The Red Sleeve = Rollercoaster Ride
Reviews for dramas are often super lengthy so I'll keep this one really simple:- emotionally traumatising
- outstanding writing/script
- some of the best acting I've seen in dramas
- the best sageuk drama (in my opinion)
- brilliant acting (extra points to Lee Jun-Ho! he shined throughout!)
- not for everyone (especially if you like fast [romance] storylines)
- beautiful cinematography
- amazing OST
- so much chemistry!
- based on a true story (google it), which explains some of the decisions made for this programme
- if I wasn't really picky it would've been a 10
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I wasn't expecting much when i started watching it. The plot sounded interesting and the based on a real story definitely was an added intriguing factor. But the love I have for Deok Im! That's how you write a female character, one with her own story arc and an active involvement in the story (not just the love story but the larger political mechanism of the show). I am sure some liberties were taken - as most shows do - but they all served to give us one of the best female characters in k-dramas (historical or otherwise). And then there is Yi San. I mean, Jun Ho is amazing in this role and his slow chemistry with Se Young makes the whole thing, like, 10 times better. I highly recommend it!!
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I’m not normally big on watching historical dramas but I’m so glad that I watched this one.
I planned to watch this show because I enjoyed Lee Jun Ho in all of the stuff that I had seen him in before and was looking for a new show to support. I’m not normally big on watching historical dramas but I’m so glad that I watched this one.I’m not going to get into an in-depth description of what this show is about, you can read the blurb above, so I’m just going to jump into my thoughts on the show as a whole. From the casting, to the scenery, the dialogue, and the acting, I enjoyed every aspect of this show. I will say that there were a bit of a slow down in the middle but it didn’t last super long and I was heavily invested in what was going on so that didn’t bother me too much.
The main lead, Lee Jun Ho, did a tremendous job in bringing his character, Yi San to life. I felt his every emotion and though I spent a lot of time frustrated with how he treated the female lead in the beginning, I didn’t hate him because he’s the crown prince and of course, he’d act the way that he did. I cried a lot at different parts of this show and it was mostly with Lee Jun Ho’s delivery of different scenes. My heart hurt for him as he survived assassination attempt after attempt, on top of all of the shit that he had to survive with his abusive ass grandfather, the current King and all of the emotional baggage that came with the death of his father. There was a lot to unpack with his story alone, now add in the female lead, Sung Deok Im, played by Lee Se Young, and the story takes off even more.
I really enjoyed this show. The romance between Yi San and Deok Im was compelling as hell because he’s the Crown Prince and she’s a court maid assigned to work in his house. She’s strong, she’s smart, and though she finds herself falling in love with Yi San, she understands that becoming one of his concubines doesn’t lead to anywhere good for her. So there was struggle in all parts of her life, but also in Yi San’s life. Seeing the way that these two came together in love was a whole lotta, whole lotta. There was a lot of drama, there was a lot of hurt feelings, and worrying over each other so they really had to work for their happy ending and the way that this show came to an end was satisfying as hell.
Overall, this show had it all. A charming cast, a romance that you rooted for, and the backdrop of beautiful Korea that left you breathless. It was a beautiful drama from beginning to end and though there were parts of the show that dragged a bit for me, I still heavily messed with this show. Lee Se Young is a new to me actress but I enjoyed her portrayal of Deok Im, even when she frustrated me with her constant refusal to follow her heart but in the end, alls well that ends well and I was a happy camper. I hella recommend this drama if you’re in the mood for a good historical royal romance with a beautiful cast, setting, and romance. This hits all of those notes and more.
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BEST SAGEUK ROMANCE DRAMA YOU WILL EVER WATCH!
You may not believe me but in case I’m right you should go ahead and watch this drama and see how it compares to others.If by 5 episodes in you believe me then carry on watching it till the end. It’s based on a true story so to avoid losing your sanity I’d suggest reading about the real historical story behind the the two main characters, it will save you a few tears. If you don’t want to cry then please don’t ever become attached to this drama, it’s for your own good. I promise.
They have some of the best chemistry I have EVER seen in screen in a K-Drama and I’ve seen over 200 dramas! And I still say that’s the case. I watched it and asked myself if they were married or dating or just incredible actors.
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A BEAUTIFUL BUT HEART WRENCHING LOVE STORY
A CONFLICT OF DUTY AND DESIREThe series excels by focusing on the perspective of Deok Im, a smart and free-spirited court maid who highly values her freedom. The core tension lies in her repeated rejection of Yi San's advances, as becoming a royal concubine means losing her autonomy and the life she cherishes. Yi San, driven by both passionate love and the heavy burden of his royal duty, struggles to reconcile his desire for her with the rigid demands of the court.
EXCELLENT PRODUCTION AND ACTING
The drama is a visual masterpiece, with stunning cinematography, gorgeous traditional costumes, and meticulous historical details. Beyond the visuals, the performances by leads Lee Junho and Lee Se-young are phenomenal, delivering a chemistry that is both tender and heartbreaking. They masterfully portray the emotional depth and inner conflicts of their characters and which earned them numerous awards.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH IT
More than a typical palace romance, The Red Sleeve is a poignant meditation on the cost of love in a hierarchical society. It's a well-paced, intense historical epic that perfectly balances romantic yearning, complex court politics, and high-stakes drama. Be warned: while filled with beautiful, heartfelt moments, it is an ultimately tragic and bittersweet tale, but one that is absolutely worth watching for its artistic quality and emotional power. So be mentally prepared for it.
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A Thing of Beauty
RED SLEEVE is moving historical romantic K-Drama, a thing of beauty, that was very well acted and visually/cinematically stunning. While not perfect, the drama definitely leaves a mark. Red Sleeve is based on a novel of the similar name, The Red Sleeve Cuff, written by Kang Mi-kan, that conveys the story of a court romance between the royal King of Joseon, who believes his duty is to his country first, above love, and a court lady who wants to protect the life she has chosen for herself, and how they come together against all odds. A beautiful tale, excellently told.Red Sleeve is absolutely gorgeous to watch, with some of the highest quality visuals you might see in a K-Drama. It's also a fairly sweet story, well acted, well casted, and with great music to boot. The drama is a great short series that I happened to stumble upon one night while looking for an entertaining watch. And entertaining it was, though it was perhaps a bit on the slower side in terms of pacing.
My main complaint, given that it is a more serious drama, is that I wish that it relied less on cheesy cliches and fairytale-ish tropes. Notably, as well, there were some uncomfortable themes of unconsentual interactions that were not really to my liking, no matter how true the story may be. Be all that as it may, the show is definitely worth a watch. The heroine was pretty awesome and realistic. I really enjoyed her actress, as she portayed her character with a good balance of intelligence, tenderness, and strength. Will definitely watch more that she acts in the future and can's wait to see where she goes. Certainly a star to watch out for. Overall, the series is quite lovely and memorable. It was a great watch.
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Not your usual sageuk
(Quick review: Worth the watch, good chemistry, ok acting, solid drama 7/10 )I am perplexed on how to feel about The Red Sleeve because it was also never clear on what it wanted to show us.
The drama starts as a normal Sageuk love story, bright and opinionated servant girl meets the prince in disguise. They banter , they bond, the first sparks fly.
It seems like there is a genuine connection from both sides but we are quickly introduced to the palace dynamics that would deem their love story doomed from the beginning(?). She realised their relationship would have never been as that of two equals; even if she likes him, at the end of the day, he is just the king with all the power. The logic was also that if the prince (later king) pursued her, she would be unhappy due to his other duties and concubines. FL told us; she will suffer and it's better to not have him at all, she would rather live a simple life with her friends.
But the problem is, they never really showed us her suffering after they got together, we assume she had to follow a protocol that made her feel trapped? They only hinted at those parts and showed us that the king no matter how much he loved the FL he would put his duty first.
Which I get, from our perspective all these people are slaves. Even the royals were prisoners of their own device never truly free. It was pitiful, however if the FL was still a servant what difference would it really make? We saw her being abused under a capricious master, being in immediate danger, being wrongfully accused and unable to gain her independence or build her own family. As a concubine ,the king was loyal to her, still adored her and treated her with dignity.
So being a slave is more free from being trapped in a gold cage? If that's what they wanted to show they should have done a better job to showcase it. Also, during the scene of her death we saw her beg the king to ignore her if they meet in the after life. She showed immense regret. And then what do we see at the end? Them meeting in the after life ( or whatever it was ) ... being all lovey dovey .
So did they want a cautionary tale about the power dynamics and a feminist ode that women would never be free if they do not have independence or a love prevails all romance ?
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If they would go with a happy ending anyways, they should've made it happier
I feel very neutral about this drama.Not my first historical drama and probably I haven't watched many of these but this definitely didn't make it as a favorite one, not even close to @Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo that's my absolute favorite.
As I said, if the directors would go with a happy ending anyways, they should've made it happier.
In my opinion, it was very nice how their love and affection started. I'm not referring to the times when they were children and didn't know they were helping one another, those were such beautiful moments. I'm talking years after when they met and she didn't know he was the Crown Prince and spoke casually (the drama includes fictional parts although based on a true story) and that caught his interest and he was slowly starting to feel more than just interested in her.
NOW THIS IS WHAT, IN MY OPINION, THEY SHOULD'VE WORKED WITH.
Why? Cause the description of this drama is all about the strong female lead, how she is educated and well mannered and righteous and has a talent for words and judgement. This is what initiated the sparkles of the love story and what they give us is a hot and cold female lead which I understand cause she wanted to be more free than a concubine could ever be. And it makes sense... she kept pushing the prince away for this exact reason and she ended up getting fired as a court lady so she went to live and serve elsewhere and kept transcribing books and making money out of it. That made her happy, she was free to make her own decisions.
Yet again, she went back to the palace out of her love for him. Cause I doubt she went there to serve his concubine. It was actually a dumb turn on the story line. So she chose to go closer to her lover, yet kept rejecting him, not showing him her real feelings. She would just stay in her house (which was very picturesque btw ) waiting for him to come visit. I really disliked this. Where was the fun, careless, energetic young court maid the prince fell in love with? They were in love ffs, we could've seen so many happy scenes from during the pregnancy, I imagine her being his right hand, helping him ease the weight in his shoulders. I imagine her being his safe and happy place more than they could ever depict in the drama. It was just too much focusing on the serious parts of this drama. I get it, they played a significant role but were they really THAT NECESSARY?
Anyways, something else that really made me feel rushed. THE DOUBLE STANDARDS
So just because we're talking about the Royal Secretary and he is the King's childhood friend, anything can be forgiven. No matter how many plots he created, how many people he bribed, how many people he hurt and killed. Yet, if a court maid were to fall in love and give herself to a man, death was the punishment and there were no exceptions. Excuse me now?
All in all it was good, the ending of each episode made me want to hurry up and check out the next one.
It kept me interested but I could feel something was missing. The actors did an amazing job. I literally checked this drama out because of Lee Jun Ho as I am currently enjoying him in King the land. The FL seemed talented as well but I couldn't always help it with her scenes.
Lee Deok Hwa who played the King; I actually thought a few times that he was probably the most likeable King in all the dramas I've watched so far. He is truly something else. As per the OST, I will have to check them once again. I don't remember anything in particular and as per rewatch value for me, I wouldn't go back it.
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Just a rant basically
This will be a long review/rant since I have quite a lot to say (so sorry). For anyone who doesn’t like reading, yes you should give this show a shot despite its shortcomings but I beg of you watch it with your braincells on (cuz some of y'all in the reviews cleary didn't). It was a slow watch for me but hey I didn’t drop it so that’s positive.———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
I’ll start with the cast which I thought was amazing. Junho was amazing and we got to see one of his best performances to date. Seyeong was just as terrific, and I don’t understand the criticism I’ve read in some of the reviews before I started the drama. I think oftentimes she gets roles that are poorly written and then instead of the writers she gets all the slack, which is why I expected this to happen here as well. However, I felt that she executed her role well. The rest of the cast was brilliant as well, unsurprisingly for the older cast since many of them are renowned actors.
Onto the story. The pacing was quite slow. Many things happen in the first eight to nine episodes but nothing really major. A bunch of quickly solved small disputes, of which some didn’t really contribute a whole lot to the main story. But perhaps that’s a subjective opinion of someone who likes things to move along a bit faster. Despite this, I still feel the first part of the show made more sense and was more cohesive. Things take a wild turn when San becomes king, and they prop a lot of things into like 4 episodes. I really don’t understand the need to suddenly transform the show into a historical realism drama when it didn’t seem to be one in the beginning. I know a lot of it was factual but just like many period kdramas they either romanticize the story or tell it as it is and keep it very historical. This drama wanted the best of both worlds but had no time to do that. That last episode was… a lot.
Before I get to the main rant of this review, I have to say that the best thing for me in this drama was the friendship between the four maids. It was so beautiful and honest. I cried more for them than anything else on the show.
Now for my specific complaints. The message to me for the better part of the show (because it’s changed somewhere in between) is how important the maids are and how they are not always properly valued. We see this frustration come up in the FL as well. However, this, otherwise really important message got lost in translation due to the poorly written plot of the maid organization.
What is in essence a union for maids gets at first downplayed as this villainous, authoritarian-led organization that wants to, prevent San from getting on the throne. Don’t get me wrong I understand that Head Court Lady Jo was greedy, and her main focus was not the maids at all but it is exactly this that which downplays the whole point of the organization and waters down the main message of the story. AND THEN instead of emphasizing this established greed when portraying the organization as the enemy, the show leads the viewers to believe it is the importance of the maids above the king that makes the organization bad. When Court Lady Seo tells the FL about it and she says that the organization would even overthrow the king for the good of the maids and how they think they can choose the king they serve, I truly thought “Now you’ve lost me”. In a sense, it is almost as if Korea’s propaganda against anything that smells of socialism started seeping through (“see what happens if we let people unionize” type of beat). And so, the show’s message about the importance of the maids gets lost by the show’s own insinuation that even though the maids are important, the king is still the king and the maids should be faithful to him no matter what. Whatever whiff of a progressive storyline I got, in the beginning, is completely lost by episode 9.
The second part of the story (San becoming king) was all over the place. So much was happening. The teen concubine was unnecessary, her death even more so. It was also really sudden for no reason. That being her brother’s villain origin story is I guess understandable but not really. Also, again, happened way too fast and so was poorly developed to me. He was weird throughout the whole show and his character could’ve been handled so much better. Him just out of nowhere becoming the leader of the maid organization?????? But again, as I said i think this all stems from the dramas wish to be a historical realism type of drama all of a sudden. Had they done so from the beginning they would’ve developed the story much more organically.
I also have to comment on the FLs refusal to be San’s concubine. I feel like many people in the reviews despise this part of the story but in full honesty, I do not understand why. Okay yes, the reasoning is at first a bit confusing but in the end checks out to me. To start at the beginning, I first thought the reasoning was that the FL didn’t want to be Head Court Lady Jo’s spy, so to speak. That was a good enough reason for me. But then obviously she goes on to explain that she doesn’t want to be confined by that role etc...
Many of the reviews disagree with this reasoning, arguing that nobody in their right mind would give such an opportunity up for a lifetime of servitude and friends. However, that’s an insane opinion to me. Deok Im likes what she does even though she acknowledges that it comes with its errors. And she likes the ounce of freedom that comes with her job as well as the fact that she gets to spend her days with her best friends. Someone here even commented how they don’t get why she would throw away an opportunity to have a romance and experience motherhood for “friendship”. As much as I don’t see this show as a feminist one, I think it’s audience at times is even less progressive. Her choosing herself and her friends made perfect sense to me and it also adds to the tragedy of their love. Their roles in life are essentially what keeps them apart, even metaphorically later on. Could it have been written better? Yes. However, the point was still made. And tbh after his persistence and his hurt ego because she kept saying no, I was sick of him and kinda wanted her to never say yes. So many red flags in the guy (that kiss??? the camera showing her pushing him away and him pushing her closer??? ew). This has turned into a rant but how can you claim to love a woman and then want to punish her because she supposedly doesn’t return your feelings. GROW UP. Until the very end he wanted to own her practically despite her wishes for her own freedom. And yes, obviously the system is to blame for the better part of her frustrations. However, even on her death bed he denied her what she wanted, to see her friends. Even in her death he couldn’t let her go, asking Kyeonghee why she would be waiting for her friends when she was his. I’m sorry but there was nothing romantic about that, and it upset me so much that he kept ignoring her will even after her passing.
It is also crazy to me how he does not realize the limitations of their roles and FL’s hesitation due to that. He was born into it, he knows the sacrifices he needs to make in the name of duty and he knows how awful they sometimes are. So why does he not understand that Doek Im doesn’t want to make those sacrifices? And at first I understood this as him being an ignorant man who is also king and so he has a lot of privileges. But once they lost their child? It is then, after yelling at her for being sad, that he should’ve realized what he did to her.
In conclusion, finally, this story to me is not a love story at all and I frankly don’t understand why anyone would see it as one. It’s a tragedy but not because of their sad romance, more because Deok Im’s wishes for her own found freedom are relentlessly ignored by a selfish king. A king who when she refused him, wanted to punish her and once she accepted, treated her as some sort of possession. Maybe this was the message the writers wanted to get across, the sufferings of the women in the palace from the maids to queen consort. And I honestly think if the juxtaposition between FL’s love for the king and her need for her own freedom had been developed better, the before-stated message would’ve come across smoothly, making the story come to a cohesive end.
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It gets better, don't drop it
I am very glad that I trusted 8.8 score and continued to watch instead of dropping the drama. I highly praise Junho acting but couldn't get used to fl. For the first 10-12 episodes drama I kept thinking that casting this actress for the role of fl was a bad decision. Same with grandfather/first king. I loved him in Business Proposal but in The Red sleeve his acting wasn't good or the way he was filmed wasn't right. BUT after king dies drama becomes masterpiece, even fl was impressive. Last 5 episodes were so good that it was worth to suffer while watching first 2/3 of the drama.I find it pretty interesting because I usually like first 2/3 of dramas and find endings not the best.
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I wish I had watched only the last 5 episodes or so
I read a review under another drama stating that often the issue with kdramas is that they tend to be complicated just for the sake of being complicated, and that's exactly the case. I wish I had watched only the last 5 episodes. Boring and slow at the beginning, just the acting of Lee Jun Ho and Lee Se Young kept me from dropping. I started to enjoy the show as soon as they stopped adding more and more characters and intrigues.In the end I felt like nothing was resolved (but actually it was, it's just me that couldn't thoroughly follow all the scheming and plot twisting) but the story left us with a bittersweet ending which wasn't completely sad in my opinion.
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I actually have a few mixed thoughts and feelings about how good it was, so I thought it’d be helpful to list out the good and bad things about this show.
The good:
-the romance is top tier, seriously. AND it’s a great historical romance, because these two people act like they would (or probably, anyway) back in the 1700s. The crown prince knows Deok Im is beneath him, and there is this constant power imbalance. He even says and does some not-great things to her. Deok Im has some pretty good reasons to not be with him, and that power imbalance is central to that. It’s just such an interesting dynamic to watch. (To be honest, I think this show should be labeled as a tragedy; do you really think this is going to end well?)
-there is this emphasis on the powerlessness of the maids, and other power dynamics are explored in interesting ways. The crown prince’s relationship with his grandfather is tragic and terrible, but you can’t tear your eyes away. They have some amazing scenes together.
-acting is super good, particularly by our two main leads. Both of them are incredibly good at conveying emotions and thoughts with their eyes, and it adds so much to their scenes together. The rest of the cast is solid too. Speaking of which…
-the “second male lead” (idk he doesn’t fit into the traditional role so it feels weird to call him that) is a bad person and doesn’t like our main female lead. He sees her as a rival for the crown prince’s attention and affection. He’s also interesting because you aren’t quite sure what his agenda is.
-the writing. I am also going to complain about the writing later, but I want to give strong kudos to the writing in general. There are many amazing scenes, the dialogue is well-written, and things that get set up early on do come back around again later. You get the cliche “they met as kids” thing and it still makes me roll my eyes a bit, but it is less cliche than usual. It also doesn’t act as a catalyst for the romance so I think that made it less cringey.
The not-so-great stuff:
-this show kind of recycled one particular plot: Deok Im gets in trouble, the crown prince gets involved, the queen gets involved, Deok Im gets saved. By the second time it happened I was like, really? You’ve thought of nothing else? It happens three times. Honestly I thought the second male lead would do something to Deok Im and that would’ve been more interesting, but that kind of didn’t go anywhere. Their relationship didn’t develop much which I thought was a shame.
-the palace maid secret society subplot. Hoo boy. Okay, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but it is just so over the top. Maybe it was to make the palace maids more relevant to the central plot but… it’s not great. They could’ve been influencing politics by, I don’t know, being spies for different nobles or something.
-a bunch of people don’t want the crown prince to become king but there is literally no on-screen alternative, so the whole thing felt a little weird. Like, who do these people want to be king? Seemingly nobody, they just don’t want it to be the crown prince.
-the time skip that happens 2/3rds of the way through is three years, which is a big chunk of time, but not much seems to have changed in the king (former crown prince) and Deok Im’s relationship. Like, did they even see each other that much during that time? I don’t know, it felt weird that not much seemed to have changed between them. They almost seemed more distant which wasn’t great for the romance plot. It also made it unclear what Deok Im was thinking and feeling. It was awkward and threw me off.
-the last few episodes are a little draggy. This is due partially to Deok Im (and some filler scenes). We just don’t get much insight into her thoughts. I think this makes her indecision feel unnecessary and dragged out. It would’ve helped if she had talked to somebody or even had an inner monologue about what she was thinking and feeling. The actress is great, but there’s only so much you can convey when there aren’t any words to back them up. When she does talk about her reasons for not wanting to be a concubine it’s vague, like “freedom” or w/e, but she’s not free as a palace maid either. There is definitely a difference, but this is because it literally happens so we do get to understand it, but it was unclear before what made her less free.
I understand why people are giving this a 9 or 10 because the good parts are really good, but to me I can’t say that 90-100% of this show is good. 80% seems more accurate.
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