Finally, the 2009 TVB Grand Production is over, which took me a good 3 months to complete (haha, way too long xD). I thought [Beyond the Realm of Conscience] was well worth watching- there were many good things about this series that kept us chasing for the next episode. But I must say, along the way of watching [Beyond the Realm of Conscience], there were quite a few things that really got on my nerves or I found disappointing. If you’ve been following my 33 episode synopsis, you would have heard me express some of these frustrations. (If you haven’t read them, go on and check them out. They’re pretty good read if I do say so myself :))
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to rip this drama apart, but I thought it was a good chance to get it out and hear your opinions on them too! So here they are…5 Downfalls of [Beyond the Realm of Conscience]- Are you ready? 🙂
5. Did anyone ever tell you how wonderful you are?.. And wonderful?
If you’ve been paying attention to the dialogue, you’ll notice the characters are constantly complimenting each other. 80% of their talk is filled with praises, whether they are sincere or not. I don’t know about you, but I end up being rather bored by all the useless sweet-talk that didn’t push the story anywhere. All characters commit this crime, but praising Charmaine’s Lau Sam Ho in particular made my eyes-roll big time. We get the point, she’s wonderful in every way but why does everyone feel the need to STATE THE OBVIOUS? Do the characters have to constantly remind us that she’s Mary Sue? Please spare me the “Do good things, Speak good words, Show goodwill” talk. It was interesting the first time, but definitely not the other 1000 times it was told- I think it was a bit overkill which made it rather cheesy.
As for the insincere talk, characters like Tavia abuse this heavily when talking to Mary about Selena. Good grief, get me outta here!! XD This probably highlights the fact people always had to sweet-talk about one another in order to gain “friendship” and to be favoured. Still, we can’t deny it’s boring to watch when it’s repetitive.
4. You guys bullied me but now I don’t care!
Tavia getting picked on as a servant
Tavia turning into a concubine had no direct relationship with the House of Proceeding.
I thought the appeal of the drama was that Tavia would be picked on so much by evil bitches that she is soon pushed to her limits, and takes revenge on them all once in power. Did she even get picked on much? The scene where Susanna was smacking her lips was only under Susan’s order (and although unreasonable, it was possible). I don’t think the palace proceeding really did much to her @_@
Once she finally becomes the concubine, she doesn’t even see them anymore! Tavia suddenly has nothing to do with them, and is faced with new challenges- Selena the spoilt princess. For the first 10 episodes or so with Tavia being a servant, what was the point building on her relationship with Susanna, if at a later stage it’s completely irrelevant? Tavia becoming a concubine had nothing to do with wanting revenge. She simply wanted to be in a position where she is no longer exposed to bullying.
She’s no goddess, but the real turning point of her become really evil was because of Selena and her baby’s death. So, where’s the connection? From there on, there seems to be two totally different stories; Tavia and Selena wanting Moses and Susanna and Michelle wanting to be the Head. Does anyone else find the Sales Presentation for [Beyond the Realm of Conscience] to be more enticing and wicked?
Tavia and Charmaine’s character being picked on heavily (Depicted in TVB 2009 Sales Presentation)
3. Miss Mary-Sue Charmaine Lau Sam Ho
This may sound like point number 1, but there is a clear difference I’m trying to make. Point 5 is about the character’s dialogue but here it’s about the portrayal of Charmaine as Lau Sam Ho, the goodie-two-shoe of the drama.
She is a living goddess, so sweet, kind-natured, good-willed, so talented, perfect in every way, beautiful inside and out, filial, the women of every man’s dream *cough*.
All these wonderful and positive attributes made her character incredibly flat and boring. It’s unrealistic to be that “pure” which makes it hard for the audience to relate to. Surely there are good people in this world with a sense of justice…but to this extent? I’m sorry, I just don’t buy it.
At first, I didn’t mind watching her, but what added to this annoyance factor was the situations her character always seems to be in- she’s a helpless damsel in distress. Yes, I’m cringing at the thought of the snake-bite scene right now. *shivers*
2. Character development issues
Some characters develop and grow over the entire series, yet for others it occurs overnight. Were we really supposed to believe that Selena isn’t really a complete spoilt bitch but in fact a goddess who values the life of rabbits?! It was one of the most awkward and ridiculous transitions I’ve seen in this drama. Did the script writers really plan her character out properly? They give us a big reason to hate her for being so nasty, and then suddenly make her really sweet and expect us to like her. Wow.. I’m surprised they didn’t make Tavia turn into a complete goddess in the end too. I mean why not? They did that to Selena!
Although Tavia is the character who develops the most, this natural progression came to a sudden halt when she became excessively hateful and bitter. What happened?! She always had a reason for her actions (even if irrational, they were understandable). In order to make the story reach its peak, the script writers exaggerated everything and blew it out of proportion.
It was like a message to Tavia (Yiu Gam Ling) fans: “STOP LIKING TAVIA, YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO LOVE AND ROOT FOR CHARMAINE. TAVIA IS PLAIN EVIL, OK?.” It felt rather forced which I didn’t like very much either.
1. Palace Scheming..? We want more!
Don’t we look nice and evil? (As depicted in TVB 2009 Sales Presentation)
Finally, I feel a bit disappointed by the sheer amount of good characters compared to the bad. Especially for the first half of the series, I feel there could have been a lot more evil-calculating, scheming going on. There is really only 2 main villains in this drama- Kwok Lun and Tavia. Tavia doesn’t really do that much until 2/3 into the drama and Kwok Lun just kills people we don’t even care too much about.
There were several characters with potential to be more evil: Tracy (Edwin’s concubine), Edwin (Ex-Emperor), Ching Hor Wai, Kara (Head of Food), Rosanne (Ex-head of Furnishing), Yi Kei (Selena’s mother), and June. However, none of them were evil enough for me to hate them. Each of them have thought about scheming but either didn’t get there, didn’t act it out or never had the chance and was killed off. The possibilities were unlimited yet the story writers didn’t give them opportunity to develop. As a result, all the main casts are pretty much good guys. More focus on the Palace proceedings maids could make it more interesting too (Most gossip and do nothing else)
And there you have it- 5 Downfalls of Beyond the Realm of Conscience in my humble opinion. What about you? Do you disagree with any of the points I made? Were there other aspects which could have made it in the list? This is your last chance to rant or express your thoughts on this drama, so don’t be shy 🙂
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Hey chibi!
I haven’t finished watching the drama but based on what I’ve seen (bits and pieces) and what you’ve written above, I can already feel the frustration and disappointment lol
I’m quite shocked with the character developments you’ve mentioned above. I mean, I saw the scenes where Selena was a total spoilt brat, and then after her mother’s death- I see her genuinely care for these rabbits who were ‘trapped’ behind some ancestral stone, and risking the possibility in angering the emperor, just to save the rabbits? err….I thought something dramatically happened that changed her into that..but I guess not?
Same goes for Tavia’s character lol I’ve also watched the scene where she kills off Selena and her baby and I was like WOW! I have to find out how tavia changed into this XD
p.s I want more palace scheming too! And more villains lol
ahaha yeah.. when I looked back at the BTROC themesong English translation I first did for K-TVB.net I remembered what I thought the story was going to be, but now having seen it all it wasn’t quite was I had expected.. (I thought the song indicated Tavia was going to turn good in the end and be forgiven, guess not!)
I see her genuinely care for these rabbits who were ‘trapped’ behind some ancestral stone, and risking the possibility in angering the emperor, just to save the rabbits? err….I thought something dramatically happened that changed her into that..but I guess not?
lol, she dramatically changes in 1 episode to be exact…and this was when her mother was still alive!
Same goes for Tavia’s character lol I’ve also watched the scene where she kills off Selena and her baby and I was like WOW! I have to find out how tavia changed into this XD
Yeah..Tavia’s hatred for Selena was always there..and that’s it (except now she’s just gone to the extreme)
Does anyone else find the Sales Presentation for [Beyond the Realm of Conscience] to be more enticing and wicked?
Oh my gosh, my thoughts exactly! I would have loved it so much more if they did it the way the presentation was showing it. The plot looked so much more interesting, and there’s a connection between the characters. But it ended up to be several different story-lines tied up messily into one grand production.
Personally, I even preferred the costumes in the Sales Presentation, lol. 😀
lol, not sure If I’d agree about the costume part though.. (The wigs are horrid..just look at Susanna XD XD)
But yes, the plot in the Sales felt more dangerous and intriguing.. both Charmaine AND Tavia were picked on! And Kevin seems to be Tavia’s love interest..which I think could make it very interesting… (since Tavia does have someone who loves her, as oppose to here where she is not really loved by anyone).
Oh, the possibilities are unlimited! Love how all the Palace Proceeding ladies are so wicked and evil..
Yes, i totally agreed with that. I found that the Sales Presentation has a more interesting plot. Although their costumes are more elaborate in the series, but still i would prefer if they just stick to the original story line (if that is one) that is being advertised in the Sales Presentation..
Omg I want to see the Sales Presentation.
Looking at the pictures… everyone looks so different! And there’s Christine there XD
Their hair, costumes… eeee.
Oh, you haven’t seen it?? It’s a pretty good watch, I think it will amuse you ^_^
I wish Christine was in here actually.. she’s a pretty good actress 😀 (Would prefer if she replaced Rosanne, but the role turned out quite minor anyway)
Oh yeah, the character development in the story is lacking too. I didn’t understand why characters did things that they did, nor did I get their ‘logic’ behind their actions. Gam Ling had the potential to be an interesting villain, but she ended up being so ridiculously evil. Sam Ho had the potential to have ‘flaws’ which would have made her more human, but that didn’t happen as well. Instead, she was portrayed as a goddess on earth, while Gam Ling was portrayed as a devil-in-disguise. I have to say, the show started out on solid footing, but it all started to go downhill.
The supporting characters weren’t developed properly enough too. Selena made a 360 change from a spoilt brat to a sweet, innocent character. Michelle and Susanna had endless conflicts after their misunderstanding so many years ago were solved. I liked their conflict on where Michelle and Susanna were both competing to be in the ‘head’ position, and especially liked the development where Michelle accepts Susanna getting the position – but they had to screw it up and cause more ridiculous conflicts. I wouldn’t have minded if their conflicts aren’t so completely unbelievable. And Kevin’s character was so boring, it was as though he was a plot device to make Sam Ho more interesting. It failed, evidently.
I have to say though, that the veterans did do a good job in their roles. Hor Wai’s character was interesting, and she succeeded in making us pity her at the end when it was revealed what she had done and what will happen to her. Michelle annoyed me suitably with her irrational acts, because if characters did irrational things and the viewers aren’t affected, lol, then it’s pointless. Susanna was good as the patient and understanding half of their friendship – really reminds me of an older sister role. Susan was amazing! I loved the thrill of watching her onscreen. One can’t predict what she’s going to say, or what she’s going to do, and she plays a villain’s role wonderfully with her voice intonations and eyes.
I normally like Tavia, but I felt that her acting wasn’t as solid as it could have been. She does lack the ‘dangerous’ aura around her like Michelle had in The Brink of Law (seriously, the woman expresses so much through here eyes and a glare could send shiver down the viewers’ spines). Charmaine on the other hand … her character’s all-encompassing goodness rather annoyed me but I think she did an okay job playing the role.
The build up of the plot was interesting, but when it came towards the end of the series, everything felt rushed and the ending wasn’t really satisfying.
Michelle and Susanna had endless conflicts after their misunderstanding so many years ago were solved. I liked their conflict on where Michelle and Susanna were both competing to be in the ‘head’ position, and especially liked the development where Michelle accepts Susanna getting the position – but they had to screw it up and cause more ridiculous conflicts. I wouldn’t have minded if their conflicts aren’t so completely unbelievable.
Oh yes.. I forgot to mention them.. their conflict felt really forced..but I guess that’s what happens when you try to make two “good” characters fight one another =_= After they figured Hor Wai was the one behind their misunderstanding, you would think nothing can break up their trust and friendship… Their friendship felt so weak…and then they abused this opportunity to make Michelle EXTREMELY stupid and mean.. thanks.
And Kevin’s character was so boring, it was as though he was a plot device to make Sam Ho more interesting. It failed, evidently.
yup..he would have been better as Tavia’s love interest. XD
Hor Wai’s character was interesting, and she succeeded in making us pity her at the end when it was revealed what she had done and what will happen to her.
Her character really interested me, but that’s only because I thought she was a LOT more evil on the inside than she appears… I really pitied her in the end, but thought her character could have been developed even more with some scheming.
Susan was amazing! I loved the thrill of watching her onscreen. One can’t predict what she’s going to say, or what she’s going to do, and she plays a villain’s role wonderfully with her voice intonations and eyes.
Oh I loved Susan!! Her acting was amazing and I really liked watching her character- she was freaky, evil and mean..a very rounded character…yet not to the point I hated her. I didn’t.. she was still a realistic, believable character and there was good reason behind her hatred towards Mary and Moses. It’s not “good” but that’s life. The story just didn’t feel quite the same once Mary was in power.. xD Kinda missed Susan.
. She does lack the ‘dangerous’ aura around her like Michelle had in The Brink of Law
I think it’s because her character wasn’t really “smart”.. which made her feel less dangerous..how many times did she get busted, resulting her to cry and beg for them not to tell?? XD XD You can’t be afraid of a women like that.
well said abt the plot development. i expected characters like june chan’s, edwin’s sus’s and tracy’s to last a majority of the series as villians in the show.
as abt the lack of development, this, imo, was due to the BIG cast this show has. in comparison to WAB which only focused on 4 female and 2 male characters.. BTROC was flooded with easilyy 6-7 female MAIN characters and abt 3 MAIN male characters. this big cast i would say was the reason why the characters were not fleshed out properly.
oh yes, i definitely feel that the storyline in the sales presentation will definitely be better, sadly it didnt happen
True. There were A LOT of characters! Kara for example did close to NOTHING in the story..except bust Hor Wai for plotting against Susanna and Michelle. Once Hor Wai was out of the picture, she does absolutely nothing and just hangs around…. Maybe they should have excluded some characters for more depth in certain characters.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts ^_^
Where should I start?
1. I shall say that they suitably changed the name of the show from to the more impressive . Because there was not much scheming to start with and most of it is done by a not-very smart villain.
2. I will admit that tavia’s villain character failed to annoy me or extract any hatred out of me. The only time that she was successful was probably when she killed Ram (probably biased, I know) Generally I just felt bad for the characters who died. Maybe it’s also because Michelle just diverted attention all the way till she reconciled with Susanna. Similarly, Charmaine’s victories (dramatic or otherwise) didn’t make me happy or satisfied, at all. I was like, oh okay… Good for character X, Y, Z, that’s good. (frankly, if any other maid in the bureau secured those victories, I would have felt the same way)
3. Completely agree on the Lau Sam Ho character and the praising (esp the painting of her as a goddess. Zzz) They are not trying to imply something, they are just trying to tell me, in the face, that you’re supposed to be a do-gooder. (I don’t even remember what she said you know.)
4. Didn’t watch the sales presentation, because I had no intention to watch this show (for me, there are major turn-off factors. But then there were also many pull factors, in the end I succumbed) I would believe that having charmaine and tavia being picked on being a better plot line, because there would be more interconnectedness between the imperial bureau and tavia’s later actions. Would agree that it morphed into two separate plot lines, though it didn’t turn out to be a bad thing for me, since I could just watch the plot line that I was interested in. The development of tavia in the imperial bureau had no bearing on the rest the show and her change into a completely different person. I could actually say that they could start the show from when tavia turned evil, since they fail to provide a motivation for her change.
5. Selena’s change. How do you expect me to buy it? I don’t
6. Acting. Tavia’s acting wasn’t as solid as it could have been, I feel. I don’t know why. Disagree with the fact that she outacted the veterans in beyond, but she has time to improve. Will close an eye because it’s her first villain role, and I don’t expect her to be perfect or something. Charmaine as the living goddess was typical, she does this type of roles, if she can’t, I got nothing to say. Susan did a brilliant job in her villain role, bullying Mary left, right, centre. Hor Wai made me wonder if she should be pitied or not, and I think yes, on compassionate grounds because of her terminal illness. Susanna was convincing in her role as the patient, understanding one of the two. I didn’t feel that she was a living goddess, so that didn’t annoy me. Michelle, hahah, suffice to say that she had me where she wanted me (as with the rest of the veterans) but hers more so since she changed camp from annoying to not-annoying so many times. It’s so annoying to watch her! Let’s not start.
7. Actually, I genuinely think that if this show was helmed by veterans it would have been better, because they were so horribly underused, playing second fiddle, or plot device. So much talent going down the drain okay? (Tavia, Kevin, Charmaine, Moses, etcetera can all go and film their own little love story, and leave the scheming to the veterans. Satisfies everyone!)
8. Charvin, I repeat my statement, still hold the same point of view that Susanna-kwok keung and michelle-ram have so much more chemistry and were more enjoyable to watch compared to charvin and the equivalents. Even though they weren’t the main romantic focus and were not well developed (specific reference to michelle-ram). Even if I doubted whether michelle loved ram or not. All time spent on romantic relationships that do not involve susanna, kwok keung, michelle and ram could have been better spent, in my opinion. I frankly feel that this was the best (?), yes the best, part of beyond. (yes, I know I’m biased, and I admit that I have an unexplainable adoration for these two relationships. More so for one compared to the other) And it’s so sad that it’s so neglected and so underdeveloped. All the guys ended up in a pathetic state. Thanks to tavia.
Frankly, I don’t dare to continue ranting, because of my (weird) preferences and stuff. But I’m proud of it!
Chibi, good job! They are a good read 😀
Okay, i need to say this, (i don’t think you exactly want to read this) but if not i think I’d be super freaked out and creeped by beyond from now on. More specifically Suet Ha and Gat Cheung… Esp Suet Ha.
I would like to believe that it’s just me with my hyperactive imagination, but when an event (2 days ago) happened, it just got me so freaked out. Like I did see similarities between Suet Ha & Gat Cheung and Michelle in real life. For some reason. Because there were the preconditions set for Michelle in real life to parallel what happened in beyond. But after i thought of that, and wondered if that would actually happen, I dismissed it, saying, “no that won’t happen in the next 10 years”. How wrong I was. ><
No, half of it appeared only!
I suppose i’m freaked because i actually thought of it when i was watching beyond, and i dismissed the notion only to have it come true. That said, I don’t expect other parallels or a continuation of this one to happen. It’s already tragic enough.
On a more serious note:
Hopes that he will rest in peace
Hopes that michelle will stay strong and carry on bravely.
Suppose if you actually read this without knowing the context, you would just be lost. Oops. So creepy…Why did i even think of it in the first place?
um..sorry I’m actually really confused by what you mean… ^^; Um, what was the question and what happened? Did it get cut off?
haha wow, thanks for sharing so much of your insights, they were a good read 😀
I will admit that tavia’s villain character failed to annoy me or extract any hatred out of me. The only time that she was successful was probably when she killed Ram (probably biased, I know) Generally I just felt bad for the characters who died. Maybe it’s also because Michelle just diverted attention all the way till she reconciled with Susanna. Similarly, Charmaine’s victories (dramatic or otherwise) didn’t make me happy or satisfied, at all. I was like, oh okay… Good for character X, Y, Z, that’s good. (frankly, if any other maid in the bureau secured those victories, I would have felt the same way)
I agree- I didn’t hate Tavia’s character enough but often wondered why she was so hateful and angry all the time. Her character didn’t come off as a scary person, not like the way Susan Tse did as the Grand Empress. And same goes for Charmaine and her “victories”. I guess towards the end I didn’t feel too much for either of the leading actresses, which is pretty bad.
Yeah, i wondered why was Tavia so hateful and angry, but didn’t hate her. To me she comes across as a really jealous and petty person who has gone wayy overboard, i guess. I don’t know, can’t exactly quantify it, but can say with certainty that I didn’t feel anything much. Neither did I love charmaine, I felt, indifference, I suppose. From the start to the end, I didn’t feel anything much for charmaine or tavia, which is not very good.
Susan was scary! Sometimes after she did something evil, then the look in her eyes and her body language. *shivers* She’s good 😀 But i didn’t like her character, for some reason.
Susan was scary! Sometimes after she did something evil, then the look in her eyes and her body language. *shivers* She’s good 😀 But i didn’t like her character, for some reason.
hehe, well I suppose that’s okay since she is a villain XD I really enjoyed her though because she gave off such a strong vibe, was horribly evil yet her actions seemed justifiable and in-character.
I really didn’t like her. But she is supposed to be a villain, so i guess i didn’t like her because she’s a villain. I enjoyed her performance nevertheless (does that make sense or does that reek of irony?) Yeah, she didn’t seem to do stupid, pointless things like someone did. Or annoying things like another person. ><
this is yr last post! chibi. so sad. you did very goo job. maybe the latter half this year, we will meet again at your post of modern version “beyond the realm of conscience. wish it come true.
Don’t be sad XD I’ll still be around and may make a few guest posts here and there in the future 🙂
Thanks for following all the posts 🙂
I agree, the character developments could’ve been so much more better, especially with Selena and Tavia. It felt like she suddenly wanted to kill everyone.
Well done on these summarires chibi!! Really enjoyed them. Hopefully I’ll be able to read more!!
Thanks again cooldudejohn 😀 Glad you’ve been enjoying them!
This scheming outer here is too limit compare to the palace concept. I know the writer did hard enough to explore the evilness, manipulated, conflicting to be a enormous war extansion to the whole palace by cite the boil evilness person in different perspective such as susan in empress class, edwin in throne class, tracy and mandy in concubine class, june and yoyo in maid class, 4 controller, lee kwok lun in army etc which nice and suitable preparation to spread their evilness but prevent by weak association and most of them yet remain humanity to be fight in this war and then killed them off. They not yet to recieve the consequence writer. Why you end up them?
In contrast with the main drama, Sale presentation lacks flaw and sourceful of wick people and tavia revenge. THis simply look like the spin off or something. The story here tied up between palace lifestyle and the household by given the two main role, Charmaine and Tavia in individual form but related.Awsame here. There fight so intense and unique unlike war and beauty. The script also very good with intriguing screenplay. I heard the script there and the script in the series is different which lead over 50% change. Remember the word: they fight and fight but we are the one who sacrific. This so meaningful and revengeful word. I previously thought when Tavia climb up the more, she didn’t like thoes people she hate here but used the trick to scheming them and get them into more larger fight they wish. ANd now she not sacrific but themselves to taste the consequence by thoseself. or when she climb up she still that good but the four concroller afraid she will fight them, they scheme or persuda selena to fight. When Tavia still suffered then, she became that evil and fight thoes people around to know ho much pain she got before. When Sam ho relized, she tried to help but she not weak like in series but strong and turned herself to be moses’s concubine to stop tavia. It look sense here. It not think i correct, yes want prove the flaw in the series only. Hey chibi, the photo of christine, Michelle and kara here look perfect in expression individual for evilness. Christine strong with evileye, Michelle behave a evil respect and blaming eye, kara smile with evilness. Nice here. Producer miu did perfect here with grand concept and nice storyline but she hired wrong writer that gonna ruin her series. Wish here come the princess had its correct writer.
Thanks for posting your thoughts 🙂
ohh you forgot yoyo XD i think yoyo was considered evil too
I didn’t forget her 😉 I just thought she had enough evilness in her, hehee so I didn’t put her in.
Yes i agree. Charmaine is wayyyy too “good” Like there is no possible way that ANY one could be like that. In the beginning, it is quite nice to see how shes all nice and stuff, but in the middle part, she kind of gets annoying, like i mean, shes ALWAYS the innocent one. Like that is not possible. love ur blog
Thanks for sharing your thoughts 🙂 It was true that Charmaine’s character was bearable at the start, but towards the end it just felt ridiculous and many of us questioned how realistic her character is.
Glad you like K-TVB.net ^_^ This blog is owned by KTVB, I’m just a guest blogger 🙂
Lmao some of those stuff I noticed but whatever I still like this drama..Mainly because of Tavia Yeung..LOL and how the story goes on 😛
haha that’s okay ^_^ Overall I enjoyed the drama too ^.^
Why does the sale presentation look totally different to the beyond that we watched? In the 3rd photo michelle and Kara’s smile looks evil and. and why does tavia and susanna’s hair in the 2nd photo looks so retarded??? even though the flaws i think that this drama was okay
I guess they thought this drama would work better in this direction (though I think it’s questionable)
the best thing about BTRC is the clothes the people and the scenery. the story is disappointing. i wished they had worked on it more and stuck with the promo video story line. people just aren’t evill enough!
Contrary to Jellybean’s posting, I like it that it’s not full of evil characters. I have run into plenty of evil people already so far in life. Nice to see less evil even if it is fictitious. 🙂
I felt really sorry for Tavia’s character up until the whole heir plotline started. It was unfair for her to be wrongly accused and punished in the beginning episodes.
On the other hand, Charmaine’s character hardly ever got yelled at except for the grand empress. Obviously she would have an easier time sticking to Do Good Deeds because there weren’t a lot of horrible things happening to her.
I find it incredibly unrealistic that she never hesitates to do the right thing. It would have been nice to see her have to make a hard decisiion.