Intelligent drama that gets me laughing and tearing with the story

THE PACING
I enjoyed the speed of this drama. Characters spoke at a good speed and storylines did not drag beyond their purpose. Scenes show only what is necessary, nothing more. While the drama did end on a cliffhanger, it is arguable that this season did end on a note satisfactory enough for closure so that I can sleep at night.

THE COMEDY
Got many laughs out of me. This drama is funny just as Joy of Life is funny, which is in a non-cringy way. Had been looking for a fix ever I finished that drama and it was nice to see the not-very-intelligent brother in Joy of Life have his turn at playing the ridiculously smart guy. I also loved that this drama was not entirely comedic (mostly the beginning and the middle), but was tempered with slightly heavier themes of loss and betrayal at the end of the middle bandit arc.

THE ROMANCE
What a sweet romance this is! The best thing about this couple is that those overused tropes don't come into play here (e.g. no drawn-out misunderstandings due to lack of communication, no couple constantly falling into family's trap to make them doubt each other, no forced or accidental intimate moments). We see genuine development in their relationship, them falling for each other and finally them getting together very willingly. I loved how respectful Ning Yi was of his wife. He treated her with care, cooking food for her, helping her when her business ran into difficulty and saving her from the various other guys who assault her. He never forced or teased or strongly suggested his way into her bedroom. The romance doesn't reappear after the bandit arc, because Ning Yi is running between countries in the last arc and probably didn't want to bring his wife along. Ning Yi's wife in return trusts him with her business which she spent so much effort to build and obtain, and later trusts in his plans. She's an excellent partner for him as they work together to make his plans happen.

THE POLITICS
I find it a tendency in some dramas to focus too much on the politics so that we really get bogged down with many names, positions and way too many details. However I thought that this drama put across what we needed to know in as few scenes as possible.

THE MALE LEAD
The ML is very intelligent, but perhaps a little too intelligent. As a modern businessman who travelled back in time, he would have landed in Ning Yi's body with no knowledge of the political situations in both countries, but yet he has an incredibly good grasp of the situation at all times without anyone letting him know who exactly are the political figures in court (?). He is also an excellent go player who defeated the best go player in the country ... having known the game for a very short period of time. I guess he's just really, really smart.

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I tried to like it

This type of drama is right up my alley - a princess refusing to be a passive, pretty flower in the palace but choosing to be strong and help her family/have some righteous purpose, and meets her true love while she's doing just that. The cinematography, acting and costumes were fine. However, I was really disappointed with the story and tried my best to push through, hoping that it would get better but it just never did, unfortunately.

COSTUMES: worn at the wrong time
The costumes looked fine, but the costume choices for certain scenes just weren't well thought out. For example, the princess escaped from the palace at night in an elaborate, light-coloured dress with a long cape that dragged on the ground like the train of a wedding dress. When the ML and his assistant was breaking into the the palace at night (that was planned!), they did not dress up in dark clothes but just went in their regular clothes (which were light coloured).

LOGIC: lacking
At times, the princess is highly intelligent and alert, observing and stringing along clues to solve a case. At other times, she is so unskilled to be unable to tie a rope around someone's hands, or to recognise that she is a princess who can't really fight and should not enter certain clearly dangerous situations since she would only distract the others by needing to be protected. I know that female characters in cdramas usually "sa jiao", but she was written to be so insufferable that it grated on my nerves. She also gets mad at the ML for too long a period of time, and for reasons that really don't make sense.

As the ML puts himself into a dangerous situation to investigate the case, his colleagues in his society just keep quiet about everything they know (and have already been investigating!!!) to "keep him safe", except that he just makes decisions he regrets later because he doesn't have the information they know. To no one's surprise, he steps right into said danger.

The SML has all the evidence presented to him that the ML is not at fault, but he just stubbornly goes ahead to try to kill the ML, then as he returns from murdering the ML, questions why he murdered the ML and calls the ML his only xiongdi (brother). Am confused because this character is supposed to be intelligent.

THE ROMANCE: no chemistry
I couldn't get behind the couple. I was confused as to why they fell in love in the first place. I know they're going for the "FL and ML banter because they like each other" but I felt absolutely nothing for them. Apparently her heart hurt when the ML almost died but nothing that they went through seems to warrant that kind of emotional connection.

THE ACTORS
None of this is on the actors. I liked the FL in the Sleepless Princess.

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