The Heiress Chinese Drama Review

The Heiress (女世子) has been on my radar for quite some time now but I keep putting it off for some reason or other until recently. This is a cross-dressing drama that features a lady masquerading as a man in a historical era. I do have my complaints which I will spell out in The Heiress review below. However, not all of it is bad and there are some good points to balance things out overall. First, let’s take a look at the cast and synopsis before we move on to the ending and review.

My rating: 6.5/10
Episodes: 24
Type: Romance
Aired: August 2020
Images Credit: Tencent

The Cast Of The Heiress

• Jiang Chao as Chen Yan Yi / Prince Qi
• Una You Jing Ru as Han Yuan Niang / Han Shi Yi
• Wang An Yu as Wang Zhong Yu
• Melody Tang Meng Jia as Wang Xi Yuan
• Wu Yang as Chu Xiang Yue
• Song Han Yu as Chen Yan Hao / Prince Zheng
• Yu Yan Kai as General Han Ji Zhong
• Cao Li as Wang An Jian / Lord Wang
• Calvin Zheng Guo Lin as Chen Cheng Lan / Emperor

Main Characters

Chen Yan Yi / Prince Qi

Prince Qi is the 5th prince of the Chen State. He is a strong contender for the vacant Crown Prince position. Prince Qi is a capable military leader who has served the army for a number of years. He is a reserved and stoic man who cares for his people. His mother was the late Empress Yuan who belonged to the powerful Chu family.

Han Yuan Niang / Han Shi Yi

Shi Yi is a woman but has to take on the identity of her late twin brother since young. She is playful and mischievous by nature but takes on her responsibilities towards her family and clan seriously. Shi Yi is a smart and witty woman. Her father is a great general who controls the Han army based in the north border. She is served by 2 loyal assistants, Jin Zi and Yin Zi.

Wang Zhong Yu

Zhong Yu is the Prime Minister’s son. He likes to fool around and secretly writes plays for the pavilion. Zhong Yu has no interest in politics but his family is related to the current Empress who is his aunt and Prince Zheng is his cousin.

Supporting Characters

Wang Xi Yuan

Xi Yuan is the Prime Minister’s daughter and Zhong Yu’s younger sister. She is impulsive and hot-tempered. Xi Yuan can also be stubborn and persistent when it comes to love. She has feelings for Prince Qi.

Chu Xiang Yue

Xiang Yue is Prince Qi’s cousin. She is a manipulative and jealous woman. Xiang Yue is interested in Prince Qi and schemes to be his official wife.

Chen Yan Hao / Prince Zheng

Prince Zheng is the 2nd prince of the Chen State. He is a corrupt prince who is vying to be the Crown Prince and tends to listen to his uncle who is the Prime Minister. His mother is Empress Wang who is the current Empress of the state.

Wang An Jian / Lord Wang

Lord Wang is the Prime Minister of the Chen State. He is an ambitious and ruthless man who wants to elevate his nephew, Prince Zheng, to be the Crown Prince. His sister is the current Empress. Zhong Yu and Xi Yuan are his son and daughter respectively.

Chen Cheng Lan / Emperor

The Emperor of the Chen State is a suspicious man who is always afraid of threats against him. But he is a fair ruler who tries to do his best for the people. He is sickly but still undecided on who should succeed him.

General Han Ji Zhong

General Han is Shi Yi’s father. He is an honorable man and has been successfully guarding the northern border against invasion by Chen State’s enemies. He controls the powerful Han army which the Emperor sees as a potential threat to his rule.

Synopsis

When Yuan Niang’s twin brother was killed by the family’s enemy, she has to assume his identity. This is because she belongs to the powerful Han family and everyone is coveting their army. Without a male heir, the family’s army will be easily taken away from them by the state. Hence, Yuan Niang became Shi Yi and grew up as a boy.

The Han family is based in the north. When the Emperor requests Shi Yi to study in the Imperial Academy, she has to leave her home to go to the capital. Her classmates include Prince Qi and Prime Minister Wang’s son, Zhong Yu. Shi Yi’s father wants her to maintain the family’s neutrality when it comes to the palace power struggles as it would be dangerous for them to take sides. Thus, during her stay in the capital, Shi Yi acts like a good-for-nothing playboy to maintain her male identity and avoid from being drawn into any camps.

In the meantime, Prince Qi and Prince Zheng are competing to be the Crown Prince. Prince Zheng has the backing of Prime Minister Wang. Complications arise when both Prince Qi and Zhong Yu find themselves being attracted to Shi Yi as she tries hard to keep her true gender under wraps.

The Heiress Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

The Heiress has an ambiguous ending. It actually reminds me of the ending in The Untamed because of the female lead’s smile at the very end. There is a time jump after Shi Yi decided to leave Prince Qi. The Emperor died and Prince Qi took over. But Prince Qi had promised his father on his deathbed that he will not expose Prime Minister Wang’s guilt in colluding with the state’s enemy to defeat the Han army until one year after his father’s death. This is because his father wanted to leave with his dignity and legacy intact although he was the one that erroneously gave the Wang family power to counterbalance the Chu family.

Hence, Prince Qi couldn’t immediately give the Han family and their army the justice they deserve when he succeeded the throne. This caused Shi Yi to continue to distrust Prince Qi and she thought that he had conveniently brought down the Han army during the war to remove a threat on his way up the throne. After leaving the palace, Zhong Yu told Shi Yi the truth due to guilt. But Shi Yi felt that it made no difference as Prince Qi had failed to clear the Han army’s name of failing to protect the state.

3 years later, Shi Yi is back at the capital. Prince Qi is a merciful Emperor and loved by the people. He has restored the Han family’s reputation and announced Prime Minister Wang’s crimes. When Prince Qi notices a clue that Shi Yi is back, he tries looking for her in the streets. He couldn’t find her but Shi Yi notices him from afar. She smiles as the drama concludes.

When Did They Know Shi Yi Is A Woman?

Prince Qi finds out the truth in Episode 6. Shi Yi got drunk and fell asleep. Prince Qi tried to feed her some hangover concoction but spilled some onto her clothes. Thinking she is a man, he tried to take off her wet clothes and saw that she is a woman. But he kept quiet about it and Shi Yi didn’t know that he had learned the truth until he confessed his feelings to her in Episode 10.

Zhong Yu had suspected early on that Shi Yi is a woman. He got his confirmation at the end of Episode 7 when he sneaked into her room through a diversion tactic. He hid in a cupboard and noticed everything. Zhong Yu also kept quiet about it until Episode 15 when he told Shi Yi that he has feelings for her.

Shi Yi reappears as a woman in Episode 20 when she lost her memory after falling off a cliff during the war. When she was arrested for deceiving the Emperor for assuming her brother’s identity, her classmates pleaded with the Emperor to give her back her status as a descendant of the Han family. Prince Qi also begged his father to allow him to marry Shi Yi. His father agreed and gave the decree before he died.

What Happened To Zhong Yu?

Prince Qi spared the Wang family from execution after he ascended the throne despite the treasonous behavior of Prime Minister Wang. As Zhong Yu’s father had committed suicide to atone for his sins, Prince Qi let the matter rest.

When Prime Minister Wang sensed that Prince Qi will succeed the throne instead of Prince Zheng, he had forced Zhong Yu to marry Ms. Su as the Su family has a pardon token. But Zhong Yu only loves Shi Yi. Eventually, he wrote Ms. Su a divorce letter and asked her to leave him for her own good. Although Ms. Su went back to her family, she returned him the divorce letter and left him the pardon token.

In the last episode, Zhong Yu tried to help Shi Yi to get out of the palace and leave Prince Qi on Chu Xiang Yue’s instigation. Prince Qi let them go. After Zhong Yu admitted that it was his father that had caused the Han army’s defeat, Shi Yi decided that it is best that they never meet again. Zhong Yu realized that they were never destined to be together.

3 years later, Zhong Yu has become a popular play writer and doing what he loves best.

The Fate Of Other Characters

• Emperor – He died of long-term illness in Episode 24. The woman he loved the most had always been Empress Yuan, Prince Qi’s mother. But he had to suppress his true feelings and elevated Empress Wang because he needed the Wang family to counterbalance the Chu family to secure his throne.
• Empress Wang – She committed suicide when the Emperor died to be with him in the afterlife despite knowing he had cheated about his true feelings.
• Chu Xiang Yue – Prince Qi decreed her to be sent to the Western region to be married off when he got annoyed with her schemes to get close to him after he became the Emperor.
• General Han – He died in the war in Episode 19 due to Prime Minister Wang’s treasonous act of colluding with the enemy. Prime Minister Wang planted a mole in General Han’s camp and the opposing forces got hold of their map which led to the Han army’s defeat.
• Yin Zi – She died alongside General Han.
• Jin Zi – She died while trying to kill Prince Qi to help Shi Yi to leave the palace in Episode 24. It was an accidental death as she landed straight into a soldier’s outstretched sword when Prince Qi’s guard kicked her away.
• Prince Zheng – He was sent to look after a vassal state by the Emperor when Prince Qi was appointed as the Crown Prince.
• Xi Yuan – Zhong Yu sent her and their mother back to their hometown when it became obvious that the family would be in trouble due to their father’s crimes.

The Heiress Review – Fitting Disguise But…

Personally, The Heiress is really nothing special. It is a typical cross-dressing drama. If you have watched a few of these, you would know that the girl would get found out and the guy would try his best to protect her. But where this differs a little is the way they have tried to project the girl. They have made Shi Yi to be as manly as possible especially with her looks. This is very unlike In A Class Of Her Own whereby the female lead hardly looked like a man at all. Neither does Shi Yi has the cuteness of the cross-dresser in Dr. Cutie.

I think Shi Yi’s appearance does take some getting used to. Her male looks just seemed a little weird to me initially. I can understand why there is a need to make her really stand out as a man since she has to masquerade as a playboy to fit the plot. But when you try to transform the face of a pretty woman into a man, it just doesn’t look natural at first glance. The upside is it looks more fitting for the story and you will get used to her looks after watching one or two episodes anyway.

A Boring First Half

Frankly speaking, I find the first half of The Heiress to be boring. If you like Shi Yi’s antics and think she is funny, then maybe you might have a different opinion. But for me, watching her pretending to be a playboy and irresponsible person over and over again just gets old after a while. It has a repetitiveness to it which I think could be cut down. The story only starts to get interesting after the halfway mark when the pace picks up.

Basically, The Heiress has a simple plot. If you expect an intense fight for the throne, this is hardly the drama to watch. There are no detailed behind the scenes political maneuverings and revenge like those found in The Blooms At Ruyi Pavilion. 24 episodes is just too short to have an in-depth power struggle saga.

Hence, the focus is on Prince Qi and Shi Yi’s relationship with Zhong Yu’s interest in Shi Yi taking up another significant portion of the screen time. The power play does provide some excitement as it is linked to the relationships among the 3 main characters but it is told in a simplistic and superficial way. So don’t expect any compelling and intricate plot where The Heiress is concerned.

The Leads’ Acting

I think everyone did a respectable job in The Heiress. Una You appears convincing as a cross-dresser and she successfully balances the manly mannerisms with feminine characteristics for Shi Yi’s character. I think a balance is important for this role as being too masculine will be off-putting for a romance drama while being too feminine will hardly be realistic for the story.

Jiang Chao displays a stoic and reserved demeanor for his role as Prince Qi. He frequently wears a poker face which at times looks a little stiff to me. However, he has his charm and there is contrast in his expressions for his interactions with Shi Yi.

I have just watched Wang An Yu in Forever Love and was delighted when I saw him in The Heiress. He is not too bad for a young actor although there is still much room for improvement. His smirks fit his cocky character as Zhong Yu but his emotional scenes will need some polishing to effectively move the audience.

Chemistry-wise, I can’t say that it is superb. It is good enough for a 24-episode historical romance drama but not enough to qualify as a top notch pairing. It is kind of similar to the Dance Of The Sky Empire whereby the female lead has to constantly suppress her own feelings for the guy. This makes it a bit more difficult to generate sizzling interactions between the leads because the girl always needs to hold back. As a result, the chemistry build up just falls a little short to make me feel fully invested in the couple’s story.

My Verdict

Firstly, The Heiress is not exactly a sweet romance drama. It is not like another cross-dressing drama, Maiden Holmes, which has a much more supportive and loving relationship for the main couple. In The Heiress, the female lead doesn’t want to get involved for a large part of the story and trust is seriously lacking. So, if lots of lovey-dovey moments and kisses are a must for your fill of romance dramas like those in General’s Lady, then you can certainly drop this one.

Secondly, Shi Yi wouldn’t be everyone’s idea of a perfect heroine. It will depend on your taste of how manly you want the female lead to look like as a cross-dresser. Her character is also a talkative one and some might find her annoying.

Thirdly, there is a lack of anticipation of Shi Yi’s gender being discovered and revealed. I think what largely makes cross-dressing dramas interesting is the excitement build up of when the cross-dresser will be outed. The Heiress fails to fully capitalize on this excitement which is indeed a pity.

The Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Lastly, you might not like the way the ending is presented. To me, it isn’t emotionally satisfying. I don’t mind not having a clear cut happy or sad ending but the loose ends should be tied up. Here, the misunderstanding of the couple isn’t resolved and we are not told why the female lead returns to the capital 3 years later. It is really up to your own imagination of what you want the ending to be as there is no finality when you reached the end of the drama. In short, it is an ambiguous ending just like Dance Of The Phoenix.

It Is Still Watchable

Despite the weaknesses, The Heiress is still a watchable production although I wouldn’t place it anywhere near the top of my priority list. It is refreshing because the female lead’s disguise is apt and convincing which is a welcomed change from the usual cross-dressing dramas. Thus, it is worth to check it out on this factor alone.

Furthermore, it is a short drama which should delight those who have no fondness for long-winded palace politics saga. The pace for the second half of The Heiress moves at a quick rate especially for the last 6 to 8 episodes. So, the whole story is not bogged down in details but rapidly unfolds unlike, say And The Winner Is Love which is really slow-moving.

All in all, I would give this The Heiress Chinese drama review a score of 6.5/10. It could have been better if the first half has not been a drag to me. Watch it if you like cross-dressing dramas but be prepared for a less than perfect ending. I would categorize The Heiress as a drama that one would watch while waiting for something more interesting to hit the screen.

Oh, and one more thing… The Heiress starts off with a bit of laughs with its lighthearted theme but becomes melodramatic as it moves towards the ending. The contradiction could leave you feeling annoyed or excited depending on your taste in dramas.