This drama has touched my heart, I really have no other way to express my feelings for this drama. It's a beautifully tragic story and I think those who gave it up don't really understand the plot of Eastern Palace , the tragedy reverberated throughout the series and even after it ended . I loved and hated this drama, it was a roller coaster of emotions.
Anyways, I think my favorite character is Xiao Feng, I LOVED HER. Peng Xiao Ran did an outstanding job in portraying the character. XF is not the badass female lead that I usually prefer, she is quite simple and naive but not stupid, she is a realistic character and she acts in a way that any person would had they been in her place. Throughout the series she made me cry for her, all she ever wanted was to remain at the steppes with her family, marry the person she loved and live freely but her status as the 9th princess didn't allow that.
My second favorite character is probably Ah Du, she is a really pitiful character , probably more than XF. Ah Du remembered everything and had to live with knowing everything and watching as XF fell in love with the guy who basically destroyed her.
As for Li Cheng Yin, Chen Xing Xu did an amazing job in portraying the innocent yet cruel and scheming nature of LCY. His expressions were so vivid , I can never forget. I loved and hated LYC. He was such a selfish character trying to make everything go as he planned and using people around him as he pleased, like Sese, I felt really bad for her character, she was not a scheming girl but LCY ruined her. As for XF, he loved her a lot but he never cared about how she felt, he would imprison her to have her by his side. LCY was not like this at the beginning but he slowly changed and I don't really blame him , like when he said that being a Crown Prince was harder than being the Emperor and I truly believe it is so.
When XF said that her Gu Xiao Wu is long dead, I truly felt that, I felt that GXX really died, he went to the battle of Danchi and never returned and the one who came back was LCY.
I think the one character that I really hated was Chai Mu, this guy was so obsessed with his revenge that in the end he sacrificed everything and everyone around him for the sake of his so called 'revenge'.
Well, to sum it up I think the whole series is really Tragic as both LCY and XF fell victim to the power struggles in the palace and the ending was absolutely perfect as it highlights the deep undertone of the series.
p.s - The OSTs are really amazing. Especially the ending song "First Sight" and "Little Fox", the latter is really symbolic as the love story between LCY & XF is basically told through the song and it truly captures the feelings of the watchers . The hypnotic songs combined with the solemn scenes whether in the desert or the palace make it unforgettable, the cinematography is really beautiful and aesthetic.
Therefore anyone brooding over watching it or not, I would strongly recommend watching it, as I for one can never forget such a beautiful story.
Also in order to heal the broken heart after this, there are 4 short episodes available in youtube, you can search 'goodbye my princess official epilogue' and it should show up, it's really a salve for the wound caused by Eastern Palace.