The biggest gripe I have with Novoland Pearl Eclipse is the poor transitioning of scenes and the general lack of situational props that one ordinarily finds in dramas of this magnitude. There's hardly any external street shots and some internal scenes are so sterile and devoid of props that otherwise should lend realism to the ambience.
Likewise, the plot, which seems to be the standard in most palace intrigue c-dramas. The stoic male lead and the feisty female lead coupled with throne grabbing games and bad faith palace officials...it's all just so stale and unimaginative especially given the fact this is a made up historical setting that the writers should have exploited to the fullest extent knowing there would be minimal censorship by the Chinese government. In addition and I say this with all due respect to Chinese drama script writers....no one buys the female in male clothing disguise. I mean not one person on earth would ever think these scrawny, limp noodle, 40kg actresses can ever successfully disguise as a man without being found out in a second. Stop insulting out intelligence with this trope. Either find a female actress willing to bulk up or pretty please with a cherry on top stop with the madness.
Likewise, the plot, which seems to be the standard in most palace intrigue c-dramas. The stoic male lead and the feisty female lead coupled with throne grabbing games and bad faith palace officials...it's all just so stale and unimaginative especially given the fact this is a made up historical setting that the writers should have exploited to the fullest extent knowing there would be minimal censorship by the Chinese government. In addition and I say this with all due respect to Chinese drama script writers....no one buys the female in male clothing disguise. I mean not one person on earth would ever think these scrawny, limp noodle, 40kg actresses can ever successfully disguise as a man without being found out in a second. Stop insulting out intelligence with this trope. Either find a female actress willing to bulk up or pretty please with a cherry on top stop with the madness.