Deep in the Realm of Conscience
宮心計2: 深宮計
Starring
Nancy Wu
Annie Liu
Steven Ma
Kenneth Ma
Edwin Siu
Chrissie Chau
Alice Chan
Jacqueline Wong
Hello,have anyone here watch this drama?
thanks.
Deep in the Realm of Conscience
宮心計2: 深宮計
Starring
Nancy Wu
Annie Liu
Steven Ma
Kenneth Ma
Edwin Siu
Chrissie Chau
Alice Chan
Jacqueline Wong
Hello,have anyone here watch this drama?
thanks.
I've watched this - it was a disappointment, especially when compared with the first series.
The actors did a decent job, with the glaring exception of Chrissie Chau. Annie Liu's accent and her tendency to slur words was distracting, though they had an in-world explanation for that (she spent a lot of time in the north!).
The main problem was with the script. For one thing, they keep speaking in rhymes, even in utterly inappropriate contexts. Maybe the scriptwriters thought it was clever or charming? It gets really annoying, really fast!
The main villain, Princess Taiping (Alice Chan), was a completely one-note character - she seemingly has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. In her plotting, she consistently goes for the most violent, extreme course of action even when it is obvious a more subtle approach would work better. She is so over-the-top and her plots fail with such regularity that is is hard to take her as a serious threat at all.
Many of the cases stretch credulity to the breaking point. Apparently, lowly palace maids can just walk up to the emperor/former emperor in their private rooms and interrupt their conversations any time they feel like it. Conspirators discuss their evil deeds loudly in the middle of a garden without even bothering to check that they are alone. The maids also seem to be far too carefree and have way too much free time, to the point where they can slack off to peek at men taking a bath.
In terms of characterisation, the worst problem is probably the lack of interaction between characters outside of their immediate love interests. The main protagonist Yuen Yuet (Annie Liu's character) has very little interaction with the emperor/former emperor, her co-workers, immediate superiors etc., whereas in the first series, Sam Ho's relationships with those around her were thoroughly explored. It all just feels rather empty. I suppose this could be interpreted as allegory for the superficial nature of life in the royal palace, but I rather doubt that was the intent of the scriptwriters.
The pacing is also rather poor. Far too much time is spent on the love scenes (which should really be secondary in this type of drama), while the various plots tend to come and go very quickly (within 1-2 episodes). Again, it all feels rather superficial.
I'll watch this now
I agree with everything you say! Although I read that the "rhymes" was a popular trend during that time. But I highly doubt people talked in rhymes like that as regularly as depicted in this drama.
I hate to be a basher of TVB on a TVB forum but their dramas just cannot compare to China dramas nowadays. Gone are the good 'ol glory days of TVB and they need to improve drastically in order to catch up IMO.
Check out my drama reviews on Drama for Gents. Also drop by my art shop for some cute designs!
I somehow sped thru 12 episodes and couldn't find a character I've liked so far. Yuet just keeps going on about her childhood and older sister. Princess Tai Ping keeps going on about her loss of her first husband and was force to marry her 2nd husband only to learn appreciate him too late and lose him in the same way as well. And Nancy and Kenneth's characters being past lovers we know, we get it. Just wish Kenneth's character would stop hoping for more to happen.
What I don't like either is the theme song and how the intro video is now done...tasteless. I tried watching TVB series again after a long break, but it appears I've chosen a bad one to start on.
I just love how you Captivate My Mind
Self reminder - Update blog more often and continue editing/writing for TOV fanfic.