My favourite scenes in the Legend of Zhen Huan

The Legend of Zhen Huan has a lot of touching scenes. In this article, I will share some of my favourite scenes and analyse the cinematography, script and acting.

When the Emperor mistook Zhen Huan for Chunyuan

In episode 43, during Zhen Huan’s conferment ceremony, she wore Empress Chunyuan’s old clothes.

Acting

The Emperor expressed his shock, agitation on seeing his deceased wife again, and happiness when knowing that Chunyuan was still alive very well.
I was especially moved at the part where the Emperor walked over to Zhen Huan. Even though it is despicable that the Emperor never really loved Zhen Huan, the actor really did a great job in expressing his love for Chunyuan.
For a different take on this scene, I wrote about it on (show link to previous article)

Cinematography

It doesn’t make sense that the Emperor would think the silhouette of Zhen Huan was Chunyuan coming back to life. The Emperor is normally very intelligent, so why would he think that way?
But the curtains between the Emperor and Zhen Huan was quite tinted. Her facial features were not very clear. Considering that Zhen Huan really looked like Chunyuan, it makes sense that the Emperor would mistake her for Chunyuan.

Notice that before they uncovered the curtain, the relationship is nice and happy. But after they uncovered the curtain and understood each other, the relationship went downhill and the Emperor gave her a really harsh punishment. I think the curtain acts as a metaphor for them uncovering the true person behind the facade. Zhen Huan, no matter how much she looks and acts like Chunyuan, is not Chunyuan. The Emperor, no matter how devoted he was to her, never loved her.

Script

Notice that the conversation between Zhen Huan and the Emperor seemed to flow quite naturally. Zhen Huan’s words didn’t give away her identity. The Emperor also did not realise that she was Chunyuan. It sets the stage for a very big misunderstanding.

Music

长夜孤枕 was played when the Emperor first saw Zhen Huan behind the curtain. I felt that the music really emphasised Yongzheng’s emotions. 长夜孤枕 also translates to “Sleeping alone in a long night”, which is an apt description of Yongzheng after Chunyuan’s death.

When Mei Zhuang was drunk

After much convincing from the Empress Dowager, the Emperor visited Mei Zhuang.
But she does not have any affection for the Emperor after seeing how callous he was and refused to respond to his advances.
Frustrated, the Emperor leaves her chambers, leaving Mei Zhuang to drink sadly.
Her attendant thought she wanted to get Physician Wen for medical consultation, but Mei Zhuang got Physician Wen to drink with her. They slept with each other that night.

Acting

Even though Mei Zhuang had the most lines in this scene, I think I’m more impressed by the actor who played Physician Wen and his facial expressions.
For example, when he drank the first cup of wine, he seemed to figure out that the drink wasn’t an ordinary cup of wine. But he chose to ignore this detail to cater to Mei Zhuang’s whims.
He also looked at her lovingly as he carried her to bed. I think these subtle details are what increased the impact of this scene.

I can’t really say much about the cinematography and script, because I felt that this scene was quite abrupt. It’s like the show is forcibly pairing the two together because the characters do not have a partner. It’s the way Physician Wen actually cares for her throughout the scene that touched me the most and convinced me that the two actually love each other.

When Consort Hua died

Episode 42 showed the scene where Consort Hua died. After Consort Hua’s failed attempts to burn Zhen Huan to death, the Emperor ordered that Consort Hua to be put to death and that the Empress oversees Consort Hua's punishment because he didn't want to hear about anything regarding Consort Hua anymore. Consort Hua refuses to accept her death punishment until she got an edict from the Emperor. Meanwhile, Zhen Huan visits her in the cold palace and drives Consort Hua to death with her words.

Acting

I think Jiang Xin (who played Consort Hua) did a very good job in acting.
The scene brought viewers into Consort Hua’s world, where she tried very hard to gain the love of the Emperor but realised that he never loved her, ordered the miscarriage of her child, and gave her a musk-laced perfume to prevent her from getting pregnant again.
Normally viewers hate the bad apples in the show, but Consort Hua, the villain for more than half of the show, is not hated. The reasons for her viciousness were communicated very well. Behind her antics, she’s just a girl who wants the love of her husband. She’s just someone who wanted to have a child with her husband.
Consort Hua always carries herself with pride, even when she was in dire straits, even when she was about to die. This confidence attracts a lot of viewers and makes her more relatable and less hated.

Cinematography

In the death scene where Zhen Huan confronts Consort Hua, Consort Hua had lights shining on her (even when she stood up and walked around the room), while Zhen Huan stood at the dark side and the light did not shine for her. It’s a representation of how Consort Hua represents a good character, while Zhen Huan is becoming more and more scheming. No matter how nice Zhen Huan was at the beginning of the drama, in this scene, her words triggered Consort Hua to commit suicide.

Script

The script is relatively simple. There isn’t a lot of words referencing ancient poetry. But Consort Hua’s words helped to flesh out her character even more because viewers know the reasons behind her actions.

In particular, the last sentence “Emperor, you hurt Shi Lan a lot” (皇上，你害得世兰好苦啊) reflects the hurt and hopelessness she felt after knowing how the Emperor really felt about her. Even when Zhen Huan tried to explain to Consort Hua the reasons for her demise, Consort Hua was still confident that the Emperor at least loved her before. Only when Zhen Huan explains how the Emperor tried to prevent her from giving birth to a child did it shatter the last bit of hope Consort Hua had for the Emperor.

Comments

  1. doubleqinsJanuary 23, 2021 at 12:17 AM

    Thank you for your post. I've rewatched zhz multiple times but enjoy reading posts about it to enjoy the show from different perspective. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete

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