The Princess's Gambit

Proof that even good acting can't revive a lackluster script

The first 15 episodes were so good. Really kept me engaged and every time I finished an episode, I was left wanting for more. But it somehow went downhill from there. Just cliche after cliche after cliche. Mind you, all those cliches weren't even executed properly. I haven't read the novel but from the spoilers I've seen, it seems like the scriptwriters didn't either. The plot's a mess, the characters are boring, their actions are predictable, ACTUAL interesting characters aren't utilised properly and the pacing is absolutely terrible. The acting's the only redeeming quality of this drama.

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Entertaining while waiting for better drama

I am very conflicted about the rating for this drama. The story was just going downhill from when FL fell off the cliff. But I hung on and watched till the end. Is it watchable? Sure. But was it enjoyable? Was it the best? No. There were moments of shine but overall it was just too convoluted and trite. Everything shown has been shown on CDrama countless times. There's just no surprise.

I thought ok - I will give it an 8 if the ending makes sense. But no. It was just plain frustrating and draggy even down to the last minute. I can't believe these good actors put up with the scripts!

Anyways, I am going to go easy and give it a 7.5 as the ML acted well and FL towards the end was just annoying. You have to ask why she didn't even glance back at the ML as she rushed out of the cage to her master who couldn't be saved. OMG!!! Rolling eyes.


For those who don't like harem stories, this one is not for you. If you want a perfect hero who doesn't have any relationships with other females, this is not for you. The ML has a wife and concubines. This is the basis of the story. All the princes send woman to him to spy/protect their interests.

He's 30 years old and this is ancient China so it's hard to find a guy without wives and concubines.

The story is trite. She is being blackmailed to spy for the queen. She was poisoned so every month she needs a fix. This is a story that's been told many many times! I don't like it, but it works to create a conflict.

The palace intrigues: princes are fighting against each other for the throne is also old.

What's really new is the pairing of the ML and FL. I think they have chemistry.

Another thing is the writer insert an annoying ML's sister. The way she acts and talks, it's tough to convince me that a guy like the 4th prince would like her. He's so gentle and educated. She's just plain childish and annoying.

This drama has been using a tool to create suspense that I don't like. It creates a situation where audiences think that bad things will happen to the leads when in actually, they have a plan/conspiracy in place that we don't know about until they "surprise" us with a successful feat. Then they show the behind the scenes that they didn't show to us previously.

It's the easy way out of making an interesting plot. If you notice, this tool has been used a few times already.
I suspect ML and FL are working together to spy on the 3rd prince.

PS> There are many ways to create suspense. You can google "how to create suspense". The way they are doing it is the easiest: "hiding information from the audience". And then, oh we did this behind the scene. You didn't know about it.

I would rather have the all the clues and decide for myself.

Ep 22 and beyond
Plot is getting worse. Suddenly 3rd Prince in love with evil Empress. Nevermind she looks like his mom. No explanation of their history.
And then the predictable and easy way out of poisoning the King.

I am here because there's no other good dramas to watch. The other drama: A Dream Within a Dream is unwatchable for me.

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Promising start, lackluster ending.

Although it was flawed and predictable, the first half of The Princess's Gambit was entertaining and showed great potential. I was impressed with the gorgeous costumes, the actors' chemistry, and how cut-throat the schemes were. Our main characters, Jiang Taohua and Shen Zaiye, were both intelligent and calculating, and I loved their cat-and-mouse dynamic. It felt like the start of a real enemies-to-lovers romance, their interactions being the highlight of each episode for me. I also appreciated that despite their obvious attraction to each other, their priorities were focused on their missions: Jiang Taohua's fight for her survival and her brother's safety, and Shen Zaiye's desires to dismantle the corruption in the court and seek revenge for the wrongs that were committed in the past. With such a premise, I was so sure this would become one of my favorite dramas of the summer.

Unfortunately, the second half of the story came and it took an uninspiring and lazy turn. Suddenly, there was a noticeable shift in the tone for the characters and a drop in consistency for the storytelling. The plot lost its clear direction and stalled, hindered by an unnecessary trope. Miscommunication, lies, and a lack of trust between the main characters caused the story to lose its momentum, diminishing the drama's overall engagement. And the character development... what character development? Jiang Taohua — who started out as a powerless but resourceful heroine that could overcome any obstacle thrown her way with just her wits and bravery — regressed into a helpless damsel in distress in this latter arc. And Shen Zaiye — who spent years plotting and was hard set on vengeance even if he had to tarnish his own reputation and become a villain to accomplish this— suddenly became fixated on solely Taohua and uncharacteristically sidelined his own ambitions until the last remaining episodes. The change in their personalities, shift in their goals, and losses of their sense of self were painfully disappointing to watch unfold.

The plot took a nose dive, and that should have been my cue to drop the drama, but I loved the characters and I wanted to believe that the scriptwriters could salvage the narrative by the end, so I stayed. Regrettably, things didn't go as I hoped and when I finally reached the last episode, I was just happy that the drama was finally over. I learned that a few of the main reasons why the drama felt so disjointed was because there were too many people involved in the scriptwriting process and the drama had deviated significantly from the novel — which made so much sense based on what I've watched. I was left pondering what the drama could've been like if the scriptwriters had stayed faithful to the source material. Perhaps we wouldn't have such a polarizing reception of the drama?

My final thoughts: The Princess's Gambit suffered from a weak script and poor directing. The actors did the best that they could with what was given to them. Sadly, their efforts were in vain because this ended up being a very mediocre drama filled with cliches, choppy editing, and plot holes. While certain aspects of the drama were still enjoyable and commendable, it fell short of becoming great. I feel bad for the actors, because I liked them as individuals and initially I also thought that they were magnetic on screen together. There was so much wasted potential. They deserve better, and I hope they can reunite in a future project, one with a higher quality script.

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The Princess’s Gumboot more like…

NB. Unlike the majority of my reviews this one contains mild spoilers.

To be honest, this drama suffered even more from the comparison to Nirvana in Fire which I’ve just finished watching. I described that as “sophisticated and intelligent” but unfortunately this one is lame, painful and naive. In reality it is a romance in the enemies to lovers trope wrapped up in an intrigue/mystery plot that has about as much twist and tension as a scrunchy. Because whatever happens, you know beforehand that it won’t cause much of a problem to our dashing, devilish hero who will emerge shining bright like a TRESemmé ad with his wig still immaculate.

How do I know that? Because a good plot is one where the odds have real bite and there is both winning and losing, so that the audience is left insecure. But when death is the only stake from the get go, two things become obvious: firstly there will be no gradual increasing of tension and anticipation, only more of the same; and secondly, the hero/heroine can never lose, whatever the circumstances; come hell fire, explosions, high water, incompetent assassins, miracle survivals, impossible escapes and of course, the compulsory memory loss.

Another consequence is a stupid, one dimensional villain, who has to mess it up every time. The character of Prince Wu You was bafflingly extreme and contradictory but not to worry, he was just the aperitif and was soon replaced by another one. Unfortunately, Prince Wu Yin was cut from the same cookie dough but had an added creepily erotic nanny fetish over the linchpin villain of the piece, whose most notable feature was her absence from the majority of the drama. The loss of the only credible villain, Meng Hui Jin about a third of the way through was a sad day for the plot. One wonders if having an opponent equal to the task was something the writer was not skilled enough to handle.

I wasn’t convinced by the love story either. In fact the writer’s level of emotional literacy throughout, especially in the characters of the villains, hovered around zero. If on first encountering someone they try to kill you, just believe me when I say, you really are never going to trust that person again. Then heap on top of that a huge number of dodgy scenarios and a great deal of warranted mistrust and you have an unredeemable situation. So to think that these psychological obstacles could in some way be cast aside (however much two people lust after each other) is totally naive and snuggled-up-safe-in-bed fantasy-land imagining. And there you have it, I suppose I’m just too old and grounded in reality to appreciate this style of storytelling. I assume that this is a known fact to people who choose to read my reviews (and I’m genuinely grateful to you for being one of them), so no surprises here, lol.

This wasn’t a low budget love story. There was a cast of thousands, a big costuming budget and all the trimmings which were on constant display (they’d got them, so they might as well use them type of attitude). Which might go some way to explaining why our intrepid heroine felt it necessary to still wear a barnet full of ornaments and a silk gown whilst rough travelling hundreds of miles on horseback to rescue her brother. But despite all that jingling finery, the drama still didn’t make the cut because the script and the plot was sooo bad.

It began with a perfectly acceptable high stakes drama (if I was generous, a 7.5) and then, almost purposefully, slid down the long slippery slope to end in the farce that was the coronation scene (now plummeted to a 5) before falling apart completely (which is how we arrived at 4). There were too many threads that were hanging loose and not bound together into a cohesive narrative. The last three episodes felt like having to clean up after a party—washing up the characters, vacuuming out the various plot rooms and polishing off the last dregs in the wine bottle just so you can keep going.

As for the dialogue, it was superficial, explainy and lacked any sort of subtlety or emotional intelligence. When characters start explaining their backstory to people who lived it with them, then you know the writer was chucking an all-nighter to get the scene finished before the dawn shoot and patch the holes made by the scenes that got cut earlier on. This happened throughout, but most cringeworthy was Empress Lv in Episode 34.

The acting wasn’t anything to write home about either. But then it’s difficult to excel with banal lines and wooden direction. It’s hard to pick a winner but I’ll back Lui Ling Zi’s performance as probably the best of a very average bunch.

And the soundtrack? Was there one? I’ve forgotten…

However, to end with, there are one or two things that attracted a favourable response from me. I really like the sets for this drama. Particularly the gambling den, with its rich colouring and ambitious costumes. Also the cinematography followed through on that theme, with some dramatic lighting that provided an interesting visual feast (which saved it from a 3.5).

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A Political Survival Drama with Brilliant Villains and a Slow-Burning Romance

I would classify Princess’s Gambit under the subgenre of political survival. It contains political drama, moral dilemmas, and a survival narrative. Because romance takes a backseat to the survival plot, it's understandable that many viewers misunderstood the drama and ended up disappointed, leading them to focus unfairly on flaws in the production and criticize a particular actress. I hope future viewers don’t fall into that problem and misjudge the drama without realizing what it truly tells. I invite you to look beyond the steamy romance and embrace the broader narrative context it offers.

Not Vague Title, Informing Us What to Anticipate

First, this drama is very clear what it is about from its title. It is not vague and abstract words. We have a weak and helpless princess (played by Meng Ziyi) in the beginning. The natural questions that follow this premise are: In this situation, how will she defend herself and achieve her purpose? The title of the drama describes the story's theme well. So, we know what to expect and anticipate as time goes on, that this will involve a battle of wit, scheme, and gamble to beat the opponents/ enemies under dangerous circumstances. And it does! People may argue about the effectiveness of every choice a character made. But it is good to see how a story doesn't betray its own title.

It Defies Several Common Drama Tropes

Contrary to popular belief that this drama is packed with clichés (such as an arranged political marriage, a damsel-like princess in distress, a cold and ruthless male lead with a traumatic past, and a typical family drama with multiple wives), what we actually get is quite different:

The princess, Jiang Taohua (JTH), takes control of her destiny by breaking free from her arranged marriage and scheming her way into marrying the most powerful political figure instead. She’s a sharp, resourceful woman who manages to survive in a hostile household, facing not only the environment around her but also the danger posed by the very man she married. Interestingly, she takes on the role of a double agent. On one hand, she poses as a spy for her evil stepmother, the Empress of Beiyuan (though in truth, it's all an act). On the other hand, she’s secretly carrying out her own mission: to save her younger brother.

Meanwhile, the main male character, Shen Zaiye (SZY), the Qi's chancellor, is far more layered and complex than expected. He has a sad past, but is not haunted by any trauma. Instead, he grows as a character (from a scholarly man to a martial artist and to a politician; from a bookish idealist to a realist pragmatist). Interestingly, the story presents us with an unreliable narrative stemming from JTH's perception of himself. His household is basically a harem with a legal wife and several concubines, but all of them are political pawns of their respective noble families. So, SZY distances himself from them and never touches them. Even, he let them fight each other and observe from afar.

Well-done Couple Development

SZY's relationship with JTH evolves gradually in a positive direction despite the ups and downs. They start from (1) lethal enemies (who want to kill each other), to (2) comrades united by a shared idealism (and acknowledging each other's good side), to (3) lovers still clouded by lingering distrust, to (4) once again strangers after an angsty separation, to (5) a team helping each other for a shared cause, and to finally, (6) a genuine husband and wife devoted to each other. Some viewers cannot stand numbers (3) and (4) patiently because they want to see a lovey-dovey husband and wife immediately. But if you hold on, you will get all the reasons behind SZY's deep love for JTH: the openness toward the unwanted, the willingness to understand, the pity and empathy, and redemption. These reasons make SZY's ultimate sacrifice to help JTH so heartfelt.

For JTH, maybe, the one thing that frustrates many viewers about her is that she is so late to appreciate SZY's goodwill, accept his helping hand, and value his presence. Of course, it prolongs the plot, which is bad. However, it is not without a lesson, and Cdrama has a tradition to teach love this bitter way. This trope reminds me of the ending of TMOPB (2017) (and some other dramas), which is pretty similar! The man should sacrifice his life and go for the woman to understand his worth and treat him in a better way. So, I don't blame the director and the writer of this drama. Maybe it is a cultural thing!

Beautiful Symbolism

Liu Xueyi as SZY plays his role so well and manages to handle every change in SZY's character from the beginning to the end. SZY's pragmatic ruthlessness and humility are his way to serve the emperor patiently. Without screaming "I want revenge!" and stabbing behind the emperor's back, he seeks ways to bring back justice and fairness in a lawful manner. Interestingly, he spends his free time alone, carving a wall with the figures of houses. As viewers, we don’t understand its meaning until the very end, only to discover that it’s a physical embodiment of his deepest will. What a powerful and shocking reveal. We saw his bravery in giving a fiery argument and his last counsel to the emperor. After his purpose is fulfilled, he resigns from his post to live the life as he wishes, no longer a political pawn to control the government. He left his physical house and left the symbolic houses he had lived/ carved for ten years.

Superb Villains' Arcs

Princess’s Gambit stands out for having some of the most well-crafted villain arcs ever presented in a drama of its tier! Even, it beats The Double and Blossom. Let's compare and contrast. In The Double (2024), Princess Wan Ning is murdered in the end, Shen Yu Rong commits suicide, and the evil mother goes crazy. In Blossom (2024), the evil Empress is just demoted and exiled, the prince is imprisoned, and the evil uncle of FL dies "righteously" to protect his patron. Those are not fair ends.

In Princess's Gambit, we get a full spectrum of villain types who end up working together as their interests intersect. Their alliance feels inevitable. We know what they want, how they are thinking and feeling, and how they are scheming. Also, how all of them met their demise is so satisfying. Wugou is the victim of his stupidity. Huaijin is the victim of blind loyalty to a wrong master. The Meng family head is forced to kill himself in prison, just as he did to Huaijin. Wuyin is dead for the love he craves. Meng Zhenzhen got a pardon due to her last merit, and it resonates with her genuine care for fellow women in her family. And, Empress Lv died in a most tragic and agonizing way. These villains’ stories form a complete circle, delivering clear moral consequences. There’s a satisfaction in seeing them punished in the very ways they once wronged others. They reap what they sowed. Their character traits and choices become their downfall.

I am satisfied with this drama as it has villains with qualities comparable to ML in terms of intelligence, resourcefulness, and power. It makes the clashes interesting to watch. We don't easily know who will win this game.

Storytelling Techniques

Some viewers are disappointed because the director doesn’t take enough care in showing the process behind key choices and outcomes. Certain plot points feel abrupt, with little buildup or explanation, often delivered only through brief flashbacks. Fortunately, the flashbacks aren’t filler, but they still fall short in providing satisfying narrative depth. To some extent, this method adds suspense and shock value. However, for viewers who enjoy analyzing character motivations, tracking cause and effect, and emotionally engaging with the unfolding events, it feels lacking. The drama demands that viewers watch closely, connect scattered dots, and use their imagination to fill in the gaps. This weakens the sense of immersion and reduces the overall flow experience. Ultimately, the series falls short in its storytelling technique.

Despite the weakness above, there is also a strength: Emotion and passion. They inject a dose of sensuality into SZY-JTH interactions when they are still enemies and lovers with distrust; the push and pull between husband and wife. It is a good compensation when we don't have a proper romantic relationship between them in the early part of the story. This sparks chemistry. In later episodes, when they are strangers again, they are less physical. There are no steamy scenes or passionate kisses, yet every gesture brims with emotion. Even their silence and gazes speak volumes about what is hidden in their hearts.

Production

This drama has balanced day and night times. Fun and playful moments happened during the day. Suspenseful and grittiest moments happened at night. That is wise! The darkness, the shadows, and the light from the sun and candles also highlight the emotion on the characters' faces and add more things to the atmosphere. The costumes are beautiful. The music, despite being sometimes loud, matches the emotion of a scene. And for the places and settings, we don't see repeated Hengdian studio or any other places we usually see in Cdrama. It gives some novelty.

Unfortunately, The Hated Tropes

It is hard to believe that they still use POISON and AMNESIA as plot devices! So many Cdramas use them! About poison, it is usually used as a wicked and powerful instrument of control, to set a limitation, a line must not be crossed, or you will die. However, if we think about it more, there is always something "magical" about it which defies rationality: the poison is the most lethal, and has no cure. Or, if it does have one, it involves a rare ingredient that demands a big sacrifice or great struggle, and that ingredient is a fantastical element! We don't know who creates it or where it originates.

And then there’s the amnesia. It's a trope often used to reset everything to zero. In Princess’s Gambit, while the cause of the memory loss is understandable, the story didn’t actually need real amnesia. It could’ve been far more compelling if this commonly disliked trope were reimagined as a deliberate act of deception, turning it into a strategic move. That would’ve better showcased the princess’s cunning and reinforced her role as a calculating survivor.

In the end...

Despite its imperfections, Princess’s Gambit is a rewarding drama for those who crave something beyond formulaic romance or palace/ political drama. It offers a rich tapestry of political maneuvering, complex character growth, villains with depth, and layered moral dilemmas. Don’t let surface-level tropes or missing exposition mislead you. Watch with attention, connect the dots, and you’ll discover a story that dares to explore trust, power, and loyalty in bitter yet beautiful ways. If you're tired of dramas that play it safe, this one might just surprise you, if you give it the patience it deserves.

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Strong Performances, Smart Plot, Soft Ending

Okay, this drama was actually pretty good—even if it’s not usually my style, it somehow kept me hooked. It’s got those enemy-to-lovers vibes, with a splash of revenge, family trauma (because of course), and a solid dose of character development and thrill—which I love.

Both main leads were smart (bless!), and I always appreciate it when their brains are as sharp as their swords. It’s the classic “my family was massacred and now I’m on a mission” storyline, but hey, it worked.

The only thing that left me unsatisfied was the ending. I really wanted more backstory on Empress Lv—like, what happened to her?? Why did she go full chaos mode? And honestly, the ending felt like someone pressed the “cut to credits” button too soon. If this were a transmigration drama, maybe I’d accept that kind of abrupt finale—but in a historical setting? It felt like I got robbed of emotional closure.

Where was the passing of the throne? Where was Qingtai and Zhanlu’s love story? Give me just one soft scene, please! And Taohua and Zaiye? I just wanted to see them sipping tea in peace, living their best post-war lives.

That said, the cast absolutely ate. Every single actor gave it their all, and I loved them for it. Would still recommend this to anyone who enjoys clever characters, beautiful chaos, and a little heartbreak on the side.

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A big disappointment

this drama started strong with great plot and character motives , in the middle it became flat and they dragged it out for a very long time and finally a very rushed ending .

they kept talking about how Hua or empress LV was vile and ruthless but we saw nothing like they gave her 10 minutes in the final episodes we wanted more but about her backstory we never got to know anything maybe some little details but it wasn't enough.

taohua needed to make her mind does she love zaiye or not the kept going back and forth and she leaving him for his own good so he doesn't get hurt It just dragged things out It wasn't good at all .

in the end when he wanted to save her so he took the poison was a stupid plot , I mean we get the FL to live but kill ML what is that .

they just wanted a sad ending for no reason , even at the end I don't get did he wake up or was she just dreaming "imagining" .

really disappointed , on the other hand acting , casting ,music and the plot at first were great.

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A Hidden Gem That Sparkles, Then Stumbles

Princess Gambit at first hooked me, because I usually found cdramas that push the stereotype of 'red flags' or 'enemies to lovers' onto the leads to be executed poorly in terms of its inconsistency (the 'enemies' phase between the leads is either cut too short or it isn't consistently represented in a way that really accentuates 'red flags' or 'enemies'), so when I tell you that this cdrama was an unexpected find that really gripped onto me-- it was initially like a hidden gem.

Both the leads are calculated and smart -- a dynamic that truly elevates the concept of 'enemies to lovers', let alone the increasing tension between the two. I love female leads that have wits and are steps ahead of their opponents, and Jiang Taohua exceptionally embodies it -- her overcoming numerous life-and-death occurrences under the guise of her pretentious facade with logic/reason backed by every move she makes is what makes her stand out. Likewise, their opponents such as Meng Huaijin or the Meng family in general are not to be overshadowed by as well -- their commitment to upholding their nobility accompanied by their shrewdness allows them to be pitted on a somewhat fair level against both the leads. The cdrama is generous in shedding light about how the world isn't simply just black or white but contains a lot of grey-ish shades in between. That being said, I frankly thought this show was not receiving as much as hype I would've wanted since the plot and the characters literally HOOK you from the very beginning.

BUT, after first half of watching the show, misunderstandings appear and a lot of plot holes/depth is missing to central characters. For instance, the show does a horrible job by portraying Empress Lv, a major character that is seen to be the 'final villain'. The show offers very little insight into her backstory, leaving viewers with only a handful of vague dialogues to understand her motives. Likewise, the prince entangled with her is underdeveloped; the show fails to explore why he was so deeply infatuated with her or what drove him to such extreme lengths on her behalf. The biggest misunderstanding that the show dragged horribly was Taohua's reluctance to accept Shen Zaiye's feelings even when it is obviously served on the platter. This not only feels repetitive but also undermines the emotional growth of both characters. Instead of creating meaningful tension, it becomes a tiring loop that stalls the plot and weakens the payoff of their eventual dynamic.

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Loving this no matter what people say ?

I finally finish all the episodes today July 11, 2025. Waiting for episode daily make me really impatient.

I really love this no matter what other people said or rate it. The story, the actors, and music are very beautiful and well made 👌. I love every interaction the main characters have with each other, their schemes, their cooperation, and especially their romantic parts 🥰. I do get little annoyed at the amnesia part, but when I watch carefully, it did somehow make sense into the story plot. Also, those evil characters do annoying me, which show that the actor's did very good job into the role which can make audiences hate that character they portrait. I also love how ml and fl didn't fall in love at first sight. Also, I love their pretending, I find its cute and funny and how later on it turn into true love when they learn about each other past and struggle. Some people might find it annoying, but i find it acceptable 😊. I love every scene of the main characters especially love scene 🤭 Okay, I'll stop here before my review get dragged into nonsense 😂

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A bad series, riddled with writer and director errors.

It was one of the worst series I've watched recently. It was completely fake. Nothing was complete; it was wrong, incomplete, flawed, completely unrealistic, and completely fake. I was hopeful at first because it featured Liue Xie Yi. I thought it couldn't possibly be a bad series. I wish I hadn't. It's a shame for this actress. Meng Zi Yi and her chemistry are zero. Meng Zi Yi is simply unsuitable for this series, this character. Her wide-eyed performance, her wide-eyed, angry, murderous gaze in every scene, whether positive or negative, her inability to adjust her gaze, and her coldness are the hallmarks of the series. There's supposedly love between the two; they're in love, to death. But I never saw it. Such a fake. I never felt it throughout the series. Aside from a couple of hugs, we never saw any closeness. They crammed some of that into the final episodes. Those were miles away from reality. It just didn't happen.
Princes aren't princes, Princesses aren't princesses, the queen isn't queen. She's the worst. While she's the prince's maid, I think she seduces the king of another country. She becomes his concubine and then kills the queen. Because these details aren't fully presented. They're fragmented. She's ruined a country like this. Not a single intelligent person is saying anything. How can a queen be so casually wandering around, having a secret affair with a prince, and worrying about petty things?
This queen and one of the princes are burning in a fire. Yet, the door is open. If she had left, she would have gone somewhere else. That's what we're shown. She escapes with only a slight burn on her cheek. The prince burns to death. Yet, there are people waiting outside. No one sees this woman leave. They watch. She returns to her country in this state. She continues her evil ways. It's completely lame.
The fight scenes are also lame. There are very obvious flaws. They're visible. They're filmed without seriousness. The series is full of fakery, soullessness, triviality, and carelessness. Everything but the actors is bad. The script, direction, costumes, and makeup are terrible. I gave it a 6,5, but I gave it to the actors. I gave it to the effort. It's a 5.5.
How do we understand mistakes? Let's say the princess is 10 years old and her teacher is 25. She trains them as children. The princess arrives at 25, the teacher arrives at 40, but she looks younger than the princess. Not a shred of makeup, no aging, not even a mustache. It shows a time 10 years later. Negligence, indifference.
The prince and princess relationship. They haven't seen each other since childhood. Let's say at least 10 years. There's no trace of longing. There's no warmth of reunion. It's distant, cold, and completely unprepared.
The state teacher receives a decree from the king. He's going to give it to the princess. He puts her to the test. If he accepts the decree during the test, the arrow moves, and a doctor shoots the woman. If he doesn't accept the decree, the woman is saved. The decree burns. The princess doesn't accept the decree. She saves the woman. You wonder who the woman is. The doctor who knows the princess's poison turns out to be. In that state, he starts making an antidote. Why does the teacher choose a doctor and a poison doctor instead of someone unqualified? Does anyone understand? I don't. Then this doctor cleans up their poison. In other words, he saves the princess and the chancellor. Especially in the final scene, they capture the empress. They would hold her, tie her up, make her talk, and punish her in some way. They could learn the antidote. But they don't. The empress is telling them a story. They listen. Then the plant from which the antidote is produced appears. The empress strikes the candlestick, and the plants instantly burn. It turns to ash. They can't save her. That's the kind of scene. The aftermath is even worse. The empress imprisons them. She leaves them in the middle of the fire. Good God, you know. You wonder who's saving them. The teacher does. So, the wounded, unsure, shabby, barely standing queen was about to kill the princess and the chancellor. They were saved by the half-dead teacher. A complete disgrace. An impossible scene. How can you make a series this bad? If someone sabotages it, this is all it will get. So, I congratulate these guys. I didn't like them. I congratulate the actors, except for Meng Zi. I didn't like her either. Meng Zi was the second or third lead. He's transitioned to lead acting, but he can't quite show the success he has in second and third roles here. My opinion: He needs to adjust his gaze. He shouldn't brag about his big eyes. He should learn to use them. He's used to the evil gaze. He constantly looks like that. He's wrong. He should play the villain opposite the lead actor. He'll go from success to success. It suits him. I'm sorry I criticized him so much. He should watch the series. He'll see for himself that it's not. Liu Xue Yi is quite good. I like her. Her face is an actor's. She plays it. She was very good. Liu Ling Zi played the villain, but in my opinion, she was better than Ming Zi. At least she looks good. Her posture and approach are much better. She's a more suitable candidate for the lead actor. Fang Jin Fan is an actress with potential. She has a pretty face. She's childish. Once she gets over that, she'll be a good actress too. Xu Jing Ya surprised me. It was her first drama, but I thought it was good. It'll happen. He needs a little more experience. I found Gao Han very successful. He was especially excellent in his scenes with Maggie Huang. He showed off his extreme obsession with her very well. Well done. By the way, I also found Maggie Huang successful. Bian Chang, Wang Jia Xuan, and Zhang Zeng Yang were standout actors.

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