Du Hua Nian (2024)

It's lonely at the top

For me, this is a story of knowing and realizing the struggle and sacrifice to achieve power. Despite having a good romance, what I appreciate here, which made me cry many times, is the loneliness and hardship just to gain or maintain the power to save their life.

Everyone did a good job, especially Li Rong. Such a powerful woman. I was frustrated on her but there's a reason why she needs to be strong. The good thing is she got PWX to pull her if she is out of control and is truly a person that you can rely on. Good job for these two.

In terms of romance, I was more captivated and invested in Shangguan and Su Rong Hua, just because I love how they develop their relationship, and the story in the past and present is really captivating.

My comment is maybe it can be reduced to 30 episodes. I find it boring sometimes, especially in the second half.

Overall, it has a great ending. 8.5 for me..

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A sweet romance that should've been not-so-sweet

What 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
- The story explored the complexity of people and relationships very well, acknowledging that there's no black and white decisions in life, and that people are not entirely evil or good.
- 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 folks here!

What I didn't like

- The background music was bland
- 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.
- Su Rong Qing's arc overstayed its welcome, nuff said.
- Pei Wenxian, towards the end, became a side character in his own story and wasn't as complex or layered a character as a result.
- The special episode was chaotic even if it was sweet. It just felt very off tone with the rest of the drama.

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 grittier.

As usual, this is a shorter version of my review on my blog: https://dramatea88.wordpress.com/2024/08/22/the-princess-royal-review/

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Mixed feelings

Just finished this. Initially, I was so pumped up to start watching this after seeing an excerpt from IG. Started off intriguing , however it mellows down and gets less and less point towards the end i feel. I think it is interesting idea for 2 people to start anew and fell in love again the second time rightfully however, towards the middle, i find that LiRong’s character is somehow like weeds in the wind, just blindly flying wherever the so called truth revelation goes. The chemistry between LiRong and Pei Wenxuan is also on and off to me, sometimes Li Rong is too aloof and PWX appears to be in love by himself. But my biggest pet peeve is with SRQ’s character. Firstly his voice character is totally off to me, it doesnt sound charismatic enough to my ears, playing the role of an aristocrat. The acting also has so much room for improvement, especially being the ultimate villain/second lead. It makes the villain so weak tbh. The plot sometimes also annoyed me. It keeps on going on and on about the noble families vs commoners, but in the end, nothing was resolved. The emperor is off gallivanting somewhere with his sweetheart, and now we have a female regent with her husband. And they dont even show their much awaited first child! Li Chuan also seems too young for the role. It doesnt give enough conviction to viewers. I love Jinmai from her previous role, but I guess, this role is too ‘adult’ for her as well *shrugs


One thing I like though, the costumes are plenty and beautiful. The cinematography is also nice. Not much to say regarding the ost. They were not used enough in the drama to make an impact to me. All in all, it was an ok watch for me, but very likely not to be rewatched again

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Who ever love feminist plot will definitely love it....

Dear Readers,

Its been a very long time since I wrote my last review.
So, I'm not sure where I should start ..

Let me start with the drama Plot.

The story line is similar to the drama plot (Story of Kunning Palace) where the FL lead accidentally travel back in time and change her fate from wrong doings. The only difference in Princess Royal is all the three Leads ML ,FL & Anti- Villain accidentally travel back in time. Where the Anti- villain character (We cannot say CHY as Su Rong Qing a villain character but his past life changes him drastically to be bad). There was a bit loop holes in some characters were the director could have given them extra scenes. for Qin Zhen Zhen , Shangguan Ya, Li Chuan as their scenes are much lesser together and the story only centered with the lead actors. Other than that the story was perfect to me.

Character Difference:

At some point I was immersed in the FL character (ZJM) as Li Rong. This is the second drama I have watched under her acting it was really beautiful I'm really impressed by her acting. (There was a scene where Li Rong will come to know who killed her in her past life) She really nailed it.....

There are two ML once is of Hero and the other is like Anti-Villain. Both of their performance was good. Previously I had watched few drama's of ZLH as Pei Wen Xuan but my favorite one was "Story of Kunning Palace". I felt the chemistry between the leads did not fit much seems to be like pretending but I loved their (ML & FL) bickering scenes.

As for our Anti- Villain Su Rong Qing his acting was good but there with flaws like the facial expression's he could have done better. I felt the director could have given him few more scenes where he can show his evil character outstanding.

Other actors also did a good job and I felt the pain of story's Love, friendship, betrayal in each characters.

Even though the drama is big with 40 episodes and slow going it is worth watching.

I wish whoever love FL centered character will definitely love this story.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Bye & See you again in different drama review.

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IF THERE IS A SECOND CHANCE, USE IT IN GOOD WAY INSTEAD OF PLANNING REVENGE

My main of this drama is, the ML & FL wants to have different life where there will no bloodshed happen as in like before so that there would be no need of revenge. Why revenge when nothing happens. It's simple where a few don't understand. Try to look that way. Don't always hope taking revenge.

I don't know why many people here are saying bad things about FL. FL being together with SML is because of ML. He hasn't cleared things with SFL. So, she gets herself linked with SML. But ML started to like her later.
In their second chance he still came to her because he likes her and don't want to miss her this time.
And about FL killing ML, I don't whether they have watched the drama or not. Yes, she did order to kill him, but it because she was misled into that ML poisoned her.
In their second life when they met each other, In a conversation ML will ter her that he didn't poison her. She trusts him but they thought that might be SML. So, she is afraid of him.
But Afterall she was with him for almost 17 years. (and also, there is no chance of happening anything because he was castrated) So she struggles with her feelings. It is understandable. All because ML didn't cherish her and told her about his feelings. In this time, he doesn't want to her.
Some people her saying that ML is cuckold that chases FL ever after she killed him. But he didn't come to her in thought of marriage. He mentioned that he only wants to see her. But later they told each other what happened. Even though ML didn't kill her but FL killed him, it is clear that it is because of some other people. ML understands that.
So, this time he doesn't want to lose her.
FL is in confuse Afterall she spends 17 years with SML.
But I think around ep 11 ML got burst out about his feelings. But FL got into more confusion.
Later ML wants to respect her choice and, on their wedding, doesn't know why he told her we can divorce after some time and you can chase SML and even got a plan.
So FL gots into more confusion. Later she tries to set him up with SFL and he gots angry he got burst out it is around ep 11. from 11 to 21 they got somewhat together but not completely.
Later ML wants to confess to her but something bad happens but immediately they cleared everything. FL asks him to wait. she asks him to wait for her so she can clear her mind.
But immediately they get together as she can't wait and she sneaked into his room. As we can see FL likes him but she unable to say it loud. But since then they are so lovey dovey.
At ep 25 they got in trouble and FL make a plan that includes divorce. Even though it is their plan but ML don't want to divorce. So they got into fight but they will settle it immediatly.
Everything is good. Please don't listen and watch the drama. It is a 40 episode. FL character is fixed like that and they need to maintain in that way.
I Loved this drama and so many people liked this and I hope the ratings would still go higher.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️


The main and most important point of this drama is that
The leads got a new chance and they want to change it. They want to change but they didn't want to take revenge instead they want to change as like there should be no reason all those bad happened and as like no need to take revenge since they wont happen and they wont let them happen. It is the great thing about this.

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I'm so disappointed

I won't even pretend that I finished this drama, because I didn't. The reason is that I just don't have the time to watch something that, from the majority of reviews (and my own thoughts), will just get bad later on.
I was really sold at the beginning. The plot seemed interesting and the chemistry between the main couple was just *chefs kiss*. I really wanted to see how they'd change things, but well...
The main plot: Our main couple were married, but had a tragical end, with a lot of misunderstandings in their relationship. Then, when both of them died, in the middle of political intrigues, they recieved a chance to start all over again.

Just from the start, I felt that I was in for a journey. Many people said that they couldn't feel attached to the characters, but that was not my case. I really liked them. They were both smart and likable.
The problem starts at episode 11, at least for me.

Firstly, we need to understand that the main couple were married for 20 years, and throught these years, they had a good relationship only in the first few years of marriage. For some reason that I can't explain why, at some point, the FL started to believe that ML had feelings for his childhood friend. She felt betrayed and their bond started to rot. Later on, we find out that it was just a misunderstanding (the ML didn't explain at the time. He just kept dodging the issue and remaining quiet, almost confirming her suspicions, when he could've just explained. But whatever).
I mentioned that because up to that moment, the FL started to have a relationship with the SML. They were actually romantically envolved for 17 years.
Once they "reborn" she really tries to catch SML's attention, and wants to marry him instead, but everything goes wrong and she ends up with her former husband again. They start to solve some misunderstadings (she really thought that he was the one who killed her in their previous life. However, it was actually the SML), and they become allies and friends.

Their relationship was just so fun to see. They really know each other (married for 20 yeas), they bicker, they have an amazing chemistry, etc. And then, we are on episode 11, where the ML ACTUALLY EXPLAINS that he had always loved her, and not the other girl. He confesses his feelings, says that he would wait for her answer and that's it.
At this point, I was really excited, because I thought the story would progress and we would see them as a power couple solving all of the problems in the court, changing the course of the original events. The problem is that after that, I started to feel that things weren't progressing, and I read some reviews that explained that my worries were valid.

The female lead doesn't have eyes only for the ML in this drama. She actually feels conflicted between these two man from her past. At some point, it's understandable, since she and SML spend a long time together, but they just completely ignored the ML's confession at episode 11 and started to walk in circles, like the confession never existed. And I swear... The SML has SO MUCH screen time. He really appears a lot, and no one likes him. He's boring and has no chemistry with FL.
You really start to feel bad for the ML, because FL seems to never solve her own feelings, in order to choose him for good. The worst part is that people were saying that she remains like that up to episode 30, like WHAT?
That's really a shame, because he's an amazing character. He's fun, ironic, inteligent, really attractive and caring. He's an experienced politician, who's good at manipulating circumstances, but he just keeps being a simp for FL. Idk, it's painful to watch and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, because they are actually married, but there're all of these cheating insinuations by FL.

Edit: And I completely agree with other reviews that it seems that they tried to portray a strong female lead by having her playing with two men at the same time. I don't like this type of thing, so it really disappointed me.

Aniways, if you don't enjoy love triangles (like me), better skip this one.

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I wish I got a second chance with ZLH?

I like this drama. I watched it while airing, and after it finished airing, I watched it all over again, so I already watched it two times. I like everything about this drama: actors, acting, production department,technical, non-technical aspects. Everything is fine, no issue. I like their couple Bickering.
I like the story. I wish I got a second chance like this, too. ( but do I've to die first).
many people criticize find Ml annoying well I don't sometimes I do find Fl annoying she is more confused but turns out she doesn't know many of the details of many events from her previous life incidents that led to her death (every coin has two side), besides she was not the only one to blame misunderstanding, less communication, misperception, wrong preference lead one thing to another to another and caused the whole mishappening. and in second life let's not forget she was 40 year old soul in 18 year body. plus, as the princess, she was taught to show no emotions.
so it's okay.
besides, if we talking about the most annoying person, the award goes to SML. OMG, he was pure torture; I'm glad he died. He was stubborn as a bull and glad he committed suicide. Zero remorse for him. ML and FL both told him that he could stop now but he didn't. even after everything, at the last moment when ml gave him his way out he choose to commit suicide what a waste of a second chance.
Lastly, if you are going through reviews to make decisions to watch or not u can stop here. surely u can give atleast one chance to this drama rest depend on ur personal choice.
Goodbye take care

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Low effort production

Don't get me wrong but im a fan of both ZLH and ZJM, and because of them that i watch this drama. I think their acts are impressive.
I had my expectation up when the trailer released, but idk what's wrong with the production team. Tho being known as most budgetted drama, they don't even bother to throw some fake blood on the floor on the war scene and everyone is still so clean not even a scratch or dust visible. Idk while watching this drama i always had the feeling like some scenes are missing something, like small details.
And the plot!!
The first 15 episodes are interesting and funny with the interaction of the ML and FL. But when it gets intense with political fight and stufff, it gets boring. Idk maybe it's just me

I really hope this drama would be good but it turns out disappointed.

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très bonne intrigue

Ce que j'ai aimé :
- L'intrigue ! Extrêmement bien construite, elle se déroule naturellement au fil des épisodes. Les explications/détails de la première vie sont en masse !
- Les acteurs ! Brilliants, ils sont tous convaincant dans leurs rôles
-Le personnage de Su Rong Qing ! Le MVP de la série, il a été castré dans sa vie précédente, il a vu toute sa famille mourir, il est en PTSD dans la vie suivante, dommage j'aurais vraiment aimé qu'il termine avec la FL !
- La production : très bien, on voit de beaux costumes et bijoux, c'est filmé évidemment aux Hengdian World Studio donc les décors sont somptueux.
- L'histoire d'amour entre la FL et le SML dans leur première vie ! 17 ans ensemble avec beaucoup de tendresse, c'est pour moi la seule vraie histoire d'amour de la série

Ce que j'ai moins aimé :
- Le personnage féminin principal est froide, arriviste, autoritaire et vraiment pas sympathique. Jusqu'à l'épisode 25 elle n'est jamais sympa avec le ML ! De plus, alors qu'elle vient de passer 17 ans avec Su Rong Qing, quand elle revient dans le passé, il passe directement à la case connaissance ....
- Le personnage masculin principal est soumis, et je ne comprends pas comment il peut être amoureux de la FL !
- L'histoire d'amour entre le ML et FL : incompréhensible, il y a zéro alchimie entre eux, c'est toujours du rapport de force, c'est incroyable.

En résumé, série à voir car bien faite et bien construite avec une bonne intrigue, mais pas pour la romance

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Hidden Lessons

This is one of those story I know I will personally rewatch. Through watching this, I was able to connect deeply with some of the characters and it allowed me to reflect on my relationships with people around me. I loved this story, the character development and such. And also, there was little to no major misunderstanding. This story portrays that human are complex beings, making choices Is never easy but it also shows that sometimes, we make things more complicated than they need to be. Personally I LOVEDD this story and I look forward to my rewatch. I really learned so much from Pingyue, and her loved undying love and I also learned from Ronqiang that in the pursuit of everything, you can loose everything and end up with nothing. And till the end, He FAILS to realize that he's wrong, that his actions are what got him there, that he had a choice and that he's just an evil person who has tried to justified his wrongs. GREAT story.

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