The King's Woman (2017) User Reviews

A Chinese Stockholm syndrome Love Story

[AppleEye2U · 7/10 · 30 March 2019]

The story of The King's Woman is based on the fictional love story of the first emperor of China, Qin She Huang, born as Ying Zheng, the prince of Qin. There's also a story arc about a murder attempt on his life that has been written down in history.

The plot: Gong Sun Li (Dilraba Dilmurat) is the granddaughter and disciple of the powerful military commander Gong Sun Yu. The first disciple Jing Ke (Liu Chang) and Li have always been in love with each other since childhood. When the Qin troops attack, Jing Ke is poisoned while trying to protect Li. In order to save Jing Ke, Li agrees to marry Ying Zheng (Zhang Bin Bin), the King of the Qin State, but she discovers that she is already pregnant with Jing Ke's baby.

Ying Zheng has always been in love with Li and accepts the child as his own. As Li gets to know the kinder, gentler side of the ruthless ruler, she begins to fall in love with him. Where will her allegiance lie when Jing Ke comes to the palace to assassinate Ying Zheng?

The good: Somehow I must be twisted af, because I really liked this show. Why else can I relate to all these crazy characters? I am feeling for a girl, Gong Sun Li, who's suffering from a severe form of Stockholm Syndrome. She's showing sympathy, and eventually love, to a terrorist king who holds her in hostage. Moreover my heart is aching for this brute tyrant, who just can't help himself, because he lacks trust and love since childhood. I guess this madness is partly due to the good looks, and acting, of Zhang Bin Bin, who displays all kind of contrary emotions within seconds. The beautiful cinematography isn't helping either.

The bad: The only way to watch this love story with your sanity in tact, is preparing yourself for the ending. One should know this is not the era of happy campers.

It deserves some praise!

[rozelyn · 7/10 · 19 March 2020]

I enjoyed the actors in this series. I enjoyed getting trapped in the plot and passion. My opinion: I was devastated at the end. I didn't want my heart to break so badly, but it's a tragedy so prepare yourself.

Heart breaking

[samanthacourtois · 10/10 · 6 February 2021]

I loved this show and I loved the characters. I was so emotionally invested in it that I was heart broken by the end of it. I couldn't even cry. I just felt numb mixed with disbelief. I kept reminding myself it was just a show. Then I had to Google stuff to see if others were as heart broken as I was. My stomach is in knots 😔.

Give this complex love story a try; it's worth it!

[Geeta352 · 9/10 · 17 May 2019]

This series starts slow, but eventually gains momentum mid-series. Vin Zhang and Dilraba Dilmurat are lead actors in this fictional series loosely based on fact. The story, once it hits its stride, was good but at times difficult to watch, due to the complexity of emotions displayed by the characters and situations. To this viewer, the series was a study of the light and darkness that exists in all humans. The depth of that darkness was aptly portrayed by Vin Zhang as the vile King Ying Zheng. He is very good at playing morose, misunderstood characters. The light was brilliantly portrayed by Dilraba, as Gong Sun Li, who in my humble opinion, gave her greatest performance to date. Tae Lee, (as Han Shen) was the most honest and pure male character in this series. The rest of the supporting cast was also good. Kudos to the director, screenplay writers, set designers and everyone else who contributed to the production of this series. Be sure to have a box of tissues nearby; you may find yourself crying at unexpected junctures.

Beautifully depicts and upholds all the values of humanity

[doilynmathias · 10/10 · 19 April 2019]

Hats off to the entire unit for bringing out this series for all to see. A peak into history, the action scenes with swords are just mind boggling, captured so well. Our values, principals, beliefs, words and actions make us who we are. All of this is so wonderfully portrayed by this drama. Thanks to the HLBN entertainment for their brilliant translation in English, where you could feel the emotions of every scene and character without which it would have been impossible to relate to this beautiful work of art.

Tried to like this

[talonjensen · 4/10 · 2 October 2020]

I really wanted to like this, but there are so many plot points that don't make sense. So many actions that just fly in the face of reason, even for those times, it just didn't work for me.

Most of the actors do a good job, production values are better than average, but the script is just too difficult to believe. The actor playing the King is somewhat wooden in this show as he also was in Love 020. I initially thought that was because of the way his character was written, but now that I've seen him in two shows, I think it is just his acting.

The main point of this is that the King has grown up with little to no people he can trust in his life, so he is cruel and paranoid. He desires, I wouldn't say loves, the female lead, Gong Sun Li, because she helped save him when they were younger.

SPOILERS BELOW: As King of the most powerful kingdom he is able to use force and blackmail to get what he wants. And, so Sun Li comes to the palace as a concubine, but she is pregnant with Jing Ke's child.

The King favors her and treats her well enough that eventually she falls for him as she realizes the cause of his cruelty. This isn't Stockholm Syndrome because that isn't really a thing, it isn't listed in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders". It is simply the natural empathy most people can feel when they spend time together and begin to appreciate the good with the bad.

There are many mistakes in the script, an example would be in episode 31 when Sun Li is in a palanquin with Min Dai, who has stolen her dagger. Min Dai pulls the dagger and cuts herself putting the dagger in Sun Li's hand. The main problem I have with this is Sun Li is a martial arts expert, especially with a sword (or even a dagger) and Min Dai has no martial arts skills. This being true, how come Sun Li didn't take the dagger away from Min Dai while they were talking? Or, why is the dagger in her hands after Min Dai cuts herself? Min Dai tells the King that Sun Li tried to kill her? If Sun Li had tried to kill Min Dai she would be dead.

Another, very simple complaint is when people are chained, in prison, the handcuffs are three times larger than their wrists and could easily fall off? I know there is a limited budget for every show, but really?

I'm not a fan of the deuxs ex machina, magical poison of the last episode that allows the King to win in martial arts. It feels like a cop-out for poor writing skills.

I have many more criticisms, but those are enough of a sample, so you can decide if I am too critical or not.

And, finally, you do need to know that this is a tragedy. It is important because sometimes I want to watch a show that leaves me feeling uplifted and sometimes I don't care.

The script and storyline are deeply flawed

[janakibrooks · 5/10 · 27 July 2020]

This series is about a female martial artist who has been trained from childhood along with two older brothers under a great master during the Warring States period in China. The series promises to be extremely entertaining and features the robust acting talents of a very fine cast. These great actors make it worth watching. However, I do not think the storyline or the script was deserving of these actors. First, a female martial artist, portrayed by the robustly talented Dilraba, would not ever be satisfied accepting her fate by being in bed so much and not practicing and being so confined. The script does not bring out her obviously clever side. Then, there is the stiff and inflexible character of the king, played by Zhang BinBin. He is such a charming and capable presence, but his character is so wooden that his abilities are stifled. It was frustrating to watch this and the ending is horrible. If the producers wanted to give the audience a "realistic" downer, then they certainly achieved it! This is, after all, entertainment, and not historical fiction. I did not find the last few chapters compelling at all, since I could predict everything that happened. I gave it a 5 for this lame storytelling! I hope that Zhang BinBin gets a lead role that is complex, where he is a hero and allows for some great intimate scenes. He is the best screen kisser!

Much Ado About The King's Woman

[yvarley · 4/10 · 29 March 2023]

The great thing about this drama is the eye candy. Both leading actors are exceptionally handsome. Costuming is out of this world and even supports the narrative. The sets and cinematography are executed well above par. This drama has everything going for it...

Except for the plot and characterisation.

Gong Sun Li is the granddaughter of a military commander and has become a martial artist under his tutelage. She is the love interest of most of the men. Needless to say this is not inconceivable when played by Dilraba Dilmurat. It is also pleasant to have her speaking in a normal voice. Her character is kind and believes in justice and the common good.

Equal in the Easy on the Eyes stakes, Zhang Bin Bin does a turn at being a ruthless, despicable tyrant, who is willing to sacrifice everything to achieve his greater goal: the unification of the States.

This is going to be a love story. So what could possibly go wrong?

Well ... there is Gong Sun Li's childhood sweetheart, Jing Ke, who is also an apprentice to her Grandfather. There is Han Shen who is the senior apprentice to her Grandfather, who also has unrequited love for Li.

After some fighting, an interlude and then some more fighting, Jing Ke is seriously injured and Gong Sun Li has to sell herself to the King for the cure. This is the point when things start to go South.

The premise of the love plot from this point is that you can imprison someone, treat them really badly, including physical and psychological abuse, and somehow they can grow to love you. It is a 'How to perpetrate domestic violence' text book.

Subplots and court intrigues are shallow and are not helped by equally shallow/monochromatic supporting characters. Jing Ke's alcohol binge after losing Li, continues longer than need be to move the plot forward. The same can be said for the assassination plot which seems to take half of the series to plan, even though everyone is in one place.

The scene where Li finds Zheng covered in blood and surrounded by the bodies of the people he has slaughtered harks back to Anakin and Padme after the massacre of the Sand People in Star Wars. In both cases it is utterly unbelievable that a sane person could still care for someone so utterly devoid of remorse.

With regard to the costuming, this drama should certainly have had some awards. Not only are the fabric and adornments beautiful and sumptuously detailed and constructed, they also follow the relationship of the lead characters. At first their clothing clashes then their clothes become complementary, in one scene they are almost wearing the same garments, when they are happy and away from court scrutiny. Then as things begin to unravel the colours go back to clashing again.

The wigs and hair accessories also deserve an honourable mention, as they were so different from other costume dramas. One set of hair ornament particularly stands out as they are reminiscent of the face hugger from Alien. You'll know it when you see them!

There were some interesting techniques used throughout the film, which may have been intended to remind viewers this was a story, that the characters were fictional representations of historical figures or to accentuate the tension of the moment. In particular the loud drum beat whenever someone fell or went on their knees. Then there was the dripping sound. There were many headshots where the camera seemed to focus on the side of the speaker's head rather than centering the face. And sudden zoom-ins when something important had just been said or done. They may have been a trop to vary the vision and audio.

This series had so much potential with its leading actors, costuming, cinematography. It is sad to think it never reached it. Never the less it is worth watching for the costuming alone.

PS Female armour - excessive shoulder pads/pauldrons make it difficult to move your arms, apart from looking stupid. Open neck and chest line is just asking for someone to shoot or slash you there. No helmet...results in no brains.

A good story ruined by poor execution!

[angelx_cute08 · 4/10 · 30 October 2021]

I am sure I heard this was a big hit in its country of origin. So, I got curious and had quite a bit of an expectation. After completing the drama, I am just utterly disappointed. I almost dropped this because of the poor casting choices. They could have chosen better actors in the leading role. I guess they went after who is popular at the moment. The actor playing the King is so wooden and uninspiring. I can't believe they got him to play the famous Qin Shi Huang. He was supposed to be an authoritarian tyrant. He exuded so much power and vitality in him but I couldn't feel it with this actor. He had almost the same expressions all throughout the entire drama. He looked and acted weak. Gongsun Li's character was supposed to be vibrant, smart and outstanding. Again, I couldn't feel it with this actress. She was bland. I like the actors playing Jing Ke and Madam Chu. I like her little facial expressions and the way she talks. She had this irritating persona and therefore, was a really effective character. I prefer Han Shen over everyone on this drama. You could feel his suppressed emotions. He portrayed the character of a man in love with a woman he could never have well. As for the visual effects, they looked like it was done by amateurs. Lastly, there were so many plot holes and inconsistencies with the characters. I really wanted to like The King's Woman but I just can't. It is a good story but ruined by poor execution.