Xifei's Royal Love in the Palace (2023)

Choppy editing meets unfinished arcs

Wow, where do I begin?

This drama had so much potential, especially with all the veteran actors in this. But the way the editing was and the way the arcs were as well as character introductions is where this show falls very short.

There are several characters that are introduced and then we never see them again. There are important characters that the main character LQL has a relationship with that we barely see their ending/know what happens to them. It's like they disappear from thin air which makes no sense given the length of time they have spent with them.

Then we spend much of the show watching the prince have no faith or confidence in any of his son and their ability to help him keep the promise he made to the emperor only for him to now magically have faith in HL, who is the prince's 3rd son.

We watch the villains seemingly get away with everything despite the evidence against them simply because it would "break" the prince's heart to have to kill his evil children and because of one woman who is literally behind every single plot yet somehow she doesn't meet her compupence until the end.

It was just all very frustrating. Also, the random arc they threw in towards the end of ep 36 and we see the main characters standing together as if they are Avengers.

I'm sorry. But I'm just so disappointed because again, this is a stacked cast. Many of these actors and actresses I've seen elsewhere and they have proven their acting ability. Additionally, the ost was nice. So it just feels like their talent as well as the musical talent in the osts was wasted.

Would I recommend watching this? Maybe if you need something as background noise while you are doing some other task or if you just need something to pass the time but as a good stand-alone? No.

Side note, I will say this review is harsher than the reviews I typically give idol dramas but that's because the expectations were different.

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