The Princess Wei Young (2016)

Binged it in 3 days!

I'm not really into historical dramas but after watching Eternal love and The eternal love I decided to give more historical dramas a chance since those two were really good, and I'm extremely glad I did. This drama had me roped in from episode one. It was addictive. It does, however, have a lot of political stuff which basically dictates everything but that just adds in to make it that much greater. I would definitely recommend especially if you're new to the historical drama genre. Be warned however that there are a lot of downs but still not extremely depressing.

I enjoyed every character...even the evil ones that at times I even found myself rooting for them because in some ways they were relatable lol. I only cried twice. Happy watching!

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How much do you like Cinderella stories?

Princess Weiyoung is determined to seek revenge for the killing of her entire family/clan. But what happens when she falls for the enemy?

I really liked the premise of this story - but at 23 episodes in - it got too repetitive. Princess Weiyong's 'stepfamily' abuse her and undercut her at every turn in incredibly obvious ways. Frankly, almost every character is out to get her.

The brave but bumbling love interest hurts as much as he helps. He can't understand that Princess Weiyong's family are abusive and that his own family is conspiring against them.

I liked that Princess Weiyoung rescues herself because everyone around her is incompetent...but it wasn't like her rescues were impressive or unique.

I grade on other criteria:

Complex Themes - 5
The only person who can rescue you is you. Judge people based on their actions not based on their family or reputation.
Character Growth -3
None that really stuck with me. Perhaps there is a twist later that changes the two main characters. I didn't get there. 3 points because the character Li Changru was really intriguing, complex, and the actress was able to show the layers of the character really well.
Nuanced Women -3
Li Changru is a real fascinating character, but the rest are Cinderella story caricatures.
Cinematography/Production Values - 6
Every once in awhile, there will be a really gorgeous cinematic take, but generally the costumes, makeup and hair look a bit garish and cheap. Cinematography is mostly serviceable - just captures long shots and reaction shots.

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Great movie

I loved the story and the actors. I loved the fact that the main two characters and together in real life !!! The main actrice is so beautiful as well as the two main male characters! Even if it is an imaginative story, it still is fun and great to watch. Also the music from the movie and soundtrack is great. I enjoyed every episode so much! The chemistry between Tang Yan and Lou Jin is amazing and also the other love stories and so beautiful. The fights are just like in stories for kids but other aspects of the story is valid no matter of the time scale. It is a very well don movie indeed

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Loved it

Historical dramas are definitely my thing, and this was the second Chinese drama I ever watched. I loved how strong the female lead was, and how the show took a very feminist angle! While pursuing romance, the female lead also seeks to enact revenge. Weiyoung is smart, witty and driven. So, she becomes the empress in the end,

I also loved the male lead, and his devotion to the female lead. It helps that the couple are married in real life, because their chemistry is insane. I cried so much at the ending, the villains did not give them a chance to have a happy life at all.

Now onto the villains, as much as I hate Changle and Changru, they were awesome villains to watch. They were determined to get what they wanted no matter who they hurt. It made for an entertaining show.

The only part of the show I didn’t like was the second male lead, I felt nothing for him, and I didn’t like his braids!

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This is the first time I have watched a drama with both Tiffany Tang and Luo Jin as leads,and I must say it was impressive.
It can be cited as a political drama with the female lead caught in a soup.Tiffany Tang,plays the role of Princess Weiyoung,whose family gets killed ruthlessly when she was Princess Xun er,and through a series of changes becomes Weiyoung.Here she meets Tuoba Jun,played by Luo Jin and both of them get entangled in various struggles,problems and difficulties.
Well,the drama is quite interesting.Though there may be some boring or dragging moments,it makes you watch it till the end.
I liked the acting of Luo Jin very much and Tiffany Tang was also good in her role.
The villains were vicious in nature and always try to create problems for Weiyoung and Tuoba Jun.This scheming process may become tiresome few times,but it is okay to watch it.
The costumes were good,sets and locations were also good.All the other actors were good too.Finally,it is a decent watch.

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A touching and well acted story

I'm a sucker for these extravagant, powerful, touching historical dramas. I would rank Princess Weiyoung high up along with Ashes of Love. The series was engaging and interesting and can easily be watched repeatedly.
The acting is superb in Princess Weiyoung. From the two main leads to the secondary characters and even the smaller characters in between. I'm really impressed with the ML and FL and read online that they're married in real life. How fun!!!
Princess Weiyoung is a dynamic story of history, war, love, tragedy, enemies, friendship, and a whole lot of court drama. The clever plotlines of the enemies particularly the two Princes, made this story so much fun.
Overall, Princess Weiyoung is a clever and well written story. The acting is phenomenal, you can't help but root for the two leads, but also feel a connection with the others.
The Prince Na'an did a splendid job. He was a cold and emotionally disconnected person. But also a bit ambiguous in nature. I couldn't help but feel bad for him due to his abusive childhood which caused so much PTSD. Therefore i think that was why he was the way he was.
A somewhat tragic ending but at least the ML and FL had some happy years together.

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Second time watching and it did not hold up to scrutiny

Princess Wei Young was the second C drama I watched and I suspect the novelty of something other than Hollywood or franchise movies made this seem much more interesting than it actually is otherwise I wouldn't have given in to nostalgia and chosen to watch it again. First off, the lead characters were insufferable and whoever chose to have a whiny arse childish hero and a martyr complex heroine did us a disservice. By the time we reached the 25th episode most of the characteristics that I liked about the leads were reduced to them being/doing/speaking irrationally.

What the heck happened to Tuoba Jun and Wei Young? The initial 10 stars is now reduced to 3.5.

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A rather disappointing series despite the casting.

I made the mistake of watching this series just after "The rebel princess" (with a top cinematic quality)... Suddenly, everything seemed cheap: the costumes, the abuse of the green screen for outdoor filming, choreographies with cables, etc.

PLOT: The FL, princess of a kingdom decimated following a conspiracy and the last survivor of the family, joins the neighboring kingdom to take revenge. She claims to be one of the Prime Minister's daughters. She meets (again) the ML, imperial grandson, who cannot help but come to her aid when she is in danger. They will gradually fall in love, but have to face multiple obstacles and struggles for power, to survive and be together.

PROS:
+ An epic saga with 54 episodes.
+ very good actors and lots of endearing characters
+ the OSTs accompany the emotions well.
+ an almost realistic and credible story

BUT
### cheap costumes & very abusive use of cables
### slow narration. OK, the journey to power is long, but the series lacks rhythm => so, I followed certain narrative arcs in dotted lines.
### I can understand the excessive ambition of some characters, but I'm frankly fed up with stubborn "one-side" lovers despite repeated rejections...
### some characters are not credible: the angry emperor, the evil "super warrior" Chi Yun Nan, etc.
### I don't know if it's the subtitles' fault, but a lot of dialogue seems flat, even offbeat.

=> I will not rewatch this series, which for my part, I found rather disappointing despite the casting.

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J'ai fait l'erreur de regardé cette série juste après "The rebel princess" (d'une qualité cinématographique) ... Du coup, tout parait cheap : les costumes, l'utilisation du fonds vert pour les tournages en extérieur, les chorégraphies avec câbles, etc.

PLOT: La FL, princesse d'un royaume décimé à la suite d'une conspiration et dernière survivante de la famille, rejoint le royaume voisin pour se venger. Elle prétend être une des filles du 1e ministre. Elle rencontre (à nouveau) le ML, petit-fils impérial, qui ne peut pas s'empêcher de venir à son secours quand elle est en danger. Ils vont peu à peu tomber amoureux, mais devront affronter de multiples obstacles et les luttes pour le pouvoir, pour survivre et être ensemble.
PROS:
+ grande saga de 54 épisodes, épique.
+ de très bons acteurs et beaucoup de personnages attachants
+ les OST accompagnent bien les émotions.
+ une story à peu prés réaliste et crédible

### costumes cheap & usage très abusif des câbles
### narration lente. OK, le parcours est long vers le pouvoir, mais la série manque de rythme => du coup, j'ai suivi certains arcs narratifs en pointillés.
### Je peux comprendre l'ambition démesurée de certains personnages, mais j'en ai franchement marre des amoureux "one-side" obstinés malgré les rejets à répétition ...
### certains personnages ne sont pas crédibles : l'empereur colérique, le "super guerrier" evil Chi Yun Nan, etc.
### je ne sais pas si c'est la faute des subtitles, mais beaucoup de dialogues paraissent plats, voire décalés.

=> je ne revisionnerai pas à nouveau cette série, que pour ma part j'ai trouvé plutôt décevante malgré le casting.

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Repetitive schemes

First 20 - 25 max episodes are interesting, then later half the story gets too boring, repetitive, Exaggerated

FL has good relations wid almost all the other characters, 1st half she was good later not that interesting
ML didnt leave a prominent mark in whole drama, although his acting is good
Actor who acted as Tuoba Yu's was on point in all his scenes

Chang le's costumes when she becms wife of ML were beautiful, it suited her well
Actor who played Chang ru((seen her in "love020" thr she played almost similar character)), in this drama acted pretty well, but her character is a person wid pretty face but an evil, utter evil heart...... no humanity, shz so obsessed wid tuoba yu ((tuoba yu wid FL, chang le wid ML)) n for it she does all kinds of despicable things, the others - chang le, tuoba yu also are the same
i specifically mentioned her cuz she acted pitiful, no one knew of her schemes till almost the end, that means she acted so well in front of all as well as an actor

Overall the drama would hve been more interesting if the story had variations & not repetitions wid same characters plottings, n FL lead as the culprit every single time

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