Go Princess Go Episode 7-8 Recap

I'm only just connecting the dots that the censored version on LeTV contains many cut scenes after being flagged for inappropriate content (such a facepalm moment for me since I knew of this from the beginning). 

Good news is that I found the full eng-sub version on Viki and will be recapping those going forward. 

Episode 7

Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) visits Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) to apologize for the way he acted. He tells her that after some investigation, he realized that Yingyue perpetrated the whole incident and was playing victim to cause trouble for Peng Peng. 

Lucky for him, Peng Peng decides to be the bigger man and lets Qi Sheng off easy. I must be too petty because what Qi Sheng did shouldn't be forgiven just like that but the drama always has a no-frills approach to resolving misunderstandings so on to the next scene.

Yang Yan is sent by the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long) to invite Peng Peng out since he's worried that Peng Peng might still be upset over what happened. Even after Peng Peng politely declines, Yang Yan drugs and kidnaps her anyway.

Peng Peng wakes up in a Western-inspired dining room thinking that she must be back in 2015. Unfortunately she's not because she lays eyes on Yang Yan who carried her all the way to have a date with 9th Prince. 

9th Prince and Peng Peng end up sharing an enjoyable dinner drinking wine and having steak and the ever-gallant 9th Prince completes the evening by taking Peng Peng to see the rooftop view of lanterns stretching out into the horizon. Taken by the spectacular sight, Peng Peng verbalizes that if only there was music for the male and female leads to share a kiss. 

Halfway into her thoughts, Peng Peng in man voice does her monologue thinking that if things got any more romantic, 9th Prince is surely going to lean in for a kiss. Quick to kill the mood, she hurriedly changes the subject and 9th Prince takes the opportunity to confess that the feelings he had for her since they were younger haven't changed.

Once she gets home, Qi Sheng asks Peng Peng what kind of guy she fancies to which Peng Peng in man voice states that he has always been a pretty boy who likes women! 

Nevertheless, she answers Qi Sheng in a roundabout way saying that love transcends gender and if she were to pick a man, she would prefer the approachable romantic (ahem 9th Prince) over one that's cool and aloof (Qi Sheng). Cue sinister music as Qi Sheng eerily stares into the distance. The very next day, Peng Peng receives orders from the King to accompany Qi Sheng in a royal visit to Jiang Bei.

Episode 8

The guard accompanying Peng Peng turns out to be an assassin but thankfully, Yang Yan was quick to pick up on it so that he and 9th Prince save the day. Liking Yang Yan more and more who's more than just a comic relief because he's useful when he needs to be and effects a cute brotherly-relationship with Peng Peng as opposed to the two male leads who are trying to get with him as a her.

Again, this drama is quite refreshing in the sense that all the characters are practical and street smart. Peng Peng was no fool and she was already plotting her escape once she realized that the guard was purposely leading her astray. Modern people and our paranoid ways, we really can't be too trusting nowadays.

The next scene involves Zhao Wang, Yingyue's husband, which we will probably see more now that he has come out as the evil mastermind.

Qi Sheng finally arrives and enters into a a standoff with 9th Prince and Peng Peng who both think that he had orchestrated the assassination attempt. Their confrontation is interrupted by a sudden foray of black-clad men in masks and fire burning everywhere. 

9th Prince saves Peng Peng once again but gets seriously injured in the process while Qi Sheng frantically searches for Peng Peng. Cue sentimental music and flashback to the married couple's moments together. 

Despite liking the drama, I'm not sold on either love story since we all know Peng Peng is a man who likes women and hasn't show any feelings for the male leads so I'm getting confused on whether the flashback was meant to be taken seriously or not. No point overthinking though so I'll keep watching for entertainment sake.

Peng Peng is deeply touched by 9th Prince's sacrifices and after checking that he's not feigning unconsciousness that's so commonly done in dramas, Peng Peng saves him via mouth to mouth resuscitation, without any of that cheesy music accompaniment because it's nothing romantic, just saving a life here.

For Go Princess Go recaps:
Episode 1-2
Episode 3-4
Episode 5-6

Go Princess Go Episode 5-6 Recap

Episode 5

During their visit home, Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) learns that Qi Sheng's lover Jiang Yingyue is actually a distant cousin whose position in the Zhang household is far below hers. 

Since they're in Zhang family territory, Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) reminds Yingyue to be extra careful and to not do anything suspicious. Yingyue agrees but not without voicing her concerns about the growing relationship between Qi Sheng and Zhang Peng Peng, to which Qi Sheng vehemently denies.

True enough, Zhang Peng Peng's mother is out to get Yingyue and she is forced to kneel in front of the ancestors as punishment. Being the womanizer that (s)he used to be, Zhang Peng Peng can't stand to see a woman scorned so she pleads alongside Qi Sheng to let Yingyue off the hook.

Everyone clears the room leaving Qi Sheng with Peng Peng's mother and because of Lu Li's conspiracy theories that Peng Peng's mother might poison Qi Sheng, a frantic Peng Peng runs back to the room to save her husband.

Obviously, it was just a false alarm since her mother would never do such a thing. Instead, the mother-daughter have a heart-to-heart talk wherein Peng Peng admits that she just wants a life of leisure separate from Qi Sheng without a care about who he likes or who he is with. Her mother then warns Peng Peng that the palace is a dangerous place and she can only secure her safety by getting pregnant.

The realization puts Zhang Peng Peng in an awkward position of having to sleep with a man especially if said man also tells her that he is starting to be notice her.

Episode 6

The next morning, Peng Peng sees a hickey on Qi Sheng's neck and automatically assumes that Qi Sheng spent the night with Yingyue, which pisses him off and gets her kicked out of the carriage. Only after Lu Li tells her does she recall the horrific truth that the person he slept with was none other than herself.

She was initially wallowing in sorrow but there's no time for tears since the soccer event is coming up. Qi Sheng drags Peng Peng for some much-needed soccer practice and quality time between the two. 

Unfortunately, the devious Yingyue chooses to make her move at the soccer match by accusing Peng Peng of taking off her clothes. Clearly infuriated, Qi Sheng is unable to control his emotions in a public display of devotion towards Yingyue and he completely ignores Yingyue's husband Zhao Wang.  

On the other hand, Peng Peng is hurt from all the accusations being hurled her way with only the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long) willing to stand by her side. She exclaims that there's nothing she hates more than being wronged, which earns a slap on the face from Qi Sheng.

For Go Princess Go recaps:

Episode 1-2
Episode 3-4
Episode 7-8

Go Princess Go

I'm on a roll as far as this drama is concerned, warranting its 3rd posting on the same day. Everything about the production is average at best and certainly incomparable to the big budgeted wuxia dramas nowadays. Nevertheless, there's something unique to the story that leaves you wanting more.

Go Princess Go is a web drama made for the small screen and you might soon notice that the same sets are used repeatedly with minimal interior designs. Its most extravagant expenditure would have to be on costumes chosen from curtain linens that were sewn to make a dress. Honesty though, its HD filming translate beautifully onscreen so it goes to say that money isn't everything.

The fact that it's so short is a plus factor for me too, though I wonder why the version I'm watching on LeTV seems to be missing a lot of scenes (edited: it's because of censorship).

Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 is a time-travel, body-swap, rom-com set in ancient China. It is based on a novel of the same name written by Xian Cheng 鲜橙, offering a hilarious twist to the typical period dramas. 

The cast is was relatively unknown but the drama has been consistently growing its cult following and its stars receiving some much-deserved attention. Its popularity is mainly due to its controversial storyline that is much too out there for conservative China. 

Bad publicity is good publicity, since word of mouth quickly catapulted this drama, ratings-wise, and it was actually very well-received by Chinese fans. If you are watching, be sure to check out the alternate endings.

Zhang Tian Ai 张天爱 headlines as Zhang Peng Peng, the modern man who finds himself waking up in the body of a crown princess. Where did they find this gorgeous lady? Aside from looks, she has the acting chops as well and her portrayal of Zhang Peng Peng was charming, witty and funny, easily claiming her spot as the breakout star of the drama.

Sheng Yi Lun 盛一伦 is the male lead Qi Sheng who is outwardly cold and arrogant so I have yet to reach the episode where he warms up as a character.

Yu Meng Long 于朦胧 stars as Jiu Wang, the second lead in the drama to complete the love triangle. 

Source: 1234567g, Baidu

Go Princess Go Episode 3-4 Recap

Episode 3

Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai) dons a man's attire and is shocked when the madame sees right through her disguise, poking fun at the common perception that people in the olden days cannot tell the difference between a man and a woman. Nevertheless, her silver taels are ticket enough to gain entry to the brothel and Zhang Peng Peng has the time of her life.

I was cracking up at the scene where Qi Sheng (Sheng Yi Lun) comes home with arms wide open. Looks like he's asking for a hug if you ask me so a like-minded Zhang Peng Peng assumes the same and decides to give him a man-to-man hug since it wouldn't be right to leave Qi Sheng hanging. 

Of course, a hug is too scandalous back in those days and she just committed the biggest social blunder. As it turns out, what Qi Sheng meant was that he needed a change of clothes.

Back in the palace, crown prince Qi Sheng plays nice to Zhang Peng Peng in front of the Queen going as far as to engage in a drinking showdown with the 9th Prince (Yu Meng Long). He belatedly admits to his mistress Jiang Yingyue that his actions weren't because of Zhang Peng Peng but rather an excuse to put 9th Prince in his place. 

Ugh men and their male ego but surely, a man must have sufficient confidence to pull off that ridiculous outfit while attempting to look cool, and those shorts.. wow. 

Zhang Peng Peng accidentally catches Qi Sheng and Jiang Yingyue's illicit affair in action when she runs into Yang Yan, 9th Prince's friend. As if watching a movie, the two hide behind the bushes silently cheering for the lovers until a careless Yang Yan gives away their location.

Episode 4

An indignant Qi Sheng punishes Zhang Peng Peng by putting her on a vegetarian diet and placing her under house arrest. Hungry and angry, Zhang Peng Peng lets out her frustrations on a helpless Yang Yan.

It is time for the married couple to pay a visit to Zhang Peng Peng's home so Qi Sheng comes to prep Peng Peng. As expected, she is completely clueless and unable to recognize her own parents' pictures so she finally comes clean with the truth. 

As far as time-travel dramas go, his reaction is the calmest one yet having observed for some time that Zhang Peng Peng really has changed. He half-believes in Zhang Peng Peng's time-travel story and decides to give her actual lessons before they visit her home.

For Go Princess Go recaps:
Episode 1-2
Episode 5-6

Go Princess Go Episode 1-2 Recap

Does it count as cheating if I chose to recap Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 mainly because it only has 35 episodes spanning 20 minutes each? It's a parody on period dramas and quite manageable since it's so short. After my half-baked attempt at recapping the 48-episode Hua Xu Yin, wish me luck.

Episode 1:

Zhang Peng is a notorious womanizer and on one fateful day, three of his ex-girlfriends crash a party to hunt him down. Amidst all the commotion, Zhang Peng accidentally pushes a woman into the pool and perhaps it's the adrenaline rush from wanting to run away but Zhang Peng hurriedly breaks free and dives headfirst to save the drowning woman. I was bracing for a heroic moment but no, the woman's knee jerk reaction deals a fatal blow to Zhang Peng and the scene goes black.

The world is still round but everything changed in an instance. Zhang Peng wakes up horrified, muttering to himself, "I didn't die?" In comes servant Lu Li and the imperial doctor and after a bit of digging, Zhang Peng finds out that not only did he time-travel but he also body-swapped into the body of a woman named Zhang Peng Peng (Zhang Tian Ai), the wife of the crown prince. 

Concluding that death is the solution to travel back into the future, Zhang Peng Peng tries to commit suicide albeit failing every single time, even after she asked and was given fake He Ding Hong, a poison often used in wuxia dramas. 

Despite being on the brink of exasperation, Zhang Peng Peng has a light bulb moment when she learns that whoever pushed the real crown princess into the water before the body-swap happened can be sentenced to death. She flees to the scene where where Zhao Wang and the Crown Prince (Sheng Yi Lun) are begging the Queen to release Jiang Yingyue, the woman accused of the crime and an indignant Crown Prince tells her to get lost.

Episode 2: 

As the Queen finally arrives, Zhang Peng Peng rushes to her side begging for her own execution. Her words translate to, "Queen, I orchestrated the whole thing. All the ji (schemes) such as 36 ji (a military strategy), Gong Xin Ji (a reference to popular Chinese palace drama), I planned it all! My heart is undoubtedly evil and I did everything to harm the Crown Prince." 

Seeing that the Queen was unconvinced, Zhang Peng Peng continues, "I'm no longer the kind, bright and cute Zhang Peng Peng. You just don't know but my heart is treacherous, I jumped willingly into the water, dragged the Crown Prince and even Jiang Yingyue down with me. Basically, everyone who almost died... it was me. Queen you have to order my death, Queen please." The dialogue is definitely funnier on screen but in a nutshell, Zhang Peng Peng fails again and is sent back to her quarters.

At this point, the dynamics among the royal family becomes clearer. Crown Prince hates the Crown Princess but is blatantly in love with Jiang Yingyue who is married to his 2nd brother Zhao Wang. There is also an ongoing rivalry between the Crown Prince (left) and his 9th brother (Yu Meng Long on the right) as seen by their silly competition of who's carriage moves faster. 

The two men face off in a stare down where the Crown Prince warns 9th Prince to stay out of his business especially since the 9th Prince was the man who saved Zhang Peng Peng from drowning. Resigned to her fate in the palace, Zhang Peng Peng decides to make the most of her stay by visiting a brothel. 

Continue to episode 3.

Go Princess Go and Monster Killer in hot water

Pardon my far-from-perfect Chinese skills, but if my interpretation is correct, the highly-talked-about drama Go Princess Go has been taken down from video-hosting sites due to a breach of moral values. I have seen a couple of episodes of Go Princess Go and I can see that its quirky humor may not sit well with China's censorship agency known as SAPPRFT.

Go Princess Go would have been your average drama if not for its outrageous over-the-top storyline that you will either love or hate. If you are the former, you probably cannot stop watching. Fortunately, the drama is only blacklisted for the time being as its broadcasting company LeTV announced that scenes are being re-edited to accommodate SARFT's citations.

A second drama called Monster Killer, which I absolutely love, is also temporarily banned in China maybe for violence (again sorry for my weak translation skills). It's not all bad for Monster Killer because it just had a pretty good run in Hong Kong with its final episode ending at an all-time high. While Monster Killer still can't compare to mainstream dramas, it has amassed enough attention to boost the popularity of rising star Elvis Han (Chinese Paladin 5). Seriously, he is a good-looking guy with a six-pack. Who can resist?

Source: cankaoxiaoxi, People

First Look: Go Princess Go

I hate spoilers but aren't synopses kind of like spoilers depending on what major plot points are given away? Go Princess Go 太子妃升职记 is a Chinese historical drama that I knew nothing about until today and if you are also in the dark as I was, then let's keep the suspense because it's so much more fun that way. 

Episode 1 begins with three women on a high speed chase in modern day China and oddly enough, one of them was galloping on horseback along the highway. The trio finally arrive at a posh club where they have come to exact revenge on their ex-boyfriend / cheater Zhang Peng. Frankly, all the leather clad women and flashing strobe lights look like a scene straight out of a cheap knock-off movie.

The girls don't have an invitation but one of them nonchalantly seals the deal with a kiss and the bouncer happily let's them in. At the same time, we get a glimpse of Zhang Peng at the top of his game parading around women after women and scoping out his next target.

Things hit the fan the moment Zhang Peng notices the three and in a state of panic, he accidentally shoves a random girl into the pool. He dives in after her and what ensues is an out-of-body experience where he faints into oblivion beside a woman in ancient garb, which is basically cue for 'we just travelled back in time'.

First impressions: Now that I see where this is going, I feel like anything that was ridiculous or cheesy was intentional and the drama's direction becomes even more evident after the lead gets transported to ancient China.

The main guy is sporting an earring, the girls are wearing sleeveless dresses and I could have sworn the palace doctor donned a Chanel hat. I have seen so many time travel dramas and just blogged about one more recently but seriously, the twist at episode 1 was unexpectedly hilarious and I can honestly declare that I have never seen a drama like this. To sum it up, it's outrageously silly, yet could be quite entertaining if you like slapstick comedy. Check out my episode recaps.

Click here for the 2016 best c-drama recommendations (to be updated regularly).