Princess Returning Pearl 2011 《新还珠格格》 - Li Sheng, Hai Lu, Zhang Rui, Li Jia Hang

[happyswallow]

Still, there's a genuine comaraderie in the show, especially between the men. That's the one thing going for it.

i agree. the cast really still interests me, and i think they work well together. they also have great chemistry offscreen in their variety show appearances.


the drama is starting to pick up (hopefully)! The last two episodes weren't so bad. something that kinda annoyed me though: isn't this a secret trip? not only did it seem like that entire palace knew, the emperor also outright referred to himself as 'zhen' in front of everyone in that one town. great, so now the entire town knows you're out and about...way to make yourself an easy target.

please excuse my rant:
what is up with XYZ's hairdo? she probably has the ugliest hairdos out of all the girls. isn't she supposed to be a princess? you would expect her to have nicer hairstyles and prettier accessories.
there are TASSELS in her head!!! Okay, I understand that maybe her hair can look a bit silly when she was performing and stuff (i.e. that one hairdo with BOTH tassels and pompoms), but seriously! TASSELS! that, along with her completely bright red outfit, makes her look like one of those background dancers in those cheesy Chinese New Year music videos you get from Chinatown. uggghhh...

[qtee123]

New Themevideo for the Second Season

[Sakuya]

I really like their opening sequences, the watercolor effects really fit the theme! As for "season 1", I was expecting a climax but there was none. Like for Zi Wei's having to cook for Grand Empress, I was expecting it to end somewhat with a bang but no, the GE being the nice lady that she is just forgave her.

[Katherine Yang]

Just wonder if anyone here was annoyed with the scene when the King's mother asked Qing'er whether she chose Erkang or Yongqi. Then Qing'er stated that although she has spent an unforgettable night talking and seeing the snow falling with Erkang 3 yrs ago, she was surprised how Yongqi has been grown up lately. So, she was confused who should be told the King's mother to marry her (?!).
How can Qing'er got confused just becase she felt Yongqi now was more shuai and potential than Erkang?


LoveLee:

click to show/hide spoilers

Hi, I think you're Vietnamese rite? If you can type "Vietnamese with mark" (tiếng Việt có dấu), you can join us here

Thanks so much for your synopsis.

[LoveLee]

Soo…I’ll continue my recaps but since a lot of the beginning episodes didn’t leave much of an impression on me, I’ll just stroll through the beginning eps and write about the scenes that I enjoyed OR the scenes that made me pull out my hair from annoyance and anger. Guess which ones I liked and which one drove me bunkerz.

Also, I will only be recapping the scenes that attempted to give us viewers the character’s personalities.

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So Ep 2 (time = 2:30-9:37 (case you want to watch this scene I will write the eps and time in each the scenes I write about)) left off when Xiao Yanzi spots Benjamin (a Disney prince who fell into the Alice in wonderland hole, got lost, placed hay on his head in replacement for hair, and ended up in ancient China fighting over Xiao Yanzi with Yong Qi) drawing a portrait of her. The crowd starts migrating over to his side to see his drawing which , of course, angers Xiao Yanzi even more because he’s looking her way, smiling, and drawing her; she thinks he’s here to ruin her business.

"Liu Qing, there’s a creepy guy looking at me and smiling at me.”

She exposes her “magic” and the audience laughs at her. This, furthering angering Xiao Yanzi because it’s OBVIOUSLY his fault that she exposed herself (sarcasm, case you guys didn’t catch on). If the original HZGG2’s Xiao Yanzi drove you crazy then you won’t want to meet the NEW Xiao Yanzi who’s so much more unreasonable. She’s not even considered hot tempered anymore, but more like ….spoiled little brat (not all the scenes, but 90 percent of them anyways). For my dislike towards the Benjamin character because he takes so much scene time from the development of the other characters, I have to defend him in this scene. He was a perfect and reasonable gentlemen.

So Xiao Yanzi calls him the foreign devi and starts attacking him with her ball strap thingy. He dodges all her attacks and attempts to make peace by showing her his drawing. Xiao Yanzi continues being angry and calls him “Foreign devil.”

“Miss, I have a name. It’s Benjamin. Please stop calling me Foreign devil this, devil that. If I call you a Chinese devil, will you be happy?” (totally reasonable)

Xiao Yanzi’s reply:
“So you’re using logic? Showing off your Chinese? KAN DAO!” And throws a punch towards Benjamin.

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He grabs her punch and tells her she shouldn’t use force (very true). Now this angers Liu Qing who intervenes and throws Benji an impressive kick. (I know touching and all is sacred in these ancient movies, but really?! REALLY?! Is EVERYONE going to be unreasonable now? Lol If touching is so unreasonable, you would think placing ice on Xiao Yanzi’s butt in the later ep would be a HUGE deal. Given that the ice was between him and her butt, but STILL…… a lil slip and Benji could have had him some ancient time 3rd base.)

So Xiao Yanzi continues to attack benji but all her attacks somehow misses, hitting Liu Qing in the process. (entertaining to watch? Yes. Dry humor? Yes.) Somewhere during all this hitting, one of Xiao Yanzi’s attack almost hit a little boy and Benji came to the rescue, pushing the boy out of the way. This is probably to emphasize his good nature and kind heart. The crowd applauds and laugh at their little quarrel, thinking this is part of the show and Benji makes it out alive. Lol

Next scene, Xiao Yanzi and Zi Wei become sworn sister and Zi Wei shares the story of her mother with Xiao Yanzi.

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(ep 2 time 15:33 – 21:05) Next scene we get to see the infamous love story of Xia Yu He (played by Ruby Lin) that marked the beginning of our HZGG saga. (Ruby Lin is still as beautiful as ever! She ages really well! I think the hair style takes away from her beauty because it’s just such a ridiculous hair style. Unless the emperor fell in love with her when she was eight, I don’t think she should have been given that hair style. Thank god that even with the horrendous hair , her beauty is still so distinct.

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On a heavy, rainy day, the emperor and his guards came knocking at Xia Yu He’s home in hopes of shelter. After changing, he notices many well written poems (?? I think?? ) and finds out it was written by Xia Yu he. He asks to see more of her work but she shyly declines. Seeing the intimate atmosphere between the emperor and their daughter (and also after noticing the emperor slip up slightly revealing his identity), the parent tells Yu He she can be excused and the servants will take over from here. His servant comes over to the father’s side and quietly whispers to him that his master is the current emperor, making shocked father turning around to give the emperor his greeting and apology for not realizing sooner. The emperor tells him this is a secret and that since the rain is so heavy, he will have to stay a little longer for shelter.

THOUGHTS:

I guess I got to see more of Xiao Yanzi's personality in this episode and get to meet Benjamin. Although I may not approve and like the creation of his character, I have to admit I did like him in this episode because he carried himself very well given the situation he was in. Xiao Yanzi has yet to show me her cute side in both ep 1 and 2, unlike the original when I was captivated by Xiao Yanzi right from the beginning. I mean, i was entertained and all when she dressed up as an old lady and what not, but the feel is still off.....somehow. But before you guys msg me with your complaints on my thoughts, rest assure that in a future episode, there are scenes that I thought was very well played and gave me that Xiao Yanzi cuteness feeling (lol but don't get your hopes up. These scenes are short-lived as QY has gone crazy with the script this time around).

The scene with Ruby and the emperor was really well shot and beautiful. I saw the making of this scene and she did look like she has aged. However, after editing , all those flaws are gone. She looks like she hasn't aged that much. It's been 10 years and she still looks at that. What make up or cream does Ruby endorse? i think im going to head to the store and buy them RIGHT NOW! lol

[LoveLee]

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Ep 3 ( time 10:22 - 18:10 )
Benjamin is outside asking Xiao Yanzi's state when Wu Ah Ge enters, looking very worried and anxious. Although it's very late at night, both of them are restless and unable to sleep worrying over Xiao Yanzi. Wu Ah Ge blames Benjamin for not warning him about Xiao Yanzi sooner and Benjamin accepts this saying it is his fault (This emphasizes Wu Ah Ge's prince-like personality that we also got to see in the original HZGG, but unlike the original where Yongqi was endearing even during the times he had his prince syndrome because he did it during more appropriate times and he displayed it in a less petty demeanor. this scene just makes him so ....unattractive. Almost petty and immature. ...And Benjamin is the perfect gentleman to accept a mistake he's completely not at fault for).

Although Yongqi originally blamed Benjamin, he regains my love for his character when he says he will take responsibility for this because he was the one that shot the arrow. Benjamin wonders what type of person is "pretty girl" because he's sure she was the street performer he ran into, and yet now she's a girl wanting to see the emperor. he finds this situation quite strange and wonders if he should tell Yongqi but decides against it.

Side note: In this scene we get more emphasis on benjamin and yongqi's relationship. Yong Qi describes Benjamin as "the person that understands me the most." Yongqi said WHAT?! I know even in the original he was very close with the Fu brothers, but he never emphasized who he was closer to and such. But now Benji is the CLOSEST to him?! More than anyone else?! GGGRRR....QYYYY...... :

They both decide to go get Doctor Chong who is known to be the best doctor in the balance but also has a reputation for being difficult.

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Doctor Chong is in the midst of lecturing his pupils harshly when Yongqi and Benjamin come running up to him to follow them and save Xiao Yanzi. ( I know the situation is dyer but the way they were running really killed their character for me. I thought the palace has very strict rules for manners and grace? ESPECIALLY for a prince. Remember in the original HZGG, even when Yong Qi came to the emperor begging his father to come save Xiao Yanzi, he still kept his prince aura and demeanor. We could see the desperateness in his facial expression and he walked with speed, but nonetheless, the grace and etiquette of a prince was not lost. just my fyi). Yeah? Yeah? :

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Dr Chong rudely shakes them off. (WHAT?! EXCUSE ME?! You did not just shake off a prince?! Isn't this YOUR JOB?! You know he is several status higher than you right ? I don't care how good of a doctor you are, but you are in the palace. A palace has rules and regulations. Even with exceptions (and I give him the benefit of the doubt that the emperor gave him an exception to be more free), there should still a line that shouldn't be crossed. This does not make sense! QY QY QYYYYYYY!!!!!! ) : Side note: none of the other pupil doctors greeted Yong Qi either. I've watched enough traditional and ancient drama to know they have to ALWAYS greet the prince. GGRR.... it wasnt bad enough the doctor had bad manners but now his students too?

He tells them to go look for the other doctors and that it is none of his business because the emperor didn't summon him. Bejamin goes over all his achievements and he nods in in self indulgence when he realizes that Benjamine is insulting him for achieving so much and yet caring so little for life. With bejamin's logic not making an impact, Yongqi uses force and Bejamin follow suit. ( So yongqi is the violent one and Benji is the logical one of the two? ) Yong Qi and Benjamin use force to drag him to Xiao yanzi's bedside (sigh....again. not very graceful isnt it? can you imagine being a maid and watching the prince and painter of the palace dragging the palace doctor? A prince....dragging his subordinate across the palace..... hmmMMMhhmmm ...!!! )


So Doctor Chong saves Xiao Yanzi. End of ridiculous scene. thank god!

Okay. Before I die from high blood pressure. Lets watch a scene I liked. Too bad this scene was like..... 30 SECONDS!!! ....i kid you not. good things are short-lived. this scene was literally like 30 seconds. >=/

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Ep 3 time 18:10 - 18:33
The Emperor is sleeping and dreaming. This seems to be a memory of his love story with Xia Yu He (Ruby Lin). Beautifully filmed and Ruby portrays another version of Zi Wei. Weak, innocent, and full of life.

The emperor is departing. He looks disappointed like he was hoping someone had come and probably had waited for someone to come to say good bye to him. We both know who he was waiting and longing for.

Yu he (ruby ) comes running, chasing after his chariot. SHe trips over the steps when running out the door and falls full onto the ground. This scene displays her innocence and her vulnerable character personality that we so love about in Zi Wei. Like mother, like daughter. And the emperor looks on in horror. "YU HE!!!!"

THOUGHTS

Ehhh...this episode wasn't very good for me. Xiao yanzi was in bed for most of the episode and there were too many insignificant scenes. I can't really remember anything that happened except for Ruby Lin's short 30 second scene. hmm..And Maybe the beginning when the emperor saw what Xiao Yanzi was holding and thought she was his daughter. also thought the scene when Xiao yanzi was half conscience and answering the emperor's questions was good too. But it's not an interesting scene to recap about.


This episode had approximately 12 different scenes. Benjamin was in 7 of those scenes speaking most of the time in most of the scenes he is in. Had a say in first scene riding horse back to palace 1 min, shared around 9 minute screen time with Yongqi having man to man, friend to friend talk, entered into Dr Chong scene playing the 'logical person' to try to convince Dr Chong to follow him while Yong Qi used violence (another 3 min). He then continued to be in the scene where Dr Chong helped cured Xiao Yanzi, playing an equal amount of background screen time and lines as the other characters. Add another 3 minute. Time 27:00 - 30:00 shared a ridiculous unnecessary scene with Doctor Chong. Time 35:00 - 38:00 shared more one on one time with his best friend , Yong Qi. Time 38:00 - 40:00 shared another ending scene. Overall, around 23 minutes. In a 38 minute ep (not counting beginning song and ending song), he was in 23 minutes, having 35 percent of the lines. HMMMMM!!! With over 10 main characters, he had 35 percent of the lines.....excessive much? :

Although this ep annoyed me, there are sooooo many more exasperating eps in the future. Today's recap will end here. anymore and i might suffer a heart attack. lol

[sakhee]

My thoughts so far...

I know there has been alot i mean alot of negative comments about this remake which in turn probably swayed my views to hating it more (seeing ive been reading every comments as i watched the episodes each day). Take away all the effects the comments had on me and not comparing this to the original, which everyone has done, this series is actually quite addicted now that im on season 2.

I have to admit some parts do actually annoy me, and some episodes even. The 'Si da chai Zhi' for one i find really annoying maybe apart from the one who makes animal noises as its bearable. As for the others; pretending to be good at martial arts, pretending to be able to summon great heroes, and talking gibberish all the god damn time i just cant stand!

Benji gets too much screen time but i dont know if this is the influence of the forums or what i really feel because now in season 2 i actually feel abit sorry for him. Because the script has changed Benji having that much screentime does actually make sense. All Benji really wants is for Xiao YenZhi to be happy and to be her guardian angel. He doesnt get mad at anything, doesnt swear and he very talented at alot of things. How can you not like him? But for many reasons hes not able to love Xiao YenZhi just like the restrictions Yong Qi has but because of the way Benji approaches this compared to Yong Qi i find him more likable. He just a sweet white Italian man after all!

Now Xiao YenZhi herself is really annoying especially around episode 28+ (DVD Version) where at some point i just wanted to slap her for her insolence. She is so rash and hot-headed lashing out at every small thing which in turn was actually her own fault, playing the blame game pushing it to someone else, even her friends! I dont get how people can tolerate her.
Some scenes i just dont get why she did it especially with the so called 'an chi'. She somehows manages to throw objects into the wrong direction every single time launching towards someone important. I dont see why she never learns and the way she does it is so stupid. For example the whip case, she whips everywhere apart from in the direction of the doorway but when the emperor enters and despite someone saying 'the emperor has entered' she suddenly turns towards the doorway and without looking and whips out. It the same for almost every 'an chi' incident she caused!

Now for Zhi wei. She is very likeable and is doing a very good job so far, i might even like her better than Ruby (But im not a Ruby fan so i might be abit biased here).
Also considering that ive forgotten the old version of HZGG and maybe not even having watched it all then ill just stop right here with the comparison. But since the girl who plays that Ge Ge and always beside the empress appeared i do think she could do a far better job as Zhi Wei. She is better looking than the current Zhi Wei and because in the story she is compared as a Xian Nu, beauty should be a factor for a good Zhi Wei. Also her voice is way sweeter than Zhi Wei's to a point is melts my heart!

Now for the Huang Hou. I think she is not that evil in this, until where she tortures Zhi Wei. But for most of it i dont actually blame her as i also wanted to slap XYZ at times. Because she's not able to touch XYZ she goes for Zhi Wei and this in a way is the only way to teach her a lesson. To be honest the evil one are the 'Mo Mo's' which are the ones mostly planning everything and doing the evil things.

To sum up on this series its not that bad and worth watching, if people stop comparing it too much to the original then im sure you'll enjoy it more.

[charm101]

im sorta giving up on the first season, a total failure. did anything really happen?

can some nice souls out there please tell me in which episode does Qing Er (the girl always with King's mama) appears?

[Katherine Yang]

im sorta giving up on the first season, a total failure. did anything really happen?

can some nice souls out there please tell me in which episode does Qing Er (the girl always with King's mama) appears?

Qing'er appeared in ep 26 (tv rip version)
2nd season started at ep 35 (tv rip). You guys can enjoy the 2nd season much more than the 1st one.

[happyswallow]

Benji gets too much screen time but i dont know if this is the influence of the forums or what i really feel because now in season 2 i actually feel abit sorry for him. Because the script has changed Benji having that much screentime does actually make sense. All Benji really wants is for Xiao YenZhi to be happy and to be her guardian angel. He doesnt get mad at anything, doesnt swear and he very talented at alot of things. How can you not like him? But for many reasons hes not able to love Xiao YenZhi just like the restrictions Yong Qi has but because of the way Benji approaches this compared to Yong Qi i find him more likable. He just a sweet white Italian man after all!

It seems like Benji has a bit more conflicts to deal with in the second season. He's definitely really sweet...always thinking of XYZ, never bitter and very eager to help. Seeing how he's the 'second guy who'll never get the girl', i thinking that maybe QY has been watching too many kdramas...

[merrygocow]

@LoveLee: It's a tactic most Mary Sue (or should I say Gary Stu in this case) writers like to use--ruining a character to make another shine in comparison. It's a sign of bad writing and QY is a terrible writer.

[pookagege]

We can't watch NHZGG on youtube anymore All episodes are deleted! I heard it's because of copyright.

Viki site is now stuck on ep.38 (season 2 ep.2) I don't know they will continue uploading more or not.

[Sakuya]

We can't watch NHZGG on youtube anymore All episodes are deleted! I heard it's because of copyright.

Viki site is now stuck on ep.38 (season 2 ep.2) I don't know they will continue uploading more or not.

I contacted VNMelody, she said the DVD version will be on Viki while the Hunan version will be on DailyMotion and they'll still be updated. But I find that DailyMotion takes longer to stream unlike YouTube. So I cannot skim...

[pookagege]

I contacted VNMelody, she said the DVD version will be on Viki while the Hunan version will be on DailyMotion and they'll still be updated. But I find that DailyMotion takes longer to stream unlike YouTube. So I cannot skim...

So, Viki is my last hope now

[cutefan]

so, how to download the film from viki.com?
i have found episode 39 and 40 on vnmelody in youtube

[xiaolong]

We can't watch NHZGG on youtube anymore All episodes are deleted! I heard it's because of copyright.

Oh wow, really?!! I was about to upload some New HZGG highlights on my new YouTube channel (my old one got closed because I uploaded Ghetto Justice). Looks like Hunan TV is getting tough on us YouTubers

[pookagege]

so, how to download the film from viki.com?
i have found episode 39 and 40 on vnmelody in youtube

Really? I can't find it on vnmelody youtube but did find some on missmaria94 (DailyMotion)

[pookagege]

Oh wow, really?!! I was about to upload some New HZGG highlights on my new YouTube channel (my old one got closed because I uploaded Ghetto Justice). Looks like Hunan TV is getting tough on us YouTubers

I think some highlights is fine since I saw many of them on youtube, but not for all episodes.

[JoleCole]

Oh wow, really?!! I was about to upload some New HZGG highlights on my new YouTube channel (my old one got closed because I uploaded Ghetto Justice). Looks like Hunan TV is getting tough on us YouTubers

xiaolong, have you been following the this drama? what do you think?

[xiaolong]

xiaolong, have you been following the this drama? what do you think?

Hee hee, contrary to most people here, I'm just treating it as a new drama rather than a remake. If we compare it with the original, we run into lots of trouble. Of course, sometimes we can't help but compare. I'd say the new Zi Wei is the weakest among the cast - the actress didn't bring the charm Ruby brought to the character. Like mango_cake, I now really appreciate Ruby's acting in the original. I'm fine with the new XYZ - I was a bit apprehensive initially as I was expecting an inferior copycat of Vicky, but she seems pretty natural in the role. Found the new emperor to be too soft and gullible to be an emperor. I'm still disappointed XYZ is kinda indifferent to Wu Ah Ge. The story is moving too slow compared to the original. I'm at Ep 33 and YQ still hasn't confessed his feelings to XYZ, Zi Wei is still not a princess...but at least YQ has as much scenes with XYZ now as Benjamin.

But in any case, this new remake is better than HZGG3. It's watchable enough for me to still tune in.

I read somewhere that Qiong Yao met the Benjamin actor at some function and was so astounded by his native-level command of Mandarin that she wrote in the character in New HZGG. I wished she checked her history. Wasn't Qianlong kind of xenophobic? He wouldn't have allowed a Westerner to run riot around the palace. I also wonder if Qiong Yao is determined to ruin YQ & XYZ by writing in this Benjamin guy and that Xin Rong Ge Ge character. Sure, this is called "New HZGG" and it's expected Qiong Yao will change the plot, but she should have left the original relationship dynamics of one of the most beloved couples in Chinese TV history alone.