this was one the best Chinese or rather the best historical drama ive ever seen. the soundtrack, costumes, filmography are amazing but that aside the plot had me seriously hooked. she goes through multiple character developments and every character has their own story and challenges. and in the case of who is the true villain, it's up to your own interpretation but it has shown the true essence of wu zetian, in all her glory. her rise to power, her motivation, her thoughts....fan bing bing was not acting as wu zetian. she'd BECOME her, which I feel is a truly great feat considering how little is known about her character and she showed how she was both consistent and inconsistent at once.
it's not just fan bingbing tho, aarif Rahman played his role to the last detail and considering how he was up against wu zetian, the last strongest ruler and that too female, this id consider one of his best works.
the acting aside, this is really informative and helped me ace my history exam. it teaches u a hell lot about politics and how ppl move abt and what, makes them tick. everyone has their own motivation, strength and most importantly their one fatal achille's heel. since the Chinese dynasty was one of the biggest and arguably the strongest empire ever, seeing how a different culture works, how their harems and courts were maintained, was absolutely fascinating. its been a few months since I watched this, but it is still vivid in my mind.
final thoughts? .....You should definitely watch it.

overall rating: 9.5/10 (0.5 subtracting bc of some inconsistencies in the last few eps bc of censorship issues or smth)

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id sell my soul to the devil for an s2...that was amazing omg the leads have mad chemistry and they both should do more kdramas wowow

okay now this drama has like allll the clichés...BUT in the best way possible. If u want the thing where the main lead traps the leading lady on the wall and leans in real close or when they have to run danger together or when they are totally in love but try to cover it up by arguing but everyone (except for them) already knows and it's hilarious and of course anything and everything related to a time slip...yup this is your drama.
if you're like me and hate saeguks which steal your heart and then break it into a million pieces but also still end up watching it bc you're a sucker for the drama *looking at you scarlet heart* this is even better. it's like free therapy from all tragedy dramas and unlike saeguks that do have a happy ending but not without torturing you for like the entirety of the series, this drama is the sweetest antidote ever. it will totally heal your broken heart (but beware lee jong hyun cos u bet he's not even gonna bc you're gonna volunteer to give it to him).
but besides I was reluctant about watching since I'm unfamiliar with the cast however gong seungyeon does not fail to deliver. despite her character being (mildly) evil she was absolutely adorable and the role fit her like a glove. lee jonghyun was so damn hot (tbh even if he was written as a book character id say this) and his sass levels were off the charts. them acting together is the best idea ever. The casting director deserves an award. Their chemistry was so good I cant believe they're not dating in real life (such a shame tbh but their choice so oh well)
And shoutout to boong boong for being the best matchmaker and wing(-creature? ...both figuratively and metaphorically) ever

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