them I only heard once), I liked both and thought they are also used well.

Overall, I think this is a good show for the length. I would even rewatch it- I think there are a few more things I could pick up now that I know what’s going on, and it doesn’t take too much time to watch. Of course, there are still a few aspects that could have used more development, while the show spends a lot of runtime instead on people talking and moving slowly and dramatically. I would be more ok with the “wasted” time if the show were longer, and I think this could have a been a good full-length show.

EXCEPT for the ending- if I got that ending at the end of 40 full length episodes, I might have flipped out. I would have given this show a higher score except for that ending.

ENDING – READ AHEAD ONLY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW, CONTAINS SPOILERS





This ending is bittersweet to sad.

The ML basically makes the FL execute him. It is framed as some sort of sacrifice to protect her and their greater cause. A year later we can see the FL has taken control of her court, also seems to have found her own peace and acceptance, so that’s the sweet part of the bittersweet.

Honestly, I was kind of pissed. Realism is nice, but they totally could have pulled off a happier ending without too many leaps of logic. She is the emperor- it should have been possible to save him. They only put this sad ending to add a poignant, lingering, bittersweet feel.

But even this “big sacrifice” of his isn’t the selfless act it’s made out to be. She said herself that he should consult her and they can come up with something together, but he disregards all that. Not only does he leave her ignorant of her birthright- which I think she deserves to know- but he also leaves her all alone to shoulder the burdens of ruling and deal with grief and loss by herself.