Early Access: The Prisoner of Beauty Episodes 1-4 – The Fangirl Verdict
Hi everyone!
Today I’m sharing my episode 1-4 notes on The Prisoner of Beauty, because I am enjoying it SO well, and I was wondering if you’d like to join me? 🤗
These are my episode 1-4 notes, exactly as they appear on Patreon, ie, without screenshots (I’m saving those for the actual review).
I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you’ll consider joining us over on Patreon, for the rest of the discussions! ❤️
Episode notes:
E1-4. My friends, I really, REALLY like this one, so far! 🤩🤩
I feel like we’ve been waiting for this one to air for what feels like forever now, and I’m so pleased to say that Show is living up to my expectations, and then some, so far.
I feel like if you enjoyed Love Like The Galaxy, you’d have a great chance of enjoying this one, because it kinda-sorta feels like this show is from the same universe, but is just a different variant of story.
The story world reminds me so, so much of LLTG.
The costumes and hairstyles are similar on both the men and women, and even the terms of address are similar.
Beyond the cosmetic, more surface-level similarities, I also like the way that our story is full of context and intrigue, but knows to present it in such a way that our OTP is front and center in our story.
There’s flash, and tension, and emotional heft, and I really like how Show is balancing it all, with touches of lightness – again, not unlike how LLTG was handled. 🥰
I do love the central premise, which is that our leads are bound by a political marriage, but are mutually suspicious of each other, and are both very smart and very shrewd, in their own ways.
As far as I’ve seen, I think that both leads are doing pretty fantastic jobs.
Liu Yu Ning’s character Wei Shao is wild and cruel, and simmering with resentment and revenge, because of a grudge against our female lead’s family.
Plus, he’s an excellent fighter, so extra points for badassery and the mane of glory. 🤩😁
And then Song Zu Er’s character Xiao Qiao, is beautiful and quietly sharp and strategic, and possesses a heart that’s full of compassion; that’s how she ends up being the political bride – because she couldn’t bear to see her cousin part with her secret lover.
Basically, Wei Shao’s going to fall for Xiao Qiao in spite of himself, which we’re already getting signs of, in these early episodes, and I find it all very delicious. 😁
Yes, there’s a grudge that he holds against the Qiao family, but first of all, he’s going to learn that Xiao Qiao is a good person who shouldn’t be held accountable for that grudge, and second of all, I do think that there’s going to be a deeper mystery around what happened, which will be uncovered, as we get deeper into our story.
Which, I think, means that we can expect an overall positive trajectory for this OTP relationship, ie, I don’t think he’s going to have reason to want to take revenge on her family, in the end.
Of course, there are some serious hurdles that Xiao Qiao will have to clear, before she wins Wei Shao’s trust, but I like that we’re already seeing glimmers of progress on that front, just 4 episodes in.
That gives me hope that things will move along at a good pace, and we won’t be kept waiting too long, for more OTP developments and milestones. 😁
I also like that Show makes the details reasonably approachable, with characters helpfully filling in context for us.
I find that, 4 episodes in, even though I haven’t been trying very hard, I feel like I have a functional understanding of our various states and how they’re related, and why certain things are important.
Importantly, I feel like there’s a strong human element to it all, meaning, I don’t find it dry, because the focus is more on relationships than on the actual strategies, if that makes sense?
For example, I really like that when it comes to the longstanding bad blood between the Qiao and Wei families, both Xiao Qiao and her grandfather speak in such regretful, heartfelt tones; I can feel that they are wistful for the positive relationship that the families had once had, and want to change things, if possible.
That’s the kind of tone that really works for me, and I am all on board for Wei Shao to finally see the truth; that the Qiao family had been backed into a corner, and hadn’t wanted to break their promise to the Wei family, but had had no choice, if not they would have ended up sacrificing the lives of many innocents.
I really like that, so far, the various times when Xiao Qiao has given Wei Shao reason to reconsider his thoughts about her, it’s had to do with her doing good for the people.
Even though there is a deep misunderstanding between their families, the two of them have similar values, and that feels important and meaningful.
And, in the first place, I believe it had been these same values that had once brought their grandfathers together, to become allies. 🥲
But of course, Wei Shao is not going to change his mind easily, given that he’d lost his entire family, thanks to the Qiao family not fulfilling their promise, and I think that deep-seated grudge is the reason that he drives Xiao Qiao out of Xindu, after she offers him the seal to Panyi.
She’d offered the seal in sincerity and in good faith, believing that his good inner core would inform his actions, and it is a genuine shock to her, that he would instead take the opportunity to drive her away.
I can see where Wei Shao is coming from though.
Since her family had broken their promise to his, it probably feels like justice served, for him to now break his promise to hers; an eye for an eye and all that, right?
I do feel like this is where things start to shift, even though neither of them had planned it this way.
With Xiao Qiao basically taken hostage by her original betrothed, Liu Yan, our OTP story gets a significant catalyst.
Liu Yan taking Xiao Qiao to Panyi, with an eye to take Panyi for himself, and destroy the state of Wei, by releasing a flood upon Xindu, basically creates a reason for Xiao Qiao to take action to help prevent the disaster – thus putting her on Wei Shao’s side.
Yes, we need to suspend disbelief in terms of how Xiao Qiao even managed to escape and make it to the granary, and then in terms of how she managed to set the granary on fire, and survive the fire, by hiding in an earthen pot filled with water, but I’m willing to roll with it, because this eventually nudges our OTP story forward.
I honestly do love that scene where Xiao Qiao’s stuck between Liu Yan and his guards, and Wei Shao and his soldiers, and she runnns towards Wei Shao in that rain of arrows – which triggers Wei Shao to run towards her and catch her in his arms.
Eeee!! 🤩
Yes, I know it’s early days to squee, but the fact that his instinct was to run towards her and save her, which meant running into a rain of arrows, is quite swoony to me, not gonna lie. 🫠
Afterwards, I found it all very cute, when Xiao Qiao basically goes into a pout, and all of Wei Shao’s men awkwardly excuse themselves, in order to give them some privacy to sort things out. Tee hee hee! 🤭
The entire scene, from her berating him in peak pouty mode, to him looking awkwardly contrite, to him piggybacking her, and her telling him that she no longer wants to marry him, just smacks of a petty lovers’ quarrel, and I find it all very amusing. 😁
After that, the scenes of Wei Shao’s various generals all being turned away from seeking an audience with Xiao Qiao on the excuse that she was sleeping, also tickled me greatly.
Wei Shao then overhearing her talk with her cousin Qiao Fan, and hearing her say that he’s farrr better than Liu Yan, and that he’s dashing and heroic, and that she’d been smitten at first sight, tickled me even more, with the way he gets all puffed up and self-satisfied in response. 🤭
I love all these little beats that show us that Wei Shao is much more affected by Xiao Qiao than he’d like to let on. 😁
Like how he then goes to visit Xiao Qiao, and bring her medicine, and even apologize for how he’d driven her out of Xindu.
He’s totally softening towards her, even though he’s doing his best not to show it, yes?
As we close out these episodes, it’s nice to see another example of Xiao Qiao understanding Wei Shao more than he realizes, with her accurately guessing that his goal is to restore the canal.
I do love that beat in their conversation at the end of episode 4, where Xiao Qiao describes Panyi as being like a heart; and that she’d offered him her heart, out of sincerity.
There’s definitely a pun there, with that second heart sounding like her own heart, and Wei Shao’s silent discombobulation is very clear to see, to my delight. 😁
At the end of the episode, I’m quite amused that Wei Shao looks so perplexed, when all his generals advise him to break off the marriage agreement and banish Xiao Qiao.
The way he asks if his advisor has nothing to say, is obviously his way of trying to hear someone advise him to go ahead with the marriage, tee hee!
Sadly for Xiao Qiao, she receives notice of her grandfather’s death, and.. I’m not sure if this might have any impact on marriage talks?
Like, would she now be in a period of mourning, and therefore not be in a position to marry Wei Shao?
Either way, Xiao Qiao’s grief feels very personal and very real, and I do feel sorry for her, that she never got to see her grandfather, before his passing. 💔
All in all these episodes were very absorbing and engaging. I find myself actively looking forward to watching more episodes – and I hope that you’ll join me! 😁
*This show is being covered on the VIP Early Access (US$15) Tier on Patreon*
To view episode 1-4 notes in Patreon, along with everyone’s comments, you can go here!
You can find my Patreon page here, and for all future episode notes for this show you can click here.
Episodes 5-8 notes will be out soon! I hope you’ll consider joining us!
It’ll be a way to have fun, and support me at the same time? 🥲❤️
PS: For more information on what the Patreon experience is like, you might like to check out my Patreon update post for May, which you can find here!
