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sinisteredgirl · 5 years

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Mischievous Princess (Diao Man Gong Zhu) (2006)

This is going to be a long post so the long and short of it is this: Do I recommend this show to everyone? Nope, because one would need a lot of patience to watch it. But do I love it? Hell yeah.

Mischievous Princess (or the Bratty Princess, but that sounds like shit) is a story about Situ Jing--a military general’s daughter who loves to sneak out of their household under the guise of a male and with the assumed name “Xiao Long Xia”. She has a knack of getting into trouble, and along the way she befriends and becomes a “sworn brother” of two equally honorable but secretive individuals--later revealed to be Bai Yunfei (son of a feudal lord) and the Emperor himself. With these three characters come an array of problems as they become embroiled in political intrigues, power games, assassination attempts, and manipulations from the shadows--all against the background of a looming rebellion that threatens the stability of the empire.

When people ask me about this show, I always put out a long-ass disclaimer about it. That’s because it’s a show of extremes--extremely bad aspects and extremely good aspects. When I say bad aspects, we have to put into context the fact that it was created in 2005/2006. And while that doesn’t wholly justify some of the bad things, I feel like it helps put things into perspective. So with that, let’s start with the bad things.

My number one complaint is the costume. It borders atrocious. This is supposed to be a period drama so why the hell is Princess An Ning (the Emperor’s sister and Bai Yunfei’s fiancee) wearing a midriff? Wen Mei’er’s (Emperor’s cousin and concubine) and Situ Jing’s costumes were also a bit...bizarre. Aside from those individuals, the rest of the costumes were okay--pretty good even. I especially like the Emperor and the Emperor-dowager’s costumes best (and also that one “formal” dress of An Ning--it’s gorgeous!)

Costumes aside, some of the lines of the characters were a bit off and the editing is not really as polished (I mean there’s no need to zoom in on each character’s face in every scene). The kung fu is...pretty dismal, and the acting of some of the characters were a bit stiff. I’m also not a fan of slapstick humor in the drama or slapstick humor in general, but I recognize that this kind of humor is probably a norm for dramas during that time (mid-2000s).

With all these, what could possibly be the redeeming quality of this drama? Two things. First, the story. Now I’m a person who absolutely loves political intrigues and machinations in fiction, and boy is this drama full of it. And at the center of the political whirlpool is the second redeeming factor of the drama: the characters, particularly the Emperor.

I fell in love with the character of the Emperor (Emperor Zhu Yun as he was named, but mostly he was referred to in the show as the Emperor because, you know, deference). He is compassionate and he genuinely cares for his people, but his shining quality is without a doubt his brilliance. He is exceedingly cunning and calculative--always one step ahead of his enemies both inside and outside the palace court. And he is a master of the power game--able to manipulate things and just about anyone to achieve his desired results. One particular line from Chen Lin (bodyguard of the Emperor) sums it up: “the Emperor is the most intelligent person in the world. Those who oppose him shall die a horrible death.” (Man do I love that line.)

I’m not kidding when I say almost all of the problems and seemingly impossible situations that the lead characters got themselves into were all resolved by the Emperor using his wit and genius--and I tell you it’s always a pleasure to watch him use it. Even his enemies give him their begrudging respect because of it. Alec Su masterfully portrayed the Emperor and his every scene is really just a joy to watch.

Situ Jing, played by Jang Nara, was also a good character overall (although there was one point in the story where she irked me to high heavens. Looking back, however, I kind of understand her now.) Some aspects of her character arc were not very well polished, but I can forgive that. I deeply appreciate the fact that she remained true to her character throughout the series; her headstrong, uncompromising attitude as well as her clever ways with things never really wavered. Her chemistry with the Emperor is I think very good, and cliche as it may be, they really are a perfect match; Situ Jing being one of the only characters that can match the Emperor with cleverness. I also deeply, deeply appreciate the fact that she maintained her own agency throughout the show and didn’t just relegate to a girl fawning over the lead boy (which is really a pet peeve of mine with some of the shows that I’ve watched—after realizing their love for each other, the lead girl falls into the role of just fawning over the lead boy. Ugh. Yes, looking at you still, My Love from the Stars.) She is part of the narrative and she moves in it as an active player, never in a passing role.

Bai Yunfei’s character was the least memorable of the three leads, but I guess we could say he’s an okay character. I love those times though when he played mind games with the Emperor, which highlights the fact that he’s brilliant as well and can play that game, although he admitted that he’s nowhere near as masterful as the Emperor.

Onto other aspects, I actually like the use of the soundtrack (background music) in this drama especially during its tense moments. There were some grating tracks though, like the one they repeatedly use during cheesy moments. The opening song also just bops.

So there you have it--the good and the bad. This show is really a guilty pleasure of mine to be honest. It has mixed-ish reviews, and again, I’m not blind to its glaring faults. But I just love it and appreciate it all the same. I can actually say that although the show was made more than a decade ago, its story is better and far more memorable than some of the more modern and recent dramas that I’ve watched.

#mischievous princess #Diao Man Gong Zhu #review #drama #chinese drama #cdrama

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