Princess Agents (2017)

Almost perfect

Non-spoiler portion of the review:

GREAT SHOW. starts off with a bit of imperial harem-like schemes and fights between the women which then moved on to a weak maid turning into a really strong female warrior with a sense of justice. ZLY’s character never faltered from her principles no matter what instructions were given to her. You watch her rise up the ranks, gain the loyalty of the people around her and see a lot of emotions throughout because there’s death, there’s betrayal and there’s a lot of pain.

I really like the 2 main characters and their chemistry in this show. One is so headstrong, firm and chivalrous and the other is exactly the same but in a very cool and silent manner. It was a delight watching them.

The action scenes, the somewhat romantic scenes, the dialogues were all to swoon for. CG was bad unfortunately, like all Chinese dramas.

This is my first Zhao Liying show and boy am I blown away by her performance.

Opening theme is amazing. The theme really reflects on the main character and Zhang Bichen has such a powerful voice.

-SPOILER PORTION OF THE REVIEW:



Ok, I’m less angry with the ending because I came across spoilers by accident so i had it coming. My only gripe with the show is that they use Yan Xun’s story to steal Chu Qiao’s limelight. The chinese title of the show literally translate to Legend of Chu Qiao but it is essentially Yan Xun’s revenge journey from episode 20 onwards.

The last few episodes were rushed. They threw in Liang princess’s sudden romance with YWY and dissolved it within half an episode. It was unnecessary and a waste of time. YWY recognising Xing’er’s handwriting was also abit lame. And the few episodes of Xing’er fighting YWY’s military strategies were pretty frustrating too. She nearly killed Meng Feng how could she. This felt nothing like the sweet battles between the main couple in General and I. And the most frustrating of all is CQ going back to Yan Xun every single time.

My heart broke for Yuwen Yue. It broke in so many parts right up to the end. Thankfully, the ending showed where Xing’er ‘s heart really lies with even though she was loyal to YX. At least that gave me some closure. Whatever happens after the lake scene is up to our imagination for us who didn’t read the book. But at least I can go to sleep knowing that she indeed loved YWY even though it was unclear to me in the previous episodes (him kissing her, YX asking if she ever loved him).

I just wanna say that ZLY had some really great and memorable dialogues in this series. The confrontation with YX at the end, and the one with Zhong Yu when YX tried to abandon Yan Bei. The lake scene of course was THE BEST scene she did. It was so in the feels.

I really like Lin Gengxin and Shawn Dou’s performances too. YWY’s stoic and silent (yet sometimes cheeky) demeanour makes him so “handsome”. Shawn Dou’s performance in the episode where they showed him his dead family was THE bomb.

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Top 5 Chinese Dramas I ever watched

I have been watching Thai, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Singaporean dramas dubbed in Khmer for over 30 years. Princess Agents have made it to my top 5 of all time. I don't really care for the real life drama behind the plagiarism scandal; the series is intense, romantic, sorrowful and never boring. I couldn't wait to see what happened next. I am actually a huge fan of Yin Xie as a character and for the actor portraying him. I think him and the lead girl are the two hardest characters to accurately portray due to the complexities of their storylines and emotional character changes. I utterly enjoyed Princess Agents and am thankful it was made.

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I'm enjoyed watching "Princess Agents"!

It's indeed a drama with many layers and complexities, from the intricate plot twists to the deep character development. The slow-burn romance, the well-executed fight scenes, and the portrayal of each character's pursuit of justice all contribute to the unique charm of the series. The main antagonist's power-hungry nature provides a stark contrast to the other characters, adding another layer of tension and intrigue.

As for the novel version of "Princess Agents", you can find it on WebNovel. Here's the link to the novel: [Princess Agents on WebNovel](https://www.webnovel.com/book/princess-agents_10176031205004305)

The possibility of a second season, it's indeed a common concern among fans given the time that has passed since the first season. The age of the actors relative to their characters could pose a challenge if the series were to continue with the same cast. But let's keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best!

Remember, the beauty of stories lies in their ability to live on in our imaginations. So, even if there isn't a second season, the characters and their stories can continue to unfold in our minds. And the novel can provide additional material for that imaginative journey! ??

Source: [WebNovel](https://www.webnovel.com/book/princess-agents_10176031205004305)

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I saw this drama on a few recommendations and lists so I thought to give it a try, plus I was following some of Lin Gen Xin 's reality shows and become a fan so...here I am reviewing this drama after I just finished it.
My basic rating...first off, the story was good. I did like it. I am usually not a huge fan of these major internal relationship struggles type shows but the story was good enough that I didn't think it was bothersome.  Apparently, it is based on a novel series so if I ever find the audiobooks I might give it a try but the audio language may be too hard for me to understand, sadly. Secondly, the cast was great. I have watched some other dramas that some of these actors have main roles in so I knew they were good, just didn't know whether their chemistry in their acting would mesh with their roles.  Sadly, I saw an article that a second season was announced to finish off the rest of the series, but the original cast might not be in it or at least the MCs will change actors. Changing actors half way is such an annoying thing, especially when the actors received so much positive feedback for their roles. But, you never know the situation might change...crossing my fingers, I find some announcement that disproves what news I've seen so far about the second season.  Third, music...besides from the OP, I loved the in-show soundtrack and GEM's ED.  I love GEM so when I heard the ED, I immediately fell in love with the song.  Lastly, rewatch value...I would love to rewatch it, to find any quirks after I listen to the audiobooks if I find them. There are always different presentation quirks between medias. Personally, I rarely rewatch long seasons, anything over 30ish is too long for me to stay focus while rewatching.  
I would definitely recommend this drama.  But, I do have my complaints.  I feel like the romance wasn't developed really well through the script.  It is either my Chinese language skills that hindered my understanding or they just didn't really move the romance.  The CPs had their moments but...It feels like you caught a fish but you can't reel it in and you're tugging back and forth.  Then again, this season was apparently only one and half books in the series so it might just be that we're not there yet which is why they presented it this way.  Secondly, the story didn't get good until the latter end of the drama in my opinion.  It was good but still boring enough where I would want to fast forward in episodes in the middle so...there's that.  Lastly, the ending is crap.  They literally made the ending to foreshadow the second season which to me is advertising to keep the audience. But, then again, by the end of this season, everything is pretty much wrapped up, but the ending just leaves me feeling empty.  I don't know. You'll have to watch it to understand what I mean.  I'm kinda picky when it comes to endings.

Overall, I recommend this drama.  It is the typical relationship struggles for power in politics, family, and love in a historical setting in palace politics and martial arts but the story is good enough to make you feel for each of the characters in the drama. You will feel for the protagonists and want to help kill the antagonists.  WATCH IT  ; )

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I gave this a high rating mostly for the actors. Even characters I didn't like a lot, or even despised story-wise, were splendidly acted out, painting the drama world all that more vivid. Especially the princess, Chun'Er had been written in such a way, that's bound to make you dislike her - she does play the role of "female rival" after all. I feel the writers have made her annoying on purpose. It still felt fascinating to watch her development as a very sad and tragic character. Chun'Er was so ridiculously naïve and childish it felt over the top, but then you feel like her pureness is gradually ripped off from her in chunks, and it makes her agitated and lost. A truly pitiful soul. What's even more sad, is the tale of Yan Xun, it tugged my heart the most. He is sort of turning into this hollow type of person, a mere shell of his former self.

Other than some great character plots the story pacing wasn't so smooth sailing, but thankfully many fun side characters made even some of the filler episodes interesting to watch.

If you like yourself a strong, young female lead who is ready to challenge herself and trying to achieve her dreams with some dark drama going on, with the occasional fun times lightening the mood, then this might be your series! Beware of the final episode though, it divides opinions. It was a bit messy in my opinion, and I'm going to skip the ending when rewatching.

Also it seems there is some trouble in the project for season 2, so we might or might not ever get it. The novel this series is based on has a slightly different story line, so if the season 2 doesn't get made at all, we'll never know how this show would've ended and it makes me so gloomy. I hope the director and the cast could work their differences out. At the very least, the director should apologise to the cast; one would think the promising sales alone would be enough reason if you're out to make money?

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Good Story.

STORY:
The story/plot was good for the most part. Legend of Chu Qiao was a amazing drama. I thought maybe they could have added an 59th episode because of the rush ending. It's like the producer was like "Maybe we should just end it here"
The ending was unexpected and surreal. He ended up dead? In the book, he was saved by his family so the book didn't have a bad ending if ya'll were wondering.
ACTING/CAST:
Chu Qiao/Xing'er became a strong female warrior through the teaching of Yu Wen Yue and her mother. She learned to trust/ love in the end. I can understand her attitude on life in many ways. On the other hand, Yu Wen Yue is cold, blank faced, and heartless to his servants and everyone around him until episode 40 and over. The things he did in the end was a different Yu Wen Yue that was changed by love. The two leads have had a lot of misunderstanding between each other and eventually solved them out. He ended up dying because of his love and Chu Qiao/Xing'er finally realized who to rely on and who didn't deserve her trust.
MUSIC:
The music was ok. It definitely wasn't my favorite.
RE-WATCH VALUE:
I would definitely re-watch this in my spare time. this drama is one of my favorites after all.

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Still waiting for season two after seven years...

LIKE

When Bai Sheng mourned for her families - that scene I BAWLED and I couldn't bear to watch it again

The moment when Yan Xun chose A'Chu over himself

When Yu Wen Yue said "not many in this world could hurt me" and what was followed

What Xing Er did to Yu Wen Xi - satisfying!

DISLIKE

Yu Wen Huai and Yu Wen Xi. Period.

MUSIC - personal fav

学不会 Xue Bu Hui - 香香 Xiang Xiang
星月 Xing Yue - 王铮亮 Wang Zheng Liang, 郁可唯 Yu Ke Wei

REWATCH VALUE

Yes I have rewatched like twice already

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OMG, I'm mad, why??? Why did it end the way it did? I stayed up for two days straight, completely engrossed in this drama (not that I had to, lol). It captured my attention with every scene, and now that it's over, I can finally get some sleep. But there's a problem—I can't figure out what the writers were thinking with that ending! It seems like they were setting us up for a Part II. Do you remember how long we had to wait for "Ashes of Love Part II"?

I guess it's pretty clear that I loved this drama. The performances of the three main actors and the lead actress were incredible
Zhao Li Ying, Lin Geng Xi, and Shawn Dou—I was truly blown away by how believable they were. My every emotion was brought to the surface, especially in those last 20 minutes. I felt like I was watching my own family in trouble, and I cried and cried! But then the ending left me feeling incomplete. I immediately jumped online to search for Part II, only to find out there isn't one, or it's still a possibility. It's disappointing, especially considering "Princess Agents" was released in 2017, and here we are at the end of 2024... Come on now, bring it back!

I can't forget to thank all the other actors and actresses who made this drama believable. You were all fantastic! The set design, the martial arts scenes—everything was just superb!

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Princess Agents was my first cdrama, and I have to say, I was impressed. Not only did X’inger totally deliver as a badass female lead, but the setting and political intrigue kept me on the edge of my seat. Both the music and the acting were incredible, and this drama is a must-watch in my book.  I enjoyed how multiple male characters were vying for the female lead’s affections, giving it a reverse-harem vibe that I completely loved. I enjoyed how the second female lead was a well-rounded character, and not just there for the audience to hate on, but was someone that could actually  relate to.
  Please watch this drama! 

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