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I wasn’t sure if I’d like this drama, but it turned out to be a sweet surprise, even if it had a few major hiccups towards the end.

The story

Princess Li Rong and Pei Wen Xuan, a commoner from a respectable family of officials, married at the age of 18.

Their marriage began with love and hope but quickly devolved into suspicion and bitterness when palace intrigue took over their lives.

Wen Xuan can only watch helplessly as Li Rong takes in a fallen nobleman, Su Rong Qing, as a companion, and divorces him in all but name.

After 20 years in a loveless marriage, their lives end at each other’s hands because of vicious court politics.

But after dying, the two inexplicably “wakes up” as their 18-year-old selves. Can Pei Wen Xuan and Li Rong redo their lives and avoid their tragic fates?

Characters

Li Rong – the crown princess. The emperor asks her to choose a man as her consort from a list of suitors; many of them were not considered ideal candidates. Li Rong believes that she chose badly in her first life and wants to correct that now that she’s given a second chance.

Pei Wenxuan – He doesn’t hail from one of the great houses and is considered a “representative of the common people”. He finds himself unexpectedly winning the hand of the crown princess in his first life. Will he do the same in his second life?

Li Chuan – The crown prince. Devoted to his sister but disdained by his father, the emperor.

Su Rongqing – A promising young official from one of the great houses.

Su Rongyang – unlike his younger brother, Rongqing, Rongyang has chosen to lead a more carefree life free of court politics.

Shangguan Ya – the eldest daughter of the powerful Shangguan family, the power behind the throne, she is more than a demure lady.

ThoughtsWhat I liked

Zhang Ling He’s performance is a lot better here than in the Story of Kunning Palace, and I think they made the right choice to dub him because I wasn’t keen for a repeat of his robotic performance.
The leads had good chemistry and for the first time I wished they had pushed the boundaries and made them more expressive of that chemistry. (I want more steamy scenes, okay??)
The story acknowledged that there’s no black and white decisions in life, and that people are not entirely evil or good. Sometimes, they are forced to make decisions that are evil due to survival or desperation. It doesn’t make it right, but it makes them understandable.
Knowing what we know of what really happened to Shangguan Ya and Su Ronghua in their past lives, I’m really glad for their second chance.
It’s a hoot to see so many Joy of Life cast members here!

What I didn’t like

I really didn’t like the background music, it is bland, too modern and out of place.
I’m very impressed with the actress playing Shangguan Ya – she balances her playful and ruthless sides very deftly.
The rebellion towards the end looked very small and not very convincing.
The last arc was chaotic and Su Rong Qing’s arc overstayed its welcome to the point beyond its natural limits, to the point of usurping Pei Wanxian’s screen time. Sadly, towards the end, he became a side character in his own story.
Compared to Li Rong, Pei Wanxian wasn’t as complex or layered a character. Tragically, even Su Rong Qing was a more complex character compared to him. It was very different in the novel. He was, honestly, too much of a simp here.
The special episode was chaotic even if it was sweet. It just felt very out of tone with the rest of the drama. (The special is actually quite close to the novel’s extras). This is one of the rare times I wished the writers did something different instead. As I had to pay to watch it, it was not a very satisfying purchase for me.

ConclusionShangguan Ya and Su Rongyang, the other couple I was rooting for.

All in all, The Princess Royal was actually an entertaining enough drama, and its strength lay in the exploration of complex characters and their motivations.

However, I can understand why novel readers are upset.

For one, the romance never rose beyond “sweet romance” when the novel was very much not a sweet, teenage romance but a mature one with our characters doing adult things.

Sure, Chinese dramas will never go that far to show full-blown steamy scenes, but Legend of Shen Li managed to show that level of depth without it becoming soft porn.

In the end, the drama was still “good enough” but one can’t help but wonder if it could’ve been better if they tried to be more gritty.

Final rating: 8

https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/08/22/the-princess-royal-review/

#CDrama #CDramas #China #ChineseDrama #CostumedDrama

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