I had just finished Legend of Shen Li, and was curious about Lin Geng Xin’s performance in Scarlet Heart as people had been writing good things about it. I have been putting this off for quite a while (actually ever since I finished Princess Agents in 2020) because I am not fond of palace drama, but i decided to give it a go after his stellar performance in LoSL.

Oh well, I was right all along, palace love drama is just not my thing. It was an ordeal to get through the episodes, they were so draggy with longwinded love triangles and political conspiracy drama(well its more to a picky father who is constantly angry at his sons, and of a brother who is constantly suspicious and angry at his brothers, a vast contrast from the true palace political drama like Joy of Life etc), especially when i dislike the ultimate love interest of the FL. The only consolation is seeing the development of 14th Prince friendship with FL even though I knew it had never been about love. Its her friendship with the princes that was beautiful, although I have always wondered how come such energetic and interesting character didnt have a single friend among the princesses. But hey I’m fine with that because if they were to add princess characters then the show might have to drag the episodes out over 50 to include more female drama. Still didnt stop me from wondering.

Anyway, I think it’s quite boring with FL’s inner battles and constant love conflicts. The brotherly love of the princes towards her is super sweet though, and that was among the things that kept me going. As I said, the genre isnt my cup of tea as I am more of wuxia/xianxia/action fan with strong FL characters who are not damsels in distress.

I dislike the ML right from the start, though, even when I didnt know he was the ML. I think Nicky Wu doesnt look good as a half bald man with pigtail, he looks weird and extremely unapealing. All the other princes look waaaaaay better than him and more handsome. As the show progressed, I fail to see any spark between FL and ML even as they were developing feelings for each other. It looked much too sudden that the FL would shift her love interest to the least caring prince among all, especially when she knew he would become the emperor which would mean a whole life of her tip-toeing around the volatile figure. Maybe it is just me, I just couldn’t see the the chemistry and explanation of how she would suddenly fall in love with him, especially when he forced himself on her the first time. Just because she didnt want to become Crown Prince’s consort so she suddenly asks to marry 4th prince? Damn thats too weak of a turning point.

I kinda gotten tired of how she would cry at everything too. She cries when she’s happy, she cries when she’s afraid and she obviously cries when she’s sad. She also has this one kind of expression on her face and that is what she wore throughout the show. I am not fond of her looks too, but hey, it kinda grows on you as the show goes on. It still didnt stop me from fast forwarding all those draggy love scenes though, especially the love scenes between the two (those after ML ascended the throne are even more cringier than others, thank god they were not many), I honestly enjoyed the arch on the 8th prince and 10th prince with their consorts and 13th prince with his mistress. Those felt more genuine than the main love story. 8th Prince story was the most devastating while 10th prince was the only one with a happy ending.

Even though I got tired of FL crying, I must admit there are scenes that moved me, like the one of her begging for 13th prince, the pure friendship turmoil between the princes and FL, and the one where she begged for 8th prince to divorce her sister who was in the verge of death. So much unrequited love in this show, it’s so tiring to feel for every one of them. They were all pitiful. Oh I think the one playing Ma’ertai Roulan is the most beautiful of all, she had the perfect look for ancient costume. Her character’s love story is so pitiful I couldnt help but feel her pain.

Despite the boring storyline and the excessive crying of the FL, one thing I really commend this show is how closely accurate to the history this show was. Between the plot of 4th prince usurping the throne and the emperor passing it to him, of course they would have to choose the more conflicting plot. The cast did a stellar job. And I’m soooo glad it had been only 35 episodes to endure compared to more than 50 episodes of other palace shows out there. Wished it was less. The first 10 episodes were soooo dragy it was such a pain to go through. But the last 5 episodes were golddddd! I never expected the surprise in Ep 33. 14th prince definitely became the star role in the last 3 episodes, he was practically the knight in shining armour whisking the maiden away to safety. No wonder people had been praising of LGX’s performance here. Before watching, I thought his role was a passing small role with little significance, which was also one of the reasons I kept putting off to watch the show.

I think the ending never bothered me because I never shipped the MC love story. It was an apt ending for both and everyone involved. Am so glad she died in 14th prince arms instead. The bosom childhood friend that she used to quarrel with and afraid of, but in the end became her saviour from the Forbidden City prison.