Editorials 
1
For the year 2026, this drama is pretty much on par with many of the dramas that have come out this year that all follow this same kind of overly dramatic, fast paced format. It mixes revenge, political corruption, family drama, secret identities, and love. Set as a historical drama with a darker palette that boasts a stunning cast, beautiful clothes, and high stakes; this drama packs intrigue and suspense with constant forward motion but lacks the finesse needed to really make this a gem.
The two leads both give strong performances within the bounds of the script they have to work with but because the story lacks a strong enough structure their characters often feel a bit hollow. Acting from much of the rest of the cast feels cartoonish and unrealistic. Many over act and most emotional scenes lack conviction or believable emotion. From the beginning the drama moves you constantly from dramatic scene to dramatic scene with no small filler moments to allow you to feel connected to the characters, the setting, or the story. It relies heavily on the viewers suspension of belief to keep the story moving.
The female lead is strong, calculative, and calm which makes each of her takedowns for the cartoonish villains feel satisfying but her background has been given little attention and leaves many questions. What happened to her after her mother's death? How has she been able to become so formidable? Did someone help teach her everything because if she was living as a beggar or commoner where did she find the resources to learn about the law or etiquette for a noble house? The male lead is similar. If his family was annihilated when he was a child and he was on the run, how did he end up with his real identity being close to the monarch? He was a young child when everything happened. For the sake of the story and where it began I can overlook the lack of background information but then she enters the Xie household and things make less sense.
Why is everyone always in the hall seated and talking? Most major scenes in the first half of the drama seem to take place in that hall with just them talking around each other in obtuse ways. The way the supporting cast women behave is clearly over the top or suspicious and no one questions anything? The dialogue within the drama does not help with believing this is a family of such high corruption that has been able to get away with it for so long. Any normal person would have singled them out much earlier. Even if the commoners can't fight against the rich and powerful there would have been many other rich families trying to knock this family down just so they could have more power and they would have been very easily toppled with the mentality of the entire household.
There is also instances that don't make sense between the leads. Where he dresses her wounds or she lays beside him in clear view of a lot of other people but no one says anything about the normal boundaries between men and women, especially unmarried ones from powerful houses? The father and brother have been in the Northern Frontier maintaining the border but have no skills or ability to protect their home from bandits and instead send a little girl to search for help? Are there no guards or servants in this huge house? To me the most interesting character is Young Lord Li as the second male lead. His instant interest in her was not portrayed/introduced well but his character and performance are enjoyable to watch and I'll be almost sad to see him get heart broken.
Overall I think that if you have enjoyed many of the recent dramas such as The Glory, Blossoms of Power, Generation to Generation, and Ashes to Crown then I think you will find this drama enjoyable. They focus on beautiful casts and stories that move quickly from one big moment to the next. What they all lack is a certain level of believability to them because they don't take time to build their characters or settings and instead focus on constantly shocking the audience rather than creating stories that will stay with you. I don't find myself emotionally invested because the narrative never gave me time to feel that way.
The two leads both give strong performances within the bounds of the script they have to work with but because the story lacks a strong enough structure their characters often feel a bit hollow. Acting from much of the rest of the cast feels cartoonish and unrealistic. Many over act and most emotional scenes lack conviction or believable emotion. From the beginning the drama moves you constantly from dramatic scene to dramatic scene with no small filler moments to allow you to feel connected to the characters, the setting, or the story. It relies heavily on the viewers suspension of belief to keep the story moving.
The female lead is strong, calculative, and calm which makes each of her takedowns for the cartoonish villains feel satisfying but her background has been given little attention and leaves many questions. What happened to her after her mother's death? How has she been able to become so formidable? Did someone help teach her everything because if she was living as a beggar or commoner where did she find the resources to learn about the law or etiquette for a noble house? The male lead is similar. If his family was annihilated when he was a child and he was on the run, how did he end up with his real identity being close to the monarch? He was a young child when everything happened. For the sake of the story and where it began I can overlook the lack of background information but then she enters the Xie household and things make less sense.
Why is everyone always in the hall seated and talking? Most major scenes in the first half of the drama seem to take place in that hall with just them talking around each other in obtuse ways. The way the supporting cast women behave is clearly over the top or suspicious and no one questions anything? The dialogue within the drama does not help with believing this is a family of such high corruption that has been able to get away with it for so long. Any normal person would have singled them out much earlier. Even if the commoners can't fight against the rich and powerful there would have been many other rich families trying to knock this family down just so they could have more power and they would have been very easily toppled with the mentality of the entire household.
There is also instances that don't make sense between the leads. Where he dresses her wounds or she lays beside him in clear view of a lot of other people but no one says anything about the normal boundaries between men and women, especially unmarried ones from powerful houses? The father and brother have been in the Northern Frontier maintaining the border but have no skills or ability to protect their home from bandits and instead send a little girl to search for help? Are there no guards or servants in this huge house? To me the most interesting character is Young Lord Li as the second male lead. His instant interest in her was not portrayed/introduced well but his character and performance are enjoyable to watch and I'll be almost sad to see him get heart broken.
Overall I think that if you have enjoyed many of the recent dramas such as The Glory, Blossoms of Power, Generation to Generation, and Ashes to Crown then I think you will find this drama enjoyable. They focus on beautiful casts and stories that move quickly from one big moment to the next. What they all lack is a certain level of believability to them because they don't take time to build their characters or settings and instead focus on constantly shocking the audience rather than creating stories that will stay with you. I don't find myself emotionally invested because the narrative never gave me time to feel that way.
Was this review helpful to you?
