A domestic and overseas hit, the series received the Golden Bird Prize for Serial Drama at the 9th Seoul International Drama Awards. Ha Ji-won also won the Grand Prize at the MBC Drama Awards for her performance.
Title
The early working title was Hwatu (Korean: 화투; lit. Battle of Flowers) but the title was changed to prevent confusion with the similarly named playing cards.[2]
Synopsis
The series revolves around Ki Seung-nyang (Ha Ji-won), a Goryeo-born woman who ascends to power despite the restrictions of the era's class system, and later marries Toghon Temür (emperor of the Yuan dynasty) to become a Yuan empress, instead of her first love, Wang Yoo (Joo Jin-mo). It managed to highlight the deep love the Emperor embedded in Lady Ki and depicts her loves and political ambitions.[3]
A woman who was born in Goryeo but is sent to Yuan as a child with a group of tribute women. Her mother gets killed when the group tries to escape, but she manages to flee, growing up as a boy then man and becoming a great warrior. She is a great patriot of Goryeo and serves the country with her life, disguised as a man. Initially the fiancée of Wang Yoo, she is later forcibly taken to the Yuan court. She eventually becomes the wife of Ta Hwan, thus making her the Empress Consort of the Yuan dynasty, as which she greatly influences politics.
A noblewoman who was the first wife and Empress Consort of Ta Hwan but when her crimes are revealed, is deposed from her throne and is executed in front of her people. Tanashiri serves as the main antagonist of the first chapter who plotted to kill Seung-nyang's friends and poison anyone who dare to take her throne.
Supporting
People in Yuan Dynasty
Imperial household
Kim Seo-hyung as the Empress Dowager; Ta Hwan's aunt. However, due to her greed, she attempted to kill Ta Hwan but failed and committed suicide as she is unwilling to accept defeat.
Empress Bayan Khutugh's uncle who succeeded Yeon Chul's position as Yuan Dynasty's regent. He was later killed by Tal Tal for being greedy and evil like Yeon Chul.
Seo Yi-sook as Court Lady Seo; Empress Tanashiri's right-hand servant. The one who reveals Prince Maha's birth mother.
Yoon A-jung as Yeon-hwa / Court Lady Yeon – The evil servant who tortures Seung-nyang. After conniving with Tanashiri and Lady Seo to steal the baby from the maid by poisoning them, she was granted a Court Lady position.
Kwon Oh-joong as Choi Moo-song; a man who died in Yuan Dynasty together with Wang Yoo.
Yoon Yong-hyun as Jeom Park-yi; Goryeo Kings' assistant and servant.
Yoo In-young as Yeon Bi-soo / Batoru; a woman warrior who leading the Göktürks (?), who were controlling Yuan's western frontier and the silk road. She admired Wang Yoo but later died protecting him.
Seo In-woo as Soo-ri; Batoru's aide.
Song Kyung-chul as Mak-saeng / Jeok-ho; a village chief in Goryeo Dynasty who become the Yuan Emperor's eunuch.
Han Hye-rin as Park Oh-jin; Ta Hwan's Korean concubine. She was a court lady in the Yuan Palace before she became a concubine. Her life as a concubine became tragic.
The series attained high ratings during its run, ranking first in its timeslot with a peak viewership rating of 33.9 percent.[4][5] According to a report by Taiwan's drama channel ETTV, the series was ranked as the best foreign program for 2014 with 5.35% viewership rating, becoming the second Korean drama after Jewel in the Palace (2003) to do so.[6] It also received positive reviews for its strong acting skills, gripping background and elaborate scenes.[7]
Despite its popularity, the series was criticized for its inclusion of fictional elements regarding the characters and storyline. Much concern was raised over the series' depiction of the titular Empress Ki, who was portrayed as a brave warrior in the series. Historians were worried that the audience would overlook the fact that the real-life Empress Ki was responsible for attacking her native land.[7][8]
Ratings
In this table, the blue numbers represent the lowest ratings and the red numbers represent the highest ratings.
It aired on GMA Network from October 20, 2014, to April 14, 2015, on Mondays to Thursdays at 10:00 PM (PST) for 100 episodes.[11] Each episode runs 1 hour including commercial breaks. It was pre-empted on December 31, 2014, to give way to the Countdown to 2015 GMA New Year Special and on April 2 to 3, 2015 to give way on the Holy Week programming. The entire series was dubbed in Filipino. It was the highest rated Korean drama in the Philippines for 2015.
It was re-aired on GMA News TV from July 12, 2016 to January 19, 2017.
^"National TV Ratings". Abscbnpr.com. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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