A historical drama with a darker, serious and more dramatic tone and edge to it very much my cup of tea, if done right. They can get a little dry and a little difficult to get into because they play more on the political side of things, those strategic moves and backstabbing, which isn't everyone's cup of tea. Bloody Heart leaves more room for those reserved, quiet personal moments instead of big, sensational events that surprise the viewers. There are these snowball affects on the story, where every minor little thing has it's repercussion and the actions of the characters are gradually added on top of each other everything comes to and end and everyone meets there demise.

Due to the strong emphasis on the emotional weight that the palace has on people, slow-moving personal stories and politics within Bloody Heart, the drama isn't big or that epic in scope. It feels somber and sad, which fit's the vibe of th story it's trying to tell and even the romance is too ingrained in politics to seem like a sweeping love story in my opinion, but it works for this story. It feels like it has a strong identity within itself. The story isn't that big, but it doesn't need to be.

I often did not feel too emotionally attached to it, at least not in the beginning, but I still enjoyed the strategies of the plot and the way the characters' movement was woven into the palace's political and the power struggle. It was never very predictable, none of the plot elements came out of nowhere, because the story managed to set everything up really well. And I personally did not necessarily feel like a lack of emotional bond hurt my enjoyment of the story. I just felt like it fitted with this highly dramatic, tragic style of the drama in a way.

The character don't feel standard or bland. They have such an atmosphere around them that you do not want to connect with them too much emotionally, otherwise you will hurt yourself along with them. But still, I would not say that the drama is devoid of emotion. I think the drama has a certain emotional, cathartic effect on a person, as tragedy often has, and the story takes you along with it and won't let go, into a gloomy world. Although it might feel sometimes, especially at first, as you are watching this all from a distance. But still you hold your breath, gasp or smile over every little plot twist that comes your way and the well-executed political maneuverings of the characters.

Bloody Heart is subtly terrifying. Everything sort of lingers in the shadows and the drama does a wonderful job conveying that through imagery and not totally info dumping in on your or just feeding you backstory. It’s simply stunning. There is a certain darkness all around the story, the loneliness that comes with the palace life and the greed for power that is there. A life where you can never fully trust anyone.

It's bloody, as the title of the drama suggests, but it's never too rough or gritty just for the sake of driving the message of the darkness of the world to the viewer, or for shock factor. This is a true tragedy and that's what it feels like it's trying to be. There is no war, or particularly bloody battles. And even if there is one, it does not seem to be the center or the end of the story. Like a bloody heart, the conflict is just as much on the inside than it is outside, because so much of the story is just in the careful maneuverings of the characters, most of whom are complex and noble, in their own way.

So much of this drama is just people are walking very seriously up and down corridors of the palace, staring sadly into the distance, and sitting together in dark rooms plotting things. The obstacles that the characters face come just as much from within. And so the external story reflects the inner life of the characters. There is a slow rise to the drama doesn't feel the need to inflate the tension of the story to more than those elements; the life they want to lead and what they need to do to get there.

Everything in Bloody Heart feels like it was done with such purpose and intentionally. Every character moment, every plot twist. There is a good rhythm in the story. There is no frame or scene that seems to go to waste. It may feel as if some scenes are repeated too often, or many similar things happen as one character betrays another and so on, but each scene still seems to be to drive some specific point, which the story is trying to say, home. It is done for emphasis. And each frame of the drama is just masterfully well shot. Absolute eye-candy.

I can see why the story comes to that conclusion for every single character and their demise. Nothing is out of the blue. You can see why each character faces their fate as they did, because the story has set it up so, and shown you why. It all depends on the actions of the characters, every minor thing has a snowball effect on everything around them, even if it is justified, and it results in disaster. Everyone is stuck in a game of power that they can not stop playing, because then they would lose everything. Bloody Heart uses those elements of tragedy very well, in a elaborated story about a power struggle with flawed, morally-gray characters. And it was a pleasure to watch.