Hi everyone!
Today I’m sharing my episode 1-4 notes on The Princess Royal, because I am enjoying it very well, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗
These are my episode 1-4 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).
I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️
Episode notes:
E1-4. Surprise, my friends, I’m opting to cover The Princess Royal here on Patreon – and I hadn’t even really been planning on this show replacing Dreaming of a Freaking Fairytale, honestly, because, as is the case with many c-dramas, we just didn’t know when this show was going to air.
I was in-principle interested in this show, based on the premise and the cast.
To me, the premise is basically a Chinese period version of Go Back Couple, which was a kdrama that I enjoyed very much.
Of course, this being the Chinese period version of it, things are much more complex and there are (or will be) layers of intrigue, because our female lead isn’t just getting a chance to live her life again – she’s a princess, with all the political trappings that might go with that station.
At the heart of it, though, it’s a very similar story to Go Back Couple, where our OTP starts the story at bitter loggerheads.
Unlike Go Back Couple, the way our OTP gets to their do-over point, is by dying – which wasn’t the case in Go Back Couple.
This aspect of the story is way more like Story of Kunning Palace, where the female lead dies and goes back in time, to relive her life again.
The difference here, is that instead of just our female lead getting a second chance at life, her loggerheads husband gets a second chance too (also by dying).
In fact, I am very tickled by the fact that Zhang Ling He plays the male lead in both Kunning Palace and The Princess Royal.
It’s almost like he was all, “No fair! I want a chance to get reborn too!” – and that’s how he followed up Kunning Palace with The Princess Royal. 😂
Which brings me to the other key reason that I was interested in this show.
I do have pre-existing affection for both Zhang Ling He and Zhao Jin Mai, who play our leads.
I thought Zhang Ling He was very decent in My Journey To You, and I recently really enjoyed Zhao Jin Mai in Amidst a Snowstorm of Love. And she was also great in Reset.
Having said all that, I will say that it did take several episodes for me to decide that I liked this one.
I think the main reason, is that the story starts when our leads are about 40 years old, and neither Zhang Ling He nor Zhao Jin Mai is convincing playing that age.
It’s not just the fact that they look way younger than 40 (well, she’s 38, but close enough), they both don’t have enough gravitas or presence to convince me that they are that age.
I’ll come back to this point soon, but first, I also wanted to mention that I found the wire work lacking, in episode 1, where a lot of action happens.
I’m no expert for sure, but it looks to me like there’s something off in the way the wires are set up; it is obvious even to the untrained eye (like mine) that these people are on wires and not actually propelling themselves through the air using their own strength.
The way they lift off, and the way they land, especially, are times when the lack of wire work precision is noticeable.
This was distracting to me, and definitely took away from Show’s sense of polish, of which I’d had reasonably high expectations, based on the very beautiful opening credits.
So.. yeah. The visuals can be a little uneven, sometimes.
Based on these two things, I was honestly in two minds about whether to stick with this show, up to about episode 3.
I say this because, even after our leads go back to their young bodies (she’s 18, he’s 20), I found the delivery a little lacking, because, as I mentioned earlier, both Zhang Ling He and Zhao Jin Mai do not feel like 40-year-olds.
And while they very much look the part once the do-over begins, our characters retain their older consciousness(es?), and therefore, I expect that they should still have an air about them that indicates that they’re mature beyond their physical years.
However, by the episode 4 point, I found that this somehow wasn’t a real problem for me any longer.
I think my brain has managed to convince me, that they need to blend into their surroundings and act their (younger) age, and that’s why they don’t really vibe like true old souls.
I don’t know if that really is the case, but that’s working well enough for me, so that the internal age to charisma-gravitas ratio not quite adding up, doesn’t bother me much anymore.
I don’t yet have a firm grasp on all the facts, and that’s par for the course, because Show is dropping context in a rather piecemeal fashion.
We are quickly back in the past, and we only get pieces of context from their past lives, when either of them thinks back to how things had been, before they’d died and come back.
So in that sense, I feel like I’m still piecing a lot of things together.
That said, I do feel like we’ve got a good enough sketch of the big picture, to anchor our appreciation of the story.
Based on how bitter their feelings had been towards each other before their deaths, I can see why Li Rong would set her heart on NOT marrying Wenxuan, and instead, sets her sights on Rongqing, the guy whom we’d seen wait on her, in her first life.
Very quickly though, I feel like we can see Wenxuan’s concern for her showing through his sardonic gaze.
I mean, the dude just can’t help himself when it comes to Li Rong’s affairs, can he?
He claims that he has no interest in being selected as her husband, but he also can’t tear his eyes away from Li Rong, to see who she’s talking to, and what she might be thinking.
He keeps analyzing the pros and cons of her various marriage prospects, and just.. can’t seem to keep away, can he?
It becomes clear quite quickly, that he does have affection for Li Rong, despite how strained things had gotten, in their past life. 😁
One thing I really like, is the fact that Li Rong and Wenxuan know each other so well, that they are each quickly convinced that the other person is also there for a do-over, because of the way the other person is playing weiqi.
I honestly really love that.
They may not have gotten along for much of their marriage, but they sure do know each other well, and I love that that knowledge is mutual, and they both figure it out before the game is over. 🤩
And then, even though they agree to henceforth never see each other again, neither of them is able to keep to that agreement.
First, she is quick to send him anti-itch medication to help with the citron fruit that she’d forced him to eat, knowing that he’s allergic and would break out in a rash right away after eating it.
And, she makes sure to include a cloak, as well as a whole tray of silver.
As for him, once he realizes that she might be in trouble, with those masked men riding towards her residence, most likely to kidnap her, he just can’t help but get involved, to try to save her.
These mutual demonstrations of care and concern definitely make up a big reason for why I feel quite seriously invested in this story already.
I can clearly see that these two people don’t hate each other the way they say they do; I can see that they care more than they say they do.
And now I just want to watch them find their way back to each other, and find a better way to be together, in this new life.
We don’t know many of the details, but it’s becoming clear to see that a lot of the bad blood between them, had arisen from misunderstandings that had never been cleared.
For example, she assumes that he’d had someone else in his heart, but it’s clear from our point of view, that that wasn’t the case; he’d just felt that it was pointless trying to explain the situation to her, and he’d let things be.
I honestly find it quite endearing that Wenxuan goes out of his way to help Li Rong, and even ends up carrying her on his back, when she says that she’s too tired to walk any further.
They bicker and all, but he still takes care of her and gives her the grilled fish to eat first, and even makes a hay bed for her and gives her his cloak, while he makes do with trying to warm his hands by the fire.
And then, when she sees that he’s cold, she lets him lie down with her under the cloak – an offer which he hilariously doesn’t hesitate to take up. 😁
Besides these practical demonstrations of care, I also really appreciate the bit of honest conversation that they have, lying there under that cloak.
Importantly, it’s during this time together, that Li Rong accuses him of killing her, and their conversation leads to the conclusion that the person who’d engineered her death, had been none other than Rongqing, the man whom she’s thinking of marrying in this new life.
If that’s true, that Rongqing had plotted her death while serving her for 17 whole years, because her brother had annihilated his family, then that’s dark, and she really shouldn’t try to marry him, in this new life. 😅
I’m actually pleasantly surprised that Li Rong believes Wenxuan when he tells her that the fragrance pouch had been forced on him by Rongqing, and that every attendant in Li Rong’s palace wore a similar pouch.
It looks like Li Rong may have grievances against Wenxuan, but she does trust him, that he wouldn’t lie about something like that.
I also appreciate that Li Rong is the one who asks that they not talk about the past any longer, and stop being enemies in this life. I found this olive branch a little unexpected, though very welcome.
Plus, when he asks her what her plans are, she does open up, and talk about how she’d like to live this life free from being surrounded by suspicion, from witnessing the brutality of her brother when he’d ascended the throne, and from seeing Rongqing’s family get destroyed.
And, when she asks him what his regrets are, he doesn’t say it out loud, but we do hear him think, that he hadn’t let anyone down – but her.
Aw. If I’d already been on board for this OTP to find their way back to each other, I think this moment makes me even more eager to see that happen. 🥲
..Which is why it pleases me quite a bit, that they eventually agree to marry again – if only for strategic purposes.
Yes, they’re agreeing to get divorced sometime down the road, when Li Rong has more power and doesn’t need him anymore, but.. surely that’s not going to happen, yes? Because surely they’ll realize their love for each other before we get to that point? 😁
First, though, we need to get this wedding to actually happen, because even though Li Rong and Wenxuan have agreed on it, we still need the Emperor on board.
It does look like Wenxuan’s got a firm enough handle on that, though I’m curious to see how he actually manages to win the Emperor’s favor.
All in all, this turned out to be a pretty engaging start to our story, and I’m now properly bought into the OTP, and ready to cheer them into each other’s arms. 😁
*This show is being covered on the VVIP Early Access Plus (US$20) Tier on Patreon*
To view episode 1-4 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!
You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here. Currently, notes for episodes 1 through 8 are available.
Episodes 9-12 notes will be out soon! I hope you’ll consider joining us!
It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️
PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for July, which you can find here!