The Princess's Man

The Princess’s Man was one of my picks for best dramas of 2011. It checked off all the boxes: Great acting. Great plot. Great cinematography. Great chemistry.

The drama’s greatest strengths are its cast and well-written characters.

Moon Chae Won was utter gorgeousness in hanbok. Her character, SeRyung, was inspiring as a woman in Joseon Korea full of integrity, strength, and grace.
Park Shi Hoo demonstrated his acting has improved leaps and bounds but I do wonder what a better actor would have done with his role of Seung Yoo.

The secondary love story between the ex-Princess and her arranged husband was predictable yet so tender and lovely. Hong Soo Hyun is someone that I will be looking out for.
Also, Prince Soo Yang, Se Ryung's father was my favorite character. Terrific acting from him as well, in fact, the highlight of the show. He was not a black and white villain but an intricately written one with many shades of gray that made him stand high above the other characters, who are great in their own right.

Highly recommended period drama that is a great love story and that realistically depicts family life, friendship and the loss of innocence in Joseon Korea.

Read More

I loved watching this drama however i felt I had more unanswered questions than answers at the end. I wouldn't say I loved the ending but I felt like I missed something. I think the soldiers guarding the nobles etc were bad. If you are guarding such an important figure you should be able to fight. YOu should be the best of the best. It was like having a bunch of florist fighting as guards, they could barely defend themselves. They lacked the skills needed to protect someone important. Therefore I was yelling at the screen half the time. I think it would have been great to be shorter but I guess you need all those episodes for the build up of hatred and frustration with certain characters and situations. The story was great, filled with everything to get you glued to your seat to watch. Hatred, jealousy, love, misunderstandings, lies, a big bag of betrayal, lust, envy, cuteness fighting etc etc. good old fashion evil and mix in a Romeo and Juliet kinda love. I thought the characters were fantastic and you may shed tears a few times but you will yell at the screen. My problems with the drama was the unanswered stuff at the end and the big WTH, when did that happen and where is everyone else? the KinG, I was kinda speechless. Does greed really pay off. I imagine stuff like this does happen in history no matter the country but It was kinda sad also. Does it benefit you to be king when most want your head on a platter and do they really allow you to rule when so many strings are pulling you at once if you manage to stay alive. seems like you are better off being a common folk. Like i said I loved watching this drama however I am conflicted on the ending. NOT that it was horrible but I would have liked a more polished ending. Acting was great from everyone, main and supporting alike.

Read More

Messy Story, Unlikable Characters

I honestly didn’t enjoy this drama. It’s not beautifully made - the story felt messy, and most of the characters were unlikeable. I couldn’t connect with either the male lead or the female lead; both of them were frustrating to watch.

The female lead was especially hard to like. She defies her father and doesn’t care about her family. She didn’t even try to understand her father’s side or why they had to do what they did. It’s politics - if her father’s party didn’t take action, sooner or later they would have been the ones to perish. That was clearly explained to her, yet all she thought about was love. As far as I know, during that era, family was the most important thing to people, especially among the nobility. Her actions felt unrealistic and out of place for the setting. I actually started to hate her for hurting Myeong’s feelings. He didn’t deserve that kind of pain, especially since he showed genuine care and loyalty.

As for Seung-yoo, I didn’t like his character either. He wasn’t compelling or sympathetic enough to make me root for him. Meanwhile, Myeong could have been the most interesting character, but the writers didn’t give him the depth he deserved. They should’ve explored his story more — maybe built a strong bromance or shown him slowly winning the female lead’s heart.

But even Myeong’s character was inconsistent. He kept holding back - if he really hated his friend, he should’ve acted on it from the start. That hesitation made his story feel incomplete.

Overall, this drama was disappointing. The story could’ve been powerful, but poor writing and unlikable leads ruined it for me.

Read More

I really debated what to rate this drama after finishing it. For all accounts, the acting is amazing (SUPERB cast with fantastic leads), the music is moving, and it is absolutely beautiful to look at but the plot felt a little loose to me. It was fairly typical as far as sageuks go: the struggle for the throne with scheming higher-ups and revenge seeking rebels. But what makes The Princess' Man veer from the norm is its focus on the romance between the two leads. Not that sageuks don't have romance (because they do) but it is rare for the main focus of the drama to be the romantic relationship and not the politics (at least, at the time of this drama's airing).

And this drama does a wonderful job telling us the story of Korea's Romeo and Juliet by giving us lots of great moments...but overall I felt there were times the drama slipped into a lull. It got boring around half way through and took a bit to pick things back up. Plus I thought there was a lot of "back and forth" with some "rinse and repeat" going on with the plot, if you know what I mean.

HOWEVER! Since I loved this couple so much and because--overall--I really enjoyed this drama, I went ahead and gave it a 9 rating. I think there are better quality sageuks out there but this is still one of the best.

Read More

Joseon's Romeo and Juliet

The Princess's man is quite a great watch. It was set during the time of Grand Prince Suyang, later King Sejo of Joseon. It follows the quest of Prince Suyang before and till he claimed the throne.

Fictionally, it tells the story of a man and woman whose deeply and selflessly in love with other. Seryeong, is the eldest daughter of Grand Prince Suyang. One day, she was told she will possibly be joining Kim Jongseo's second son, Seungyu, in conjugal ties. After visiting Princess Gyeonghye, her cousin to her father's side, she learned that Seungyu will be the new teacher of the Princess. Seryeong volunteered to attend the lecture instead while disguising herself as Princess Gyeonghye. The lovestory of our leads started that way. However, they are caught up in an intense family rivalry as Prince Suyang aimed to snatch the throne to his brother and nephew, while Kim Jongseo remained loyal to the current Munjong and Danjong regime . Turns out that the proposed wedding was a potical stunt by Prince Suyang. The story follows how the two families clashes with each other while sacrificing lives along the way. We will get to witness how Seungyu and Seryeong fought for their love despite the quandaries they face.

I have nothing against the all actors as they did really good portraying their characters. I commend all the actors down from the leads to the supporting actors. Emotions and expressions are really spot on and will make you feel the character's pain and joy.

Seungyu's story is so heartbreaking. Imagine, he lost his father, brother, teachers, and friends to the very father of the woman he loves. To add up, he was betrayed by Myeon whom he calls a dear friend. There was even a time when he was kept in the dark by Seryeong about her real identity, only finding out after the demise of his clan bought by Seryeong's father. Seungyu's character was heartbreaking and full of hatred, centered at taking vengeance to those vile people, especially Prince Suyang. Park Shi Hoo was able to portray that well, no doubt.

As for Seryeong, she was a loving daughter who looks up to her father only to discover how ruthless and greedy can he be, not minding who or how many will be sacrificed. She was torn between being a filial daughter to his power greedy father and on standing what was truly and humanely right. She was head on strong and brave for fighting what she truly think is right. Moon Chae Won did so much great in making life to Seryeong.

I can say that the flow of everything was great but it really bugs me every time Seungyu shows up in public. He is way too confident to roam around showing his face and the most hilarious part is that no one notices him, ever HAHAHA. There was even one time when he walked Seryeong into their old residence despite being hunted down. I think that was before Seungyu goes to Hamgil Province. It just doesn't sit right with me, he holds a government position and the son of Daeho Kim Jongseo, not everybody but someone might recognize him yet he roams like no problem at all.

One thing that makes me really sad about the drama is the wasted friendships between Seungyu, Jong, and Myeon. It was so heartbreaking to see them fall apart and be dragged by their father's intense conflict. Especially, everytime Jong begged both of his two dear friends to stop and reconcile. I remember Seungyu even said, "Leave all the aggravation to our fathers, and let us ignore it. ". If only Myeon resist his father a little longer or choose loyalty to his friends over tolerating his greedy father, then it could have been better. One thing that I could never understand is Myeon's character. Yes, he cried and say drunk himself but at the end of the day.. no, no remorse at all. Not to mention his desire to kill Seungyu to finally have Seryeong. Like dude, I didn't know you also like Seryeong, really, when and how did it happen?! You knew there was already something going on between your friend and Seryeong yet you do what?! I can't help but compare their friendship with the two male leads in "My Country, The New Age", the very reason why I started obsessing on following the lives of the Joseon Kings and the reason why I watched this drama to follow King Sejo's a bit slice of truth.

Either way, the drama was great. Superb storyline, great OST, packed with romance and action, set during one of the most intense time during the Joseon period, all in 24 episodes. Very recommended!

I was able to fill my curiosity about the reign after King Sejong the Great and King Munjong. The struggle of King Danjong against his Uncle King Sejo. Fictionally, I have enjoyed the story made out of it. It taught me to be brave, to love, and ultimately, to stand and fight for what I think is truly right and just.

Read More

The Princess Man was really slow starting, but once the initial story is covered, the plot of the story itself is amazing. The story is deep and has a lot of good moments. I loved the acting. I felt that the actors did a wonderful job showing emotion, and there is a ton of it. The only thing I didn't like about the acting is that I didn't see any real chemistry between the two leads, so it didn't really seem that they cared for or loved each other all that much. The music was beautiful and was really what set the emotion for the whole drama. I wouldn't rewatch this drama though. For some reason I found it completely difficult to get though. Usually when it takes me only a few days to finish a drama this one took me over a month. It was too slow at times and too heart breaking that I couldn't bare to watch another episode right away. I thought The Princess Man was beautiful, and the first drama I have ever cried while watching. This drama is definitely not light hearted and is a major tear jerker, but it is still good none the less.

Read More

I finished this drama in a few days. That's how addicting it was. The story is of a Romeo and Juliet sort ( my fave play from Shakespeare which is probably what attracted me to watch it) with a slight different ending... The drama is full of action and fighting scenes. It has its different romance stories and oh so cute/tender moments. It's a story of lies, betrayal, deceit, vengeance, backstabbing, loyalty, friendship, love, respect, righteousness and ultimately, happiness.
The characters are unique and have their own back stories. You really get to know each of them and understand the choices they make, right or wrong. The acting was top notch. It was marvelous to see how Park Shi Hoo's character changes throughout his hardships. This drama allowed us to see PSH's acting skills. Song Jong Ho was also great, so was the third friend. It's a great drama for those like to have a mixture of thrilling action and romance. Would definitely want to re-watch this sometime.

Read More

LAZY WRITING, AGAIN!

Why they always ruin a great show in the finale? Another lazy writing, at least in the finale. They had 24 episodes to finished it the right way, but no, let's do some stupid stuff. I honestly wouldn't mind if all 3 died. Why? Because at least that would make sense. Also, how on Earth is she was pregnant? They had one night together, and he left her for MONTHS! Are they never read anything about pregnancy? 3 or more months are not 3 weeks! Don't ever tell me the morning sickness is happening after 3+ months. They wanted them to have a kid just because the sake of it? Also, He had many times to kill the King, but no, why would he, right? Not to mention that everything was perfect with his army until the last half of the episode? A totally random guy just betrayed them? The whole show was so great till the finale. Anyone who says, this show is perfect is just another blindfolded fan, nothing more. The writers literally throw away everything they build. I don't mind the happy ending or even the sad ending with them dying with their kid, but I hate lazy writing so much!

Read More