Best Chinese Historical Drama of The Year
Before watching:1) Who is the actor playing the Male Lead character, Xiao Qi/Yuzhang Wang?
I did compared him with Ye Hua (Mark Chao) and Dong Hua (Vengo Gao) from The Eternal Love & Eternal Love of Dream at first. But I guess I was so wrong this time and seeing is believing indeed. Although I wasn't convinced watching an unknown Male Lead in the beginning, but from the very first episode I must say Zhou Yiwei really swept me off my feet. Totally, completely & absolutely perfect for the role and no other actor can play the character of Xiao Qi better than Zhou Yiwei, in my most honest opinion.
P/S: Zhou Yiwei deserves an Oscar for his performance throughout the whole drama! If not Oscar, well Best Male Actor of 2021 also will do... ;-)
2) Based on the novel, Wang Xuan/A'wu/Princess Shangyang was supposed to be around 15-16 years old at the beginning of the show, but played by 38 years old Zhang Zi Yi at the time of filming. Will there be any issue?
Totally not, from my humble opinion. Zhang Zi Yi look much younger than her actual age with her slim and slender figure, youthful & gorgeous complexion and her energy level that was as good as always. Although of course, she won't be able to look just like a 15 year old lady but she really did aged beautifully and certainly "a pleasant to the eye" kind of heroine still. Her portrayal as A'wu was undeniably good and her chemistry with the male lead, Zhou Yiwei who played Xiao Qi was SPLENDID! From this couple, we can learn a lot about what an ideal marriage would look like and how gentleman gestures can impress a lady much more than we thought.
P/S: Xiao Qi character was so well developed and played, a very rare encounter for Male Lead role in a drama and is second to none by far while Zhang Zi Yi performance perfectly balanced the role as his Princess Consort. :-)
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Un magnifique drama
j’ai été attiré par les magnifiques costumes ! À tel point que j’en ai pris beaucoup en photo pour pouvoir les repeindre. c’est vraiment super Inspirant. Les couleurs sont très bien choisies, Ça donne un univers très harmonieux. ensuite, les acteurs jouent très bien, J’adore l’actrice principale, et même les second personnages masculins sont très charismatique, c’est agréable de voir des acteurs bien joué. le seul petit bémol était sur la fin que je ne trouve pas travaillé, J’aurais voulu en savoir plus, mais je ne regrette pas du tout de l’avoir vu.Was this review helpful to you?
Rebel Princess
For a drama with 68 episodes, the pacing was very good. The costumes, cinematography, the acting are great. This drama has political power struggles, intense fight scenes, betrayal, romance, greed and an incestuous royal family.The cast is good. Even though it's not the popular baby faced regular eye candy, their performance was spectacular and each character has their own unique charm and attractiveness.
The ML and FL are both intelligent. ML is a powerful general and FL is initially a spoilt Princess that I find to be a bit naive throughout the drama. Both are determined to change their fate ( being pawns in the power struggle...which I guess makes her a rebel) and despite coming from different social backgrounds they grow to love and respect each other. They had good chemistry. The scenes with them together are limited, however when together the moments are usually sweet.
The major obvious villians have perished or were punished. However, I feel the end was a bit rushed and leaves some questions. We see that the FL' s brother is the new Prime Minister so he is obviously calling the shots, but who takes care of the infant emperor? What happened to those corrupt noble ministers? ( Did they just become saints and escape punishment) Will the emperor be required to still marry from the Wang family when he is of age?
The ML and FL get a happy ending, so overall its a good watch.
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It is also nice to see older and mature actors doing a movie that is currently pretty popular especially outside of China.
Too bad that the newer generation is not familiar with the ZZY great movie career.
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Episode 34: The Medicinal Kiss
episode #34:---------------------- between a handsome prince and a warrior husband with zest in romance (both have similar personality except the "zest") --- I'll take the husband without doubt. Husband got a humble face and that's the way I liked it. Ahhh and what a "MEDICINAL" kiss too --- where can I find a husband like this?????? I know, it's a make-believe relationship, but women dig it .............................................................................................................. warrior hubby soooooooo loving
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The premise: as long as you center your country and your family, contentment is possible even in the midst of adversity.
The male lead, Xiao Qi, enters the story already perfect and understanding this lesson, Wang Xuan (female lead) rapidly learns this as well within the first 20 episodes. Then they just perfectly go along, essentially completely in sync with each other as they try to deal with all the corrupt, insecure characters around them.
The acting is excellent and I was fully invested in them as characters. Even though there are dozens of characters, I could keep track of them all, and I was as interested in the side plot lines as I was the main ones. I will say, whether due to the script or direction, no acting scenes stand out to me.
The music is competent, I would not rewatch. I grade on other criteria as well:
Complex Themes: 6.5
Centering your country and your family is what results in a contented life and a dignified death, centering ones ego, ambition and desire leads to discontent and eventually catastrophe. The burdens of life are easier with a life partner.
Character Growth: 7
There is a fair amount of development early on as the care-free, childhood friends are tested by the stressors and complexity around them. Within the first 1/3 of the show, however, their characterizations grow rigid.
Relationships among Women: 7.5
There is a good amount of screen time for older women, and some decent friendship and interactions between women. They are almost always, however, about the men in their lives.
Production Budget/Cinematography: 8.5
A lot of money was spent, lots of outdoor scenes, as well as extravagant sets, constant costume changes, lots of extras etc. Oddly, however, it wasn't particularly creative or beautiful, scenes don't linger in my mind.
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Great Drama.
Great drama, definitely worth watching. I found it difficult to watch older actors playing their adolescent selves, to begin with, but once Awu got married the drama came into its own. The acting, costumes, plot, scenery, and locations are amazing. Really can't wait to watch the next episode, love it, definitely will be one of my favorite dramas. I think the prince and Awu are a perfectly well-balanced couple, I also like General Song, I thought him handsome and also a great actor, I hope nothing horrible happens to him, and also I am keeping my fingers crossed they defeat their enemies and the drama ends happily.Was this review helpful to you?
Just image
Great story that keeps me coming back for more. Do I agree the 15 year old part for the FL is not believable? yes- but you get past it. Zhang Li is a beautiful actress and a good actress! I am complaining so far that there are not enough love scenes in this drama but there is great acting and the story line is so worth it.I cant wait for more episodes. Why aren't people complaining about the three princes? They all look too old in the beginning too! I watch every day in anticipation because the plot keeps me hooked.
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lovely casts and stages .
Brilliant performance from the casts especially Zhang Zi yi , her performance was very natural and yet exciting. All the emotions on the different scenes be it happy , strong and innocent are portrayed nicely. Yes, that 30 and 15 year old question again.... no matter how it's just a movie/drqama so what do you expect ? her acting skill has greatly overcome the downfall of age difference . It didnt affect me as much , i still enjoyed the movie and the casts really well. Enjoyed every bits of it . Its one of the big production drama, not much dramas you'll find as detailed as this. Good scenery , clothes, colours.Was this review helpful to you?
Zhang Zi Yi = My first time watching this actress and or the character of Wang Xuan / A'Wu, I felt she had to go through a lot of different acting being the love of 3 men. I felt bad for her because she did get injured in a fall.
Zhou Yi Wei= This is my 2nd time seeing him in Chinese Drama but he didn't leave an impression on my first go-round. His character Xiao Qi was impeccable. I am impressed now.
The cast of Supporting Roles: Did very well and as I always say, a drama wouldn't be a drama without the cast! I applaud them.
The directors and Producers, Designers were awesome.
I enjoyed the storyline. I feel that it was put together very well. The visuals, the set, the music, the costumes, I loved it!
Watching these types of Dramas in China, Korea, anywhere where they had Kings... People died for and to be King to sit on that throne!
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Heartwarming
When I first started watching this drama I was kind of skeptical at first. The title Rebel Princess was sort of confusing if you really haven't seen the trailers or read a summary explaining the general theme or plot in the story.The beginning of the story was sweet starting with the background of the Female Lead becoming the young women she will turn out to be. Then you have the first love interest the childhood sweetheart. Which is super cute in the beginning a puppy love feeling .
Then the main plot starts and the Male Lead shows up and the first encounter is bittersweet. Then you can start to see the male lead is slowly falling for the Female Lead as each encounter of the two meet. At first it turns out to be forced upon the two of them being together. Then pans out to be just a normal relationship that grows over time. Accepting one another as time goes on they start to think one mind and trust each other's feelings and strengths and abilities.
The story about Awu and Xiao Qi love is heartwarming in a sense that they learned to accept each other's differences and grow a strong stable bond within one another not falling far from one another. It makes us appreciate how even if at first you don't really like the person with time and effort you can gradually develop a deep love for one another. Makes you realistically able to relate with our own relationships while watching. Which I think it's different from other CDramas that I've watched so far with the Male and Female leads falling in love.
The love story between the two feels real while you watch. giving somewhat goosebumps at the sweet tender cuddle moments. Thank you so much for making this drama for us to enjoy. It's intimate and deep and heartwarming. Overall I would place it 10 / 10 for the Love Story Plot.
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