“Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace” Ending Gets Mixed Responses
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace, which aired its last episode on October 15th.
The tragic romance between Ruyi and her husband, the Qianlong Emperor, finally ended with 87 episodes on October 15th. Zhou Xun (周迅), who plays Ruyi in Ruyi’s Royal Love in the Palace <如懿传>, earned standing ovations in her final moments of the show—though Ruyi said little dialogue, viewers were full of emotion for her character,
“I love this scene of Ruyi,” said one netizen. “This scene is too legendary. Zhou Xun is smiling, but the audiences are crying. Ruyi did not drop a single tear, yet I feel so bad for her.”
Ruyi eventually passes away, and though that segment was not shown on screen, it was mentioned in dialogue. The majority of the final episode focused on how the Qianlong Emperor, portrayed by Wallace Huo (霍建華), mourns for her. Netizens said they found it hard to sympathize with Qianlong due to how he treated her before her death.
Despite evoking many emotions from netizens, many fans of the show said they felt the ending episode was disappointing. “It was a weak finale,” said one netizen. “It felt a bit empty and quick.”
Source: Ettoday.net
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
Lol maybe Zhou Xun was too busy thinking making out with her young gay girlfriend Leah Dou thatvshe couldnt show any emotions. Lol. I’m just kidding of course
Because the chemistry was never there, I didn’t feel ZX cares much about anything ( like Wallace ) besides just doing what is right.
Wallace cried for his guilt but there was no angsty touching love, he’d never seemed to have love her before, even at the beginning.
@davy how did she died ? Was it mirder or suicide ??
I like this series in terms of production and acting but I did not get immersed in the relationship between Qianlong and Ruyi while watching. I felt bad for Ruyi when she got mistreated and wronged but did not feel much when Qian Long cried at the end even though Wallace did a good gob crying. I just don’t feel he should be forgiven if Ruyi had given up on him in her death and doesn’t want anything to do with him anymore. I know the plums flowering signified a new beginning but seriously, I feel he does not deserve this life or the next. Ruyi was tired of it all in the end and I have to say I was tired as well.
I felt more for the friendship and hate between the ladies than any romantic relationship in the series.
@elizabeth Individually all were good to great performances but I feel at times Zhou Xun was too passive, almost expressionless whereas Wallace who tried as hard as he could to give the best he could but he never gave me the regal emperor vibe. Together, they were zero chemistry hence didn’t feel too much for either.
As for the story, I am only half way mark and I think the emperor is despicable. That being said maybe Ruyi was expecting to much from a man who can never be hers so to speak.
Actually I hope that the ending will get good response considering the team have work so much for this. But it is what it is.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS: I found the ending to be completely unsatisfying. The big scene with the villain felt rushed, and I feel Wallace Huo underplayed that scene too much. There should have been more witnesses present to all the horrible crimes she committed to make it more satisfying. And worse of all, the main eunuch who supported her and influenced her had died a quick, easy death and was not made to suffer at all, while her maid and the other eunuch she had by her side were allowed to live and take care of her even though they committed a lot of the crimes for her. It made no sense. Qianlong’s daughter who stirred the pot a lot and was just as guilty of causing a lot of the problems in his harem was never mentioned again; it would have been satisfying to see her react to the fact that the concubine she had been supporting all this time was one of the most evil human beings in the world. The last episode felt choppy: I guess they cut 10 episodes out? I would love to see what they cut out.
As for the deterioration of the relationship between Qianlong and Ruyi, it was done in a way that there is no logical way anyone could ever sympathize with Qianlong again. He had an innocent man tortured out of jealousy, basically; he was irredeemable after that. And I agree with @funnlim above, Zhou Xun was way too passive, in both expressions and actions. Her character never wised up until it was too late, and even then her performance was so half-hearted she was like a zombie sleepwalking through the role. I know some people will call that restraint, but it’s a very fine line between restraint and just underperformance. As the ‘heroine’ of the show, she is really the most inactive, frustrating heroine ever. She really was more lucky than anything that she lasted as long as she did.
Honestly, after watching 87 episodes of this show, with that ending, it really felt like a complete waste of my time.