Though TRS is perfect for me, I think it is by no means ' A Gateway Drama'. It is too complex.
To enjoy it to the fullest , I use all of my knowledge from years of watching Sageuks
1.King Sukjong's concubines & his Ban on concubines becoming Queen,( Dongyi) 2.King Yeongjo , Sado ,Jeongjo dynamics ( The Throne 2015) 3.About YiSan life as King Jeongjo ,and his achievements ( YiSan 2007) 4.Noron Soron Faction Power play ( Sungkyunkwan Scandal) 5.Power dynamics between Joseon Royals and Nobles( Six Flying Dragons)
Apart from that, all that historical knowledge about his love for Uibin Seong and Deok Im's POV from the novel.
Combination of all of that makes me enjoy the drama.
What I find funny while watching their videos on youtube is that half of the koreans want to marry them off like they are literal reincarnation of their King and His beloved Consort and the others are like 'Don't force them, we don't want another Song Song couple'.
Can someone tell me about how the show handles concubines? like I'm assuming he has other women....how is that…
Deok Im's colleagues are exactly as they are described, her friends ( G4)
YiSan's other concubines are Won Bin & Hwa Bin.
The first one was too young & she was only a child in San's eyes,not as a concubine. Later , she died.
For Hwa Bin , San tried to forget DI & cared for her. Unfortunately, DI came back to the palace and she couldn't get attention from San. Later she mispoke about CP Sado , and all she could get after that is San's anger .
I haven't visited an MDL drama page after it aired as much as I visited The Red Sleeve page. I loved a lot of…
I think TRS is either 'Love It ' or 'Hate it' kind of drama.
I find that a lot of those who invested in TRS have some degree of drama slump after this. ( I cant find another drama with that much perfect acting or directing yet.)
Because this drama presents social patriachy without rose tinted glasses. People ,who watch it with modern values ,will be disappinted.
I LOVE HSH BUT I AGREE WITH THE COMMENTS ABOUT HER ACTING. SHE IS GOOD AT DRAMAS THAT HAVE HIGH TEMPO BUT IN SLICE…
I tried the first episode and I feel the same. Her eyes and her gestures are not like someone who is in love with her best friend. I see PHS character's feelings though.
Is it because of the story has not been presented from her POV yet ?
So does fl lear actually die, and are the last 10 minutes or so, where she is alive a dream?
My comment to a fellow commentor before I recopy and paste it. ***
As per novel and also what the actors said in BTS and Special episode ( Holding onto Red Sleeve ), the last scene is when San is on the verge of death.
When he is on the verge of death, his mind remembers and wanders to the time when he is the happiest .
If he opens that door, he will wake up in real life. ( He will continue his life as the King ).
But this time , he chooses to stay with Deok Im , knowing this is a choice he can make .
Like San's dialogue , this may be the dream he has on his verge of death or the afterlife after his death, but whatever it is, he chooses his Beloved Deok Im this time ,like Deok Im did for him when she was alive.
(We dream when we sleep, sometimes we get a dream too good that we don't wanna wake up from that dream . It may be that kind of feeling )
This is a lot coming from San, because he wants to be a king in next life too , per his discussions with his lecturers in episode 1 and also confirmed in ep 16 .
But this time , he gives it up for Deok Im .
This means there is no social patriachy ( the biggest villain of their love story ) between them anymore, so Deok Im can love him as a man starting from that moment.
***** Some audience want the happy ending , so the director make it seem like a premonition dream San gets in his sleep ,too. Rather than being busy, San gives more time to be with Deok Im before her death .
≤≥≤≥≤≥≤≥
But as my fav blogger said on her blog , is there really a happy or sad ending for the Red Sleeve? It's based on Real History and the tragic events will eventually happen anyway. Both of them died 300 years ago and this was their love story .
So I prefer the Sappy ( Sad and Happy ) ending described above. It is more aligned with what actors said ,too.
****** San and Deok Im can never understand their love for each other because they never see eye to eye due to their social patriachy.
As the audience, we see how much King Jeongjo loves Lady Uibin Seong ( the Park in which he grew trees as a rememberance of her name , the letters of how much he missed her. Mostly , he personally wrote 'I love You ' on her epitaph which was never done by a King before.
But for Uibin Seong, he is not only her husband but also her master . As a woman who is intelligent and reads a lot, she knows the fate of the Kings' women before her . As much as she wants it to be, she will never be a normal wife to San. She will be cautious around him all the time. She would be afraid of being abandoned like a low concubine when San becomes tired of her because San has the power to do so ( remember the 10 days after their first night ) ; her son can't even call her as mother ( because her son CP Munhyo is the first born of King and adopted by the queen per Royal customs ).
San, too , will never understand the full picture of Deok Im's love either because her sacrifices will be invisible to him .
( For example , DI makes money by transcribing books but as a concubine, she doesn't need to worry about money anymore ,so in the eyes of San's and most people, it is better for her anyway. But 'Transcribing books' is her hobby and her pride though it does make little money, and she can't do that anymore in her concubine position.)
This is confirmed by the scene he casts away the yellow pouch without understanding its meanings among Deok Im belongings .
2 
It is too complex.
To enjoy it to the fullest , I use all of my knowledge from years of watching Sageuks
1.King Sukjong's concubines & his Ban on concubines becoming Queen,( Dongyi)
2.King Yeongjo , Sado ,Jeongjo dynamics
( The Throne 2015)
3.About YiSan life as King Jeongjo ,and his achievements ( YiSan 2007)
4.Noron Soron Faction Power play
( Sungkyunkwan Scandal)
5.Power dynamics between Joseon Royals and Nobles( Six Flying Dragons)
Apart from that, all that historical knowledge about his love for Uibin Seong and Deok Im's POV from the novel.
Combination of all of that makes me enjoy the drama.
Both are charismatic , but have a weird feeling for the switch because younger actor can lead a drama of his own.
,I can stay with that couple.
Though I think I have come out of my slump .
Some K netz are complaining how they aren't given a couple CF after the drama's success.
But there is not much discussion for RSC at dramabeans .
The pages I recommend are for discussion of RSC if you are interested ,of course.
If we can see San and DI happy married life in webtoon, it will be a bliss.
YiSan's other concubines are
Won Bin & Hwa Bin.
The first one was too young & she was only a child in San's eyes,not as a concubine.
Later , she died.
For Hwa Bin , San tried to forget DI & cared for her.
Unfortunately, DI came back to the palace and she couldn't get attention from San. Later she mispoke about CP Sado , and all she could get after that is San's anger .
Yeah, in the drama, the drama ended with reunion of ML and FL in the afterlife.
So the ML did die near the end.
But if you are asking about 'Main Character Death' tag, it is not the ML, it is the FL.
I find that a lot of those who invested in TRS have some degree of drama slump after this.
( I cant find another drama with that much perfect acting or directing yet.)
Because this drama presents social patriachy without rose tinted glasses.
People ,who watch it with modern values ,will be disappinted.
Her eyes and her gestures are not like someone who is in love with her best friend.
I see PHS character's feelings though.
Is it because of the story has not been presented from her POV yet ?
1. At the start of ep 8, when San is angry & Jealous
2. Ep 13 drunk scene
3. Ep 15 when FL is arrogant and bold & talks back to San & makes him angry after he has become a king.
All of them involves verbal dominance over FL ' How the King has complete dominance over a Court Lady '
I recopy and paste it.
***
As per novel and also what the actors said in BTS and Special episode ( Holding onto Red Sleeve ), the last scene is when San is on the verge of death.
When he is on the verge of death, his mind remembers and wanders to the time when he is the happiest .
If he opens that door, he will wake up in real life. ( He will continue his life as the King ).
But this time , he chooses to stay with Deok Im , knowing this is a choice he can make .
Like San's dialogue , this may be the dream he has on his verge of death or the afterlife after his death, but whatever it is, he chooses his Beloved Deok Im this time ,like Deok Im did for him when she was alive.
(We dream when we sleep, sometimes we get a dream too good that we don't wanna wake up from that dream . It may be that kind of feeling )
This is a lot coming from San, because he wants to be a king in next life too , per his discussions with his lecturers in episode 1 and also confirmed in ep 16 .
But this time , he gives it up for Deok Im .
This means there is no social patriachy ( the biggest villain of their love story ) between them anymore, so Deok Im can love him as a man starting from that moment.
*****
Some audience want the happy ending , so the director make it seem like a premonition dream San gets in his sleep ,too.
Rather than being busy, San gives more time to be with Deok Im before her death .
≤≥≤≥≤≥≤≥
But as my fav blogger said on her blog , is there really a happy or sad ending for the Red Sleeve?
It's based on Real History and the tragic events will eventually happen anyway. Both of them died 300 years ago and this was their love story .
So I prefer the Sappy ( Sad and Happy ) ending described above.
It is more aligned with what actors said ,too.
******
San and Deok Im can never understand their love for each other because they never see eye to eye due to their social patriachy.
As the audience, we see how much King Jeongjo loves Lady Uibin Seong ( the Park in which he grew trees as a rememberance of her name , the letters of how much he missed her. Mostly , he personally wrote 'I love You ' on her epitaph which was never done by a King before.
But for Uibin Seong, he is not only her husband but also her master . As a woman who is intelligent and reads a lot, she knows the fate of the Kings' women before her . As much as she wants it to be, she will never be a normal wife to San.
She will be cautious around him all the time.
She would be afraid of being abandoned like a low concubine when San becomes tired of her because San has the power to do so ( remember the 10 days after their first night ) ; her son can't even call her as mother ( because her son CP Munhyo is the first born of King and adopted by the queen per Royal customs ).
San, too , will never understand the full picture of Deok Im's love either because her sacrifices will be invisible to him .
( For example , DI makes money by transcribing books but as a concubine, she doesn't need to worry about money anymore ,so in the eyes of San's and most people, it is better for her anyway.
But 'Transcribing books' is her hobby and her pride though it does make little money, and she can't do that anymore in her concubine position.)
This is confirmed by the scene he casts away the yellow pouch without understanding its meanings among Deok Im belongings .