The Princess Royal

Entertaining & intelligent story

The opening scenes don't do this show justice. The cast of 20-something idols clearly struggle with playing 40 year old characters, & the mismatch was so jarring I was actually ready to drop the show before even finishing the 1st episode. Honestly, why couldn't the producers cast age appropriate actors to play the 40 y/o main characters? If an audience is sharp enough to keep up with the story, surely they can differentiate between actors. But luckily those scenes didn't last long & I stuck it out.

What follows is a complex & weaving tale of 2 people given 20 years of their lives back to start over from an horrifically destructive end. They retain their memories & manage to redefine their relationship with each other & reshape their destinies. While this is a simplistic overview, the journey the story takes is exciting & fascinating with enough plot twists to keep your attention. Even though you expect a triumphant outcome at least for the leads, you don't quite know what to expect for all characters involved until the very end, and a satisfying ending it is.

This is only the 2nd time I have seen Zhao Jin Mai, who has already been quite active in the business. My first time seeing her was in the very disappointing Admist a Snowstorm of Love in which she was cast in a very limited & poorly defined role that was a complete waste of her talent. In Princess Royal she takes the role of Li Rong with commanding ease. I noticed a few alumni cast from Joy of Life, all accomplished & skilled actors who enhanced this production.

All in all, Princess Royal was a very entertaining & intelligent story.

Read More

Disappointed…

This became unintentionally long cause at one point I just started talking about anything lmfao)

If ongoing reviews were a thing, yall would’ve seen how highly I thought of this drama at first lmfao

I think, the word “exemplary” once came to mind (during that consort’s final moments in court earlier on)

They took such care with the characters and story in the beginning.

It should be a crime for dramas to let you down this badly.

We wanted something different…

And at first, this was the something different.

This was a story where the fl was the heroine not just the love interest.

And not just in name only.

This was her story. Her journey and man was it a great watch

There were flaws throughout but I could tolerate them because I was having so much fun.

The Princess Royal was riding highhhh and then it crashed

It crashed horribly after ep.30

The last 10 episodes were a pain to get through

It revealed her as an indecisive hypocrite and spent an ungodly amount of time on an issue that was already resolved in ep.2-3 by framing it as some irreconcilable injustice.

We wasted 3 episodes on things we already knew or could’ve been explained in 15 minutes.

And then came the illogicalities.

The noble houses siding with a woman who’d previously tortured members of their houses and had them executed

A betrayal in the barracks for no apparent reason other than to create a conflict ig?

The others would be a spoiler.

They should cut out episodes 35-37, and cut out that drawn out death in ep.40, if they want to save even a fraction of this busted story

The casting director must’ve been asleep during the casting of this drama.

The sml, crown prince, Prince Su and Consort Rou’s actor(s) were casted for what?

There was also something not quite right with the fl’s acting.

I will say that regarding the criticisms about the sml being more like a ml than the sml: this is the most second male leadiest sml ever lmfao

The obnoxious yearning, the self righteousness, the inflated sense of worth he feels he holds in the fls heart/mind, the surface level/paper thin perfection and the need to control her couched in a pretense of protection

The only issue was her unreasonable attachment to him and that the story permitted the narrative of “missed opportunity” between them to persist til the end.

Don’t know what the writers were thinking but they weakened their romance with this.

You can’t have one person single-handedly carrying a relationship. It should be a partnership with mutual love and respect but it felt more like something Pei Wenxuan was painstakingly carving out of desperation.

I can’t root for that. It gives me the ick.

They also seemed afraid to position him fully as the villain of the story. Even til the end.

There seemed to be a disconnect between what they were trying to tell and what the viewers saw/experienced.

By the end, Li Ring and Pei Wenxuan were no longer characters I cared all that much about.

There was a point in the story where it felt like the writers gave up and patched together an ending because they had to.

It went from having fleshed out characters with an identity, personality and goals (from mains, sides, antagonists) to paper thin plot devices.

I want to give this a 6.5 so badly but I really liked it at first so a 7/10 it is.

Read More

basically the male wife trope

the inicial idea was crazy good, and that made the first episodes very easy to watch.
i really liked that Pei Wen Xuan and Li Rong are not traditional characters, their personalities were different than we usually see in chinese dramas, they are a unique couple. also i loved their past, it was absolute DRAMA!
however, there's a very disturbing scene on episode 25 between the main couple, that bothered me a lot and i have not seen anyone talk about it, that scene was hideous, it even made me think if i would finish the drama, and it's the reason why i took away so many stars in my review. i believe it would be a trigger for some people, so beware.

Read More

A captivating Story with a Psychotic villain

First things first, this c-drama was great, it had a captivating story line, a villain like most dramas do but that doesn't change my opinion as some villains can be like annoying to the point where if affects your opinion on the whole drama itself but I don't really care, cause the story line was unique for me it kept me going whilst watching this ongoing(1-32) the cast was amazing in terms of acting and sticking to their characters aside from the concubine(Li Rong's step-mother) It was like well for me, her acting was too forced but it was funny at the same time😂 the music was like another additional thing that was enjoyable for me it was special and complemented the scene that was shown. You may see that idk some reviews that are a lot different to mine but this is an honest opinion from myself and MY OPINION so please don't start anything. Just some advice, don't read the negative reviews, I read them myself some are not genuine and are hating on the fact of how the villains character was in general not the one who played it. If you think they're genuine carry on, I can't control what you do lol. But just remember that If you decide not to get into this drama you will be MISSING OUT for sure as it was definitely worth a watch I might even watch this for its first year anniversary (just my fave eps😌)
Anyone reading this take care, and choose wisely as to whether you WANT to watch this or not.

Read More

The male lead became an accessory while the female lead became the back story

I was conflicted and confused about this drama. The title is misleading. The emphasis throughout was on Su Rong Qing, who was supposed to be the 2nd ML by the way. It was all about SRQ’s endless dramatic antics, forever sob story and sociopathic and villainous behavior. I thought they should have called this drama The Psycho Royal. Only ZLH made me tune in till the end. But really, I wasn’t even sure ZLH was the ML when his character was reduced to an accessory of the FL. I felt cheated. The last episode totally ruined this for me especially with that long irritating monologue from the psycho. Only saving grace of this drama is the flawless acting of ZLH and ZJM.

Read More

Pei Wen Xuan deserved better!!

Just finished this drama and it lowkey felt like a chore to finish it. The story was a bit boring yet interesting enough to finish it.

I found there to be very little chemistry between the two leads, but their acting was good enough and I felt the respect they had for each other as actors. ZJM could work on her facial expressions a bit. More feeling!! Some of her crying/sad scenes were not convincing enough to me except the one where SRQ revealed everything to her in that cave. I liked her acting there. I enjoy a good crazy dramatic scene (ahem, Consort Rue). ZLH needed more screen time!!

Li Rong was such a selfish person with big trust issues (understandable). Her character was so annoying and she did not deserve Pei Wen Xuan's love!! He was way too good for her. PWX loved her way more than she did. I do appreciate that they had good communication in certain scenes and cleared up some misunderstandings. And like many other's already talked about, Su Rong Qing had too much screen time. He was pretty much the ML in this drama and the whole story felt like it revolved around him.

I loved the other supporting characters like Qin Zhen Zhen, Shangguan Ya and Su Rong Hua. And the actress of Consort Rou played the heck out of her role! She was a very convincing psycho! LOL

What bugged me was in Episode 35 where they switched Prince Su after he passed away with someone who was basically the same person. That was ridiculous. But then suddenly everyone knew he was imposter? They just knew!! There was no big reveal so it was underwhelming. And nobody really mourned for Prince Su except the Princess Hua. Consort Rou was so fixated on power, she mourned for like a few minutes and then boom - back to being power hungry.

Also, goodness gracious SRQ was basically half of Ep 40 with his dramatic antics. And near the end 3 years into the future, where the heck was Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan's kid?!

I do enjoy a good political drama, but this one dragged on. This shouldn't have been 40 episodes long. 30 episodes would have been fine. I do believe this is worth a watch if you like the leads. Who knows, you might enjoy it more than me!

Read More

A second chance historical drama that has it's flaws but is still very enjoyable

Whilst the premise of the drama is not new, I think it's fairly well-executed. I think Zhang Ling He and Zhao Jin Mai had good chemistry in the drama, and I found the quipping between their characters entertaining. However, I do think there could have been less arguing about the same issues later on. I also enjoyed watching Li Rong and Li Chuan's relationship - lots of poignant scenes. I think the pacing for the drama is pretty good, for most of it, with little wasted time. I flew through most of the drama. I think the ending could have been a little longer.
The reason why I've given a low rewatch value but high scoring for the drama overall is that it just isn't the sort of drama that I want to rewatch, since the unknown outcomes of all the plotting is what makes it exciting.
I've written a more detailed review of this drama with spoilers on my blog:
https://onthisiponder.wordpress.com/2024/09/09/chinese-drama-the-princess-royal-《度华年》review/

Read More

Heavy on the palace intrigue. Lighter on the romance.

I will watch anything Zhang Ling He is in because he is devastatingly handsome and a wonderful actor to boot! In this he did not disappoint. The premise of this drama seemed interesting--having a second chance at correcting life's failures. But when the plot slowed and gave more air time to secondary characters and not enough on the main leads, I felt disappointed. The acting was very good in this. Jiao Jin Mai (Amidst a Snowstorm of Love) plays the imperious, self-absorbed princess to a Tee and the best part was watching her character grow and becoming adept at balancing personal life with palace intrigue.

The same can be said for the ML. He wanted to be a better version of himself and sought to win his lady's hand. Unfortunately, he isn't given a whole lot to do, so the relationship, at times, feels unbalanced. Watching these two fight and make up, push each other away and finally find a way to make their relationship work, while dealing with people wanting to destroy them, was a job. The rushed ending and loose ends left unexplained was disappointing.

The costumes, acting, and sets were beautiful and I loved the OST. Those were the strongest parts of the drama, but the writing was weak and I felt the performers deserved better.

Read More

Angel Zhao & Zhang Ling He. Of course here I come…

Story about Li Rong (LR) and Pei Wen Xuan (WX). Li Rong, an eldest princess, married Pei Wen Xuan, low class minister, to avoid disaster. Why? Because at that time, the kingdom was ‘ruled’ by the royal families. Royal families had money & power to take over the kingdom, at that time they're not really doing much to threaten the kingdom, however the emperor was still afraid of their influence on the kingdom.

So, the understanding LR chose WX to make peace with her father, the emperor. And WX himself, took the opportunity of him being the princess consort to gain advantage in politics.

That's the introduction to the married life of LR & WX that we know at the beginning. Later we'll find out that really everything is not like what it seems at first.

MDL stated that: “Later on, LR lost herself in the midst of wine, song and dance. As for WX, he had a home yet did not bother coming home because he already had someone in his heart…” That's when all the summary in MDL in my opinion is wrong…

We never get a glimpse of LR losing herself in the midst of wine, song and dance. But rather we start this drama with LR already in power at the edge of her life. But yeah LR & WX didn't have slightest affection for each other. Instead they are enemies with opposite sides in politics.

So yeah, in the end LR & WX indeed died under each other’s schemes. And when they woke up, they had actually returned to the year when they were 18 years old, returning to the most difficult time in their lives. Where they need to start all over once again…

So, how will the story progress…? What will LR & WX choose…? Will LR & WX still choose the same choice with their previous life…?

That’s pretty much the story without giving too much spoiler. Now what I like and don’t.

What I like:
+ Angel Zhao is amazing… She grew a lot with her acting & her choice of drama. Yeah much like JulesL wrote, I also feel she’s lacking something. LR as a young princess is played beautifully by Angel Zhao, but when she needs to be shown LR as a proud, powerful & cold woman… that’s when I feel she lacks. I don’t know how to describe it better…
+ We have no ordinary FL, much like JulesL wrote: “Li Rong was no Mary Sue; she was not your usual FL who was perfect and good, and her only fault was trusting and loving the wrong people. LR also was unlike the stereotypical strong female lead. She had plenty of flaws but also had her own strengths.” And that’s just perfect to summarize our FL.
+ The relationship between LR & WX. This is also when MDL’s summary is wrong: “So Pei Wen Xuan went to look for Li Rong. To be married again but with divorce in mind.” I don’t know about the book, but what I get from the drama itself, the one that had divorce in mind is LR not WX. And I really like how LR & WX manage the relationship, from untrusting each other till slowly trusting each other.
+ We have multiple people who come back from the future after their death. We have FL, ML & the most interesting one, the villain himself...
+ We have no ordinary villain, first this is the first time any villain also comes back from the future. Second, you can’t say he’s evil, but that doesn’t mean he’s a good man either. Unlike LR & WX who take the chance to change the future for a better one, he just does everything to prevent it, even by making himself an evil one. Unfortunately, I can’t really tell you what without giving too much spoiler. Just watch it so you know yourself.
+ We get the best illustration of what will come when they are pushed till the edge of despair. Like what happened with the original future of Li Chuan. That’s just such a pity what happened to him at that time…

What I don’t like:
- A little confused about the original future conflict. That’s the one that I don’t really give a f*ck.
- Much like JulesL wrote, I also somewhat feel all the characters lack something. Like Su Rong Qing (RQ) or LR. But unlike JulesL, I feel even a more veteran actor played RQ, I still feel a little to no care about RQ feelings…. It’s really hard to describe what I mean. But this is one of the reasons I lowered the score for this drama.

Overall: this is quite entertaining, enough to make me watch it nonstop

Read More

A sweet romance that should've been not-so-sweet

What I liked:

- Zhang Ling He's performance is a lot better here than in the Story of Kunning Palace, and I think they made the right choice to dub him because I wasn't keen for a repeat of his robotic performance.
- The leads had good chemistry
- The story explored the complexity of people and relationships very well, acknowledging that there's no black and white decisions in life, and that people are not entirely evil or good.
- Knowing what we know of what really happened to Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua in their past lives, I'm really glad for their second chance.
- It's a hoot to see so many Joy of Life folks here!

What I didn't like

- The background music was bland
- I'm very impressed with the actress playing Shangguan Ya - she balances her playful and ruthless sides very deftly.
- The rebellion towards the end looked very small and not very convincing.
- The last arc was chaotic.
- Su Rong Qing's arc overstayed its welcome, nuff said.
- Pei Wenxian, towards the end, became a side character in his own story and wasn't as complex or layered a character as a result.
- The special episode was chaotic even if it was sweet. It just felt very off tone with the rest of the drama.

All in all, The Princess Royal was actually an entertaining enough drama, and its strength lay in the exploration of complex characters and their motivations.

However, I can understand why novel readers are upset.

For one, the romance never rose beyond "sweet romance" when the novel was very much not a sweet, teenage romance but a mature one with our characters doing adult things.

Sure, Chinese dramas will never go that far to show full-blown steamy scenes, but Legend of Shen Li managed to show that level of depth without it becoming soft porn.

In the end, the drama was still "good enough" but one can't help but wonder if it could've been better if they tried to be grittier.

As usual, this is a shorter version of my review on my blog: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/08/22/the-princess-royal-review/

Read More

Mixed feelings

Just finished this. Initially, I was so pumped up to start watching this after seeing an excerpt from IG. Started off intriguing , however it mellows down and gets less and less point towards the end i feel. I think it is interesting idea for 2 people to start anew and fell in love again the second time rightfully however, towards the middle, i find that LiRong’s character is somehow like weeds in the wind, just blindly flying wherever the so called truth revelation goes. The chemistry between LiRong and Pei Wenxuan is also on and off to me, sometimes Li Rong is too aloof and PWX appears to be in love by himself. But my biggest pet peeve is with SRQ’s character. Firstly his voice character is totally off to me, it doesnt sound charismatic enough to my ears, playing the role of an aristocrat. The acting also has so much room for improvement, especially being the ultimate villain/second lead. It makes the villain so weak tbh. The plot sometimes also annoyed me. It keeps on going on and on about the noble families vs commoners, but in the end, nothing was resolved. The emperor is off gallivanting somewhere with his sweetheart, and now we have a female regent with her husband. And they dont even show their much awaited first child! Li Chuan also seems too young for the role. It doesnt give enough conviction to viewers. I love Jinmai from her previous role, but I guess, this role is too ‘adult’ for her as well *shrugs


One thing I like though, the costumes are plenty and beautiful. The cinematography is also nice. Not much to say regarding the ost. They were not used enough in the drama to make an impact to me. All in all, it was an ok watch for me, but very likely not to be rewatched again

Read More