Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
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 :)
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
2ND CHANCE AND REDEMPTION
A head strong Jiang Xue Ning (Bai Lu) who would do anything to become an Empress, who manipulated many people to do her bidding to stay in power and control, who died by killing herself of regret in exchange her life for someone else's life. The story of second chance and redemption of Jiang Xuening; to avoid herself get into the palace like her past life as the ambitious Empress. But she couldn't entirely escape from fate that's written to her, shifting her fates and people in the path of redemption. However some things were still end the same like invincible hand stirred to what fate have been. Ning'Er still end up joining the palace as a Princess's study companion and Xie Wei's (Zhang Ling He) student. As a new person, she still handled things with devious strategies to avoid certain fates that got her in trouble in previous life, with different approached she still manipulate people according to her wishes. The old feeling still hunted her to which decision made and wisdom came from. Relationship Xie Wei & Xue Ning were teacher and student, outside the circle they're conspirator.Xie Wei/Xue Ding Fei (Zhang Ling He)
As the most scary person in Jiang Xue Ning's life - she most afraid and bitter toward him. Crown Prince's teacher and advisor to the Emperor, Xie Wei had every reason to be wary of. He hold most secrets as he's the sole survivor of 20 years old frightening 300 young lost souls originated, a 7 years young Viscount Xue Ding Fei was used to replace for (same age) Crown Prince's life to demanding rebel leader Prince Ping'An. Who knew he survived the massacre and became Prince Ping'An bullet to destroy Qian/Shen royal family, his hatred to his biological father Xue was no bound. His affection for Yan family where his mother was the beloved sister of Duke Yan (Yan Lin's father). This time around, he suffered from PTSD from early age trauma. His main goal was to destroy Xue which aligned with Xue Ning's mission and maneuver palace's politics to achieve goals. So much going on his calculating mind to achieve successful outcomes, he'd happily married Xue Ning and had twin children.
Yan Lin (Zhou Jun Wei)
In this new life Jiang Xuening redeemed her mistake by secretly plans to stop Yan Lin's bloody upcoming-age Crown Ceremony from happening, result of power struggle between 2 influential family Xue & Yan. With Jiang Xuening and Xie Wei's plan, the Yan family's lives were saved although they went exile for wrongful accusation. At point of time when Yan Lin lost his whole family during his coming-to age celebration from Xue and the day knowing Xue Ning rejecting his love. Her betrayal made Yan Lin obsess and furious. When he started to gain power to rebel, Yan Lin determined to make her his woman, but she killed herself to exchange life for a life. Xue Ning was forewarned Yan Lin that her feeling was friendship, none romantic, Yan Lin had to first hand knowing her true feeling to avoid obsession nor hatred as he's falling more deeper in love with her like in their previous life. He'd be a grand general and respected by whole country, Yan family all came back home.
Zhang Zhe ( Wang Xing Yue)
Jiang XueNing most precious person was Zhang Zhe. In previous life she was using him to cover up her many guilt of wrong doing, for the sake of love Zhang Zhe betrayed his conscience to make wrong judgement. He felt unworthy and guilt of the dead of his mother he wrote a letter to Justice Dept to sentence him to death. Xue Ning begged him to forgive himself and blame her instead. Few days before his death sentence, Xue Ning went to Xie Wei for his mercy and kill herself in exchange for his life. Second change, Zhang Zhe being an upright man was indeed love her, they had a chance to have their happy ending together, but his mother eventually died from the same cause and affect him the same guilt so Xue Ning decided to let go remembering how bad Zhang Zhe end up on their previous life. All in all Zhang Zhe assisted Xie Wei, Yan Lin, Xue Ning to reveal the truth of evil-doers Xue family.
Princess Le Yang/Shen Zhi Yi (Liu Xie Ning)
Jiang Xue Ning was her bestfriend, they're study mates. Jiang Xue Ning was successfully change their relationship dynamic into friendship rather as adversary in their previous life, but for sure Xue Ning knew that Princess Le Yang would be sent off to get married with enemy's prince and tragically died. In this life, Xue Ning would rush to save her from fatal outcome. Although she still had a bad marriage, faced abuse and imprisonment, she's finally free to come back home.
You Fang Yin (Melody Tang)
In previous life, she's the faithful attendant/maid to her Empress life, Fang Yin's been through too much during her reign so she felt guilty put her through. So, Jiang Xue Ning saved her from jealous bitter step sister and hateful You family. Xue Ning trusted her with business and independent. She married to a very nice man, handled businesses good, sadly died for loyalty.
Although the drama is heavy in political conflicts and intrigues, twisting fate for different outcomes might also be a little romance at the end. Great script, the intrigue wasn't boring, amazing costumes (everyone looks amazing), great coordination between flash back and new stories, good angle cameramen and directive. Zhang Ling He is great in here, shining in his acting (not convincing enough he's afraid of cat though), he'll have a long acting career. Bai Lu is so so as her usual self, as 27 yo she can't act like 19yo, we've seen her same acting in her other dramas. Zhou Jun Wei is pretty sleek as Yan Lin while Wang Xing Yue has character that's not special, I think he'd be more interesting as (previous life) Zhang Zhe when he broke many etiquette and laws - he'd lots of inner battles and emotion fight in within . Very good drama.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
A Story With a Male Lead Like No Other!
Story Of Kunning Palace has a well-laid-out plot that will make you sit through all the episodes without the urge to fast forward or skip scenes. The story unfolds with bits and pieces of the past that are told through flashbacks. The past heightens the intrigue as it is surrounded by a sense of darkness. The flashbacks serve the purpose to contrast with the FL's present events as it shows her what could happen in the present.The characters of Story Of Kunning Palace are one of the major factors that make the drama fascinating because the characters are not your typical leads. Zhang Ling He as the male lead was outstanding as Xie Wei. There are scenes where he gets really angry such that there is a dark side of the character yet a times a rather endearing side especially when he shows jealousy when there is another love interest for the FL. Bai Lu again succeeds in forming a certain chemistry with her ML.
Her scenes with Zhang Ling He were well connected as they were matched in the dynamics of their performance.
Story Of Kunning Palace is an excellent choice if you are looking for a drama mixed with palace intrigue, revenge, and romance with the unique addition of flashbacks to a past life to add a quality of hindsight. The characters are well-written and interesting with a plot that keeps you going from one episode to the next. The romance is slow burn but when the leads finally come together, it is well worth the wait. And of course, Xie Wei as a ML like no other, is well worth the watch! And the kisses....more than worth the wait!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Amazing
I really love this drama though I wish there could have been more romance between the lead. Everything felt rush at the end as if they are trying to rush the romance since they skip it a lot in the beginning. Other than that, everything was well putted and a very good ending.The music is very catchy as well. Love the songs!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
tw: toxic relationship | not for the judgemental!!
Honestly I really liked this drama, it's definitely a slowburn that's worth waiting for unlike most fluffy dramas. I definitely love the FL and ML, had such great chemistry in the bts. I don't wanna spoil anything, so just gonna briefly describe the story.1. Story. Not too harsh for the heart, definitely a smooth and satisfactory story that I really like. The plot(s) weren't that surprising either which is good imo, because complex stories are harder to understand but this drama definitely gives a nice ride.
2. Acting. Of course, per usual, well done. ZLH's expressions definitely do make me feel some type of way, smirking, grinning and scoffing I love it! For me, I really hate it when characters have a really stale expression, small details really do matter just like micro expressions so he did them really well. Bai Lu, insane acting skills however I do think she could use a little more expressions as well that isn't written on the script, in order to emphasize her character even more. (As a Bai Lu fan)
3. I think the music was alright, but I do think it's low-key overused, but definitely can't blame them as the OST's that are used for the scenario must fit the situation. When I first heard of the opening scene of SOKP, I was rlly invested though, I liked the unique idea of it.
4. As for rewatch value, I don't think ut deserves a 10 because everyone have their different preferences and opinions, so I'll leave it open to everyone's own idea.
5. Overall, I think this drama definitely should be watched, toy can watch it during your free time (recommended) or anytime!!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
The best drama of 2023 for me!
I loved this one! The story drew me in from the get go. And I watched it as it was airing…waiting for each episode to drop. Both the leads were phenomenal, the supporting cast was stellar and the story was gripping. The chemistry between the leads was fire. Zhang Linghe was absolutely swoon worthy with his burning gaze and his barely suppressed jealousy! Just wow. Only gripe I had was with the weird lighting and the odd placement of spotlights which was annoying! Highly recommended if you like a mature and passionate romance between two broken people with trauma!Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
THIS DRAMA WAS SO GOOWWDD
this is a romance one, but how xie ju'an loving jiang xuening just was sooo diff😄 in my opinion this drama has too much war scene, but actually not a boring one. good to know xie ju'an character because he is a man who has principal but childish in other way. how jiang xuening try to change all the story just make me a bit annoyed, but her character is amazing too. how she handles xie ju'an, emmm- i just cannot relate to her😭😭in the end of the story make me wanna know they another life in modern one
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
I want to fan-girl this dramaaaaa
HOW SHOULD I START!!!firstly I want to talk about the story!!, the story is well written even if there are some changes, the writers didn’t spoil it !!, the character development of some characters is insane!! like I could relate to their growth of personality, and I didn’t know I will be so intrigued with political conflict? they make it interesting really !!, the story overall is amazing and even if there is some matters didn’t match or explained the plot will make you finish this masterpiece in few days!
Now let’s talk about the CHARACTERS:
Ning’er: to be honest she’s fall first or at least had crush on Xie Wei from their first life 😂, like girl you want to be chocked like hell girl!! “ choke me like you hate me but you love me”, she admired Zhang Zhe , but didn’t really loved him that much bcz she always chooses herself and her comfort, even after she back in time, she still chose her comfort over what her heart or others thinks. Anyway this is not a bad thing really, bcz her second life she balanced this desire and become wiser of what her needs and others needs!!, and what make Xie Wei different is bcz he let her cross her comfort zone and cross her principles sometimes and it is not necessary a bad thing tho, he is the only one who helped her to overcome her past life and live normally.
Xie Wei: to be honest the story is around him not the FL 😂, we only see his story from Ning’er perspective, anyway his personality is confusing as hell ? like he is a villain but not really an ordinary villain? he has a good reasons and good method? like he is a hero using villains tools and that why everyone who knows him well adores and protects him and specially respects him, he didn’y ask help of anyone he is simply attracted the people around him and if they helped him he will return the favor multiple times and if they hurt him of will they best results is dying really 😂, yeah he is using the people around him but also taking care of them 😂, he is a hero using villains tools as I said.
Yan line : best boy I will take him 🥹, for me he is better and greenest flag than Zhang Zhe !! like come on guys … he will die and fight for her and he respects that she’s not in love with him and didn’t bother… and his relationship with his father and his respect to the ML is so admirable really !! he is the Best man on the series!!
Zhang Zhe: our boring grean flag guy .. I love you man but what are you doing becoming depressed after lying ? and do a whole drama about it then accept it 😂??? and yeah u r rightous and all but u know that people have different personalities and you should act according to their personality man … like literally the first encounter with you was beautiful and u did a well scheme to capture the maid … why will you be stupid sometimes 😂yeah he changed and learned that honestly is not always the best choice.. I love you man really , but I don’t know why u irritated me sometimes…
those are the main characters, the other characters were also charming, but I’m getting tired from typing !!
my comfort character is : lu Xian ( the businessman) the best friend of Xie Wei !! he is truly the definition of friendship!!
and 👋🏻 bye bye
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Explosively Exciting and Enjoyable!
I went in blind and was blown away by this fabulous drama! <3I want to wax lyrical about it and now that I am done with the drama, I can't wait to re-watch it. I have already started watching clips to relive specific special moments like the explosive kiss scene featuring our darlings - ML and FL. I am on a bit of "SOKP" withdrawal at the moment...
What I LOVE about this drama:
- As always, suspend disbelief and fully immerse in the DRAMA of this drama. This drama is very dramatic with all its shenanigans... plotting, scheming, killing, protecting, lying, saving, loving...
- The ML is completely Da-Bomb Great in this drama. I watched one drama featuring him previously and thought that he was good. But, whoa, here, he is GREAT! He is AWESOME. He is MAGNIFICENT as Xie Wei. I love his snarls, growls, jealousy, plotting, smart mind, eloquence, the way he loves, the way he is petty, the way he is forward-thinking, the way he tries to move away from his past... I think ZLH brought this character to life splendidly and no one else can do a better job than he. ZLH is XIE WEI and XIE WEI is ZLH and no other actor can do justice to this character anymore because ZLH delivered spectacularly!
- The FL remains adorable in her own ways from start to finish. BL is a great actress. I have watched several of her dramas and she does shine!
- The plot is highly riveting and exciting. I want to go from one episode to the next. The drama's pace leaves me breathless and also, breathless for more!
- The entire cast is wonderful and I like that even the less significant characters have their opportunities to shine and to deliver. Because of everyone's stellar contribution, the drama is certainly superbly fine like excellent and expensive wine. I like that JXH is constantly good. She does not turn out to be a bitch in disguise. I like that the loyal characters like DQ and JS and FYQ all stayed faithful and strong.
- The OST is memorable. I have been listening to it over and over again.
- Story plot tries very hard to make sense throughout and I appreciate it! Everything is tied up nicely towards the end too which is wonderful.
- Happy, happy ending which is a complete plus point for me. It thrills me to see ML and FL having their well-deserved Happily-Ever-After.
What I DO NOT LOVE:
- Just some 'minor' issues - the villains are damn annoying. I hate Xue Shu and Xue Yuan. And well, all the baddies. But, I understand that every drama needs baddies or else, what drama will we have?
- I cannot fathom how Xue Yuan just keeps on wanting to kill his own flesh and blood. Even his son is not so ruthless and blood-thirsty. He is definitely mega-villain. I hate him and all the Xues (other than ML, of course; and ML says that he is no longer a Xue and a Yan).
Overall, I love this drama very dearly. It is superb. I highly enjoyed it. I came to it rather late but better late than never... I want to encourage everyone else to watch it and to enjoy it too! :o)
I generously give it a perfect score because, to me, this drama is truly dramatically magnificent!!
<3
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
Deze recentie kan spoilers bevatten
Great Era of Politics with Romantic touch of FL life
Well if you are looking for Politics (most prob) than this is the best drama, a must watch. Whereas in romance it is a slow burn (means if you are asking about romance between ML than it properly start from Epi 30).Before that there are good scenes between SL and FL and Fight and Funny scenes between MC.
In every aspect story was good. I love how both Male Leads weren't clingy to FL whereas ML was more possesive and obsessed with FL but it in a good way (acc to me 🤫🥳)
A must watch drama.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
One of the Best drama from Bai Lu! Queen of Wuxia drama
*Positive things* : the chemistry's off all actor/actress is very good , their acting very impresif, especially Xue Shu and princess. I really dont like Xue Shu, but this thing proof her acting really good.I like how jealously XW with Zhang Zhe until the end, its so funny.. Even his child respect Zhang Zhe. 🤣
Finally, we got happy ending for Bai Lu wuxia drama compare to Till The End of The Moon. As expected, Bai Lu acting very good!
The negative :
- The soundtrack drama is so so, i mean not too good but not bad.
- Ep 37-38, i expect more conflict, but turn is out, the result predictable.
Anyway i glad to know and watch this drama, it will be one of the best drama in 2023!!
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
I was so excited to watch this drama, worth my time
Loved it, Loved it & Loved it. From story to acting, everything is perfect.The story is well written. It is about power-play & revenge. I like the leads being grayish character.
Jiang Xue Ning is short-tempered, stubborn, ignorant, smart, cunning, but despite all of that, she is afraid of Xie Wei.
Xie Wei is cold-hearted, cruel, smart, cunning, calculative but scared of cats.
I loved Jiang Xue Ning & Xie Wei interaction. He is always there helping & protecting her, sacrificing for her. It was funny to see Xie Wei saving the qin but not Jiang Xue Ning. Even when Jiang Xue Ning isn't in a good mood or upset to cheer her up, he takes her to his office to practice qin.
As always, Bai Lu did her best. I liked Zhang Ling He acting as well. Also, Zhou Jun Wei & Liu Xie Ning did a good job.
I like Yan Lin but also hate him for what he did to Jiang Xue Ning in the past in his anger. He is immature but gradually understands everything.
I liked Shen Zhi Yi, she is cute & immature. Always there to protect & help Jiang Xue Ning.
Zhang Zhe is a righteous person with strong principles.
Lu Xian is a greedy businessman who always thinks about profit. But he is always there to help Xie Wei & make fun of him. A good friend of his.
You Fang Yin is a trusting and loyal friend of Jiang Xue Ning. She is good at doing business. The ending scene broke my heart. The way Jiang Xue Ning protected her & did everything to keep her save.
It was cute & sweet to see how the princess protected Jiang Xue Ning & did everything to make Jiang Xue Ning her study partner, but poor Jiang Xue Ning didn't want to go to the palace. Their friendship, the thing Jiang Xue Ning did for her so that she doesn't have to go.
Jiang Xue Hui is kind-hearted, considerate. Even after knowing that she is a concubine daughter, she didn't hold it against or make trouble for Jiang Xue Ning as we see in other dramas.
The conversation between Xie Wei & Yan Mu was so heart touching, I feel Yan Mu may have guessed it at that moment.
Jiang Xue Ning mother is so annoying. She doesn't let Jiang Xue Ning explain or talk. Always blaming everything on her not knowing the truth.
I loved Lu Xian & Jiu Shu bickering.
The way Jiang Xue Ning tried so hard to fail the exam so that she didn't have to enter into the palace.
It was funny how Zhou Bao Ying took away walnut cake from Jiang Xue Ning & the same thing Xie Wei did to her.
Everyone's reaction to You Fang Yin & Lu Xian getting married.
It's The Starry Cast reunion. The famous TTEOM stairs.
I liked the kisses given that the director is famous, using lights, birds & flowers in kissing scenes.
I loved OST.
Vond je deze recentie nuttig?
