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shoeskoo

Sisheng Peak

shoeskoo

Sisheng Peak
Lighter & Princess chinese drama review
Completed
Lighter & Princess
17 people found this review helpful
by shoeskoo
Nov 21, 2022
36 of 36 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 6.5
Story 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Music 7.0
Rewatch Value 3.5

HYX tomorrow plz

I wanted to like this drama. I came in with a very open mind. There is potential in this story, but it is missed. The script ruins the show. It is not horrible, it is just getting very boring and irritating.

Story: The story is focused on a girl, Zhu Yun, and a guy, Li Xun, who clearly have a rough history and both are computer programmers. It shows them and their past, and then how their relationship is in the future.

Characters: Li Xun, played by Chen Feiyu, is a stuck-up, very arrogant, programmer. Zhu Yun, played by Zhang Jingye, is also an aspiring programmer, she is headstrong and not afraid to stand up to Li Xun.

- and gosh is Li Xun so arrogant? Even in one of the later episodes (episode 18 I think), his cousin explains that he has been arrogant ever since he was a kid, which totally diminishes his whole backstory with his mom. And I hate how they try to justify Li Xun's awful attitude. The show slaps like 2 minutes of his backstory into an episode and calls it good. It is so cheap, just a cheap way to get us to sympathize with the guy. It is a shame because his character is so interesting. It would've made sense to go into his backstory more and give Li Xun more scenes of him being alone reminiscing about his past and thinking about his current actions, but there is none of that. Now that I think about it, none of the characters ever really have screen time alone to contemplate their life. These sorts of scenes are essential in getting the audience more engaged and empathetic towards the characters, but there is none of that. You just see the characters interact and get confused as to why they are acting the way they are acting. Seriously who in their right mind would be friends or even date Li Xun. His actions are irredeemable and not justifiable in the slightest. I love Chen Feiyu, but Li Xun is just the worst guy I have seen in a show in a while.

Chemistry: The chemistry between the FL and ML is okay. Some moments are cute. They clearly are comfortable around each other and it does not seem like they are being forced to act like they are in a relationship. At the beginning of the story when they hate each other it is believable.

When Li Xun and Zhu Yun get together there is a time jump right afterward which makes no sense. I mean, there is 36 episodes, they could have dedicated at least one to show their relationship right after they get together, but they chose to skip 5 years and show us them starting a company together which also makes no sense and you will find yourself not caring in the slightest because there is no payoff. There is no payoff for anything that happens in this drama. You never see the characters work hard towards their goal or struggle to get what they want. For example, Li Xun is amazing at programming, but you never see why, they just tell you why. Zhu Yun and Li Xun just get together without really any build-up. You could say that the build-up is what happens before their relationship, but honestly, she just started liking him one episode, kind of out of the blue. He didn't really do much or have any kind gesture for her to like him.

It is a mystery as to why Zhu Yun fell for Li Xun She saw him publicly humiliate her friend and colleagues on more than one occasion. He does not do much for her, only if it is for his own good. His teasing towards her is straight-up bullying. They share one cute moment at New Year and then the rest of it is just hard to watch honestly. His actions towards her are not cute. He barely talks to her when she asks him for help. He treats everyone around him like they are under him. Li Xun is seriously so narcissistic and then he has the audacity to call Zhu Yun narcissistic. This man is seriously so unaware it hurts. Zhu Yun is treated like Li Xun's little pet, what he does for her only benefits himself. He has not done one thing for her own good yet. And spoiler alert, there is no confession scene, because as you know, Li Xun will not talk, he hates talking, he just kisses her and then they skip like 5 years. You always hear Zhu Yun saying "oh I would do anything for Li Xun, I would die for him, blahblahblah" but you never hear Li Xun do or say anything like that.

"Lighter and Princess" really just misses the mark with the whole bad boy trope. This trope is done better in other shows. If you want to watch a show that shows a cold, arrogant, bad guy, but there is actual development, and the development is not cheap and you actually get to understand why the character acts the way they do then I suggest you go watch "Love Between Fairy and Devil", "Touch Your Heart", etc. In those shows, you actually get to see the "bad boys" develop and turn into nicer, more caring individuals due to love. You also get to see why they act the way they do in more than just 1/4 of an episode backstory, and their backstory actually ties in with the story and who they are, unlike in this show where you could honestly throw out Li Xun's backstory because it is handled so poorly and he was a jerk to begin with as a child anyways.

Script/Writing: The faults in this drama all go down to a cheap script. The pacing is off, and there seems to be a merry-go-round effect on the plot. Li Xun is treating everyone like sh*t, and Zhu Yun toys to get him to be a team player. He teases her. He does something "cute" and "nice" for her. and repeats it. There are many plot points that could be skipped, especially with the side characters. This drama really does not need to be 36 episodes. They could get the story done in probably about 12 if they were to focus on what is really important to the characters and the plot, but there seems to be a bunch of filler at this point. Much of what happens in the show does not make any sense if you really were to think about it. There is clearly potential with the source material and this show just fumbled the ball. It really shows you what not to do when you are handling a complex character like Li Xun. You should give your complex characters: a proper backstory, proper build-up to them changing as a character, proper character development, proper display of their relationships, likable qualities, more dialogue and screen time alone, plot lines that relate to the character, etc.
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