This review may contain spoilers
Wasted Potential for Weixuan’s Character
After watching The Princess Royal, I finally understand why its rating is low despite having an interesting premise. Three main characters experience reincarnation: Li Rong (FL), Pei Weixuan (ML), and Su Rongqing (SML). Unfortunately, the plot and character development feel weak.
1. FL & SML Did Not Learn from Their Past Lives
-Li Rong already knew that Su Rongqing was the one who killed her in her past life, yet in her second life, she still trusted him without trying to uncover the reason behind his betrayal from the start.
-She also did not attempt to investigate what really happened in the palace before, even though Pei Weixuan could have helped explain everything. If she still doubted him, she could have investigated on her own, but she only started digging for the truth after Rongqing explained things to her in episode 34.
-Additionally, by episode 3, Li Rong already knew that she had betrayed Pei Weixuan in her past life, yet she showed no remorse and still failed to realize her mistake.
-When she finally learned that her killer was her own brother, she felt deeply betrayed and devastated. However, she never once considered how Pei Weixuan must have felt when she betrayed him before. This felt completely illogical. If I were Li Rong, I would have kneeled before Weixuan and begged for forgiveness because he was the only truly loyal person by her side, yet she caused his died.
2. SML Did Not Learn from His Past Mistakes
-In his past life, Su Rongqing already witnessed how greedy nobles caused chaos. However, in his second life, instead of working to eliminate corrupt officials, he supported Li Cheng (the son of Consort Rhou) in ascending the throne, despite knowing that Consort Rhou was also greedy and untrustworthy.
-Rather than seeking a solution to remove these corrupt officials, he ended up strengthening their influence instead.
3. Weak Overall Plot
-Character motivations, except for Pei Weixuan’s, felt weak and unclear.
In his second life, Pei Weixuan simply wanted to avoid disappointing Li Rong, but he still stayed on the right path. He guided the Crown Prince to make better decisions and helped Li Rong avoid trusting the wrong people again.
However, FL (Li Rong) and SML (Su Rongqing) lacked clear motivations. What exactly were they trying to achieve in their second lives?
-Su Rongqing wanted his country to be stable and his family to be safe by supporting Li Cheng, but his methods only placed his family in greater danger due to his rebellion.
-Li Rong also lacked a strong purpose in her second life.
4. Wasted Potential for Weixuan’s Character
It’s a shame that Weixuan’s intelligence and investigative skills were barely explored.
-For example, when he retrieved the account book to save the Qin family, the scene was glossed over with no detailed explanation, making him seem like a mere background character. Meanwhile, unnecessary scenes like Rongqing giving flowers to Li Rong were shown, when it would have been much more interesting to see how Weixuan escaped from the traitors.
-If Weixuan’s clever strategies in handling corrupt officials had been explored, his character could have been far more compelling—similar to Xie Wei in Kunning Palace.
-He played a crucial role as an advisor to both the Emperor (Li Rong’s father) and later the Crown Prince, but unfortunately, his potential was underutilized.
Conclusion
Overall, The Princess Royal had a promising premise but failed in execution. The main characters did not learn from their past lives, their motivations were unclear, and many elements that could have been developed further were left unexplored.
Rating: 6.5/10
Highlight: The interactions between Weixuan and Li Rong were adorable and worth to watch hehe
1. FL & SML Did Not Learn from Their Past Lives
-Li Rong already knew that Su Rongqing was the one who killed her in her past life, yet in her second life, she still trusted him without trying to uncover the reason behind his betrayal from the start.
-She also did not attempt to investigate what really happened in the palace before, even though Pei Weixuan could have helped explain everything. If she still doubted him, she could have investigated on her own, but she only started digging for the truth after Rongqing explained things to her in episode 34.
-Additionally, by episode 3, Li Rong already knew that she had betrayed Pei Weixuan in her past life, yet she showed no remorse and still failed to realize her mistake.
-When she finally learned that her killer was her own brother, she felt deeply betrayed and devastated. However, she never once considered how Pei Weixuan must have felt when she betrayed him before. This felt completely illogical. If I were Li Rong, I would have kneeled before Weixuan and begged for forgiveness because he was the only truly loyal person by her side, yet she caused his died.
2. SML Did Not Learn from His Past Mistakes
-In his past life, Su Rongqing already witnessed how greedy nobles caused chaos. However, in his second life, instead of working to eliminate corrupt officials, he supported Li Cheng (the son of Consort Rhou) in ascending the throne, despite knowing that Consort Rhou was also greedy and untrustworthy.
-Rather than seeking a solution to remove these corrupt officials, he ended up strengthening their influence instead.
3. Weak Overall Plot
-Character motivations, except for Pei Weixuan’s, felt weak and unclear.
In his second life, Pei Weixuan simply wanted to avoid disappointing Li Rong, but he still stayed on the right path. He guided the Crown Prince to make better decisions and helped Li Rong avoid trusting the wrong people again.
However, FL (Li Rong) and SML (Su Rongqing) lacked clear motivations. What exactly were they trying to achieve in their second lives?
-Su Rongqing wanted his country to be stable and his family to be safe by supporting Li Cheng, but his methods only placed his family in greater danger due to his rebellion.
-Li Rong also lacked a strong purpose in her second life.
4. Wasted Potential for Weixuan’s Character
It’s a shame that Weixuan’s intelligence and investigative skills were barely explored.
-For example, when he retrieved the account book to save the Qin family, the scene was glossed over with no detailed explanation, making him seem like a mere background character. Meanwhile, unnecessary scenes like Rongqing giving flowers to Li Rong were shown, when it would have been much more interesting to see how Weixuan escaped from the traitors.
-If Weixuan’s clever strategies in handling corrupt officials had been explored, his character could have been far more compelling—similar to Xie Wei in Kunning Palace.
-He played a crucial role as an advisor to both the Emperor (Li Rong’s father) and later the Crown Prince, but unfortunately, his potential was underutilized.
Conclusion
Overall, The Princess Royal had a promising premise but failed in execution. The main characters did not learn from their past lives, their motivations were unclear, and many elements that could have been developed further were left unexplored.
Rating: 6.5/10
Highlight: The interactions between Weixuan and Li Rong were adorable and worth to watch hehe
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