I'm surprised someone thinks that cause i'm honestly thinking exact opposite, i'm slightly surprised how little…
The time span of the drama (excluding flashbacks) covers less than a month, I’d say —from Ian/Huiju’s encounter at the palace on the little King’s birthday to her proposal to her moving to his place to the crash to the current Inner Court Banquet in the latest episode. That’s a lot to pack into a month.
So, I want to recant something I said about this drama’s being simplistic. On the surface, it seems like a simple fairy tale with beautiful people and that’s it—a simple contract marriage with a royal. But, in reality, I see subtle, yet powerful, themes emerging about the ridiculousness of classism (seen in Huiju’s story) and learning how to have voice and a sense of self (Prince Ian’s story).
Also, the hidden motives of people are not so simple, e.g, the Prime Minister—I still can’t figure him out. Is he a good guy or bad guy? Is he trying to protect Huiju or is he trying to protect Prince Ian? Who has been PM’s real crush all these years? Is his loyalty really with the Crown as he told the Queen or has he had other plans and motives all along?
The Queen—another extremely complicated character holding on to history and tradition as her only means of self-worth. The Queen’s father—We haven’t even scratched the surface of what this guy’s agenda really is.
So, all in all, this seemingly simple, yet visually stunning, fairy tale is not so simple at all. Beautiful story. Beautifully written. Beautifully acted.
watching the fifth episode again ;-) another possibility popped up......what if, knowing how i-an feels about…
The PM’s motives are unclear, for sure. I remember, in episode 1, his strange stunned face when Prince Ian said that he was getting married. In that moment, I thought that the PM had a crush on Prince Ian. This idea that he’s had a crush on Huiju all these years, yet never confessed to her until now, I’m like, why??? Has his true crush been the Prince all this time?
So is this really worth watching - take IU out of the picture for a moment, is the screenwriting actually good?…
Yes, the screenwriting is good. The story development flows nicely. It’s engaging. The characters are engaging. It’s somewhat predictable, but then again, what we’re assuming might not prove to be true. It’s good, but it’s also very simplistic. It makes no attempt to be overly sophisticated, nor intellectual or existential, nor is it full of deep symbolism and metaphors. It’s just a simple contract-marriage story between beautiful people, one of whom is royalty.
The ML’s acting is not bad. He’s a delight to watch. The beautiful visuals are part of the charm and allure…
We’ll probably get more details and see more of his feelings in Ep 5. What you saw was a seconds-long, hyper-focused cliffhanger moment at the end of episode 4. Is the Director aura-farming and glazing BWS’s looks in this moment? Yep. Does that make BWS a bad actor? Nope.
The story is fun but unbelievable, he is the prince, and if his brother had no child, the ml would become the…
The ML’s acting is not bad. He’s a delight to watch. The beautiful visuals are part of the charm and allure of this drama—beautiful people, beautiful scenes, beautiful story. This drama is giving all of that. That’s exactly what I signed up for. It’s a fairy tale.
She’s not in this for love (so she thinks.) She’s just social climbing. Once she’s claimed the title of being Mrs. Grand Prince, her esteemed social status is set even if she divorces thereafter. The joke is on her, however, because she actually is falling in love but doesn’t realize it.
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Also, the hidden motives of people are not so simple, e.g, the Prime Minister—I still can’t figure him out. Is he a good guy or bad guy? Is he trying to protect Huiju or is he trying to protect Prince Ian? Who has been PM’s real crush all these years? Is his loyalty really with the Crown as he told the Queen or has he had other plans and motives all along?
The Queen—another extremely complicated character holding on to history and tradition as her only means of self-worth. The Queen’s father—We haven’t even scratched the surface of what this guy’s agenda really is.
So, all in all, this seemingly simple, yet visually stunning, fairy tale is not so simple at all. Beautiful story. Beautifully written. Beautifully acted.