carmesim

This project had potential, a lot of people like the royal complexity but doesn't care about historical settings, so moving South Korea into a landscape where they reached modernity but also kept the nobility status is always interesting to see.

Unfortunetely, I have yet to see this concept being well executed.

Byeon Wooseok is the same character as every other prince out there, truly made out of a cookie cutter. He looks fucking incredible. Me, who kinda hated Lovely Runner and never cared about his other projects, found myself falling in love with him here. Great suits, beautiful suits. It's still early to know if he will grow into the character (I'm dropping this show after episode 5), but I don't see a bright future ahead.
He is molded to be like Lan Wangji, brooding, quiet and troubled from an difficult childhood and insane generational expectations, but if instead of Yibo, they casted Zhang Linghe.

IU is not the right actress for Huiju.
I like her a lot, but she can't deliver what is needed. Whenever she tries to act spoiled and petulant all I could think was of another actresses that could do it better, especially in the beggining when she is supposed to be a successful entrepreneur but it always end up with her in meetings talking about nothing else but herself, and it is even funnier when after two episodes they started to cut out the company entirely from the plot in exchange of advancing the fake relationship.

I feel sorry for Steve Noh having such an limp character. Him and the prince are very close but once he understands what's going on between him and Huiju, they become enemies. He is a trusty workaholic minister but once he starts "losing" her to Ian you never sees him at his desk again. Has been forever in love with Huiju but can't act on it and yet, once she gets into a romanctic relationship with someone better than him, he starts being weird.
It's very 'I've always liked you but you are not on my level so we can't have anything, but also please don't get with a man who is in a higher rank than me', which is icky and also feels intentional to make the audience not side with him.

Good shows usually makes the ML better instead of diminishing the second lead.

The story itself also just goes on in circles:
- Huiju wants to get married to the prince so she can get access to places and opportunities she couldn't for 'not being noble/being an bastard', but once they put the dating into motion she never talks about the company ever again;
- She also talks a lot about 'divorcing in three years' but various characters already gave us the information that a royal is not able to get a divorce in this world (or at least is unheard of), and yet NO ONE brought it up with her and she also didn't googled it once to see how it works;
- Ian being an grown men and not having one ally beyond his side kick and maybe the minister is insane! Even the baby king has more support! HE'S 8!
- There is no way a prince like Ian would still be single, especially with a sister-in-law like that;
- Huiju is supposed to be rebel and contrarian, but in a lot of instances Ian is way more forward than her and does a lot of the heavy lifting in their relationship. It's very out of character for both.

The baby king is the cutest thing and I hope he gets an happy ending with lots of friends. For the rest, whatever.