EPISODE 1 RECAP
The emperor has passed away. Power is now in the hand of a head eunuch Xiao Duo (Dylan Wang). Though not an official leader in the court, he has built himself a strong support system that includes the current empress.
As the rule says, when an emperor dies, a number of women – court ladies, concubines, etc – will be chosen to be buried with him. Unfortunately for the female lead Bu Yinlou (Chen Yuqi), she is one of those chosen women. Although, by the reaction of this girl, you can’t really tell that she’s about to die. More like she’s frustrated with a blind date her parents arranged.
In the same room with the other girls who are to be buried alive with the emperor, Yinlou makes a try to escape. She and another girl pretend to have food poison, causing confusion among the attendants. To avoid gossip and further questions, they send her away. Not that they take this job seriously to begin with; the attendants take bribes, so if you’re rich, you don’t have to perform this “noble duty” to the emperor at all.
But wouldn’t you believe it, after all that effort to escape, Yinlou’s family sends her back there to die! She is not a legitimate daughter of the Bu family, it seems. And the woman she addresses as a mother is like: we know asking you to die is a lot, and we know we have the money to bail you out, but I feel like letting you die is more convenient.
Luckily for Yinlou, a nobleman cares about her – not the male lead. This one is kind of a silly and insignificant noble who doesn’t have a lot of respect in the court (or maybe just on the outside?). But he is an ally of Xiao Duo; so he asks the latter to help Yinlou escape her grim fate. This guy is so clueless that when Xiao Duo agrees to help, he attempts to dash out of their discussion in joy without telling Xiao Duo the name of the girl he wants to help.
By the way, the empress… yeah, looks like she has a bit more than alliance in her mind toward Xiao Duo.
He is pretending to enjoy her company, but she’s enjoying it more than she should.
COMMENTS
First off, I don’t believe this is a bad drama. But it isn’t a very serious drama that, unfortunately, tries to be serious. If you are looking for a realistic take on this premise, this drama isn’t it. From the first few episodes, everything is quite lukewarm.
On one hand, we have a eunuch who is willing to commit plenty of wrong to avenge someone. On the other, there is a girl who is forced to be buried alive (or commit suicide?) due to the brutal law at the time. Right off the bat, the two main characters have some heavy emotions to convey. But the writing doesn’t let them fully express what it means to face what they face and to create the impact this level of conflict should have had. Instead, the drama focuses on appearance — making sure everyone looks pretty and clean no matter the situation — and relies a lot on the lead actors’ charm to make us care.
So, how do the actors do?
Chen Yuqi is believable enough in the role she is given: an outspoken woman in a historical setting that happens to have 21st-century mindsets.
Dylan Wang is formulaic in his acting. For instance: In this drama, he plays a morally grey character, the same can be said about his character in Love Between Fairy and Devil. But a political mastermind who has climbed to the top with the purpose of avenging someone should carry a different kind of morally-grey from an immortal being who doesn’t understand emotions. Swaying one’s head and rolling one’s eyes isn’t the only way to express villainy.
If this is your first time watching Dylan Wang, however, there should be no problem. While his performance lacks the nuances this type of role requires, he is generally clear about what his character is doing/thinking.
Together, the lead actors are not bad. So if you’re watching this drama for their chemistry, it’s likely you will have a good time.