#unshrill

[dangermousie]

The Last Princess came out of nowhere - it was in unaired limbo for literal years and then dropped with close to no warning.

And what a lovely, pleasant surprise it is. Is it a masterpiece of plotting and human nuance? No, of course not. Is it a tragic, delicious grand opus with delightfully fucked up headcases a la Too Late to Say I Love You, Siege in Fog or even City of Streamer? No (and honestly, no way Too Late or even Siege would be allowed under nowadays’ stricter censorship; even much milder Streamer imo passed by a miracle.)

But it actually feels unpretentious, unshrill, and not utterly shellacked into immobility of stupidity by a 100-ton idol gloss (I am looking at you, Fall In Love aka a drama that can drive one to homicide), and whose heroine is nowhere as rage-inducing as the heroine of Love In Flames of War (which was a fun drama except for that rather big if.)

It does not have big names or big budget, which may or may not mean less strict censorship, but certainly means less utter risk-averseness due to a large amount of money needing to be recouped and to please psycho fandoms but also less laziness because a big star’s fandom would guarantee viewing numbers regardless of quality.

Two eps in, this story of a lady from a formerly glorious family and a young marshal, who once upon a time were childhood sweethearts, features competent actors (I especially adore the FL - the actress was also FL in Colourful Bone aka Mousie’s most underrated fave cdrama) and a plot that resembles the deliciousness of short dramas and makes no bones about it.

What an unexpected delight!