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Triad Princess taiwanese drama review
Completed
Triad Princess
0 people found this review helpful
by Eric
Apr 6, 2021
6 of 6 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.0
Story 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Music 8.5
Rewatch Value 9.5

A Fun yet Emotional Romance with Decent Execution

This drama is fun while still managing to be emotional, with mostly great characters and an interesting premise too. While the plot is a little shaky in a few areas, and the pacing of certain aspects could be better, I was still entertained and I'm willing to forgive the occasional misstep.

First of all, I love the main character. An incredibly realistic portrayal of someone who is by nature uncouth but can still manage to be responsible and considerate. She's not perfect, but we can always root for her at the end of the day. Moreover she's capable, and actually contributes valuable skills to her friends and colleagues. Also she's not completely oblivious in social situations, and knows when she shouldn't speak out of turn. It's quite refreshing amongst a trope of other dramas featuring clumsy, socially inept, self-righteous, and occasionally unlikeable female leads. All her behavior is justified, either by her own personality and backstory or by the actions of others.

Something that's more difficult to notice in casual viewing but certainly makes all the difference is the impeccable balance between action, romance, and humor. Although the drama was short, I probably wouldn't have been able to watch the entire thing in one sitting if not for it's balance. It also helps that the premise of an overprotected yet capable female lead is always appealing to me.

On the topic of characters, most of the ones featured heavily in the show are solidly setup and portrayed. As is common with most dramas, you can bet that everyone has their own tragic backstory or secret to hide, and these pasts influence their behavior in the present. The dialogue each character gives isn't legendary, but is above average at conveying what each character is feeling in a realistic manner. We also have some decent character arcs, and some unexpected plot lines as well, which is always fun (there's something in particular that I so badly want to mention, but won't for the sake of spoilers).

My only criticism to give is the occasionally shaky plot. In the moment, our romantic interests have believable chemistry and portrayals for whichever phase of romance they are in, but when looking at the bigger picture certain aspects of their love can feel a bit rushed. Like we get hesitant flirting or full on devotion but nothing in between. Also, some of the bad guys seem to come and go whenever it's convenient for the plot, like they're waiting their turn to mess with the protagonists. This probably helps maintain the balance I was talking about earlier, but there's no explanations as to what they're waiting for. Also also, while the romance plot is decent in the first half (withholding those gaps I mentioned), at the end we fall a little bit into classic tropes that a just a bit annoying at this point. That's not to say all of the ending was bad, just that I enjoyed the majority before a lot more.

This is one of those things that's difficult to describe or sell in words, but I must insist that this show is just fun to watch in all aspects, from the romance to the action to the humor. I also got emotionally invested in the characters, which for me is a feat unto itself. Bottom line, I definitely recommend, not as a thought provoking masterpiece, but as a surprisingly addictive and entertaining pastime.
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