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.
