Qing Shi Huang Fei/ The Glamorous Imperial Concubine

     I watched this drama with high expectations as I have seen it around but never got around to watching it. I truly thought that the beginning was fascinating and I hoped that it would stay consistent till the end. Unfortunately, to my distaste, this drama began to drag out and started having a lot of unreasonable deaths and scenes that could have been cut out. I fell in love with some of the characters but I also hated how they all kind of just died one by one. It's like one of those dramas where the writers decide to kill off a character whenever it is getting dull. And in all honesty, I started getting upset that so many people were dying pointless deaths when there could have been so much done with the plot. The bad people die but a lot of the good people died also.
        I predicted that this was going to have a similar ending to Legend of Luzhen where the girl is the only one to live at the very end. And unfortunately, my prediction was quite accurate. I felt that there were too many deaths that didn't need to happen and that they just wanted to make it sad and everything. Also, the relationships and connections she had with her two love interests were interesting as they were all different. Both men whole-heatedly loved her which made it hard for me to decide who I wanted her to be with.
The OST was pretty good. I am obsessed with Wallace Huo's song absolutely beautiful, touching, and soft. It feels like one of those soft songs that sound hauntingly gentle. I would recommend you all to check it out. I checked online for the song and I believe it is called Pass Away. The Chinese name for the song is: 倾世.
        I feel like this drama had a lot of potential. Only if the ending didn't start dragging out with an increasing number of deaths in the good people in this drama.

Synopsis: 
       Ma Fu Ya is a princess of the Chu state who had her life changed in one day. Her uncle decided to usurp the throne and overthrow her father (the emperor). He then attempted to kill her family by starting a fire. Thankfully, she manages to escape and becomes an exiled princess hunted down by her uncle. Wanting revenge and also wanting to survive, she lives her life with a new identity and in another kingdom. She begins to piece things together and also plan out her revenge. She decided to avenge her family and restore her kingdom at any cost. She was later on joined with the support of her little brother who had a similar goal in mind, restoring their kingdom.
       Ma Fu Ya ends up winning the love of two kings and had wars waged in her name. Prince of Later Shu, Meng Qi You falls in love with her and also helps her along the way. His character was slightly complicated as he tried extremely hard to deny his love for her. He also had to keep their relationship quiet at first because his younger brother, the crown prince, also favored Ma Fu Ya.
          Prince of Northern Han became her friend before all this happened and was head over heels in love with her. Knowing that she was still alive, he constantly searches for news of her and would help her at any cost. His character was also very unique. He could drop everything and make decisions that would have a negative effect on his country for her. The actor of this prince did extremely well in portraying a character in which your heart moved for because his eyes evoked pity rather than disgust in how easily swayed he is as a king for love. Both love interests were very complex with their own stories. They were jaded but also yearning for the same woman's love. Because they both had different situations but very loyal personalities, it was hard to choose between the two. She ends up choosing Meng Qi You as she began to develop feelings for him romantically while she only had thoughts of friendship with the Prince of Northern Han.
        With each death, succession struggle, battle, war, romance, and betrayal, she grows as a person and understands the people around her more. She continues on for the sake of her people, country, and love. She ends up falling in love with  Prince of Later Shu but nothing goes along smoothly. She also begins to see how people she once knew and cared for could change so quickly (like her brother).

After watching Deja Vu and hating the ending, I was unbelievably disappointed in this ending as well. Mainly because this drama was coming along so well that it made no sense that the story began to fall apart in the later episodes with a lot of scheming and dying. So knowing that she chooses Meng Qi You, the ending was of her seeing an illusion of Meng Qi You (which you can assume dies). It's kind of a promise to continue living on with the memory of him. And I think that's ridiculously stupid because he did not have to die and that the story just felt so cold and desolate at the end. I also felt bad for the downfall of the Princess of Northern Han. She ended up marrying Meng Qi You but was poisoned to be a dummy by Ma Fu Ya's brother who liked her. I felt that it was the brother's sick greed that made this story so weird and twisted toward the end. I feel that the people in this drama had too many ulterior motives and to make it dramatic, people died left and right. It could have had a lot of potential because the characters were pretty well-developed and complex but the story wasn't planned out right and it just began to dull my interest toward the end where I would just expect someone to plop dead. I wish that this drama could have not had so many deaths and tried to settle for a very peaceful but happy ending.