J Bill

Don't watch this if you like feeling, caring about fictional people and stories. Don't watch this series if you want gratuitous violence, sex, and wham-bam- hit you-over-the-head action. Do watch RoP if you enjoy being a human being and thinking. If you like learning, subtlety, and slow plot twists- you will be mesmerized. As an American, the Chinese culture and formalities were confusing at first. Translation is always difficult, but the subtitles made the language simple. Perhaps more was gained than lost in translation. The foci are characters and their relationships. Trust is rarer and more precious than anything. The story is tragedy that puts Shakespeare to shame. As a former Theatre student, the production values were spot on. Costumes stood out without detracting from the characters and their stories. The set conveyed an opulent, gilded yet cold palace for the royals while the commoners had a much stabber yet warmer environment. The music was subtle and simple, accentuating and setting the tone, ambiance, and environment. The writing must be amazing in the original Chinese for the subtitles to carry such depth. The director was perfect in putting together the team. As for the cast- top-notch performances by all of them. Each member showed nuanced detail and all-too-human choices. Ni Ni and Chen had the most to work with, but even the episodes without the duo were just as captivating. I'm in awe as to how the cast and crew balanced the ever-changing power dynamics and character archs. ****** This show makes you feel. Im recovering from a ginormous emotional hangover because of RoP. So many moments I was just like "omg can't we go back to the beginning?" ****** A rewatch of the 70 episodes is definitely within the realm of possibility, and I want to learn Mandarin just to read the novel RoP is based on. Show could even be a study in Sociology, Psychology, Diplomacy, Letter of the Law vs. Spirit of the Law, and Choice vs. Fate. Thank you to everyone that made this show and making it possible to watch. Great Art is rare.