I really like both Jasper Liu and Eugenie Liu and the premise of this series sounded like fun - gangster's daughter meets and falls in love with the actor she's always fangirled over! The action scenes in the show are purely comedic, cheesy and just for fun. Sometimes it's over the top, but I can accept that. Eugenie does a great job portraying Angie, a fierce, bubbly young woman who tries to forge an independent path for herself. On the other hand, Jasper's character Yi Hang felt underdeveloped. He's a cute, charming, popular actor who loves elephants. That's all I got really. Their relationship developed UNBELIEVABLY quickly. Emphasis on unbelievable as in "I absolutely did not believe it." In comparison, I found myself liking Eddie Kim much more and thought the actor who plays him, Tsao Yu Ning, was excellent.
A lot of interesting side stories are introduced - Ding Ding, Ling Yun, Sophia, etc - but none of them are developed nearly enough. If Netflix releases more episodes (I mean, they'd BETTER!), then I will definitely continue watching. There's so much potential.
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Anyway, this is my first time seeing Eugenie Liu and I instantly like her, I'm always into badass, femme fatale who can kick ass and wouldn't go into the damsel-in-distress route once the 'prince' arrived.
She has a good chemistry with Jasper Liu, and their kissing scene is bam! Maybe because this is Netflix, so less of those frozen lips kisses and this one has been pretty satisfying. This is only the 2nd Jasper Liu drama that I've seen, the first one is his first drama with Puff Kou. I think that he has matured as an actor, and if he's given more chances to do more variety of roles, he'll be one of the best.
The other characters, especially Din Din and Angie's right henchmen, Liu Guo, gives the comedy relief for this drama. It was a surprise that they were given their own storyline, which makes this drama funnier and 'more open' to other love possibilities.
Angie's fiance, Eddie Kim, is pretty hot, and the twist at the end could mean that we'll be seeing more of him if there's a second season. BTW, he also the right chemistry with Angie and you can see that sparks did fly when they meet again as adults, if I'm not so biased with Jasper, I think Eddie and Angie's storyline has a great potential.
The story might be trite, but this drama is overall fun, something that will warm you up when its cold and would give enough sunshine during gloomy weather. Since this is only 6 episodes, might as well binge-watch this.
Oh....it also has a cool soundtrack, particularly the english song they played. Anyone knows the title?
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It's possible there's a super cute drama in here desperately struggling to get out but who the hell would know. This was nothing but a disjointed, incoherent mess from beginning to end. Nothing makes sense, everything is super rushed and the whole thing is ridiculous. Oh and there's clearly a season 2! Which... if they knew that why not spend these six episodes having them fall for each other and then the next six on the separation, noble idiocy, family opposition, public scandal, arranged marriage, kidnappings and Rise of the Big Bad - rather than trying to do all those things in TWO EPISODES.
Oh yeah, there's a plot here somewhere. An Idol gets a bodyguard (Eugenie Liu) who is a huge fan of another Idol (Jasper Liu) that Idol 1 is pretending to be dating. The bodyguard is the daughter of a Triad boss. The daughter of the Triad boss has no concept of professionalism or boundaries but she does attempt to murder several people - attempted murder is supposed to be funny I guess.
Ignoring the bad writing and terrible pacing, the female lead's fangirling is super super annoying and I see nothing in this that says she fell for Adorable Jasper rather than Adorable Jasper's public image and that is a big big problem when I'm supposed to believe they're SO MUCH IN LOVE after they met a week ago and slept with each other once.
This is transparently aimed at 14 year olds who fantasise that if they met their Idol (who conveniently is exactly like his public image) then said Idol would fall madly and instantly in love with them and only something as crazy as a mob boss, mad fans and the paparazzi could keep them apart!
Jasper Liu is adorable I guess but his character is paper thin; practically a chalk outline. The female lead's entire character is a problem from beginning to end. Which is, thankfully, not that long. Since this is only 6 episodes. And subsequently a giant mess.
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A GANGSTAR,AN IDOL AND A PRINCESS walk into a bar...Yes they sit on the same table
A Love Letter Wrapped in an Angry Rant: Triad Princess (2019) and the Netflix InjusticeLet me preface this by saying: this is not an angry review of the drama itself. Triad Princess is not the problem. Netflix, come outside—we need to talk.
Let’s deal with the two elephants in the room. Pun intended—honestly, I have never seen so many elephant-themed props in one series. I half-expected a pachyderm to walk through a scene and get a cameo credit. But I digress.
Elephant #1: That Ridiculous MDL Rating
I don’t know what happened, and I’m not even going to pretend to understand the black hole of logic, But why Triad Princess is floating below where it deserves is beyond me. It had decent viewership, loyal fans begging for a second season, and some of the most fun, stylish energy I’ve seen in a Taiwanese production. I know MDL can sometimes feel like Yelp for the emotionally chaotic, but come on. If you stumble across this drama on a lazy Tuesday night, do not look at the rating. Don’t even glance at it.The reviews that scream “rushed" are missing the point—this show is a riot, a trip, and one of the best Taiwanese dramas Netflix ever bothered to touch.
Elephant #2: Netflix, What Were You Thinking?!
Let me just say it: Who in the bright boardroom of streaming wisdom thought it was a great idea to buy a six-episode, 40-minute-per-episode, genre-blending Taiwanese gangster romcom in 2019—and then ghost it like a bad Tinder date? Not just any drama, but a visual feast, a nostalgic thrill ride, a rare gem! And then they left it hanging with no plans for renewal? Netflix, baby, why even start if you’re not going to finish? This is five years late, yes, but my rage has been slow-cooked to perfection. I’m not okay.
Back to the Beginning: How I Ended Up Here
So, why am I talking about a 2019 drama in 2025? Yes am still locked in the drama slump prison so I found Behind Your Smile—one of those emotional sagas that makes you feel like you’re legally obligated to send the characters birthday cards—and I met Eugenie Liu. I went digging through her filmography and—bam!—Triad Princess slapped me across the face like a long-lost memory. I had watched it back in 2019, blissfully unaware it was even Taiwanese (I admit, my Asian geo-cultural radar was… let’s say “under construction”). But this time? I was watching with fresh eyes, and a keyboard ready to spill some feelings.
The Story: Triad Nostalgia with a Modern Glow-Up
So, what is it about Triad Princess that made people fall in love and scream for more?
Two words: Gangster Nostalgia.
Remember those golden-era Hong Kong triad dramas? Where every family had a code, every betrayal meant war, and you settled grudges with actual fistfights instead of lawsuits? Triad Princess brings that essence back—only this time, they swap the gritty back alleys for neon lights, the bloodshed for few broken ribs, and the tragic male antiheroes for a female lead with a motorbike,a gun and attitude. There are still bullets, sure, but it’s cleaner, stylish, more tongue-in-cheek.
And this triad isn’t just for show. The Ni family, led by mob boss Kun, is the real deal. Kun is mafia to the bone—he’s got men in black, a castle for a home, and enough hierarchy to make a Roman emperor blush but he prefers to stay home making Chinese tea.Angie, his daughter and our female lead, is protected by layers of loyal foot soldiers: the Inner Circle (ride or die), the Outer Circle (kind of useful), and the Outer-Outer Circle (half-asleep at the gate unless someone yells "hotpot"). Honestly, I could watch a whole spin-off just about these guys.
Our Leading Lady: Angie Ni, Motorcycle-Riding Royalty
Casting Eugenie Liu was a masterstroke. I had seen her being soft-spoken and tragic in Behind Your Smile—then here she comes, kicking goons into the Pacific and handling firearms like she was born on an action set. I paused mid-episode just to whisper “YES” into the void. This is the FL I’ve been waiting for. No whining, no brooding—just a woman trying to outrun her destiny,she fights fate for being born into the Triad,she fights love that shows up in her present and uncertainty that looms over her future.
Angie wants her freedom, but her father wants her to carry on the traditions. She says, “No thanks,” and with the help of her makeshift brother/bodyguard/friend-with-an-escape-plan, she bolts. Cue her transformation into a bodyguard in the glamorous but brutal entertainment industry.While Angie can disarm a thug, can she disarm a headline-hungry paparazzi? And then, of course, there’s love—the biggest emotional landmine of all..
Raised as the only daughter of one of the most feared triad bosses in Taiwan, Angie was supposed to live the high life behind guarded walls, making polite tea and smiling like she’s in a historical drama. But Angie revved up her motorcycle, and chose a path of fake identities and actual employment in the entertainment industry. The rebellion? Immaculate. The execution? Questionable, but entertaining.
Angie Ni isn’t perfect—and thank God for that. She’s messy. She makes dumb choices. She reacts before thinking. But she’s also passionate, loyal, wildly brave, and funny in the way only people who’ve never had to follow the rules can be. And whether she’s crying in her helmet or she is kicking someone with her limited edition boots,you believe every second of it.
She is, without a doubt, the blueprint for every chaotic-good female lead we’ve begged dramaland to give us. And they did—for six episodes. (Netflix, come to the front of the congregation.)
Enter Xu Yi Hang: Jasper Liu in His Element
Played by the king of emotional devastation himself, Jasper Liu. This man must have a clause in his contract that says “No happy endings allowed.” He plays a beloved celebrity, living in a glass house.Until he meets Angie.They’re opposites, they’re magnets, they’re destiny—and yes, Angie was a fangirl before she became his co-star's bodyguard whose life is intertwined with his. Cue every delusional fan fantasy being fulfilled. (Don’t look at me, I will not go down my Ji Chang Wook rabbit hole. Not today.)
So here he is, our leading man: a mega-famous idol with enough charm to convince a brick wall to open up about its feelings. On the surface, Xu Yi Hang is every publicist’s dream—soft-spoken, polite, visually angelic with a smile that would light up a small country. But peel back the layers, and you’ll find a man who's basically living on autopilot, running on 80% PR scripts and 20% unresolved crisis.He’s not even living his own life at this point—he’s living a crowdsourced fantasy. Every interview answer is a carefully curated lie, every relationship is a contract.
The thing about Xu Yi Hang is that he doesn’t know how to exist outside the script—and Angie? She’s never even seen the script. So their dynamic is basically watching a porcelain teacup trying to keep up with a tornado in high heels. Xu Yi Hang is the perfect balance of cinnamon roll and “someone please keep him away from sharp objects.” And maybe that’s why you will love him—because under all the glamor and perfect hair, he’s just a man hopelessly in love with the "wrong" woman.
Let’s not forget he literally jumped headfirst into the wild world of triad politics for her, without a single life skill relevant to gang warfare. No gun training, no street smarts, no get-out-of-death-free card—just vibes and love. Like, sweetie, this isn’t a fanmeet. These people carry real weapons. And he just rolls in with his heart on his sleeve and maybe a monologue about personal freedom. Bless his soul.
Side Characters: A Rich Tapestry We’ll Never Fully See
There were so many intriguing characters—friends, rivals, comedic relief, ex- lovers—and every one of them felt like they had a full backstory just waiting to be told. But alas, Netflix (insert furious emoji #3) took all that potential and yeeted it into a vault marked “To Be Continued” that they never reopened... Criminal 😢
1. Sophia (The Agent Who Deserved a Whole Spin-Off and a Hug)
Sophia, Angie’s boss at the entertainment agency, is the kind of character you initially think is just a no-nonsense career woman with a Bluetooth earpiece permanently fused to her head. But then—boom—you learn she’s carrying enough emotional weight to crush a lesser human.
2. Eddie (The Second Male Lead Who Had No Chance, But We Respect the Effort)
Eddie is the crown prince of Second Lead Syndrome Prevention. Not because he isn’t sweet or likable—but because the man never stood a chance the moment Xu Yi Hang walked in with that hair and trauma.But he tries. Oh, he tries.He’s the human equivalent of a LinkedIn-approved relationship: stable, presentable, and deeply, tragically boring to our chaos queen.
Open Letter to the Writers
Dear writers: Next time Netflix knocks and says “Here’s some cash, give us six episodes and we’ll see about the rest,” slam the door and run. Or, at the very least, use those six episodes to tie up enough loose ends so we’re not left dangling like a third lead in a 52-episode C-drama.
Also, I didn’t catch Second Lead Syndrome, but let’s just say… he was not my favorite and he took up too much screen. You know, you know.
And that one couple they tried to toss in for inclusivity points? Look, I appreciate the effort, but it felt like trying to turn a tiger into a sheep with a dye job. If you’re going to do it,don’t do it at all. I said what I said.
Final Verdict: 10/10 Would Recommend (And Rant About Again)
This drama may be short, but it punches hard. It’s got gangsters with hearts, princesses with brass knuckles, and just enough emotional depth to make you scream into your pillow "I need 10 more episodes".. If you want a break from melodramatic slow burns and second leads who cry more than they talk—this is it. It’s fast, fierce,fun and verbally uncesored.
PS:I now know how to curse in Mandarin. Thanks, Triad Princess. And Netflix? We’re still not on speaking terms.
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Starts out fresh, and then starts to get disappointing... not worth it
I was excited seeing another Jasper Liu drama. I thought Before We Got Married was pretty cool.This one started out pretty good but then they rush it near the middle and end. I agree with most reviews here that Jasper's character was underdeveloped. There wasn't anything to him. He felt dull and boring and I just kept waiting for more when there wasn't much more to him. And there were some plot turns that felt unnecessary and dumb. It's like the writers had to find some way to keep them apart for a while and that was the only way they could do it - I liked Angie though!
Their relationship was also weird. How can you love someone that fast? Jasper's character became head over heels so fast! I understand Angie's crush because she was his fan but otherwise its weird. There probably needed to be more episodes and time for their relationship to develop. 6 episodes are not enough to show that properly, especially the way they did it. I'm disappointed and I hope the writers can do better next time, or at least know the mistakes they made.
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That open ended ending was indeed scripted that way for a reason...Here come the spoilers if you have not seen episode six.
The perfect fiancé is not ordering dinner! He is ordering a hit on Angie ! There goes the bride!
Not a sweetheart after all! ( Enter communal sigh here.)
And her dad who was pretty nice and low-key as far as triad bosses go , will show just how bad-ass he can be
when he has to protect Angie and her crush. Forget about his ties to future son-in-law’s triad dad. This could get ugly or funny!
I really enjoyed this different type of drama and fell in like with Jasper Liu. December cannot come soon enough! Mind you I will have to rematch season one for continuity’s sake.
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Watch and see for yourself!
I thoroughly enjoyed this drama, completely expecting not to since I haven’t watched any Taiwanese dramas before. The story was nice and fast paced, enough that I watched all 6 episodes in one sitting and the ending was left on a slight cliffhanger so we can all look forward to the next season! I loved each and every character in this drama and their relationships with Angie and each other, and the triad theme of the drama was put to good comedic use.Although the main romance isn’t given enough opportunity to fully shine, the other storylines and character arcs are enough for you to want to keep watching and for a lighthearted drama like this I found it perfect. I found myself with second male lead syndrome when watching this one, even though it was obvious that it was never going to happen.
I honestly liked this drama a lot and I’ve realised that it’s best to go into a drama without really reading the reviews too much since a negative review can really affect your experience of a drama that you would otherwise find enjoyable.
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The first problem was the pacing: Only six 40-minute episodes long, NOTHING happened in the first two episodes that advanced the core stories, meaning the last four were super-rushed, and felt like the writers were stuffing things in to tick off a checklist. This was ESPECIALLY noticeable with the OTP. In terms of character and relationship development, They went from zero to horizontal in less time than it takes to type this. By the end of episode, I was seriously thinking of dropping the Drama, and only stuck it out because it was so short.
The development and portrayal of Eugenie Liu's character was bizarre too. She alternated between giggly naive schoolgirl crushing on her idol and foul-mouthed fighting ace with head-spinning rapidity. Never mind that anyone who was so calm and composed when receiving or dispensing violence would not, could not, be as naively starry-eyed as her other half was portrayed. Unless she had a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on.
The bullying agent was a disappointment as well. She came across as one-dimensional, when her back story had potential. As did that of the other lead actress.
I read recently that Netflix's first TW Drama bombed there. If the quality of this second attempt is any guide, I can see why. In summary, the best thing that came out of watching this Drama was the urge to rewatch "The Smile Behind Your Eyes"
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The thing that really pulls down this show is that it is too short, 6 episodes aren't enough to properly portray it. The characters aren't properly developed and the story is rushed. They had chemistry,but not enough for him to be acting all in love,The love didn't feel real because they fast forwarded it! AND IT ENDS IN A CLIFFHANGER.
Still there were too many fun and cute moments, so i enjoyed the show a lot :)
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Too fast, not much building
If you love fast paced drama this is definitely a drama for you. Lets start with good, this drama had an amazing female lead strong and not whiny, the theme of the drama is also very good everything else is just not expaned enough, in my personal opinion it is too fast this drama had so much potential, they could have showed more of the world of mafia, but they didnt, the relationship happens too fast they dont show enough bonding, enough contact, the relationship just looks fake i was so happy that they had representation of gay couples but that relationship as well wasnt built enough it was ah i look in your eyes im in love you are in love we are together it doesnt work like that, if it was maybe some fluffy romance only drama it would have been forgivable but in this drama it is not because of the themes, which is so unfortunate because it had all the points of being an amazing original drama, i wish it went more in the detail i love that they had a fresh view you can see drugs swearing and more mature themes, i liked the drama but it just didnt hit the spot it had a lot of things missing.Was this review helpful to you?
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Interesting and realistic storyline
This drama is indeed interesting and realistic. In Asian context, many times, relationships will end even before they start due to the differences in family status, background etc. In this case, this is the first time I see a storyline of a relationship between a celebrity and a lady from triad background which in reality, definitely there are such things. However, six episodes are too short though to see the storyline develop in detail. It is good to see the younger generation artiste acting in this drama, like Eugenie, Cecilia etc and to see my childhood band Energy member, Shu Wei, act as a hooligan, that is even more interesting, though not a fan of profanities, his acting is superb! Despite having lots of fights in the series, the comedic parts actually balances it. And, this drama also introduce a possible BL couple, making it really nice and inclusive!The end of the show also hints at a Season 2 in which Tsao Yu Ning will be the antagonist. So, I certainly look forward to that. If you are looking for short series that offers a mix of emotions, sometimes serious, sometimes light-hearted, this is the drama to watch, provided that you can accept some coarse language.
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