Beauties of the Emperor/Reviews
From DramaWiki
< Beauties of the EmperorReview by Chasingscarlett
It was clear from the very beginning this show was a heavily romanticized re-telling of the Chu-Han Contention and I'm not going to lie, I've seen better. 'Beauties of the Emperor' essentially re-drafts history as a series of love triangles, literally about a new one every few episodes albeit all surrounding at least one of the core four of the series. Using these triangles however, the series uses them to chronicle the transitions these characters will go through to become what history remembers them to be – the powerful Empress Lu Zhi (Chen Qiao En), the proud Overlord Xiang Yu (Ming Dao), the tragic Consort Yu (Yuan Shan Shan) and the renowned Emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang). Even in spite of this however, the series was still heavily flawed. The CGI attempts were laughable, the hairstyles were peculiar and the storytelling was completely inconsistent. The character of Le Er (Qiao En) also transitions frequently, going from moments were she stands strong as a woman, to a weaker-willed girl who dreams of a very specific rescuer – in this case, Yun Kuang (Ming Dao). Throughout the series it is illustrated that however much they love each other they were never supposed to be together and never will be. In this particular story, Le Er and Yun Kuang were each other's first and true love. But your first love isn't always your last love, and your true love isn't always your soul-mate. Despite every flaw and inconsistent story transition the series had, it illustrated that point beautifully, and that is the truest tragedy of the story. The history behind the series was never meant to be its message instead it wanted to illustrate the individual tragic messages behind each person who endured it, rather than the heroes they emerged as. Le Er survived as a woman by spreading kindness to others' advantage but thrived as an Empress on the strength it created. Yun Kuang despite all his strength and courage lived and fought for one woman and died for another. Miao Ge (Shan Shan) lived with the belief that wealth was all she ever wanted but died knowing love was all she ever needed. As for Hai Tian (Liu Bang) he started from the lowest of the four, a drunken gambler whose misfortune of helping others had a habit of leading him into disrepair. He lived by shouldering the destruction of others' actions however thrived from what each experience taught him. With what was given I think the actors did well, with moments that stand out as with every series. The highlight I think for me, being the finale where Qiao En portrays her series finest in the transition of Le Er from Hai Tian's wife to the Empress Lu Zhi, a ruler in her own right - a complete contrast from the young girl she used to be, and suggestive of the woman history remembers her to be. Overall, I wouldn't say this was the best drama I have ever watched but I wouldn't necessarily say it was the worst. I'd recommend it to the right people – to ones who would want to watch a romantic drama than a historical one because it wasn't historical by far albeit, I will give it props for trying at the end. To people looking for a historical drama, I would look elsewhere but to people wanting to watch two romances unfold, and for the undeniable chemistry of its actors, I would recommend it if you can watch past the first three, maybe four, episodes. The beginning could have been better. The ending could have been better. But overall I do think this series was entertaining if you are willing to look past its flaws.
Overall rating 6.5/10.