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.
Thoughts
What I liked
What I didn’t like
Conclusion
Shangguan 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/
@liztai yay, your blog posts to the fediverse again!
I noticed it does not include a title, so it is hard to tell which drama you are talking about. Is that something you can fix?
@JillsJoy that is odd! It is called The Princess Royal