This review may contain spoilers
Emotional Roller Coaster - nothing "light" about this drama
Lighter and Princess is a polarizing Chinese drama that splits audiences—some love it enough to give it a 10/10, while others really dislike it. In the review string I was looking at I would say it was about 75% rated it really high and 25% rated it low with an insignificant number in the middle. I landed right in the middle though. To me an 8/10 means it is good just not great. It’s very heavy on drama with a darker, serious tone and almost no comedy or light-hearted moments. The romance is an extremely slow burn (the kind where you start wondering if they’ll ever truly get together), which will appeal strongly to fans of that style but can feel frustrating if you prefer better balance. The main girl (Zhu Yun) is interesting—she’s firm and decisive with everyone else but becomes more of a pushover when it comes to him (Li Xun). Their dynamic starts with mutual dislike and bickering, but it’s easy to see the direction things are heading. The show has strong emotional weight and reminded me of the gut-wrenching parental disapproval vibes from shows like "The Heirs" and "Meteor Garden". Production and chemistry are solid, and it builds a loyal fanbase among those who enjoy intense, slower-paced stories. That said, I wouldn’t rewatch it. The slow pacing and the male lead’s type made it a struggle to get through at times, even though I appreciated many aspects. If you like heavy drama, darker romance, and don’t mind a very gradual build, this could be for you. Otherwise, it might drag you down emotionally. My daughter (30s), my drama watching buddy, quit at episode four. She said it was just too boring to her.
Spoilers
The structure of the series really tested my patience. I am not a flash back fan and to have a large portion of the story told as a flashback almost made me quit. So, if you like me, want to know when it will finally stop flashing ack (like seriously it goes on for about 20 episodes - that is a long flash back). I also was losing patience with their romance. They finally get together during their college years around episode 18. The events leading to his (Li Xun) prison time happen around episode 22. Then it switches back to the present day about halfway through episode 23. If you consider that it is easy to understand how someone would get rage quit level frustrated with the structure and pace of the series. So you are glad they finally together in their college days and waiting for it to switch back to present time. But when it finally switches back to present time they are broken up and it felt like they just finally got together a couple of episodes ago. And this was another grueling pacing thing of waiting for them to get together again. They don’t properly reunite as a couple again until quite late—around episode 33 or so. I had to spoiler myself by looking at review sites on the general flow because I was seriously considering dropping it midway. So, one of my biggest gripes was the structure and pacing.
Li Xun is arrogant (as many geniuses are), but that arrogance creates real friction. Old Gao (Gao Jianhong) had a massive inferiority complex toward him, which drove a lot of the betrayal and drama. It was refreshing to see the colleagues at the video game company react differently—they felt lucky to have these two brilliant talents join instead of feeling threatened.
The parental disapproval, especially from her mom (Zhu Yun’s mom), is brutal and very Meteor Garden-esque. I really wanted her mom to have a clear realization that her controlling behavior contributed to Zhu Yun’s serious depression episode, but that never fully materialized. There’s a vague sense it might improve slowly in the future, but it’s not shown. I also wished Li Xun had been more open: he never fully explained to her parents (or even clearly to Zhu Yun) the real reasons behind everything—being kicked out of school, the hacking incident (which he did desperately for his mom’s sake, not intending the extreme grade changes), and especially correcting the cruel things he said right before prison. He should have dropped the pride and told her straight that he never found her annoying or hated her attention. That lack of full vulnerability hurt the emotional payoff for me. On the positive side, I loved that Zhu Yun finally stood up to her mom, clearly stating it wasn’t her choice who she was with.
The main levity in the story came from the characters surrounding the main couple. The boss at the new company going to bat for them with her dad was great, and the company itself becoming like a found family was one of the warmer elements. I enjoyed that aspect of the series a lot. The friendships.
The title and imagery (“Lighter and Princess”) are beautiful—especially the lighter motifs and how she carries herself like a haughty princess early on. It was not at all what I expected from the title or the few previews I had scene. It had a revenge plot running through that I entirely did not expect.
As an empath, the show was emotionally exhausting. Li Xun’s frequent sadness and loneliness were hard to watch, and his coldness toward Zhu Yun at times made it tougher. I needed those resolutions (like clearer communication and family acceptance) to feel better about the rollercoaster, but some of them never fully came. A scene showing them with a child and her parents as happy, smiling grandparents would have been perfect closure.
The lighter funny moments were mostly the computer nerds hacking into each other’s screens right next to them—that was cute.
Overall, it’s a lot. Strong in many ways, but the pacing, emotional weight, and incomplete resolutions kept it from being higher than 8/10 for me.
Spoilers
The structure of the series really tested my patience. I am not a flash back fan and to have a large portion of the story told as a flashback almost made me quit. So, if you like me, want to know when it will finally stop flashing ack (like seriously it goes on for about 20 episodes - that is a long flash back). I also was losing patience with their romance. They finally get together during their college years around episode 18. The events leading to his (Li Xun) prison time happen around episode 22. Then it switches back to the present day about halfway through episode 23. If you consider that it is easy to understand how someone would get rage quit level frustrated with the structure and pace of the series. So you are glad they finally together in their college days and waiting for it to switch back to present time. But when it finally switches back to present time they are broken up and it felt like they just finally got together a couple of episodes ago. And this was another grueling pacing thing of waiting for them to get together again. They don’t properly reunite as a couple again until quite late—around episode 33 or so. I had to spoiler myself by looking at review sites on the general flow because I was seriously considering dropping it midway. So, one of my biggest gripes was the structure and pacing.
Li Xun is arrogant (as many geniuses are), but that arrogance creates real friction. Old Gao (Gao Jianhong) had a massive inferiority complex toward him, which drove a lot of the betrayal and drama. It was refreshing to see the colleagues at the video game company react differently—they felt lucky to have these two brilliant talents join instead of feeling threatened.
The parental disapproval, especially from her mom (Zhu Yun’s mom), is brutal and very Meteor Garden-esque. I really wanted her mom to have a clear realization that her controlling behavior contributed to Zhu Yun’s serious depression episode, but that never fully materialized. There’s a vague sense it might improve slowly in the future, but it’s not shown. I also wished Li Xun had been more open: he never fully explained to her parents (or even clearly to Zhu Yun) the real reasons behind everything—being kicked out of school, the hacking incident (which he did desperately for his mom’s sake, not intending the extreme grade changes), and especially correcting the cruel things he said right before prison. He should have dropped the pride and told her straight that he never found her annoying or hated her attention. That lack of full vulnerability hurt the emotional payoff for me. On the positive side, I loved that Zhu Yun finally stood up to her mom, clearly stating it wasn’t her choice who she was with.
The main levity in the story came from the characters surrounding the main couple. The boss at the new company going to bat for them with her dad was great, and the company itself becoming like a found family was one of the warmer elements. I enjoyed that aspect of the series a lot. The friendships.
The title and imagery (“Lighter and Princess”) are beautiful—especially the lighter motifs and how she carries herself like a haughty princess early on. It was not at all what I expected from the title or the few previews I had scene. It had a revenge plot running through that I entirely did not expect.
As an empath, the show was emotionally exhausting. Li Xun’s frequent sadness and loneliness were hard to watch, and his coldness toward Zhu Yun at times made it tougher. I needed those resolutions (like clearer communication and family acceptance) to feel better about the rollercoaster, but some of them never fully came. A scene showing them with a child and her parents as happy, smiling grandparents would have been perfect closure.
The lighter funny moments were mostly the computer nerds hacking into each other’s screens right next to them—that was cute.
Overall, it’s a lot. Strong in many ways, but the pacing, emotional weight, and incomplete resolutions kept it from being higher than 8/10 for me.
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