Royal Rumors: Spoiler-Free Review
- Jul 24
- 3 min read
Title: | Royal Rumors (2023) 花琉璃轶闻 |
Platform: | WeTV, Youtube (free), Viki |
MDL Rating: | |
Genre: | Period Idol Romance/ Comedy |
Episode Count: | 24 |
Parental Guidance Rating: | PG-13: Fake looking violence and, of course, spitting of much blood. |
Staring: | Jeremy Xu (Love of Nirvana) Meng Zi Yi (Blossom) Ryan Zhu (Love of Nirvana) Su Meng Yun (A Dream Within A Dream) |
RBTS Rating: | 3.5/5 Stars (A shorter, low budget and low stake drama that exceeds expectations with its comedy)  |
Synopsis:
Ji Yuan Su is the ice-cold Crown Prince of a powerful kingdom whose safety and prosperity owes much to the loyalty of the Hua clan. The Hua clan stuck by the kingdom's monarchs through thick and thin and a Hua clan military general helped the kingdom win a famous and decisive victory. But Ji Yuan Su is less interested in this than his predecessors. He shows no emotion no matter what crosses his path and this has won him a reputation for coldness and indifference. However, he appears to have met his match when he encounters the military general's daughter Hua Liu Li. This woman is every bit as haughty and strong-minded as the Crown Prince, although she - at first glance - seems to be as meek as a lamb. And when they meet, they both secretly resolve to outwit each other. But as these two fiery souls collide, could love bloom between them? And could they eventually form a powerful union that will help bring peace to the realm? @MDL
Stay Tuned: Full Review Still to Come!
Spoiler-Free Mini Review:
I went into Royal Rumors with microscopic expectations, and I was more than pleasantly surprised. This drama is freaking hilarious. Is the comedy sophisticated? Girl, no. But is sure as heck is funny. I literally had tears streaming down my face from laughter. The Female Lead and her family were comedians.
The drama has low stakes for the most part, and a short episode count that makes it's shortcomings forgivable, which it had plenty of: from the low budget, the not so great acting, to the cheap costuming and foam rolls you could see stuffed into the Tang Dynasty hairstyles. Anytime the drama tried to be serious, it really tripped up. It's lightheartedness was its appeal.
The romance of the leads was a fun cat and mouse game, where the upper hand was won and lost from scene to scene. The two were cute and well matched both as characters and actors as they have a very... hollow shall we say, way of acting.
Royal Rumors offers not one, not two, but three romances, and I liked them all. They didn't detract from the leads, nor from the overall plot. The side characters were tons of fun and the narrative took a genuine approach to their characters, giving them nuance and growth.
Again, don't go in expecting Shakespeare. There were many a flaw, but for what it was, it was great. Everything was so unserious, but I fear it worked on me. If you are a fan of contained, low stake comedic romances like Les Belles, you will love this!
The drama was my first time vewing Meng Zi (and her bangs!) and I'm actually in the middle of Blossoms of Power as I write this, which sees her and Jeremy Xu (ML actor) reunited in another drama!
Story=3.5 (Passable but so funny. Wish it wouldn't have tried to be serious in the end episodes), Acting=3 (Passable), Production Quality=3.25 (Passable), Rewatch Value=3.5, Ending=3.5 (Passable), Enjoyability= 4 (Enjoyed overall)
Director: #NelsonChau (The Chang'an Youth)
Screenwriter: #WangHong (Les Belles, Fight for Love, The Palace Stewardess)
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