Review: Ashes to Crown (2026) 翘楚

Is she really that “smart”?

One of my biggest problems with this drama is that it TRIES to make you believe that Chu Zhao is incredibly smart in this second chance at life. Everyone around her is commenting on how perceptive she is and how she can see through all the lies and plotting. Blah blah blah. But IS SHE, though?

In her first life, why was she completely unaware of what her husband was truly planning? She COMPLETELY ignores her father’s warnings that Xiao Xun cannot be trusted. But “TRUE LOVE” and “I KNOW BETTER”! ….In the second life, Xie Yan Lai even says there’s no way she didn’t realize something was amiss about Xiao Xun. When in reality, SHE HAD NO IDEA! 

And then, in the reborn life, right after she becomes Princess Royal, the Emperor’s older sister, she acts as though she holds all the cards and possesses all the knowledge. But I don’t see where she gets this confidence. For one, she is thwarted left and right by her ex-fiancé Xiao Xun. She is extremely confident in her ability to trap him, but he outsmarts her and escapes. She gets betrayed by people she formed alliances with, and not because someone offered them a better deal, but because of her own actions. She threatened Grand Tutor Deng using his mother’s life as leverage. His mother is his greatest weakness. How could she NOT expect him to betray her? She fabricates false intelligence and tries to drag the Xie family down with it. Same question. how could she NOT expect Xie Yan Fang to retaliate? 

So I’m like…Are you supposed to be smart or not? How is she supposed to be this master tactician when so many people are outsmarting her and betraying her at every turn? This just reads like someone who has discovered power for the very first time and has absolutely no idea how to wield it properly yet. If this show had simply STOPPED insisting she is some genius strategist, and instead framed this as a challenging growth narrative, someone learning from her mistakes, this would have been far more palatable. That way, the stumbles along the road wouldn’t undermine the image persona that everyone around her is trying to build up.

Excruciatingly Forced Romance

The initial setup is that Chu Zhao is trying to use all of the men around her to achieve her goals and defeat Xiao Xun. With the main male lead in particular, she uses her ability to charm him because she realizes he has a soft spot for her and that she can trust him. Which is actually not a bad setup. I didn’t mind it initially. We also learn that years ago she saved his life, so he feels indebted to her, even though she doesn’t know this yet.

But then, in many of their interactions, random slow motion shots appear, specifically designed to build romantic atmosphere. Except in these moments she is no longer the one doing the seducing. Instead, she seems to be catching feelings herself. Where did that attraction come from? Just because they happen to be standing close to each other? Help me understand.

These slow motion sequences also SEVERELY undermine the pacing of the show. When Chu Zhao is focused on plotting and revenge, the show at least moves briskly. But the moment one of these forced romantic slow motion scenes appears, the pace grinds to a halt. It feels jarring precisely because the scenes feel so manufactured. Did she need to make pastries with him? Not really. There are plenty of ways to build attraction organically, but this kind of forced interaction is not it.

Poor acting

The entire cast…is unfortunately very wooden. 

Zhou Yi Ran/Main male lead: For most of the drama, his face has essentially one expression. He is that moody, dark, seemingly cold bodyguard with his brow permanently furrowed. There is very little depth or nuance to his performance at all. Maybe that is simply how he interprets this role? But he is basically standing there like a pillar most of the time. He actually comes off as if he’s sneering quite often. 

Chen Du Ling/Main female lead:I genuinely don’t think she has the range for this type of role. I have written about her in my previous reviews of her dramas. She struggles to emote, especially when large expressions are needed. Pay particular attention to her eyes and eyebrows. THEY DON”T MOVE!!! In one scene, she literally watches her husband murder the Third Prince, and her eyes widen only the tiniest amount. You genuinely cannot tell she is shocked. I can tell she WANTS to emote. But…she just doesn’t seem like she has the capacity to do so. .

As for Xie Yan Fang and Deng Yi? They have significant screen time conversing with each other in different camps. But again, most of the time, it just feels like they’re talking AT each other and going through lines. They sit there, talk and that’s it. Nothing interesting is really going on.

If you watch all of their scenes on mute and focus on their facial features, it’s really really hard to know what difference they bring to certain scenes. 

I would say of all of the main cast, the antagonist Xiao Xun probably is the best actor here. He at least shows more emotion than most of the rest of the guys.