1Beyond All That Drama
The Imperial Coroner - the dark horse that captivated me
In a Nutshell:
The drama is set in the Tang Dynasty, where our main female character Chu Chu travels to Chang’An to take the Coroner entrance exam in order to work for the Capital’s legal department. The man in-charge of the Judicial Office is Prince Xiao Jin Yu (official title: Commandery Prince An), who takes an interest in Chu Chu’s natural talent for fact-finding and unique methods of performing autopsies. He hires her as his Coroner to solve a string of murders involving several high ranking officials. In the process of unravelling those mysteries, they uncover historical State secrets that cause them to question their own positions in the Empire.
The Highlights:
The Imperial Coroner is one of those rare gems with a meticulous screenplay that ensures a coherent plot. The result is a drama that doesn’t contain random filler episodes that add no value to the overall story. Character motivations remain consistent from start to finish and there is a good balance of comedy, action, suspense, slow burn romance and drama.
Despite this drama being promoted as a whodunit murder mystery, the heart of what drives its narrative is the timeless theme of identity and family relationships. The story connects with our innate desire as human beings to know where we come from, who we consider as family, and what our purpose in life is.
The drama is also a good example of an ensemble cast that work well together, with everyone playing their role to perfection. You can almost believe that these characters would exist in real life. Su Xiao Tong perfectly encapsulates the bright eyed and bushy-tailed curiosity of Chu Chu, yet at the same time is able to convey her natural knack for critical thinking and problem solving. Wang Zi Qi gives us a refreshing take on a male lead that doesn’t fall into the boring C-drama trope of an ice cold brooding dude who never smiles but is secretly in-love with the female lead. On the contrary, his character Xiao Jin Yu is not just highly intelligent and respectful of others, but is witty and actually has a good sense of humour.
The lowlights:
If there was one thing that bugged me throughout the whole drama, it was the caricature portrayal of the Eunach and his goons. Perhaps it was intended to be more of a comedic representation, but whatever it was, the performance of the role just didn’t gel with me. The OST/music was also pretty mediocre and largely forgettable.
The verdict:
The Imperial coroner was certainly the dark horse of 2021. With very basic promotional marketing and no big names attached to the production, the show definitely deserved its unexpected popularity and success.
FAQs
1. How many episodes? 36. Each 45 mins long
2. Where can I watch? All episodes with English subtitles on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8SnPKMwiCo&list=PLs3DOuT3JlGT3nMBwEzQzjUwOyuTgu3eU
The drama is set in the Tang Dynasty, where our main female character Chu Chu travels to Chang’An to take the Coroner entrance exam in order to work for the Capital’s legal department. The man in-charge of the Judicial Office is Prince Xiao Jin Yu (official title: Commandery Prince An), who takes an interest in Chu Chu’s natural talent for fact-finding and unique methods of performing autopsies. He hires her as his Coroner to solve a string of murders involving several high ranking officials. In the process of unravelling those mysteries, they uncover historical State secrets that cause them to question their own positions in the Empire.
The Highlights:
The Imperial Coroner is one of those rare gems with a meticulous screenplay that ensures a coherent plot. The result is a drama that doesn’t contain random filler episodes that add no value to the overall story. Character motivations remain consistent from start to finish and there is a good balance of comedy, action, suspense, slow burn romance and drama.
Despite this drama being promoted as a whodunit murder mystery, the heart of what drives its narrative is the timeless theme of identity and family relationships. The story connects with our innate desire as human beings to know where we come from, who we consider as family, and what our purpose in life is.
The drama is also a good example of an ensemble cast that work well together, with everyone playing their role to perfection. You can almost believe that these characters would exist in real life. Su Xiao Tong perfectly encapsulates the bright eyed and bushy-tailed curiosity of Chu Chu, yet at the same time is able to convey her natural knack for critical thinking and problem solving. Wang Zi Qi gives us a refreshing take on a male lead that doesn’t fall into the boring C-drama trope of an ice cold brooding dude who never smiles but is secretly in-love with the female lead. On the contrary, his character Xiao Jin Yu is not just highly intelligent and respectful of others, but is witty and actually has a good sense of humour.
The lowlights:
If there was one thing that bugged me throughout the whole drama, it was the caricature portrayal of the Eunach and his goons. Perhaps it was intended to be more of a comedic representation, but whatever it was, the performance of the role just didn’t gel with me. The OST/music was also pretty mediocre and largely forgettable.
The verdict:
The Imperial coroner was certainly the dark horse of 2021. With very basic promotional marketing and no big names attached to the production, the show definitely deserved its unexpected popularity and success.
FAQs
1. How many episodes? 36. Each 45 mins long
2. Where can I watch? All episodes with English subtitles on Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8SnPKMwiCo&list=PLs3DOuT3JlGT3nMBwEzQzjUwOyuTgu3eU
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