Xifei's Royal Love in the Palace (2023)

Choppy editing meets unfinished arcs

Wow, where do I begin?

This drama had so much potential, especially with all the veteran actors in this. But the way the editing was and the way the arcs were as well as character introductions is where this show falls very short.

There are several characters that are introduced and then we never see them again. There are important characters that the main character LQL has a relationship with that we barely see their ending/know what happens to them. It's like they disappear from thin air which makes no sense given the length of time they have spent with them.

Then we spend much of the show watching the prince have no faith or confidence in any of his son and their ability to help him keep the promise he made to the emperor only for him to now magically have faith in HL, who is the prince's 3rd son.

We watch the villains seemingly get away with everything despite the evidence against them simply because it would "break" the prince's heart to have to kill his evil children and because of one woman who is literally behind every single plot yet somehow she doesn't meet her compupence until the end.

It was just all very frustrating. Also, the random arc they threw in towards the end of ep 36 and we see the main characters standing together as if they are Avengers.

I'm sorry. But I'm just so disappointed because again, this is a stacked cast. Many of these actors and actresses I've seen elsewhere and they have proven their acting ability. Additionally, the ost was nice. So it just feels like their talent as well as the musical talent in the osts was wasted.

Would I recommend watching this? Maybe if you need something as background noise while you are doing some other task or if you just need something to pass the time but as a good stand-alone? No.

Side note, I will say this review is harsher than the reviews I typically give idol dramas but that's because the expectations were different.

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A mixed bag

Filmed several years ago, this drama bears an air of nostalgia of past harem/palace dramas, especially in this first 1/3. Luo Qinglian unexpectedly finds herself forced in a position to become a servant-concubine of the third son of Prince An, and her story of surviving the treacherous life in He Lianxin's household thus begins.

Unfortunately, her story never really soars as those of other strong female leads in other past palace/harem dramas such as Story of Yanxi Palace or The Sword and the Brocade. The drama tries to involve too much story - brothers fighting for the title of Prince, Qinglian's former lover Lv Beiyi's story, and the 11th hour secret oath our ML's father made to the Emperor to rescue him are just some of the other story lines. However, due to so much being edited out, the story is choppy and does not flow together well. It may have been better to end the drama around episode 30 when our ML achieves the title of Prince and focus on building the characters' relationships better.

What I am left with are some very nice moments of dramatic performances from a seasoned cast but an overall disappointing story structure, making it difficult to give this any more than a 7.5. It is perhaps higher than it should be, but I guess I do miss how dramas were shot in the past - a lot less crazy camera work and more focus on lighting and allowing the performances to breathe and speak for themselves. My favorite parts were the quieter scenes when the actors just are speaking/performing to each other.

If palace/harem dramas are your thing, you may want to check this out casually, but there are likely far better ones out there more worth your time.

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