Princess' stand-in / King Flower / Subtitute Princess (7-DVD Digipak, Episode 1-21, Taiwan Drama with English Sub)

PRINCESS STAND IN / KING FLOWERVideo quality.........................ExcellentEnglish subtitles...................very goodRegion....................................AllDigipak is a hard coved fold out case that each section holds two discsWhy did I buy.......................my two favorite male actorsStorylineThis drama is about a happily engaged couple who are in love that go on a fatal hiking expedition up a mountain. He promised her father that he would protect her and not let her do dangerous things, but she convinces him anyway to go. They stop in a small store on the way and meet a young woman that looks kind of like his fiancé who has a kind heart. When this mans fiancé dies before the close of a big business deal, he needs a stand in immediately. So he convinces this young woman that he will pay all the surgery expenses to transform her into a beautiful woman that can make the man she loves fall in love with her. That's because that man only sees her as more of a sister. She not only goes under physical changes but also has to learn how to act like a princess who gets everything she wants. She learns how to eat, drink, walk, talk and ultimately become her. But just as they manage to seal the business deal, the father shows up to suprise her. She just doesn't have the heart to just give him the bad news so she plays along at being his daughter. But this starts a snowball effect. Much to the unhappiness of the man she loves, she stays with her fake fiancé. Now the man she loves realizes how much he loves her and begs her to come back home to him. But the snowball effect can't be stopped easily, if at all. Now the father has decided that they should put a rush on the wedding. Will the father find out that she's an imposter? Will they actually get married? What happens when her fake fiancé has actually fallen in love with her too? What will happen with these two men?This drama is amazing as the story unfolds. What would you do if you had to choose? If you want a definate answer you won't really get it. But it is heavily implied what the outcome will be in the last minutes of the show. All I will say is I loved the ending. I write reviews mostly for dramas and CDs from Korea, Taiwan, China and Japan. THERE'S A DRAMA FOR THAT

Loved this one. So glad the man I wanted got the girl!

The premise of PRINCESS' STAND-IN is the always compelling theme that changing one's outer appearance may lead to an equivalent change in one's character. Despite this intriguing possibility there are far too many elements working at cross purposes to warrant a rating higher than three stars. The essential plot driver is the ugly duckling Jin Da Hua (Nikki Hsieh) who has lived most of her life hoping to marry Guang Jun (James Wen), a wastrel who was informally adopted by her family years earlier. Guang Jun often treats her coldly and occasionally insensitively. The plot complicates as Nikki Hsieh in a double role also stars as Liang Yan, who is engaged to marry Terry (Chris Wu). Terry takes Liang Yan on a dangerous mountain climbing trip where she falls off a cliff and dies. Terry offers Jin Da Hua huge sums of money to undergo plastic surgery to allow her to take the place of the late Liang Yan. Now this by itself had considerable potential to create a tight drama but the primary problem was in the ongoing indecisiveness of Liang Yan/Jin Da Hua to choose either Guang Jun or Terry. Initially I was able to accept her vacillating between the two, but I began to begrudge the director's incessant hinting that first one than the other would be favored. Surely by the twenty-first and final episode, Liang Yan/Jin Da Hua would choose. No such luck. Each time she drifted in and out of the arms of either lover, I wanted to shout at the screen for her to be definitive.As usual in Tawainese love dramas, the director included variously predictable plot devices, one of which is the pairing of a trio of lovers as in a festive Shakespearean comedy. These parallel pairings were annoying rather than entertaining. Further, there were other potential pairings that were briefly introduced but were permitted to fizzle out. In this category, was a rival for the affections of Terry, his gorgeous secretary who soliloquized of her desire to marry him but the scriptwriters apparently forgot about her and she wound up as little more than attractive eye candy slinking from one scene to another. A second annoying pairing was the contentious non-bonding of Jin Da Hua's goofy brother with her best friend, who persisted in uttering each line of dialogue in a whiny irritating voice that made me question why Jin Da Hua's brother could tolerate her frequent verbal berating of him. The biggest issue I had was the colossal effrontery of Terry who decided to continue with the deception even after the death of Liang Yan. What emerges after the final episode was a lack of interest on my part about whom Jin Da Hua would select. I was screaming for decisiveness. What I got was a disagreeable mushiness. Not recommended.

This series is bitter sweet, hilarious and heartwarming all at the same time. Makes your emotions go back and forth over who deserves the female lead. Just when you've decided who she belongs with it suddenly changes your mind. In the midst of all the delightful comedy it also makes you think of what the difference between puppy, or young, love is and what true love is.