DramaAjumma

Thank God for the leads... I think they redeemed the nonsensical last 15 min slightly for me.

The budgetary constraints of the drama was particularly evident in the final act of the storytelling. The Big Bad Conspiracy is a decent enough arc but the clumsy use of plot devices, choppy editing and all the heavy use of "telling" over "showing" didn't do much to enhance the storytelling.
Episode 33 feels the most rushed.

What the heck was Min'er doing in the middle of danger zone?

LOL.

The first 10 episodes aren't the best but the rest of the drama is decent.

I don't think she hates Zijin because she can't be her bestie. I think it's more a case that she thinks she's better than anyone else and deserves to be liked and respected by everyone without question.

I am grateful for you input here because I also think the quality of the production is pretty decent. I suspect that the poor subs are a problem because people are not really understanding the storyline that well from some of the comments that I've read.

The titbit about the Jin Yi Wei or Brocade Guards is interesting. I had no idea that they were involved in all kinds of more trivial matters under the emperor's orders.

She's been guilted by the older sister -- one of the head chefs -- into doing more for their family. The position of the family has also been made more insecure by the revelation of Zijin's identity because they obvious maneuvered politically so that the previous emperor chose the present consort instead of Zijin.

You have to persevere through the first 10 -12 episodes and afterwards it becomes a really decent drama. Lots of angst but Jeremy does some incredibly acting here.

He certainly wasn't the villain in the Legend of the Phoenix.

Even though I'm very fond of this show and the leads, she does tend towards recklessness at times. Anyway, I don't think you should be berated for having an opinion that goes against the popular view.

Unlike what the marketing department ie. trailers led viewers to believe, this isn't primarily a historical romance as in the romance isn't front and centre of this show. This seems largely to be about harem and by extension, kitchen politics. The romance between the leads isn't the central animating feature of the show at all which is becoming patently obvious. Much to the chagrin of Zhanji (and probably the viewers) Zijin isn't motivated to be his next consort but to do good works that's within her power. She's a woman with a mission and it isn't marriage but to transcend the petty squabbles of food politics. Perhaps her ultimate goal is to transform the status quo and to uphold quality over expediency. Plus she pities the crown prince's consort who is framed as the neglected wife and she doesn't want to be caught in the middle of that domestic situation by adding fuel to the fire. But then the consort pretty much contributed to the estrangement through her early indifference to Zhangji. No one can say he didn't try at the start.

It's not a bad show (a pity about the subs) but the tendency to make the present emperor a bit of a bumbler just to create conflict with the son (or to make Zhanji look better) doesn't help. He's not a terrible human being -- he has some good notions -- but he has a tendency to act emotionally.

There's no doubt that Zijin is an anachronistic figure and sometimes depicted as being a little too perfect. However, having said that, the reason why Zijin is a likeable character is because she is someone who sees the bigger picture beyond her own interests and the selfish agendas of individuals interacting in that space. She is very much a strategist in her own way. The people around her are engaged in what seems to her to be petty disputes while she is concerned about what is of the greatest benefit to the nation starting with the palace. For her, food is the starting point. I think that's obvious from her conversation with the young tantrum-throwing prince. For me that's her real agenda -- to go beyond factional politics and work for the stability of the country top down. What's really interesting to me about this show is the way she picks her fights and how she does it.

Not a perfect show but I'm enjoying it much more when I think about it in those terms.

This is undoubtedly an excellent police procedural capturing the pioneering work of profiling in SK and in all likelihood the best thing currently airing. The moody atmosphere really adds to the documentary style approach to the storytelling. A gripping well-made series so far.

When I made that comment I wasn't necessarily saying that Royal Feast was "copying" The Red Sleeve. I was pretty certain that Royal Feast was made first because all C dramas are pre-produced and then go through the censors.
What we're doing is making the closest comparisons. Even if Royal Feast was made first, the Red Sleeve was publicly released first and is the obvious point of comparison -- both feature a palace maid who becomes a future consort. Furthermore The Red Sleeve was hugely popular locally and worldwide so it's only natural that people would make that kind of comparison.

The female lead looks so much like Ariel Lin from the original Taiwanese version.

Even though I'm a huge fan of crime and detective dramas, I'm not watching this show for that. There are shows that do that sort of thing much better. I stayed because of the romance and at least I thought that was the best part of the show. Admittedly Qin Xuan isn't the best written character but I could live with it because he's not the male lead. Nice but clueless. He serves a purpose. However, to this day I still don't know why he fell for her to the point that he would risk everything and drown himself in drink.

To be honest, I'm not sure what the show is trying to say about Qiu Yan and Liang Yi's relationship after that stunt. I also have to question the wisdom of letting a woman wander off by herself in that sort of environment. I'm surprised that Liang Yi is quick to approve. Where's the characteristic scolding or bickering? Sure, she's more quick witted than Qiu Min but as we've seen, is still prone to reckless behaviour. Of course he'll be keeping an eye on her from afar as he usually does but I don't see the point then of her making declarations of being actually free. Let's face it, it's a separation ploy -- nothing more, nothing less.

People are defending recent developments based on Qiu Yan's character but what about Liang Yi's character? Yes, he respects her freedom and proto-feminist views but he is far more concerned about her safety. So far he's been negotiating the terms of their relationship. It's not a zero sum game. It doesn't have to be. The show is creating the false impression that this has to be a zero sum situation.

All I can say is: better now than later. Small mercies.

It's getting better after a bumpy start. More than Dae Jang Geum, this show gives me Red Sleeve vibes. The scheme to frame the Crown Prince first and then Prince Han wasn't too bad. I remember the lad from Miss Truth. Not entirely sure if he's the right fit for the role here but I really liked him in Miss Truth.

Thanks for the support. I'm not particularly concerned about realism but consistency. It goes to the heart of who Liang Yi is as a person.

I certainly think that the inconsistency is far more jarring because it all happened in the same episode. The other thing that also bothers me is the lack of communication that got them to this point when on other occasions they have communicated much better than this even while they were bickering there was honesty. This to me looks a lot like noble idiocy.

I watched the RAWs before heading off to bed last night and I'm still a little hot under the collar. :D
It shows how invested we are in the storyline.