Reminded me of Love Song for Illusion
I had high hopes for The Haunted Palace, especially after seeing Yook Sung-Jae in a favorite drama of mine, The Golden Spoon. Playing the dual role of King’s Archivist Yoon Gap and the divine Imugi Gang Cheori, he is the best part of this “spooky” series. (I still laugh thinking about the scene where he switches back and forth between the two characters!)
But I can’t help comparing the drama to last year’s Love Song for Illusion, another supernatural fantasy with the male lead in a dual role. Though Love Song for Illusion has its share of problems (like the over-the-top shaman storyline) there are a number of things the series got right - like casting Park Ji-hoon as the lead. Plus, the beautiful costumes, cinematography and original soundtrack.
On the other hand, while The Haunted Palace production values are standard Kdrama fare, the shaman/spirits storyline is much more interesting, the emotional moments genuine, and the humor - actually humorous. Trimming off a few of the 16 episodes to tighten up the plot would have been nice, as well as an original song by one of the talented K-pop leads. But I do like the upbeat "You Better Run" by Jung Dong Ha and K. Will's "Be Your Shade".
But I can’t help comparing the drama to last year’s Love Song for Illusion, another supernatural fantasy with the male lead in a dual role. Though Love Song for Illusion has its share of problems (like the over-the-top shaman storyline) there are a number of things the series got right - like casting Park Ji-hoon as the lead. Plus, the beautiful costumes, cinematography and original soundtrack.
On the other hand, while The Haunted Palace production values are standard Kdrama fare, the shaman/spirits storyline is much more interesting, the emotional moments genuine, and the humor - actually humorous. Trimming off a few of the 16 episodes to tighten up the plot would have been nice, as well as an original song by one of the talented K-pop leads. But I do like the upbeat "You Better Run" by Jung Dong Ha and K. Will's "Be Your Shade".
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