SolangeGarnier

The whole thing felt like embarking on a rollercoaster of cringe. These days, it seems like the most anticipated shows amount to sad results. It was either abysmally badly written, or they hacked through it for the story to fit into the 12-episode format (I strongly suspect it suffered from both).
This drama's premise makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. The basic idea was to match the career-driven heiress with a handsome prince - and, after all, why not. But the story keeps contradicting itself. She swears it's not for status, but later says it is. His apparent motives for agreeing to the match remain perfectly unclear throughout - until, of course, we learn that he's always had a soft spot for his former classmate. But why would she - who ultimately wants to take over the family business empire - marry into a status that prevents her from having a job? All the main characters were hinted to be linked by their past, as teenagers who all attended the same prep school - an angle that is either useless or was given up at some point. Characters who seemed to vaguely remember being acquainted and deeply wary of each other suddenly get teary-eyed at the idea of their steadfast friendship being betrayed. The not-wholly-bad antagonist turns full vilain in the last few episodes, ruining his whole arc and dynamics with the main characters.
All plot twists or dramatic turns are as badly crafted as they are clumsily brought about, in a series of supposedly suspenseful moments so cringey my teeth still hurt (the car chase probably being the most ridiculous) and a few of which were totally dispensable.
Even the cast appeared so embarrassed by the weak plot and their terrible lines they couldn't begin to make it work. Byeon Woo Seok seemed only too aware he was being used at the pretty boy with no depth whatsoever to his character and gave up trying. IU's character is found wanting, and even became redundant in a few episodes, her so-called feistiness amounting to a couple of winks, nods and grunts. They're both so fake the actors couldn't seem to find any ground for chemistry. I'm still wondering what was the point of casting Yoo Soo Bin in this production. While he's been doing his best to make the most of a flimsy character, his comic relief relies on him flailing his arms and running around. His supposed secondary love story brings no spark, interest or chemistry to the mix. The only graceful presence was provided by Gong Seung Yeon who definitely tried to bring more subtleness to the only remotely interesting character of the story.
The disastrous writing is even less comprehensible as the budget obviously wasn't an issue for this production. The indoors and outdoors palace sets were nicely woven into the episodes and they went for a refreshing and visually pleasing blend of traditional costumes mixed with contemporary wardrobes - except for the prince's, stressing the actor's lanky silhouette so much it didn't help his on-screen presence.
I didn't expect much from the show - yes, it seemed predictable from the get-go - and was only hoping to be entertained. I mainly found myself laughing at the show's expense in about every episode.