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It was good with weak aspects
DisclaimerWhat I am writing here are my views and thoughts about this series. Some of you may not like it. That does not give you the right to try to come at me with your opinions on why this series should get a higher or lower score and why it is better/worse than I think it is. You have your own opinions, and I have mine. Kindly respect that.
I started this series and while watching it religiously every week, I was seeing negative comments daily online from X (formerly Twitter). But that did not discourage me as I actually liked it. I felt that both IU and Byeon Woo Seok did an excellent job in portraying their characters to us viewers. I even will say that I enjoyed the character of Yun I Rang portrayed by Gong Seung Yeon as I thought her character was going to go one way and was pleasantly surprised at the end. I loved all the supporting characters as I felt that they brought some comedic as well as tear jerking aspects for this series.
Now, what didn't really do it for me was who in the end was the big bad. We had a variety of choices of who the big bad could be, with strong reasonable reasons. And then they kind of fizzled out, revealing the real big bad at the end for the most ...I won't say stupidest reason, but I felt for the weakest reason which they were able to resolve so quickly that the ending of the last episode was left with so much time for them to wrap up everything. And that's why I felt that this was one of their strongest weak aspects and what made me not enjoy the series that much. I think because they choose this person to portray the big bad is what made the writing for this drama weak as any of the other choices would have been a better pick.
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A Big Budget Production Korean Fantasy Drama follows the Consistent Standard of Romance.
Personally, the production quality of this drama definitely was one of the highlights throughout the series, especially since it involves a fantasy monarchy. The plot was a pretty average romance drama, but I did feel like the ending fell flat a little, most likely due to be constrained to only 12 episodes. I did really enjoy Gong Seung-Yeon performance throughout this drama, it really conveyed well as royalty. I also felt that Min Jeong U's arc got way too convoluted and didn't really make sense, but they needed another villian when they realized they needed a plot twist. It's as expected of a big budget drama with big names, a solid drama with standard foundation.Was this review helpful to you?
The most disappointing drama in a long time
I’ve been looking forward to this drama ever since it was in the talks, since IU is my favourite leading lady and Byeon Woo-Seok is my favourite leading man. The two did everything they could with the terribly written script, but even they couldn’t save it. I think a lot of people are mistaking bad writing for bad acting - there’s only so much the actors can do when the material they’re given is garbage.I wanted to see an alternate universe Korean monarchy plot done well ever since The King: Eternal Monarch flopped, but the ball has unfortunately been dropped again. Maybe it’s just not meant to be.
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Not Compelling In The Least
I genuinely dont understand why this drama is so hyped. It was hard just trying to make it to episode 3. There is no soul to this story. Here are my main gripes so far:-The characters are uninteresting or downright unlikeable. Our male lead feels like a half naked marbel statue. He's all beauty and little character. Meanwhile, the female lead is just not an attractive character. Sure, she's beautiful, but that's it. Overall she is a pretty self-absorbed character with arrogant confidence. I could understand a little if her arc is supposed to humble her and make her become more sincere as a character. But you can have complex and selfish characters that are still compelling, interesting and enjoyable from the start regardless. She just vexed me greatly.
-The main leads don't have chemistry. all their interactions feel a lot like models posing at each other, or a fencing duel. They're dancing around each other flaunting their competant, shiny swords and poking each other. It's like they're verbally mogging. Their dynamic just feels unnatural and forced. Even their laughs dont sound genuine, the both have that stupid-rich laugh that makes me want to smack em. And don't get me started on the countless, rather distracting slow motion scenes to emphasize their beauty. It was overdone and made the characters feel more like products. Additionally, I just think the scenes they are given together have so far been inadequate for building their relationship. The kiss scene in the third episode felt premature and unrewarding.
-Building off the last point, the politics overtake the show a bit and honestly, I ended up skipping a lot of in episode 3 because it just didnt grab me and I just wanted to know if the main leads were going to be interesting enough to compensate.
-It's supposed to be a comedy but I did not laugh once in any the episodes I watched, and I'm fairly easy to please humor-wise! I saw the attempts at comedy, but it just didn't land. Possibly because the characters weren't likable enough to be that charming or witty.
-I have a headache now
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The show had all the perfect ingredients to be great but did not have the time to cook
Heeju, a rich ceo who is not taken seriously in the business world due to her status ends up in a marriage of convenience with a nonchalant prince to bring up her status. All of this started very well, Heeju was a fire-y character and I was thoroughly entertained by all her antics. Prince Ian trying to catch up with her was also fun but they never had time for us to properly enjoy them.
The whole monarchy was a comedy. First of all who even considers a child as their king? How could the people ever take them seriously. Secondly they were all acting like the whole country depended on them for everything when they were just glorified pr ambassadors. The political stuff took up so much time but did not add anything.
With this even their reason to get married looked stupid, Heeju will not get to run her company so what's the end goal of her doing all this.
People finding out that their marriage was fake should have been such a big conflict of the show but it is brushed away for the political plot.
The Prime Minister Min was such a weak character. When he is introduced you would never suspect that he likes Heeju but suddenly after she gets married he becomes angry enough to become a super villain??? Literally wth.
The queen was also a shallow character. She seemed to only care about keeping the crown in the family and showed no concern for her child but suddenly by the end she helps everyone due to her emotions. Weak writing imo.
Heeju's family was also badly done in my eyes. In the beginning it looks like her father
neglected her emotionally since childhood and the whole family separated her and were just waiting for her downfall. But then they turn around to be this caring and loving family who help her and only want to protect her. The castle group comes to the crown's rescue multiple times for Heeju and it just doesn't make sense. If they showed her this much care before and included her, she would not have to enter this fake marriage.
The romance could have been nice but we started rushing through the story. The prince liked her since school but we mostly see that only through the epilogues at the end of the episode and we don't have an exact moment where Heeju falls in love. I liked the parts before their marriage where the prince is losing his mind over all the couple activities they do and Heeju looks chill on the outside but is denying her feelings to herself. But we don't get the time to sit and watch them as a couple cause we immediately have the marriage and then people start to assassinate them. No time to enjoy.
This was kind of a different role for IU compared to wlgyt and I think she did well given the material. Byeon Woo Seok was kind of weak here.
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Emptiness in the story
I started watching it but couldn't sustain watching it.The storyline could have been better.
Acting of leads fell short, i didn't feel any emotional connectivity, i couldn't resonate with their past struggles . IU 's acting is good but sometimes when she tries to do some sort of comedy it feel unwanted and out of place. Male lead 's acting feels expressionless.
But the side characters were so good, their comedy scenes felt so authentic.
This is solely my opinion but many people are loving this show and it has become so popular. Congratulations to the actors and the crew members wo worked hard on this drama
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Nothing but disappointed again
"Perform Crowd Story looks so unique and interesting, but after watching the whole series, I became disappointed. What are the directors and writers doing? First Gennie Make a Wish, then Twelve, then Can This Love Be Translated,then Boyfriend on demand and now Perfect Crown 🫤 They are just making dramas with the help of actor-actress popularity for profit, nothing else.Perfect Crown had a unique storyline, but in the end they just made it a romance drama. What can they do? Romance ruined everything. Anyway, some people are loving this series because of the cast, and they should — why not 🙂
Note: Writers should take enough time for the story; otherwise, they will keep doing this in the future like they have been doing from 2025 until now."
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Visually Stunning, Narratively Hollow — A Missed Crown (ongoing review, updated through Ep. 8)
Main Points:Shallow female lead lacks depth, stringent story line or some kind of relatability, lacks story/character building especially in the beginning (high school years). Also the story with the king, the royal prince, and the "bad" king's mom is stereotypical — potential not used, makes it very hard to keep going. Often also very unrealistic plot lines — like wtf was that car episode… Artificial creation of suspense → non-authentic. However, episodes 7 & 8 show genuine improvement — read full summary for the full picture.
Summary:
I've never felt the need to rate a series that early on, but this one is taking on my nerves… and sadly not in a good way.
So what do I have to criticize or highlight in a positive way:
Let's start with the good things: Visuals and OST. This drama is visually really pleasing and the costumes are great. I love how embedded the older Joseon dynasty style was woven into the modern 21st century business-casual style, and all of the cast (main + supporting) are looking fantastic.
The soundtrack is very subtle and fits the story line very well (coming from somebody who also watches a lot of C-Dramas, where the same songs are played 24/7, making it an annoying stretch in some scenes and utterly disturbing). I had to laugh for a sec with the K-Pop reference of EXID's UP&DOWN — that was hilarious (props to the secretary of the prince, he is such a good actor, loved him in his other dramas as well :))
Now to the not so nice things about this drama:
Let's begin with what initially actually caught my attention and till today makes me hang into it: Matching Joseon monarchy into the 21st century, having influential families of royal descent and on the other hand "normal" people or "just" businessmen. I loved the start with the high school scenes, the drama evolving there and the hierarchies, but that was like what? 5 minutes in total. It totally lacked in depth and threw out a lot of potential for this series.
This was also the main reason I felt this drama was very rushed in the first episode — switching between timelines, making up new dramatic plots, but lacking the most important thing: authentic storytelling and building up interesting characters that I, as a viewer, can either resonate with or despise in a good way, where a villain or unlikable character is also multi-layered.
However, in this case the female character is just utterly bizarre in her acting, non-relatable and honestly — should I be empathetic for someone just striving for a title, but coming from riches as well? Her younger self was rebellious in a "good" way, making it interesting to wait for more… but the more never came, as the story was too rushed. It all, and especially the interactions with the prince, felt so unnatural (not like it was intended), but also when they had 1-on-1 time without the official press beside them. Those scenes where I expected true feelings and honest reactions were mere disappointment. IU is a great actor — she perfectly nails the annoying FL — but that depth and acting to provide some insights into her "history" for the viewer just aren't portrayed very well, and those flashbacks also can't make up for that.
The same way I also feel for the prince. While he conveys his feelings to the viewer more (I still can't believe how the FL doesn't catch on to that, but nevermind), he has so few lines and it feels like a blur sometimes watching him… This is not to criticize the actors in any way or to incite hatred, I am just disappointed in how badly written the drama is.
The story jumps from one "happening" to another to create artificial suspense, whereas the main thing I am missing is depth and sometimes just a "rest". I am currently on episode 5, after that weird car episode which honestly just made me cringe, and this episode with less story and more genuine interaction felt like a relief after so much nonsense drama. I still dislike how the writers take on the same stereotypical villains as in the OG historical dramas. Also the idea of a "stronger" female lead is just not well-written. I get it — she wants to be independent and from a young age has to fight for herself, but making her a puppet of the media and a striver for a sheer title ruins it completely at that point. Like, that is not the strong female lead we preach for — it is a portrait of a FL with too great of an ego and at the same time so pitiable with her lack of a sense of belonging or greater achievements.
Update after Episode 7:
Heck yes — this drama is finally moving in the right direction. We're getting more genuine interactions and deep feelings, which aren't overshadowed by overdramatic acting or that disconnect where what a person says and does doesn't reflect their personality. Especially with the background stories getting more attention and, most importantly, more time to fully develop, it gives — especially — the female lead more character layers, and for the first time I felt like I could actually connect with her. Some dialogues still seem odd and my critique on most of the points named above still holds true, but there is IMPROVEMENT. Hoping we will see more of that in the next episodes and that the drama will fully thrive in the end. :)
Update after Episode 8:
The rising suspense and conflict are doing the drama and its figures a real service — we're now seeing how far these characters will go for what they love or desire, and their intertwined, opposing goals make for a nice guess-who-the-culprit-is dynamic. The female lead and her odd acting in some scenes bother me again — by odd I mean selfish and unbothered by how her actions affect others and influence their feelings. But props to the scene where she finally shed some tears — finally some genuine emotion from a character who is mostly a wall of stone. It might be a little too much happening a little too fast and out of "nowhere" at times, but in general a good episode that sucks you in and finally keeps up the tension so you actually want to watch the next one.
I think this critique might come off as very harsh at times — I am sorry if my words do not resonate with you, I just had to express how I am thinking about it and what I am truly missing. I am still disappointed by the earlier episodes but cautiously hopeful. Since I am not one to abandon a series, I will continue watching and keep updating this review as the story progresses. Current rating: 6.5/10 — and with any luck, that number will keep climbing.
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a cute rom-com, but maybe I was expecting something more
Korean royalty in the 21st century seemed like an interesting idea to me. Tropes like the "fake royal marriage" or the "we were rivals in high school" were there. The cast also had THE IU and THE Byeon Woo Seok. I mean, all the ingredients for THE DRAMA of the season where there, but I certainly didn't feel that way.The plot was interesting, but being only 12 episodes long, it may have been resolved too quickly. At the same time, I feel the main couple hasn't had as much chemistry as I expected. It's not that the protagonists didn't have any chemistry, but it's certainly not the project where they shone the most as a couple.
If I had to highlight something, it would be the character of the widowed queen, played by Gong Seung Yeon, who has overshadowed the rest of the characters.
I don't think it's a bad drama, but my expectations were too high.
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If nothing else, its enjoyable
Here I go again: being enjoyable is not the same as being good. "I had fun watching this drama. And I love the actors. Beautiful people. Its a ten!" means nothing. Did you liked it? Maybe you also like hitting puppies, I don't know, so I rather hear about script, directing, visuals, acting, vfx, pacing etc etc. Here, I'll go first.Visuals. Lots of decent shots, so good cinematography. I could even say that there were a couple of extremely nice shots. The "fireworks" (dunno the proper name but we see them in kdramas a lot) over the water? Or from the Royal Grand Ball (? sorry, forgot how it was called). Yeah, really fantastic shots. And a few couple more. The colour palette was a little drab dare I say, seeing as this has "royalty" subject... You can't go for "natural, modern" vibe when you're introducing a fictional monarchy... So, they should've made it stand out. The class, the wealth, whatever. We do have some, sure. But cmon. I mean, more wouldn't have hurt. Good vfx.
Sound design. Good. I should start with the OP. Very good, very catchy. Both visually and audio. It does its job, getting you pumped-up and ready. So, good job. The rest is ok I guess. Definitely not bad. A special note here, fantastic work for episode 11. This episode is special from multiple standpoints, I'll keep mention it. So, really good work now. From volume levels (some scenes demand to keep it very quiet, and they did it), to different variations of one theme. What I'm trying to say, it is good.
The usual editing. Nothing fancy. Sometimes it feels like it drags, but thats mostly because of the script.
You could say it has a high production value.
And now the good stuff. The script is meh, at best. The concept was weird from the start but you could make it work somehow. Just look at Hallmark and their number of "royal" stories :)) What we got instead, old court drama trying to apply "behind the scenes" battles in modern times. Political games, done poorly. Done poorly as a politician in-universe (lousy politician, if you will), but ALSO as an element in a kdrama (lousy writer). And so, we've got this story full of plot devices and plot contrivances. SO "lucky" that the characters do or say the exact things that will progress the story, otherwise it would've ended too early.
Characters. Well, some decent ones. And the acting was good enough to make them stand out. Actually I am a little bummed regarding some of them. For example, Queen Mama. You wouldn't know it from here, but the actress is good. And here she was made to be just some hysterical, always screaming, crazy mom(?) or something. I really don't know how to describe her. Fortunately, in episode 11 she is let to act at her full potential. That really made me happy. Unfortunately, her acting at full power in scenes with the ML, oof. Its like watching Anthony Hopkings and, dunno, Zendaya. Or maybe Gal Gadot, I should keep the "hot" factor. Even FL starts acting a whole lot better. Obviously, it all drop a bit in the next episode, but still, it was good. Oh, I should also mention here, I'm praising the acting and the sound design, the cinematography etc. The script/plot is sht. Maybe not as broken as before but still bad.
Oh, the pacing. I don't remember if I talked about it. No idea. You get a scene with "we need time" and 10 minutes later (I'm joking, I haven't checked), we are shown that the "later" is here. one week? One month? Who knows.... Same for the world building. We know its about Monarchy and thats it. Its just... there. Thats all. No visits from foreign officials, presidents or royals. Something.... *sigh*
Anyway, lets sum it up. Episode 11 = good. The rest is meh. Good sound design. Good cinematography. Oh, good chemistry between multiple characters. Oh, some decent comedy. I just remembered and I really need to mention it: sht Secret Service/Royal Guards. They are just glorified umbrella holders. And this is not me trying to be funny. Thats all they did properly. No body protection, no security protection in general, not with the car thing, not even not stopping reporters from entering a door. And before someone says something stupid like "well, reporters, you can't be violent against them". Well, at the moment its just a guy with a camera, you don't know if he's in disguise or not... And then 10 more a passing by... Omg, I've forgotten all about this aspect. Oh, and good ending scene. I was hoping for something like that.
It gets a rating of (barely) 6. No rewatch value. Just one good episode doesn't warrant any. You could still watch and enjoy it, obviously. I'm not saying that the kdrama being bad means you should stay clear... just know that some stuff won't make sense, thats all. It looks and sound fine, I guess. So if you like superficial things, it works just fine.
Have a lovely evening.
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Fancy, expensive, lazy storytelling
This was simply prominent actors carrying the whole drama either with the sheer aura of being famous or their high grade acting skills on a script that looked like it was generated by ChatGPT. They had such a sizeable budget and wasted it so frivolously?!what do you mean you abolished the constitutional monarchy on a whim, am I supposed to sympathise with the decision to destroy one of the only things that made this even interesting( Korean constitution monarchy trope)? you wasted a good story base to show us caked-up males actors making grand decisions that affects the nation, one simply because he didn't get the girl he literally grew up with but couldn't bag? he had eternity to make it happen and that measily acne of a sob story was supposed to be a villain origin story?!
Yaya! why don't we talk about how the burnt royal edict miraculously survived despite being burnt first just before the collosal fire outbreak---the grand prince was supposedly in the next room and yet he manages to save the flimsy piece of paper that was burning right In front of the king but somehow missed his Majesty's literal execution at the hands of buwongun Ipyeong???! waaa neomu joha!!!😠
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1This review may contain spoilers
Twelve Episodes Weren’t Enough for a Story This Good
I had this drama on my watchlist from the very beginning because the idea of a monarchy in the 21st century sounded so refreshing — and of course because of Byeon Woo Seok, who completely captivated me with his acting in Lovely Runner.Both Byeon Woo-seok and IU were phenomenal. Among the villains, the Queen Mother absolutely stood out — her expressions alone conveyed so much. But I really wish they had written PM Min’s character better. Why can’t we ever get a genuinely supportive second male lead in dramas? They ended up giving him the same old tragic, typical 2ML storyline yet again.
Were there cliches-> YES!!
Did I enjoy every single one of them-> ABSOLUTELY!!! Because they executed them so well that it never really took away from the experience. My only real complaint is the number of episodes. Twelve episodes felt far too short for a drama like this. It honestly deserved 16 episodes, or at least 14. Because of this, the pacing felt too fast. The marriage, poisoning, contract reveal, divorce just came one after the other, giving barely any time to explore their romance and their private lives in between. Even the whole monarchy abolition plotline should have been explored in greater depth and not just the last episode. The limited runtime definitely held them back from fully utilizing both the story and the cast’s talent.
And ofc special mention to the attendants of the Grand Prince's private residence and our little King whose adorable smiles and "Sukbunnim" won me over instantly.
Also, the OST- "Behind the Shine" by RIIZE was absolute gold. I’ve been listening to it almost every day and still haven’t gotten tired of it.
Overall, it was such a sweet and enjoyable watch, and I’d definitely recommend it.
P.S. BWS seriously needs to do more dramas soon because the last time I saw him was in Lovely Runner. Two years is way too long. Hope he tries other genres too.
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