This is the Best Chinese Drama of 2023 for Me!!
I love everything about the drama!!! The directors were able to pieces this drama together very well despite ending with 38 episodes. I did wish it was longer because it was too good for it to end early.I love all the main casts because everyone did their part very well especially Bailu and Zhang Ling He. I’m a huge fan of both actor and actress. I am very happy that I was able to see these two worked together!!! ( q v q )
I want to thank all the casts, directors and staffs for the beautiful drama. It’s been awhile since I have fully watch through a drama without being bored. Thank you for that!
Also, I’ve enjoyed watching this drama with my fellow watchers. Thank you for the great jokes and laughters. You guys are the real MVP for posting and sharing links relating to SOKP. :D
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If you haven't watched this, watch it.. I mean Bai Lu is in here!
To be honest with yall I really enjoyed the show, the story line in the beginning has alot of information that's true but all very necessary for the character building, without it the story wouldn't make sense, her change wouldn't be possible. The romance is slow but not in a way that it frustrating cause so much is happening they don't get enough time to breath let alone fall in love. Over all this is a really great watch. I absolutely loved it ??????Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Very enjoyable revenge palace drama.
The revenge plot was really well done and overall pacing of the story was great. Watching all the machinations in the imperial palace/harem, secrets slowly coming to light, and plotting of our cunning Male Lead really made this an enjoyable series. We also had a very smart Female Lead who was able to take care of herself no matter where she ended up. She was never a damsel in distress and despite not being physically powerful, she used her smarts, wits, confidence and strong personality to get herelf out of sticky situations. Also, this is one of the few cdramas where the Emperor actually has common sense and isn't immediately influenced by rumors or accusations. Honestly you probably wouldn't think this should matter since the Emperor is not a character we would care about unless they are the main lead, but it does matter when the story revolves around the palace. So I had much less frustrations watching this drama because everybody that mattered in the plot line was actually smart and did their jobs as you would expect them to. This overall made the drama more enjoyable compared to other palace themed dramas. There was just one character death I didn't like, it was so unecessary to the story aside from wanting to make viewers sad, so I didn't appreciate that at all.In terms of romance, even though they I liked the pairing, I found the romance lacking a bit from the main couple imo. I personally felt more romance between the FL, Second Male Lead and even Third Male Lead because we got more healthy moments of affection/love shown between them. We only got to see more romance with the main leads towards the end, but even then it was more of a domineering type of love that could make you feel uncomfortable to watch. So I wish we also got to see more sweet moments between the main couple; or at the very least I would have liked to see FL be more expressive of her love with the ML like she was with TML. Granted the FL and ML's personalities and story lines don't really give off sweet vibes so it also makes sense that their love was more on the intense/obssessive/toxic side.
In addition to having a smart Emperor, other unique things I liked that weren't necessarily present 100% of the time but we did get to see were:
1) Bestest boy ever Second Male Lead who only wants the best for his crush and isn't possessive of her; 2) Non-competitive sibling relationship between the FL and her sister; 3) Healthy friendships between FL and other women; and 4) Parents apologizing to children.
Overall very satisfied with the revenge plot but would have liked to have more romance from the main couple. Bailu acted really well, crying scenes were so emotional. ML needs to work on his expressions but overall great job from him too and the rest of the cast.
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Very Entertaining Story
This one features a FL who goes back in time to fix mistakes made the first time. The supernatural element is gotten around by the censors by having this actually be a story that the author is creating. This has modern scenes framing the story, but these modern scenes are short and add nothing to the plot.The FL is capable and strong. Because she lived this life before, she is able to use her knowledge to change or attempt to change fate from the first time. It’s interesting because in changing circumstances, things don’t play out like she expects. We get just enough glimpses of her past life to see the difference but we aren’t overburdened by flashes of the past.
If you don’t like a dark hero, then this is not the drama for you. Xie Wei is not your typical Chinese drama lead. He is scheming, ruthless, and legitimately mentally unwell. The translation was schizophrenia but his illness get closer to PTSD. Nevertheless, though he is super intelligent, he is hampered by this fugue state he gets in when it snows. I felt the actor playing him overdid it with the crazy eyes at times. But overall his character was interesting and intriguing.
The romance is slow burn. It doesn’t really ramp up until the last 10 episodes or so, though there is enough of it throughout the show to keep even romance fans like myself interested. Highly recommended.
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Maybe I'm not mastermind of chess of destiny but I will save as many pawns I can this time...
Story of kunning palace is one of the best time travel cdramas.....1) ✅the fl is not meek character. she's a character that can do anything to achieve her goal. Though she made bad choices in her first life and manipulated people....but she got redemption by loving people who are important to her life .
2) ✅ the male lead is ruthless manipulative character and Zhang Linghe did terrific job portraying his character .
overall theme , action scenes, all are top quality.
4) ❌ the drama couldn't fill up the intensity of the plot from the first episode, I expected more intense plot.
5) ❌Xie Wei didn't reborn so , why didn't he made the same choices in the first timeline, so he could avoid death of first emperor and stop falling the power under Xue family .
6) ❌if the protagonists change then why would the antagonists stick to their original plan ? Even Xues are weak but Lord pingnan shouldn't have fallen under Xie Wei's trap so easily. The villains are not interesting.
7) ❌rather filling up the drama with non scene annoying romance with the second male lead ( who ain't better than wooden log ) they could have shown more schemes and romance between the main leads .
8) ❌Character of Xue ning sometimes burden the main plan of Xie Wei. I would rather prefer the fl being power of ml not weakness. There was no reason for her to follow the war when she can't fight or scheme . Rather than being kidnapped and hero saves beauty plot she could have rested at home .
9) ❌the production and director didn't did great job on pointing the weightage of scenes.
10)✅✅✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ although I pointed out many flaws, nothing is flawless and this show is worth watching and entertaining at the end of the day so I highly recommend this drama...
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I guess people still like bad boys.
This series was on my watchlist but it wasn’t quite the time to watch it but the hype and rave reviews made me watch it ahead of schedule and I will say that overall I can totally understand the reason for the hype.Don’t get me wrong I liked the drama in the totality of what it is and although some arcs weren’t properly fleshed out (I won’t go into details here as someone else already did so read review by #PeachBlossomGoddess for further details if interested) it was still a good drama, aesthetically pleasing drama. I completely agree that ZLH was overacting sometimes but honestly i didn’t mind it at all, I can’t totally understand why people especially the ladies are into his brand of crazy (judging by many reviews I read), his ferocious deranged snarl looks where one for the record books and gave the likes of Wen Kexing ( my favorite male CDrama character tied with Mei ChangSu), DongFang QingCang and Wie Wuxian a run for their money.
My Girl Bai Lu always delivers and that chemistry was off the charts, I wish we got more of them as a couple but the ones we did get was definitely worth it.
As much as I liked the drama for some reason I didn’t crazily love it and I only give 10/10 to a drama I love and will definitely rewatch.
I highly doubt I will rewatch this but never say never.
Rewatch value 6/10
Overall value 8.5/10
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binge-worthy
This is one of my 2 favourite dramas of 2023 (the other being The Blood of Youth). Would regularly watch 3-5 episodes at a time, probably took me less than 2 weeks to get through entire drama from start to finish.For me the sign of a good c-drama is when I don't fast forward through scenes or episodes or just drop the drama entirely. This drama had a great story and the plot moves forward every episode, never once had the urge to skip scenes. The cast was excellent and there was not a single actor or character that annoyed me or felt out of place. It's about a lady that goes back in time to try to fix the past. It is a similar concept to Bai Lu's other 2023 drama (Till the End of the Moon) but Kunning palace is far superior to that one. It does a good job of inter-twining her past life with the present as she seeks to change outcomes. I could nitpick at some of the familiar plot devices used in this drama, for example, the evil empress dowager or the corrupt high-ranking official but there was so much that was good about this drama that these can be over-looked. Also liked the music in this drama and how it was used, they don't overdo it with the song interludes which was a nice change. Finally, the ending although a bit predictable was very satisfying and much better than many of the c-dramas from 2023.
This drama is a definite binge watch, once you watch the first few episodes you will be hooked
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A Bit(?) of Dark Romance
It was a slow burn romance but with a twist, a bit of dark romance. To me, they were perfect for each other. One was direct to the point and the other one needed a push even tho it was obvious through her actions that she likes him. This drama was about FL given a second chance to right her wrongs and how ML fought his ways to survive and to do justice to the poor souls that unjustly annihilated for the sake of power and wealth.ML, Xie Wei, a ruthless, righteous man and a meticulous strategist. Ofc he was cunning too, being raised by a violent rebel wld do that. I'm in awed by his plans that seemed to be 10 steps ahead although there was few things out of his control. It took sometimes before he realised his feelings towards FL but until that time, we can see unconsciously he protected her, wld make something to bring her pleasure and willingly wld die for her. Though he can be aggressive when he was jealous *rolling my eyes.
He was quite fierce when he chided FL for being reckless. Idk their interactions with each other sometimes frustrated me too.
FL, Jiang Xuening, quick witted but short temper woman who was caring and wld do anything to protect the people she loved and closed with. She was not afraid to be punished for speaking the truth. She had this unapproachable aura but when you are sincere to her, she repay it ten-folds. I like her no-nonsense approach when she wanted to accomplish her missions. She was intimidated by ML's personality and the shadow of who he was in the past life. So that was why it took sometimes before she had feelings for him. I think what ML did for her, moved her.
I'm really loving all OSTs in this drama especially the one by Jane Zhen, Zhou Shen and Bai Lu. Idk why I became a bit teary when I listened to Bai Lu's song. It just so soft and delicate I guess.
The period costumes in this drama were quite stunning. I definitely love the bright and the pastel colours of FL's dresses.
As for 2ndML and 3rdML.... Yan Lin, you are the best! You are so sincere and understanding. Zhang Zhe, I like that you hold on strong to your principles of being righteous but willing to hear what FL advised to you. Also, you know when to move on.
I definitely enjoyed watching ML's subordinates antics, Lyu Xian, Dao Qin and Jian Shu. They were so hilarious when they talked with each other. Shout out to my precious Lyu Xian, you definitely deserve to be happy. SCRIPTWRITERS WHEN I CATCH YOU!!
The ending was my kind of ending where I got to know how was everyone's life was going. I really appreciate that they wld do that. I am not fond of abrupt happy ending. Give us a closure after all the suffering and sobbing.
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Can we have more queer coding and less toxic men plz?
The Story of Kunning Palace has a fantastic premise. It starts where most historical Cdramas end: a despotic empress dies after losing a coup d'état. But lo and behold! She suddenly wakes up, reincarnated in the same life but as an 18 year old again, with a chance to set things right.For fellow fans of the latest isekai craze that has hit the anime scene, this plot may sound familiar. But unlike the comedic anime takes that places anime FLs in otome games, Kunning Palace takes itself far more seriously. Our FL is determined to do the right things by the people she wronged the first time round and does not mind using some underhand methods to do so. Along the way she (once again) meets the ML who, similarly, has good intentions and subscribes to an ends-justify-the means approach. A perfect match, right? So I thought initially.
Frankly, I quickly lost interest in the political intrigue of this drama and stayed around for the romance. Unfortunately, a gross error on my part. What the drama tries to construe as romance – I can only assume this from the sappy romantic soundtrack – is actually just the ML sexually assaulting the FL. Sorry to be blunt, but that's what it is.
This sexual violence would not have been an issue if the drama treated it as such. But with both the soundtrack and with the ML lead 'winning' the FL in the end, what the drama does instead is normalise violence in a romantic/sexual relationship. Ultimately, this ruined what I liked about the drama – two deeply flawed characters finding each other as soulmates.
Given this situation, I would have loved to see more romantic development with the FL and other characters. Obviously being a Chinese production, there's only so much you can do given censorship (especially recent crackdowns), but there was already clear queer coding happening between Jian Xue Ning and the Princess and You Fang Yin respectively. Perhaps this can be my pitch for a Kunning Palace baihe spin-off :)
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Another side of Zhang Linghe
ML is always playing a hero, it’s refreshing to see he has a mean streak. I was bored at first, but the more I watch, the more I wan to watch. Bai Lu is excellent as usual, but ML is definitely the one to watch. He needs more roles like this. Most disappointing series for me was My Journey To You. The script was terrible. But this one, I’ll watch again and again. I’d love to see him in more anti-hero roles. And matching him up with the right FL is a MUST. Nothing more to say right now. I shall continue watching and hope it gets even better.Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
A Familiar Idol Drama
In many ways, familiarity is an recurring element for Kunning Palace. The FL was an Empress of evil deeds in her past life that transmigrates into a do-over life, intent on fixing her mistakes. So the setting, the people, and even many events are portrayed as familiar events that add tension to the story.As for my personal viewing experience, Kunning Palace also felt familiar‒A Familiar Stranger familiar. In fact having conscientiously avoided idol dramas‒costume or modern‒A Familiar Stranger was an rare exception that I attempted and enjoyed, perhaps mostly owing to its short mini-drama length. With Kunning Palace as the much anticipated big-budget drama, I joked to myself that all I'm looking for is AFS quality and I'm willing to turn my brain off for the ride. And to my cursed prediction, A Familiar Stranger is basically what I got: from the haphazard blinding lights, to the spinning shots, to the predictable OST that conspicuously serenades every modestly emotional scene, to the paper-mache world-building and story that I didn't dare staring into for the fear that even a lingering glance will set the whole world ablaze.
And sadly despite the modest expectations, I'm not sure if Kunning Palace matched the quality of AFS. Despite being a low-budget production shot in a pinch, AFS had arguably better production quality, better average acting quality, and better tropey romantic sizzle. And most of all, the short 3 hour run time and fast pace made all the irksome issues much more palatable.
To be fair, Kunning Palace is not a terrible show, and solidly above average for an idol drama. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people liked it, and liked it a lot. If you are not congenitally allergic to idol drama like me, the sets, costumes, pretty actors, and decent trope execution will be lighting up plenty of dopamine and serotine. And just some modest improvement to the script, acting, and cinematography would have made this a decent watch me. But as it is, the negatives slightly outweighed the positives, and multiplied by 24 episodes the cumulative enjoyment debt had become too much to overcome.
Complaints:
❌Kiddie level political schemes and too many plot issues
❌On-the-nose tension and dramatic moments, reinforced by even more on-the-nose dialog to make sure the audience understood the obvious
❌Too much try-hard acting; too modern line delivery, dialog, and general vibes
❌Amateurish cinematography and editing choices, the director feels like someone that likes to inject random effects into his Powerpoint slides to look professional
--Category Ratings--
- Overall - 6
- Plot - 5.5
- Theme / Message / Impact - 6
- Acting - 6.5
- Visuals - 7
- Audio - 7
- Rewatch - 5
- Accessibility - 7.5
- Subtitle quality - 8
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watch this or else
I'm not very good with words but here I am. ?Hooked from start to finish, this drama has been worth the wait. Despite the limited budget, this drama delivered a high quality production. The script is quotable, there's so many lines that are memorable. It would've been better if iqiyi made more effort in translating them. The acting is top tier. It made me starstruck and engrossed. It felt like i'm there with them, I kept holding my breath not to miss anything. The costumes are also good. I like xie wei's hairstyle with his hair down and the ribbon on his back. He also looked great in his court official attire, that's my most fave look of him. The women's dresses are also so fine. I love the pastel colors. The gold on the royalties are also so fitting. I like a drama that invest in costumes because it adds to my watching experience.
I'm not sure how the drama plot stayed true to the novel but the drama plot was well done. I liked the pacing. There's something significant happening in every episode. There's no unnecessary fillers. Nothing was dragged or rushed. I think my main problem was the romance of xie wei and ning'er. While they have a lot of interactions in the first 30 eps, the love line hasn't really started there though from xie wei's perspective it's been going on from the earliest eps. Ning'er still hasn't have that kind of feelings for him yet. This is the slowest burn i have ever experienced in my cdrama life. But those moments of xie wei and ning'er from the first 30 eps are still serving chemistry. They're not doing romantic but they're burning of chemistry. bailu and zhang linghe did so well in that department. Came ep 31 onwards, some may say love was forced to ning'er but no. From the start, she might have develop something but only at later eps did it awakened. And mostly, xie wei's love for her reached her and she took it. They have such a toxic development but they're both intense so I think it suited them both fine.
I am not into love triangle, what more reverse harem. I liked how every men and woman in jxn's life are important to her story. I was stressed and seething of jealousy (for xw) when seeing her with zhang zhe though. Such a sad love story. Their moments were sweet.
When it comes to palace dramas, the scheming will always be present. Mostly, I get stressed watching those but this one our mains are mainly involved in the scheming. As the saying goes, they may not always win but they will never lose. That's how powerful our main leads here that I never have to sweat about them losing anything. They will pass through challenges again and again.
I think this is the kind of drama that I would want to marathon and watch with friends. Never a dull moment. Watch it, highly recommend!
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