The Queen Of Attack Review

The Queen Of Attack (进击的皇后) is a super short Chinese historical web drama that you can binge on and complete within 3 hours. Yes, that is how short it is. Be forewarned that this would not be a top notch production but something to amuse you for a couple of hours when you have nothing better to do. Some people will find it intriguing while others will consider it as junk. Which side you belong to will largely depend on your taste in super fast-paced plot execution. My Queen Of Attack review below will reveal more about this short rom-com.

My rating: 6/10
Episodes: 3 (60 minutes each) or 18 (10 minutes each)
Type: Historical Romance
Aired: April 2021
Images Credit: MGTV

The Cast Of The Queen Of Attack

• Wang Lu Qing as Liang Wei Wei
• Ryan Cheng Lei as Emperor Jing Qing
• Jackson Shang Si Cheng as Prince Nan
• Ma Xiao Qin as Consort Zhen
• Hu Yuan Song as General Liang

Main Characters

Liang Wei Wei

Wei Wei is an athlete student who got sucked into a historical drama and became the Empress. She is a cheerful and spirited young lady.

Emperor Jing Qing

Emperor Jing Qing is a suspicious ruler who would not hesitate to kill to protect himself. He is a cold and shrewd man.

Supporting Characters

Prince Nan

Prince Nan is Emperor Jing Qing’s half brother. They are not on good terms and he also has feelings for Wei Wei.

Consort Zhen

Consort Zhen is Emperor Jing Qing’s favorite concubine. She is a petty and jealous woman.

General Liang

General Liang is Wei Wei’s father. He is a powerful military commander who has won many battles. As such, Emperor Jing Qing is wary of his intentions.

Empress Dowager

The Empress Dowager is Prince Nan’s mother and an influential woman in the palace. She doesn’t trust Emperor Jing Qing and vice-versa.

Synopsis

Wei Wei finds herself being sucked into the historical drama that she was watching. She ends up being the Empress and then gets stuck in a time loop whereby she is killed by an assassin over and over again as per the drama script. Hence, Wei Wei decides to act differently from the script to escape her fate.

The person who wants her dead is her husband, Emperor Jing Qing. This is because Wei Wei was chosen by the Empress Dowager to be his bride and he couldn’t trust her. Furthermore, Wei Wei’s father is a powerful general.

After numerous failed assassination attempts, Emperor Jing Qing changes direction and tries to get close to Wei Wei instead. He showers her with affection with an intention to create jealousy and strife between Wei Wei and his concubine. This will inevitably lead to an opportunity to have her executed when she makes a mistake. However, Emperor Jing Qing finds himself falling for Wei Wei instead.

The Queen Of Attack Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

The Queen Of Attack has a happy ending. Wei Wei manages to escape from the time loop and time travel back to the modern world. When she finds that she can’t escape from being killed and keeps returning to her wedding night, she decides to kill herself and Emperor Jing Qing instead by poisoning their wine. Before that, she asks him a hypothetical question that if she disappears, would he look for her. Emperor Jing Qing answers that he would even if it takes decades.

After drinking the poisoned wine, both of them simple fade away. Wei Wei then awakens and finds herself back at the gym where she was before the time travel. She is alone and misses her man as tears stream down her cheeks. Then, he appears again after a while and they are seen hugging tightly in what seems to be another drama.

The Queen Of Attack Review – Short But Vague

Well, The Queen Of Attack is a change from the usual due to its brevity. If you are tired of sitting through countless hours to complete a drama, then this would fulfill that need for a much shorter time investment. However, there are trade-offs to be made.

On the positive side, this rom-com is very fast-paced with no time for fillers. That means there is no chance for boredom to set in. Before you know it, the drama is over unlike a long-winded saga. On top of that, you normally don’t watch this kind of dramas with high expectations. Hence, it is easier to feel satisfied with the result especially when the time spent is rather short.

Conversely, a 3-episode drama means many details would be left out and viewers would have to fill in the blanks themselves. It might be fine with a very simple storyline but for a time travel theme, you can expect details to be glossed over. Moreover, short also means there is little room for character and plot development which is evident in The Queen Of Attack.

A Plot With Vague Details

This drama actually reminds me of The Romance Of Tiger And Rose which is also about a woman who ends up as a character in a drama script. Of course, that story is much better executed since it is much longer in length. For The Queen Of Attack, you can understand the basic plot but you will not get detailed explanations of the hows and the whys. So, if you don’t mind vagueness in the plot in exchange for brevity, then this might work out for you. But if you need concise explanations and abhor plugging those plot holes with your own imagination, then this would be a disaster.

Personally, I think that The Queen Of Attack tries to do too much in a 3-hour drama. The alternate universe element is already hard to explain. On top of that, there is the romance to develop with a power struggle and jealous concubine thrown in. Therefore, it moves at an incredibly fast pace. Without an excellent script, the flaws are obvious. It is just whether the romance is good enough for you to overlook those flaws so that it will be a pleasure to watch.

Acting

The leads are not anyone popular in the Chinese drama world. But they still put up a respectable performance especially Wang Lu Qing. She shines as Wei Wei and overshadows her co-star to a certain extent. She is enthusiastic and bubbly which fits Wei Wei’s character. Hence, it is quite enjoyable watching her acting.

Wang Lu Qing also displays great chemistry with Ryan Cheng. I think this is what makes The Queen Of Attack watchable overall. The romance is the essence of the drama and their chemistry helps to make up for the vague plot and other weaknesses.

My Verdict – Indifference

The Queen Of Attack is obviously a low budget production. The editing is choppy and the scenes switch is abrupt at times just like Hold On, My Lady which is another low budget mini-drama. However, they did spend some money on the costumes which look respectable for a royalty. But you will still need to lower your expectations for this one as it is a few rungs below grander productions such as Nirvana In Fire 2 or even One And Only.

Overall, I would say that I’m indifferent to this drama. It is okay for a short distraction when you have time on your hands but it is hardly a masterpiece that is worth remembering. If you like the chemistry between the leads and find the romance to be sweet, then this would absolutely worth 3 hours of your time. For me, the switch from hate to love is just too simplistic and sudden that the romance doesn’t have a strong foundation to stand on. Hence, I don’t find this to be a good romance drama but passable for the little time invested.

For this The Queen Of Attack review, I would consider a score of 6/10 to be apt. I know many people like it and there is even The Queen Of Attack Season 2. But to me, short shouldn’t come at the expense of quality. The plot is simply too vague and haphazard. So, if you do watch it, just savor the couple’s interactions and forget the rest. I think that is the trick to find this enjoyable.