Zellie

It's been a hundred days since TRS stopped airing...
Time to rewatch

Sappy ending

While the drama was airing and even after I believed that the answer to "Did the Court Lady love the King ?' was yes, the Court Lady loved the King but now I can say for certain, she did not love the King. The person she loved was Yi San, not the ruler of Joseon but just a man. And there was only ever one reason she did not want to be a Consort, she did not want to be one of the King's women but Yi San's one and only.

I feel like as time goes on, instead of forgetting, I am only getting more attached to TRS.

If this ain't my state https://twitter.com/filmwuju/status/1485194230780039168?t=A3RAwjLAYg6EYLi4C7Qwng&s=19

As if the TRS brainrot while I am awake wasn't enough SanDeok, Lee Junho and MDL even appear in my dreams 😭 It's been three weeks but TRS is only taking up more of my life. Has anyone managed to make it out of this rabbit hole yet?

I like the way you think but I for some reason cannot picture him in a teaching profession, but imagine them meeting in modern times and Deok Im mistaking San for a lecturer again and repeating history 😆😭

From what I think Deok Im would be a librarian or work in publishing while running a podcast or YouTube channel where she does storytelling in her free time. Journalism might also suit her, particularly a columnist or a feature writer. San would be a legislator, president or prosecutor.

Basically it's Deok Im = literature and Yi San = justice/leadership

I figured you might not have read the novel which is why I purposely mentioned the novel to offer perspective as someone who has. I agree with "not adding them to the show means that for most viewers they never happened" and that was my point, the lack of clarity is the writer's fault not the actor's (in my opinion).

Well, it can't be helped if you haven't taken a liking to LSY's acting or Deok Im, to each his own. Actually it might be for better because I fell for both and I am in all the more pain as a result of it but then again the joy of falling makes everything worth it.

Exactly, Lee Junho and Lee Se Young individually are already great actors but both of them together creates an out of this world synergy

If you think EP 16 is a little too late to finally understand the feelings of the main character then the script is to be blamed for showing why she was right only then, but I understood her way earlier so perspective also plays a role here. After reading the translations of the novel it is clear that Lee Se Young conveyed Deok Im's feelings as best as she could with the script and dialogues she was given and the only way she could be more obvious in showing Deok Im's reasons was if more of the lines from the novel were added.

Some ambiguity about Deok Im's feelings being maintained throughout the show is only right considering that the tagline is 'The King loved the Court Lady but did the Court Lady love the King?'. Does not the fact that you felt unsure of Deok Im's true feelings mean that Lee Se Young was successful in portraying her character? The way I see it LSY has beautifully conveyed Deok Im's conflicted feelings and dilemma. The uncertainty of what Deok Im truly feels resulting from her battling to bury her true feelings is meant to be felt by the audience at the same time we get to see glimpses of her true feelings when she is unsuccessful in that battle, the genius of LSY lies in how she makes those moments of truth obvious but not outright obvious by conveying it through her small nuances and microexpressions. Also, I find that once Deok Im's language of love is understood it becomes easy to see how big of a confession even her small actions were.

About Deok Im's last line "in the next life just pass by as if you don't know me"
"It's Deokim sincerity, it's like saying 'I love you so much it'll be painful to meet you again...' " - Jung Ji-in PD ( https://twitter.com/shjky/status/1483788132101550081 )

Two weeks after the end of The Red Sleeve:
- TRS page on MDL is still the first thing I check when I wake up
- TRS brain rot is still ruining my life

You are actually right, I absolutely adore Deok Im and don't understand the reasons Deok Im slanderers give or find those reasons to be ignorant. I sympathize with her and understand why she did what she did and even when her actions seem ambiguous I find it in my heart to just accept them as they are, I fail to see why some others can't do the same thing but I know everyone has different perspectives and life experiences that influence said perspective so even if my views perfectly aligns with hers, someone else's does not have to.

One of the things I love about this drama is unlike the "only known each other for three months but are ready to die for each other and sacrifice everything" trope Deok Im actually has a sense of self-preservation which is only natural and Yi San too sticks to his principles and is unwilling to break rules even when Deok Im's life is threatened which poses the question "Does loving someone mean that you have to sacrifice everything else?" but Deok Im is also naturally weak in the face of love just like everybody else further fueled by her unwavering sense of loyalty she ends up going to great lengths when it comes to saving Yi San. So, she can't help herself just like you said but why should it fly in the face of her objection, she objects becoming a concubine and not Yi San himself which is very clear from her talk with Lady Seo, just because she doesn't want to become concubine doesn't mean she can just sit still when he is in danger.

She had virtually no independence and very little freedom of choice (which she herself expressed time and time again in the drama) but she built a life for herself with the limited means she had and she wanted to protect that but she also wanted to protect the man she loves, I think that the conflict was well written and beautifully portrayed (though it is a pity more of her inner thoughts from the novel weren't included). She loves him so wants to stay by his side and protect him but getting too close is dangerous but then again since she loves him she is bound to him and can't leave so she found her place at a safe distance, not too close and not too far, and only wished to keep that place.

The entire point is that she had very little as a court lady but in becoming a consort she loses the very little she did have, that is, if she had no freedom as a court lady she had less than no freedom as a consort. If you think it was reluctance about losing the independence she did not have in the first place I think you need to watch the drama again because it goes much deeper than that.

I saw this on twitter https://twitter.com/Hoyaanae/status/1477483740477550592 and I think it goes along with why it never felt like love, "The Red Sleeve is not a love story but a narrative of many women who have fallen into the trap of monarchy"

I got a good laugh out of your comment, thank you. Never thought weak could be an adjective used to describe Deok Im in such a context.

On the contrary, I took inspiration from the selection of Subin and started watching dramas that are and feel absolutely nothing like The Red Sleeve.

She becomes concubine at EP 16. There is no breakup after that, they take it to till death do us part. They do have a major fight at the end of EP 14 though and don't see each other for a year (15 mins in screentime)

Going away with her brother would mean 1. she would have to leave behind everyone else she knew and loved 2. letting her brother give up on his dream 3. she would be abandoning her duties and running away and we all know it isn't in Deok Im's nature to just run away so it really isn't much of a choice. If you think a court lady has no freedom then a concubine would have less than no freedom yet she chose to be with him.

My pleasure

"Despite the benefits of one's daughter being selected as the primary wife of the King or Crown Prince, aristocratic families were often reticent to marry their daughters into the royal family and quickly arranged marriages for their young daughters when a selection was anticipated. One lady of the Gwon clan even feigned insanity during the presentation to avoid being chosen as Crown Princess" (source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naemyeongbu#Ranks ) - if this was the case for the Queen/Crown Princess I don't think Deok Im not wanting to be concubine is that out of place for her era.