7.75 rating - rounded up to 8.0 because of Feng Shao Feng

I started watching “Prince of Lan Ling” at the end of 2022 and it’s the first drama I completed in 2023. At times, it does feel like it took me a year to finish watching this. Watching this drama almost 10 years after it’s aired, I came to the conclusion that there’s one trope I really dislike, and that’s the main reason I did not enjoy this drama as much as I thought.

What I Like:

1. Feng Shao Feng - A younger Feng Shao Feng exudes charisma as the tall, dark and handsome general. He might not fit the historical description of the real Gao Chang Gong, one of the 4 most handsome historical figures, who was described as more feminine and gentle. But putting that aside, I love his portrayal and his acting. His acting moved me, more so than in “The Story of Ming Lan”. Since this is an older drama, I guess China did not use white filters or makeup to make all men look like women.

2. Acting - The acting of the cast is good, including supporting characters. I enjoy all the emotional scenes and cry with them. I hate the villains, especially Zhang Er soooo much, because the actors were so good.

3. Male/Female/Male Love Triangle - I was pleasantly surprised to find out Yu Wen Yong is actually a good and understanding third wheel. I thought most of the romantic angst is because of his doing, since he’s the Emperor and is used to getting his way. Imagine my surprise when he knows when to let go, to love unconditionally and never really forces FL to do anything she doesn’t want to. No wonder some watchers are rooting for him instead of Gao Chang Gong. I didn’t really have second lead syndrome since I find GCG a lot more handsome and dashing. LOL

4. Grandmothers - Love both grandmothers for different reasons. Blind grandma is strict but kind and caring. Empress Dowager grandma is hilarious and lights up the show. Not enough grandma scenes in this drama.

5. Production - Looking via my 2023 eyes, I can tell money was spent on set designs, props and even battle scenes. Palaces in both kingdoms though look similar at first sight, actually have their own unique styles. Empresses wear elaborate jewelries and give off very different vibes, one’s elegant and the other’s imposing and commanding. I love all the costumes, especially for the men. Gao Chang Gong (ML) and the 5th Prince have the most unique and colorful outfits. Not a big fan of Yu Weng Yong (2ML)’s hairstyle and his royal robes look a little too big on him, not as fitting as what the two princes wear. Yang Xue Wu (FL) has a more simpler look with fewer accessories, and she fits her well.


What I Don’t Like or have Mixed Feelings:

1. Evil/Jealous 2FL - This is a personal hatred. After watching so many xianxia dramas, I’ve come to the realization that I really dislike second female leads who won’t take no for an answer, and are clingy, jealous and obsessive. I empathize with her sufferings but still. I could not stand misunderstandings between the leads especially if they are caused by evil 2FLs. Unfortunately, this whole drama is about this evil woman, and I couldn’t help but have to watch some episodes at 1.25x speed because of her. After watching newer dramas such as “Love Like the Galaxy” where the angst of the main romance is caused by understanding each other too well, watching this show’s misunderstandings hurt my soul.

2. Female/Male/Female Love Triangle - Continuing with my previous point, I do not like this love triangle between Yang Xue Wu/Gao Chang Gong/Zhang Er. I am mainly more disappointed in the two main characters where they would fall for Zhang Er’s tricks over and over again. They’re supposed to be smart people, yet Yang Xue Wu couldn’t stop herself from believing in those lies, when she KNEW Zhang Er was evil. My blood boils!

3. Dubbing - Ariel Lin is the only one who used her own voice in this drama. I applaud her for doing so, and it did make a difference. Unfortunately, I was expecting a different voice from Feng Shao Feng. His voice actor doesn’t seem to match him. I also dislike the voices of Emperor Gao Zhan and Zu Ting. They sound weird and a little cartoonish.

4. Main Romance - The main romance should have been good and right up my alley. They have sweet and fluffy scenes, romantic and emotional scenes. I would have loved a few more good kisses. I think the evil 2FL just took too much enjoyment out of the main romance for me to appreciate what I usually like. I enjoy the earlier episodes when they just met each other and started to fall in love. Once they became a couple, there’s something missing that I couldn’t pinpoint. I would not say the chemistry is bad. I love some of the scenes, especially the 2nd wedding and the portraits. I love that they mostly are very honest when communicating their feelings to each other. But this star-crossed lovers plot should move me more.


Other Random Observations:
1. The writers must know people hate the second female very much and try to compensate by showing a quite long scene of her getting sexually assaulted (no explicit skin-showing scenes).
2. The writers also don’t hesitate in burning a small child alive or throwing a baby on the floor to kill it.
3. Blind loyalty is the death of the male lead. He could have a good life with his wife but no, he chose to be a martyr. Reminds me of Zhou Sheng Chen in “One and Only”.
4. So much time was spent on FL helping out the disabled soldiers in the village. Well, it’s somewhat anticlimactic when ML just heard of it but never fully appreciated the effort. It’s just another plot device of the evil 2FL.



Completed: 1/1/2023 - First review of 2023 and I couldn’t keep it short and succinct.