This review may contain spoilers
This drama has touched my heart, I really have no other way to express my feelings for this drama. It's a beautifully tragic story and I think those who gave it up don't really understand the plot of Eastern Palace , the tragedy reverberated throughout the series and even after it ended . I loved and hated this drama, it was a roller coaster of emotions. Anyways, I think my favorite character is Xiao Feng, I LOVED HER. Peng Xiao Ran did an outstanding job in portraying the character. XF is not the badass female lead that I usually prefer, she is quite simple and naive but not stupid, she is a realistic character and she acts in a way that any person would had they been in her place. Throughout the series she made me cry for her, all she ever wanted was to remain at the steppes with her family, marry the person she loved and live freely but her status as the 9th princess didn't allow that.
My second favorite character is probably Ah Du, she is a really pitiful character , probably more than XF. Ah Du remembered everything and had to live with knowing everything and watching as XF fell in love with the guy who basically destroyed her.
As for Li Cheng Yin, Chen Xing Xu did an amazing job in portraying the innocent yet cruel and scheming nature of LCY. His expressions were so vivid , I can never forget. I loved and hated LYC. He was such a selfish character trying to make everything go as he planned and using people around him as he pleased, like Sese, I felt really bad for her character, she was not a scheming girl but LCY ruined her. As for XF, he loved her a lot but he never cared about how she felt, he would imprison her to have her by his side. LCY was not like this at the beginning but he slowly changed and I don't really blame him , like when he said that being a Crown Prince was harder than being the Emperor and I truly believe it is so.
When XF said that her Gu Xiao Wu is long dead, I truly felt that, I felt that GXX really died, he went to the battle of Danchi and never returned and the one who came back was LCY.
I think the one character that I really hated was Chai Mu, this guy was so obsessed with his revenge that in the end he sacrificed everything and everyone around him for the sake of his so called 'revenge'.
Well, to sum it up I think the whole series is really Tragic as both LCY and XF fell victim to the power struggles in the palace and the ending was absolutely perfect as it highlights the deep undertone of the series.
p.s - The OSTs are really amazing. Especially the ending song "First Sight" and "Little Fox", the latter is really symbolic as the love story between LCY & XF is basically told through the song and it truly captures the feelings of the watchers . The hypnotic songs combined with the solemn scenes whether in the desert or the palace make it unforgettable, the cinematography is really beautiful and aesthetic.
Therefore anyone brooding over watching it or not, I would strongly recommend watching it, as I for one can never forget such a beautiful story.
Also in order to heal the broken heart after this, there are 4 short episodes available in youtube, you can search 'goodbye my princess official epilogue' and it should show up, it's really a salve for the wound caused by Eastern Palace.
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Beautiful, but broke my heart
From the title alone I can already predict how the story may end. Still I took a leap and WOW! I didn't think I could binge watch a show any faster. This is one of those shows where you want to start hating the characters (esp. main lead) but can't because you love them so much at the same time. The show has sweet moments but then throws you for a loop due to heart wrenching scenes. It's really a rollercoaster of emotions. You laugh but then stop when you remember the sadness that is looming in coming episodes.The story itself is okay, nothing unique but the characters and cast is what breathed life into this show. I give props to the female lead (Peng Xiao Ran) who is new to me. Her crying scenes have me crying with her. She is just too good with displaying her emotions and facial expressions. I am in awe at both her beauty and her talent!
I normally enjoy more lighthearted shows but I don't regret watching this one bit. Just remember to bring some tissues next time! I already rewatched this and will probably rewatch again.
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Tragic love story
Oh,,,I prefer xianxia, but I also love Goodbye My Princess because of love story and perfect chemistry.
Since it is a tragedy, the ending is what it is expected, a tragedy. I don't like such endings, but... you know... here it was fitting to the plot and ... yes, it was deserved and expected final, unfortunately.
I felt in love with both leads from the 1st episode and they were keep me involved till the end. I need one more drama with same FL and ML. Very complex characters and perfect acting.
The OSTs are meaningfull and unforgettable. It gave me lot of emotions.
In my top -10
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Beautiful Acting, but the story...
Writing a review once you are still under the emotions of anger, sadness and Wow factor is not a very good idea, but i couldn't resist - i cannot move forward to another one :).My ears are still burning, the left eye still twitching and adrenaline hit the highest level :).
I can say is a very beautiful drama, filmed extremely well and the actors did an amazing job (their expressions, feelings, i could feel wholeheartedly- i don't usually cry, but i cried 3 times with this drama). The settings, the costumes, the characters - fantastic chemistry, the music all good.
The story is written well too, but I would preferred if it was involved a little bit of more respect to love (to the woman). The 5th Prince making his dreams come true and step on everyone during almost every single episode, coming in the end and saying " I've done it, i don't have to pretend anymore, i love you" - what was in his mind? I know he is a complex character living in a treacherous world, but he was very very cruel (loved / hated him a lot), as most of the cruelty went to "apparently the woman he loved". Humiliating her, living with another woman for so many years, abuse, violence, rape (as he took her without concent)... Apart from the beginning he didn't give her one happy day. Yes amnesia was the problem, but even so, how could he use her all the time. I am sad because of the ending, i wish the 9th Princess to live happy without him, somewhere in the Western Liang and not dye for the ungrateful men in her life.
It's really worth watching, but prepare lots of tissues, frustration, tragedy, hate, love and a heartbreak.
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As of the time I am writing this review, my rating is .1 point higher than the overall average so I agree with the majority of the reviewers that this is a pretty great drama.
The story was baked just right, although there could be room for improvement when it comes to the taste.
What would you feel while watching this show? ANGER! you have one crazy obsessed male lead who does the female lead so wrong. He loves her like crazy but...he really is not deserving of her love. I enjoy this kind of plot because it really makes you question yourself and the morals you may hold true.
The cast did an amazing job, the costumes were top notch, especially in the beginning of the drama with the female lead wearing red...to be honest I do not remember the music so I can't really say if it had an incredible OST or not.
I recommend this to anybody who likes drawn out angst, an obsessive male lead and decent story-telling.
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Tragic At All Levels
Be prepared, this is a tragic story that is gut wrenching. I heard it was released as a web series, the actors and actresses were unknown at the time and it became a surprise hit. They spent a large portion of the budget on the cinematography, production, costumes, and settings . The beginning scenes with the princess in her red wedding garb and her red scarf flowing in the wind was beautiful. The settings and costumes that reflect the Eastern Palace were beautifully done and stood in contrast to the princess's home land. Also the OST was unique and on point for some of the scenes.The ML is a complex and morally challenged character, he doesn't go around killing for the fun of it but he will be ruthless if necessary to consolidate his power to become the Crown Prince and to survive. He's ruthless to the point where he doesn't truly understand the pain he inflicts on his "true love". He sees she is in pain and he desperately wants her to love him but he doesn't have a full comprehension of why she cannot be with him. He is so obsessed with her he pushes things to a point where he hurts all the people around the FL and traps her.
The acting is decent, the ML overacts in some of the scenes which may cause a little bit of an eye roll. He does manage to pull it off, your jaw may drop with his villainous behavior but the writer and director layer and provide some depth to the character where you feel some level of emotion for the tragic love or whatever you want to call it between the ML and FL. The FL is supposed to be naïve and not too bright, she's kind and likeable enough that it solicits some level of empathy for her situation. I felt the FL did a better job acting than the ML. They did have good chemistry, enough to believe in their on screen attraction for each other.
Some parts did drag on which required fast forwarding, they could have easily removed some of those filler parts to tighten the storyline.
Overall its a wickedly twisted tragic story that is beautifully told.
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WATCH THE DIRECTOR'S CUT! THE ADDED SCENES MAKE THE PLOT MAKE MORE SENSE!!!
Director's Cut has 55 episodes while the edited version has 52I can see why people would give this a 10 but to me this is a SOLID 9- no more no less.
Not gonna lie and say that I was hooked on this drama from the start until the end. The actors did an AH-MAZING job, the costumes were beautiful as well as the scenery, and the OST is straight up beautiful.
The story... it's great but I somehow feel it could have been better in some areas. Some characters were given a lot of screen time and in the end we ended up not knowing what happened to them.
I feel the leads got together pretty quickly, and that would have been fine if this was a shorter drama. The feelings they developed for each other was really intense and kind of didn't mesh well for the pace of the drama (at least to me).
Another thing that bothered me is I wish there were more intimate scenes with the leads. By now it's no secret the editing team took out a crucial bed scene (it's not even available in the directors cut) but I really feel this drama would have benefited more with that.
Last thing, I understand why they decided to wait for the ML to... well you know... but I just felt like it was dragged on for way too long and I would have liked to have seen his character "whole" again for a couple more episodes.
Anyway that's my take away from this drama. I recommend it .
*btw this show has the tearjerker tag for a reason- I was balling my eyes out T_T snot and all
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The characters are quite fun too. The female lead is innocent and playful but in a not annoying way. She can also occasionally be a badass too and she always stands for justice. A nice break from the usual ditzy female lead. As for the male lead, he is not your typical Chinese flower boy handsome but I think that adds to his charm. The actor does a good job of bringing to life the different layers of his character. We see his manipulative side, his charming side, and most importantly his romantic side. The two actors had wonderful chemistry for one another. I was giggling like a schoolgirl during a lot of their scenes. There is a love triangle, but I didn't find it annoying either. All the side characters also did wonderfully, no complaints there.
For the story, I ranked it a little lower because it was a little confusing for me as an international viewer. I know this is based on a novel, so I'd assume that the Chinese audience was probably familiar with it. Regardless the story was engaging with enough action and romance to keep me intrigued. Maybe a few small plot holes here and there, but nothing enough to make me mad. The effects were thankfully minimal but overall not bad at all. This show also had a wonderful budget. The costumes for the female lead were stunning, they really spared no expense. All the other important characters had good outfits and the sets were well made and nice to look at.
It does suffer the typical sad ending of many Chinese dramas but all the joyful, fun, heartwrenching moments make it worth the watch. Do yourself a favor. Sit down and start episode 1 right now.
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Good Bye, My Princess aka 50 Episodes of Chest-Pain, and I loved every second of it.
I don‘t think any drama has ever f*cked with my feelings this much before, not even Rise of Phoenixes (which had my heart aching for quite some time).I will say that I do not read any summaries or anything before watching Dramas, so I did not at all know what I was getting myself into.
Both female and male actor portrayed their roles beautifully.
What fascinated me the most about this Drama is that there is A LOT of Drama and unhappiness, I felt a very uncomfortable heaviness in my chest all the way from ~ EP 10 till the end. This one will get your hopes up and crush them. And even though I usually hate a lot of Drama, here it all made sense in a way, and did not get boring nor feel stretched out for a second.
It’s been a while since I‘ve finished a costume Drama this fast! If you are looking for something to really make you feel, give this one a try!
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Rant!
Okay so where do I start god this drama left me frustrated and not in a way that got resolved and gave me some satisfaction in the end. This had potential to be so much better if not for the bad story and character development. All went well uptil the whole danchi arc and them jumping in that river of forgetting. And after that I just kept waiting for the story to actually get better. The romance was poorly written. The miscommunication, the love triangle all had me pulling my hair out. The love story was not given time and space to develop at all. The characters were so disappointing. I don't know the script writers really missed it with them. I really couldn't bring myself to feel sympathy for the second lead. The female lead was too immature and stupid so many times. Still hoped that li chengyin would not kill Gu jian coz there was no way chengyin and xiaofeng's relationship was gonna make a comeback after that ordeal. Also him being a jerk to her all the time and then it never got cleared up to her that why he did that and she kept believing he hated her. The ending was so lame and disappointing too like what even was that last episode. I just pretty much skimmed through last twenty episodes I think. The gao family's fall was so anticlimactic after how from the start it was given so much importance.Now I liked the OST and costumes were good. Cinematography was not too bad, it was pleasing enough. Acting was decent. But nobody left a lasting impression. I don't even know why I'm giving a 6.5 but I guess points for myself for keep hoping that it'll get better and finishing the drama anyway.
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Yes and no
Okay, I will brutally honest.The acting is 10/10, music is haunting,screens 10/10, the outfits 10/10, storyline 10/10 in some parts and I want to discuss why.
I didn't like part of the Forgetting lake, that's where everything dropped from 10 to 3 to me. I was just like,why? For the new chapter for like 2 years and then everything goes back where it ends and give a sorrowful ending? Nah, that's not how it goes.
The first part of the story was, oh wow, liked the romanticism, the scheming, the playfulness and all what the FM characterized, now for the ML, first I didn't agree with him at all, but as the story gone by, I could. He's from a world where ever is hard, where you can stabbed in the back any minutes, that's where he grew up,so he always watched after the FM not to get her in serious consequences, in a rude way, but as I was say he knows what he's doing.
The second part of the story is so tingly when it comes to fitting into the imperial world,that the characters get to know each other more and more like it's chapter two but painful outcome.
We got some romance some jealousy, and a lot of deviousness. And i didn't mention the revenge from the ML part.
And the final, where everything is collapsed, that was bit meaningless and heart wrenching. The other characters didn't deserved their fate. I could see the ML was lost his mind when he executed the second ML. He was determined to keep FM for him and only him. That scared me a lot. But I give the FM a plus one, she didn't lost her spiritual beginning,just when there was no hope for her homeland and the Li dynasty to reconcile. I wouldn't have better idea in that situation,maybe too sit down and speak things up, but in the end they stood in a wrong path.
The FMs natural and playful charter and the MLs softheart(yes he has), strong will and sharp witted mind, cunningness, i say they make a pretty good math to rule the empire
So all in all I would recommend to see this drama but the outcome is not only is it heartbreaking, but it could have been avoided. Like there is a part where FM knew that her tribe was killed, she was sad for a while but she still fell for the ML again, I mean that was ment to happen.
I say, I would skipped the part of the water, and have some, FM escape ML capture parts, some battle and makeup with second ML, some little hysteria and then realization that she can't do anything just bare and do what she can do which beyond her strength. I would have white this to far more out of the palace, to get them together, to realize that they are humans and not puppets.
I hope I didn't crashed anyone, i know it's easier to talk afterwards, but I was thinking way more during I watched it.
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Beats Romeo and Juliet
This is a cautionary tale about why you shouldn't marry a man you just met because he may or may not be a prince on a mission of vengeance slaughtering your whole clan. Seriously, anyone who wants a wholesome and happy drama should watch this! To remind you that happiness is an illusion and love sucks. Props to Chen Xing Xu, this is my first drama with him as the lead and I'm obsessed! Peng Xiao Ran is beautiful and was excellent in her role. The two brought emotions to every scene. The cast is good too, some are better than the others. A very solid 9/10 drama worth the 52 episodes.Was this review helpful to you?
