The Princess Royal (2024)

Entertaining but also frustrating

The Princess Royal turned out to be one of those polarizing dramas where many viewers enjoyed the series thoroughly, while others condemned it as a terrible waste of time. This drama scored higher ratings on Douban than another show with an 8.9 rating on MDL and breached 10,000 on Youku’s popularity index. Yet, if you read the reviews and comments on MDL, you will see many with an opposite sentiment.

In the beginning, there were folks who judged the FL character based on her actions in the novel, and despite the scenes not even happening in the drama, began hating on her. As the show progressed, some complained that the novel had better scenes and the drama should have included them. Furthermore, fans of Zhang Ling He lamented that his ML character got less screen time than the SML and was not a strong enough character. Others wanted a full-fledged romance story and felt that the show spent too much time on palace politics and the interactions between the FL and the SML.

Lucky for me, I was not influenced by such factors. Not having read the novel, I could start with a clean slate. Also, not being a major fan of any actor, I was not comparing the amount of screen time each character had. While I enjoyed the development of the leads' romance, I was most interested in seeing how the leads would triumph against the villains when given the opportunity to redo things. The show drew me in because of its interesting premise of giving multiple characters a second chance.

**Why Entertaining?**

Having not only one lead but multiple characters being reborn into an earlier period of their lives added a nice twist to the usual story of a second shot at life. Moreover, we got another twist where instead of the ML being the tsundere one with all the power and prestige, it was the FL, Li Rong, who started off with a colder and unapproachable personality. As the Princess Royal, she was the political heavyweight with the backing of her noble family's background. In contrast, Pei Wenxuan, the ML, came from a humble common family and was married to the FL as her Prince Consort.

I liked Li Rong because she was unlike the stereotypical strong female lead. She had plenty of flaws but also had her own strengths. With conflicting personality traits, she was initially misunderstood by many viewers because she was cold and harsh on the outside towards Pei Wenxuan and yet showed care and thoughtfulness for him through her actions. Those viewers who supported and defended her against criticism finally felt vindicated when Li Rong showed character growth as she learned to trust the ML and revealed a warmer side. Through this growth, Li Rong also became freer, dropped her defensive wall, and expressed her feelings towards Pei Wenxuan more openly.

What added to her appeal for me was her complicated backstory. In her first life, Li Rong was no Mary Sue; she was not your usual FL who was perfect and good, and her only fault was trusting and loving the wrong people. In Li Rong's case, she was so proud, and her pride led her to misunderstand Pei Wenxuan and cut him off. She ended up in a relationship with Su Rong Qing, the SML, for many years while her marriage to Pei Wenxuan was just a sham. This setup also led many viewers to condemn her, but for me, who cares? The story was about them getting another opportunity to change things and start afresh, so I was more interested in what happened in their present (second) lives.

Zhao Jinmai did a good job as Li Rong. She was supposed to be young, and she certainly looked the part with her baby face, but she was able to portray the emotions of someone who may look young but had already experienced over 40 years of life. A life that was not easy, being entangled in palace politics. That said, there were times when I thought she was not regal enough and did not give that feeling of gravitas that someone in her position should have.

As for Zhang Lihe, whether or not he got sufficient screentime, I don't think anyone can deny that he found his stride in this drama. This is his best ML role so far, and he completely embodied Pei Wenxuan as a sunny, besotted man who was also calculating. Pei Wenxuan was also prideful like Li Rong in his first life as her Prince Consort, and when given another chance, decided not to waste it by hiding his love for Li Rong like he did the first time. In the second life, he wore his heart on his sleeve, and having understood Li Rong so well, was patient and willing to bear a lot for her. To me, he was an endearing simp who had it bad for Li Rong but was not a wimp. He got things done in his own way and was a brilliant strategist with his political maneuvering. He could also outshine anyone, including Su Rong Qing, during his jealous fits. Minor spoiler alert: the scene where he played the erhu in the middle of Li Rong's and Su Rong Qing's performance was just the best.

I enjoyed the progression of their relationship in the second life. Mostly through Pei Wenxuan's efforts, the leads actually talked through their issues. It took them the whole of their first lifetime to second-guess, and ultimately scheme against each other, so the second time around, they made sure to communicate. There were times when I thought there would be misunderstandings again, but each time, one of them would try to move forward by sharing their feelings. This was really the best strategy for Pei Wenxuan to win Li Rong over this time round.

With the romance underplayed during the last quarter, the show put a heavier focus on palace and court politics, which I also found entertaining. The show emphasized how blood ties and affection would always take second place when it comes to power struggles among the royal and noble families. This drama did a pretty good job depicting how people will stop at nothing to retain power for their family names and were mostly propelled by self-interest. As frustrating as it was to watch, it was understandable given the history of the Chinese empires. At least for me, it gave more depth to many of the characters in this show. It also added more nuances to the relationship between the leads as they navigated conflicts between the royal and noble families and survived being in the center of political struggles and turmoil. Seeing them together left a good feeling, and I was satisfied with how they ended.

**Why Frustrating?**

Where the show failed for me and why I could not give it a higher rating was how Su Rong Qing was portrayed. This character got a lot of hate for being the clingy SML who could not move on and later as the main villain, got a lot of screen time. I believe the show wanted to elicit sympathy for him, given his backstory and complicated relationship with Li Rong in the first life. The show probably also wanted a more complex villain whose actions may have seemed rash and selfish at first but never wavered from his desire to protect and ensure the safety and happiness of the ones he loved, including Li Rong. Also, by adding him to the mix, perhaps the show wanted to create more than just a sweet, flat romance between the leads.

If a more veteran actor had played the character, I might have developed a soft spot for Su Rong Qing and felt bad for him. However, Chen Heyi's portrayal did nothing for me. At the beginning, I did not really notice him except as a plot device to drive the leads closer. Later, when he turned out to be the main villain, I was not surprised to see him featured more. After all, like many other shows, villains tend to have more screen time during the buildup to the climax to drive up the angst factor. However, never once did I feel sympathy for Su Rong Qing. It could be the writing, but unfortunately, Chen He Yi's acting was not enough to depict this lost soul. Even in the end, I could not feel the hopelessness and defeat that Su Rong Qing must have felt, trapped with no way out between his family, duty, love, and his own desires. Even the music and numerous flashbacks failed to stir any emotions within me.

The acting of others also missed the mark for me. The actress playing Consort Rou, for example, had the oddest expressions, almost like she had a constant twitch. For someone who was featured quite a bit, I found it somewhat distracting.

**Overall**

Despite the lackluster acting of some, I love that the characters were shades of gray. We had antagonists who felt justified in their actions, people on both sides helping each other, sometimes for justice but mostly for purely selfish interests. Then we have the protagonists who made bad decisions, said and did things they did not mean in the heat of the moment. The show scored points with me for its dynamic characters who struggled with their actions, who were not always clear if they were doing the right thing or what the right thing even was.

This was certainly not a "always feel good" show where the good ones win all the time but it certainly provided the satisfaction I wanted. I was half expecting some open ended dream sequence but the ending was a proper and complete one.

Aesthetically, the set designs and costumes were well done and indicated the high budget of the show. The costumes were lovely, especially for Pei Wenxuan, and his clean hairstyle highlighted how handsome he was. The styling for Li Rong and Shangguang Ya was also nicely done, especially their hairstyles and accessories.

I also found the OSTs fitting and memorable. For posterity, here is the playlist
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLaG0k-PXfnd8aOjOOxIaKTGfGdB4VKtm (maintained by Peachy Blossom) or Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/28GuPBlliOm48KGAl2fefJ?si=c8ba7e1257c24081

I recommend that you try this drama out and see for yourself. Thematically for me, The Princess Royal is a show that encapsulates life in many aspects and topics. It touches upon self-awareness and personal growth, love (romantic and familial), respect and loyalty (to self, family, country), politics, societal obligations and problems, the balance of power and inequality, friendship, and more.

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Alternate Drama Title: The Legend of Su Rongqing

The premise of The Princess Royal is a rather unique and intriguing one, but it soon felt like I was walking along a bridge that could collapse at any moment. The bridge looks to be sturdy, but in reality is missing the most important nuts and bolts to keep it standing. I was drawn to the drama due to its lead actors (Zhao Jinmai and Zhang Linghe), beautiful production and seemingly-interesting plot. The first few episodes were enjoyable, but everything soon went downhill.

The Princess Royal is a historical Chinese drama, telling the struggle of a deep, political struggle and the romance between the Princess Royal Li Rong (Zhao Jinmai) and her consort/government official Pei Wenxuan (Zhang Linghe). It is adapted from the very well-received novel "The Princess Royal" by Mo Fei Bai. What sets the drama apart from other period series from the start is that the leads are sent 20 years back into their young selves (18 and 20-year-olds). This was an opportunity for the leads to redeem themselves and prevent past tragedies from occurring. In this sense, Li Rong and Pei Wenxuan were a lot more mature, as they had decades of experience with politics.

I’ll say off the bat that I had no problem with the acting whatsoever. The main leads, as well as the supports, embodied their characters very well. Zhang Linghe and Zhao Jinmai had a decent amount of chemistry, which (arguably) saved some of my sanity as I watched the rest of the drama. They had some cute moments, but even these scenes weren’t enough to make up for the real issue: the overall plot.

As the power struggle between different political parties emerged, I soon got pretty bored with the drama. The plot was progressing in the way that people were plotting against one another for political gains, but it just felt like the drama really wasn’t going anywhere. It was just the usual struggle between two princes for the throne with a few suspenseful moments thrown here and there. I just didn’t feel attached to many of the characters in this drama as there wasn’t sufficient character build-up. Because so much of the precious screen time was given to our oh-so-amazing second male lead, Su Rongqing (hence the title of this review). There was even an episode where Su Rongqing had 28 minutes of screen time (the entire ep is 40 min long). There were plenty of opportunities to cut some of SRQ’s scenes to give the audience more scenes of the lead couple, or even scenes of other characters. Su Rongqing even took up a good portion of the last episode, leaving many viewers (and especially og novel fans) disappointed with the leads’ short ending. Most of the other characters weren’t given a definite/satisfying ending as well. There were also times when SRQ’s actions just didn’t make sense. I have no problem with the actor himself, but the character and his screen time is truly frustrating. I only read part of the original novel, and found many similarities between the novel and drama, but there are some unnecessary-added scenes in the drama (cough cough, SRQ). Who knew what the screenwriters were thinking.

On the brighter side, I appreciated the emphasis on female empowerment in this drama. Shangguan Ya and Qin Zhenzhen are very intelligent and loveable characters, quickly becoming the female lead’s biggest supports. Consort Rou was also put into a major political position. Quite a few women played heavy roles in the political landscape, which contrasts greatly with other political period Cdramas. However, Li Rong still made some questionable decisions, although she had already lived a previous life. Her constant entanglement with Su Rongqing also dragged the show. On one hand, she is telling Pei Wenxuan how much she loves him, but also can't seem to forget about her moments with the SML. Pei Wenxuan has plenty of reasons to be upset. PWX's character was great overall. He, like Li Rong, was very intelligent and thought ahead.

However, I would like to point out that the overall production wasn’t bad. Many of the costumes and hairstyles were gorgeous, and the backdrops and props looked like some thought had gone into them (in other words, they didn’t look cheap). The OST was nice, but I still don’t understand why the production/editing team decided to use music in more scenes between the FL and SML than between the two leads.

In conclusion, there is real eye candy in this drama and the acting is top-notch, but the plot was just lackluster and disappointing. If you’re a Zhang Linghe and/or Zhao Jinmai fan, you could give The Princess Royal a try, but I did warn you! Otherwise, the drama really is a waste of time.

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