Goodbye My Princess: Director's Cut (2019)

A Beautiful Drama - 7 Years Later, Not for the Casual Viewer

If you are new to Cdramas and are reading this review because it’s on everyone’s must watch list, unless the number one thing you are looking for is PAIN, I would put it off for later.

It exists on those types of lists for a reason. You can tell that an incredible amount of care was put into its creation and in the context of 2017, you can understand foundational is to the 2024 Cdrama landscape. But I don’t think it’s a good introduction to the world of Cdrama, nor satisfying enough for the casual viewer. To put it clearly, what I’m trying to say is, I’ve seen about 70 Cdramas and I’m glad I watched this one, but I don’t think it would have been worth it, nor would I have appreciated it, had I watched it sooner.

There are so many exhaustive reviews of this drama that I will only share what is lingering with me about a month after finishing it.

**LIGHT SPOILERS BELOW** Themes and alluding to plot points, but no outright descriptions or explanations.

I also wouldn’t watch this one if you are looking for your next painfully shippable couple. There is some great chemistry, but the male lead fundamentally does not view her as complex, as feeling, or as human as he is. After doing maybe one of the worst things you could do to another person and watching her breakdown, he says to his friend, “Is what I did so bad?” And that really summarizes his relationship with all the woman in his life.

The male lead’s fundamental misunderstanding of the female lead directly ties into this drama’s larger feminist themes. The unapologetic joy and female friendship against a back drop of a (realistic) world entirely controlled by powerful men, is what made this show shine for me. I cried at how some of them supported each other. These women are not lone stars trying prove that they can exist outside of societies proscribed rolls, they are trying to love and be loved, protect their family and stand for ideals larger than themselves. Even the women who scheme against the female lead are ultimately also victims of misogynistic empire. This is even further highlighted by the one man who is able see the woman in his life as more than tools (no it’s not Gu Jian) also finds himself powerless to help. You could argue that his onetime choosing the morality of empathy over the morality of duty was the climax of the drama.

I found this drama as beautiful as it was tragic. And the hopefulness I felt in the face of knowing it ended badly is a testament to its quality. This tale will linger in my heart for long time to come.

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Best xianxia drama for me!

Bro this is the best drama in 2019 and in xianxia genre overall. I've enjoyed every bit of this drama and if you are looking for a sign to watch it, but be ready and prepare some tissue paper because you are gonna shed a lot of tears, especially when it's about to end.

First of all, I didn't really think of watching this because I don't like tearjerking dramas but I ran out of dramas to watch and I will bore to death if I don't watch dramas, so I tried watching the first few episodes and I got hooked and so here I am writing a review on how much I loved it.

The acting was good between the leads, (not to mention they all are visuals so that's also a reason I watched this lol) especially the one who plays li chengyin, he looks like he's truly in love with her and he conveys his emotions so well using his eyes. I love their chemistry and would love to see them again in another drama.

The story was well written, I loved how my emotions were a rollercoaster while watching this, I would definitely rewatch this again in the future if I want to shed tears again lmao

The music makes me want to cry everytime I listen to it so -0 T_______T JK I loved the theme song and I listen to it every now and then lol I will forever miss this drama and would watch it again

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Hauntingly Tragic

Let me start by saying that the production and visuals in this show were some the best that I’ve seen in CDramas. The beautiful colors, lighting and massive landscapes made the show more real and raw. The OST was also great. Love the song about the Fox as it had such a haunting meaning behind it since foxes are known as tricksters. It summed up this story very well.

This drama takes the cake as one of the top tragic stories in CDrama that I’ve seen to date. I can appreciate the consistency with the story and the fact that it wasn’t turned into an enemies to lovers plot, which would have made no sense given the nature. The bulk of the story was well written along with the superb acting throughout but where it almost lost me was in the meat of the story.

I would say the story took a while to progress around the middle and had too much filler details within. This show could have been cut down to about 30-38 or so episodes and focus on less of the main ML’s revenge plan. They could have cut a lot of those details out and focused more on the story between ML and FL.

This story isn’t for everyone since a lot of people prefer happy endings but I’d recommend a watch if you don’t mind that.

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Are you courageous enough to sacrifice your happiness for world peace?

"Goodbye My Princess" is a dramatization of everything you should NOT do if you want a relationship to be successful. As the title of the theme song goes, this story is a roller coaster best defined by the phrase "love catastrophe". The fundamental message of this show is to warn about the danger of obsessing over revenge. The characters in this show have to deal with many complex geopolitical conflicts that range from genocide, rebellion, war, corruption, assassination, sabotage, and much more. Princes in the kingdom have to resort to extreme deception in their fight for the throne.

Many of the main characters have a deep desire for their loved ones, yet when having to choose between love and revenge, they each make the mistake of prioritizing revenge. In the end, each character learns to regret their prioritization of revenge over love. The princes have a constant struggle between the virtue of honesty and the great importance of accomplishing their goals. Many characters struggle with the lack of freedom they have, how fate has locked them into a tough path, and how they must give up their freedom in order to make the world a better place. The princess must constantly struggle between her duty to maintain world peace via marriage alliances and her desire to also have inner peace. The most heroic lesson of all is learned - to not only be willing to live for world peace, but to also die for it.

More philosophical reviews: https://transcendentphilos.wixsite.com/website/post/the-philosophy-of-chinese-dramas

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Amazing story, told in the most heartwrenching way possible.

I can't even describe how much I love this drama. The directors cut is the only version I watched and I also don't have understanding for those who choose the cut version, knowing there is a more fleshed out one.

I know the most controversial part of the drama is Li Cheng Yin. I saw so many conflicting opinions about his character that it made me appreciate the actors performance even more. Cheng Xingxu... what an actor.
His character, Li Cheng Yin, is in no way a hero, but also no villain. He saw his brother getting murdered infront of his eyes, the brother who was the closest to him and the most honest. This, and the truth about his birth mother, gave him the reason and the motivation to fight for the Throne - knowing that those in the palace are nothing more than power hungry people. He made those plans before he fell in love with Xiao Feng, and I appreciate that he doesn't give this up for the sake of romantic love. Knowing that the palace is full of tyrants, he had to become one himself, infront of his love and wife, Xiao Feng. At the end, he gained justice for his dead brother and mother and got rid of all cruel people with power, but lost Xiao Feng on the way... forever.


Xiao Feng... She has become one my favorite FL in Cdrama-land. Peng Xiao Ren portrayed her perfect. I felt so much sympathy and sadness for her character, that her decision to end her life, was one I totally could understand. It was just too much for her, and neither way to live was in her favor.


A Story, so human and full of emotions, that it's hard to move on from.

Bravo.

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Just what I needed.

I am currently waiting for the release of Immortality and started watching this on the expected release date

Best decision I have made. This show is so cinematic and every scene keeps me watching and wanting more. The politics hold depth and I never get bored even with those scenes where they discuss the lineage and the war throughout the countries.

Every aspect of this show is amazing. The actors know theirs roles and the chemistry between parings aren’t forced. To the master and the princess, to the prince and the princess. I understand what the characters motives are and can already see myself falling deeper in love with this drama

Compared to the original this show hits every detail perfectly. I don’t have a single complaint and recommend this to anyone who wants a cinematic and emotional performance.

I can’t get enough of the princess. She is by far the best female lead I have seen, I enjoy the acting, her style, her motives.

Even if the story could seems like it has been seen before this show adds key details. Each character has a motive and a backstory that is easily implied rather than exposition

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O amor nem sempre supera tudo, quando ele fere então, nem esquecer é suficiente.

Quanto de dor e sofrimento um ser humano é capaz de aguentar gente?
Nunca chorei tanto com uma história, esse drama te leva a níveis que vão da alegria ao choro, do amor ao ódio, do apego a um personagem a angústia de ver que as camadas do mesmo não são nada daquilo que a gente pensava, de um episódio ao outro. E pior, a maioria das ações, dos erros cometidos, das palavras não ditas, dos arrependimentos, poderiam ter sido evitados, mas o homem como sempre(ou pelo menos na maioria das vezes), primeiro precisa errar, pra aprender, pra crescer, pra perdoar ou ser perdoado, mas as vezes nem isso é possível, quando os feitos são irremediáveis. Minha dica é: todo o enredo é muito bem construído, os atores são maravilhosos, a história é sofrida (por muitas vezes, tóxica) mas é muito bem contada, os personagens são densos, carismáticos, amáveis, odiáveis, humanos, mas não é pra todo mundo. Se você quiser sofrer, vai em frente, mas se não, desista!

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