Missing Crown Prince

Top drawer story line, directing and acting

I was not sure in the beginning if I would choose to watch this series, but very glad I am. I am enjoying the way several story lines are integrating together, no hasty episodes to make them fit. The actors fit well together! Especially glad there was no casting of a "cute baby talking" female in a roll. Huge kudos for not having singing music in most episodes that over power the acting. Hate that! So far I have not been able to pick out any green screen or studio backdrops in this one. I rated this highly due to the all around professionalism given to creating the series.

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Could have been beautiful but plot missed

Spin off to the popular story "Bossam: Steal the Fate", the story is another political historical fiction cooking through palace dramas.

The opening of any drama plays a significant role in drawing the attention of the audience. In this story, the drama opens at a slow pace. The introduction of important characters was not surprising but cliche. The scene opens through a night, with robed people carefully walking through the palace gate. The director tried to use darkness to intensify the schemes being plotted behind those thick walls. It took a while to shape the story and establish the main aspect. The Queen mother, her immediate hands, and constant plots - all-star players of this drama remained powerless throughout.

There are many historical fiction which have been stealing the hearts of audiences even after many years of release. Call it Scarlett Heart Ryeo or Empress KI- these dramas intrigued audiences through the well-laid plot. This is where The Missing Crown Prince lacked. It failed to generate interest among viewers.

Suho in the titular role tries his best to deliver a vivacious prince who is cheerful and trying his best to survive through the thick and thins of a gruesome palace. His chemistry with leading lady Hong Ye Ji lacks the spice due to the narrowness of the plot. The huge holes in the beginning made the story bland.

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Kinda boring at this point ep 15

there are two more episodes to go and I am no longer at the edge of my seat. I admit I was watching this drama at first with some reservation as it seemed like a silly mixed identities plot the first few episodes, but it then got interesting with all the courtroom and palace scheming and political duplicity. At ep 14 I started getting tired of never-ending bombs and dire straits that ML was put through. I am sorry but I am not longer able to care how this is going to be resolved. Most of the reviews before me point out the artistry of the ML, but to me the SML, a very young actor, stole the show. He is most believable, most vulnerable character in the entire series, and he plays it VERY well. I will not comment of the +/- of the various characters in this show, they were written as such and so I can only comment on the mastery of the screenwriter to create roles that are either very rich to start with (and we slowly discover their inner workings) or they develop progressively thus giving us a delicious chance to witness that personal growth. In this case, the script falls short in just revealing details of the story that really does not expand our understanding of the characters. I was able to determine who is a good guy and who is a bad guy already, so even switch in the direction does not prove anything, just mundanely proves the already known truths. I still give it high mark because I usually start with 10 for interesting script, fresh ideas in the plot, characters that are not stereotypes and acting mastery. If the FX or cinematography is something memorable and the OST is a part of the characters/situations, then I can keep the 10. Otherwise, I subtract the points. This one has music that I can't recall after 15 episodes. Mediocre script and characters. Acting is good, but visuals are not that great. Frankly, I am ready to go back to The Double as that keeps me entertained at ep 20.

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Best Romantic Espionnage Action Thriller Drama

I approad this drama because I was intrigued by a prince being kidnapped. I Thought it was a romantic drama. In reality, there is a sprinkle of romance but in the end I fell in love with the power struggles and political ploys. So I really enjoyed the drama.

So what this drama is about:
On the first episode I clearly understood : this would not be a fluffy rom-com ( as I thought) but a mystery/ espionnage/ action drama. I could sens that, a deep dark secret organisation was behind all this story.
I was hooked. So, I gave the drama the time to develop the plot.

And OMG, the more the episodes aired, the more I was addicted.
I waited patiently every saturdays and sundays to watch the new episodes as they were airing.
It was a roller coaster ride of emotions as the story developed.
I was totally in love with this drama.

I heard that many people complained about the fact that the romance was almost unexisting.
I don't agree, actress behind the Female Lead ; Yong Ye Ji; said that the text might not be romantic but the actors behaviours on set are. Indeed, they are affectionnate.

But looking back at the way the story developed, personnaly, I liked that the story was more about the palace ploys than the romance.
Because, from my point of view, the suspens set by the schemes spiced up the romance and I was sometimes afraid for the Leads because of it.

So this is a great drama. One of my favourites.

And I dont even speak about the OST, which I am crazy in love with.
Especially the Suho's "love you more gradually ", "100 days of dreams" and of course " love is like the wind".
The later was my lullaby before sleeping for a long time (^__^)

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Not So Good, Not So Bad

I had a love-hate relationship with this show, most of the time I was entertained; but there were moments when I absolutely hated it.

If we consider the casting, the show definitely deserves accolades; the storyline not so much. I was pretty miffed that a major chunk of the storyline focused on the unwarranted romance between Queen Dowager Min Soo Ryun & her lover, Choi Sang Rok. The fact that they were cheating was irredeemable. I understood their predicament, the late Emperor separated the engaged pair and made Min Soo Ryun’s life miserable. And yet, I could not reconcile with their regrettable decisions. Though not blood related, King Hae Jong & Crown Prince Lee Gon respected the Queen Dowager as the Elder of their family. She seems to have played an instrumental role in establishing Hae Jong’s reign; if she wanted to leave and live a quiet, untraceable life with Choi Sang Rok, the royal duo would have helped. The unnecessary scheming and plotting made no sense; but without it, the show wouldn’t exist, so there’s that!

Read the complete article here-

https://kcdramamusings.wordpress.com/2024/06/19/missing-crown-prince-series-review/#more-953

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Impressive

My first thought about the drama was as it is 20eps, and historical drama there would be so much lag. But I am impressed at the pace story is going now. I was surprised that the suspense parts are also getting revealed without dragging it. Every charector here are soo good. Main leads Suho and Yeji are sooo pretty and cute together. Every time they are together i makes my heart warm. Nothing is rushed story getting intresting with the flow even the main villains etc are already revealed.

You can give it a try if you wanted to watch a history drama with thriller, comedy, Love with angst, kinda revenge elements in it then Missing crown prince is the best

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Unbearable and painful

Begins with so many promises and good pilot episode but in the end so many plot holes specialy political story lines in this series.

Please for the screen writes or story writers stick on romance drama for your future projects! Please don't mix your future story writing between political drama and romance. This is unbearable to watch.

For the characters, there's no growth on each of them. For the villain itself. I can say that person is s a devil incarnate, but still very weak as a villain very forgettable. The main character is also very weak as a character the good guys are good only simply they are good (?). I understand the story showed falsh backs and memories here and there, but those scenes are not enough to bring the depth to each of characters.. those scenes just simply for tear trigger to the audience.

Its such a waste of talented actors.

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