The Princess Royal

sick & twisted politics and a beautiful story

this definitely exceeded my expectations, this story turned out to be a lot rich and enjoyable then i hoped

-Li rong is a diva. Shes a very complex female character, her actions may annoy you or not make sense at first, but as the story goes on, her character learns and evolves. Being a women in politics, a princess no less, she is incredibly determined, strong and persuasive.
She grew up being taught politics and power was to be prioritized over love, we've been seeing that mindset in the starting episodes, plus being a woman alone in a male dominated field is already hard as it is.
despite it she sees through the lies and games before her, she learns to love pei wenxuan and truly understand his love and his worth.

-Pei wenxuan is such a nice male lead. Cocky, sassy and easy going but surprisingly cunning and clever under the cover. His character also had a lot of layers to him, which made the show so engaging and lively. I just loved him! unlike the 2ml with his capabilities and morals, he was able to not only have Li rong but also fight for his family.
i would say his amazing character was inconsistent at times esp towards the end but all in all hes a treat

-both of them together are the cutest bickering married couple. pei wenxuan's care and love for li rong is seen so clearly, he isnt threatened by her position or dominance, he embraces it, helped her grow, not only in power but as a person too.
and li rong didnt hide her love either, both were given a second chance and used it well, using her power to help him and protect him, it was adorable to see.

-the politics in this one is great!!
they really really show exactly the twisted and dirty politics of the imperial court, every character is evil in a way they would kill others to save their own skin, even our main leads, yet their behaviors and actions are explained, and karma gets them.
if you snooze u might miss some important plot points, so its important to pay attention. The politics grabbed and lost me turn by turn, but it was enjoyable nontheless.

HOWEVER,,
-yes the 2ml is annoying ASF. his character jst felt unnecessary he was a weak villain, consort rou was a better antagonist than him. them constantly pushing 2ml and fl together was annoying as well but if you skip his scenes it'll be alr which is what i did ^^
in conclusion, its a wonderful story that balances romance and politics and is def worth a watch!!
9/10, i can see myself rewatching for peirong bcz they're jst adorable

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I had hoped for something along the lines of The Story of Kunning Palace but was sadly disappointed

**This is just my opinion. I truly appreciate all of the hard work that went into the making of this drama. Thank you.**

I should preface this review by stating that I'm not a big fan of palace intrigue, politics or watching people obsess about how to dominate someone else. This drama seems to be almost entirely focused on that or revenge. There is a little bit of romance sprinkled in but very little of the healthy variety.

**Spoiler Alert**

Not one, not two, but three people somehow get a second chance to start over as their younger selves when they die at the same time. We know about two of them from the drama's description. The third, that I won't reveal, comes as a surprise. We aren't told how or why they are able to come back and have another chance, we just see the Princess and Pei Wen Xuan trying to guess what happened and how that person came to be there as well. Personally, I found this incredibly vexing. I wanted some kind of explanation as to why the three of them would all be back in their younger bodies with their memories intact.

The female lead character is arrogant, cold, entitled, selfish and while she does have the desire to do the right thing, she lacks the ability to empathize with other people and understand what they're feeling and really need. Because of that, she's unable to let her guard down and trust anyone. Not because she doesn't want to, she just can't. Nevertheless, it makes it really hard to understand why both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing would literally do anything for her. She does so many disrespectful, cruel things that I don't know how they can forgive her them.

While both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing are attractive, intelligent and devoted in their own ways, neither of them seem to have any self respect when it comes to doing whatever it takes to have the Princess. She might have wanted them more and behaved better if they stopped taking whatever she doled out to them. I was offended on behalf of them, just watching it. Yes, I know Li Rong did come around and start treating them better later on, but not well enough, in my opinion. Li Rong was also never clear about who she cared about. She should have made it clear to both Pei Wen Xuan and Su Rong Qing early on. It would have saved them all a lot of heart ache. It wasn't fair to have them have to live with that doubt /hope still lingering.

I found the first half of the drama really boring and I struggled to get through it. The second half picked up though and I was interested to see where it would go, especially if they would reveal any of the answers I was looking for. The cast is good and I enjoyed the acting. I was disappointed with how they decided to do the action scenes though. There wasn't any realism. They went for the fake, Wuxia feel even though it wasn't a fantasy in any way other than the going back in time bit. People fall off tall cliffs and only get bruises, stabbed in the chest or back and it might as well have just been a scratch. Seriously, what were they thinking? And then of course there's the fact that people just order others to be killed at the drop of the hat and we're still supposed to sympathize with their characters. How exactly? They're murderers. In the end, the character that I liked the most was Su Rong Qing's elder brother, Su Rong Hua, played by Yi Da Qian. He was sweet, kind, stuck to his convictions and was self sacrificing.

My favorite thing about this drama would be the soundtrack. I absolutely love the song "Devoted Love" by Mika and keep listening to it on repeat, even though I don't speak Chinese. It's just beautiful. There are some other really good songs on it as well. They're well worth checking out.

Over all, the acting was really good but I didn't like the characters or story very much. I don't like arrogant, entitled women or men who suck up and take abuse. If you do, then you'll love this one.

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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/

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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.

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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

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What happens when a Scorpio and a Capricorn get together (Again!)

This show was FAB. Not too many luls. Great twists! Even if you pin it down, there's always an extra detail to shock and delight. If you like angst, slow burns and bickering, this is the show for you. A very fun watch. I would recommend. I was screaming at the screen every other episode.

This show is essentially what happens when a Scorpio man and a Capricorn woman are in a relationship. Their priorities are in completely different directions. No communication just assumptions than actions because they think they know the other person so well. If they didn't love each other so much this would be a problem. I mean, I too would find it difficult to get back together with the husband I thought was coveting after my brother's beloved wife and I was personally getting out of a 17 year situationship. The romance was slow and sweet, but well earned when it finally came. The banter was a nice break between angst and political scheming. The chemistry between the leads was SO good. I do feel bad she never got her year of rest and relaxation.

However, where they lost me is when it was time to pick sides. Everyone says "if they could go back in time, they would kill xyz". But when Rongqing does it, it's a problem. I may be biased because I agree with him. Hell, in any other show, he would be the hero. From his perspective, if he knows in 10 years, that prince will kill everyone who knows and loves. Why would he allow that to happen? Only a fool does the same thing twice and expect different results. On top of that, the only two people in the world who also have this information are completely willing to let it happen again. Moreover, helping support it. He must feel like he's going crazy. Now everybody cares about "free will" and "letting destiny take its course" after they made made the changes THEY wanted. He's an Aquarius so he's very fair even though they REFUSE to empathize or compromise with him at all. Like why is it illegal to try something new??? (which they lowkey end up doing anyway)

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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/

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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

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IF THERE IS A SECOND CHANCE, USE IT IN GOOD WAY INSTEAD OF PLANNING REVENGE

My main of this drama is, the ML & FL wants to have different life where there will no bloodshed happen as in like before so that there would be no need of revenge. Why revenge when nothing happens. It's simple where a few don't understand. Try to look that way. Don't always hope taking revenge.

I don't know why many people here are saying bad things about FL. FL being together with SML is because of ML. He hasn't cleared things with SFL. So, she gets herself linked with SML. But ML started to like her later.
In their second chance he still came to her because he likes her and don't want to miss her this time.
And about FL killing ML, I don't whether they have watched the drama or not. Yes, she did order to kill him, but it because she was misled into that ML poisoned her.
In their second life when they met each other, In a conversation ML will ter her that he didn't poison her. She trusts him but they thought that might be SML. So, she is afraid of him.
But Afterall she was with him for almost 17 years. (and also, there is no chance of happening anything because he was castrated) So she struggles with her feelings. It is understandable. All because ML didn't cherish her and told her about his feelings. In this time, he doesn't want to her.
Some people her saying that ML is cuckold that chases FL ever after she killed him. But he didn't come to her in thought of marriage. He mentioned that he only wants to see her. But later they told each other what happened. Even though ML didn't kill her but FL killed him, it is clear that it is because of some other people. ML understands that.
So, this time he doesn't want to lose her.
FL is in confuse Afterall she spends 17 years with SML.
But I think around ep 11 ML got burst out about his feelings. But FL got into more confusion.
Later ML wants to respect her choice and, on their wedding, doesn't know why he told her we can divorce after some time and you can chase SML and even got a plan.
So FL gots into more confusion. Later she tries to set him up with SFL and he gots angry he got burst out it is around ep 11. from 11 to 21 they got somewhat together but not completely.
Later ML wants to confess to her but something bad happens but immediately they cleared everything. FL asks him to wait. she asks him to wait for her so she can clear her mind.
But immediately they get together as she can't wait and she sneaked into his room. As we can see FL likes him but she unable to say it loud. But since then they are so lovey dovey.
At ep 25 they got in trouble and FL make a plan that includes divorce. Even though it is their plan but ML don't want to divorce. So they got into fight but they will settle it immediatly.
Everything is good. Please don't listen and watch the drama. It is a 40 episode. FL character is fixed like that and they need to maintain in that way.
I Loved this drama and so many people liked this and I hope the ratings would still go higher.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


The main and most important point of this drama is that
The leads got a new chance and they want to change it. They want to change but they didn't want to take revenge instead they want to change as like there should be no reason all those bad happened and as like no need to take revenge since they wont happen and they wont let them happen. It is the great thing about this.

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I'm so disappointed

I won't even pretend that I finished this drama, because I didn't. The reason is that I just don't have the time to watch something that, from the majority of reviews (and my own thoughts), will just get bad later on.
I was really sold at the beginning. The plot seemed interesting and the chemistry between the main couple was just *chefs kiss*. I really wanted to see how they'd change things, but well...
The main plot: Our main couple were married, but had a tragical end, with a lot of misunderstandings in their relationship. Then, when both of them died, in the middle of political intrigues, they recieved a chance to start all over again.

Just from the start, I felt that I was in for a journey. Many people said that they couldn't feel attached to the characters, but that was not my case. I really liked them. They were both smart and likable.
The problem starts at episode 11, at least for me.

Firstly, we need to understand that the main couple were married for 20 years, and throught these years, they had a good relationship only in the first few years of marriage. For some reason that I can't explain why, at some point, the FL started to believe that ML had feelings for his childhood friend. She felt betrayed and their bond started to rot. Later on, we find out that it was just a misunderstanding (the ML didn't explain at the time. He just kept dodging the issue and remaining quiet, almost confirming her suspicions, when he could've just explained. But whatever).
I mentioned that because up to that moment, the FL started to have a relationship with the SML. They were actually romantically envolved for 17 years.
Once they "reborn" she really tries to catch SML's attention, and wants to marry him instead, but everything goes wrong and she ends up with her former husband again. They start to solve some misunderstadings (she really thought that he was the one who killed her in their previous life. However, it was actually the SML), and they become allies and friends.

Their relationship was just so fun to see. They really know each other (married for 20 yeas), they bicker, they have an amazing chemistry, etc. And then, we are on episode 11, where the ML ACTUALLY EXPLAINS that he had always loved her, and not the other girl. He confesses his feelings, says that he would wait for her answer and that's it.
At this point, I was really excited, because I thought the story would progress and we would see them as a power couple solving all of the problems in the court, changing the course of the original events. The problem is that after that, I started to feel that things weren't progressing, and I read some reviews that explained that my worries were valid.

The female lead doesn't have eyes only for the ML in this drama. She actually feels conflicted between these two man from her past. At some point, it's understandable, since she and SML spend a long time together, but they just completely ignored the ML's confession at episode 11 and started to walk in circles, like the confession never existed. And I swear... The SML has SO MUCH screen time. He really appears a lot, and no one likes him. He's boring and has no chemistry with FL.
You really start to feel bad for the ML, because FL seems to never solve her own feelings, in order to choose him for good. The worst part is that people were saying that she remains like that up to episode 30, like WHAT?
That's really a shame, because he's an amazing character. He's fun, ironic, inteligent, really attractive and caring. He's an experienced politician, who's good at manipulating circumstances, but he just keeps being a simp for FL. Idk, it's painful to watch and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, because they are actually married, but there're all of these cheating insinuations by FL.

Edit: And I completely agree with other reviews that it seems that they tried to portray a strong female lead by having her playing with two men at the same time. I don't like this type of thing, so it really disappointed me.

Aniways, if you don't enjoy love triangles (like me), better skip this one.

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I wish I got a second chance with ZLH?

I like this drama. I watched it while airing, and after it finished airing, I watched it all over again, so I already watched it two times. I like everything about this drama: actors, acting, production department,technical, non-technical aspects. Everything is fine, no issue. I like their couple Bickering.
I like the story. I wish I got a second chance like this, too. ( but do I've to die first).
many people criticize find Ml annoying well I don't sometimes I do find Fl annoying she is more confused but turns out she doesn't know many of the details of many events from her previous life incidents that led to her death (every coin has two side), besides she was not the only one to blame misunderstanding, less communication, misperception, wrong preference lead one thing to another to another and caused the whole mishappening. and in second life let's not forget she was 40 year old soul in 18 year body. plus, as the princess, she was taught to show no emotions.
so it's okay.
besides, if we talking about the most annoying person, the award goes to SML. OMG, he was pure torture; I'm glad he died. He was stubborn as a bull and glad he committed suicide. Zero remorse for him. ML and FL both told him that he could stop now but he didn't. even after everything, at the last moment when ml gave him his way out he choose to commit suicide what a waste of a second chance.
Lastly, if you are going through reviews to make decisions to watch or not u can stop here. surely u can give atleast one chance to this drama rest depend on ur personal choice.
Goodbye take care

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