This review may contain spoilers
Don’t Expect Historical Romance
Want to preface and say this was my first historical drama, so maybe it’s on me for expecting satisfying romance. I knew they have a tendency to be tragic, but I wasn’t ready.I came into this for Lee Junho because I watched King the Land and he’s a cutie patootie.
Notes:
PREPARE FOR THE SLOWEST, MOST FRUSTRATING BURN OF YOUR LIFE, WITH NOT EVEN SATISFYING PAYOFF.
The good:
- Acting: the characters didn’t feel shallow, and the villains made me want to strangle them, so I know they did their job. As I said, the ML carried the relationship with his acting
The wack:
- The FL’s pride: she had me yelling at my screen I was so frustrated by her. JUST SAY YOU LOVE HIM & STOP PUSHING HIM AWAY. I get her inner struggle, but literally (spoiler) on her DEATH BED she STILL couldn’t say “I love you.”
- The ending: save yourself the trauma and live in blissful ignorance by ending it on episode 16. I was in physical pain watching the last episode. Their child dies, she dies, he’s miserable, etc.
I still get pissed off when I think about what this show did to me.
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Great acting but oh how tedious the actress who played Seong Deok Im is. She ruined the drama.
The acting was fantastic. Lee Jun-Ho was brilliant as the crown prince/king. Boy can he act! And the old king was excellent. But the lady that played Seong Deok Im, while a good actor, was such a downer. She was too too serious. Humorless and really quite unlikeable even though portrayed as noble. He character ruined the whole drama for me. She kept refusing the king and conveyed that she really didn’t like him at all. She was a downer and unpleasant and had a martyr complex. She was a shrew. I really don’t understand why it went on so long.Was this review helpful to you?
Watchable, but Underwhelming
For viewers drawn to intimate, emotionally charged romance—something a little sad, a little dramatic, and complicated by power and duty—The Red Sleeve delivers just that. It centers on the slow-burn relationship between a crown prince and a palace woman, blending light flirtation, emotional yearning, and the weight of court life. The tone shifts between melancholy and spirited, with visuals that are clean and attractive, though not particularly rich or cinematic. It’s easy to see why audiences were charmed by the central relationship. But for those expecting a historical drama where politics and hierarchy truly matter—where the world feels sharp, dangerous, and consequential—the series doesn’t hold up under closer scrutiny.The Red Sleeve doesn’t just aim to be romantic; it aspires to profundity. It reaches for weighty themes: constrained love, dutiful sacrifice, and desire within rigid social systems. It builds toward emotional tragedy. Yet it never earns that gravitas, because it refuses to take its own setting seriously.
The story claims to unfold in the late Joseon court, a world defined by extreme hierarchy, constant surveillance, and suffocating behavioral codes—especially for women. But the characters routinely ignore these supposed realities. When our court lady heroine impulsively throws salt at a man who turns out to be the crown prince, the scene plays as bold and comedic. Yet for someone whose entire existence depends on obedience and invisibility, such behavior would be unthinkable. The palace should feel like a cage—but moments like this shatter that illusion entirely.
This is the show’s fundamental flaw. It wants the romantic tension to feel impossible and historically charged, but it never builds the world that would make that tension real. Instead, it sanitizes the restrictions and dangers that should define these characters’ lives, creating something more palatable and rootable—but dramatically hollow. The characters feel like modern people in period costume, their dreams, fears, and inner lives shaped more by contemporary values than the brutal realities of 18th-century palace life. So when the series later ventures into court intrigue and personal sacrifice, these elements ring false—the stakes were never convincingly established.
The parts I did enjoy were mostly with the side characters. They actually seemed to engage with the world they inhabited—the political structures, emotional pressures, and personal costs of palace life. In those scenes, the drama briefly felt more grounded and thoughtful. But instead of tying everything together, these moments clashed with the show’s softened, romanticized tone elsewhere. In the end, they mostly just reminded me that I wished I were watching a different drama—one without the main couple, and one that explored these themes with greater consistency and depth.
What remains is a gorgeously produced, watchable romance between a palace woman and a future king. But nothing about their story truly requires this specific historical setting. Their emotional journey—and even their psychological makeup—would translate seamlessly into a modern chaebol drama. That’s perfectly fine if surface-level romance is the goal. But the show clearly aims higher, reaching for tragedy and meaning. Without the authentic pressure of its historical world, it simply can’t reach those heights.
The Red Sleeve succeeds as pretty, emotional entertainment for viewers wanting exactly that. But for those seeking a sageuk that respects its own world and offers real dramatic substance, it may feel disappointingly shallow. The love story has its touching moments—it’s just that the world around it never makes it feel truly believable.
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realistic surprisingly hooked must watch
This drama got me. That's a clear - MUST WATCHI'm starting being afraid of the ending of this masterpiece. Because actually in the real-past history she died 33 years old in the 10. month of her third pregnancy with her unborn child in the womb from liver cancer and he was so deeply sad touched that this romantic relationship (his ever only beloved woman) become sad history afterwards by his actions in grieve.
Sometimes you really ask yourself, how can live be so cruel. He lost his father due to being executed by his grandfather, he later lost the only woman he ever loved due to liver cancer and he lost his son with her, the young crown prince by sickness at age of 4 and even his unborn child with this woman, whom died in its mothers womb together with her.
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Get lost in the Red Sleeve
Not a fan of historical or costume dramas. it's not my genre. But this one hits different. I've only watched 4 episodes, but something about this captivating prince and this court lady has got me hooked like no other. The prince: his husky, sexy voice, the curls of his mouth with he sheepishly smiles, and commanding yet comedic demeanor. The court lady: her confidence, her charisma is very satisfying to watch, Their chemistry so far gives all the butterfly feels that's borderline electrifying. All other support characters are pretty standard, nothing to write home about. But watch for the main leads as they light up the screen.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
20 Hours Wasted
I must start by saying that I am not a fan of historical dramas so I might be overly critical, but this was not good at all, in my opinion. There was some impressive acting by the male lead and some beautiful attire, along with some noticeably good acting by some of the side characters, which made the drama remotely tolerable (and I do mean remotely); but the overall plot was lost and not cohesive because the show dragged on too long. Some scenes were unbearably long, with minutes of the lead actors just staring at each other and saying nothing. This could have been wrapped up in 8 episodes; even 12 would have been much better, but no way should this have been 17 episodes. The episodes were extremely long and filled with flashbacks of things that had just happened. It felt like they were just trying to prolong the show. Also, some things were just baffling such as the age of the prospective concubines. These were literally babies... like, were they even childbearing age??? I get that historically, girls were subject to be married off extremely young, but the way these young girls were embedded in this story seemed distasteful. Nothing sexual was shown, but just the idea of this grown man and these little girls was off putting. There was a lot that was just not explained or seemed to be just dropped into the story, such as the female lead having a tattoo that tied her to the crown prince, or that her father at one point worked for his father and several other things that just seemed thrown in. I like the female lead in general, but this role did not do her any favors. I know she was trying to hide her feelings for the prince by not showing emotion, but she clearly loved him, so her lack of emotion felt more like bad acting. The male lead pressed her constantly on whether she loved him. I guess that is because he was so insecure given the way he had been treated, but it was tiring to keep listening to this; it didn't have any impact. And the ending was just confusing. If it had wrapped up showing that the male lead, who had become the king, made changes to the laws of the land because of his love for the female lead, who eventually became his concubine, that would have been better. I assume that was implied, but there was plenty of time to show us what happened without us having to infer anything; yet, the show ended without closure... a final twist of the knife after almost 20 torturous hours of slow-paced nothingness. I can't tell you what the climax to this story was. There was nothing but a flat line during this whole drama. Each episode was well over an hour long and the last one was almost two hours... I just cannot believe how bad this was. It was highly recommended by a fellow drama lover, and I can't wait to see her again to tell her how bad this was. She literally begged me to watch it and said it was her favorite historical drama. I don't know what people like about this show. I can tell the production value was high, but I still don't know what they were trying to produce.Was this review helpful to you?
Exciting and beautiful
If you haven't started watching Red Sleeves, you are missing out on a wonderful historical drama! I am enjoying the storyline and the beautiful costuming and scenery. The vivid blues and magenta/pink colors add to the ambience of the scenes. The music also expresses such depth of emotion to me. The actors, both children and adult, were well cast. To me, the feelings of the characters shine through the actors' expressions and actions. Even the secondary characters are showing such depth. I am especially enjoying the banter between Court Lady Seo and Kang Tae Ho. Looking forward to more episodes!Was this review helpful to you?
Memoir and not a drama
The screenplay and the drama style pretty much felt like a memoir rather than a drama. A memoir of two people, the king and his court maid. The pacing was good, for me, I didn't mind the squeezing of too much plot in last 2 episodes. As the anticipation of MC getting the girl made the pace of narration go slow but when he gets the girl, time flies by.I really liked the king's character and how he develops and adapts over the years. As for the courtmaid, she was not your usual heroine but strong and smart. There are one or two disappointing moments I had. One, when the MC strangles the FL, maybe he was crown prince and maybe she had no authority but it was sad to see her do nothing about it. Two, she was indecisive for so long about committing to MC, maybe that part could have been explained better and not dragged on.
Story wise, sometimes it did feel what was writernim trying tell, some moments were there just for filler and scene building. But I'm not complaining because this was good story which didn't sugarcoat the king and courtmaid's love and their consequences.
Overall, sometimes bitter and sometimes sweet but that's the way with life too, isn't?
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Radiant with elegance
When watching saeguk, has I mention in my similar review with this genre, very important to get hooked at the first episode. And this drama intriguing since the start. A wonderful overture.Music score is beautifully weaved in each scene as dialogue fluently acted. The actors : child and adult, both deliver fantastic rendition of storyline. You can sense joy, heartbreak, tears and sorrow so intense.
This drama is a fairytale which crosses the boundaries of courtship.
Production this flawless makes you looking forward each episodes with excitements. It is fresh and breezy. Delightful almost like something new but old.
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watching this was my biggest mistake
It was my biggest best mistake ever. I can't stop crying but this drama broke me in the best way possible. Wow... I'm actually so fucking stunned.i never write reviews but I had to for this one. No drama has ever made me hate and love the world so much before. The acting was insane, the plot was hooking, and most of all, it was so sickly real. It all felt so damn real and it still does to this moment. Everybody was so sick for making this drama. I do think that Sung Deok Im could have communitcated better, it would have spared me and our dear king a lot of heartbreak, but nobody could have done the role better than her actress, truly.
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He still doesn't understand what she wans
LIKEThe love Deok Im had for Yi San to the point she sacrificed her own happiness for him
DISLIKE
Selfish King Jeong Jo who only thought of himself and though he was told by Deok Im what would happened to her if he made that decision but he still went for it
MUSIC - personal fav
Starlight Heart - Ben
I'll Leave You - Lee Sun Hee
REWATCH VALUE
Will add to my list and re-watch someday
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This review may contain spoilers
An ending that disappointed me...
DeokSan's story was beautiful, emotional and exciting until episode 16. Why did they make an episode 17? This drama so touched my heart. I thought it would become one of my favorites but the ending spoiled my feelings.I am extremely disappointed with this ending. San suffered so much in life, did it take so many years to get Deok Im as part of your family, for in the end their son, she and he died? Really? I wasted my time for nothing.
The truth is that I started this drama not knowing that it was inspired by a real story and that story didn't have a happy ending. But I still think: why not give the drama a happy ending when in real life they couldn't have a happy ending? That's why I've been so disappointed
And another detail that disappointed me was that Deok Im died without telling San the love she felt for him.
That final scene was not a happy ending. It was them getting back together after they both died.
It really was a great way to start my 2022: a drama with a tragic, sad and disappointing ending. (This line contains irony)
Although the end of the story didn't please me, I can't help praising everyone's performance, especially Junho and Seyoung, the cinematography, the OSTs. Everything was incredibly wonderful.
*Before they say that the actual story that the drama was inspired by had this ending, that's not to say that they need to do exactly the same thing in the drama.
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