This review may contain spoilers
Watch the first 12 episodes then stop.
I don't really write reviews, but I felt compelled to after finishing this. I got so many recommendations for it, and it was so well reviewed I thought I'd give it a watch.WHAT I LIKED:
Honestly, the first twelve (?) episodes of this I enjoyed so much that if I were to recommend it, I would say watch those then stop. You'll get the romance and the tragedy without the draggy middle episodes. The desert setting was refreshing and interesting.
The main female character was so much fun - naive, sure, but also brave and wanting to be in control of her fate. The chemistry between her and the male lead was great. There was such dramatic irony because you knew that he would eventually betray her but you wanted to root for their relationship.
The music was good, and so was the acting.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
Nearly everything after they got to the Eastern Palace. If it wasn't for the charm of the FL and the goodwill that the first twelve episodes built up I would have stopped watching.
Most of the political machinations were so dull I was watching on 1.5x speed until I got to the next scene with Xiaofeng. I didn't mind the scheming, mean character of Li Chengyin, especially as this is a tragedy. But while I understood he was ultimately trying to protect Xiaofeng with all his actions in the palace, after they got married most of their scenes were just him being horrible to her. It was hard to understand why she would still love him without remembering their past love. It felt to me that the show was just relying on their romance in the desert for all of the romance for the rest of the show.
I didn't like the character of Gu Jian after the desert. It seemed like all he did was drink and lurk in the shadows for like 20 episodes.
CONCLUSION:
The ending of the show was tragic, and did tie everything together well, but by that point I was more watching to finish it then anything. I wouldn't watch this show again, and would hesitate to recommend it, though I'm sure others will enjoy it a lot more than I did overall.
Also, You could see the lace front of the Grandpa's beard. I'm used to noticing the wig lace front, but the beard lace front really surprised me and was all I could see when he was on screen lol .
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Beautiful Acting, but the story...
Writing a review once you are still under the emotions of anger, sadness and Wow factor is not a very good idea, but i couldn't resist - i cannot move forward to another one :).My ears are still burning, the left eye still twitching and adrenaline hit the highest level :).
I can say is a very beautiful drama, filmed extremely well and the actors did an amazing job (their expressions, feelings, i could feel wholeheartedly- i don't usually cry, but i cried 3 times with this drama). The settings, the costumes, the characters - fantastic chemistry, the music all good.
The story is written well too, but I would preferred if it was involved a little bit of more respect to love (to the woman). The 5th Prince making his dreams come true and step on everyone during almost every single episode, coming in the end and saying " I've done it, i don't have to pretend anymore, i love you" - what was in his mind? I know he is a complex character living in a treacherous world, but he was very very cruel (loved / hated him a lot), as most of the cruelty went to "apparently the woman he loved". Humiliating her, living with another woman for so many years, abuse, violence, rape (as he took her without concent)... Apart from the beginning he didn't give her one happy day. Yes amnesia was the problem, but even so, how could he use her all the time. I am sad because of the ending, i wish the 9th Princess to live happy without him, somewhere in the Western Liang and not dye for the ungrateful men in her life.
It's really worth watching, but prepare lots of tissues, frustration, tragedy, hate, love and a heartbreak.
Was this review helpful to you?
I would say one of the show’s strengths is that it is pretty well balanced. It’s got romance, tragedy, conspiracies, schemes to claim the throne, revenge, jealousy between concubines, etc and all of these are interwoven fairly well. That way if you get tired of scheming by the empress you’ll soon switch over to another conspiracy going on, or the development of some characters’ relationships. The palace drama builds gradually so part of what may make it more interesting than usual is that you have a greater understanding of all the players involved and what their goals are. Despite the fact that this drama isn’t fast-paced I still felt it didn’t linger too long on certain plot points. While some plot threads do wrap up at different points it always still felt like things were moving forward, so I was compelled to keep watching to see how the rest of it went. This was also one of the few cdramas I’ve found that actually consistently had episodes end on a cliffhanger, so I definitely wanted to keep watching!
I really liked Xiaofeng! I find that dramas often take a naive silly female protagonist and over the course of the show make them more cunning and more ruthless. Even as Xiaofeng does mature and become smarter she still remains foolish because of her tendency to blindly trust people and her incapability to lie or be mean to others. She wants to see the best in other people, and although that means she makes foolish decisions it’s almost heartwarming to see that she still believes that people would treat her with the same sincerity and kindness that she is showing to them. I really liked how her upbeat personality and kindness persisted despite the terrible things that happened.
All the male leads can piss off. Okay fiiiine I may not like the main male leads but they are interesting characters so that’s good. I unambiguously like all the female characters, empress included. Can someone please inform some of these characters that murdering someone’s family *is* a good reason for them to hate you? Thanks.
The costumes were legit 50% of the reason why I started this show and they did not disappoint. Not only did they differ from other shows I’ve watched, they were so incredibly detailed and there were so many! They also made a masterful use of colors. For example, red is Xiaofeng’s color, but as she comes into the palace she wears primarily pink, which helps show how her personality is muted or has to be toned down to be there. The sets were amazing too with lots of unique architecture (the throne room for example) and beautiful details. Even side character’s rooms will have beautiful paintings in the background.
Tl;dr this show is a tragedy, but well balanced enough that it doesn’t feel constantly depressing and terrible, and the plot and characters have quite a bit of variety so it remains interesting throughout. Despite the fact that I think other cdramas have some better parts (the romance in this show was good enough, but definitely other shows have better couples) this show was consistently good at every level. I think it does rank among my top cdramas because I watched all of it and enjoyed almost every part of it!
A slightly more comical version of this review can be found here: https://kdramakitty.tumblr.com/post/616487078421757952
Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful but heartwrenching story
This drama is super good!! I came to this drama knowingly how this is going to end but the ending didn’t disappoint me at all. GMP is also very good in all aspects - production, plot, OST, actingWhat I like:
-The story: The plot is so fine. I love the political intrigue, it’s not confusing and easy to understand. I also love how this show can bring happy, funny, tenseful, yet heartbreaking and sad situation.
-The acting & chemistry: Chen Xingxu is such a gem!!! After finishing this drama, I’m totally in love with this man! He is SUPER GOOD LOOKING as Li Chengyin/Gu Xiao Wu, and his acting is out of this world. His range of acting is unbelievable - he can go to playful and innocent to ruthless and calculating. Peng Xiao Ran is a goddess, her acting is also phenomenal. Their chemistry is also soooo good, even when they’re quarreling. You still can feel they’re entangled to each other.
-The OST: I love all the OSTs. The OSTs can bring the vibe needed in some specific scenes, and till now every time I hear Love Catastrophe, I feel a lil bit piece of my heart is breaking.
-The character: I LOVE LI CHENG YIN. Supported by tremendously good acting, I firmly believe Chen Xingxu can reach his potential in this drama because he got this interesting character, and vice versa. Li Chengyin is such a complex character that you can’t judge only by what he did to Xiaofeng. What I love about this character is there are many layered of his personality - when he is loving, he is also ruthless. He is also very brilliant in scheming, quick-witted, aware of everything happened in palace. He is NOT that ordinary crown prince which only hungry for power, but if you guys watched this show and only considered LCY as that, you clearly lose the chance to see the beauty of this character.
What I DON’T like:
Actually not too much. I think this is a very well-written story. But I really hate the arc in several last episodes (around episode 42/43 I think). I know it is needed but I just can’t stand it, I kept skipping scenes. Fortunately it only lasted for two-three episodes. I really can write down the scenes I hate the most but I don’t want to spoil.
Overall, this drama is super good but prepare your heart because it is so heartwrenching!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
This is definitely one of my favorite drama of 2019, full of emotions and angst. People need to understand that this is a TRADGY drama not a romcom thus the ending is fitting for the events that have taken place in the drama. I really don't know why people wanted a happy ending just for the sake of a happy ending (if you are a happy ending junkie, I'm sorry but this is not for you). Yes, I do ship them both but the ending is the most appropriate. Xiao Feng sacrificed herself to bring peace to both countries. People may think that this is petty on XF's behalf but you have to understand that she wanted LCY to live well to carry on his promise. Because if he had killed himself after she died, her death would've meant nothing. There would've been a new Li emperor and there would be no guaranteed that Xi state would be safe. As for the drama as a whole, it was great. People who have read the novel know that this drama adaptation is telling the story in a different lens. The novel starts off with XF already the crown princess married to LCY, whereas the drama tells the story from the beginning. I have read some reviews and complaints about how this drama is draggy and that the main leads don't remember anything until the end of the drama. THAT WAS THE POINT! The first 25 episodes of the drama was a background story of how XF met LCY as GXW and LCY power struggle to become the crown prince. The actual novel storyline didn't start off until the late 20s episodes. It may not have been as suspenseful as the novel but it was definitely heartbreaking!
If XF had regained her memories early in the drama, she still would've attempted to run away from LCY or killed herself. It wasn't the act of him killing her grandpa that made her hate him, it was that he used her to infiltrate the danchi tribe. She felt guilty for everything that happened that's why she had such a hard time letting it go. I personally believe that she jumped into the river of forgetfulness to kill herself. She told GXW before she jumped that no one had ever come out of the river alive, meaning that she was willing to kill herself to get away from him.
XF and LCY fell in love again, this time with a clean slate but LCY had to deal with the power struggle and his enemies causing him to purposely neglect XF. He was so worried about his future with XF that he neglected the present her. He never communicated his with XF thus she was clueless on whether or not he actually loves her. What hurts the most is that XF believed that she was a third party in LCY and SS relationship. She hated that she liked him because it felt wrong for her to since the one he "loved" was SS.
I absolutely love XF. Some viewers were complaining on her being naive and immature without considering the context of her character. She is the 9th princess of Xi State and as she proclaimed her father's "favorite princess." She was loved by everyone around her, so of course, she would be naive and immature. After she jumped into the river of forgetfulness, she becomes the same XF that we saw at the beginning of the drama, free of all the pain. People don't grow if they are unaware of what happened. XF doesn't care about any statuses; she saw people as who they were. She may not be the strongest or smartest female lead but she always stood up for herself and her country. Politics, revenge, plot scheming are not things that XF does. If she does those things, she would be no different from the people that she hated.
This review is all over the place, so if you were about to get through it THANKS
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
There is this unique twist only you can find in Cdramas.
The angst and all the other emotions in this drama will surely overwhelm you.The acting is SUPERB. I keep crying at every heart breaking episodes, when Xiaofeng cries, it just makes you wanna wail as well. She makes you cry everytime she cries. She's that GOOD. !!
The story plot is also very good! Knowing this is from Fei Wo Si Cun's book (all her books are heart wrenching ones) I got interested right away. I love dramas that is full emotions even though the ending is always tragedy, but it's a story you wouldn't wanna stop.
I watched the last episode last night, and I say one of the most beautiful female lead who died for me. Though sacrificing her life is very sad, and not very wise at all. But for me it's the biggest revenge for those who remains, Li Chengyin grew old and still misses and longs for Xiaofeng, I cried when he was old and still thinks XiaoFeng is still alive somewhere. This is the biggest revenge of Xiaofeng to him. BUT SO GLAD THEY MADE A MODERN REINCARNATION TO BOTH OF THEM. My heart was pacified because in the new life they are still husband and wife, but this time no scheming to separate them. So glad life in the modern life is not as strict as those in old days.
I RECOMMEND THIS TO THOSE NON C-DRAMA FANS, the acting, the costumes, the plot, the music, the actors and cinematography is 20/10. This is even better than some historical kdramas I've seen the before. There is this unique twist only you can find in Cdramas.
Was this review helpful to you?
Started off well but seriously drags in the middle
Story: I started this drama due to the high praise from fellow drama watchers and for the first 15 episodes I was so engaged in the story line. The drama was face-paced with twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. In fact, it seemed that the story was moving too quickly, but then we hit ep 15 and the show starts to drag. It became a typical drama with politics and scheming that felt unnecessary. I wasn't invested in the story line as I was waiting for when the truth would be revealed, so all the other drama felt like filler. What made the drama unique was Danchi, but after ep 15 we never go back and as someone who loved that part of the story it was disappointing. The pacing was inconsistent with the beginning being fast and then coming to a screeching halt in the middle. However, the ending of the show was phenomenal. It was tragic but it was the natural conclusion to the story.Acting: Despite my issues with the pacing, the acting was amazing from Oliver Chen and Peng Xiao Ran. Not only did they have great chemistry but they both had their moments where they shined.
Music: Loved the OST- all the songs mean so much to me as they hold such sad memories.
Rewatch: I won't rewatch it because my heart can't handle the ending. But also due to how much it drags in the middle.
Was this review helpful to you?
First of all i would like to commend the writer and director of this drama... it was made to offer something that would make drama fans fall in love with the settings and actors who (for me, perfectly played the characters especially the main roles, Peng Xiao Ran she is a good actress, hope she will have more drama's in the future)
Cinematography for me is great, the landscapes ,where most of the story took place , for me, are breathtaking... story lines are awesome as well.
This is one of those drama's that would let you be excited of what will happen on the next episode..
The last part of the story is something that some viewers would rather end differently, but for me , i believe the ending was just fair enough to make the story as a whole... Yes somehow it was tragic, But, there's a but... for me true love is everlasting and that is what this drama is all about...
Hope you guys find this review helpful, and you get to watch Goodbye My Princess...i hope u will experience the emotions i had when i was watching this drama...
It is something worth watching!!!
❤❤❤
Was this review helpful to you?
very tragic love story
SO MUCH emotions from start till the end. Each of the character in this show has their own struggle and it will make u fall into this deep hole.Li Cheng Yin/Fifth prince (ML) - One of the most complex character in the show. You love him then you hate him and then you love him all over again. To live in a treacherous and dangerous palace where people are plotting against you & watching your every step, LCY is grown to be very careful and plans his steps ahead. He is really a very pitiful prince and if you really understand him, you just cannot hate him. Fate must be one that fooled him because when he meets Xiao Feng, everything changed. He loves her and only her but does not know how can he conquer both the kingdom and the love of his life. Everything was wrong to begin with - i can just say from the moment he knows he needs to take over the crown, him and Xiao Feng was meant to be a fateful pair of lovers. I had one of the most withdrawal for him after the show because i felt so much of what he was bearing all these time that i wanted the best ending for him. But at some point, everything he was plotting was going his way but he hurt so many people along the way.
Xiao Feng/Ninth princess (FL) - Very pitiful yet very innocent FL, went through the most change in this show in terms of character development. I cried on most scenes on how everything is just not right for her. All she ever wanted is peace but her only happiness lasted less than 10 episodes in the show. From then on, it's only hatred, sorrow, and maybe love but a very sad one. In this show she have 2 lives, one before she lost her memory and one after she lost her memory. In both times, she fell in love with the same man but both eventually have the same ending. I really think her life is very pitiful and sad.
Gu Jian (2nd ML) - Straightforward character, only love the FL but knows he cannot be with her from the start. The shining armour in Xiao Feng's life. His only 1 wrong decision made Xiao Feng hated him and he repaid it using the rest of his life. I really liked Gu Jian and I think his love for Xiao Feng is one of a kind (actually comparable to ML). Damn, i cannot walk out of the 2nd ML syndrome after this,
All the castings acted really well, music is pretty good (came in at all the right time). I would highly recommend this show if you are looking for something that is heart wrenching & full of emotions. This show had one of the best stories and it will keep you going. But i swear to you that it will be very painful to watch, I am still in dilemma if i will rewatch this because i do not want to break my heart twice. Overall, one of the best historical c-drama around, would rate a 10 if not for the tragic ending.
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Masterpiece— played to perfection.
This has possibly got to be the BEST historical cdrama I’ve watched in such a long time.Story: This masterpiece has TRULY been written to perfection. The storyline is so complex and incorporates almost every historical element there is— romance, betrayal, war, schemes, selfishness, and exploitation. This was marked a tragedy so I honestly did not want to watch it. However, the synopsis seemed to keep pulling me in so I gave this a chance. I honestly am so glad I gave this drama the chance it most definitely deserved.
From the beginning I was hooked. Throughout the drama I was also hooked. However, the drama was quite extra from eps 40ish where Gu Jian has screentime with XF. It wasn’t necessary to have in the plot and while I understand that it gave GJ his wish and gave some justice to his character— it felt unneeded to me. As for the ending, each character had their proper closure. XF realizing that protecting her nation and her people was the most important thing to her was truly touching considering how she never seemed to understand this before. LCY does not deserve XF by his side forever and this justification perfectly mirrors his father’s situation with Mingyue. The similarities between LCY and his father and his discoveries regarding his father was the biggest thing I took from this drama. It is extremely interesting to watch and discover these. I didn’t shed a tear even though this drama was sad. This was also one of the rare cases where the ending didn’t make me sulk. It was simply played to mere perfection.
Acting/Cast: XF was wonderful. Xiao Ran played this to perfection as she displayed all sides to XF— playful, strong willed, stubborn, innocent, and most importantly, her pain in not being able to actually hate the one who pretty much isolated her from all of her loved ones. LCY was played to perfection. He was such a jerk that I hated him. But I felt for him because of his circumstances. I hated him. Then I felt for him again. In the end I still hated him but STILL pitied him. Bravo. The supporting roles all did great. Extremely strong cast.
Music: Intended to break hearts.
Rewatch: Needless to say? 10/10.
Overall: Please give this a chance despite it being a tragedy. Sometimes the best dramas don’t have happy endings. This drama reminded me once again that a great drama doesn’t have to have a happy ending. It just needs to be reasonable and cohesive with the entire story. I wholeheartedly RECOMMEND.
Was this review helpful to you?
Beautifully done!
From the production, to the storyline and actors performance, I personally would classify this a classic and definitely worth rewatching.The costumes and backdrop are well researched and beautiful. The chemistry between the ML and FL is amazing. Peng XiaoRan gave a stellar performance as the FL. Chen XingXu may be a newbie at that time but his performance was just as good. The 2 veteran actors (FL grandfather & father-in-law) as supporting actors gave great performance as well.
Don't miss this drama - it will make you smile, laugh, frown, sad and maybe even shed a tear or two 😁
Was this review helpful to you?
