Royalteen

I didn't read the book this was based on so I'm not sure if it's a good adaptation but as it is... it's not really great.

I watched totally blind expecting it to be a light hearted royalty teen romcom similar to "Prince and Me" or "Royal Treatment" but it wasn't (not necessarily a bad thing!). I was surprised to see them add in more delicate topics a teenager may face. It wasn't some masterpiece twist but it does at least separate its characters from the usual. They have high consequence actual flaws and issues like dealing with social stigma... it's not just sunshine and rainbows.

However the execution of everything was lackluster. Pacing was horrible. Instead of focusing on the whole of the story they chose to highlight the "romance" part that it overshadowed the struggles of the characters because it was all about the romance that was basically non-existent here because they didn't really give it time to mature and create chemistry. They just fell in love for some reason after like bumping into each other? You can't build a good romance without foundation. They even addressed the deeper issues that made the whole plot better so flippantly...it's just disappointing.

This would have been better as a limited series of sort to really delve into the characters' struggles, why they act they way they do, so you can actually empathize with them while the romance is a B-plot to create that slow burn. But alas this wasn't it.