Story of Kunning Palace (2023)

Perfect drama with lots of interesting plots

BaiLu and zheng linghe both are good looking and great potential to play strong characters. I personally liked BaiLu because she is the one who described her role gracefully. Jiang xiuening who played by BaiLu had so many relationship issues which caused her hell. All of her characters justified very gradually and most importantly her co male artist all of them are so sweet and doing their job greatly. Zhang linghe and BaiLu both have great chemistry which can show off camera.. and yes of course BaiLu always had relationship with her co star so not like they are lovers etc.. I just find them looking great together

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Cdrama Recommendation for Kdrama Addicts!

This is my first cdrama of Zhanglinghe as the lead. I'm not even a cdrama lover but just got bored one day and ended up seeing a post about red flag male leads on tiktok. I saw the poster and strangely i feel drawn to it. Among all the dramas posted there, this is the one that i gave a shot. I said to myself let's just try 1 ep and see if its good. But after first ep i started downloading all remaining eps and binge watched it for 3 days. I got really invested in the story and the characters, especially the leads xue ning and xie wei. This is the first after a very long time that I've gotten so obsessed with a drama. Xie Wei for me really stood a lot! They say he's a red flag but after watching it, he's definitely a black flag. He's character is so intelligent and cunning that he always have plans for everything. Xue ning is also smart and they are perfect for each other. I also like Zhang Zhe from the way he looks at Xue Ning, its a very genuine and warm love. Xie Wei on the other hand looks at Xue Ning with a longing expression and sometimes a bit possesive but he also has his warm and caring side. I like the reverse harem theme of the show and i like that it didn't focus that much on it and mainly on the political aspects of the show. The show is definitely a must watch!

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Loved this so much

This is definitely one of my highest rated dramas, and this was probably a curse because I started watching it exactly during exam season, oh well... Nonetheless, I found every episode intriguing and enjoyable. The plot is interesting: the power struggle is understandable and not overly confusing and unnecessary like in many other dramas, instead in this one it was quite fun to watch. Ning'er is a strong character, and although she appears to be very confident after having died in her first life and entered her second one, you can still see that she also brings a lot of emotional baggage with her, and she is not indestructable as often seen in other stories that have a rebirth trope. I found the relationships in the story quite beautiful and it was nice to see that there was trust between characters, such as between Xie Wei and the emperor (I think often there is always some sort of backstabbing, which becomes tiring to watch). I loved how not everything went well even though Ning'er and Xie Wei are smart, like things should go wrong but not too wrong either (as I often see in xianxia dramas, which drives me a bit crazy sometimes ngl). Xie Wei is soooo oh my god, not a good person in many ways, but he still took my breath away. And Zhang Linghe's acting was for me by far the best in this drama, better than in My Journey to You or in Love Between Fairy and Devil. Lu Bai is also a very good actress, her dramas tend to be good as well.

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There's Just Something Missing.

Let me start off by saying this - this was a DIFFICULT show for me to finish in the beginning. The beginning of this show was incredibly slow. I don't mind the concept of shows setting the stage and foundation for whatever story they're attempting to tell, but I felt like this was one of those shows that would easily lose a potential viewer in the beginning. The only reason I kept going was because I'd been told by several people on various platforms that the set-up for the show makes the rest of it that much more worth it. That's what I was told.

Now, the complaints I have for this show are not with the actors. The actors did .. fine, I guess. They did the best with what they had. We can honestly say that. This show could have been so much BETTER but it wasn't. I'm actually quite disappointed with what this show turned out to be. The premise is intriguing and appealing, but the execution leaves a LOT to be desired. The execution fell flat, and that's my primary takeaway from this show. Months into the future, I'll probably think about how amazing this show truly could have been if given to a set of more competent writers (or directors?) Anyway, this show sounds good on paper but it doesn't deliver on those promises.

Starting off, I love Bai Lu. I love her to pieces and I find that she's quite talented for the most part. Now, I must say that I finished watching Till the End of the Moon prior to watching this show so some of this review mostly comes from my inner comparison of the two shows. Mainly for no other reason but because of the fact that Bai Lu stars in both. Let me start off with one of my biggest pet peeves EVER when it comes to watching dramas - there was a very distinct lack of chemistry between Xue Ning and her love interests. It's the strangest thing because all of her love interests were attractive. Yet, there was a strange lack of sexual tension and chemistry between her and any of them. I don't know how or why they manage to do THAT but it was one of the first things I noticed after I got through the first 10-episode slump. Again, I'm wondering if this is due to the director or something else, because I didn't ship her with anyone. Her first two love interests were decent men for the most part. They weren't downright awful or cruel, but it felt like the writers didn't know what they wanted to do. Meaning - it's almost like they were gearing up for a very specific endgame for Xue Ning and then decided to change their minds in the last 5 episodes of the show. Also, she had amazing chemistry with her girl friends. Xue Ning's relationships with the Princess and Fang Yin were some of my favorites in the entire drama.

People often complained about TTEOTM suffering due to those set of writers not knowing which way they wanted to commit regarding Ye Xiwu/Li Susu's feelings but I felt the same way about this show. I felt like the writers were building the foundation for Xue Ning to end up with Zhang Zhe and then suddenly decided not to follow through. I'm not saying this because I shipped them or anything like that. I'm saying that based on the way Xue Ning acted towards him. There is a very distinct way she looked at him that she never replicated with Xie Wei. Xue Ning looked at Zhang Zhe like he hung the fucking MOON! She had the heart eyes every time she talked to him and it was very very obvious that she liked him. It may not have been obvious to him because he's the duty before honor, hero type so his only purpose is to bring justice to the kingdom and blah blah blah blah. He was gorgeous but his character wasn't interesting enough to be the endgame. If they would have shown him struggling to do the right thing while understanding that following the rules and decrees of an unjust, indecisive leader would have sent everyone straight to hell, then I would have been rooting for him honestly. Xue Ning's interest for him was there. Their interactions were decent too, but his character was too much of a Lawful Good for me to root for him. Rules ensure that order is maintained but some rules need to be broken, and I don't truly believe he ever realized that. At least not by the end of the show, that is.

Someone else said it and I'm inclined to agree, but it appeared as if Xue Ning was simply going through the motions when she got with Xie Wei. It didn't seem as if she even LIKED him. It seemed like she was mostly tolerating and humoring him for some reason? What reason would that be? I don't know, but that's what it felt like. We know he liked her. That was obvious! But I couldn't tell if she liked him or not. She never looked at Xie Wei with the same kind of awe and adoration like she did with Zhang Zhe, which is why I said it seemed as if the writers (or director) didn't know how they wanted to play this. Not to mention the fact that there was truly no real reason for Xue Ning to dump Zhang Zhe in the end. Absolutely none. Also, Yan Lin was a sweetheart but it was never going to be him and that was also obvious. He was a good man who really cared about her, but I knew he wasn't going to be The One. He bowed out gracefully and that just goes to show what kind of a man he was. He loved her but he knew she didn't love him the way he wanted her to; it didn't change how he treated her. He still cared about her. He still protected her. He still wanted her to find happiness, even if it wasn't with him. He's a good man, Savannah!

Now, let's talk about her and Xie Wei. I typically don't like the enemies to lovers trope. I'm usually not a fan of it, but I can be if DONE PROPERLY. That last part is the most important distinction about that statement. The teacher-student thing didn't bother me. The idea that he would be awful and toxic to her also didn't bother me honestly. What DID bother me is the fact that there was no real sexual tension between the two of them. I wouldn't consider a man walking around choking you and telling you at every juncture that you belong to him to be sexual tension. Granted, that could be hot under the right circumstances. However, it wasn't hot in this one. I don't know if it was because the director (or writers) didn't know how to write the receiver of this type of dynamic or not. What I mean is this - in this type of dynamic, the receiver has a very distinct and specific role that would determine how the audience responds to the dynamic as a whole in the long run. Xue Ning never responded to Xie Wei like a woman who was just barely holding on by a thread because she wanted to jump his bones so badly but she couldn't because she's a lady who has to suppress her feelings and maintain her reputation. She didn't respond like that. She responded as if she was being threatened. Her responses came off more like fear rather than suppressed sexual desire. Which didn't make sense due to who she was in her first life. Who she was in her first life would have THRIVED with a man like Xie Wei. The Empress would not have shown fear like that; she would have gave as good as she got and responded by giving this man a run for his money, but that didn't happen either.

Another thing - someone else mentioned that we never saw Xie Wei supplicate himself at Xue Ning's feet, and I think that's another piece of the puzzle that would have changed the finished product of this relationship. I love a man who is possessive and obsessive (in fiction) for the most part, but I still need to see that man's willingness to submit to the woman he claims to be in love with. I don't want this misconstrued. I'm not saying I want him to go through some halfhearted, shoddy redemption arc, but I want him to beg and grovel for her sometimes. Whenever they would argue and he would be in the wrong, we never saw him supplicate himself to her and show her how deep his love is. He never apologized to her for his reactions to her. Yes, he never hid how he felt in front of the world. Yes, he put his life on the line to save her multiple times, but what about the words? We need to see you submit to her in private too. When it's just the two of you, why not? He never established himself as a safe place for her to land, in my opinion.

Sidenote: The one couple I actually found myself interested in was Fang Yin and her husband (whose name I can't remember for some reason). Now, those two had the potential to be great. There was just something about him wanting to lift that weight off of her shoulders and shared the burdens of life with her that I found intriguing. He saw her and he knew that she could have been the love of his life eventually. Yes, he wasn't in love with her initially but he could have been. If the writers had allowed them the opportunity to blossom and thrive, they could have fallen in love with each other and it would have been interesting. I wanted to see where it would go. I wanted to see more of it, but we didn't get that and that's unfortunate.

It bears repeating - this show could have been SO MUCH BETTER. I'm disappointed because it didn't live up to its potential. My expectations were so high based on what I'd read from other people, but I should have lowered them. Will I rewatch this show? Maybe some scenes because there were some scenes I found unintentionally funny, but not a complete rewatch. Would I recommend it though? Ehhh, maybe. It's not downright terrible but it's not as great as people claim it is. It's just okay.

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Far Exceeded Expectations

Going into this drama, I expected it to be good because of Bai Lu. She never disappoints. I only remember the ML in LBFAD, and thought his performance was good. I just never thought this pairing would be as hot as it was.

The opening scene was like sitting at the top of a roller coaster and then the rest was a wild ride of intrigue and passion. What made this so good was the writing, the acting, and the cast. What makes or breaks a drama for me is how the actors portray their roles. I MUST have three dimensional characters in order to keep watching, even if the pacing is slow. Everyone does an excellent job at eliciting emotions here: regret, sadness, happiness, jealousy, anger, despair, and passion.

Speaking of characters, the FL has three, THREE ML's to contend with. Goodness! And they all did such a great job of showing why they loved the FL.

The scenes were beautifully done. I also liked the subtle humor sprinkled throughout and the natural chemistry between the leads. I became a bigger fan of Bai Lu and an even bigger fan of Zhang Ling He.

**I watched this first by myself, and then with my twin who has never watched a Chinese drama. She just happened to watch the kissing scene on YT, and then begged me to watch it with her. She LOVED this! It was great watching this once. It was even better binge watching this with my best friend.

An absolute must watch (alone or with a friend). 10/10.

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Excellent balance from the best historical drama in 2023

This drama grew on me from an 8 to a 10. First I wanted to give this drama a 9 after finishing because I used two days of wondering about what really happened in our character's first life and what Xie Wei was thinking at that time. But then I decided that it was a good thing that I don’t know, the guessing makes it more interesting and the characters become more complex.

This drama has so many great things going on. The actors does an impeccable job. Bai Lu is very good at this sort of light comedic roles and Zhang Linghe surprised me as a very good morally grey male lead. I need to see him as a fully bloomed villain in the future.

The foundation of this story is interesting because it doesn’t tell the viewer everything we want to know. The flashbacks are balanced and the tempo of the story is good. Some parts of the story is predictable and tropey but not to an extent that it is bad in any way. Somehow they manage to give everything a fresh feel, perhaps because our characters aren’t always good persons. They make mistakes but they deal with it. The story is easy to follow without being simple.

The word that keeps coming back to me is “balanced”. A bit of love, mystery, tropes, fighting scenes and palace intrigue. At first I was a bit disappointed by the main leads inability to defend themselves but later I found that refreshing.

It is the combination of not knowing everything from their first life, with the fresh take on tropes and the high quality acting, costume and art direction that makes this drama worth a 10. I can’t find anything to critique. The more I think about this drama the more I like it. This 10 grew on me.

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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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I can see why its one of the hottest dramas for 2023

This drama is about the story of a second chance in life. During the start it can be a bit confusing as they only show snippets of what happened in FL’s past life. However as the story develops, you will see how the past affects her decisions for the current life and how she is trying to be good this time round. Not too much romance going around at the beginning though FL has 3 love interests and lots of scheming plots among the villains as the FL tries to survive in the palace. Both FL and MLs played their roles perfectly. For some reason I kind of hoped the FL went with Zhang Zhe though. Kissing scenes were also really intense in the later episodes.

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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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Wow, that got me. In one word - beauty.

Impressions? Feelings? Experiences? Strong, deep, unforgettable. I've been looking forward to this series for a long time, but I didn't expect it to interest me like this. I swallowed one part after another and could not tear myself away from it. Cast, great music, but above all a wonderful, incredibly strong story, under the pressure of which I could not stand up, no matter how hard I tried. The biggest rush of emotions I've ever experienced while watching a movie.


Plot, effects, camera, music, actors, jokes, chemistry, serious moments, everything works perfectly. I would rank it among the top dramas I've seen so far.


Do I recommend watching the drama? Certainly yes. - it was simply amazing!

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THE BEST HISTORICAL DRAMA THIS YEAR!

Hands down “Story of Kunning Palace” is the best historical cdrama this year!!

Story:
The story is different from the other cdramas around: this time we have an anti-hero, Jiang Xuening, going back time to fix her mistakes that led to her death. She’s a complex character that did many bad things in the past but gradually you’ll love her so much more.
Then we have Xie Wei, who is personally my fav character in the drama. He has such a complex personality and soul, he’s so cunning, so smart and he always knows what’s gonna be his next step. He has the power of the world in his head. But keep in mind that he’s not an hero. He’s truly dark.

There are many other characters that you’ll completely love or hate. But each one of them has their own story and their own path. No one is left behind in the story. Everything is connected perfectly like some pieces of a puzzle. I’m so satisfied with how the story develops and continues. No black holes, no questionable moments in terms of the narration, no WTF?! or boring moments.

It’s truly a consistent, full of twists and coherent story. I’m truly mesmerised by the writing. They did such an excellent job in describing each character and each storyline.

Acting/Cast:
The cast was perfect and Bai Lu is truly THE gem of this drama. Her acting is on point, she’s emotional, heartless and cunning. Zhang Linghe did such a good job in portraying such a complex and dark character like Xie Wei and I personally loved the fact that this was the first time he dubbed his own parts with his voice. Especially in the second half of the drama we can perceive their talents and also their chemistry which is top-notch. These two look perfect together and I totally need to see them again in another drama, maybe a modern one. All the other actors did a good job too!! Zhang Zhe is truly talented, same for the princess and Xue Shu, who’s such a terrific villain. I loved all of them, truly.

This is a MUST watch and, for the first time for a cdrama, I could rewatch it over and over again. It’s perfect, believe me.

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