Renaissance (2026)

Avoid… a complete disaster.

What a deception! I rarely rate a drama 1 but here we are…

Facts: Princess Agents (PA) incorporated supernatural elements. Rebirth featured fabricated events and storylines. PA was supposed to have a second season and not end on a bittersweet note. Rebirth was intended to be the sequel but became a completely different story from the novel and certainly not a logical follow-up to PA. Rebirth failed to satisfy in the romance department and concluded with a sad, unsatisfying ending that killed both FL and ML.

I never have preconceived notions before watching a drama. I was even excited. I didn’t care about the age gap but wondered how they would shoot the happy ending with a couple very much in love without physical interactions, but why not? I was open-minded; I’ve seen how prude Chinese directors can be and happy endings nonetheless. I never watch FL Tiantian on screen, and most of the others, except, of course, ML. I was curious—the same curiosity I had when Joy of Life S2 aired. Mostly because both stories are my favorite novels and dramas.

Well... that was a major slap in the face. Episode 1 was a complete mess. It felt like the cast was just out of school, reciting lines without conviction or trying too hard. Rebirth’s first episode started with a cliff of corpses (uh?) and ended in a mountain of ashes. My eyes rolled so much that I had to grab a bottle of XX (#sarcasm)

They completely missed the mark with the rebirth project—wrong casting, wrong scriptwriter, wrong director, wrong narrative. The PA audience expected logical continuity after the lake ending, with romance, a happy ending, and genuine chemistry between the leads. Instead, they cast a 17-year-old and a lead who is a decade older. She was praised for her knowledge and experience after being cast in PA… She was around 10 and shot only a few scenes as a young teen in PA, probably in just two days. What knowledge? What experience? Was she even allowed to read this novel, since there are references to sex encounters? Their choice wasn't based on her talent but rather her connection to Zhao Lying and PA. ML was hired for his popularity, and Yan Xun was cast based on his looks. There was absolutely zero chemistry between them.

Rebirth was announced as the sequel to Princess Agents. However, what they failed to mention was that all the unresolved questions—such as the supernatural spider-ice power, her origins, her love story with Zhuge Yue, Li Ce's unrequited love, and Yan Xun's lasting longing for her first love—were entirely ignored. Rebirth took the story in a different direction, with no romance. The forty-episode run ended on a disappointing, sad note, with both ML and FL dead. I am not sure why they chose to kill the main leads… definitive closure for this TV drama? Trying to gain more tears from the audience to end it dramatically?

They fail. Big time. In every major aspect. Casting, script, directing.

The only positive aspects are the martial arts, the scenic visuals, and some supporting cast members.

Many fans believe there is a popularity rivalry between Princess Agents and Rebirth. They are mistaken. Comparison is inevitable. Princess Agents was not a huge success when it aired, mainly because the novel's author was dealing with plagiarism issues. However, the cast, script, director, and OST were outstanding. The story was engaging from episode 1. The only issue was the final episode, which, as we know, ended on a bittersweet note with no resolution. It was not meant to have a different ending because season 2 was supposed to follow. Unfortunately, Season 2 never aired for various reasons, and the fans expressed their frustration loudly.

I compare this drama to someone expecting a luxurious meal and getting a sandwich instead… not worth it to watch.

I encourage you to watch Princess Agents and read the novel. Both have different narratives, but both are very addictive. Rebirth? What rebirth? It is certainly not a Phoenix but ashes.

Sidenote… On Douban (gereral rate 3), 90% of reviewers rated this drama 1 or 2 stars. They disliked or hated it. MDL rated it 7.5 up to mid-series then dropped to 6… with ratings on both platforms consistently declining each day.

Conclusion: a major failure.

***

Main Characters:

Novel:
All the events in PA and Rebirth are inspired by the novel, reflecting common practice. They borrow elements and adapt them for each celebrity cast in the dramas. What they notably failed to do in Rebirth was to show how emotionally broken Chu Qiao was when she left Yan Xun for good. She loved him as her first love, remained faithful and loyal, but after they escaped to Yanbei, he lost his humanity and turned his genuine love into possession. He also became jealous when she gained popularity and respect within his army (except among his close lieutenants, who had an agenda). The more he pushed her away with his actions and jealousy, the more he became a selfish tyrant. He was a broken man. He never recovered from her departure. He loved her, but his love was twisted.

Zhuge Yue fell for her because she was his favorite main servant. In the novel, he never taught her martial arts, but they later fell in love. When she left his house, she was about 9 or 10. She stayed confined with Yan Xun for 8 years, then they escaped to Yanbei. That age difference makes both dramas quite different, as Zhuge Yue waited 10 years before confessing his love. It took many years before she could finally admit she loved him.

Li Ce's love for her was never known to her while he was alive. She understood how much he protected her and loved her unconditionally. He definitely had many concubines, but he loved only two women in his life: one was dead, and Chu Qiao. He gave her everything, but he knew she didn't love him as a man, so he kept his love silent. When he was assassinated, she took over his empire and united it again. She saved his two children, fulfilling one of his last wishes and requests to her. I admit that I cried like a baby reading the chapters

Endings:

Novel: (very) happy
Princess Agent: bittersweet
Rebirth: sad

Novel:
Chu Qiao and Zhuge Hue become the king and queen of a northern kingdom in the mountains. There is no slavery in their kingdom. They have two children and one adopted child from Li Ce. Li Ce's second child is raised as the future emperor with strong support from Chu Qiao. It takes some time before they live together. They marry after they become a couple. (meaning they had sex before they married). Their sex life is very happy (lol) and Zhuge Yue never takes a concubine or another wife.

So, indeed, a happy ending for them.

Yan Cun remains alone in his vast palace. He's an emperor. He married and has an empress he doesn't care about at all, and he also has hundreds of concubines, many of whom look very much like Chu Qiao physically (sleep with them once and discard them). He ends up lonely, filled with mixed feelings of regret for his choices that drove Chu Qiao away, but he also understands that his desire for power, revenge, and jealousy took precedence. He never loved anyone else but her. His love was selfish and possessive. He placed her on a pedestal. They only ever shared one memorable, unique kiss—no sex. Some see it as obsessive, but I see it differently. I saw a man who lost his soul after the slaughter of his family, and only Chu Qiao was his savior. His lieutenants, jealous of Chu Qiao, fed him lies, and his jealousy took over… pushing her away. She lived alone in Yanbei for 2 years, and when her own army was in trouble because of Yan Xun, she left and never returned. After that, he met her in person once, but it was brief—mostly just looking into each other's eyes. Both understood it would be the last time they'd see each other. When he realized she loved Zhuge Yue, he tried to kill her on the battlefield—not himself—by sending groups. If she couldn't love him, nobody would. Of course, he failed. Yan Xun achieved his goal of becoming the emperor of Yanbei and killed thousands of enemies, until the last option to keep the Yanbei empire alive was to sign a peace treaty. Everyone feared him; nobody loved him. He was utterly alone, missing her and thinking of her.

***

The novel has under 300 chapters, and many full translations are available—some of okay quality, others less so. Dissatisfied with what I found, I decided to proofread and edit it myself, but it isn't complete yet. I am also working on other novels like Joy of Life, Word of Honor (BL), and other romances, as well as Xianxia. As a human editor, not relying on AI, I update slowly but consistently. *The link to my blog is in my profile* 😉

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Messy Sequel

First of all I only watched this cuz LYR was in it and the story was kinda interesting at first even though there were plenty of messy parts but ML and FL acting was really good some are saying they don't feel the chemistry but ig it's cuz they can't freely do pure romance cuz of FL actresses age.
I'm genuinely so disappointed of the times I even defended this drama on diff soc med platforms just for it to go downhill after 30+ eps and I actually really do like the Ximeng part UNTIL THEY MADE IT MORE COMPLICATED 😭💔.
Tbh Idc what anyone says but FL keeps making irrational and SELFISH decisions like I just don't get how u lit save each other and have the chance to be together BUT STILL DID NOT CHOOSE THAT 🤦‍♀️ like I'm career driven person myself but if I truly love someone and they sacrifice a lot for me, then why the heck not ill choose them over anything else.

Also the freaking ambitious ending oh fck noh 🙄 all that sacrifice and blood just for an open ending like btch it's straight up dog sht.

But overall I think the FL despite her age she's still incredibly talented and I hope she gets to have a proper drama cuz this drama made her a scapegoat. I truly feel bad on all the hate she's getting instead of blaming the writers and director.

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