The Imperial Coroner (S1): Spoiler-Free Mini Review
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Title: | The Imperial Coroner (2021) 御赐小仵作 |
Platform: | Viki, Youtube, WeTV |
Genre: | Period Mystery/Investigative, Romance |
Episode Count: | 36 (64 eps total for both S1 and S2) |
Parental Guidance Rating: | PG-13: Some blood, violence, and autopsies, but nothing is really shown. |
Staring: | Su Xiao Tong (Treasure at Dawn) Wang Zi Qi (Serendipity's Embrace) Zhao Yao Ke (The Moment I Met You) Yang Ting Dong (The Glory) |
RBTS Rating: | 3.75/5 Stars (This rating is based purely on entertainment value. This was a fun time, not a quality time)  |
Synopsis:
Young Chu Chu came from a family of coroners. She meets Prince Xiao Jin Yu, a dignified prince in charge of criminal lawsuit who appeared weak and sickly. Prince Xiao lacks reliable manpower to investigate case, while Chu Chu lacks people to step up, take charge and be a man. Together, they must unravel a shocking case that has dragged on for 18 years. @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
The Imperial Coroner was the underdog of 2021. The budget was (very) modest, the actors relatively unknown, and there was no hype or awareness around the project. While these factors should have been detremental to the drama, they actually worked in its favor. The fact that such a low bugdet and inconspicuous drama made the most of what it had and delivered a quality peice of work, made audiences pay attention and spread it's popularity through word of mouth. The Imperial Coroner is nothing revolutionary or even great, but for it is, it's a solid drama.
More grounded than most of it's genre, the story revolves around a real event in the Tang Dynasty when eunuchs held sway over the Imperial Army Palace Guard (835 CE). At this time, the Emperor orchestrated a plan to strip eunuchs of their power, causing the eunuchs to launch a coup.
The Imperial Coroner deals with both the macro and micro without overextending its scope or falling into the lull of procedural dramas. Chu Chu is single handedly responsible for the female coroner trend in Chinese Dramas, which will never not feel random to me. The main couple was quirky and introverted, while the second couple was extroverted and hilarious. I loved both and particularly loved the 2FL character.
The drama was not without flaws: There was a weird (but thankfully short) fake brother/sister trope, some draggy plotlines, and heinous subtitles. Viki and Youtube have imbedded Chinese subtitles that kept getting in the way. I finally had to watch the show on Youtube on my laptop to get a black bar behind my English subtitles so I could read them. Viki does allow you to adjust your English subtitles to include a black background to your white subtitles to block them out, but I only succeeded after pulling out all my hair. I was the most successful doing this from my laptop.
Though not bingeable (for me), The Imperial Coroner is a good watch that isn't bogged down by frills and idol trope, and is perfect for those who like mysteries and subtle romance.
The Imperial Coroner (season 1) can be watched as a standalone, but because it was so popular, it got a sequel season! Season 2 came out in 2026, although it wasn't as well received as the first iteration with only 7.5/10 on MDL.
Story=4, Acting=3.5 (Just a smidge below solid), Production Quality=3.5 (passable, but excellent for the budget), Rewatch Value=4, Ending=4.25, Enjoyability= 3.75
Trailer:
Comments