VeSa

final personal review:
wow, I must say I am disappointed beyond anticipation. great start, questionable middle and absolutely dull end. There are great visuals and production which makes so hard not to watch. But the screenwriters were either replaced of completely abandoned any effort somewhere around the end of the first half. The characters are unrelatable (that is the kindest way to put it) and the story absolutely holds no coherence whatsoever. Now to the actors, Jo Jung Suk is probably holding the thing somewhat together, the rest is doing also well considering the script they have to work with. But I am sorry to say this ,but the FL should've gone to somebody else. She has no connection with rhe camera - and thus the viewers ( I've noticed this about the actress in the Bride of Habaek deama as well unfortunately) , she seems to be washed out by anybody else in the picture with her, and she seems very weak even in scenes where the character shows strenght.
So for the actors I think kudos are due to jo Jung Suk and honestly even Mrs Jang Young -the maniac queen was quite concicing . As for the characters Captain Joo is still my favorite as well as the mature crown prince. Sleazy ex-fiance-wannabe made nice chatacter arc taht didn't feel too forced, so that was quite good.
Overall the first episodes set the expectations hight either for political side , romance or revenge drama. I feel like the final product delivered neither, I wouldn't mind the melow political finish had it been melow from the start , as they managed to rile everything up in th wforst half, the second fell quite short. As for the romance and revenge, it felt like there was none. The main couple became so boring I couldn't even bring myself to be curious about their ending together. Both love and revenge plot seemed to peak around episode 8-9 and after that it was diluted more and more.
My finalnconclusion is, that the drama should be renamed "Captivating scenery" instead, as the viauals are really the most captivating thing about rhis drama from viewers' perspective.

this was kind of a let down, there was so much political plotting involved and this is the conclusion for that storyline ? they really did not have any master genius plan behind scenes ? just lucked out on creepster almost-fiance to gain some late awakened rationality snd patriotism? and lady Dong? sorry she still killed the previous king and possibly helped him lose his mind as well on the orders of the two schemers . I am just wondering, if he had really kissed her as she requested, wouldn't she end up poisonning him accidentally as well? honestly she seemed like she wouldn't mind if rhey died together,that much... can't muster much sympathy for her, but I'll give hee she was more interesting character than the FL.
Also let me just say, the female physician can't seem to have her mouth shut can she ? like okay Dong was a bit scary and she bribed her a lot, but the queen's henchwoman? seriously? the queen was being shunned even... I wanted to yell at her to shut the f** up , that she could've just said that Dong had some lady issues she helped with in secret and she got that as a gift since Dong planned to die anyways...literally nobody would've known any better 🤦 but she actually seemed to enjoy the tattletaling .
And what the hell is the queen thinking ,she wpuld dress up king's misttess and he'll like her again ? like what's the plan here ?🤦

dunno, I've seen him in quite different genres , if anything he seems more versatile than most 🤷 seems like saying he relies on looks alone is a bit far-fetched😅 also most of the k-actors in his age group are quite handsome so that alone wouldn't really made one stand out 🤷
also he sings quite alright, I am not a huge fan of the music style he produces lately ,but that's just a personal preference alone 🤷

he has potential, hope he will get a chance to expand :)

I don't mind the story or that it's short, but ir seems kind of flat. The characters don't really go beyond their initial setup. I feel like K-dramas and movies have a bit of a hard time to manage a wholesome image into a two hour time slot , ot often seems deconstructed , two-dimensional, incoherent in a way ...

right?😁I don't really remember seeing one like that

he likes to be a deamon tho, kinda.... i never really understood why is it so important for both leads to be human by the end of so many dramas🤷 being both humans never guarantees you will both grow old and die around the same time🤷 so I actually liked that they didn't do the whole spiel here for a change. Now ai need drama where they actually actively try to make to human spouse immortal as opposed to make the supernatural one breakable , since that's the logical thing to do 😁😁😁

I didn't read the webtoon, so I am taking your word for it. but as of the first two episodes he does not care in the drama so far. yeah his brother did not tell him that he was gay, but that is not even the point, he told him very clearly that 1) he doesn't want to mary the sFL , he knows her ling enough and has absolutely zero romantic interest in her and 2) he told him very clearly he doesn't want to manage a conglomerate ( in the series he does some type of art right ? that has absolutely no correlation to being a head of a company )
his brother torally brushed both those things off ... also people say in the webtoon that he is suspicious of FL due to his concern for her ulterior motives. I'll give them there were few scenes like that in the drama as well ut for the most part the script suggests he is more angry about her being an obstacle to his goals than anything else 🤷 that's somehow very off-putting.
I am very grateful they did that funny "grandpa-taxi" scene , but I am not too happy about the rest of the episode as yet again, they've all displayed very unhealthy relationships between them

seems like an arrow to the heart (in this case) would be much nicer death than slow old-age sickness 😅 also human can get into a car accident and be left paralyzed etc.. seems somehow more risks than benefits situation to me 😅

Inthink I've read the manga. but seeing in live actio is actually so cheesy 😁 can't stop laughing .... please tell there are no real people whoeould chase after somebody they don't even know for fee years without even considering a possibility that the other person has life of their own meanwhile😁 lol the surprised pikachu face she made was priceless

sounds like manhwa plot alright 😁😁😁 maybe I'll try to find it . Honestly I wouldn't my ind if they kept it simple as that, there seems to be a lot of room for comedy . I am afraid they will overcomplicate things with the family power struggle as well as other things and the comedy will creep out . Hope not :D

no,but he looks at her with googly eyes much more than at the FL , he had a fun drinking evening with the FL , they looked like friends, but nah, I didn't see any romance there yet. 🤷 also I lnowsnhe wants his brother to inherit the company, but it also seems like he genuinely considers marriage to the sFL as a good thing , I think same as with the company, the ML is projecting his own idea of happiness onto his brother , meaning he would not mind marrying the sFL 🤷

agreed, I came here to look up what else she played in, because I was a bit confused by her performance in the Captivating the king , but now I reminded myself of her in some other dramas I've seen, and I got the same feeling back then as I do now.
Pity, she really is beautiful, I wish she was more versatile, but not every actor is, hence it is important to find the type of roles that suit them .

I don't know what happened actually, I was also hopeful for her in the very beginning I remember somehow. yeah sure, she's one of the worst, least believable "pretend joseon male" there is, like she really doesn't pull that from the begining...but at least she was more fun and interesting and witty . Now I just kind of think of her as props for the king or something....she's just there, either doing nothing or being messy and always avoid eye contact with everyone , the thing is her "fate " is somewhat melodramatic , but she gives of such a lukewarmness either with danger or with the romance ... somehow I even though at one point ,that it's pity that the queen is deadly sick since I like her a bit better 😅🤷
sincerely not sure what happened, if it is a lousy acting or if it's the show's fault or both. honestly I tend to think it is at least partly the actress' responsibility, because the king is emitting at least some romance through the screen 🤷

there is grandfather here tho, you think he's in place of the mother in the adaptation? also here it seems like the ML is kind of in love with the second female lead ( arranged fiancee of the older brother) was there some storyline in the webtoon for that ? just curious 😁

he doesn't really care for his brother's happiness, he only wants what his own idea of haippiness is for his brother, to be able to alieviate whatever guilt-issue he has(I guess somehthing to do with their parent's death we will learn later). He is ultimately the worst kind since he truly persuaded himself he is doing this all for his brother's sake ...how does one fight something like that from a close person? even without the secret orientation, this would be enough pressure to suffocate someone to the point of never opening up about anything ...🤷
that being said I would've happily rooted for Dohan had he not pulled the stunt on his supposed friend as well. Honestly all three of them are so messed up people,that the screenwriters had to make the "bad guys" aka the rest of the chaebol family so flatly horrible , that there would still be some distinction 😅 it is kinda funny honestly

this is amazing ,I absolutely hate each and every character so far. maybe except for the secretary, he's just there doing his job I guess. I am very curious for how long will I manage to watch it. There were some fun moments and it is not boring , so hopefully I will be able to commit till the end, even without rooting for anybody. 😅

I delayed watching this for past few years but I finally binged it (I think I would have troubles watching it withou the binging). once again, this is the one where bromance saves it all, the bull and monkey duo is hilarious. Honestly normally I find ignorant heroines domewhat irritating, but here I kind of felt bad for her ? in a way where she was literally so depraved of social interaction throughout her life, that she let herself be dragged around by bunch of moneters who actually in this one really , really didn't give a f**k about her. I mean normally in this type of setting the momsters turn up to be friendly and caring for the second half. Noooope , they really really don't give a s**t here 😅 and she likda really knows it, but again is so messed up that she still runs around 😅 it is kimd pitiful really
well there were some cute moments between the lead couple , there was plenty of cringe stuff , but it's also retro in a way

you pose very tough questions for this particular drama 😅 honestly I am mor sure since when it is considered they go together?😅 me personally maybe episode 10 , when she decides not to be ordinary and he decides she's the only tolerable owner ,the kiss in the end seems mutually more sincere than the previous ones 🤷 but hard to tell, he yells sarange at her pretty much since the beginning, but has no choice in that matter and first half is not genuine and she denies hers almost till the end even tho she is in live since the beginning 😅 well breakup, I mean they don't really date date, sometimes they threaten the other to keep a distance for safety etc , well they don't breakup per say , but one of them dies , then they see each other next episode in a ghost visit, so no happy end ( I mean we apparently end with cliffhanger since they promised to either reincarnate and meet or meet as supernaturals or whatever) but I don't really consider that too happy . triangle errrrm there is a feeble attempt at one I guess 🤷 it's more for exposition and comic relief if anything

I think the profile pic doesn't make him justice somehow. He looks so much better in the dramas I think 🤷