This CDrama started as "Once upon a Time in the West" and then turned into Seasons 5-8 of Game of Thrones.

As you can see, I have not finished this CDrama. I watched it till Episode 38 and then basically "rage quit". Though I know the full Story since I have then read Spoilers of the Story of the remaining Episodes. It only served to justify my Reasons for quitting.

To be fair, from Episode 1 to 27, I was completely hooked and could not stop watching. It was basically like a Drug and I could hardly stop. Although it was nowhere near perfect and had some issues, the overall premise and the "Revenge Arc" were so well done and engaging, that I was more than willing to overlook small issues.

One such small issue was the waste of otherwise incredibly promising Characters, among which the Character of Consort Gao stood out the most. She was portrayed so much as a stereotypical and one dimensional "Evil" that it bordered on Cartoon Villain levels. The Actress and the Role could have offered so much more than that, that I felt it was a huge waste but as I said, I was willing to let this go and up to Ep. 27 would have given this Drama still a 9.5 out of 10 without thinking about it.

Then came the "Lightning Strike" moment, which I now define as the "Jumped the Shark" Moment of this Drama. Up to this point, the main Lead was basically this "Supermind" who could come up with all kinds of sneaky plans to get things done but suddenly she becomes a crazy lunatic who bets her life on the occurrence of something whose probability is possibly less than winning the Lottery. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.

The main Lead was already bordering on "Mary Sue" with her abilities to fool basically the whole Court including the Emperor. However, I could live with that and excuse it as "superpowers granted by the goddess of Revenge". Since she had such a huge motivation driving her (finding the murderer of her Sister who was like a Mother to her), one could still suspend disbelief by thinking "yeah this is a little over the top but Revenge, like love, is a strong emotion that can enable People to exceed their Limits". However, after her Revenge Plot was basically completed and she got the Murderer, this motivation was gone and what remained was no longer feasible. What was her Reason to become Empress again? might just do that as well while I am here? very weak Motivation that no longer serves as a good Excuse for her ridiculous "superpowers".

Another Problem I have with the main Lead, she was quite fitting as the young Girl seeking Justice for her Sister but unfortunately she remained that "young Girl" up to the very end where she is supposed to have given birth to not one but FOUR Children. I have seen the End of the last Episode where she sits on the Throne in her magnificent Robes and it just looks like a Teenage Girl Cosplaying, hardly convincing.

Her Romances also took a wrong turn. The Guard was believable enough to some degree but the Emperor? complete nonsense! I saw little to no reason why the Emperor would fall for her. The reason given (because she has a big mouth and she cant stop insulting him) is so weak and nonsensical, that I take it as an insult to the Viewer honestly.

Then there is the "Court Schemes" of the Concubines. They are repetitive, little thought through and rely too much on tropes and accidents and conveniences. When I read in Spoilers that the Empress loses her second Child as well because of some scheming, I could only shake my head. This is what I like to call "generating Drama for Dramas sake". It feels forced, artificial and unnatural and it is really tiring after some point. Also, none of the Consorts/Concubines had the same screen impact of "evil" as Consort Gao did and they felt like cheap knockoffs.

Speaking of turning Evil, the amount of Bait and Switch in this Drama is sadly too much. "Look how nice and friendly this Lady is....oh no, she turned evil because of a good looking Palace Guard" is done one too many times. Twists dont work so well if they are overused.

This Drama is somewhat of a "Dr. Jekly and Mr. Hyde" kind of thing for me. The Revenge Arc is brilliant and kept me hooked but the "based on History" Arc is nonsensical and lacks a solid Motivation/Foundation.

I want to end this Review on a positive Note because I think this Drama overall deserves it and I dont like to cheapen the great Efforts that clearly went into this by many talented People.

This Drama was very near to perfection and shows what Chinese Movie Industry might be capable of in the Future. It has a lot going for it and although I was ultimately disappointed, the parts I enjoyed were true and deep Enjoyment. I look forward to more of this kind of Dramas where maybe lessons are learned and some of the more glaring mistakes corrected.

Disclaimer:

This is a personal Review by a private person and is therefore subject to personal bias or taste. I do not claim to be objectively perfect in any way and therefore implore you to keep this in mind when reading my Reviews. My main goal with this Review is not to harm or boost a series but to help Audiences by offering one particular Viewpoint since I am profiting from others who do the same as well. If you made it this far reading this humble amateur Reviewers "Opinion" than I thank you very much and hope there was something useful in it for you.