The actress that played the empress is so equisite and regal in her poise and speech in this role. She did her best to protect yinglou even though she felt powerless to protect herself
I agree. Qin Lan perfected the role. Had it not been for the next Empress and Yuan Chunwang, I'd have stopped watching from here. These three sizzle the screen every time they appear
Ngl I really liked the Fucha Empress' character the most. I feel like it kinda explored Post partum Depression and Depression in general. Like as someone who has horrible depression I can go months being good but one thing can set me into a deep spiral. Its sad but her character also showed that being a good person wont make you invincible. Some of these C dramas make the good characters who always follow their moral compass always turn out okay. In reality you cannot always be a good person, The Empress never schemed but I mean if she did I feel like she would still be here.
She was a decent person who didn't want to play stupid games over the Emperor's favor. For the chief woman in a polygamous system, she was really magnanimous. No causing miscarriages for the concubines or other nastiness. But the scheming witches can't leave her alone. They think her position is the key to all the power and love, but it's a curse to RongYin. She had to endure too damn much from greedy, uncaring people. She was the Empress of Great Qing, but only 3 people for sure loved her properly (FuHeng, YingLuo, abd MingYu). HongLi? Yeah...he loved her deep down, but not enough to realize what she was going through trying to carry the load and meet everyone's expectations. He was the Son of Heaven. Even if he was making a mess of the whole Empire, nobody would've dared whisper criticism. But RongYin was mortal in everyone's eyes and so took the scapegoat role for even the tiniest oversight. Tbh, Xian was such a psychopath that it seemed she was fine with the burden, but eventually, Emperor's indifference to her efforts did eat away even at her stone cold heart.
@@weaviejeebies I mean I agree with the whole thing but the last part, I know a tiny bit about Chinese history (aka the top of the iceberg lmao) and I mean even one wrong move wouldve put his reign into question. Compared to RRLITP the Emperor really did love the Empress but did he love her more then the country? no. If he was common like Fuheng he could put his love over his duty (aka Fuheng talking back to the Emperor for YingLou) But since he is the Emperor every action by him is being watched, what he did was cruel but best for the country. He is a better Emperor then husband but I dont think one can be a good husband and a fair and manganous Emperor (Unless youre the one chinese Emperor in history that was actually Monogamous which I stan him). As an Emperor ig its portrayed you are legit the son of heaven, even if your wife is mortal she must be held to the same standards as you = the main wife is an extension of the Emperor
Yea the final scene between the Rongyin and the emperor always leaves me sobbing cause he is just like “remember who you are” and she’s so broken like I’ve done everything I was supposed to do but they still killed my son; where does that leave me who am I
Also did the emperor just forget what the empress had said to him (years prior?) about how she was under immense pressure all the time to be the perfect wife? Bro do you have amnesia or something?
I do really have mixed feelings about the Emperors behavior here, because while it's not empathetic, Yanxi goes above and beyond to show how awful actually being Emperor and Empress is. Neither of them are allowed to be human, they have to be the mother and father of the country, and I think the only reason the emperor doesn't collapse under the strain like Rongyin is because the country will collapse if he does and he feels responsible while the Empress has a little less pressure. This arc is also, absolutely, why YL never even imagines becoming Empress. She comes to love the emperor, she does enjoy a high position, but she watched first hand just how being Empress destroyed Rongyin. Also, as always, love seeing the growth of Mingyu and creepy eunuch. It's only obvious in hindsight but he's actually making a huge sacrifice for YL and it is so sweet 😢
About the emperor is this drama… I really like him, I mean he is not a good person but also he doesn’t make you hate him much because we understand he has accepted that as a ruler he is not free. Unlike the emperor from Ruyi, he doesn’t make decisions only because he can, and the times when he does he is not that stupid to show it. Like with Yingluo, he wants her but it’s not something that will make him loose his mind or minimize his duties. He is cold but again he is not a good person, and kinda you can see he has a development. In a way yingluo is the perfect match for someone that cold, so in my eyes he is great. Also I love the actor, he is just so cool 😎
As much as the Emperor has been a total dinghole the past few episodes, I can’t help but feel for him here. It’s so obvious that he wants to grieve his son but he can’t. The Emperor is not supposed to openly grieve because that would supposedly mean “the end of an empire”. While people would be more understanding with Rongyin grieving, they won’t be as understanding with Qianlong grieving. Like, imagine having to go back to work right after your most precious son dies because your country (which you run) is under attack?? That is incredible pressure anyone would crack under. The fact that Qianlong is keeping it together speaks so much about how he really is deserving of the Dragon throne. Although normally, I would agree with Yinglou about how cold hearted the Emperor is being I’m like girl, he’s the emperor. He needs to be. And unfortunately since Rongyin was not deposed, she has to be tied to him until and beyond death. That’s what comes with the crown.
I agree with you - the production quality is outstanding. I've even seen youtubes showing how much training all of the actors got to get everything authentic - from walking in those shoes to kneeling properly, etc.
What I hate most about Er Qing's arc is her insistance on dragging in the Empress into her revenge plot, just because she realised she has no way of beating Yin Luo, so the only thing she can do is hurt the one Yin Luo loves the most. Utterly sickening, considering the Empress did nothing to her to deserve this.
From what I remember, Erqing blames the empress for Fuheng not loving her and the fact that the empress asked the emperor to let Yinglou and Fuheng be togethet. Erqing was psycho and blamed everyone else for her unrequited love, though
SPOILERS Okay, so the brother. This is more of that cut content, Erqing's baby isn't the emperor's, it's the brother's. This is brought up in Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures as a big plot point.
Según yo, Yingluo no le menciona que realmente es hijo del emperador para evitar conflictos, y que el tío comprendiera su culpa. Guarda ese secreto hasta el final, quizá yo lo entendí mal. . Ya que los rumores de que el hijo de Fuheng era del emperador fueron reales y perduraron por el cariño que este le tenía.
Spoilers for 2 series, please be kind to others and edit your comment to place a spoiler warning and some spacing to hide the actual spoiler below 'read more' expansion. Much appreciated.
I really love how the Emperor is portrayed in this. He's flawed, but not stupid. I've seen a few too many harem dramas where the Emperor/Husband is just so dumb when it comes the schemes of his wives. He can be stern, but caring. And I feel all his emotions from anger to joyous are genuine. His actor (well, all the actors) is really great in this drama. I hope you do Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures sometime! It's not as good as this one, but it's still fun and we learn a few more things about the characters from this show in between the princess drama.
Same, this Emperor is hands down my favorite. Not a flawless hero, but I wouldn't want that either! He's a human being who's trying his best in a really shitty job with faaaar too many wives to be able to make any of them happy. The scene in one of the previous episodes when he attempted to force himself on Yingluo is so weird and out of character and played as funny (given the music) so I almost discount the entire thing? It's just so strange in that context, like the writers shoe-horned it in.
Honestly I really enjoy the conversations between the empress and the emperor. The dynamics between them is so interesting. Fuca Rongyin, although born as a noble woman, had a life before marriage. She had freedom and was able to express herself how she wanted. The constraints of being Empress suppressed her inner desires, and she was forced to be the picture of perfection in the eyes of the nation. The Emperor, on the other hand, was raised as a royal prince and was trained early in his life to become the next emperor. Although he also had his own wants, his first duty was being Emperor, He also had to suppress himself for the sake of his position. I think the reason why they handle their positions so differently is because The Emperor was raised in this environment all his life, while Fuca Rongyin was raised outside the palace.
That's an interesting point! He never knew freedom really so he doesn't know to miss it. And she not only came from a place of freedom, but is now even more constricted than he is in some ways
Spoiler Alert: If you watch Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures, you'll definitely find out just who Erqing cheated on Fuheng with. Also, Erqing is despicable in not only in how she treated the maid at the Fuca mansion but also for going as far as to confess her (supposed) infidelity with the emperor to the already devastated Rongyin just to make Fuheng suffer. I wish they kept the scene of Mingyu force feeding her poison in the drama because she deserves to die horribly.
@@g._kat it's not so much a spinoff but basically a compilation of scenes that were unable to make it in the final product of the original series since the plotline (basically the next generation) wasn't really relevant (they were shot along the same timeframe as the main series as evidenced by Yuzheng posted bts shots of the spinoff alongside the main series in his Weibo)
YanXi HongLi is everything that the RuYi HongLi pretended to be. He understands the weight of the crown on his head, and how every word and action he takes has meaning. RongYin strove to be the perfect Empress, and the weight of her crown crushed her soul along with becoming a target on her back. If they hadn't been Emperor and Empress, but a Royal Duke and Duchess, I think they would have been very happy.
I agree with you completely on your points with the Emperor. In his private, vulnerable moments, we see how much loss he truly has gone through as well. I believe he genuinely loved Rongyin, he truly mourns the loss of his sons, and he is completely heartbroken, but his identity is so strongly tied to his role as Emperor that he actually appears to draw strength from it. The empire *must* be ruled. His people need to be cared for, his armies need to be directed, and his government must be run. If he ever allowed his grief to overcome him, things would come to a complete standstill and there would be chaos. And as Empress, Rongyin still has her responsibilities and duties to fulfill because if she doesn’t, just like with him, far more people will suffer than just themselves. I think at the end of the day, Rongyin was just not cut out to be Empress. She wanted to be good and virtuous and loving, but could never bring herself to strike out to protect herself. She was always on the defense because the idea of being offensive never occurred to her, and much like Ruyi in her own drama, this is the end result. In the palace, you have to always be ready to fight for yourself, because no one else will.
fun fact: historically, there actually were rumors about fuheng’s son actually being qianlong’s secret lovechild, because the emperor favored him so much
@@盧璘壽로인수Jealousy, maybe? Since Fuheng's son received love, something denied to princes, in order to make them capable rulers? Or maybe to protect the family reputation.
Fucha Rongyin's death is so heartbreaking! Her actress did so well acting out her emotions, it's really well-written tragedy. [Not direct spoilers, but a disclaimer if you want to stay clear of all spoilers] Just so you know, your prediction skills are excellent.
My goodness, that scene with the empress breaking down in front of the emperor, what a scene! Between that and Zhen Huan's first miscarriage, I don't know which actress did it best. That scene left me totally in awe of how raw and emotional it felt, how it touched me through the screen and reminded me of some gut wrenching moments in my life. Zhen Huan's despair was also just so sad, I felt like reaching out and hugging her in that bed. Both emperors also did a great job playing off of the storm of emotions from the actresses.
Rongyin's death is so sad! The actress really played her well, she might be the first character in this show that's died where I actually feel sad lol. As for Erqing.... she just needs to get a life lmao! Can't stand a person like her who chooses to be a miserable wretch and make everyone around them miserable too!
Because I have been watching some chinese history youtubes, I kinda get where the emperor is coming from. This is a man who know his history, that history has more than enough examples of emperors who indulged their whims and cause the entire dynasty to crash and burn. But of course this also meant that he put everybody to impossible standards too, which was cruel as a husband on his part.
I remember now that yanxi also has those depressing moments lol my heart is hurting now. The empress was so good but suffered a lot, she was waiting for her beloved yingluo but couldn’t resist heir pain anymore :(
I could not stop watching all of the emotional outbursts from the empress, just amazing but heartbreaking ❤even her “ugly cries” are breathtaking 😭 I do like this hongli in comparison to ruyi’s hongli. So far this emperor seems more reasonable to say the least with a touch of YL’s stubbornness hehe
yeah i totally get your feelings about the emperor. he is not a good person, but not a particularly awful either, it's his position that brings out the worst in him. this amount of power genuinely messes up people's brains and he is actually doing pretty great resisting it, all things considered. he doesn't act the way he acts because he is a manchild terrified to displease his mom (side-eyeing ruyi's qianlong), or because his consorts and their rich dads play him left and right (side-eyeing ruyi's qianlong again), he isn't a hypocrite holding others to impossible standards while bending rules for himself whenever he feels like it (side-eyeing ruyi's qianlong AGAIN). he is genuinely trying best he can to be good at his job, and his job is nearly impossible for a human person to be good at.
I cried a lot during Ruyi and Zhen, but not like I did for Empress Rongyin. It was my first Qing dynasty drama so I didn't realize she was gone until Yinglou did and I had to pause to cry. I still can't rewatch the series because it makes my heart hurt. Rongyin deserved so much better and all she got was Erqing's and Chun's evil asses plotting her demise. Hate those fkn women 😂😂😂😂
I feel frustrated that the emperor can't have a break to mourn for his wife and son because of state affairs, but then again I get it, his entire being is for the empire and people before himself. Also, the power struggle between his late father and his uncles wasn't long ago, so he has another mission to keep his reign free from the power struggle.
I watched this drama just last week and I sobbed for the empress, like, full ugly sobbing for her and Yingluo who I could see devastated tending to her asshole of a father instead of staying and protecting the empress. One of the things you skipped but I found interesting was Yingluo's dislike for the baby, like "You nearly kill her, go away" and that goes to say better than anything how much she loves the empress, even to resent her own baby over her scare for pregnancy killing her and... It kind of did 😭
I was dreading this recap 😭😭😭😭 but I do want to say THANK YOU for these recaps! I have watched Yanxi Palace over and over again and I continue to gain new insights and understanding through your recaps (and also the side recaps 🤗). You are SIMPLY awesome! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
The actress of the empress made an incredible job. I liked her so much! Still crying when I see her final scenes. Concerning Erquing they had to cut out many episodes. In this episodes we would have actually learned that Fuheng's younger brother is the child's father and not the emperor. I would have liked that much more. I can´t wait for the next episode... but I have to 🥰
I feel for the Empress, and I find this Emperor as gross as emperors in other dramas. However, I agree with the Emperor. Being an Empress is more than just a courtesy. She’s the mother of the nation. If they were soft people, the country would stop just bc the Emperor wasn’t feeling well that day. The Empress was mourning for her first son at the start of the series and the harem belonged to Gao. If she stayed like that again, the harem will belong to Xian. Sadly, her position means she has to always impose order. Fuca’s arc here reminded me of Ruyi’s arc. They were both tired of being an Empress and just wanted to be free. And on a side note, not only are the shots beautiful. I’ve read that the costumes in this drama are more historically appropriate than other Qing Dynasty dramas. We’re appreciating more of the Manchu customs, which I think is a good thing. Not everything should be adapted to be liked by modern tastes
Same thoughts on the empress, I think the emperor already showed her a lot of understanding by letting her mourn for three years after the loss of 2nd prince, and may have been overcorrecting in an effort not to have the same thing happen again. Put simply, she tried her best but she just wasn't built for this role.
As a man seeing how the empress was treated after Yongcong died, I wanted to punch the emperor and console the empress. I literally cried. She's trying so hard to receive nothing from him.
When you mention'ed Fuheng's brother I remember finding out a few of the things cut from the show was the episodes containing more than just those moments of pinning from Fuheng's brother. I believe Erqing and him did eventually get intimate and such but it was cut due to a variety of reasons from censorship to China having a strict policy about historical dramas and media companies are limited by the number of episodes that they can air in a year. So there was suppose to be a whole thing that it is possibly Fuheng's brother's child but since they never kept those episodes I guess the canon is that it is the emperor's son.
Right, it's hard to choose with a show like this with so many cutes but I feel like at the end of the day, canon = what was presented in the actual show. Even in canon, it could still be FH's brother's kid, but if so I'm surprised he didn't show any shame at all when talking to his brother or EQ!
I watched Empresses in the Palace, RRYLP and Yanxi Palace. Even though Yanxi Palace is not entirely accurate with its costumes I just love how they do each scenes and I also feel comfortable on how they do it. It feels easy on the eyes. The RRYLP and Empress in the Palace makes me feel anxious.
Thé emperor calling for rongyin to be tied up always tore me to pieces he can see how much she’s hurting cause he is too buy unlike her he can’t break down and he won’t let her hurt herself in her grief even if he has to be as extreme as tieing her down
Well, if Fuheng can be more harsh on Erqing, he can order someone to poison her 🤔 I guess. It's so irritating to see Erqing thinking she's been succeed with all her plans.
I Get it now, the scene where Mingyu calls out the emperor for ordering Yingluo's death, defending her and her late mistress' wishes made me forgive her for the thing about the birth of the 5th prince, she was so brave here
Notes: -From what I can tell, the most commonly-cited amount considered 'normal' for women to lose during labor is about 1/2 a quart (or 500 mL if you use metric). Anything above that is considered 'abnormally heavy'. Dramas have a thing where, due to obvious reasons, they can't show the actual birth, so they'll show a maid carrying a basin full of blood-soaked water/cloths to indicate how serious it was instead. -Under normal circumstances, Chinese children from this period wouldn't be named until about 3 ore more days after birth, to make sure they will survive (I've also heard 100 days, but that seems to be a mixup with another tradition of celebrating a baby when they're 100 days old, analogous to a 1st birthday in the States). Infant mortality was high even without palace scheming, so it made sense to hold off until you were sure. In addition, many young children were given 'milk names' (乳名/ruming or 小名/xiaoming) as placeholders before real names were decided upon, and would sometimes give the children purposefully 'bad' names to ward off jealous spirits. I assume the procedure for naming princes was different. -The 7th prince is named 'Yongcong' and right at the start, all the stars seem to align for him. In the show and IRL, he was born on April 8th (8th day of the 4th month on the lunar calendar), the Buddha's birthday. Celebrations of this day (佛誕/fu dan, also called 浴佛節/yu fu jie, 'Bathing Buddha Festival) include ceremonial washing of Buddha statues and offerings of food and incense. On top of being born on a holy day, it also began to rain when he was born, easing droughts in several regions of the empire---another auspicious omen. His name combines the 'yong' character all of his brothers share and '琮/cong', meaning 'auspicious jade'; specifically, a cong is a jade vessel used in offering ceremonies. The character is made up of the radicals '王/wang (king)' and '宗/zong (ancestors)'; his father clearly intends for him to be Emperor and to continue his ancestors' bloodline. -Funnily enough, there was another kid named 'Yongcong' in the Aisin-Gioro house: a son of Hongpu, Hongli's cousin. They actually made him change his name to '永瑺/Yongchang' when Yongcong was born, because the imperial naming taboo extended to direct imperial descendants as well as the emperor. The poor kid was only about 9 years old at this point; I imagine he found the change quite confusing. -The Empress gifts Yingluo a set of Buddhist beads to protect her on her journey; she continues wearing these for the rest of the drama if you look at her costumes closely. -RRLitP was more accurate as to the COD of Yongcong; IRL he died of smallpox, which actually took out a lot of Aisin-Gioros back then. The good news was if you survived smallpox, you were unlikely to get it again due to having built up a resistance to it, but given how weak Yongcong was at birth, it's unlikely he could've pulled through. He also made it about 20 months before dying, but he did die on the Lunar New Year of 1748, so the drama got that part right. -Hailancha notes that the brazier in the room actually started the fire; it had 'chrysanthemum/tea charcoal' in it, a type of high-quality charcoal that unfortunately has a tendency to spark. Chrysanthemum charcoal is named as such because the ends resemble chrysanthemum flowers. The water jars, first installed during the Ming dynasty, were also a real thing kept around for this exact purpose; there are about 308 of them scattered around the palace complex. Earlier ones are more simple; more decorated ones, which usually have lion/beast heads on them to hold lifting rings, were added during the Qing. -IRL Qianlong was down bad for his 1st Empress. There's a silk pouch embroidered with lilies that she sewed in the Palace Museum, that he carried around for the rest of his life. After Yongcong's death, the Empress reportedly had a dream that Bixia Yuanjun, the guardian goddess of Mount Tai, had taken her son up the mountain, and the Emperor, who was on a southern tour at that point, redirected the entire course to stop by Mount Tai so she could pray. When she died, her funeral was so extensive that Ming-era books of rites were consulted, as no funeral for a Qing Empress had never been conducted like this before: court stopped for 9 days, there were no marriages or celebrations for 27 days, and no cutting of hair for 100. He dealt out punishments left and right to anyone who didn't adhere strictly to the mourning protocol--some were even killed. He personally attended all her official remembrance ceremonies. I sincerely doubt he was this cold IRL, but his character in the show is different, and honestly though his reaction angers me, it make sense from his point of view: the Empire doesn't stop running even if his son is dead, so neither can he or the Empress. -God, I feel so bad for Mingyu here. She probably blames herself for going to get snacks for the Empress and leaving her alone, so happy that she thought she was finally recovering that by the time she returned, the Empress was gone. She was one of the first people to see her (probably horribly mangled) body. And all she can do afterwards is plaintatively ask Yingluo why she only came back after it was too late, and then watch her be dragged off to off herself, begging the Emperor to let her go. Every ounce of respect I lost for her earlier, I gained back when she threw down the makeup box, letting the Emperor have it for his callousness, and running off to try and save her friend. -As she walks to her death, Rongyin already looks like a ghost, with her hair down and blowing in the wind, wearing only her white nightgown, barefoot. She blames herself for so much: for being born into the Fuca house, for marrying into the Imperial Family and becoming an Empress, dreaming of freedom while constrained in her position, becoming subsumed by her title above all else, wanting the Emperor's love which she could never fully have, not being able to protect Yonglian, Yongcong or her unborn child---being human in an inhuman place. She was by all accounts a perfect Empress, and it killed her. Only Yingluo, in the end, understands: she's finally free, if only in death. Walking stiffly past the rows of weeping servants, falling to her knees and crawling towards the casket---the scene kills me, every single time I watch it. Every time. -Yingluo deciding that she'll use the knife instead of the poison or white silk is an interesting touch that says a lot about her character, as is the supervising eunuchs cringing away. It also shows the Emperor is affording her some grace by allowing her to choose a method. -The general mentioned in the scene where Fuheng volunteers for the dangerous mission, 讷亲/Neqin, apparently made an oopsie while quelling a rebellion of several united Jia Rong clans in Sichuan province, mostly due to infighting with the other official in charge, Zhang Guangsi, and ignoring the advice of his military advisors (why did he get assigned to a military position? he was a civil official?) and got his head lopped off a year or so later. According to history, he was doing a good job up until that point (was made a duke, promoted repeatedly during Yongzheng and Qianlong's reigns until he headed up the Grand Council). IRL, Fuheng was also sent to take over his duties. -The Yuanming Garden (圆明园/yuanming yuan, 'Garden of Perfect Brightness'), more commonly known as the Old Summer Palace, was a 'casual' home for the Emperor and his consorts, like a vacation villa. It actually consists of three gardens, the largest being Yuanming Yuan, and the other two being 長春園/Changchun Yuan ('Garden of Eternal Spring') and 綺春園/Qichun Yuan ('Garden of Elegant Spring'). It was built during the Kangxi era and expanded under Yongzheng and Qianlong. Qianlong also commissioned the construction of several Western-style mansions on the property, designed by the Jesuit court painter Giuseppe Castiglione; they were known as the 西洋楼/Xiyang Lou, literally 'Western mansions'. They, and the rest of the gardens, are depicted in a series of paintings known as 'Forty Scenes of the Yuanmingyuan' which you can see on their Wikipedia page. This is also the only way you can see the Yuanmingyuan as it once was, because the sodding British looted and destroyed most of it during the Second Opium War. All that's left is ruins, and many of the artifacts left behind by the fleeing court were stolen and shipped off to European museums or sold. Even the 'Forty Scenes' themselves are in France, for some reason.
oh so the Bixia Yuanjun dream was actually real? I thought it was only something Lilianzi thought up since the Southern Tour itinerary included the Mount Taishan pilgrimage...
I read someplace that during the mourning period for the empress, like in Rrlitp, 1st and 3rd princes were punished for not grieving enough, do you know if that's true?
@@greygryphon6881 it's in extant records that *1st & 3rd princes were assigned as overseers of the Empress Xiaoxian Funeral Committee* but they were punished by Qianlong Emperor for not "mourning properly" by removing both of them from the list of potential Crown Prince Qianlong Emperor *deeply regretted his decision* in retrospect as *1st prince Yonghuang died around 2 years later* at that time *his only potential heir was 4th prince Yongcheng* , while the rest were all children (5th, 6th, & 8th princes)
I cried so much when the Empress passed away 😭😭 I can't imagine the pain she felt when instead of celebrating a new year she lost another child and for the emperor to foolishly say she can't forget her place (I know they both have huge responsibility as you mentioned but still. She just lost her child she's not ready for this cruelty he's an as$). And omg 1:53 look at Fuheng's face lmao I bet he was thanking the emperor for the psycho he has as a wife. Erqing is the worst case of crazy I had ever seen in a drama. She not only cheated to get "back" at Fuheng, she's putting his whole family at risk even though they like her and are the reason why she's still his wife. I think he should've told his mom the child wasn't his too at least he would get rid of her and save his family's reputation in one swoop. The Emperor will turn a blind eye if he found out Erqing was pregnant, he's cruel so he can just appoint Fuheng a new noble wife why would he care for Erqing lol
This scenes in these episodes are what made the series to me -- to many (Western) series are afraid make the losses really land, because the characters are so loved - things like this make the emotional stakes truly high. In many ways this series is amazing because everybody - I mean everybody - gets a full character arc. The only character that remains fully "unchanged" is the emperor's Eunuch (and his dumb little buddy), who remains the only "steady" character, retaining his same essential qualities regardless of everything that happens. Even Migyu, who seems kind of binary - grows here - essentially risking her life/family (pretty sure talking that way to the Emperor leads to death) to defend the empress here. Everyone else gets "cooked" by the pressures of the palace into their final forms.
*most of the children were cut out due to plot irrelevancy* heck, Yuzheng already even killed off 3rd prince Yongzhang by saying he died alongside 2nd prince Yonglian (Crown Prince Duanhui)
Some things about the ErQing side of things are explained in the mini series that came out after Yanxi Palace: it's just like seven or eight episodes, but some things that were left out in the series were explained. (yanxi Palace: princess adventures, it's on netflix)
I was so angry at first when the empress passed. I was like “she couldn’t wait for Yingluo!” But then I had to think about it. She made up her mind and her heart was beyond broken from the pressure and scheming. If she waited for Yingluo, she would’ve stayed but only out of obligation. I still don’t know who’s worse, Chun or Erqing. Both were so two faces and were QUICK to scheme and shake things up.
@@dramarecaps4217 in some cases yes and this is a good example of such cases as the person doing the act is also a victim . Chun was clearly mentally unstable and desperate for something to fill the void, Xian noticed her reaction when the Empress was recovering from her miscarriage and the whole Fugeng and Erqing situation and that was where Xian saw her weakness and started planting seeds and to me that is a low blow and very vicious to take advantage of another person who is emotionally vulnerable. So yes Xian is actually worst than Chun because when she went to visit Chun ( when Chun discovered the truth about Fuheng not knowing about her feelings for him) Xian inserted her power to also intimidate Chun ( when she had the maid’s tongue cut out) that was where Chun completely lost control of herself and had fell completely victim to Xian, everything she did from there on was to satisfy Xian,that’s how I read this situation.😅
Simplemente volví a sufrir en este resumen como sufrí cuando lo vi por primera vez. Estaba tan frustrada, realmente fue agotador y muy triste de ver el desenlace de la emperatriz. El amor que Yingluo siente es intenso, he notado que acompañar hacia la muerte a la emperatriz o morir con Fuheng cuando los acusaron, no le importaba, estaba dispuesta. Más adelante vemos que no está dispuesta a tomar esa decisión otra vez, ya que no vuelve a amar tan intensamente...eso siento yo
you know what’s funny is when I was little the actress who played the empress got her start playing an annoying ass sidepiece and everyone unconsciously hated her😅 she really redeemed herself through this role
Remember the story when the daughter of the Emperor's nursemaid died because she was close to him even though it's possible that it could have been an innocent relationship between two kids playing around, it's a good insight why though I agree that the Emperor is shitty at times, I could see his point of view.
He’s toxic, notice the way he tries over and over to encourage Yinglou to forget about the empress and accept Xian even before this episode, Xian is a part part of every chaos and he’s been working for her for awhile. Youn wants to be in control of Yinglou’s destiny, he enjoys being the shoulder she leans on for everything and that’s a little meh in my opinion. I do Not like what’s beneath that friendship and the guy is mentally unstable.
@@Winter74575 I'm not denying and well aware of the darker side of this relationship, hence the WHAT. I enjoy watching them together as they are both coming from similar places and have the spunk and intelligence levels to work towards what they want. They make a fun friendship. At this point in the story, I believe he is genuine towards his commitment to YL and has severed actively working with the Empress. I do not see his reasoning/actions as hateful as someone like Erqing, she is a loathsome character. I do not want to spoil so I'll comment again in the future relevant episodes. As another viewer pointed out in a comment, he has gone through WAY more than YL, one has to wonder if she wouldn't be where he is (mentally, emotionally) had she gone through comparable hardships without meeting decent people, ever (maybe his adoptive mom was decent?). Remember to tag for spoilers if chatting about specific future plot lines.
Notes: wip ?.1. of course it's not mentioned that *7th prince Yongcong was born on Buddha's Birthday* and that *there was a sudden downpour in the middle of a drought* , which were all in extant historical records ?.2. Wei Ying'luo's fear of childbirth has extended to childcare, as *she's entirely avoiding 7th prince like the plague* and was extremely awkward carrying the infant like a ticking time-bomb ?. you missed the in-between scenes of Fuca Manor wherein *Fuheng's half-brother Fuqian has been attracted to and has been interacting with Erqing* edit: there we go @9:44-@9:55 ?.1. the last interaction of Wei Ying'luo & Fuca Rong'yin took place on *(Chinese) New Year's Eve* (i.e. @10:12), hence why Rong'yin was in semi-formal _jifu_ ensemble ?.2. *Rong'yin announced an Inner Palace-wide holiday vacation leave to all the servants* , hence the stament "the eunuchs were lax in their duty" is *incorrect* ?.3. you forgot to emphasize the main scene of *Rong'yin giving her precious japamala* (@10:13 the one she had been shuffling since ep. 1) to Ying'luo *supposedly as good luck charm for Wei Qingtai* , which becomes a significant plot point from here on ?.1. there was already a sign that a fire would start in Changchun'gong Palace: *the visual and the crackling fire of the charcoal brazier seemed more active than usual* , and *the wet nurse on duty didn't even notice* ?.2. when Rong'yin rushed to save the already-dead 7th prince Yongcong one need to zoom in to see *the wet nurse on duty slumped on the floor* ?.1. ...can you even suggest a better solution than hog-tying people? *Why do you think straitjackets exist???* ?.2. you missed the part wherein *Qianlong actually collapses after walking past Changchunmen Gate* and had to be helped up ?.3. even in house arrest and dressed in plain _qizhuang_ (perhaps to show "solidarity" to Rong'yin's loss) *Erqing had this serious calculating expression* and even *mistreated another servant who was only bringing her tea* before deciding on her "jailbreak" ?.1. there's also a scene wherein Ying'luo wants to go back to the Forbidden City but Qingtai begs to stay, and a momentary close up seems to suggest Qingtai was acting under orders ?.2. Rong'yin's entire monologue was basically *"I am a failed Empress Consort because of these 3 sins"* ?.2.1. *desired freedom* despite being the Empress Consort of Great Qing Empire, the Paragon Mother of the Realm from the Fuca clan ?.2.2. *desired love* from a man who (as "Ruyi"'s Zhen Huan stated) cannot be one woman's husband and whose heart is the most difficult thing to understand ?.2.3. *desired to be a good mother* yet was unable to protect her 2 sons ?.2.4. extra: *unable to wait for Wei Ying'luo's return* because she's tired and wanted to £ưçк this șħıţ I'm out ?.3. Rong'yin's śụîçıđę BGM is "The Sound of Snow Falling" (雪落下的聲音), specifically the version (there are 2 official versions) sung by Qin Lan (Fuca Rong'yin, Empress Xiaoxianchun) herself ?.4. contrary to what you said *the news has not yet spread* ; Wei Ying'luo *has just passed either Meridian Gate (午門) or Tiananmen Gate (天安門)* when *the deep booming sounds of an Asian bronze bell tolled in the background* , followed by the imperial guards' confused expression "Isn't that the mourning bell (喪鍾)? What is even happening...?" and then the confirmation announcement *"The Empress has passed away! (皇后崩逝)"* ?.5. Ying'luo was given 3 choices: *poison, silk rope, and dagger* ?.6. Qianlong was extremely heartbroken that *Rong'yin once never even mentioned him* and actually cried ?.7. the official imperial mourning period was *27 months* ?.8. you could've just said *Old Summer Palace* instead of "Yuanming Garden" ?.9. in history *Lady Wei was already Imperial Concubine Ling* by the time of Empress Xiaoxianchun's death ?.1. officially *Noble Consort Xian was first declared Imperial Noble Consort* as Qianlong Emperor was still hesitant to declare Empress Xiaoxian(chun)'s successor ?.2. while Zhen'er was dressing Shushen up in _chaofu_ she notes that Shushen was experiencing mixed feelings, both happy and sad...and then *we have this creepy-ass monologue aired to her mother, almost akin to stereotypical villain manifestos* : -finally succeeding as Empress Consort of the Great Qing Empire -wishing she could hug her and feel the silks of her official robe -showing all her enemies (aka those that plotted her family's downfall) what she can do ?. @9:39-@9:44 that plotline was basically relegated over to "Yanxi Palace: Princess Adventures" and were probably the only scrapped plotline to actually survive the trash bin of ignominy
Ty for sharing the highlights, i think sometimes a lot of things that are quite interesting for the plot are missed in the review for this specific series of Yanxi
Hmmmm this question mark thing makes it harder to respond lol ? I can't tell if you mean this was not mentioned in the drama or the recap? I think the rain thing was mentioned in the drama, but not being born on Buddha's birthday? Maybe I'm forgetting ? That scene of YL and 7th prince was to die for, so adorable ? I can't find the scene you're talking about with the empress announcing everyone was on leave, so I'll take your word for it 🧐 Still, it's impossible for all of the servants to be on leave, some jobs just have to be done. The nannies didn't just stop taking care of the prince, the cooks were still cooking, the maids were still maiding... similarly, the eunuchs in charge of vital jobs couldn't possibly have thought they could just not do them. Which is why when the emperor confronted the eunuchs, they insisted that *they had been heating the jars every day as normal* instead of saying they were granted leave. ? I didn't forget to emphasize the japmala scene, I chose not to include it. It's a sweet little reference/detail down the road when we see YL still holding on to it, but it's not as if we need a reminder that YL still cares about and thinks of the empress all the time. I have no idea what 'significant plot point' you're talking about, as far as I remember it's nothing but a callback- please let me know what I missed there!😅 ? Ooohh yes I also didn't notice what was up with the charcoal until HLC brought it up later, that was a great detail ? That's a good one too! Now that I think about it, what happened to her? Are we to assume she was knocked out or something? Because otherwise how did she not notice the fire until it was too late? ? Yeahh that's a good point about the hogtying- I suppose it's just the image of her trussed up like a pig, lectured, and then left to her destructive thoughts. I mean even straightjackets leave your legs free! 😂 ? I think that clip is in the review but yes, that would have been a good scene to highlight to show how much he's struggling as well ? I think you're mixing this scene up with the scene later in the drama - before ErQing attends the silkworm ceremony (where she steps on the maid's hand) ? (About YL's dad) OK now this is interesting! Never for a moment did I suspect any connection between him and this plot, but it's certainly possible considering that man's non-existent moral compass ? It's sad that those perfectly normal desires from the empress become sins when you're in a position like hers ? You're right about the mourning bell scene, but I think this is just splitting hairs lol, the empress' palace has already been adorned with funeral decorations, her body has been moved, the servants are dressed and mourning. It makes sense that the guards at the gate would be the last to find out, but it's safe to say word has already spread. Maybe *started* to spread would be better? ? YL was given the choice and she chose the blade! That's intense, I don't think I have the willpower to drive a blade in, I'd have to do poison for sure ? I think more people recognize it as YM garden over the old summer palace? It's also how it's referred to in the drama so meh 🤷♀️ ? It's interesting what different routes this drama and RYRLITP took with the Xian scene. I mean a big part of it was not having the budget for a big coronation but still 😂
@@dramarecaps4217 sorry about the question marks since I would have to rack my memory on this one the RL historical circumstances of 7th prince Yongcong's birth were in "Ruyi" either I am going ahead of myself, forgot on which scene it was declared, but *spoiler part of Yuhu (Su Jinghao's main lady-in-waiting)'s confession was "Late Empress (Rong'yin) was magnanimous, on New Year's Eve she declared a leave for all the servants" "Yanxi" was basically a web series (hence why we will never see the entire series uploaded on Huanyu Ent.'s official YT channel) hence lesser intervention by SART unlike "Ruyi" which faced much pre-airing drama
Yes, there can be that much blood. Both of my kids had large heads and there was barely enough clearance. They tore me stem to stern. The second labor, I nearly had to have a transfusion because they had a hard time finding a tear. At least I didn't deliver in my car. It very nearly came down that way.
oh god that sounds so painful 😬 both of my friends had very easy births - one friend's baby just popped out like it was nothing, the other friend needed a second epidural. the latter was in absolute pain, yelling that she'll never do this again, but after her daughter was delivered, i asked her if she wanted to have more kids after this and she was just like "oh yeah, absolutely". that post-labor amnesia is reaaaaal.
How did the Empress easily sneak out of her palace and make it onto that roof? Didn't the palace have eunuchs, maids and guards everywhere either keeping watch or patrolling?! She just walked barely naked without anyone noticing...
I watched a video about deleted scenes and it was about Erqin having an affair with Fehung’s half brother and the child was his brother’s not emperor’s.
Rongyin was more controlled by her own expectations, pressuring herself into being the perfect empress. While Ruyi was more emotional and lovey-dovey in mindset, viewing love as more important than duties. The only similarity between them is that they are highly moral people with a kind heart and they love the Emperor, but Rongyin is assertive and got a backbone while Ruyi is just…spineless who relies on passive aggression.
*Warning, this comment has Spoilers. Skip if you hate spoilers* OMG! When the Empress... I'm sorry, Rongyin loss her last child, and how cold the Emperor was... I don't know what I would have done. When Er Qing told her old mitresss about the affair it was game over. The way Yingluo spoke to the emperor was actually Rongyin coming through her body. But I do believe the emperor lived her,. He truly cried when she was gone. And Fu Heng... I'm sorry. Your heart is about to be broken when you come back because we all know why he took this mission. And Er Qing... Karma's a b*tch... but not as big of one as you!
I liked that RYRLITP had closer angles and wasn't as brightly lit - these drew me into the plot like i was right there with them. The brightness in YXP came across unreal to me
To me, they both have their good parts. YP is more colorful and has such good details in scenes, even when its not a close up scene, while RRLITP has such awesome close up scenes, especially when characters are emotional
Sometimes, sure! RY wins out to me in just about every other metric, but I really liked the way YX was colored and shot. RY was beautiful too of course, but the brightness and boldness of the colors took me out sometimes. Like their clothes, they all looked like clothes that'd never even been work before, let alone washed and reworn over years. The more simple and sort of 'washed out' attire in YX I found nicer to look at and it felt more realistic.
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