Stayed up 5 nights to finish this
I had heard of this drama but had put it off because you have to be in a certain mood to watch 70 episodes of anything. But i was so caught off guard by the strength of female lead. I’m typically a romance drama watcher but this one sucked me in. The relationships of the cast with each other were so well developed. The development of each of the harem’s motivations was deep. The lines are beautiful and i just loved Wei Ying Luo. I loved her strength of character, her intelligence, her resoluteness, and i loved watching her and the Emperor’s relationship. I wish i had gotten just a few more moments with her and Fuca Fuheng. :)Esta resenha foi útil para você?
A detailed production (I especially love the costumes) and a satisfying if bittersweet ending help make this a worthy binge watch and re-watch.
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Do not give this a miss!
Yanxi is a drama that needs to be rated 10/10 in my must-watch drama list. I am usually not drawn to overrated shows because they will turn out to be under whelming as compared to the public response, but I am super thankful that I didn't give Yanxi a miss because everything about this show is beautiful.Yanxi is one of those typical harem politics show where women fight for love, ranks, etc. EXCEPT with the twist of a badass female lead that is smart and very good at adapting to different situations. I believe smart female leads are not rare in chinese shows but Wei Ying Luo (FL) is extremely quick-witted. This makes it so fun to watch how she survives in different environment, be it with the maids or even the emperor. Just when you thought she is defeated, SHE IS NOT.
We also watch her romance with Fuheng which explores the other side of her personality. I love their relationship so much (although it's meant to break my heart at the end.. ). I would say if you're looking for a show that has a huge part of romance, then this show is not for you.
FINAL VERDICT: if you want to watch a never-say-die female lead, satisfying show where evils are punished, pls watch! i wouldn't give this a miss :)
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A must watch drama
Love this drama..it is very interesting story through start to end. Never a dull moment . The characters had done their job performance perfectly. The acting of each and everyone is very good. I love ying Lou how she played character . And had taken her revenge on who has hurts her and her love ones . I really like how much she loved the empress and being faithful to her . And the last how she had promise to take care of FUHENG in the next life. I love the empress how sweet she is and faithful to the king and holds the sense of justice .. many people will think that she is too soft and don't know what's happening but actually she knows .and the emperor was good to being an emperor we just can't accept him to be perfect because he being the emperor must be have tyrann symptoms. FUHENG being the sweetheart how much he loved the Ying Luo and protected her and their love is sweetest . I really recommend to watch thisEsta resenha foi útil para você?
Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
Wei Yingluo is a class traitor. Change my mind.
Ok so there are already like 80 reviews for Story of Yanxi Palace so I'm going to concentrate on the power politics of the show. And my god, is it juicy.First, the class politics of Yanxi Palace was what snagged my interest in the first place (I'll get to the gender politics too, don't worry). Wei Yingluo hits the bottom of the Palace rung very quickly in the story. In most palace dramas, servants are either loyal, obedient and therefore good. Or they're ambitious and put their own survival before their master's and therefore bad. In this case, we follow Wei Yingluo as she rises the ranks but she is neither demonised nor condemned by the storyline in the process.
At one point, she is literally cleaning out chamber pots and dealing with faeces everyday. Yanxi Palace is not afraid to show the ugly and brutal lower end of Palace activities, when most other Palace dramas would only ever let it happen off-screen. But it's here, at her lowest, that Wei Yingluo befriends an equally disgraced eunuch, Yuan Chunwang. Eventually, the two decide to stick by one another and promise to never betray each other.
The first half of the series sees Yingluo forge powerful protectors, even as she lands herself in trouble, and portrays her positively as a maid on a mission for revenge. In most other palace dramas, a servant who defies authority in the way she does would only get a few lines of dialogue before they're taken off to be brutally punished or killed, normally off-screen.
However, Wei Yingluo is individualistic in her ambition. And despite promises made to her confidante, Yuan Chunwang, she makes a bid for power when she finds a strategic opportunity to do so. From this point on, the class politics of Yanxi Palace folds in on itself. Yingluo ends up conforming to the same class system that had sent her to scrub faeces off barrels. She fills in the shoes of a master and plays the part.
Meanwhile, Chunwang supports a failed overthrow of the emperor and loses. He pays the ultimate price and Wei Yingluo never does provide a convincing answer when he declares that she betrayed him first. Of course, Emperor Qianlong's power is never called into question. I think you're just meant to assume he's a good emperor.
And this is where the class politics and gender politics overlap. I like harem dramas because it's all about the power pull-and-push among women who struggle in the most difficult circumstances. Because, at the end of the day, none of them hold absolute power. In the palace, that belongs to the emperor. Before marrying, that absolute power would've presumably resided with their fathers and/or leader of their clans.
So the ending of Yanxi Palace was, for me, infuriating. Yingluo now declares – after admitting many times in the past to be really only in it for the hustle – to love the emperor. Not only is this very hard to believe canonically given the lack of chemistry between the two characters, but also undermines a lot of what Yanxi Palace had going for it.
As I said before, Emperor Qianlong's power isn't really ever critiqued (even with the coup). All the evil consorts, concubines and servants have been duly punished for their deeds, and yet the emperor, despite his sins, goes unscathed. It almost feels like Yingluo has lost because she admits to falling in love with the emperor. All that work she put in to defy the odds over dozens of episodes seems to unravel.
If anything, the only score any of the women get against Qianlong is when the Fuca Rongyin refuses to play the role of Empress by taking her own life. None of Yingluo's backhanded quips compare to this 'f–– you' moment from Fuca who, even if momentarily, pulls the rug from out under Qianlong's feet.
I will finish this off with just a quick point of reference to Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace given it covers the same characters and time period. While Ruyi's Royal Love did poorly on its class positioning (my review on the series goes into that more), what it does do better than Yanxi was appropriately vilify the emperor. It is interesting to see how much Yanxi Palace's depiction of Fuca Rongyin and Ruyi's Royal Love's depiction of Ruyi had in common. Both dramas are tragedies if you read them a certain way.
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Mastermind
One word: Mastermind. I am absolutely blown away by this drama, I entered expecting to drop it but 2 episodes in and I was hooked! I love how powerful, smart and clever Ying Luo is. This is a beautiful well written drama that deserves 10 star rating, not only because of the beautiful costumes but also the intricate characters that moves with reason and logic. Everything is smoothly transitioning even in parts I was scared that it would be going haywire. (Ex: entering the harem)I did not want to start this at first as I am a person of aesthetic and i did not like the baldness fajdnsajnds BUT i quickly got over it with how this is beautifully made. I just can't get over how until the end, like until the end of the drama, MC did not forget to enact her revenger. Truly a mastermind. The supporting characters and antagonists are also so good, I love them so much and I was even a bit sad when they got KO'd but ohhh, how satisfying everything was.
I am a very picky watcher and me liking this so much says so much! Watch it now!
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One of the Greatest TV character ever made
The name Wei YingLou sent shivers in the hearts of people in the forbidden city. She turned that city on its head. She wrought havoc and avenged her sister. She came into the palace with a mission and boy was she laser focused on that mission. Everything on her part was annihilated. She knew who she was. She wore it like a badge of honor and made no freaking apologies for who she was.Wei YingLou is IMO one of the greatest TV character ever made anywhere in the world.
I freaking loved everything about her character.
And boy oh boy that lightening striking scene was beyond iconic.
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BUTTKICKING FEMALE LEAD
AMAZING!!! The main female lead is a total badass and fracking awesome. She is scheming and so smart. She is one of the type of political figures that started from the bottom (literally the bottom of society) and climbs her way up while knocking her competitors flying. She is fierce when someone tries to harm who she loves and she never forgets nor forgive. Ultimately, she gives the audience a guaranteed protagonist character that everyone will love and root for. She is cunning and clever and remains so until the end (doesn't magically become "dumb" like a lot of dramas that need the male lead to come and rescue). Of course we all miss the characters that didn't make it. All the actors were incredibly talented, especially the villains. The convincingly pull watchers into the story and truly invoke really emotional responses. HIGHLY recommend (if you can pull through bc it is quite long).Esta resenha foi útil para você?
A Must Watch!!!
This drama definitely exceeded my expectations and I cannot stop recommending this drama to my friends and family to watch. Everyone I recommended this drama to loved it just as much as I do and this is definitely a must watch drama. Every episode has juicy scenes that keep you wanting more and more of the drama. The music is amazing and even after the drama ended it is still on my playlist to listen to. FL Wei Ying Luo fits the role so well! She is a badass FL and loved how sassy and strong she is. I highly recommend this drama to anyone who is looking for a good mix of comedy + romance. To prove how good this drama is, I am already on my 3rd time rewatching it this year! Do not miss out and watch this right now!Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Gorgeous sets and costumes!!
Not a fan of this period of time in China as the costumes are not not flowy like in wuxia dramas and cannot appreciate the half bald hairdo for the men and finger accessory for the women BUTThe story was engaging, the sets evoked grandeur and costumes were richly embroidered.
As this was my introduction to palace drama, I was not put off by all the back stabbing and plotting that happened at every turn. It was intriguing to watch all the events unfold as I empathised with all the women having to “share” one husband. I am glad I do not live in those times.
Yingluo was an exceptionally written character. She was placed in many different situations and through it all, her quick wit saved her and those she cared for.
If you only want to watch just one palace drama, this should be the one.
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Esta resenha pode conter spoilers
I have this weird love-hate with this series. Despite its flaws, it’s still one of the better palace intrigue stories out there. So I put it on my “guilty pleasure list” and endure the bad for the sake of the good. To start with the good, this has all the elements of the addictive story. You see many nasty palace denizens plotting against our heroine, Wei Yingluo. Just when you think Yingluo is trapped, she turns the table on her enemies and knocks them down ten notches. It’s very gratifying to watch, especially when it cycles along at a steady pace, using a formula that feeds into the addiction center of our brains.
The near fatal flaw with this series is its absurdity. Case in point, Yingluo exacts revenge on a consort by throwing molten iron on her. Someone else adds fecal water to the iron so it will infect her wounds, ensuring to a slow and painful death. Since bacteria could not possibly survive in molten metal (a thousand plus degrees temperature here), the entire scheme is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is the lighting rod scheme that struck the right person at exactly the right time. These are the kind of things that defy logic and insult the viewers’ intelligence. But we can still enjoy the show, as long as we accept it for what it is: mindless entertainment.
Years from now, people will still remember the show for its costumes. The muted color palette is very pleasing to the eyes. The traditional kingfisher feathers, velvet flowers, and the embroideries are beyond beautiful. The designers create a very distinctive look and authentic feel that sets this far apart from any other Qing era series. The set pieces are luxurious, too, although some of the rooms look sterile and not lived-in.
Notable performances are from Qin Lan and Charmaine Sheh. Qin Lan has depth as the gentle, virtuous empress who is actually broken on the inside. Charmaine is a master at facial expressions and the slightest shift in her smile alone can convey so many different emotions. Her Xian Fei is technically the main villain, but she is extremely sympathetic. I find myself rooting for her half the time, simply because life is cruel to her and she has to be cruel to survive.
The weakest link here is our leading lady, Wu Jinyan. She is given an interesting character, one that is clever and loyal, but with a ruthless streak. She comes across as this reckless girl who shows an attitude to her masters and pushes the boundaries of rules and etiquettes. In the strict Forbidden Palace, this attitude would get her killed a thousand times over. I have a hard time believing she’s that lucky or smart enough get away with it every time. Wu herself doesn’t have much range or subtlety to her acting. When she tries to act playful, it comes off as stilted. Worse, she has “dead fish eyes,” eyes that are large but mostly expressionless. However, she does look unique in period clothing and seems to have potential. Charmaine was awful in her first series, too, and look how far she came now.
The men’s acting are fine, nothing memorable in a story dominated by women. Fu Heng is your stereotypical second male lead who loves our heroine devotedly and unconditionally, as if there are no other good woman in the world. I’m glad they didn’t make Qian Long a jerk or a fool easily manipulated by his wives.
So after watching so many women fighting over one guy, we have to ask: which of his wives does Qian Long really love? No one, I suppose. As Qian Long himself said, his father trained him to be good ruler, and a good ruler cannot rule with his heart. He was raised not to care much about any woman. That’s why he greatly favors Yingluo, because she is the only wife who does not demand his love. She puts no pressure on him and does her best to amuse him. She asks only for gifts and favors - things at are easy for him to give. Does that cheapen their relationship? No, because there is real affection there. For Yingluo, the emperor represents the practical, while Fu Heng represents the ideal. You can marry a Qian Long, but good luck finding a Fu Heng in real life. That man only exists in dreams.
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Truly worth the hype!
I watched this drama because I heard so much buzz around it and finally gave it a chance to see if it was worth the hype. And I will say yes it absolutely is worth it. This is one of the few dramas that I find to be timeless. The production is flawless and the set/costumes are one of the most accurate depictions of the Qing harem I've ever seen. Not only is the set true to its times (and shows that the set/props and costuming team really did their research), the actual plot and storyline also holds up. It's all around a really quality drama.I also like that this drama is a lot more face paced than your typical historical cdrama and has multiple plot lines to keep you interested in Yingluo's growth throughout the years. Although Yingluo is the main FL, I am actually most invested and most impressed by the development and performance of Charmaine Sheh's character (Hoifa-nara Shushen). Her character development was perfect and Charmaine Sheh's performance was top notch. She really brought her to life.
I also loved the depiction of the different types of love that Yingluo has around her and can understand her actions at every turn.
The only critique I have of this drama is the lack of chemistry between Yingluo and Fuheng. I personally don't feel the chemistry between them and was not invested in their plot nearly as much as the other plots even though that was supposed to be a big part of the story. I think that Wu Jingyan and Xu Kai can improve in their acting/chemistry. But overall it still delivered the point and drove home their story.
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