Prince of Lan Ling (2013)

Story: The love triangle in this story will make you cry, sigh and smile. There is no evil man here. Both men are equally deserving of her. It is a story of sacrifices, of hardships, of courage and virtue. At first, I was doubtful about a romance drama being set in the Southern-Northern Dynasties period, knowing from history, that it was a bloody era to live in. Dynasties come and go. There was no stability in that period of chinese history. Furthermore, prince Lan Ling comes from a royal family that was slaughtered to extinction. Prince Lan Ling himself died at a young age (around 30s). So, how can there be a love story centred around this setting? Well... there is! And this drama told a wonderful love story involving Prince Lan Ling, Yang Xue Wu and King Yuwen Yong. I like that the writer stuck to the historical events to the end. There was never a boring moment, despite the length of the drama (46 episodes). Each episode ends with a cliffhanger that makes you want for more. Before you realise it, 46 episodes have come and gone! Highly addictive! My only warning before you start? You will need tissue - bucket loads of it! Truly a touching love story.

Acting/Cast: No complains on acting. Everyone did exceptionally well. Everyone's veteran actors and actresses; so they know what they are on about. The chemistry between the 3 leads in the love triangle was very good and believable. The only issue I noticed was a wardrobe malfunction with King Yuwen Yong... where you can see his 'fake hairline' in one of the later episode (forgot which one). They probably hurried the production of that episode. Other than that, all's fine and dandy!

Music: Beautiful songs that reflects the mood of the story. You will love the hauntingly sad vocals of Della Ding and Jia Jia. Each of the 3 leads have a song for them that pretty much sums up their love for each other.

Rewatch value: Time permits; I'll defintely re-watch this gem. In fact, I am out and about trying to get hold of the whole series in DVD.

Overall: I gave this drama a 10/10 simply because I can't give it 9.5/10 here. It is not really an 8/10 either. I made this decision by comparing this drama against Bu Bu Jing Xing (the perfect 10 ancient chinese romance drama for me) and against BBJX, this drama is around 80-90% at the level of BBJX. To me, BBJX is still No. 1 and this one here is a close No. 2. I hope this gives you an idea where this drama sits in terms of ranking. Lastly, just sit back and enjoy!

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I just positively had to write a review on this drama. Had to.
If you're thinking of watching this drama but being put off by the 46 episodes, as I initially was, I have to say- don't worry! The episodes aren't as long as those you'll find in some dramas, and you'll find yourself flying through them.

With those 46 episodes in mind, I guess it's obvious to say that a lot happens in this drama. The story is a classic one of fighting the good fight for the good of the people, with a thrilling and beautiful romance (and love triangle!) to spice it up. I almost want to say that the romance is a bit too much, considering it feels like the center of our love triangle becomes a plot point more than anything, but it's definitely excusable.

There are several different arcs that we see our characters go through, and the characters also naturally develop with the story. By the time each character reaches their peak in the show, you've basically had a complete rundown about why they are the way they are, why they're doing what they're doing, and what your opinion is on them. This drama has much better developed characters than most in the sense that there are literally no characters I can think of (besides one that becomes irrelevant fairly early on) that I hate COMPLETELY. Of course there are moments of frustration, but even then you can definitely understand where they're coming from. This is a far cry from the usual drama antagonist, the ones that raise hell for no other purpose besides raising hell. It was refreshing.
Now, I'm complimenting the characters and their development, so you might be wondering why I didn't give a '10' to the Acting/Cast... well, that's honestly for no other purpose besides some brutal overacting in occasional places. But thankfully enough, those expressions that were overacted were at least fairly accurate!

The music was flawless. Nothing else needs to be said about that. Trust me.
Side note as well- this was a very... well... simply put, it was a very pretty drama. Besides the occasional questionable CGI sequence (that I'm fairly positive would only bother a perfectionist like me), the aesthetic qualities of this drama are worth being noted. Both in scenery and in people's faces. The Prince of Lan Ling isn't exactly unpleasant to look at if you know what I mean. And the clothes! The costumes! They were gorgeous, I feel like the people who made the clothes were having the time of their lives designing those clothes. Don't even get me started on the hair, which was almost* completely flawless. (* I think one of the actors had the occasional allergic reaction to the wig glue or something, I don't know man.) Basically, it was a very pleasing drama to look at.
Rewatch value is only a 9 for length, but the depth of the story, characters and romance will no doubt make for an engaging, interesting watch every time.

Ugh. This was just such a satisfying drama! Just watch it! I no doubt have more to say but it isn't occurring to me right now.

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