Up to ep31 and am still hooked enough to try and watch 2 episodes a day 🙂 Trying hard not to have spoilers in this post so will just note some observations below!
1. Why is Luo Jin not more famous? He looks uber good here and his cheeky smile is the icing on the cake ! Tuoba Jun is a well written character – I had some concerns that he would just be a lovesick prince but fortunately the scriptwriter decided to give him more gumption. 🙂 Luo Jin managed to convey Tuoba Jin’s idealism and warmheartedness without being a wuss or overly self righteous and I must say that he makes small eyes look so good!
2. Rachel Mao is doing so well here too – sure there maybe room for improvement but I like that she doesn’t over exaggerate her “evil” smirk or glint while intricately plotting her next move – I like that Li Chang Ru is also unapologetically oblivious for her flaws; while she may think that she only attacks when threatened, her actions have proven otherwise and that she is a level headed cold hearted one who would stop at nothing to ensure she gets what she wants. Would be nice if there is more backstory as to why she loves Tuoba Yu so much as otherwise would need to add stalker-ish to that list!
3. First time watching Vaness Wu and initially I didn’t think he was very suitable for period dramas. It’s getting better now that he has more to do in the last few episodes but would just rate him okay – can’t understand how Tuoba Han didn’t see his conniving face whenever he speaks to him!
4. Of the main cast, would say that Li Xin’Ai is the weakest. Not sure why she thinks widening of eyes is meant to emote evil, anger, fear or sadness …. Li Chang Le is not a rootable character but in the hands of a more capable actress (someone like Yang Rong perhaps ) she maybe pitiable or understandable.
5. Am also liking the newbies Nan Fu Long (Li Min Feng) and Chen Yu Qi (Tuoba Di) – love Min Feng’s interactions with both Wei Young and Tuoba Di and Tuoba Di is spunky without being annoying.
And what about the titular character? I like Wei Young a lot so it helps even if I am still not a big fan of Tang Yan. She is best in scenes with Luo Jin and her entourage and where she is required to be kind and merciful. It’s the scenes where she is supposed to be the great brains / planner that falls a bit short as she has that damsel-in-distress vibe even when she is not.
Princess Wei Young to me is a well plotted (if you didn’t read the book) and well paced drama with characters that make sense (so far) and a workable ensemble cast. Please don’t delve into melodrama in the upcoming episodes as I sense that more drama is looming!
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I have to admit that by the end there were so many flaws with this drama (agreed about Chang Le’s actress by the way!), but I still thought it was very entertaining overall. The fast pacing was certainly a strength, and I loved that the revenge plot was set up pretty early on. Also, I loved seeing Luo Jin and Tang Yan onscreen together again. They’re so adorable. It makes it even better that they recently went public about the relationship. Happy sigh.
Anyway, I hope that you continue to enjoy this series if you haven’t already completed it.
Happy watching and blogging,
Summer at Xingsings
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Hi! I am at Ep 51 and gonna watch the last 3 when I have time to marathon it all – the plot holes were a little too obvious to me (how easy is it to kill the king???) and although the OTP moments were cute, I felt were totally out of place – weren’t they supposed to be subtle to avoid suspicions of Tuoba Yu and Chang Le ? What was the earlier subterfuge for???
I really feel that Tang Yan lacks acting finesse and if Wei Young wasn’t portrayed by someone else (someone like Liu Tao perhaps?) the character would come off stronger and more consistent. Of course she has great chemistry with Luo Jin (who i feel is a better thespian – his micro expressions and posture when he discovered who harmed his parents were much more believable to her grief and suppressed anger) though which made the drama watchable for many!
It’s an entertaining drama though and even at 54 episodes, not draggy. I hope it gives Rachel Mao more exposure though – she is totally rocking it!
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Haha, I am in absolute agreement with you. The plot holes are so jarring. In hindsight, I realized I had a lot to nitpick over this drama than I originally thought. Also, I feel the same way about Tang Yan! And it’s funny that you mentioned Liu Tao. I’ve been watching Nirvana in Fire (started after Weiyoung), and I’m loving it so, so much. But you’re right, Princess Weiyoung still had its merits. It was fast paced and was pretty entertaining. 🙂
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Oh don’t get me wrong ! WeiYoung was definitely an entertaining well paced drama – just not a classic by any sense. 🙂 I think I am still allergic to Tang Yan but anticipating Luo Jin and Rachel Mao in new shows.
NiF is so totally good – please do enjoy it!!! That, in my opinion, is a classic. 🙂
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No worries, I totally understand. And omg, I just finished Nif. And it was phenomenal. You’re definitely right that one’s certainly a classic. 🙂
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Isn’t it? Love the soundtrack too!
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i wish princess weiyoung was portrayed as more strong instead of needing ppl to save her most of the time. i hope li min de & the princess end up together. i watched up to 41 & those sisters are ruthless/crazy
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You and me both. She did redeem herself in Ep 44 (about time after the miserable state she was in mentally prior to that!)
Yes, cute but evil is scary. 🙂 Having said that, I do feel sorry for Li Chang Ru – all for a man? She doesn’t even really want to be queen (like Li Chang Le) but just that she wants to be with Tuoba Yu who is totally Just Not Into Her. This show is yet another great lesson for women to NOT persevere in romance when the man is not/less interested – time does NOT overcome everything !
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Princess Weiyoung just reached 10 billion views in 18 days. It’s probably going to be the drama of the year. Just when I thought my girl Zhao Li Ying had the drama of the year for the 2nd year in a row! Tang Yan shows why she’s still Queen. This is huge for Tang Yan, I think it’s her first ever show that she personally produced in addition to acting.
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Wow! That’s cool! This drama definitely benefits from good pacing – hopefully it doesn’t start to drag from here onwards. I think in terms of big budget production, this definitely surpasses Chusen (which i know was highly anticipated) – were there others?
I thought Tang Yan produced Perfect Couple as well? I could be wrong though. I think that was also a ratings hit too (although I did not enjoy it and couldn’t finish it)
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I really like Luo Jin, liked him years ago. He gets lead roles and he’s a really good actor, but he’s in the predicament where people will recognize his face, but not really know who he is. He just needs that one role that will make him a top star.
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Prior to this, I had only watched him in Cosmetology High where he was in the first arc with Yuan Shan Shan and I thought he was manly cute !
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LOVE the drama so far! I’m also watching the daily 2 episodes~ Can’t get enough of it! I agree why isn’t Luo Jin more famous? He’s so cute 🙂 and looks so good with Tang Yan ❤ totally ship them! The evil mother (Change Le's mom) is such a good actress – so evil!
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Hi! I think that Chang Le and her mother actually look a little alike…. 🙂
Not sure how I feel about tonight’s episodes though – the preview put me off a bit ….
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Love this drama so far. I like all the main characters. I really like Vanness Wu’s character. I wasn’t expecting to like him from the teasers and first episodes, but he grew on me. I ship him with Weiyoung, even if I know he is not really good and she doesn’t like him. The tortured prince characters always get me.
Another favorite is ChangRu, she is really evil and cunning. You feel for her at first until she starts going too far. A well written antagonist.
Weiyoung and Tuoba Jin are such a cute couple. They match so well together and have ton of chemistry. I read that Weiyoung was really cruel in the novel and they are really holding back on that for the drama. However, I like this new Weiyoung. She is not afraid to hurt others to deliver justice and get what she wants, but she is not cruel.
In the end, I ship both OTPs and also Vanness Wu’s character with ChangRu. Everyone is super shippable ❤ But I dont find are the scenes between the young princess and MinDe interesting. They are kind of boring/unnecessary for me. But she is getting a better development in recent episodes.
I wasn't expecting to like this drama this much, but I am loving it. It is starting to get really melodramatic but that is to be expected.
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I actually liked that Tuoba Yu admires Wei Young for her intelligence first (no butterfly catching or flower sniffing for him!) and then later (spoiler) realizes that she is also a warm hearted human being who can be caring to others (him) even though she clearly loves Tuoba Jun. That is quite different from Tuoba Jun and Li Min De who both liked Wei Young for her beauty/sweetness (the former) and her caring nature (the latter) before realizing her wit.
The good thing about this show is that it’s believable that Wei Young could attract three men although i personally feel that Tang Yan is much better at exuding the softer/girlie+demure personality of Wei Young.
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Yeah, I think Tang Yan naturally just looks sweet so she does a better job during those parts. However, I still believe her cunning performance as Weiyoung.
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@fireflymaoh you gotta watch eps 31-37 (if you haven’t ) if you like Tuoba Yu!! Aaah…
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I am not there yet. I am in ep. 19. I am trying to catch up on Rookie and this drama.
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I have to disagree with why Tuoba Jun loves Wei Young. He was curious about her at first because he had rescued her twice, but no romantic interest at that point. I think he really took notice of her when the doctor was healing her of the poison with the painful acupuncture procedure. Her insistence on proceeding with it and how she handled the pain impressed him. Also, he always talks about what a great person she is (kind, warm, giving, considerate and intelligent). The butterfly scene was an odd addition, and more to show the viewers that he has fallen for her at that point (because viewers are stupid, right? =P).
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Hi!! I think we will just have to agree to disagree on this one 🙂 but it’s so nice to hear everyone’s thoughts so please do fire away!!
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This drama got me hooked over Thanksgiving weekend! I like tuoba Jun’s playful character and I like the fact that Wei Young didn’t accept him until much later in the story. I would have liked it more if weiyoung was portrayed as a more cunning, intelligent, and scheming person. SPOILER: like in that chapter where she poisoned her dad to get rid of the stepmom, I thought that plan was a good step up for her to demonstrate her resolve until we find out that it was Chun Tao (the bodyguard) that planted the powder poison in the book.
Overall it was a good watch! I really enjoy the interactions between Min De and the princess. They’re fun to watch. =D Thanks for the post!!!
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Yes, the pacing makes it easier to marathon for sure 🙂 agree with you that it was good that she only got together with Tuoba Jun after she realized that the Wei King was also deceived by Chiyun Nan.
After reading your comment, I realized what was my nagging issue with Tang Yan’s portrayal of Wei Young – it is the lack of steel and steadfastness in her eyes and curve of shoulder when she implements any “grand” plan to restore the honor of her father and the Liang kingdom. (Spoiler!) Even when she was talking about her idea of burning the food supply of the Liu-Song armies, it was presented in such a girlish/flippant manner incongruent (how many times does she have to fall off the tree?) with the important manner at hand. It didn’t come off as a stroke of genius (which it was really of Wei Young) but instead the actions were out of character with such a smart, kind woman. Smart women can be feminine and girlish too but not ditzy if you get what i mean.
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Lol! Yes. U exactly wrote out my thoughts. We all know that she’s smart and everyone says that she’s smart but somehow the drama downplay her intelligence a little. It might be the background sound track or the lack of emphasis in certain expressions during filming. Idk.
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@chexmix12 I marathoned eps 35-38 to dampen the incredulity of the earlier two episodes and it really helped. May I recommend the same? 🙂
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hahaha sounds like a good idea. Might do that this weekend!
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You may want to marathon to Ep 43 so won’t be like me and had to do a few eye rolls at the misguided noble idiocy in eps 40/41. Love Tuoba Jun for not immediately taking WY’s side though – he is not a love sick puppy!!! WY starting to annoy me although redeemed herself in Ep 41 a little.
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Too late….I saw up to ep 39 and saw WY being used as a stepping stool…=(
I’ll hold off on the later eps. I don’t think I can take more of these weak WY scenes. Props to TBJ tho!! Spoiler alert: I literally felt his mixed feeling when his mom died and thinking that it’s WY that killed her!
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Oh no! I was too late 🙂 I actually thought felt so bad for Tuoba Jun at his wedding – that tear stained face ! How can Wei Young not see that he is practicing noble idiocy (like her previously when she kept rejecting him initially!) – I mean go and find evidence to prove your innocence instead of being lovelorn – you are accused of killing his mom; surely can’t expect him to accept you with open arms?
Meanwhile,Rachel Mao is totally impressing me ….
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I’ve been watching this translated so I’m only up to ep. 20 – but then I made the mistake of watching ep. 30 and 31 on Ytube untranslated and it made me feel much differently about Vaness Wu’s character. So much of this show is about how people’s self worth or self confidence drives them – for love, for revenge, for power – that I like finding out what drives people. I have wondered if that mess of braids is one large wig he puts on and takes off every day during filming!
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Hi! My Mandarin is not fab either so I do go back to watch excerpts from earlier episodes where I think i need some clarity.
Torally agree that it’s interesting to see what drives each person and how they deal with that – for example both Chang Ru and Min De were living in the shadow of Chang Le and her bro but the way they dealt with the situation was different
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