This review may contain spoilers
A Masterclass in How Not to Write… Anything. Plot Holes So Big Even the Emperor Could Fall Through
If endurance were an Olympic sport, finishing The Princess Gambit would qualify me for a bronze medal… and a lifetime of trauma counseling. This drama is a spectacular misfire: a perfect storm of convoluted plotting, psychologically incoherent characters, and technical missteps that demands the complete annihilation of a viewer’s disbelief.
Let’s start with the plot, which seems to have been assembled by a committee of sleep-deprived squirrels.
We are told a decade passes between the FL’s forced marriage and her reunion with her brother. Ten years! Yet, everyone (save the brother, who alone looks suitably traumatized given how much he appears to have aged) behaves as if maybe 18 months have passed.
Time isn't just a flat circle here; it's a lie. This is merely the first in a series of glaring loopholes that define the narrative.
Then we have the backstory of the Beiyuan queen, which deserves its own wuxia comic entitled The Impossible Woman.
She’s a legendary escape artist / torture survivor / revenge mastermind / palace seductress / long-term assassin.
She escapes Country Qi, is tortured into disability + infertility by a mysterious VIP (later revealed as the Emperor), charms her way into his bed, and slowly poisons him for decades.
Somewhere in this saga, she’s also the lifelong love of Country Qi’s 3rd prince - a bond formed when he was a boy and she his servant.
Given the massive age gap, this woman is either aging backwards or running on pure plot armor and Botox. Honestly, respect though, she’s more resilient than 90% of Marvel superheroes.
Speaking of the 3rd prince… good lord.
A teenage crush so powerful it transforms him into a full-time murderer and part-time psychopath.
He slaughters family and strangers alike for a woman he’s seen maybe a handful of times.
Romeo and Juliet walked so this unhinged man could sprint off a cliff.
His devotion isn’t convincing; it’s a narrative mandate that turns him into an idiotic psychopath in service of a cold-blooded and nonsensical revenge plot.
The drama then leans heavily on yawn-inducing, amateur tropes.
Behold the FL Misunderstanding Cycle™: tortured, betrayed, and emotionally brutalized by the ML until… Oops! He thinks she’s dead and transforms overnight into the “most devoted husband ever, ever so ready to lay down his life.” The emotional whiplash is faster than my fast-forward button.
And let’s return to our Evil Queen, who clearly earned a PhD in Strategic Stupidity. To kill the FL and friends, she attempts to burn down her own city, ignoring civilians, political fallout, and the fact her psycho boyfriend is inside. The writers aimed for cold-blooded but landed on idiotic psychopath (so in this sense, these two silly psychos are a match made in heaven).
It’s not cunning; it’s chaotic nonsense that pushes a plot already on life support completely off a cliff.
The lovelines are equally amateur and unconvincing, generating all the chemistry of two damp towels leaning against each other.
But the true coup de grâce? The production.
The makeup is horrible: cakey, ghostly, and unflattering, making the entire cast look ill. The female lead looked wide-eyed 90% of the time (which is kinda creepy cos she doesn’t seem to blink much) while the male lead looks brooding (it’s like he has something on his mind. Permanently. Maybe he’s wondering about his drama choices 🤷♀️)
Paired with acting that oscillates between wooden and melodramatic, it creates the aesthetic of a lavishly funded high-school play. It constantly breaks immersion, reminding you you’re watching a struggle against underwhelming material.
By Episode 15, my fast-forward button glowed red-hot. I watched at max speed, skipped chunks, and still rolled my eyes enough to strain them.
But because I’m cursed with the need to finish what I start, I forced myself through every last absurd episode. My poor eyes. My wasted hours.
Final Verdict:
★☆☆☆☆
One star - A case study in how not to construct a drama. Recommended only for masochists, or those seeking validation that their critical eye is still sharp.
Conclusion: If you enjoy plot holes large enough to swallow a royal palace, characters allergic to logic, and makeup that could double as Halloween special effects, then The Princess Gambit is for you.
Otherwise… run. Fast. And don’t look back.
Let’s start with the plot, which seems to have been assembled by a committee of sleep-deprived squirrels.
We are told a decade passes between the FL’s forced marriage and her reunion with her brother. Ten years! Yet, everyone (save the brother, who alone looks suitably traumatized given how much he appears to have aged) behaves as if maybe 18 months have passed.
Time isn't just a flat circle here; it's a lie. This is merely the first in a series of glaring loopholes that define the narrative.
Then we have the backstory of the Beiyuan queen, which deserves its own wuxia comic entitled The Impossible Woman.
She’s a legendary escape artist / torture survivor / revenge mastermind / palace seductress / long-term assassin.
She escapes Country Qi, is tortured into disability + infertility by a mysterious VIP (later revealed as the Emperor), charms her way into his bed, and slowly poisons him for decades.
Somewhere in this saga, she’s also the lifelong love of Country Qi’s 3rd prince - a bond formed when he was a boy and she his servant.
Given the massive age gap, this woman is either aging backwards or running on pure plot armor and Botox. Honestly, respect though, she’s more resilient than 90% of Marvel superheroes.
Speaking of the 3rd prince… good lord.
A teenage crush so powerful it transforms him into a full-time murderer and part-time psychopath.
He slaughters family and strangers alike for a woman he’s seen maybe a handful of times.
Romeo and Juliet walked so this unhinged man could sprint off a cliff.
His devotion isn’t convincing; it’s a narrative mandate that turns him into an idiotic psychopath in service of a cold-blooded and nonsensical revenge plot.
The drama then leans heavily on yawn-inducing, amateur tropes.
Behold the FL Misunderstanding Cycle™: tortured, betrayed, and emotionally brutalized by the ML until… Oops! He thinks she’s dead and transforms overnight into the “most devoted husband ever, ever so ready to lay down his life.” The emotional whiplash is faster than my fast-forward button.
And let’s return to our Evil Queen, who clearly earned a PhD in Strategic Stupidity. To kill the FL and friends, she attempts to burn down her own city, ignoring civilians, political fallout, and the fact her psycho boyfriend is inside. The writers aimed for cold-blooded but landed on idiotic psychopath (so in this sense, these two silly psychos are a match made in heaven).
It’s not cunning; it’s chaotic nonsense that pushes a plot already on life support completely off a cliff.
The lovelines are equally amateur and unconvincing, generating all the chemistry of two damp towels leaning against each other.
But the true coup de grâce? The production.
The makeup is horrible: cakey, ghostly, and unflattering, making the entire cast look ill. The female lead looked wide-eyed 90% of the time (which is kinda creepy cos she doesn’t seem to blink much) while the male lead looks brooding (it’s like he has something on his mind. Permanently. Maybe he’s wondering about his drama choices 🤷♀️)
Paired with acting that oscillates between wooden and melodramatic, it creates the aesthetic of a lavishly funded high-school play. It constantly breaks immersion, reminding you you’re watching a struggle against underwhelming material.
By Episode 15, my fast-forward button glowed red-hot. I watched at max speed, skipped chunks, and still rolled my eyes enough to strain them.
But because I’m cursed with the need to finish what I start, I forced myself through every last absurd episode. My poor eyes. My wasted hours.
Final Verdict:
★☆☆☆☆
One star - A case study in how not to construct a drama. Recommended only for masochists, or those seeking validation that their critical eye is still sharp.
Conclusion: If you enjoy plot holes large enough to swallow a royal palace, characters allergic to logic, and makeup that could double as Halloween special effects, then The Princess Gambit is for you.
Otherwise… run. Fast. And don’t look back.
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