#princess agents

Princess Agents was a lot. A lot, a lot. But I loved the cast… and the pitiful, horrible desperation of it all. The ending was insane and I still think about it sometimes… so… yeah…

Rebirth.

what’s a girl to do when all the intelligence genes go to other royal family members? a lot of very questionable things, usually over a man who does not deserve her attentions.

a. feng xiyang

convinced herself that a guy who gave her water one (1) time is her soulmate, ignoring all the advice of the people who knew him to in fact be a lying murderer. slept with his brother when she finally felt jilted enough then had the nerve to be shocked when he lied and murdered.

b. yuan chun

had the embarrassing crush to end all embarrassing crushes, in the sense that the guy she crushed on a) was a prisoner of her dad b) had his whole family publicly killed by her dad c) tried to her whole family back. then she led an illegal army to kill the girl he does like, among other misadventures.

c. ning zhao

to be fair i have not finished this drama so i don't know if she gets a believable redemption arc, but to the point i've watched she has convinced herself despite all evidence that her evil elder brother is a good guy and concocted a ridiculous scheme to blow up her dad's pet scholar's house with herself and everyone else inside it.

chun'er and yan xun my beloveds. best characters on the show, and honestly? they def on my list of fav Cdrama characters of all times.

their stories were just so beautiful and tragic. both of them started off as innocent and kind people, who lived in a vipers nest and did not understand the monstrosity and cruelty of the world and people around them.

and both experienced unimaginable horrors. cdramas has a lot of villains with tragic backstories. sometimes we are shown flashbacks to their pasts, but the overall moral of the story is always "even though bad things happen it's no excuse to be a villain" & these villains usually end up getting what they deserve.

however, PA doesn't do that. the audience is forced to experience the horrors these two kind people endure. we see everything in details. we see how their spirits are crushed, and cannot help but understand them and sympathize with them. yan xun had to watch his entire family getting slaughtered, and was imprisoned for years. and mind you, it was done by those he believed were his friends. of course he's gonna become hateful, revengeful and cold. but the thing about yan xun is that even during his worst he still cared and protected a'chu. she was the only thing he had, she was his anchor and the only person who hadn't betrayed and abandoned him (yes, i am looking at you yu wen yue, you useless coward), and his unhealthy attachment to her later on was very understandable. yan xun was so beautifully written, and for me he was the true ML of the show. yan xun loved a'chu and she loved him back but that was just not enough. love isn't a magic potion, it can't fix someone or heal their trauma. and people are able to truly love someone from the bottom of their hearts yet still chose revenge and cruelty.

and chun'er. i feel like chun'er is a character i've seen many times. an innocent princess, in love with prince from enemy state, politics and betrayal happens etc. etc. she lowkey reminded me of "goodbye my princess" FL. but unlike those dramas, the prince doesn't fall for the innocent princess despite politics and war with her family. chun'er's prince wants to get his revenge against her family and go home. her love is childish and hopeless. but you cannot help but to feel bad for her, despite the fact that she completely ignores the fact that her dad killed yanxun's entire family yet she's still pushing to marry him. because chun'er is not cruel or evil. she's ignorant, overprivileged and simply unable to feel and recognize yanxun's pain and feelings. chun'er thinking yanxun rebellion is because he doesn't wanna marry her, and desperately trying to fix the situation she believes is her fault is just so heartbreaking, and i remember crying my eyes out at that horrible scene when it is revealed she was raped.

chun'er and yanxun were like characters from a Disney movie living in game of thrones universe. there is no place for innocence in PA, good people suffer. if yanxun didn't rebel and raised an army on his wedding day, he would've been killed. if you want to survive in this world you need to be strong.

i did like chu qiao. but she wasn't as captivating to me as yanxun and chun'er. but i admired her loyalty and values. i think her character could've been more fleshed out, especially her past and she could've had a better arc as the FL. i felt like the show spent wayyy to much time having her interact with new characters, and didn't really like the whole "every man she meets falls for her" trope.

i am yuwen yue biggest hater. this man can go to hell. he only does the "right thing" when it's convenient for him. did not love a'chu as much as yanxun did.

It looks to me like they chose idol-adjacent actoes rather than actors that can act and it shows. So far the only one I find ok is Li Meng (with whom I fell in love with in The Double, so I am biased) in terms of acting. The leads literally have NO facial experessions like bro!!!!!! AND WHY IS EVERYTHING SO FUCKING GREY AND DARK!!!!! WHO IS EDITING THIS DRAMA!!!!

you found acting in rebirth?????? i gave up after five episodes so i never even saw li meng.

i was side eyeing the casting from the start but was hopeful about the direction because i’ve liked/loved the other dramas i’ve seen from him (the double, generation to generation, moonlit reunion). but this is a mess and a half.