Love the color scheme of the Zhao palace - clothing, interior design, gardens - so beautiful and tranquil. Acting is fabulous. Story is exciting. Don't watch if you don't want to risk binge watching :D. It's actually very good. So happy the rating has gone up since the drama started.
After watching 20 or so episodes, I find the acting in this drama to be very good and authentic. However, I'm getting rather tired with the various scheming and backstabbing within the palace. Despite of that, I'm still rather hooked on to it and tend to binge watch one episode after another - I'm hopeless :(
Addendum: An idiosyncratic feature of this drama - each episode has a prelude that references something which…
Yes, that's very true. Initially I thought I was missing something, then I realized it's a prelude to what was going to happen in that episode. However, I don't really like them revealing the story; I don't like spoilers.
Bai Lu is an excellent actress. One caveat – the fighting scenes are not as realistic as I’d have liked them to be – they used too much stun/stop motion that rendered the whole scenes unauthentic. Also, there are too many scenes that jumped forward, and then reveal what actually had happened at later scenes. This may confuse many viewers, especially those who don’t understand Chinese. So far, CGI is ok, but dubbing is pretty bad.
What am I watching? I know it's a comedy, but it's so hard to watch. All the actions are so pretentious and overdone. I can't even laugh! It's a waste of time. I'm giving this up.
would you compare this to the empress of china? or is it more romantic?
Honestly speaking, I haven't watched The Empress of China, so I can't compare. There are so many dramas to watch these days that I have to be pretty selective. So I tend to skip anything before 2015. I find the recent acting, make-up, costumes, scripts, sounds, effects etc from the mainland China movie industry to have improved greatly in the recent years. So I'd prefer later dramas. Of course there are exceptions.
so i start watching it and do you have recommendaton of similiar chinese drama like this one?
Have you watched 'Ever Night Season 1', 'Fu Yao', 'Yun Xi', 'An Oriental Odyssey'? Word of caution: They change the male lead for 'Ever Night' in Season 2. So if you fall in love with the male lead in season 1, you may scream your heart out later.
The current rating does not serve justice for this drama which I feel deserves better. First, the acting is wonderful. Second, the story is intriguing. Third, the setting is authentic. And there is a few more positive points for this drama. The only reason I can think of for the low rating is probably due to the ages of the male actors - they are mostly above 30s - not the young and handsome 20 something that are so prevailing in the recent dramas. Also the male lead, Mao Zi Jun has, at times, played the antagonist role which may have made him less savoring. Overall, I feel this is a good drama, so far (up to the first 10 episodes or so that I have watched). There is a lot of scheming and tension, not unlike "Nirvana in Fire" and "Secrets of 3 Kingdoms". You'll probably enjoy this drama if you have liked those 2.
What a delightful drama this is. Tons of love and care, humors. Wonderful actors. Good acting. Even Kris Sun who was so annoying in Ever Night, is so adorable in this drama. Both the male and female leads are awesome, even the supporting role played by Xing En - she is awesome. Deserves my time to watch. You may also find it relaxing after a day of hard work.
I really enjoy watching this drama despite it has a lower than expected rating. I feel it is much better than many other dramas that have higher ratings. The story is interesting, the acting is superb, especially the female lead, Ariel Lin. She may not be the prettiest girl compared to other hot actresses, but she is super cute and authentic. This drama is light hearted but not comedic (which may often look stupid and turn off audiences); so far, it makes me laugh and makes me feel good. I never realize Zhang Bin Bin (Vin Zhang), the male lead, is so good looking until this drama. His acting is not bad either. If you want some drama that makes you feel relaxed at the end of the day, this may be a good candidate. So far, after the first 11 episodes, I'm still enjoying it. Hopefully it doesn't turn into something stupid as it progresses, like many other dramas.
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Overall, I feel this is a good drama, so far (up to the first 10 episodes or so that I have watched). There is a lot of scheming and tension, not unlike "Nirvana in Fire" and "Secrets of 3 Kingdoms". You'll probably enjoy this drama if you have liked those 2.
If you want some drama that makes you feel relaxed at the end of the day, this may be a good candidate. So far, after the first 11 episodes, I'm still enjoying it. Hopefully it doesn't turn into something stupid as it progresses, like many other dramas.