I can't help ,but still following JLML 718 novel translation and 'Unlock the red sleeve ' chats . Comparison of Real Life Jeongjo , Novel YiSan Vs Drama version , reading is very fun.
As an avid fan of Yi San ( 2007 ) and still loving that version, that kind and gentle version of Jeongjo is my textbook imagination of a benevolent king.
Both Novel and Drama versions of Red Sleeve YiSan are bolder & more arrogant than Yi San (2007) version. ( Should I say Younger person vibe of energy 'Bold and Confident ') .
But considering Jeongjo punished Deok Im's maid after her second rejection per historical texts, real life Yi San had his own emotional outbursts like a true privileged Royal when he didn't get what he wanted , though he was thought to be a kind and gentle king. I feel connected with the Red Sleeve version .
Still the novel version of YiSan has the most alpha male vibes among all ,so I am glad the screenwriter toned down the arrogance of his character to create the drama version .
As fusion sageuks portray the Royal characters with modern sensibilities lately, even the Drama YiSan came out too strong and arrogant for some sensitive audience with strong sense of feminism.
At what point in history does this story end? Aka does it end before the events of 1786?
No , the event in 1786 still happened in last episode.
Some said you can skip ep 17 if you want happy ending, but in my opinion , I don't agree with it because the whole plot won't be perfect without the actual ending. Very emotional , but a satisfying conclusion for both of them.
One of my most favorite genres is historical romance. While I tend to read reviews first even before watching my most favorite genre ( thriller modern dramas ), I blindly watch 1st or 2nd episode of sageuks to know whether it is my show or not. Chinese ones have too many episodes and there are a lot of shows per year, so I read reviews first.
Coincidentally, I rarely ship onscreen pairing in my 20 +years of drama watching;but the two ships I love are from historical romance.
One pair is Deng Lun and Yang Zhi from Ashes of Love while the other pair is from recently finished Red Sleeve Cuff, Junho and Lee Seyoung. The highly captivated romance in dramas plus their BTS make me interested in both dramas. Of course, the first ship never sails though. But I am a light shipper , not a hardcore one because shipping can be annoying to both actors if they only have business type of relationship. ( Pardon me for my insane mumblings. )
But I agree with you , for the reasons written by you, I find historical dramas very romantic.
My rating 3/ 10..it doesn’t deserve 8, 9 don’t be fooled with by the high rating and watch rather sth cheerful…
By your logic, Titanic or Romeo and Juliet story would never become a classic. I understand we can't do anything with your personal taste or rating. But there are different people and among them, there will be some who love a heart touching love story even though it ends with tragic ending. It doesn't mean the drama deserves a bad rating just because it's a melodrama.
I actually really like historical dramas, but I got tired after awhile because it felt like the same plot. I'd…
Actually, as much as people hate social class difference in daily lives, they love it as a drama trope. ( Cindrella story )
As a favored drama trope, korean sageuks will include Kings and Crown Princes. Chinese historical ones will too.(+ one occupation of military general because chinese empire is huge ). Chinese wuxia tend to include Sec leaders or tribe leaders.
People rarely got interested in the affair of normal folks, while they are interested in the affairs of celebrities or millionaires' gossip. People are just like that.
Also another reason is unless ML or FL is in certain position , the risks wont be high and no dramatic tension can be created for the story's sake.
What I mean is you may not be interested in these tropes, but most audience are and avoiding these tropes will be hard.
I just read lee san wind of the palace synopsis and it is totally a different concept, i think it's farther from…
Sado ( The Throne ) is like an unofficial prologue to the Red Sleeve. Watching Red Sleeve without proper understanding of Yeongjo Struggles to the Throne, his relationship with his son Crown Prince Sado and his grandson ,Yi San , the drama watching experience won't be complete. ( Love and hate interwined relationship of the Royal Family will be a rival to many Classic Novels about Family Feud )
For the proper understanding of Jeongjo life as a king and his achievements , and why koreans regard him as one of the best kings of Joseon, I suggest watching 'YiSan ;Wind of the Palace ( 2007 ) .
For Jeongjo's romantic life, i prefer Red Sleeve version more. Deok Im as a court lady and adopted as her ladyship Hyegyeong steward's daughter ; these facts are more accurate in Red Sleeve.
Ok , people need to know their genre before watching the dramas , to have the viewing experience as a pleasant one.
For me, I am not into horror genre, so watching 'Happiness' wont make me happy though it is high on voting list.
Watching a drama thats not your genre will leave a bad taste in your mouth and only bad rating for that drama from unpleasant fans.
***** But a drama , its genre is up to your usual alley, fails to meet your expectations, that drama itself might not be good enough for you ,objectively.
Drama watching is a personal experience. So if you don't like it you can stop watching it. No need to downgrade…
Hmm So comment sections are only for people who like it. I have been constantly on the page of a drama I like and people that hate it ,comes too. I just cooly explain about what I like about that drama and some accept it ,while others won't . Because it's personal preference.
I just said why I couldn't get into this drama and my reasons for it. ( Because its in my 'On Hold 'List and someone might elevate the experience or say it does get better in later episodes )
Liking Maiden Holmes is my personal preference. (I even said I might have watched it in my right mood ). May be because it is my first drama with this genre and has less annoying characters .
Because I personally hate it , making other characters look stupid or bad without purpose ,to present the main leads as the intelligent ones. ******* Also I commented as I do care about this drama and I have already invested my time in one third of this drama. For other dramas I dont like, I just give a bad rating and drop them.
I can't get into this drama. I'm bored. It is like another version of Maiden Holmes with less convincing acting or I might have watched Maiden Holmes while I was in my right mood. ( I like Maiden Holmes more )
Female lead has no chemistry with both of male leads. I dont care about supporting characters at all.There are many ,but they are characters with no depth , just added to annoy the female lead in her story.
Sadly, though as much as she wants to get of the palace mess, and even if he allows her to do so, she can't go back to the peaceful life she had before .
The Label of 'the King's favored court lady' puts a target on her back that every political rival of the King wanna use her.
So she accepts the position of concubine.
But her love for him is still the main reason for her becoming his concubine.
As the words said by her in her death bed, 'she would have run away if she didn't love him '.
That's why we draw the conclusion 'The court lady loves the King ' to the question of the drama because we see the price she has to pay for being with him (her freedom) & the high price is not enough for having him alone as hers. She knows this for a fact.
watching ep.5 right now, only to find out this drama has a sad ending? what, what how can I continue investing…
Rather than sad , I would say the ending is bittersweet.
Life isn't always what we wanted and the journey is worth it to see the heart touching interaction between this couple.
They are the real historical figures and their love story is said to be one of the most romantic one of Joseon dynasty, though the drama is not exactly accurate presentation and some imaginative parts are added.
does it get better? cause ep 1 was really boring for me
The drama first 6 episodes should be rated best in my opinion. So you can watch it up to ep 3 or 4 when you have time, you will know whether you like it or not. If you are not still entertained by adult casts in these episodes, the drama is not for you..
It's a bit like moon lover esp in final episodes. If you want to read a lengthy explanation, you can read some reviews .
The politics are well made because it is based on real history and describes conflicts between Yeongjo , Sado and Jeongjo. ( You can watch movie 'The Throne ' as a prologue if you wanna understand these three dynamics better )
For the romance, it did start cute and funny like fushion sageuks , Love in Moonlight or 100 days. But don't be fooled by it , it's a mournful court romance .
To fully invest in this couple, you do need to watch from both characters' POVs and need to accept it was 18th century they lived in. ( Some viewers have problems with ML's alpha male behaviour in later episodes whereas some are frustrated with FL 's rejections to his proposal).
Worth watching because of Perfect acting, directing , cinematography and music ( Background music are the best ) .
Told myself I’ll only watch it once it’s subbed (bcos variety show captions makes it PAINFUL to watch) but…
Yeah, many fans are shipping them because both of their official relationship status are single , but who knows they may have RS in secret .
The drama completed its run only one month ago and it's a tragic one. Both the actors and fans still have left over feelings from drama.
Some fans may want to remove the lingering sadness from drama by having happy ending in real life,that's their dating.
Personally , I like it more if they remain close friends . They are now at the peak of their careers and both are career focus type. If they don't sort out their inner feelings well and date immediately, I think they may even hurt each other. Junho is also an idol , so he will do collaborations as a singer as well as an actor. MBC Gayo is the example they need to clarify their relationship ,so crazy fans won't force the ship on them anymore and start fan war with their other costars.
If their relationship change from friends to lovers years later, it will be their real feelings and we will wish them well.
I am watching The Crowned Clown now cause I can't get enough of our two main actors. Lee Seyoung 's character is a queen in that drama and even a queen, a woman of the Internal Court ,can't leave the Palace as she pleases. Also involved in conspriracy of the Court.
Yeah, Deok Im here is a low rank concubine who was a former court maid. Thus the freedom is much lower than the Queen. How much is she suffocated ?
2 
Comparison of Real Life Jeongjo , Novel YiSan Vs Drama version , reading is very fun.
As an avid fan of Yi San ( 2007 ) and still loving that version, that kind and gentle version of Jeongjo is my textbook imagination of a benevolent king.
Both Novel and Drama versions of Red Sleeve YiSan are bolder & more arrogant than Yi San (2007) version.
( Should I say Younger person vibe of energy
'Bold and Confident ') .
But considering Jeongjo punished Deok Im's maid after her second rejection per historical texts, real life Yi San had his own emotional outbursts like a true privileged Royal when he didn't get what he wanted , though he was thought to be a kind and gentle king.
I feel connected with the Red Sleeve version .
Still the novel version of YiSan has the most alpha male vibes among all ,so I am glad the screenwriter toned down the arrogance of his character to create the drama version .
As fusion sageuks portray the Royal characters with modern sensibilities lately, even the Drama YiSan came out too strong and arrogant for some sensitive audience with strong sense of feminism.
Some said you can skip ep 17 if you want happy ending, but in my opinion , I don't agree with it because the whole plot won't be perfect without the actual ending.
Very emotional , but a satisfying conclusion for both of them.
While I tend to read reviews first even before watching my most favorite genre ( thriller modern dramas ), I blindly watch 1st or 2nd episode of sageuks to know whether it is my show or not.
Chinese ones have too many episodes and there are a lot of shows per year, so I read reviews first.
Coincidentally, I rarely ship onscreen pairing in my 20 +years of drama watching;but the two ships I love are from historical romance.
One pair is Deng Lun and Yang Zhi from Ashes of Love while the other pair is from recently finished Red Sleeve Cuff, Junho and Lee Seyoung.
The highly captivated romance in dramas plus their BTS make me interested in both dramas.
Of course, the first ship never sails though.
But I am a light shipper , not a hardcore one because shipping can be annoying to both actors if they only have business type of relationship.
( Pardon me for my insane mumblings. )
But I agree with you , for the reasons written by you, I find historical dramas very romantic.
I understand we can't do anything with your personal taste or rating.
But there are different people and among them, there will be some who love a heart touching love story even though it ends with tragic ending.
It doesn't mean the drama deserves a bad rating just because it's a melodrama.
As a favored drama trope, korean sageuks will include Kings and Crown Princes.
Chinese historical ones will too.(+ one occupation of military general because chinese empire is huge ).
Chinese wuxia tend to include Sec leaders or tribe leaders.
People rarely got interested in the affair of normal folks, while they are interested in the affairs of celebrities or millionaires' gossip.
People are just like that.
Also another reason is unless ML or FL is in certain position , the risks wont be high and no dramatic tension can be created for the story's sake.
What I mean is you may not be interested in these tropes, but most audience are and avoiding these tropes will be hard.
Watching Red Sleeve without proper understanding of Yeongjo Struggles to the Throne, his relationship with his son Crown Prince Sado and his grandson ,Yi San , the drama watching experience won't be complete.
( Love and hate interwined relationship of the Royal Family will be a rival to many Classic Novels about Family Feud )
For the proper understanding of Jeongjo life as a king and his achievements , and why koreans regard him as one of the best kings of Joseon, I suggest watching 'YiSan ;Wind of the Palace ( 2007 )
.
For Jeongjo's romantic life, i prefer Red Sleeve version more.
Deok Im as a court lady and adopted as her ladyship Hyegyeong steward's daughter ; these facts are more accurate in Red Sleeve.
For me, I am not into horror genre, so watching 'Happiness' wont make me happy though it is high on voting list.
Watching a drama thats not your genre will leave a bad taste in your mouth and only bad rating for that drama from unpleasant fans.
*****
But a drama , its genre is up to your usual alley, fails to meet your expectations, that drama itself might not be good enough for you ,objectively.
So comment sections are only for people who like it.
I have been constantly on the page of a drama I like
and people that hate it ,comes too.
I just cooly explain about what I like about that drama and some accept it ,while others won't .
Because it's personal preference.
I just said why I couldn't get into this drama and my reasons for it.
( Because its in my 'On Hold 'List and someone might elevate the experience or say it does get better in later episodes )
Liking Maiden Holmes is my personal preference.
(I even said I might have watched it in my right mood ).
May be because it is my first drama with this genre and has less annoying characters .
Because I personally hate it , making other characters look stupid or bad without purpose ,to present the main leads as the intelligent ones.
*******
Also I commented as I do care about this drama and I have already invested my time in one third of this drama.
For other dramas I dont like, I just give a bad rating and drop them.
I'm bored.
It is like another version of Maiden Holmes with less convincing acting or I might have watched Maiden Holmes while I was in my right mood.
( I like Maiden Holmes more )
Female lead has no chemistry with both of male leads.
I dont care about supporting characters at all.There are many ,but they are characters with no depth , just added to annoy the female lead in her story.
I have watched up to ep9.
I think everyone will be depressed for watching that show.
They are good at expressions.
But I hope this melo has some kind of healing ending.
My taste is strange, isn't it ?
The Label of 'the King's favored court lady' puts a target on her back that every political rival of the King wanna use her.
So she accepts the position of concubine.
But her love for him is still the main reason for her becoming his concubine.
As the words said by her in her death bed, 'she would have run away if she didn't love him '.
That's why we draw the conclusion 'The court
lady loves the King ' to the question of the drama because we see the price she has to pay for being with him (her freedom) & the high price is not enough for having him alone as hers.
She knows this for a fact.
https://youtu.be/EQ-JCzHgJDY
Life isn't always what we wanted and the journey is worth it to see the heart touching interaction between this couple.
They are the real historical figures and their love story is said to be one of the most romantic one of Joseon dynasty, though the drama is not exactly accurate presentation and some imaginative parts are added.
So you can watch it up to ep 3 or 4 when you have time, you will know whether you like it or not.
If you are not still entertained by adult casts in these episodes, the drama is not for you..
If you want to read a lengthy explanation, you can read some reviews .
The politics are well made because it is based on real history and describes conflicts between Yeongjo , Sado and Jeongjo. ( You can watch movie 'The Throne ' as a prologue if you wanna understand these three dynamics better )
For the romance, it did start cute and funny like fushion sageuks , Love in Moonlight or 100 days.
But don't be fooled by it , it's a mournful court romance .
To fully invest in this couple, you do need to watch from both characters' POVs and need to accept it was 18th century they lived in.
( Some viewers have problems with ML's alpha male behaviour in later episodes whereas some are frustrated with FL 's rejections to his proposal).
Worth watching because of Perfect acting, directing , cinematography and music ( Background music are the best ) .
The drama completed its run only one month ago and it's a tragic one.
Both the actors and fans still have left over feelings from drama.
Some fans may want to remove the lingering sadness from drama by having happy ending in real life,that's their dating.
Personally , I like it more if they remain close friends .
They are now at the peak of their careers and both are career focus type. If they don't sort out their inner feelings well and date immediately, I think they may even hurt each other.
Junho is also an idol , so he will do collaborations as a singer as well as an actor.
MBC Gayo is the example they need to clarify their relationship ,so crazy fans won't force the ship on them anymore and start fan war with their other costars.
If their relationship change from friends to lovers years later, it will be their real feelings and we will wish them well.
Lee Seyoung 's character is a queen in that drama and even a queen, a woman of the Internal Court ,can't leave the Palace as she pleases. Also involved in conspriracy of the Court.
Yeah, Deok Im here is a low rank concubine who was a former court maid. Thus the freedom is much lower than the Queen.
How much is she suffocated ?