aprilprey

After five years of Kdramas, I wanted to branch out a bit. Happened upon Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty via a Reddit discussion. The subject was "What is your favorite scene with a cross-dressing actor?" Someone noted Darren Chen in this series. I love a good mystery/detective show, so I gave it a try. OMG I LOVED every second of this series? So much so, I can't find another Cdrama like it! It doesn't hit you over the head with palace opulence - not once did I feel like the creators were trying to dazzle me with "Look how much money we throw at TV shows". I've tried Nirvana in Fire and Rebel Princess - right off the bat I felt like over the top design was THE THING. In Sleuth of the Ming Dynasty, the palace settings were someone humble compared to most historical Cdramas. Half of the scenes took place outside the palace, in the homes of the characters which might be considered middle class for that era. The whole story had such modern feel to it, you could have changed the setting to Los Angeles or NY and it would have worked. The opening and closing theme music are pop songs as opposed to lush orchestral music. I fear I'll never find another Cdrama like it. 10/10 - I'll probably rewatch it at some point. It is that good.