The King's Affection

The story telling was always steady, the tension always only rose tiny bits without any big showdowns. The finale itself was calmer than I expected but still worthy and in the end fitting the overall vibe of the drama.

It's one of those dramas that lives from its characters as there were many multi-layered ones who drove the story forward and whose cast did really good in portraying them. It's rare that I don't look for flaws in at least one or two actors/actresses. I just enjoyed all of them, the leads, the second leads, the side characters, the villains.

I often have concerns when it comes to characters pretending to be the other gender. And even though I started doubtfully, Park Eun Bin convinced me otherwise. She did really well in portraying someone that had to hide her gender for years, starting to feel more comfortable in men's clothes and acting way tougher than one would expect, so that it would lead to a natural rough behavior. In the end I found it somewhat funny but totally fitting that in her developing relationship with the ML, she was the strong one while Jung Ji Woon was the softer counterpart. She took the initiatives while he followed. And he definitely cried more than her, lol. BUT he never felt unmanly or something. Rowon achieved a good balance between his character's soft side and his strong/brave moments. And he was a good equivalent to Park Eun Bin.

At some point in earlier episodes I started to wonder why she continued to pretend to be someone else, since it was such a toll on her. But later on I realized that everyone just wants to live. And don't always need an answer to everything. Sometimes things are just like that without any deep reason.

One thing I'd complain about would be the part where people from Ming were visiting. They hinted so much to another back story that I actually expected them to make use of that in later episodes but they never did, which is quite sad. I would have loved to see as to what that part might have led.

And the music... In my humble opinion, I thought it was too weak and didn't support important scenes well enough. But that's just me.

Read More

Disappointing

I don’t know what happened in this drama. The first two episodes were really good and the story had all the potential to be developed. However after the ep 3 until the ep 16/17 nothing happened. It was like I was watching the same thing over again. Even though the actors were good, the screenwriter of this show didn’t do a good job. I didn’t drop because I hate to drop things. it would be a waste of time to watch 10 episodes and just left it there. The end of the drama was not captivating at all and pretty boring. Didn’t understand why she survived after taking the poison. I don’t understand the hype and I don’t get why it got an Emmy.

Read More

It has its ups and downs

Like most dramas, I think this show starts out strong, but looses momentum as it continues. There's definitely some pacing issues towards the end and the second half becomes draggy and kinda boring. I just don't know if this show needed 20 episodes. Some conflicts take too long to be resolved, while others get a solution out of nowhere.

The story mainly focus on the characters and plot development, while the main couple takes a backseat role most of the time, specially as the drama goes on, but this becomes a problem since the plot starts to show some holes and inconsistencies. Certain choices and circumstances just don't make sense or go completely unexplained whatsoever. The last episode had an interesting tone, but I was disappointed with how everything turned out.

Despite the flaws, this drama has good elements and interesting moments. First I think the acting is pretty good overall and I really think the fl looks convincing as a man, unlike other historical dramas with a gender-bender trope. The main couple has chemistry, even if not explored to the fullest and some moments between them feel a bit underwhelming, but they're still cute together.

Although The King's Affection has a lot of tropes that have been done already, they stil work since they're well executed (mostly in the beginning). I specially liked to see how being forced to pretend to be a man influenced Dami's personality and that she was just as smart and strong as the other man around her.

All in all, this drama has potential but some parts are harder to stomach, mainly for being boring. I enjoyed watching most of the time, but it's definitely not a show that left a strong impression on me, I'd recommend you to give a try if you like lighter historical dramas and has some time to spare.

Read More

This drama is so underrated it’s a pity. My favourite sageuk to date after Mr. Sunshine. Such a beautiful story with well-written characters and heart-wrenching yet pounding lines. The message of TKA hits strong and different and is delivered so compassionately it hurts every time I think about it. Every single detail is reflected with whole-hearted effort by the crew to make sure they all imply a special story-related meaning.

The music is what I like most about this drama, each soundtrack is rendered to fit perfectly in every single frame, arousing my sentiment to the fullest whenever I tune in for the show. The female lead is born for this role, her eye acting always left me speechless and it just got better every episode.

Read More

Should have been 16 episodes!?

I read some other reviews that said it gets dragged and I have to agree! It gets dragged to the point you want to drop it. I personally dropped it for almost a month and decided to finish it today because I had 5 episodes left. I managed to finish it because I put the speed on 1.5x otherwise I would have dropped it completely.

I'm actually dissapointed because I was excited about this drama from the 1st episode. The story is good but 20 episodes are too much, there are many fillers with some side characters, I personally wanted more romance between the main leads I would love more scenes of their "forbiden love". There are also many scenes that are in slow motion which gets annoying.
I really like Rowoon and Eunbin and their chemistry was good but I left with the feeling I didn't see much together. Eunbin's acting was excellent btw.

Overall only the first and last 3 episodes are the best but if you like historical dramas you might like all episodes, it's not a bad drama.

Read More

The Invasion of Korean Culture through KDramas

King’s Affection holds a special place in my journey in KDramas. Although I’ve seen a number of Kdramas before, this particular series made me sit up and realize how beautiful and well-made Korean dramas are. I suddenly understood all the rave and why there are so many networks giving airspace for them… Obviously I’m not Korean, so this historical drama is a delight to my senses. I am more aware of Chinese and Japanese culture, so the costumes, the makeup, and the set made me realize how rich Korean culture is. It’s beyond kimchi. I always thought Korea pales in comparison to aforementioned countries but the history (though this is fictional), the culture, the people are as interesting and as beautiful.

The story and the actors, most specially Park Eun Bin’s Lee Hwi/Dam-I, it brought me all the emotions that the director wanted his viewers to experience. I cried, I fell in love, I swooned, then I cried again! Specially with their lovely theme songs, how can I not get swayed and sing with tears?. Some found the story too long and slow, but the story is all about Lee Hwi/Dam-I’s strength and his determination to make the best out of the situation for her people and his loved ones. Second is the fierce loyalty and love of Ji-Woon and the other people closest to the Crown Prince. It’s a magnificent battle of good vs evil, underhanded maneuvering and power play. Casting is almost a coup, the actors embodied their characters (with just one main support to me that I found too pretty and not manly enough for his role). I am not a fan of melodrama but King’s Affection tightly held my hand and brought me to the very depth of our crowned prince’s pain and dilemma. And rejoiced with everyone after her arduous journey… after everything I went through with the Prince, I rewatched it again and willingly dove down that lake of tears again! I did this three times and will most likely do it over and over. And I am not a fan of melodramas!

After King’s Affection, I binged on numerous KDramas and I am amazed on how the film industry of Korea was able to imbed their culture to the world. I am now craving their ramen, my cupboard stocked with Soju, Kimchi’s my quick veggie fix, and compare my wardrobe to the dramas that I watch. The saying “the pen is mightier than the gun” leveled up to “the camera is mightier than a gun”.

Read More

To live life without living life

This drama is a gem. It is not the in your face love story nor is it trying to be something that it is not. Rowoon def played the part of a lovesick guy who wants to protect his love. Like even when his character didn't know what we knew, he still pursued the relationship. I think he played the part so well def a great actor as we all know. I also liked the lead lady Eun bin, she def played a strong lead "female" (wink wink). I do know that most might think that this drags, and it does a little but it still is really cute and heart warming with a play on when you are kind and gracious people will back you through anything. :)

Read More

A fantasy love story with an absolutely beautiful cast.

I thoroughly enjoyed this drama. I must say though that the first 4 episodes or so were really sad in my opinion, I kept asking myself if I could continue watching this drama, I thought so early in and we are already getting heartbreaks. It reached to a point where they were a few comedic reliefs but I was upset because I wondered why the writers thought putting in comedy could save the melancholic atmosphere of the first few episodes but after enduring the first episodes I started seeing how comedy really turned the story around. I found my self bursting out into laughters. What really made me amaze though was the love story, it was so beautiful because I think what the writers were trying to portray was how powerful love could be that you can fall in love with a person no matter the gender, love is just love and I think that was very beautiful and powerful message.

Read More