This review may contain spoilers
This drama shows the politics in the harem which leads to the death of the Emperor. The Main Lead starts from being naive and then transforms into tough woman ready to take on the other scheming concubines.I feel bad for two people here - One is Duke Gao(Yunli) who never got to be with his love and the other is Concubine Ning.
While Yunli loved only one woman in his entire life and considered her as his only wife,he suffers a lot because of separation and also drinks poisoned wine to protect his love.
While Concubine Ning always protected what Duke Gao loved -whether it's his love HuanHuan,his twin children,the silk trees he had planted for HuanHuan and also kills his murderer(the Emperor). She commits suicide after accomplishing her mission. Throughput her life she always loved Yunli though it was one sided love. She never wanted to have any children with the emperor and sticks to it.
HuanHuan needs thank her three maids,Duke Gao and Concubine Ning for her survival. Though she is the best and the smartest in the harem,yet these people help her stay alive.
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empereses in the palace the You tube versions by LETV
I watched this on Netflix sometime ago and loved it, than I was playing with You Tube and found it again. Watched the first episode and found it different to the Netflix version. I found it had additional scenes it was great watching again with something new added in. the letv channel on YouTube has great content and this copy of empresses in the palace had more content and a greater understanding of many of the plots from the concubines. I sat down to view more epersodes i found the added content gave greater meaning to many of the relationships between the characters and the overall story has more flesh to the bone and is much more entertainingWas this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This drama is quiet special to me i dont know why. This drama is actually very slow but it makes sense since it started when she was just choosen to be a concubine of the emperor. She is simple,innocent and doesnt want a palace fight. So to make the story short time has come and its her turn to shine she become emperors favorite. Other concubines started to envy her and do some scheming that cause her miscarriage. She become pregnant again but because of empress sheming she was sent to nunnery and there she meet emperors brother and she fall in love. She thought that the one she love yunli already died she go back to palace and gave birth to twins and she let everyone believe that is emperors child. But soon emperor suspect something that they are having an affair so he order her to kill him by letting him drink a wine with poison. He died even though not her intention and that is the reason why she totally hate the emperor she take her revenge by becomming an empress and secure her sons future. Was this review helpful to you?
The acting is superb, every single role is played amazingly by the actors and actresses, particularly Sun Li who plays the lead role of Zhen Huan. When she laughs, you'll laugh, when she cries, you'll ball your eyes out. Even the 'bad' characters are played amazingly, you'll really get to hate them, but you'll even feel a bit sorry for them.
The storyline is very well written, just the right amount of drama, romance, relationships, revenge and sadness, and more. Each time I rewatch the drama, I find out more and more that I didn't notice the previous times. You can tell how much research went into this drama, if anything you'll learn a lot of history while watching. Obviously not all of the characters existed and are only based on a few historical figures, but you really get to learn the ways of life as someone living in the Imperial Palace.
Overall, I'm very bad at writing reviews so I'll stop now, but I would highly recommend this drama to anyone and everyone.
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This review may contain spoilers
Rise
Fine I’ll admit it, this one took a a few tries for my complete devotion. Legend of Zhen Huan is an extremely slow dose of what later becomes a helpless addiction you can’t put down until the very end. But how? What does this drama deliver so great that warrants binging for seemingly endless hours on end? What puts this series on a pedestal above most historical dramas to date? We’ll get into that, allow me to start off with why this masterful piece in particular is NOT worth everyone’s time.The Calm Before The Storm
Listen, the several times you’ve dropped a series can reflect one of two things in my opinion. The mood you’re not currently in or your distaste of the piece in general. A slow burn has never been for everyone no matter the quality of it. The subtle audacious tone of the pacing here only attests to why many prefer the opposite. As that may seem appealing in writing, it holds very unappealing factors that entirely depends on how little invested you are. Will you inevitably care for some characters? Sure. Will you care for enough characters and/or anticlimactic events to slog through a character driven drama of this length? There are many dry moments of daily life here, some more impactful than others, some much more exhausting on the viewer yet meaningful nonetheless. The quality of the story being told never drops but personal interest in it may. (Un?)Fortunately for me it occurred towards the very end.
Flowers
How exactly can one make a film entirely focused on life inside the harem interesting let alone a series? Simple, characterize all living fuck out of those living in it. I guarantee anyone who has watched through even a quarter of this has a favorite or two they’re extremely passionate about. The unstable sisterhood,rivalry, and flickering ambitions showcased here is not to be taken lightly. I’m a simple man that favors consistency. While i do have my praises for the FL like everyone else my constant interest and entertainment drove on the overt dominance of one of my favorite antagonists to strut on screen Hua Fei . My heart surprisingly resided with the deteriorated yet dignified Meizhuang from her long, unwavering friendship with Zhen Huan to her stubborn yet prideful ambitions in surviving as a shadow in the harem.
There are several likes and praises beyond those characters of course. The seemingly peaceful yet overly cautious and insecure Lingrong. The refreshing relief of wholesomeness in the harem of our beloved youngest Lady Chun. The constant press of the rewind button when a certain child speaks because my god was every word precious as hell. Huanbi’s under looked complexity and reflective envy of freedom. Clever yet underhanded actions of Cao determined to secure a safe future for her child leading to its inevitable demise. The longed pitiful Consort Duan that warms the heart every visit to her ironically cold palace. Believe me, the list goes on and on. Everyone is brought to life in full here, rather they tick annoyances or peak highlights. Every scheme and act of defense reflects the differences amongst each character in full congruence. Outstanding performance by the unsurprising Betty Sun as her character fall and rises through the ranks through countless tragedies and obstacles. She alone shows just how flawless Jiang Xin was for her role of a snobby, jealous, hilariously direct antagonist to stand out the most for me. A few weak performances , luckily as weak as their characters’ impact on the story.
Pitch
Let this beautiful story sell itself to you on its own. No it’s not an immediate hook and take some patience to become immersed for most. Once this drama does though there’s no going back. Actually, i take that back . There’s so much detail and subtle differences in tones and expressions that well warrants multiple rewatches with more satisfaction than the first time around. Such a strong and passionate execution throughout it’s length making no moments of it empty. Everything it attempts to deliver it executes profoundly through one way or another.
P.S. - If there’s anything this drama has expressed throughout its entirety. It’s watch your step in the palace.. no like literally, everyone’s clumsy as fu-
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With that said, you need to be a person with a certain level of patience to finish this drama. The story is well executed, the actors high caliber and the drama level high... however, it is very slow paced. The focus is on the relationship between the leading ladies, the palace intrigue and the power struggles of the inner palace. There are no gimmicks to entertain the audience. Therefore, if you are someone who needs plot twists and action after every episode to keep you hooked, this drama is not for you.
Personally, I loved watching Zhen Huan. The acting was superb. The costumes so beautiful. It felt like I was watching a Chinese version of a Jane Austin novel played on screen. While Jane Austin's female protagonists can feel a bit vanilla, Zhen Huan was a breath of fresh air. It was a joy watching her change from a doe eyed, somewhat naive yet bright, young girl into a manipulative, jaded and vengeful Queen B. She had the makeup and the acting chops to pull it off. I also learned a lot about Chinese history with this drama. My knowledge of female titles in the inner palace was limited to concubine and empress...who knew there was such a hierarchy?
All in all, this was a very beautifully executed, smart drama that felt real to its time and worth the journey. I highly recommend it.
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I loved how this drama shows that everyone has a past that has turned them into the type of character they were in this drama. No one was truly the most evil. Everyone had a story. This drama showed there is truly no such thing as a truly full good person. Everyone can turn into a bad person. We are all humans. We can be tempted by greed, lust, power, wealth, etc. We will do whatever it takes to survive. I loved that deep meaning shown in this drama.
The cast in this drama blew me away. The actors were all A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Holy crap. They all deserve an award. They brought the characters to life. I loved how the actors did not over exaggerate. Everything seemed truly natural.
Kudos to the director too. Even though Zhen Huan was the main character, I didn't feel like the director was overly focused on her at all. The director really let all the characters get their time to shine. The director also didn't change the setting into like some fantasy love story with tons of over exaggerated corny action scenes or love scenes, etc. just for the main characters also. The director tried to let all viewers see what it was truly like to live in the palace during the Qing Dynasty.
The costumes.were all fucking beautiful. I would love to own any costume shown in this drama. I think the costumes really added life to this drama. Without the colorful costumes, this drama would be truly bland. No colorful costumes giving eye gasms and spazz moments to viewers~
The music was so enchanting to hear for me. Every song suit the scenes in the drama perfectly.
Even though this drama was amazing, I will not rewatch it. The amount of episodes is way too time consuming. I also feel so constrained in feeling stressed out while watching this drama because the drama is mostly focused on everyone fighting for power in the palace, and that gives off a very stressful feeling for me which ends up making me feel so stressed out. It's like I feel trapped in my emotions of stress when I have to to sit through and watch complicated drama with people trying to all harm each other just for power, which can get annoying and tiresome. While watching this drama, I've had my share of irritation and stress... I don't want any more of that, lol. But if you feel like you could rewatch this drama, go ahead! This drama is just not my kind of drama to rewatch.
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still the best cdrama of all time
I have now watched the full 76 episodes no less than four times. This is the only cdrama I have rewatched more than twice. But it's still so good and I discover new details every time.If you're into palace dramas, like me, Zhen Huan Zhuan is just really carefully plotted, shot and acted from beginning to end. Sun Li put on an incredible performance but Jiang Xin (Hua Fei) and Ada Choi (the Empress) are both amazing as well. My only major nitpick is that some of the minor concubines are annoying and simple, but it's balanced by the detailed and complex main characters.
We start off the show when Zhen Huan is just a clever young girl, who has ideals about romance. Coming into the palace, all the concubines want the same thing. However Zhen Huan is an idealist, so she still overcomes the scheming of her rivals and falls for the Emperor. But in the end, the other concubines are not the real enemy.
Zhen Huan's journey from naive girl to the powerful but lonely empress is masterfully depicted by Sun Li, who can convey changes in emotions through the smallest changes in expression. It's really her greatest work. But I am still hoping someone can make another one like this.
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I made an exception for this though, and I'm glad I did. Its Netflix title is 'Empresses in the Palace' but this is inaccurate. There is only one empress at the start of the story and several concubines of different rankings. It's about the difficult lives of women in the harem. It's about survival, backstabbing and making your way to the top. This was interesting enough to watch (I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan!) as I liked the palace intrigue and maneuverings. The main female character Zhen Huan, starts of as a clever innocent but ends up as a ruthless Empress Dowager - this is not a spoiler since the very first episode already shows her as an old woman. The story is told in flashbacks which may take away a bit of the suspense as you already know she's going to end up fine.
Also, while she does end up ruthless and cynical in the end of the drama, I don't think she ever acted cruelly or unfairly. She never did anyone wrong...unless it was in revenge for a wrong done to her.
The drama is successful in showing how the most manipulative, backstabbing person can actually have a sad backstory...and while you don't justify or make excuses for their actions...when you find out how and why they turned out like that... you actually feel sorry for them O.o It also shows the exact opposite story arc. It shows how characters who appear meek or kindly or honorable are actually cruel or cunning in reality.
Overall, I like it because of the strong female lead (Betty Sun/Sun Li has that Betty Davis thing going on with her eyes) and the good performances given by the entire cast. The costumes looked great, the palace looked grand and the story was fascinating yet depressing at the same time. Looking at these women's lives made me think how horrible it was amidst the grandeur and luxury. They were like pretty animals in cages. This kind of story really isn't my thing (hence the imperfect rating) but it's a really good drama and worth a shot if you want to see a historical based on Chinese dynasties and harems.
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I was hooked from the first episode onwards, the series is very engaging and I loved the music that accompanied the romantic parts.
Each of the cast members had done such a great job in portraying their characters and brought them all to life. The politics between the women were so real and sometimes cruel was facinating to watch. I would highly recommend watching this if you are interested in palace and historical dramas.
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Cultural shock
I don't throw around the word "masterpiece" a lot, but if there's one, it's this drama. Back in the day I remember I was watching, and enjoying, a certain American show about politics. Then I came about watching Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan and I could never look at that other show the same. The intrigues and politics within the imperial harem made the other work feel like it was targeted at school kids.Now, I don't mean to trash that other show. it was objectively good in its own right. But the reaction I had to Legend of Concubine Zhen Huan was akin to a cultural shock. The script, the dialogues, the thoughts of characters, their motivations and actions were so intelligent in my eyes, I couldn't get over the fact that at the end of the day, it was just a piece of entertainment.
The show has an impressive number of 76 episodes, but there's not a dull moment. The epic story spanning over the years had me gripped, worried, angry, scared, cheering for love and in constant awe. The pacing is phenomenal, the acting really good, the writing is perfection.
I love that the show is not simply set in historical setting, but characters are acting according to times and their position within the society. Some historical dramas feel like they're simply using historical aesthetics for telling modern stories. Not in here. The main character is an extremely intelligent, well-educated woman, but she knows what is the appropriate behaviour expected of her.
Which leads me to my other point. This is a show about women, featuring a lot of great female characters. Some of whom are incredibly strong and formidable. But the way it's done is not through girl bossification, cardboard stick figure character portrayal, who's just as smart as dumb are her opponents. This is a story of truly wise women, who use their power smartly. And as this drama shows, not always is the loudest person the most formidable enemy and the most dangerous ones are the ones you don't see coming. Consort Hua and what happens to her being the case in point (I love her character to the bits, by the way).
This drama is a 10/10. Absolutely fantastic.
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However, what I did not like was really just that some scenes (personal preference) just seemed so out of place (for character development I guess) and dragged out the series to how long it really is. I wish they condensed and moved the story at a bit faster pace without trying to develop the characters too much. I feel even in like 50 episodes, if done right... they could've developed the characters enough, because I still could relate with the characters and the emotions of the scenes even though I honestly found myself pressing that skip 5 second button sooooo often to get through scenes. Of course I just read the subtitles a lot so I got the jest of it and moved on.
It really just pains me on how much slow talks there were that made scenes long and made this a grind through. Otherwise, overall the story does seem pretty good. Nothing completely original like something that has never been seen before, but still it does a pretty good job at getting you to feel and relate for some characters.
Also what I felt was dragged on, probably for dramatic purposes(?) was how long it took for some characters to decide on something. It honestly drives me crazy in a story where scheming is huge, for characters to just feel bad and not do anything. Of course it is satisfying once they start fighting back, but again it goes back to how slow the story was going...
Overall I'd say it isn't bad. Acting was great... sound/music was up there, but not like insanely amazing. Rewatch value is a bit lower mostly because of how long the story drags... and thus how long a series this is.
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