Kaptan

I watched the series from beginning to end, but initially I had hoped it would be a good series, but unfortunately that hope disappeared over time. I watched it by fast-forwarding and rewinding, feeling bored.

The story was fragmented. It lacked coherence. Is it a Hong Gil Dong drama? A revenge drama? A king's overthrow? A love story? A soul-swapping drama? Or is it the famous Korean noble, slave, concubine equation? What is it? The subject matter was fragmented. There should be coordination and unity between the fragments. This didn't happen. No event was explored in depth; it was treated abstractly and simply. Therefore, I can't place the story anywhere.

There's a minister. This minister has seized complete power by lulling the king to sleep with incense, slowly poisoning him, making decisions as he pleases, and enforcing them. He has puppets. He has everyone bound. But there's no tightness in his control. It just goes on as it is. No one objects, no one fights against it. Nothing happens. It's like, "Go ahead, my servant," and he just goes along with it.

But there's a clever girl, a concubine's daughter, neither noble nor not, somewhere in between. This girl is a caregiver for the minister's father. Then, he tells her he's marrying her to his son, but he marries her to his own father.There's such a strange twist. The girl is intelligent and is on her way to becoming a doctor. As luck would have it, the minister's son is also a doctor and the head of the police force. However, he's hardly a doctor; he's a daddy's boy, dim-witted, and a errand boy, killing when ordered. That's the kind of person he is. In the end, he dies too.
Our girl is a doctor and also a Gil Dong who helps the poor. She's good at archery; she hits her target.
Our prince is the king's brother. The king is constantly sedated, so he thinks he's ill. He believes so too. But after meeting the girl, he realizes this isn't the case. Because he mingles with the people, he learns about certain things, and he figures out that she's Gil Dong. Also, this treacherous minister has a son who is handsome and holds a position in charge of the police. She's also the daughter of a concubine. He resents her for this reason. He tells her, "What are you doing here? Go sit at home. You're the daughter of a concubine. What does this have to do with you?" He belittles her, but also belittles himself, and doesn't want her to join his family. He knows she'll be married to his grandfather, and the girl knows it too, but she doesn't speak up for her family's sake because it affects her father.

Ultimately, this Gil Dong girl and our prince fall in love. They solve the problems one by one. However, they can't get married. The boy is noble, the girl is a slave. Even this prince becomes king in place of his brother. They still can't get married because he can only be a concubine, not his wife. Therefore, in the end, their bond is revealed by a ribbon. They experience a spiritual exchange. It's believed this began when the girl saved the prince from drowning when he was about to drown at the age of 7-8. This is revealed at the end of the story. The prince abdicates the throne and marries the girl. Happy ending. This is my simplified explanation. Of course, the series is more complex. Those who like this type of thing can watch it as a lighthearted read. However, the actors are good. At first, I didn't see any chemistry. Because the male actors are young, and the female actor is older. The age difference is obvious. But you get used to it over time while watching. I found the actors successful. The men are young and handsome. They will be very good actors in the future. They show their potential. Their physiques are also very good. But I especially liked Ha Seok Jin, who played the King. He really improved in episode 15. He was excellent. He's become my candidate for Best Supporting Actor this year.

It's a drama you can watch without expecting too much.