Secrets of Three Kingdoms (2018)

Following History While Telling A Completely Different Story. Brilliant Script All Around.

Great story with great acting. Chinese small screen has really gone a long way. The cinematography is beautiful and the battle scenes are shot like it were for movies. The magnitude of quality offered in this drama is simply breathtaking. I really enjoyed the political schemes and plots since the story is full of intelligent people with their own hidden agendas. The level of Chinese political mind games are in different levels when compared to Japan or Korea.

The title is exactly what the drama is about. We all know the history of the 3 kingdoms from the Four Great Classic Novels but this drama told the 'secret' behind the 3 kingdoms' stories but with a twist. For history buff like me, I enjoyed it a lot as it followed the real historical events with real historical figures. The so called 'secret' and how the writer incorporate it to the real historical events are what make the this drama really interesting and great.

I think many people misunderstood the so called 'weak' main character. The Emperor is by no mean 'weak' but he wins battles with wit and intelligence. His kindness and benevolent characteristics are always at odd with the viewers but many failed to see the brilliance behind his decisions. Many times his kindness save them from enemies' traps and never once he was caught red-handed by the enemies. Everytime when he compromised with his enemies, he got more advantages in return -- just by giving something small, he achieved something bigger in return. He won the hearts of his enemies and supporters and they call him a great and a wise king. He strike fears in the heart of his enemies just by being kind -- I find it really brilliant how his kindness is the reason why he managed to turn around the weak Han Imperial Family name into something that the people respect and love.

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The drama delivers a great story of brotherhood and politics. It's not a very emotional drama, so maybe you will not cry watching this, but it delivers a great message of friendship, sacrifice for greater good, and idealism.
IMHO, because the drama is loosely based on real history (which they turned into a fiction), you don't see much of character development, but more into how the characters from two factions use tactics to fight one another. Not much character development means that the personality and the ideas of every character in the beginning stays the same until the final episode (except for the Empress'!).
Some people got disappointed on the ending, but I'm rather satisfied as it shows how the main character's heart and priority never changes. From the very beginning he knows that peace is the most important thing, and peace does not lie only in one family name. His determination and personality never changes until the very end.

I love how Regina Wan played the empress role. Very elegant, especially the way she speaks.

I also love the opening and ending music. Perfectly matches the drama.

To sum up, the series is worth watching if you're not looking for a too emotional drama, or wanting a good politics drama.

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