ZNINE

This is another series I was really looking forward to. The casting looked promising, the plot seemed interesting, and I had high expectations for the script and storyline. Unfortunately, the ending was very predictable and felt extremely rushed.

The series started off really well and was highly engaging. Hui Ju and Yi An were clever and full of schemes in the beginning, but in the later episodes, they became noticeably less intelligent and made poor decisions. Prime minister Min and I Rang were characters with a lot of potential, but they were severely underused. I felt that Prime minister Min was unnecessarily forced into the villain role. I Rang’s redemption arc was almost nonexistent — she barely had any screen time in the latter half. The female lead’s family was set up as having a bad relationship, but suddenly her brother and father started loving and praising her out of nowhere. The last 4 episodes were hugely disappointing. The show introduced so many new plot threads but then completely abandoned them, leaving tons of loose ends. It felt very rushed toward the finale.

I really like iu’s acting in melodramas, but in this romcom, her performance felt a bit off — although she looked stunning throughout the series. Byeon Woo-seok’s acting felt quite stiff. The chemistry between him and IU was just average, but I actually thought his chemistry with Gong Seung-yeon was better. The costumes were beautiful, and the locations were well-chosen and visually pleasing. Overall Perfect Crown is a series that started strong but gradually became boring and lost its momentum. It’s not bad, but it’s not good either.