Hey there! Before I get started on my review of Three Kingdoms today, I’d like to point you to another one of my posts, Letter to a Social Studies Teacher: Why Three Kingdoms Should Be Included in 7th-Grade Curricula. This “letter” that I’ve composed is largely connected to today’s review, so I recommend you read both to get a better understanding. On with the drama!
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rated
10 / 10
genre
Historical
directed by
Gao Xixi
starring
Chen Jianbin, Yu Hewei, Lu Yi, Peter Ho, Ni Dahong, Yu Rongguang, Zhang Bo, Nie Yuan, Chen Hao, Ruby Lin, Victor Huang, Yu Bin
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This. Three Kingdoms.
This is what rivals The Qin Empire in terms of historical masterpieces. They are so similar that I sometimes get them mixed up, but at the same time, this drama creates a whole new story of adventure and excitement that prevents it from seeming repetitive or plagiarized.
Like The Qin Empire, this 2010 show brings a new side to history that will change many minds about the topic. While expanding creatively on each character and scene’s detail, it does not lose the overall sense and accuracy of a genuinely historical drama. As I watched, I felt like I was witnessing all of these scenes that happened so long ago, and seemed so distant, right before my eyes. Each character had their own distinct traits and motives that were clearly and efficiently represented on the screen.
It’s not just for the thrills, either; I was intrigued by all of the battle strategies and predictions that the generals were making, especially that of Zhu Geliang. It seemed like he knew the future. Nonetheless, it’s important to keep in mind while watching that this drama is adapted from the classic tale titled Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which isn’t entirely factual.
Speaking of the mastermind military adviser Zhu Geliang, there were also characters that I fell in love with as I sped through the episodes; besides Zhu Geliang, there was also Zhao Yun. One was an absolute genius, and one was an extremely hot and pretty damn courageous warrior. Sounds like the best combination, huh? I fantasized about all sorts of background stories and headcanons for them.
That’s not the only way Three Kingdoms has benefited me and will benefit you. The most obvious of it is that you’ll learn about the historical period, which should be paid more attention to. You have no idea how many times I’ve seen this time simply brushed off as “a period of unrest” in textbooks, and how irritating that is. There’s so much more to it than that. This show goes in-depth about it, including every single battle and every single factor that contributed to the eventual result. Naturally, there were some aspects of the plans and the speech in the drama that I couldn’t understand, which made it all the more fulfilling for me to gain more and more knowledge. Despite listening to the story of the three kingdoms being told a few years back, the on-screen experience made sure that I never forgot anything.
Although this drama is quite similar to The Qin Empire, one distinct difference that may seem trivial to some but is quite important to me is the humor included in Three Kingdoms. It’s scattered around the drama in bits and pieces; after all, this is a serious drama about a dangerous and unstable period of time. Nonetheless, there are hilarious parts of it that make it stand out. Most of those lines belong to Cao Cao, who I originally feared and disliked. However, with the addition of humor, it made me gradually like him as a character and appreciate him as a whole. But he did do some pretty controversial things – watch the drama to find out! 😉
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