Finished my rewatch. Drama is really good. The romances of Ha Ji Won's character to both men are really compelling. I think Chae Ok and Jang Sung Baek are one of the most forbidden romances ever. Their identities as grown ups made them forbidden lovers because Chae Ok is on the side of the police while Sung Baek is on the side of rebels. Little did they know that their real identities make them a more forbidden couple, they cannot be together since they are blood siblings. Chae Ok and Hwang Bo Yoon, despite being a bit more acceptable couple than her with Sung Baek, cannot also be together. He's a yangban (despite only being half) and she's a lowly servant (damo) girl. Despite being with each other as companions for many years, it's still difficult for them to be a couple since they are bound by their class and identities. Even Chae Ok's real identity cannot be with Hwang Bo Yoon since she's considered a daughter of a treasonous nobleman and he must marry a pure noblewoman for him to be fully accepted by society.
People should be aware that this is NOT a pure thriller. The actors and director described it as a melodrama romance mixed with thriller. If you're looking for a pure thriller with no romance, this is not the drama for you. This is a warning for future watchers.
Just finished my rewatch. It is indeed a beautiful show. Some may not like Jini for missing out the opportunity to be with her love just as the king had offered. Although it indeed hurt both her and her lover plus their miscarried child, I see it as Ji Ni being able to sacrifice self happiness for others. She knows her loverwas needed by the country as one righteous official. I'm also satisfied with the ending, it shows that while Ji Ni appreciates her life as a gisaeng, what she truly was was an artist. I'm glad she was able to somehow find out how she can live as an artist whether she is a gisaeng or just a normal woman. (It would be nice if she and her lover can be together again as she was technically no longer a gisaeng in the end. However, their positions in society were too different for Jini to be accepted as her lover's wife and neither would want Jini only as a concubine. Plus I don't think Jini would want her lover to sacrifice everything just for her to be his legal wife. As I mentioned earlier, she would not want him to give up his high position plus she also would not want him to die just like her first love did.)
The Princess' Man deserves at least an 8.8 rating on MDL. It is a masterpiece. 10/10 for me.
It's an older sageuk. If you've noticed, none of the older sageuks that aired before 2012 (especially ones that do not lean to the romcom side or do not star today's popular actors) gets rated high on mydramalist. I personally think this is one of the best historical dramas ever. The awards and nominatons this drama got can attest to its quality.
I understand the ratings, this drama was a slow boil. I walked away from it because I was bored, but I found myself…
I love this drama way way more than Moon Lovers that's why I gave this a 9.5. My issue with Moon Lovers was the time skips which caused some unexplained events (suddenly 10th prince and wife had to die), the modern OSTs which are too distracting (modern OSTS don't necesarily make a bad sageuk drama, in fact they can still be entertaining, I just won't have the love I have for a drama that used that vs a drama that doesn't) and some of the actors there I find lacking in screen presence. I don't have any of the above issues here (maybe it helps I'm more familiar with the king in this period, having watched shows about him before), that's why I like this a lot more. I respect others though
One of the most disappointing shows I've seen recently, which is a shame because ever since I heard of the casting…
The female lead never showed her feelings to the king because it's the only thing she could really own. She was the king's woman but the king was never fully hers (he has a queen who is his official wife, and other concubines too). This is not a simple love story, they are focusing on the female lead's dilemma of wanting to be with the man she loves versus not wanting to be a concubine because she's not the king's only woman. I think people should have understood why she was rejecting him after episode 16. Remember the scene when her tears went down when she imagines herself going out with her friends (which she can't do anymore since she's a concubine already)? It shows that she now feels trapped as a concubine. Deok Im may not say it in words, but the fact that she chose to become a concubine even though she would rather just be a simple court lady with her friends, shows how much she loves the king. She would rather sacrifice the simple life that she wanted with her friends (a life that has some freedom since she can go outside the palace with them as a normal woman) than never see him again. As for the other sageuks, I'm just gonna post what user CKT_DramaFan mentioned earlier: "TRS is not the usual “idol” fusion historical with the normal relationship formula of boy meets girl, boy/girl fall for each other overcoming a few obstacles, then happy ending. Many weren’t expecting all the rejections to last as long as it did (matching history) or understand the nuances of the characters since the FL wasn’t the typical protagonist."
This Han Ji Min is so different from the other sageuks I've seen her before. She's so good at portraying this bitchy dowager. I'm so used to her playing nice girls before (Shin Bi in Jewel in the Palace, Seong Song Yeon in Yi San, Bu Young in Rooftop Prince).
Here I am back again to praise the leads especially Moon Chae Won, who is too underappreciated for her role in this drama. I wish more people would appreciate her efforts here. This drama is described as a melodrama mixed with crime, so it's not just a pure crime thriller drama.
Can someone give me recommendations for others Kdramas in a similar setting as this show.
The closest is The Legend 2007 drama. However, most of the show occurred in Goguryeo era, only the characters' past incarnations are in a setting most similar to Arthdal Chronicles. In other words, there's no Kdrama like Arthdal Chronicles.
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I think Chae Ok and Jang Sung Baek are one of the most forbidden romances ever. Their identities as grown ups made them forbidden lovers because Chae Ok is on the side of the police while Sung Baek is on the side of rebels. Little did they know that their real identities make them a more forbidden couple, they cannot be together since they are blood siblings.
Chae Ok and Hwang Bo Yoon, despite being a bit more acceptable couple than her with Sung Baek, cannot also be together. He's a yangban (despite only being half) and she's a lowly servant (damo) girl. Despite being with each other as companions for many years, it's still difficult for them to be a couple since they are bound by their class and identities. Even Chae Ok's real identity cannot be with Hwang Bo Yoon since she's considered a daughter of a treasonous nobleman and he must marry a pure noblewoman for him to be fully accepted by society.
I'm also satisfied with the ending, it shows that while Ji Ni appreciates her life as a gisaeng, what she truly was was an artist. I'm glad she was able to somehow find out how she can live as an artist whether she is a gisaeng or just a normal woman.
(It would be nice if she and her lover can be together again as she was technically no longer a gisaeng in the end. However, their positions in society were too different for Jini to be accepted as her lover's wife and neither would want Jini only as a concubine. Plus I don't think Jini would want her lover to sacrifice everything just for her to be his legal wife. As I mentioned earlier, she would not want him to give up his high position plus she also would not want him to die just like her first love did.)
I don't have any of the above issues here (maybe it helps I'm more familiar with the king in this period, having watched shows about him before), that's why I like this a lot more. I respect others though
The actors in this movie are all great.
I think people should have understood why she was rejecting him after episode 16. Remember the scene when her tears went down when she imagines herself going out with her friends (which she can't do anymore since she's a concubine already)? It shows that she now feels trapped as a concubine.
Deok Im may not say it in words, but the fact that she chose to become a concubine even though she would rather just be a simple court lady with her friends, shows how much she loves the king. She would rather sacrifice the simple life that she wanted with her friends (a life that has some freedom since she can go outside the palace with them as a normal woman) than never see him again.
As for the other sageuks, I'm just gonna post what user CKT_DramaFan mentioned earlier:
"TRS is not the usual “idol” fusion historical with the normal relationship formula of boy meets girl, boy/girl fall for each other overcoming a few obstacles, then happy ending. Many weren’t expecting all the rejections to last as long as it did (matching history) or understand the nuances of the characters since the FL wasn’t the typical protagonist."