Completed - 6/19/2022

“The Crown Princess” is my first ever non-BL Thai Drama. I was attracted to the plot and the mature romance that I was reading about. Since this is my first Thai drama, I am not familiar with lakorn culture and tropes, and when I criticize it might just be how Thai dramas are. However, if it affects my viewing pleasure (just like dramas from other countries), I will still try to be as honest as all my other reviews.

What I Like:

Davin (ML) - Aside from the fact that Nadech is handsome, his role as Lieutenant Commander Davin is dreamy. He’s the perfect man as a male lead - smart, calm, cool-headed, great fighter, protective, respectful, detail-oriented, attentive and caring. What more can you ask for a Lieutenant Commander and a romantic lead. Nadech is so cute when he smiles and flashes us his dimples. But when he’s serious, he frowns a lot.

Acting - Initially, I was worried that the acting would be overdramatic for my taste. However, I am pleasantly surprised that it’s not and everyone does an amazing job. Special props to our leads, Yaya as Crown Princess Alice, and Nadech. There are many scenes where they have to control their emotions because of their statuses, yet you can see the subtle micro-expressions in these emotional scenes. I now understand why they are so popular in Thailand. I am also very impressed with Sara Legge’s portrayal of Princess Kate. She has a few very emotional and angry scenes and she was amazing in them. The rest of the cast also perform admirably. Aside from two annoying wives that I dislike and I guess they are supposed to be annoying, I enjoy everyone’s story.

Beautiful Actress and Beautiful Dresses - There are so many beautiful women in this drama! I am usually more excited about handsome guys, but for once, the ladies stole the spotlight. Yaya is stunning and all her tailor-made royal dresses. She looks so regal! But she also looks beautiful in casual wear (ponytail, white tank top and jeans), and looks adorable in the mountain village tribal outfit. Sara Legge also has a great selection of royal dresses, especially her many black ones. Other beautiful women are Cindy (Princess Mona), Yoghurt (as Sergeant Paen), Reindeer (as JC).

Slow-burn Romance - As much as I dislike our FL (see below), I like the slow-burn romance between Alice and Davin. Enemies-to-lovers and fake marriage are two of my favorite tropes and from them, we see how their romance slowly develops. Do not expect a cute, fluffy and sweet romance. This forbidden love is mature and full of longing. I was actually very surprised at the lack of PDA in this drama. But given the fact that they have very different statuses, their controlled emotions make this romance even more desirable. The chemistry between the leads is amazing. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for a kiss, and the kisses are not even that great. LOL. Very different from the Thai BL dramas I watched.

Cinematography - I enjoy the mountain village scenes in Northern Thailand. Gives the drama a little break from life in busy Bangkok. I especially love the many gorgeous places in Hyross. Hyross looks like a European country and I think my best friend Google told me that scenes are shot in beautiful Switzerland. No wonder this drama makes me want to travel to Hyross.


What I don’t Like or have mixed feelings:

Crown Princess Alice - I was so excited in episode 1 when we’re first introduced to Alice. She’s trained like a soldier, can fight, proud and just a badass. She seems intelligent and doesn’t seem to need to be saved by a man. Imagine my disappointment in subsequent episodes when she continues to make dumb and impulsive decisions and puts herself at risk. I can understand her doing that once or twice, because the drama wants to show us that she’s caring and will do what it takes if it’s right. However, given her situation, she repeatedly puts herself in harm’s way, disregards others' good intentions and protection throughout the whole damn drama. I initially thought she’s pretty smart but the writing makes her the dumbest person in the drama, who never questions who the villain is. For someone who is trained, she twists her ankle and slips on her butt quite often. What a disappointment of a heroine.

Action scenes - I actually quite like the amount of action scenes in this drama between gun shooting and hand-to-hand combat. However, I am not sure if this is what Thai dramas usually are, I find it hilarious that the leads would be choreographed in a way that they’re switching poses when shooting their guns. There are some interesting acrobatic moves mixed in the fights. It’s over-the-top and funny at the same time.

Illogical writing - I feel like in order to enjoy this drama, I have to switch off my brain a little. Otherwise, I would be questioning everything, e.g. 1) FL gets shot underwater and was drowning, but survived till the next day to be saved by ML, 2) wearing bulletproof vests don’t matter, 3) leads can survive going in and out of a burning house (the house has been burning for a while), 4) people really should stop screaming and watching and take those hurt to the hospital ASAP, 5) a trained soldier rebel can’t take down a weak prince or princess, even if he’s hurt. 6) lastly, it’s amazing it took so long for everyone to figure out who the villain is.

Songs - There are a few songs in the drama and they sound OK. But they are overplayed. There are a few scenes where songs are played right after another. It doesn’t leave a lot of quiet times for viewers to feel the emotions being displayed by the actors. It’s disappointing because the actors are doing a great job and I don’t really need the music to tell me how to feel.


**** Spoilers of the Ending ****




I have mixed feelings about the ending of Alice and Davin. I am happy that they finally get to live happily-ever-after. However, I hope for an alternate ending. Why can’t Alice have a career and her man? She would be a great queen as she truly cares for her people and has learned through her experience as Naree how the common folks live. Even if she’s not the queen, she can still continue to be a princess and do a lot of good for her country. Davin can marry Alice and live in Hyross, and help train the people there to build their own military. But I guess she really wants to be a commoner, or women just can’t have it all.


Other Random Observations:

1. FL has the special ability of running in the sand, in the forest and climbing trees all while wearing high heels.
2. Prince Alan has the best character development - his friendship/romance is kinda cute.
3. The pacing of this drama is pretty good. But each episode is 1 hr 50 mins, that’s super long!!